(WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! What is this?! WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!
You guys might be wondering what this is? You also might be asking, "What is this? This isn't the next chapter of Prehistoric Peril you dummy author baka piece of shit bastard shit ass-" Yeah, I know. Lemme explain what the hell this hot can of randomed recycled objects in this bin on fire is… out in the desert. But first things first, let's talk about today's SPONSOR! DO YOU- I'm not sponsored :/
Enough talking, lemme explain what this is. This is the start of a short series focusing on key characters of the story, all of them original characters. The point of these stories is to tie unseen events in the main story together through the perspective of these characters. These short stories will be (hopefully) intertwined with one another, much like GTA 4's main game and it's two major DLC's, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (HA!) where some missions intertwine with the story. That is what will happen in these short stories… Maybe. I don't know. They could- They could just be their own stories with no intertwining. I have no fucking clue.
Each short story will mainly focus on the title character rather than the main ones… Yes, Francis is getting his own and I have big plans for him lmao.
Anyway, I hope this explains it all… i don't have a witty goodbye for once.
oh also, these stories will be shorter than the main chapters because im fucking lazy… that and it's in the title 'short story'.)
The sun shined inside a large glass window as the silhouette of a rotating chair was shown before the person sitting in the chair turned to themselves clockwise. The person behind the chair was revealed to be none other than Chase Williams himself, albeit wearing a more professional style of clothing along with neatly combed hair, a star contrast to his usual disheveled look, fitted with a cunning grin as his chin rested on his intertwined fingers.
"You are right." he says in a sinister tone with a malicious grin… only for it to evaporate into thin air immediately as a huge grin appeared on his face. "This chair DOES make me feel all powerful! Where'd you get it?"
"Believe it or not, Best Buy." says the car salesman as he sat in the opposite seat from Chase. "Now let's continue from where we left off so… Please get out of my seat."
"Oh. Sorry."
Chase and the car salesman swapped seats as the salesman put his reading glasses on and began typing on his computer. "So you say you want a fast car, right?" he asks Chase.
"And environmentally friendly." Chase adds.
"Yeah, a car like that doesn't exist." the salesman plainly replies. "The best I can do is offer you a Ferrari 458. Currently, we have it in either red or blue. Your pick."
Chase was silent for a moment before asking, "Which one's cheapest?"
"I- I mean, I don't know. They're both the same price."
"The color doesn't matter?"
"No, why would it?"
"Okay, do you know what kind of paint they used for the cars?"
"Not in my head, no, but I can do a quick search in our database to check." The car salesman turned to his computer screen and began typing away before facing Chase once more. "Yes."
"Okay, which of those two colors were the cheapest to buy?"
"I mean I can do a quick Google search to know." Once again, the car salesman typed away on his computer before facing Chase yet again. "The blue one."
Chase immediately responded with. "I'll take that one."
*Money by Pink Floyd starts playing…*
A blue ferrari with no roof drove down the street of Sanjo City with it's driver, Chase, in plain view as he casually drove. His posture relaxed in his seat, a mellow smile on his face, the wind blowing in his smooth black hair, and his right arm (yes I'm using non-American driving rules) leaning out the window. Chase continued to drive down the road before using his free hand to feel the wind blowing against it, having his hand 'surf' across the wind. A large semi-truck suddenly drove passed Chase as the young man looked up, speeding forward a bit so he could see the driver. He peered up in the driver side window and noticed it was a middle aged man; smiling, Chase honked his horn, catching the driver's attention. Chase made a honking motion with his smile, to which the driver gladly obliged and honked his horn resulting in a large smile on Chase's face as he gave a thumbs up in return.
Money
Get away
You get a good job with more pay and you're okay
The blue Ferrari continued to drive through the streets of Sanjo City, passing under the bridge where Ace fought the Ankylosaurus that one time. Next, he passed by the bank the Alpha Gang lookalikes robbed that one time before passing Sanjo Middle School shortly afterwards. Chase then entered the city district of the city where he passed by a homeless man, holding up a cardboard sign that read "NEED MONEY FOR GACK AND LAXITIVES". Chase continued to drive his new car, nodding his head to the song as his hand lazily laid out the window on the side.
