The First Move
Shortly after the conversation the same doctor from before walked into the waiting room. He looked at Sean who nodded. Sean then led Sara to the room where her dad was sleeping on the bed. Sara looked at her father before asking, "when will he wake up?" Dr. Park who just walked into the room answered her, "the anesthetic should wear off in a few hours, but I recommend that you come back tomorrow to visit him." Sara nodded before grabbing Sean's hand and headed for the door. When the couple reached the car, Sara finally let out a sigh as she got in. Sean looked over at her before reaching out and rubbing her hair. "why do you hate hospitals so much?" Sean spoke softly. Sara looked at Sean, who somehow seemed to know how to read her as well. She leaned over on his chest before responding, "My ex was abusive and every time I'd run away from him, Miranda would always take me to the hospital and he would always get mad at me and be more abusive." Sara looked down and noticed how Sean's hands clenched and knuckles turned white as he listened to her. She reached out and grabbed his hand before looking up and coaxing Sean, "Don't worry, he moved to the other coast now. Now that I'm married none of them matter anymore." Sean slowly released his hand and took Sara's hand but even so she still noticed the dark look in his eyes.
After driving back to the house, before Sean got out he said, "tomorrow I'm leaving town to visit my parents. They would love for you to come down with me." Sara looked over at him before responding, "Alright, and whats the news from the Henson's?" Sean snorted as he got out. "43% of the shares have been sold to me in exchange for a trust fund to support their lifestyle. With my Grandmothers percentage the rest will be pressured to come over to my side. It also seems that Kimberley's grandfather will vote alongside my grandmother so its all looking pretty safe. They know they can't compete with my company." Sara laughed hearing him talk, "So sure of yourself. What if they fight back?" Sean chuckled, pulling the woman into his arms, responded, "Then by this time next week the Henson's won't have a company to fill their trust funds." Sara laughed in his arms as they walked into the mansion to see Claire standing there. She looked at the couple before looking at Sean, "Can we talk in the study." Sean nodded but didn't let go of Sara. Looking at Claire's raised eyebrow, Sean said, "She knows and she'll need to learn." before he dragged sara to the study.
Inside the room John, Frank and Mr. Berkowski where all waiting when the couple walked in. Sean led Sara to the couch before he walked over the the desk. From her angle straight across the desk she saw the 4 people all looking at Sean. He instantly captured her vision as he rolled down the sleeves on his shirt. Gone was the carefree and chuckling man of earlier, now there was an air of command and dominance in the room coming from him. His eyes seemingly turning darker, the black shirt made him mysterious, with the fain light on the bookshelf behind him seemed to hide his face. Had Sara not known the man behind this facade she probably would've avoided him at all cost.
After a long pause finally Sean spoke, "Why are all four of you visiting my house at the same time." The voice icy and devoid of emotion, seemingly dropping the temperature in the room. Claire spoke first, "the Seethers have allied with a few middle eastern groups and the Cremo group out of the Mediterranean. The middle eastern groups seemed to be pushed into this by the Carmichael group. He's making a play." Sean laughed, but there was no familiarity of this laugh to Sara. Instead the laugh was mocking, sinister, and cunning. The laugh was so distant to her it made her shiver. Then the icy voice rang out, "Carmichael is playing a distraction game. He wants us to focus on this issue so we take our focus off of what he's doing here. Which is looking for me. Claire contact the Cremo group and give them the connection to Lagarde. Also give the Morgan diamond trade to Lagarde as well. Cremo thinks the money in this is good enough, but the one thing they know is America is an untapped market for them and the profits are too good to pass up. Also with Lagarde having this sectors diamond trade, compared to the Carmichaels they know this is the best deal. I guarantee the Middle Eastern groups will back off if Cremo pulls out. Berkowski issue a black mark on Seethers. Let the European groups fight for the left overs."
The 4 people nodded as they left, but Sara was kinda shocked at how quickly he acted on so little information. "How did you come to that conclusion?" Sara asked puzzled. Sean snorted before responding, "the Underworld is full of power plays. Cremo made one by aligning themselves with this movement. They know that there is only one group that can take this US contact with Lagarde. So they made a move to make me pick one of the groups. They also knew they had a good chance as Seethers has been on my shit list for a few months now. Also if I am searching for someone who stays hidden they best way to pull them out is a distraction of this kind. However the old man still underestimates my ability to use pawns to destroy his knights. Running the Underworld is like running a business. You have to keep the money rolling in and making sure everyone is happy. The cartels want to make money, the smugglers want to make money, everyone just wants money. Except those damn mercenaries. They like fighting too much. So you have to give them a fight every now and then to keep their warmongering souls happy."
Sara listened intently to Sean's words before she responded, "what about this Carmichael group? They seem to be a thorn in your side." Sean chuckled, "The Carmichaels are a deeply rooted family in Europe. In history you learn of the Hapsburgs having a dynasty of the Monarchies. The Carmichaels are the same of the Underworld. They've lead it, they've been on top of every trade, and they've advised some heads of states aswell. They ruled the Underworld until I showed up. Still I can't eliminate them as they are so deeply rooted in the Underworld of Europe that many still look to them for direction. For a while we coexisted peacefully but it seems the first move in this chess game has been played."
Sara nodded when suddenly her stomach rumbled. Sean laughed hearing it. "We've been so busy with things today that we missed breakfast and Lunch. Let's have dinner then tomorrow we'll go see my parents for the weekend." He walked over as she stood up to be embraced by his hug and felt electricity coming from her forehead as he planted a kiss there.