Warning! The following may contain bad spelling, grammar, punctuation, cardboard characters, cheesy plots, offensive NSFW material, and / or puns. Reader discretion is advised.
Arriving back at their office, Tom and Freddie entered and found a man sitting in the front reception area.
Tom took the initiative. “Hello. I’m Tom Clary, this is Freddie Han. We’re sorry if you’ve been waiting very long. How can we help you today?”
The man rose from his seat. He was tall, and the way his suit hung on him suggested that he was powerfully built. “I think it is more a matter of what I can do for you.”
“And just what would that be, Mister…?”
“Smith. You can call me Mister Smith. I understand that you have been looking into the recent cases of spontaneous human combustion that have occurred around town.”
“Yes, we’ve looked into the matter. What is your interest in it?”
“My interest is that I represent certain parties that have a financial concern in the affair. They have authorized me to extend an offer to you, ten thousand dollars.”
“And what do we have to do for this windfall?”
“Simple. My employer thinks it would be best if you stopped your investigation and left things alone.”
“Really? Simple as that? I don’t know. Freddie, what do you think?”
Freddie smiled. “That is very generous of you, but you can keep your money. We can’t be bought off.”
“Well, there you have it Mister Smith. Take your offer and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine in your employer’s backside.”
Mr. Smith shifted his weight. “Are you absolutely certain about this? If the offer is too low I’m sure that my employer would be willing to increase the sum.”
Freddie took a step forward. “No deal. No amount of money will get us to drop this.”
“That’s too bad. The consequences of not taking the money will be much worse. This is my final offer.”
Tom answered. “And this is mine. Take your money and get the hell out of our office.”
“Very well. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” Mister Smith turned and left the office.
Tom closed the door. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”
“He smelled like peanuts,” Freddie said.
“Well, this tells us we are on to something. We’ve obviously rattled someone’s cage or they wouldn’t be trying to buy us off.”
“Right. Let’s get to analyzing the Zooper. Maybe that will tell us what they are up to.”