Money
It's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
Chase's new blue Ferrari could be seen parked outside of an expensive high class clothing shop named Ponsonby's. Inside, Chase was busy getting his measurements for clothes he had previously picked out, with the woman currently measuring his waist as Chase stood there, holding his arms up awkwardly. Next up, Chase was at another high class store, this time shopping for accessories. As of right now, Chase had purchased a gold watch, a thin chain bracelet, as well as a small dinosaur tooth necklace. To finish this off, Chase had now just purchased the last of his wishes: a small ring with a pearl completely made out of amber. We all know what this is referencing, right?
New car, caviar, four star, daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team
The young man was now shown inside of a tattoo parlor, with his shirt off as the tattoo artist was working on drawing the tattoo on the side of Chase's arm. Chase could be seen having a winced expression as the tattoo artist continued his work, which was revealed to be a small drawing of a T-Rex footprint with the date 6/27/10 in the middle of it. The tattoo was suddenly covered up when Chase placed on white buttoned up shirt, now standing in front of his high class apartment mirror. After putting on his shirt, he suddenly placed a black suit vest over it before rolling his sleeves and slapping on a pair of black gloves.
Money
Get back
I'm alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack
The outfit that Chase was now wearing consisted of a said black suit vest over his white buttoned up shirt with rolled sleeves and black leather gloves. Chase also sported a black tie and to finish off the top half of his body, he wore a black fedora with a white ring. Down below, he wore nothing more simple than black suit pants and black loafers. The young man was shown standing in front of his mirror, currently looking over his outfit - these clothes rather suited him he thought to himself.
Money
It's a hit
Don't give me that do goody good bullshit
Chase got in his new Ferrari and started the engine before driving out of the parking lot of the high end apartment he lived in. Now nighttime, Chase continued to drive down the road with a smile on his face, the cool wind blowing through his face. Eventually, he reached his destination, which was revealed to be a fancy, expensive restaurant as Chase drove into the parking lot, where he drove into a parking spot and put the car in park.
I'm in the-
The song was cut off when Chase turned off the car radio.
Inside the fancy restaurant, giggling and chuckling were heard over at the back corner table where Chase was shown eating a fancy shrimp dinner with his date. Said date looked like your typical goth: short, dark hair, purple eyeliner and lipstick, pierced ears and lips. Unlike your typical goth, Chase's date actually wore a formal dress, albeit in a black and purple color to match off the rest of her look. To finish this off, her nails were also painted a mixture of black and purple in preceding order.
"Anyway," Chase says after chuckling, taking a sip from his red wine. "that's how I unearthed the world's LARGEST feces fossil of an Afrovenator juvenile."
"Wow." his date replies in an impressed tone, taking a sip from her red wine as well. "You know I gotta say that I never thought I'd ever got on a date with a paleontologist."
"Analyst. Analyst actually." Chase corrects. "I rarely go out in the field. I mostly dig up Earth's greatest secrets under a microscope and through a computer screen."
"Still I never thought I'd be on a date with someone who studies old bones."
"Fossils, actually. Fossils are when bones become rock after being buried in the natural elements for… well years."
"How much do you get paid?" she asks with a smile.
Chase paused while in the middle of drinking his wine before growing a sheepish smile. "Uh… actually I'm… I'm in between jobs at the moment. My family is usually the one who has the money. I mean, I have enough money to last me a year of doing nothing so I have plenty of time to figure out where to work." he replies.
"How much money do you have?" his date asks with a raised brow.
"Enough." Chase shrugs, earning a chuckle from his date. "Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about you Scarlet. What do you do?"
"Ooooh, you knooooow… Computer stuff." she replies with a teasing smile.
"Ayyyyyy, we're both computer geeks!" Chase excitedly exclaims as he takes a bite from his dinner. "Oh man. This shrimp is good."
"I mostly handle numbers and all that."
"So an accountant?"
Scarlet was silent for a moment before answering with a simple, "Yeah."
"I can never understand how people can get so interested in numbers."
Scarlet began laughing at that moment. "Oh, Chase. Numbers are magical. They can even be powerful in the right hands." she says in a mysterious yet seductive manner.
"So can a dinosaur fossil. I saw one paleontologist club another one with the plate of a Stegosaurus… Granted he got twenty-five for accidental manslaughter but that's the justice system for ya." Chase shrugs, taking a sip from his alcoholic beverage.
"So money isn't an issue for you?" Scarlet asks.
Chase stopped drinking before giving his date a skeptical look. "You're asking a lot about my money situation… Are you a gold digger?"
"No. No! I hate gold diggers!" Scarlet loudly defends.
