Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

The heavy oak chair groaned a complaint as the rotund man shifted his weight in agitation, the pair of men across the desk sweating in their expensive suits as he glared at them. His words seemed to have physical weight as they slammed into the two, nearly making them flinch. “My son disappears in the middle of the woods, and you want me to believe that no one has a fucking clue as to where he went or what happened? Where the Hell was that useless bodyguard of his? Or those stupid sycophants that followed Carl around like dogs? Why don't I see any of them here? I want answers, Damn it! What was he even doing in the fucking forest last night anyway!?”

The pair of men exchanged nervous glances before one stepped forward. Fixing his tie, he spoke quickly, hoping to deflect his employers anger. “Mr. Hardeman, I've already made sure my firm has people down at the Police Station, ostensibly to defend post bail for your son's bodyguard and... sycophants.” The man cringed internally saying that. Who actually used words like sycophant anymore? See his boss's growing frown, he pressed on. “From what we have gathered, Carl had them sabotage a car, belonging to someone named Oliver Silk, in the hopes of it breaking down. They then chased him into the woods, again under Carl's instruction.”

“Apparently, Mr. Silk use to have a relationship with Carl's girlfriend, Jess, and some sort of conflict arose between them because of that. All of the young men involve have expressed that it was Carl's intention to hurt him, though some have mentioned that Carl had repeatedly declared that he 'wanted to kill Oliver'.”

The man could clearly see the fury mounting in Mr. Hardeman's face. “All of them have stated that they left Carl, Jess, and one of their number, who had been injured in the pursuit, behind as they searched the woods. That particular young man, I believe his name is Lewis, was nearly blinded by a trap Oliver set, and claims he was unable to see what happen. Though he did admit that he heard Carl shouting at Oliver and running off alone into the woods.”

He sighed in relief as he stepped back, folding his hands in front of himself. “That is all the information I've been able to gather so far, sir.”

Mr. Hardeman glanced at the other of the pair, who spoke hurriedly. “The Police, as well as search and rescue, have been combing the woods since roughly 4am. So far they haven't found any sign of Carl, or of any evidence of wrong doing. It's... It's honestly like he just disappeared into thin air.”

Both men jumped in place when Mr. Hardeman suddenly slammed his hand onto the desk. “People don't just disappear! What about this Oliver asshole? Could he have done something to my son?”

The men exchanged a quick glance before the lawyer reluctantly spoke again. “It was actually Oliver that called the Police to report him being attacked. After investigating, as well as interviewing Oliver, the detectives determined that he had only defended himself and had no part in Carl's disappearance. They already let him go.” Clearing his throat, he hesitated before adding. “Though, as far as I know, they have yet to find anyone else that could be involved.”

For several long minutes, the only sound in the office was fingers drumming heavily on the desk as Mr. Hardeman was deep in thought. Nodding to himself, he barked out his orders for the two. “Keep looking into this, it's your top priority until I say otherwise. And find me everything you can about this Oliver kid!”

The two men returned just as Mr. Hardeman finished his dinner that evening, who pushed his plate away and carefully wiped his hands clean on a napkin before acknowledging their presence. He looked at them expectantly as he spoke. “What have you found?”

The lawyer stepped forward first, scanning several papers in his hands. “The police haven't found any suspicious vehicles or tire tracks. As far as they can tell, no one else was present in those woods besides Carl's group and Oliver. Still no evidence that Oliver did anything to Carl, though the Detective I spoke to mentioned that their dogs followed Carl's scent to what looked like the scene of a struggle. Scattered leaves, kicked up dirt...” Shrugging his shoulders, the man didn't pretend to understand how they could determine a fight happened just by some leaves and dirt being tossed around. “From there, Carl's scent just disappeared. They have some CSI guys trying to figure out what was used to erase the trail, but they have yet to find anything.”

Seeing his employer quickly growing angry again, he hurried to add, “They did, however, confirm that the other person present at that scene was Oliver. And that, after whatever fight happened there, Oliver returned to the road where he was picked up by a friend of his, a Mr. Tyrone Biggs. He's a football player at the University.”

