The second instalment.
Edited: August 27th 2017
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The Executors
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If there is will, then there is way. And, if there is a Will, then there's definitely an executor out there, sometimes an expert, sometimes not. In the case of this particular Will, it just so happened to be the former.
As the executors of a particularly complex Will, Bookman & Junior had fulfilled their duties.
First, thirty-some years prior, Bookman Senior had ascertained the whereabouts of certain assets in order to keep them safe until distribution. He had also had the Will validated in court; it had taken a while, given its peculiarities, but it had been done. He had also wrapped up some unfinished business, dealt with setting up bank accounts and with necessary payments and taxes. He had also started the search for the benefactors. Since then, both he and his apprentice had also spent a great deal of time tracking down the people who had been named in the Will, which let's be honest, had proven decidedly difficult ‒ or rather, finding the person, in singular.
Allen Walker had proven decidedly difficult to find, even with the clues offered. Once he had been found however, they had been faced with a rather curious problem.
In hindsight, Lavi supposed it made sense though. It was no wonder then that they hadn't been able to locate the guy initially, given that he hadn't even been born yet. Well, at least not if the paperwork wasn't completely fake, because this Allen Walker definitely looked more like a teenager than like a man in his thirties or forties, even taking the white hair into account. In fact, he looked even younger now, sleeping off the effects of a tranquilliser in the backseat of Lavi's car.
During the course of his nineteen-year-old life, Lavi had done a whole lot of things. Being the genius that he was, he had graduated early and at the top of his class before pitching in to assist with his makeshift grandfather's law firm at the age of sixteen while working on attaining his professional qualifications. Abducting someone however, now that was a definite first.
Allen Walker had been a definite flight risk though, and Lavi had had his orders; to deliver the letter to Allen Walker and to deliver an Allen Walker who could read the script back to Bookman & Junior's office.
This particular Allen Walker was actually the fourteenth in the order. After the absolute train wreck that had been the thirteenth, Lavi had resolved to be even more thorough in his background check.
Grabbing his modified tranquiliser gun on the way out had been a spontaneous decision, largely because Lavi had actually read up on the situation before walking straight into it; Allen Walker's prior experiences with people on either side of the law pretty much guaranteed that he wouldn't come along quietly.
Of course, resorting to kidnapping wasn't exactly the ideal way of dealing with things, but at least now Lavi would have the advantage of dealing with them on his home turf. He would also have the advantage of possessing some serious blackmail, should it prove necessary.
Noticing some movement in the rear-view mirror, Lavi pulled in to the side of the road and cut the engine.
Allen Walker, the fourteenth in the order, appeared groggy, but still managed to glare at him once Lavi opened the door to have a closer look and to apologise for the rough treatment. Sort of apologise. Sort of.
Lavi did not apologise for having relieved the other of their weapons though, because Lavi would rather not get shot or stabbed if he could avoid it. "Think you can get up?"
Allen Walker, the fourteenth in the order, regarded him coolly, eyes narrowing.
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Bookman Senior actually looked up from his paperwork when Lavi stumbled into his office, giving a piggyback ride to Allen Walker, the fourteenth in the order. Bookman narrowed his eyes at the spectacle, yes. However, he did not ask why the beneficiary was draped over his apprentice's back, out cold, or why Lavi himself was now limping and sporting a sizeable facial bruise. "Put him on the couch," the old man simply ordered before returning to his paperwork.
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Waking up was an experience in itself, not only due to the circumstances but also due to the decidedly posh surroundings. Much like the carpets and the panelling, the furniture looked old but genuine and well-kept; on the market, they would have fetched a pretty penny, no doubt. Highly posh and foreign surroundings or not, the old man seated at the desk looked like he might well have spent most of his life in them, and maybe this wasn't too unlikely, all things considered.
The old man was Bookman, according to his nameplate at least.
Allen was at the Bookman & Junior's office, for reasons unknown. In front of him was a small couch table. Upon was a tray with tea and biscuits, even a couple of sandwiches. After some deliberation, weighing pros and cons and risks, Allen finally tried one of them; it was palatable, to say the very least. "So you're not after my organs?" he asked at last, just to make sure.
The old man, Bookman, shot his apprentice a pointed look.
Giving them both a wide berth, Lavi held up his hands, assuming a somewhat defensive stance on the issue. "I never said anything about organs! Totally innocent."