"Then why're you asking me about my money?"
Scarlet let out a defeated sigh as she hung her head low before looking back up at Chase. "I know a guy… who's starting up a children's hospital." she explains.
"Woah? Really? Good for him!" Chase says with a smile.
"And… I've put some money into the hospital as an investment and seeing how money isn't an issue for yooooou…" Scarlet leads on for Chase to figure out himself.
Chase was in the middle of placing a piece of shrimp in his mouth before retracting his hand away from his open jaw. "You want me to invest in the children's hospital?" he asks.
"Yeah? Why not? I've been asking a lot of people to do it. It's for a good cause." Scarlet explains.
"I don't knoooow. It sounds sketchy." Chase replies in a skeptic tone.
"It's a children's hospital." Scarlet wryly replies with lidded eyes.
"Still… If I make a bad investment, my parents won't be happy." Chase replies. "I've lived a very privileged life what with my father being a top ranked surgeon and my mom being a real estate developer. I basically got everything I ever wanted as a kid except for adventure. That's why I opted to move out as soon as I graduated high school with a certain amount of money my parents gave me so I can pursue my own life and dreams without it being given to me on a silver spoon… Wait a minute…"
"So this certain amount of money you have, you still have it since you moved out?'
"Oh yeah. I'm good. It's just that I don't want to lose it all, otherwise my parents will… Well, let's just say they don't really like the poor."
"You're saying they're gonna kick you out of your own family?"
"I mean, they did it with my brother. Wonder how Gene is doing anyway." Chase mumbles.
Scarlet simply laughed out loud in response. "Nice one. There is no way your parents aren't that cruel. Come on, Chase. At least think about investing in the hospital. It's for children. Use your money for good, right?" Scarlet tries to convince her date.
Chase stuck a whole shrimp in his mouth before watering it down with wine, a contemplated expression on his face as he pondered hard on a decision. "Well… Alright, I guess. I am celebrating getting my doctorate and finally being a legit paleontologist." Chase gives in with a smile.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Scarlet exclaims.
"Tchin." Chase says as he raises his glass.
Scarlet did the same. "Tchin." she repeats as the two toast before consuming their drinks.
MONTHS LATER…
A large mansion could be seen just on top of the huge hill that overlooked Sanjo City. How anyone noticed it's existence until now is beyond me but hey I'm just the writer so quit yer snivelin' ya scallywags! Inside the large mansion, Chase could be seen drinking from an antique tea cup, taking little sips before swallowing the drink.
"Mum's tea. How I've missed this. For my yearly voyage of pursuit of my own career and happiness has robbed me of my time with my mother and father." Chase says in a sophisticated, British accent for some reason.
"Queer." says a tall man with tan hair as he passed by the fancy looking couch.
"Go to hell, Andrew." Chase replies as he points to the man.
In front of Chase were none other than his parents who looked like your typical sophisticated and rich family parents. "Chase," his mother speaks up. "it has been so long since I have seen your face."
"Again, queer." says Andrew as he walks out of the room.
"I'm sorry ma and pa but I've been busy getting my doctorate degree. Which I finally got! Your son's a doctor now!" Chase exclaims in excitement as he accidentally spills his tea. "Oh whoops."
"That's excellent son! Which field do you specialize in? Surgeon such as your old man?" his father asks with hope in his voice.
"Oh, no, it's actually paleontology." Chase replies.
"I've never heard of that field before." his father replies in a confused tone.
"Because I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm a paleontologist. I study fossils from extinct animals. I thought I told you guys?" Chase asks.
"You might have but, to be honest, we may have drowned you out." his mother replies.
Chase grew a hurt expression upon hearing this. "Oh…" he says in a depressed tone.
"Oh don't look so sad, Chasseur," his mother interjects. "your father and I are quite happy to hear this. Especially if it's bringing revenue in."
"Yes. Yes. Chase you must be honest, how much is this job paying you?" his father asks. In response, Chase sheepishly scratched the back of his head while avoiding eye contact. "My God, you don't have a job. Do you?"
"I'm in the middle of searching!" Chase immediately replies. "But don't worry! I think I found a good place to start! It's a startup company focused on paleontology! So I can put my doctorate degree into work, finally! I promise you, ma and pa, I'm not gonna end up like Gene and gamble my money away… How is he by the way?"
"Not sure. Last I heard of him was two Thanksgivings ago and he was in Ukraine at the time." his mother replies, albeit in a careless tone.