Mr. Hardeman's eyes narrowed in suspicion. “If Oliver went back to the road, how do they know he didn't have an accomplice waiting and just carried my son out? Could this Tyrone have been involved?”

The lawyer quickly shook his head. “After all their questioning, they determined there couldn't have been an accomplice. Not enough time, no evidence of anyone else being nearby.” He shrugged helplessly. “And Mr. Biggs cooperated with them fully, gave a full account of his night, and even allowed them to search his vehicle. Again, nothing there. Other than the coincidence of him being there to pick Oliver up, he wasn't involved at all.”

Grinding his teeth as the lawyer stepped back, Mr. Hardeman shifted his fierce gaze to his assistant. Stepping forward, the man laid a small packet of papers on the table for his boss. “Sir, this is everything we found about Oliver. I-I can give you the highlights, if you would like?” He swallowed nervously as Mr. Hardeman slowly picked up the papers.

At his boss's nod, he spoke hurriedly but clearly. “Oliver Silk, twenty-five years old. His mother is deceased, his father abandoned them when Oliver was thirteen. He's a student of the Music Department at the University. Currently employed by MDMS Inc, a small, older company that is privately owned. Very little information is available about the company.”

Clearing his throat, the man ordered his thoughts before continuing. “Oliver has no close relatives. He lives with three other young men, friends of his. He is typically well liked by his classmates, though he is often described as quiet and reserved. Oliver has been dating someone named Polina for roughly the last month, though I haven't found-”

“I can help with that, Isaac.” The lawyer interjected suddenly, an apologetic look on his face. “My contacts down at the station mentioned that Oliver is dating one of their Officers, Polina Ramirez.”

The man flinched under Mr. Hardeman's glare. “Why didn't you mention that earlier? Could she have been involved?”

Suddenly sweating, the lawyer shook his head rapidly. “I-I'm sorry sir. It slipped my mind, since I was focused on the police's findings. She couldn't have been involved, sir. She was working at the time, and there is a clear log of her activities and locations.”

With an angry snort, Mr. Hardeman shifted his gaze back to Isaac and waved for his assistant to continue. “Ah, yes, sir. By all appearances, Oliver is just a college student. Hard working, excellent grades, no criminal record.” Shrugging his shoulders helplessly, Isaac finished with much less confidence. “There's nothing to suggest he could, or even would, kidnap Carl. There's barely even mention of him getting into fights before, and all of those were allegedly started by Carl.”

The duo shifted uncomfortably as they could feel the mounting fury in their boss at the lack of answers. Just before Mr. Hardeman could erupt with anger, something clicked in the mind of the lawyer and he rushed to speak up. “Sir! There...There is one thing...” Seeing the rotund man restrain his anger, the lawyer pressed on. “Something Rodney, your son's bodyguard, mentioned-”

“And what does that useless asshole think he knows!?” Mr. Hardeman roared.

The lawyer swallowed audibly, but forced himself to answer while patting the air as though to physically push back his boss's anger. “Ah, well, sir... Rodney was a soldier... I mention that because, according to Rodney, Oliver felt dangerous. He likened chasing Oliver into the words to his unit walking into an ambush in Afghanistan. I know it's not much to go on, but...”

Seeing Mr. Hardeman nodding along with a thoughtful look, he trailed off slowly and waited for his boss's judgment. Long minutes passed, the duo sweating anxiously, before a response came.

“This Oliver kid... No evidence of anyone else and he has a grudge with my son? It has to be him. If he's managed all this without the police finding anything, then he must have something or someone to rely on or help him.” His fingers drummed on the table as he thought, a vicious smile growing on his face. “Lets put some pressure on him. Pull some strings to get him expelled and push the police investigation in his direction. Buy the company he works for, or, if they won't sell, do what you can to suppress them. And his girlfriend, I know we have some pull with the department. Get her fired or put on leave or something. Make sure he knows that we have his balls in a vice.”

“I will make him beg to answer my questions. Now get to it.”