'Harvey, come on. He could turn out to be the most significant witness…'

'Possible collaborator too.' Harvey sarcastically dismissed Mike's unabashed puppy-eyes begging.

When Mike kept on looking at him with a kicked dog expression, Harvey tossed his file on his desktop and gave the associate his full attention.

'Mike, that guy is bad news. Scratch bad, you even coming out of a meeting with him unscathed is not guaranteed. I am not letting you talk to him and that's final.'

'We could go together?' Mike meekly asked.

Harvey threw him an exasperated 'are you kidding me' look which had Mike scurrying out of the office.

He stopped on his way in order to convince Donna so that she could soften Harvey up.

Donna saw him coming and shook her head instantly. 'Don't even try it Mike.'

'Donna?' Mike tried to look as pathetic as possible.

'Mike, I swear to god, if you try to pull some idiotic stunt…Harvey won't be the only one waiting in the line to kick your ass.' She whispered fiercely.

Mike opened his mouth to call out what hopefully was her bluff when he heard a smacking sound. He registered the pain of that smack in his ass in the next moment. He did not even bother checking his surroundings to see if anyone else was there since he knew that Harvey wouldn't smack him in anyone's presence except…maybe for Donna.

Donna.

'Donna, why didn't you tell me that Harvey was behind me?' He accusingly asked.

'You deserved it sweetie and he is still here.' Unperturbed, she condescendingly patted his arm.

'And my hand is itching again.' Harvey's drawl reached his ears.

Mike instantly moved himself out of the harm's away and then looked at his mentor slash best friend slash brother who sometimes acted like his father.

'I won't bring it up again.' He raised his hands up in a placating manner.

'You better not.' Harvey growled.

Upon seeing the dangerous look on the older man's face, Mike made time to the associate's bullpen.

As he settled in his cubicle, he inwardly fumed at the unfairness of it all. If he just got that witness to come forward, it could pave the way for a huge win. Granted, Alfred was known to be a member of an underground gang but no one had been able to prove his role in anything. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? But Harvey had unwaveringly refused as soon as he had heard his plans. He was adamant that they would win the case in another way.

Mike reluctantly opened one of the files Harvey had thrust at him and got to the unpleasant task of going through them to find something worthwhile. In his eyes, it was a pointless exercise.

Six hours and one hell of a headache later, Mike gave up. He completely and utterly gave up. A lone voice in the back of his head reminded him that perhaps he wasn't giving his best because he knew that there was an alternative plan available but Mike resolutely ignored it.

He started thinking of ways through which he could change Harvey's mind but was rudely interrupted by his co-associates Kyle and Gregory.

Mike glanced at them and rubbed his temple.

'Not in the mood today.'

Both Harvard graduates were not fazed by his statement in the least.

'How is the Bridges case going? I hear Harvey Specter is at a loss. I bet he regrets taking you on as an associate now. You are useless Ross. Anyone else would have done something by now.'

That was Kyle. Sometimes, Mike really wondered why they hadn't grown out of their childish bullying phase. But this time, what he said really struck a nerve. Mike needed to help Harvey. No matter how much Harvey cared about him, Mike still could not let go of the insecurity that sometimes haunted him. He occasionally feared that one day the senior partner would realize that he wasn't good enough and leave him hanging.

The rational side of him understood that the fear was baseless but his rational side wasn't always the dominant one.

And in that moment, he made an irrational decision.

He decided to go see Alfred and use whatever tactic he could in order to get him to come forward.

The two bullies were still smirking at him expectantly, Mike threw a patronizing smile their way and said. 'Grow up.' He grabbed his messenger bag and rushed past them but not before commenting that they had just helped him.

Mike decided to call Vanessa. Harvey had given him her number with strict instructions that he should find his own private investigator. Mike had rolled his eyes at that moment but now he was thinking that it would have been better if he had anyone else to contact instead of her since she was Harvey's person and word could get back to him.

He ended up saying that she should not mention anything to Harvey since Mike did not want to compromise him in anyway.

She told him that she could not find anything which could help Mike other than Alfred's address at such a short notice since he maintained his privacy unswervingly. He either had to give her more time than an hour or persuade him some other way.

Mike decided to throw all caution to the wind and walk into the lion's den without any preparation. He assured himself that since Alfred liked to maintain a low profile, he wouldn't exactly kill him. Harvey was over protective anyway.

Mike reached the bar which Vanessa had mentioned as Alfred's usual abode. He spotted him sitting on a table in the corner. Mike tried to make himself inconspicuous as he walked towards the guy but it was difficult since his suit stood out in the bar's otherwise shabby atmosphere.

Two guards blocked his way but Alfred chuckled and said.

'Let him. Mr. Ross, I have been expecting you and Mr. Specter.'

'He unfortunately couldn't make it.' Mike smiled to hide his nervousness. Alfred was giving him some serious creepy vibes.

'Ah! Not to worry Mr. Ross. I am sure he'll come running when I hold you as leverage.'

Mike was starting to panic now. His smile became weaker as he licked his lips and tried to find a way out of this mess.

Alfred laid his hand on Mike's arm making him flinch. He wanted nothing more than to run away at that moment. He was rapidly losing his cool and sweating profusely.

'Calm down Mr. Ross. If Mr. Specter does as he is told, no one would harm a hair on your head. If he doesn't, you still wouldn't get a chance to regret this visit.'

Mike comprehended the unspoken threat, he'll be dead.

Alfred retrieved his cell from his pocket, dialed a number and waited for the call to get through.

After a few moments, Mike heard his greasy voice again.

'Good day, Mr. Specter. This is Alfred speaking. I am afraid you'll have to reschedule your day since your associate is in my hold at this moment.'

He leered at whatever was Harvey's response before speaking again.

'Meet me in 60 minutes or you wouldn't see this kid again. Well, I can make an exception for the dead body. I understand you are smart enough to not get anyone involved.'

TBC…

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