"Eugene's out of the country? Why didn't you tell me?!" Chase frantically asks.
"Because it didn't concern you." his father replies.
"What your brother does is his own business, Chasseur." his mother adds. "You don't want to end up like your older brother, do you… Chase?"
Chase looked away, knowing full well what would happen if his mother didn't get to hear what she wanted to hear. "No." he replies.
"Our family has no need of bums and degenerates. We are hard working class citizens who obey the law and follow order. Without order, there is chaos. Chaos your brother got himself mixed in. If you fall into that chaos too, Chase… We just might have to look the other way… Do you understand?"
"Clear as crystal." Chase replies meekly. "But don't worry. I promise you that this job will kickstart my career in paleontology! And when I finally get a leg in life, I can find Gene and bring him back to the family!" In response, his parents ambiguously grudged while looking the other way. "Why do you- Why do you sound like you don't like that idea?"
"It's not that, Chasseur, it's-"
"No." his father interrupted his mother. "It's that."
"Yes, your father's right. It's that."
"What's wrong with bringing Gene back into the family?" Chase asks confusingly.
"He made his decision to gamble his money away. Money we trusted him to use responsibly. Its not our fault he decided to go to Vegas and gamble all that money away. Besides, it's not like we 'actively' kicked him out of our family." his father explains.
"I remember him shouting, 'Please. Help me, mom and dad. I got nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to.' and then after that you just slammed the door on him." Chase explains, albeit in a monotone voice.
"Your brother's 25. It's not like we kicked our child to the curb." his mother responds.
"Yeah, we did that with Andrew and look how he turned out. He's like the perfect son." his father adds.
"He's not even your son! He's some guy you hired as the family's butler after you caught him trying to steal ma's car!" Chase loudly explains.
Andrew suddenly stuck his head out from behind the wall. "Strangely enough, I'm beginning to like this place and even considering it a second home to me… you fucking queers." Andrew quickly spits out before retreating back into the room he was in.
"And he calls us queers for some reason. You call that a perfect son?"
"I'm from Jersey!" Andrew shouts from the other room.
"Perfection is the one thing man cannot create, Chase. I said he was 'like' the perfect son, not that he 'IS' the perfect son." his father clarifies.
"That, um… That means the same thing." Chase explains, albeit in an exasperated tone.
"Your point?" his father asks with a raised brow.
Chase sighed in defeat as he hung his head low, knowing full well he wasn't getting anywhere anytime soon. "Look," he says. "this job I have will help me with my life so I promise you that I'm not gonna end up some washed up, desperate bum on the streets… But would you really kick me out of the family like you did with Gene?"
"Chasseur, you're your own man. Sooner or later all children will have to leave the nest one day. Even if it's through force." his mother says with a firm glare.
In response, Chase loosened his collar with his finger while sheepishly giving a half smile to his parents. "Right. Got it, ma and pa." he meekly replies. "Um… I uh… I gotta get to work. All that revenue isn't gonna work itself, heh heh heh."
With that, Chase grabbed his coat from the coatrack and walked over to the front door. "I'll see you guys next week for family dinner, alright?" he calls out to them.
"Take care, Chasseur. And remember - don't go on Elton and 3rd. That street is cursed, I swear." his father says as he flips the newspaper he was reading to the next page.
"I don't go down that street either way but thanks for telling me! Love you ma and pa!" Chase calls out before closing the door.
His parents continued to sit in their chairs, with his father reading the newspaper and his mother drinking some tea she had just brewed up - both of whom were in complete silence. "Wait, Andrew tried to steal my car?" his mother asks, turning to her husband.
Chase parked his blue Ferrari in front of a renovated store that looked like it was halfway done before exiting his vehicle and entering the building. Inside, it was bare. Only having the bare minimum. Such as a couch, some lawn chairs - yes, actual lawn chairs - as well as the leftover rainbow wall since before all this was a children's dentist office. Chase walked passed the receptionist area and up the stairs where he entered the upstairs, which was nothing more but a room with two smaller rooms adjacent to each other. There was an old, brown leather couch beside the door and a water cooler by the janitor's closet.
