43: High Stakes (Flashback)

*The servants had heard the relentless roars of Rick Hudson from behind the closed door. They were terrified for whatever had made their master that furious. Everyone ducked for cover. No one wanted to become collateral damage in the family nuclear explosion. The door abruptly swung open and Sam Hudson emerged from the room pacing furiously. Everyone, from the party planners to the servants, stared in shock as the pampered birthday boy walked angrily through the hallway. He exited the heavily decorated mansion fuming with rage. He jogged to his car. The driver was among the servants that had disappeared to escape the fury of the Hudsons. Sam didn’t need him. He entered the car and drove off. Just as he did, Ronald emerged from the mansion, sprinting toward him. All he could see was the cloud of dust that was left in the air by Sam’s car. Ronald wanted to sit Sam down. He kept his opinions to himself in the matters of the family but what had transpired was nothing short of a disaster but so were Sam’s plans. The boy was being fed misinformation about the factions. There was simply too much stake to plant a false step. It was obvious that Sam’ planning phase was over and it was just a matter of time before he acted on it. He wouldn’t have talked about it so bluntly if he was going into it halfheartedly. Ronald wanted to try his luck to pry something out of the boy about what he was scheming. The ship had sailed. Rick Hudson came running out of the mansion after Ronald. Sandra came out with her husband. “Where is he headed?”, she asked. Ronald was closely inspecting his phone. All the cars in the mansion had trackers. The app didn’t show the car Sam had driven away with. He darted to the place where the car had been parked. The parents stared at him bewildered. It took him moments to find the tracker on the ground. Those were not the ones that would detach from the vehicle by reckless driving. Finding it on the ground meant that Sam had pulled it off. Then the realization hit. Ditching the tracker meant that Sam didn’t want them to find him which also meant that he was up to no good. Ronald was at the receiving end of Hudson’s madness.
*
*“Where the fuck did he go?”, Rick erupted as he grabbed and shook his employee by his collar. Ronald didn’t fight it.
*
*“I’m on it, Sir!”, he managed to respond dutifully. Rick’s rage didn’t seem to wane. Ronald’s phone rang. Rick instantly let go of him.
*
*“Update!”, Ronald spoke as soon as he pressed the button on his ear piece. He listened to it silently for a while. His employer watched him eagerly for any hint. Ronald’s expressions shifted from determined to confused. “Are you sure?”, he double checked, staring into nothingness. “Okay! Keep an eye on him. I’m coming!”, he added and hung up. Rick restlessly awaited an answer.
*
*“He ditched his car and went into a train station”, Ronald broke the news. It puzzled the father as well. The family owned private jets. The last thing a pampered boy like Sam would travel in, was a train filled with commoners. “I’m going to fetch him. Our men are keeping an eye on him”, he added and dashed to a car.
*
*“You’re not going alone!”, Rick Hudson spoke and joined him. The two entered a black Cadillac and took off after him.
*
*Rick was going out of his mind. It had taken the factions of the underworld, centuries to finally arrive at an agreement and a truce was established. An unimaginable amount of blood was shed in the absence of it and even more would follow if it was broken. There had been no signs of any aggression from the wolves. The only real hostility was displayed by the vampires against their own elders which had rendered the faction without wise leadership. If the truce was broken, both the factions would somehow spread the version where they would be portrayed as the heroes or victims and the bloodshed would begin afresh. Rick’s son was going after the Alpha of the werewolves. Sam was the potential future leader of the vampires. He had the vampire High Lord blood in his veins but it was dormant. In that state, he was as easily killable as the powerless Alpha he was after. ‘If he isn’t stopped, all is lost’, Rick thought. Ronald didn’t usually drive but he was adept in freestyle driving. He broke every breakable traffic law on the way and almost caused multiple crashes. The car screeched to a halt in front of the station. The two emerged from the vehicle. The station was bustling with activity. They hadn’t expected such a crowd at that hour. Rick ran inside, pushing through the crowd while Ronald mumbled on the earpiece for status report. The news was bad. The men had lost Sam in the crowd. There was also a good side to it. No train had taken off since he had disappeared. Ronald decided to work with it. He called every available man in or out of the mansion to scan the station for Sam. Ronald took off after his employer. He was having a hard time maneuvering in the decorated party suit. An army of seemingly harmless men arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes. Ronald found Rick running around in circles. Rick ran to him as soon as he saw him.
*
*“Any news?!”, Rick agitatedly inquired.
*
*“He’s vanished but no trains have left since. I’ve called up every available hand. We’ll find him”, Ronald Mosely dutifully responded, trying his best to comfort his employer. It wasn’t happening. The doors of the train closed and it started to move. Sam was still nowhere to be found. Rick looked around and caught a glimpse of a familiar black jacket inside the moving train. He took a closer look and instantly recognized his son. He yelled at the top of his lungs and ran with the train. He pushed several people to the ground in the process. The entire station stopped what they were doing and stared at the big man causing a commotion. Ronald came to the direction of the noise and found his employer in a fit of panic. Ronald caught a glimpse of Sam as the boy realized that he was spotted and disappeared in the train. The train left and Rick was left yelling at it.
*
*A couple of police officers surrounded Rick Hudson to try and intimidate him into calming down. They stepped back in horror as soon as they recognized who they were dealing with. Rick was huffing and panting. He looked at his right-hand man mumbling into his earpiece and quickly gathered his breath.
“Tell me you have someone on the train!”, Rick pleaded. Ronald stood there speechless. *