Frank stepped into the office, his hands shaking slightly. An envelope with twenty thousand dollars was clutched in one hand. More money than he'd ever held at one time, and he'd only touch it for a few hours.
"Ah, mister Shaw-Hardy. It's not your payment day. What brings you to my office?" The man behind the desk folded his hands on his lap, leaning back in his chair.
"I'm here to pay off the rest of my debt."
"Twenty thousand dollars, all at once? How'd you manage to get all that money together in a week?"
"My aunt found out about the debt. She wants to pay it off. She gave me the money." Frank's hands shook a little harder. Twenty thousand dollars. All because of Joey.
"Well, hand it over." The man sat up, and the bodyguard on his right stepped forward. Frank held out the envelope. The bodyguard took it, stepping back to the desk and placing the envelope in front of the man. He opened it, pulling out the thick stack of bills.
"Hold on a second while we count this, Frankie."
Frank stood stock-still as the man counted all twenty thousand dollars. Once the last bill left his hand, he smiled.
"Well done, Frankie. You've got enough here to pay off your debt. Good for you." The man stood up. "That concludes our business with each other. If you don't try any funny business, this is the last you'll hear from us."
Frank nodded, relief flooding him, and he turned to leave.
"Although," the man said slowly. Frank froze, his hand resting on the handle.
"We might be able to forgive your brother for forgetting his payments if you do one more thing for us."
Frank slowly turned, dread mounting in his chest. "What do you need me to do?"
"Just one little thing. When you leave work on Monday, drop your office key on the sidewalk outside."
"That's all?"
"That's all. Just one little mistake, and you and your family are completely free."
Frank nodded. "Alright. I'll do it."
"Good. I knew you could be trusted." The man smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Pleasure doin' business with ya, Frankie."
Frank nodded, turning and stepping out of the office.
So I hate to say it, but I think we're nearing the end of this fic. There's not a whole lot else to do, logically speaking. I can't keep sending Frank on side quests forever trying to lengthen the fic. My heart wouldn't be in it, and I owe it to all of you to post content I feel proud of. The last arc of this fic will be the Finding Joey arc, and after that I'll post the epilogue. I hope it will be good enough for all of you. Thanks for sticking around and for all of your lovely reviews. I really appreciate all of the good vibes and friendly words.
See you soon,
Starflight