While Chase was examining the area, the office door opened, revealing a man wearing a dark gray business suit over a white collared shirt. Down below, he sported a pair of black fitted jeans with brown loafers, while his height was of average size, a little bit taller than Ursula and a little bit shorter than Zander. His age is most likely near his 60's considering his hair was a mixture of white and brown and to top it all off, he had a pair of black rimmed glasses. The man in question was currently shown talking on the phone to someone, gesturing a 'one moment' finger at his visitor.
"Hm-mm." he hums in agreement to the person over the phone. "Don't worry, General, I have it covered from here. I'm doing research as I speak… Alright… Alright, let me know when that'll be." With that, he hung up his phone and smiled at Chase. "I apologize about that. You were ready, I was not. Now," he briefly composed himself. "to whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
Chase took his seat in front of the man's desk. "My name is Chase Williams, sir. I just got my doctorate degree in paleontology and I'm ready to unearth one of nature's greatest and most intriguing mysteries: dinosaurs."
"That's excellent news, Chase!" the man exclaims in glee. "My name is Adam McCallum, head of Omni-Tech, a paleontology research lab dedicated to the more… 'obscure' parts of paleontology."
Chase simply nodded his head before asking, "What?"
"What I mean is, what we do here in Omni-Tech WILL affect the field of paleontology. It's just that we're not going to get recognized as big as the actual paleontologists… You understand? We're the lab geeks while they're the adventurers."
"No, I completely understand, Mr. McCallum. That's why I signed up for this place. I enjoy working behind the curtains, ya know?" Chase replies.
Adam merely pointed his finger at the young man with a bright smile on his face. "Thaaaat's what I'm looking for. That and another employee." he reveals.
"How many people am I going to be working with?" Chase asks.
"Let's see here." Adam replies as he pulls out a sheet of paper from his desk. "A Reese Drake. Local. Just like you."
"Uh, actually I live in the next city over." Chase reveals.
"You and her will be partners for now on and will be doing tasks given and provided by me and or my superiors." Adam strictly says.
"Wait, I thought you were the CEO though." Chase replies in confusion.
"Yes, that's true, but I'm also apart of something bigger and this is just my branch of the bigger project."
"What's the bigger project?"
Adam leaned back in his seat, the sun reflecting off of his glasses as the glare obscured his eyes. "That's under strict confidentiality." he replies.
Chase was silent for a moment before shrugging. "Okay." he simply says.
"Anyway, enough about me." Adam says as he puts the paper back in his desk drawer. "I want to hear about you. Why paleontology? I want to know who Chase Williams is."
"Well, for starters Chase Williams is my second name." Chase replies. "My legal name is Chasseur François de la Thomas-Beylier III. I was born in Paris on a business trip and my parents wanted to use the opportunity to name me something fancy sounding. My real last name is actually Williams though."
"Then why is it your second name if it's your real last name?" Adam asks.
"Documents."
"Aaaah."
"I was always interested in dinosaurs as a kid." Chase begins. "I come from a very rich family and ma and pa were always busy with their jobs so I got left with all the dinosaur toys I had and dinosaur movies I watched. Land Before Time. Jurassic Park. Fantasia. My love of dinosaurs only grew since then and eventually I decided I wanted to become a paleontologist. But I've always been more of a computer geek myself rather than an outdoorsy type person. So when I found the ad for this place, it was like whatever supernatural god that may or may not be watching over us was giving me a sign. A sign that's blinking red with red dots on the perimeter that says 'GO HERE!' and I'm so glad I went there."
"What a touching story." Adam says with a smile. "Unfortunately for us, work cannot start until another two months. But I guarantee you, I will find work for you two in the meantime. If it means taking up odd jobs such as lecturing about dinosaurs in a university to keep the money flowing, it'll have to do."
"Oh." Chase says in a slightly disappointed tone. Truth be told, he was ready to head into work right that second.
"Speaking of money, how are you financially?" Adam asks. "I ask only out of curiosity. This has nothing to do with the job whatsoever." he says in a chuckle.
"Like I said, I come from a rich family." Chase replies, though acting as if it wasn't a big deal. "To show how much money we have, I invested $20 million in the children's hospital being developed somewhere in town."
Adam's smile suddenly shifted to a surprised expression. "Children's hospital?" he parrots.
"Yeah, that's right."
Adam leaned back in his seat and placed his fingers on his chin, silently debating his next move. Chase simply glanced to his right before returning his attention to his employer. The middle aged man leaned forward back into his seat once more, this time having a more cautious aura around him.
"You wouldn't happen to be talking about the children's hospital that just got seized by the police, are you?" he asks in a cautious tone.
