Hollywood Zenith

Clark Newton was a high-ranking officer for the Agency. He had a habit of pursuing cases relentlessly without a care about the person\'s standing or reach. Sometimes it would work out, but most of the time, these kinds of people were protected from the top, making it harder for him to continue.

In those cases, the reports were leaked through various channels damaging the supposed perpetrator\'s reputation. At least in this way, he could achieve some justice for the victims.

It gave him quite a notoriety in upper circles, sometimes just mentioning that he was going after someone would scare the person to death. He was like a \'dog\'; once he caught your scent, they couldn\'t escape.

[Clark\'s POV]

" Being stuck at home on a weekday is boring as hell. I would never have taken the day off if not for the emergency." I paced around the living room, looking for my phone. It would be wrong if I missed some important calls.

" That\'s right, even if I got any call I can\'t go out. I can\'t leave Kyle alone. Should I call someone just in case though" I contemplated.

" Kyle was already four now; he was much more sensible for his age. He was certainly capable of looking after himself for a few hours, but my wife would kill me if she found out if I left our son alone at home." I emptied the coffee into the cup and looked through the window. It was expected that Kyle would be running around in the backyard, but I noticed that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Wait! His bike is still outside. Did he come back inside?" I began scanning the home when I noticed, from the corner of my eyes, him standing near the gate. There was someone he was talking to.

But worse happened the next moment: my son was grabbed, and I could see him struggling.

Everything was a blur after that; I was already standing in front of the \'suspect\' with my firearm in my hand. It was my natural response; being in the field for many years prepared me for these types of situations.

" Bastard, you have some gall to prey on my kid."

" Heh? W-wait It\'s not what you think-"

" Shut up! Release him this instant or else." I turned off the safety. There was no way in hell I would ever consider pressing the trigger with my son in the way, but it would act as the perfect deterrence.

" Do you even know who you are messing with? You should have researched because this neighborhood is filled with cops!" I bluffed. No government official could afford a place here; I was lucky that I inherited the property from my parents.

The stranger seeing my firm attitude, panicked and let go of Kyle. I looked toward him to see if he was okay.

He looked fine. I asked him, and he replied usually did. I looked at the stranger, who had his hands in the air. Now, he seemed different from the type.

A well-groomed visage with expensive clothes to go with it, it was not your typical criminal get-up.

" Sir! You are misunderstood. I am only here to deliver a package." The man argued.

Sensing no ill will, I lowered the gun.

" I have never seen a deliveryman like you. But why were you holding my son? He was clearly uncomfortable." I asked.

" Thats-" The man hesitated.

" Spit it out! Or I will personally escort you to the station. A few days in the holding shell and you will be singing like a parrot."

" He looked so cute, so, I wanted to pinch his cheeks. I didn\'t expected him to react that way!" The man said something absurd.

" Bastard, do you think I will believe you?"

" I am telling the truth. He can confirm; I was just asking if his parents were home." Over the years, I developed a keen sense of whether a person was lying. It was like intuition, and this man was telling the truth.

After questioning him some more, he appeared to be here just for the delivery.

" Who do you work for? You could have contacted me during working hours. I can\'t understand why you are coming directly to my home." I asked. It was better to know who you were dealing with.

" I don\'t know. My client asked me to deliver this package at this location. That\'s all I know."

" Client? Who is he?" I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

" I don\'t know. I never met him." He explained that he worked for an anonymous courier service. The money is sent in his mail along with instructions. He just has to execute them on time. Although he didn\'t know anything, I had to investigate.

Meanwhile, I took the package and got his contact information; I strongly warned him not to give me any fake information as I would find him sooner or later. If his story didn\'t pan out, I would be sure to make him pay!

He repeatedly bowed, saying that what he said was the truth; I would likely find out sooner or later.

I took my son inside and gave him an earful.

" How many times have I told you not to accept or interact with strangers? You have to first call me or you mother before approaching anyone ok?"

" I am sorry." Kyle was apologetic about it. He couldn\'t be blamed, as it happened in our backyard; most of the people who came here were our acquaintances. After the lecture, I focused on the package that the man left behind.

" It doesn\'t seem to be money." I couldn\'t say that it was the first time for me. I was often approached with substantial bribes, but by the looks of the package, it appeared to be a stack of papers.

I carefully opened it to find a note sticking at the front of the papers. It read-

" Make sure to read it carefully. I will be sending more of these in coming days, just take it as my present for your recent promotion."