Having received tentative confirmation that his organs were not in any immediate danger of being removed, Allen figured that he might as well find out what these people wanted, helping himself to another sandwich while he was at it. "So," he said at last, munching on it. "What is it that you people want from me anyway?"
"First and foremost, your cooperation." Bookman handed over a clipboard with an attached form. "Second, we would appreciate a blood sample."
Blood sample? "Why?"
"In order to properly ascertain that we have the right person."
Allen kicked up an eyebrow at that. "Don't you think you should've maybe done that before sending that guy to kidnap me?" he asked and pointed over his shoulder, obviously quite aware of Lavi's position given that he did not even need to turn his head and look.
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The presumed beneficiary had a point and Lavi would be the first to admit as much. Still‒ "We've done our research," Lavi admitted, and Allen Walker turned his head slightly to regard him with a look that was about seventy percent frosty and about thirty percent curious. "Of course, paperwork can be faulty or purposely falsified. DNA meanwhile is a bit more difficult to fake."
"DNA?" Allen asked at the same time as Bookman Senior clapped his hands together, calling for their attention.
"In both cases, there is the risk of human error and other interference," the old man said, gesturing at the form that still lay on Allen's lap, as of yet unsigned. "In this particular case, there is a particularly high risk of imposters and tampering."
If anything, then Allen's eyebrow only rose higher. "Imposters?"
Rather, Allen Walker seemed to find it hard to imagine a situation wherein someone would actually want to be him; given all the trouble it seemed to involve however, Lavi could hardly blame him.
"That's right," Lavi quipped, nodding to himself. "There's quite a bit of money on the line, so an imposter or half a dozen wouldn't be particularly strange, especially in this economy."
Allen Walker's fingers twitched slightly on top of the form. "For a prank, it's overtly elaborate and pretty bad taste," he delivered at last, moving to stand. "Thanks for the sandwiches and all, but I'm leaving."
Lavi cleared his throat. "Leaving where exactly?"
Allen Walker, the fourteenth in the order, didn't dignify that with a response. Going by his recent search history however, Lavi would put Scotland ahead of Ireland, if for nothing else then because it was too cold to swim very far, and the border controls these days were getting a lot more‒ "I don't know. I guess I'll decide when I get there."
The old man who merely closed his eyes grimly or tiredly in response; Lavi saw it and he didn't like it, because the old man's efforts aside, Lavi himself had put down entirely too much work into tracking down the elusive Allen Walker to see their latest and most promising catch just slip away.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" he groaned, tearing at his hair. "Think of it as a prank or whatever, as long as you listen to what we have to say first. I mean, what do you really have to lose? Cross' total debt exceeded 130,000 pounds last time I checked. Just how do you intend to get that kind of money before the end of the month, considering how you currently have just enough cash to cover the bus fare from here to the other side of town? You do know that selling organs is illegal due to the Human Tissue Act of 2004, right?"
Allen Walker, already on the verge of opening the door, turned his head slightly. "So is kidnapping, since basically forever."
Well, technically‒ "I still think you staying around and listening to what we have to say is a way safer bet than trying to sell your organs on the black market. Don't you? As a special, limited time offer, I'll even throw in a free punch so long as you promise not to aim for the face."
Allen Walker turned around fully now, looking from Bookman Junior to Bookman Senior, frown evident. "Leaving your law firm to that‒" He pointed to the former. "‒Are you sure it's really such a good idea?"
The old man let out a long-suffering sigh. "Why do you think I have been putting off retirement for so long?"
Lavi was more than ready to protest that, because the old man putting off his retirement had had nothing ‒ or at the very least very little ‒ to do with Lavi's relative inexperience. He paused midway through though, because surprisingly, the admission of Lavi's incompetence seemed to put the beneficiary at ease rather than the opposite. Huh.
"So," Allen Walker said at last, completely ignoring Lavi in favour of his senior. "In case I really turn out to be the Allen Walker that you're looking for, how much am I worth?"
The old man took a moment to consider the issue. "How much you are worth as an individual is difficult to measure. As for the assets that you stand to inherit…" Bookman trailed off briefly and then pulled a paper from the pile, scrutinising it briefly before holding it out towards him. "Would you care to see for yourself?"
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