46: Relapse

Dawn was about to break but Mr. Lawson was oblivious to it as he sat tied up in a small dark room. Mr. Lawson had no false hopes regarding his position. He knew what awaited him when Chuck asked for forgiveness and he saw Ronald’s smug smile. Nobody had hurt him yet. Ronald had put a hood over his head and had escorted him to an unknown place. Lawson hadn’t recognized the place when they had driven there. The lights turned on and he found the room deserted. It looked like a store room. There were several cardboard boxes stacked on one another and there was a wooden table at the far end. There was another chair right across him. He eyed the door, wondering when the torturer would enter. He was determined to go through anything to keep his secrets. The door knob twisted and he stared with uncertainty. The door opened and Rick Hudson casually entered the room. Lawson was surprised to see the big guy in front of him. Men like Rick Hudson usually leave the interrogations and other dirty business to their henchmen. Hudson walked to the chair in front of Lawson and took it. They both sat across each other in silence. Looking at him reminded Lawson of the person who had given him away. He ground his teeth.

“Since when?”, Lawson asked. It took a while for Hudson to understand what he had meant. He slowly nodded.

“Before his father died”, he responded. Lawson had expected a smug grin in response but there was none. Hudson looked fed up. Even he didn’t know how many potential contacts had Ronald established while his family partied. Ronald was a specialist. There was a hard drive full of extorting material and a cabinet full of incriminating papers sitting somewhere. Lawson was jogging his memory, trying to remember any moments where Chuck had displayed any signs of being blackmailed. “Even I don’t know what Ron has against him that gives us his leash but I got a hint that it’s a video of him date-raping an unconscious girl”, Hudson added. Lawson rolled his eyes in disappointment. ‘Why am I not surprised?’, he thought to himself. The character of the person was not in question at all. Chuck had destroyed his self-respect in the eyes of Mr. Lawson when he had talked about Sophie. Lawson was back to blaming himself for letting Hudson this close to Aaron and Sophie. But there was no way he could know that the person he trusted the most was in on it. He doubted if the money was involved at all. “We offered him some dough as well. The tape was just in case if he tries something”, Hudson continued. Lawson was just going over the possibilities. He was a goner.

“Let’s get this over with”, Lawson taunted. Rick didn’t register it. He looked tired of the chase.

“What do you know about me?”, Hudson asked, looking curious. Lawson was unsure how to answer that question. “Don’t hold back. I assume you know about your so-called Aaron?”, he added.

“He is a werewolf and he hurt your son”, Lawson spoke. Hudson winced and slowly nodded. “But he tells me that he was attacked by your son”, he added. Hudson nodded again.

“And about our family?”, Hudson inquired further, curious for more.

“You’re a billionaire who can kill to get what he wants”, Lawson replied.

“And?”, Hudson asked. Lawson’s information about the Hudson family had been depleted. Hudson understood that just by finding the gullible look on Lawson’s face.
“It never occurred to you that the enemy of an immortal just might be an immortal himself?”, Hudson asked, sounding disappointed. Lawson lowered his gaze and nodded in affirmation.

“I had my suspicions”, Lawson responded. “Then you must be a Vampire”, he said without much fright in his tone. He had been assisting werewolves for a long time. He knew that he would eventually cross paths with a vampire in his life. “A friend of mine told me about you people”, he added.

“That friend must be Boris”, Hudson spoke. Lawson was surprised. “He was one honorable son of a bitch. A rare gentlemen among those bastards”, he continued. He looked genuinely in awe of the man. Mr. Lawson was getting nervous. Rick stood up and walked toward him. Mr. Lawson braced himself for impact. He was convinced that the torture was just about to begin. Rick pulled out a jack knife from his pocket.

“How come you never use your powers?”, Mr. Lawson asked trying to hit up a conversation to stall the pain.

“My family took a vow”, Rick briefly responded and flicked open the knife.

“Isn’t it a bit low for you to interrogate yourself?”, Lawson asked as he saw it coming. Rick didn’t react and cut him loose. Lawson was confused as he rubbed the rope marks on his arms. Rick got back to his seat.

“I just realized that. And you are not here to be tortured”, Rick spoke after he seated himself. “We don’t want any answers from you. I know you’ll take them to your grave”, he continued. Mr. Lawson stared at him bewildered. “You’re just being kept from helping him”, he added. “My very resourceful friend had your Alpha cornered, the last time I spoke to him and it’s only a matter of time before I receive the good news”, he added. Rick Hudson’s phone rang. He was expecting a phone call from Ronald. He checked the phone and found the expected RM on the screen. “It’s him”, he softly announced to Lawson and received it.

Rick’s expressions shifted after he received the call. Lawson tried to catch a hint. Rick hung up and put his phone in his pocket without reacting to anything. Images of his son’s corpse started flooding his memory. He started shaking. Lawson was getting freaked out. Rick’s face started to pale and his eyes started to redden. Lawson caught a glimpse of a set of fangs at the corner of Rick’s mouth.