Chase simply stared at Adam with a blank expression, too much in shock to even react at all.
Chase's blue Ferrari floored down the highway while inside the man in question had a terrified expression mixed with nervousness. He passed many cars on the highway before driving down the off ramp, now on the main street as he pretty much broke every traffic law in existence. Evidently when he sped passed a police officer wielding a speedometer that currently read: 120 MPH. Instead of chasing after Chase (heh), the cop in question simply just shrugged.
"Eh. I'm on my break." he shrugs off.
The thug in handcuffs behind him leaned forward. "Cops don't get breaks-"
"Shut up, Karl. I'm lazy."
Chase's blue Ferrari ended up parking in front of a crime scene where an unfinished children's hospital was shown still under construction but was now surrounded with police and crime tape. The young man quickly got out of his car and marched his way towards the crime scene, all with a worried and anxiety ridden look on his face.
"Officer," he addresses the cop. "what happened?"
The officer simply held up a finger in response, silently telling him to give him a moment as he stared at his phone. "Damn it. The Packers lost. Anyway, what were you saying?" he asks Chase.
"What happened here?!" he yells, not having the patience at the moment.
"Well as you can see we sieged a children's hospital that was used as a front for a credit card counterfeit operation. My grandmother is sadly a victim to this." the officer replies in a sad tone. "Not only that, but the mastermind of this whole operation managed to slip out of our hands… again. Made off with over $20 million after scamming several people to invest in this hospital. Now they're out there with enough money to travel anywhere in the world with fake credit cards. They are now literally richer than Steve Jobs."
Chase simply gave the cop a blank stare, not believing a word he was saying, mostly out of shock. "What?" he questions.
"Yeah, this has been going on for months now. Every time we get close to shutting down the mastermind's operation, they disappear and restart another one. Makes you wonder what they're doing with all the money if they keep restarting the same scam over and over again expecting a different outcome." the cop replies.
"The definition of insanity." mumbles another cop as he walks by.
"Do you know who the mastermind is?" Chase asks, now getting extremely nervous at this point.
The cop opened his mouth to prepare an answer before closing it, a defeated expression now on his face. "No." he replies quickly. "But don't worry. We're getting closer to the mastermind's identity. Word is on the street… it's a female."
Chase's eyes widened upon hearing that one single word. Female. The word echoed in his mind as he had a flashback to his date a few months ago, specifically with that Scarlet woman. "I've put some money into the hospital as an investment. It's a children's hospital." Her voice continued to echo in his mind as his vision began to blur, his emotions all running all over the place, getting so out of control he was starting to lose all brain activity before bringing himself back into reality.
"That… bitch!" he loudly whispers, an enraged expression now on his face.
"Tell me about it. Scamming people into investing false companies for their money. Worse scum of the earth next to politicians. You know what I'm say…" The officer turned around to see that Chase was now gone. "-ing? Where'd he go?"
A standard, average apartment building could be seen placed beside the street, not going anywhere as it was an inanimate object and inanimate objects cannot move. Right at that moment, Chase's blue Ferrari parked in front of the building as the driver got out of his car and entered the building. After taking the elevator and getting off the floor he was to get off of, he approached an apartment door and began banging loudly on it.
"SCARLET!" he shouts. "SCARLET! OPEN UP! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID!" When Chase didn't get an answer, it just made him more infuriated. "GOD DAMNIT! SCARLET! OPEN UP!"
"HEY!" shouts a neighbor. Chase turned around to see one of the tenants angrily glaring at him, wearing a plain white shirt that simply said 'Hi, I'm Drew Luczynski.' "Keep it down! Some people are trying to work here!"
"I'm sorry." Chase quickly apologizes, not showing anger at the man since he was just a bystander. "I'm just…" He glanced back at the door before glancing back at the neighbor. "I'm just trying to get my ex-girlfriend to open up."
"What're you talking about? That room's been vacant for 5 months now." the neighbor replies in a confused tone.
Chase grew an eyebrow before turning back to the door, grabbing the handle and noticing it was unlocked… for some reason. Without hesitating, he opened up the door to reveal an empty apartment, save for a lamp and a lawn chair. Also, the room stunk of marijuana. But the smell almost went unnoticed by Chase as he just simply stared into the room in shock.
"I… I- I don't understand. This is her address." Chase stammers in betrayal.
