Apocalypse Fighter

Chapter 3 First Steps

“Sir, we have arrived. Your fee is twenty-three dollars, thank you.” The taxi driver spoke, Richard was so lost in his thoughts that it made him jump.

“Thank you.” Richard was still distracted; he paid the driver and got out of the taxi without waiting for his chance.

“Hey mister, you forgot your change.” The driver called out, but Richard was staring up at the high rise building in front of him. The driver shrugged his shoulders and drove away, accepting the tip. 

Richard had thought about the fastest way to get money for the properties, time was of the essence, he had no hope that he would sell them both in time and so he came up with another idea. The building in front of him was not a real estate agent but a bank, Richard planned to mortgage the properties instead. 

Richard would potentially get more doing it this way; there were no outstanding payments on either of the houses, surely the bank would lend him the money.  Richard knew that of all the places he could go to get a loan, and quickly, this was the best place. This company was privately owned by the mafia and had police connections. The loans were high-interest rates, but that was the price one paid for quick service.

These people didn’t ask for a lot of credentials, as long as they knew your address they were happy to loan you more than the banks ever would. They also offered much longer terms to repay and other incentives to entice people to borrow from them. Of course, if you didn’t make the repayments they would find you, take not only your house but everything you owned and then chase your family, they were not people to be trifled with. 

Richard had no intention of returning the money; however, he wasn’t concerned. It would be impossible for them to find him after next week unless they somehow survived and figured out that Richard had moved to Washington. Richard knew the chances of that happening was highly unlikely and so he entered the building full of confidence. 

Richard opened the impressive double doors; a gorgeous receptionist immediately greeted him;

“Welcome to Boston Financial Investment Company. How can I help you today?” She smiled and flashed perfect white teeth.

“I’m here to see someone about a loan.” Richard returned the smile. 

“Right this way, sir.” She beamed and led the way to a private waiting room. As they waited, the receptionist small talk. “We are a very well known company, you have come to the right place. My name is Kiki; I have to say you are a very handsome man. What is your name?” Kiki looked Richard up and down appreciatively. 

“My name is Richard. I’m in a bit of a hurry, would you mind getting your manager.” Richard replied. 

The smile faded from her face; she wasn’t usually disregarded. Richard looked around the room; the opulence was almost overwhelming. He sat on a sumptuous Italian leather sofa; the décor was upper class. 

Richard watched Kiki; she was young with a perfect body, perky breasts and mahogany hair that cascaded past her shoulders. She had delicate features, and Richard thought that most men would find her extremely attractive, which was probably why she had the job she did. The company hoped to distract their potential clients with Kiki’s beauty, put them at ease before taking them for a ride. But Richard was not going to be tempted by the vision; there were countless women out there like Kiki, superficial model types that chased fame and fortune. 

 Richard hoped that Kiki would make it through the apocalypse; the world would need some beauty in it after all the destruction. Richard prayed that his son would be able to find a beautiful woman when he was older, that he would marry and give Richard grandchildren. But that was a long way into the future, and right now, the future was not certain. 

“I will be right back with the manager.” Kiki placed a glass of water in front of Richard without a smile and left the room. 

Richard could see that Kiki was not used to the lack of attention, she knew her looks were essential and she counted on them to get where and what she wanted. Kiki looked over her shoulder at Richard; he was good looking but dressed simply. There was something almost shabby about the man, and suddenly Kiki wondered what he was doing here, she didn’t think he would be able to get much of a loan based on his appearances. If Kiki had seen him in the street she would not have given him a second thought, and she guessed that Richard would have looked at her, blushed embarrassed and continued walking, knowing that she was well and truly out of her league. 

Although he looked poor, there was something about Richard that Kiki couldn’t help but admire. There was a calmness about him, something that suggested he no longer cared what happened. Kiki felt a little bit sorry for Richard, he probably wasn’t going to get what he wanted today, but she smiled at him and left to get the manager. 

Richard waited patiently for the manager to arrive; it gave him time to study the details in the room. It seemed like it was a very long time before someone opened the door and entered. Without preamble, the manager introduced himself;

“Hello Richard, I am John Smith, one of the directors of the company. Kiki told me that you seek to do business with us. How can I help you?” John smiled. 

Richard looked up at the man, and he was everything Richard expected him to be. Very good looking in a suit that probably cost as much as Richard made in a month, his hands perfectly manicured and there was not a single hair out of place on his head. John’s blue eyes were cold and calculating; he held a worry stone in one hand, which he toyed with, suggesting underlying anxiety. 

Richard shook off the feeling that he was in the wrong place, that maybe he was making a mistake and took the paperwork out of the briefcase. He laid the papers on the desk;

“I want to mortgage both of these properties for a combined loan of five million dollars,” Richard spoke calmly, although he didn’t feel it. 

Kiki gasped in surprise, but the only emotion that John showed was raised eyebrows. Five million dollars was a lot of money to lend, the interest over five years would amount to more than ten million, and John wondered how this ordinary-looking man would ever be able to afford it. John rubbed his chin in thought and remained quiet, Kiki watched John closely and saw his calm demeanor start to slip. John’s face betrayed his anger; the more he thought about this man in front of him asking for such an excessive amount of money for a property that was not worth even half of what he was asking. 

John wondered how Richard could dare to ask for so much; Kiki started to worry. She had seen John angry before; it usually ended with broken bones, bruises or worst-case scenario the person would disappear entirely. Kiki hoped that Richard wouldn’t push John too far, she kind of liked Richard and did not want to see anything bad happen to him.

“Richard, I hope you are joking. The market value of these two properties is no more than a million dollars, and that is being very generous, and you want to borrow five times that amount. Are you messing around with me? Did someone put you up to this?” John asked, failing to hide his anger. 

“I am serious; nobody told me to do anything. Here is my ID, my bank account details and the property certificates. I came to you because I know your company has the potential to loan me the money I need. I know it sounds risky, but if anyone dared take the chance, it would be you.” Richard said. 

Richard took a sip of water to calm himself; he knew that he was asking a lot, and it was a considerable risk, but he had to try. 

“As a businessman, I am open to all transactions.” John gave a harsh laugh. “But let me remind you of what you are asking, you wish to borrow five times the amount of collateral you are putting up, the interest will be over ten million dollars. I’m concerned you do not have the capacity; if you do not pay it back, the consequences can and will be severe. Are you prepared for that?” John spoke coldly.