28: The Thin Line

The Annual Texas Agriculture Convention was in full swing. A large auditorium with a capacity of fifty thousand attendees was bustling with activity. A large expanse was dedicated for the exhibition of creative agricultural products and ideas. A bunch of teams of young engineers hailing from different state universities were presenting their innovative ideas to the potential patrons. A great deal of dignitaries including senators, congressmen, scientists and business tycoons were also invited. Michael Rosenberg was among the guests of honor that were invited speak a few words to the participants. He seated himself at the chairs that were to be used in the latter half of the event. He was constantly swarmed by students and news reporters trying to get a decent photo with him or to convince him to answer some questions. He happily granted each and every wish. The students took their selfies and the junior reporters hit jackpots by nailing a one-minute exclusive with the big man. Mike had sifted through the exhibition area before anyone else and had met the creative minds before they had even set up their stations. He had received unhinged inputs from all of them and had decided to fully or partly fund the endeavors that were not already promised by someone else. Mike restlessly awaited the conclusion of the exhibition half of the event. The second half of the event was supposed to be comprised of speeches from the guests of honor and a prize ceremony for the best innovative ideas. A crew of event planners abruptly climbed the deserted stage after receiving some instructions on their earpiece. They placed the chairs in a near perfect manner and positioned the lights that were soon to be turned on. “Finally!”, Mike thought to himself.

The abandoned chairs in front of the stage started to get occupied as soon as the lights were flicked on. The first row of seats was reserved for the dignitaries. A folded car with a name on it, lied on each of them. Mike had already found the one reserved in his name and had landed on it as soon as he got too tired of the exhibition. In a matter of minutes, all the seats were taken and the dignitaries greeted Mike as they found their reserved ones. An elegantly dressed announcer rushed onto the stage and welcomed all the guests. She had a list of guests of honor and their particulars. She invited them all on the stage one by one. Two of them were senators in their eighties, two relatively younger congresswomen, an environmental science specialist and a couple of businessmen. Mike was one of the businessmen. None of the invitees needed an introduction yet the announcer fulfilled the formality. They all climbed the stage and found their seats. They all had lengthy speeches prepared for the evening. The announcer started with inviting a congresswoman to speak a few words. Mike put on a fake smile and put himself on autopilot through all the speeches. It took an eternity for his turn to arrive. He walked up to the podium and spoke his mind on the benefits of automated agriculture. He had no prepared speech in his hands. Mike’s speech didn’t take too long. As soon as he was finished, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He was known to be role model of the youth. He walked back to his seat. The announcer announced the start of the prize ceremony and invited the winners on the stage. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included Mike. He excused himself from the stage and went to his reserved seat among the audience. He spectated it all from over there.

At the end of the event, there was a refreshment and Mike loved those. He was having a casserole and a cappuccino when a sharply dressed man approached him and warmly greeted him. Mike greeted him with similar warmth. The man was all praise for the theories and ideas that Mike spoke of at the stage. Mike thanked him. They talked for a while. Mike didn’t talk for too long with strangers yet talking to this guy seemed welcoming. The conversation diverted to his company.
“How is the Red Stallion doing?”, the man casually asked. It was unusual to ask a famous company’s owner about his company but Mike had had his friends ask him similar questions trying to ask about his future plans. That helped them decide if they should buy or sell his shares. Mike didn’t mind sharing the wisdom.
“It’s doing fine. The share value might drop in the winter by probably five percent but it’ll come back strongly as soon as winter goes away. It always does”, Mike happily foretold. The man nodded in appreciation.
“Quite a big business you’re gonna leave for the successor!”, the man said.
“Yeah”, Mike hesitantly responded but he was getting a bit agitated by the odd remark.
“Your daughter is next in line. Ain’t she?”, the man curiously asked and sipped from his paper cup. Mike was smelling something brew. He kept his family miles away from the business.
“Sorry, I didn’t get your name”, Mike tried to change the subject or at least lighten the pressure.
“Ronald Mosely”, the man responded dutifully with a smile.
“So, what company do you handle, Ronald?”, Mike asked, trying to turn the questionnaire back at him.
“Oh no. I am but a humble employee”, Ronald replied with a chuckle. “I am in no way your peer”, he added.
“But your daughter! She is a bright one. I am sure she will run Red Stallion in the best possible way when her time comes”, Ronald again spoke on the matters Mike didn’t want to. His uneasiness was growing. He couldn’t speak or evade.
“Do you talk to her often?”, Ronald asked, pretending to care. Mike was starting to sense crippling fear emerging from deep down. “If not, you definitely should”, Ronald added and took another casual sip. Mike was sweating. He was at a loss for words.
“What do you mean?”, Mike barely managed. Ronald offered a sincere looking smile.
“Let’s put it this way. My employer wants a particular thing and he pounces at it as soon as that particular thing comes into his view. Just as he does, someone, unknowingly, steps in his way and, like a deer in front of a truck, refuses to fuck off”, Ronald elaborated. All of Mike’s doubts were removed. It was certainly a threat. He felt his hand tremble slightly and he put the cup of coffee back on the table.
“Who is your employer?”, Mike struggled to speak the words and to look less distraught than he was.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that”, Ronald responded with another sinister ear to ear smile. He decided that it was his cue to communicate to Mike what he wanted.
“I am against collateral damage but my employer however, is a different story”, he warned. Mike was sinking deeper and deeper in despair.
“You want me to call her back home?”, Mike muttered. Ronald opened his arms as to say ‘tada!’.
“I knew you were a smart man”, he said with a chuckle and patted on Mike’s shoulder. He turned to walk out of the auditorium. Mike’s chest was pounding and his head came up with every negative scenario possible. He couldn’t hear anything around him. It was just a bunch of faint echoes.
“Gorilla man!”, Mike heard the voice of little Jack. It turned all his fear into anger. Something inside him made him decide” Not again”.
“Ronald!”, he exclaimed and paced to him. Ronald Mosely stopped in his tracks and turned to see him with another smile. His smile faded when he saw the expressions on Mike’s face.
“Give my regards to your employer. And tell him that he must have seen good men and bad men but he hasn’t seen the bat-shit crazy” Mike whispered, just loud enough for Ronald to listen. “Come after my family and you will!”, he added as he glared into Ronald’s soul with bitter rage. Ronald inspected Mike for any cracks with a straight face. There weren’t any. He offered another smile which looked less sincere than the previous ones and turned to exit the auditorium.

As soon as he was out of the picture, Mike scrambled for an empty chair and collapsed on it. His mind was on the offensive. He had made promise to his daughter regarding the guards but harsh situations demand harsh solutions, he told himself. He pulled out is cell phone and called his driver to fetch him ASAP.