"Sorry, pal. Looks like she lied to you." the neighbor says before taking a whiff of the apartment, growing an angry look in response. "Chompski, have you been smoking in the vacant apartment again?!"
"No! You can't prove anything!" his roommate shouts from the other apartment, the sound of a bong ripping being heard shortly afterwards.
As the neighbor left back to his apartment, Chase just continued to stand in the empty room, too shocked to even move an inch at all. He felt so betrayed. Used by his own girlfriend and ditched after he had worn out his use for her, disappearing somewhere in the world to hide from her lies and crime. But the one thing that shook him the most, he made a VERY stupid investment. Investing ALL OF HIS MONEY into a cause he thought was legit. To help save children. $20 million. All gone. Just like that. He felt stupid, yet at the same time ashamed. He couldn't even blame Scarlet for this, as he should've invested wiseley.
Due to his young age and ignorance, he ignored this and shoved it aside. Both he and Scarlet were at fault here. It was one thing making a bad investment, but it was another for someone to practically steal his money. He could very well get his money back if Scarlet had just paid him back, but because she was gone, he had no way of regaining his $20 million. Not only that, but he had another problem to face. His parents. His stomach tossed and turned as his heart began to beat a mile a minute, not wanting to confront his parents about his dumb investment.
And confront his parents about his dumb investment he did. Albeit hours later after contemplating on what to do at his high end apartment. Currently, he was in front of his childhood door, probably standing there for God knows how long, until he finally mustered and cowboyed up and knocked on the door. After waiting for a while, the door opened revealing none other than Andrew in a butler outfit.
"Hey, queer." he says in a dead tone.
Chase just gave him a depressed look. "I'm not in the mood, Andrew." he says in an emotionless tone.
Although Andrew came off as an asshole, he still knew when to not push people's buttons even further. "Oh." he says in a surprised tone. "Want me to get you some tea or coffee?"
"Where's ma and pa?"
Andrew was silent for a moment, taking in Chase's new attitude he has never seen before. For as long as he knew the Williams' son, he always knew he was an upbeat guy trying to make life fun, albeit with a slight submissive personality side to him. So seeing him all depressed shocked him a bit.
"They're uh… They're in the study." he answers. Chase said nothing and walked passed him and entered the house. "Hey." the servant suddenly says as he closed the door, stopping Chase in his tracks. "Are you alright?"
Chase said nothing, instead standing idly for a few moments before heading back to the study. Andrew didn't need to know about his money problems. In said study, the two parents were shown doing what typical, old fashion tycoon couples do: reading newspapers and drinking tea by the fireplace with a family portrait of Chase, Eugene, and their parents above said fireplace with several dishes below it. The sound of fire crackling was heard as footsteps on the wooden floor joined, their youngest son entering the room as their backs were turned to him.
"Mom… Dad." Chase says.
"Chasseur." his father replies, turning the page of his newspaper. "I see you're back from work… Early. What happened? Did you get fired?"
"Um, n-no." Chase stammered.
His father's already strict tone already intimidated the young man from the start. "Then do tell us why you have returned." his mother asks as she sips on her cup of tea.
Here it goes. The moment Chase was dressed, and he knew how it would play out. The only thing he was hoping for was that his parents were at least understandable of his situation.
"Well…" Chase went over to the spare chair in front of his parents and sat down. "I uh… I… I made a mistake."
"How surprising." his father says in an sarcastic, emotionless tone as he flipped the newspaper page. Obviously he had low hopes for his son.
"What kind might I ask?" his mother asks.
It was now or never at this point. No turning back. "Well, first let me just say that I was just doing the right thing." he says. Now this got his parents attention as they looked up at him. "There was this… I was told about this children's hospital… that was being built and my girl-… my ex-girlfriend suggested I invest heavily into it."
"Chasseur. I do not like where this is going, boy." his father sternly says, setting down his newspaper and leaning forward.
"So I… I invested… $20 million into the hospital." Chase sheepishly says.
"Good God, Chasseur!" his father exclaims as his mother's mouth gapes wide open.
"Tell me it wasn't a bad investment." his mother practically begged him.
Chase said nothing and looked down in shame, confirming his parents' suspicions. "You invested all of your money into the children's hospital?!"
"Not all! Just some! I have like… four or five grand to my name." Chase replies in a defeated tone, rubbing his head.
"What happened to the hospital?" his mother asks.
"Tell us!" his father demanded.
Chase said nothing but looked down in shame before mustering up the words. "It was a scam." he weakly replies.
"What?!" both of his parents shout. "You got scammed out of your money?! Do you have any idea how stupid you are, Chasseur! No normal person would make a rash decision like that!"
From around the corner, Andrew was shown hiding behind a wall as he listened to the argument, feeling bad for Chase for once as he looked down sympathetically.
"This is unacceptable Chasseur! What we're you thinking?!" his mother loudly demands.
"I was… I just wanted to help the children's hospital."
"You ignorant, stupid child!" his father shouts, slamming the newspaper down on the ground as he stood up alongside his wife. "How could be so daft?! So impudent?!" Chase suddenly looked up upon hearing that word, but this time with a look of anger. "My God, Chasseur. We thought you were better than this but it turns out you're just as foolish and dumb as Eugene!"
"At least I didn't gamble my money, dad!" Chase shouts, now standing up with an enraged look on his face. "At least I invested my money I thought was something legit and would help people! Don't compare me to Eugene, you know I hate that! Look, it was an honest mistake, I swear. I should have never invested that much! I know! I'm stupid! But please, mom and dad, just understand that… I just wanted to help children!"
"I have no words for this." his mother shakes her head in disbelief.
"Was it one investment or continuous?!" his father demanded.
"I didn't invest all in one spot. I separated it. At least $5 million a month. I was trying to help build the children's hospital!" Chase defends.
His parents were at a loss of words as they began contemplating their next decision. "Chasseur," his mother firmly says. "you have disgraced the Williams family much like your brother, Eugene."
"Come on, mom and dad. Please don't do this. I'll get the money back, I swear! All $20!"
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to earn that much money, Chasseur?!" his father shouts.
"Get out." his mother firmly says, pointing her finger to the front door.
Chase's eyes widened in fear. "No. Wait. Please! Don't! I got nowhere else to go! You're my only hope! I'm your son! You can't just throw me out over a bad decision! I'll do anything! I promise!" Chase begged with tears in his eyes.
His father marched his way towards his son, glaring directly into his eyes. "You are no son of mine." he sternly whispers.
Chase's wide teary eyes widened some more as he backed up in utter disbelief. "Andrew." his mother calls out for their servant, who rounded the corner. "Please escort Chasseur off the premises and do not under any circumstances let him in. Ever."
"Yes, ma'am." Andrew bowed before approaching a shocked Chase. "C'mon. Let's go."
"Get your hands off me!" Chase shouts now with tears in his eyes. "You know, I made a very dumb mistake, I'll admit that. But kicking your own son not only out of his house but his own family… I just… You're my parents!"
His parents said nothing but just glared at him. "No son of ours throws away our money." his father sternly says.
Chase said nothing, instead huffed out a defeated huff as his red teary eyes continued to spill tears. He just stood there in utter shock, giving his parents a betrayed expression as his jaw trembled, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He backed up as he just gazed at his parents, unable to comprehend their answer. With nothing else to do, he just walked out of the study, his emotions completely haywire as he passed a sympathetic looking Andrew, whom escorted him to the front door. His parents said nothing, instead just giving their once son enraged glares as they watched him leave their domain.
Thunder clapped in the sky as the door opened, with Chase walking out of the mansion with Andrew holding the door for him. "Chase." he says. Chase stopped but did not look back at the servant. "I'm sorry." Was all he said.
Chase said nothing, not even giving him the slightest bit of reaction. Instead, he just walked away, farther from the mansion as Andrew closed the mansion doors. Heavy rain then started falling from the sky, immediately soaking Chase's clothes as he made his way towards his blue Ferrari.
With little money to his name, no friends, no family, and a mistake he only has himself to blame, Chase's life began to go downhill. At this point, he was desperate for anything to change it back.
I guess life is just cruel sometimes.
Part 1 End
(Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this bonus chapter. Like I said before, this is just part 1 of 4 of Chase's story, along with three other characters I'll do in the future. Each character represents a trait of theirs. With no money, Chase is desperate to do anything to get back both his money and his old life, hence the title.
Anyway, I've got nothing else to say about this chapter, except I know it's unrealistic for someone to invest $20 million and lose it all from a scam but hey, I had to move the plot forward somehow.
Also before any of you ask, I asked Drew for permission to just use him as a minor, background character and he said he was alright with it.
Anywho... Off to write the next chapter I guess lol.)
