Chapter II

The Beginning.

Daylight came into the large bedroom bright but with no warmth whatsoever. As the butler Vernon’s voice come in from the distance. “Master Wolfrick, Master Wolfrick.”

Alan opens his eyes as the aged butler walks up to his bed. “What is it Vernon?” Alan asked. “You know I don’t like being up before midday.”

Vernon smiled slightly at this, reminiscing about how he had ended up in the employ of this family. He had been in the service of the Wolfrick family since the time of Alan’s Grandfather, after saving his life in an unfortunate incident at a local bar. Vernon was tall and well-built for his sixty-four years, with short black hair that was going rapidly grey, he wore one of his many suits as he took a pocket watch out from one of the pockets.

“Yes sir. But I’m afraid it is urgent.” Vernon said. “Plus, it’s five minutes past midday sir.” He showed Alan the watch. As Alan looked at the watch and sighed deeply, not wanting to get out of his bed.

Two years had passed since the day when Alan had found the crate with his family name on it and ever since then life had gone downhill. His wife dying mere days after the birth of his forth and youngest son, then followed two years later by the massacre of his brother and many others at a meeting held between his brother Gerrard and Osmund, the mayor of the imperial city. Where over two hundred business leaders, military and civilian officials had been slaughtered whilst eating dinner.

Coming to himself, Vernon put away the watch and looked at Alan. “It is two members from the board, who insist that you meet them.” Vernon said. He might only be the butler, but it had given him great insight into his employer’s mind, and whilst there were indeed some on the board that were good decent people, the majority were more concerned with lining their own pockets than serving both company and country.

Alan sits up in his bed and reaches over to a stand housing a metal leg. “Very well, I’ll meet these people.” Alan said strapping the metal leg onto the stump of his knee.

“Of course, sir, as you are the CEO, I would have thought you would have presented yourself in a… A slightly better state than what you are doing at the moment, sir.” Vernon said straightening up and handing Alan his long staff, which at the top contained a large green gem, that functioned more as a walking aid than the weapon it was meant to be nowadays, it had been left by his brother and Alan thought that if he had taken it with him on the day of his death, then none of that nastiness would have ever had gone down.

Alan looks up at Vernon and takes the staff from him. “Funny, But as I though it's my company now, I would have thought it didn't matter what I wore to meetings anymore. Gods, I miss the old days.” Alan said wincing as he put pressure onto the metal foot.

“It’s been four years sir since the accident.” Vernon said walking to the door with Alan next to him.

“I know, when I returned, I thought it was going to be the easy family life for me, but noooo, I get shoehorned into running this stupid company.” Alan smiled for a brief second before seeing the look on Vernon’s face.

Vernon turns to Alan “By that sir, you mean your father's and then your brother's company, the gods rest their souls.”

“Indeed.” Alan said taking a glass of water that was by the side of his bed and downing it in one.

A half an hour later, Alan and Vernon walk down the corridors of the manor until they reach the entryway where two men in suits wait at between the bottom of a marble stairway and the double doors that lead out into the grounds. Alan and Vernon walk down the stairs to the two men. Geoffrey Randell a gruff man with short black hair and a thick neck. And Derrick Jacobs, a small, thin man, with thin wisps of grey hair.

“Well you took your sweet time getting here boy, you have had us waiting here for ninety-seven minutes now, what kept you?” Geoffrey said his face already a dark shade of red.

At this Derrick turned around, appalled at his colleges attitude. “Geoffrey mind your tongue; this is the CEO you are talking to now! Not one of your interns.” Derrick turns back to Alan. “Forgive him sir, he sometimes lets his temper run away with him.”

Alan smiles at Derrick who had always treated him well for the twenty-five odd years that he had known him, even as a young man where he had very nearly brought down his family business. “No need Derrick, now what is so important that it couldn't wait until later today.”

Geoffrey composes himself before continuing. “One of our armouries was raided a few hours ago boy.” Geoffrey holds up a security photo of a man with long black hair with dark green eyes. “Do you recognise him.”

Vernon watches as Alan takes the photo and stares at it. Vernon whose long service for almost fifty years and thus it was second nature for him knew when Alan was trying to think up a convincing lie and this was one of those moments.

“No, I don't, but don't worry I'll look into it.” said Alan before pocketing the picture and turning back to the two men “Gentlemen let my butler show you the way out. I sure you are very busy men that need to be on your way.”

Vernon walks Geoffrey and Derrick to the door before closing it and turning back to Alan who has taken out the picture again and looks at it more closely. “Sir, I have known you since the day when you were born, and I know when you are lying.” Alan said nothing but his facial expression changed subtly, so Vernon continues, “So you know who it was who raided this particular storage lot then sir.”

Alan looks up smiling. “Was it that obvious.” He had known that he could fool his board, but he now knew that he could not fool the aged butler.

“Only to me, Master Wolfrick.” Vernon replies.

“Yes, I know him, as special ops captain Dmitri Jones, a bloody good solider that one, who it seems has fallen on hard times. So, I gave him a job.” Alan said smirking. “Which reminds me.”

Vernon cuts across Alan at this point. “Oh no sir, I am not bringing back this thief back to this house” Vernon said looking horrified at the notion.

Alan looks at Vernon “Come on Vernon when have I asked you to anything that you won't want to do. And it's only for an old comrade who saved my life half a dozen times during the war. I’m just repaying a favour.” 

Vernon sighs before walking to the door, picking up the keys to the car and heading off. Wondering to himself what good would this criminal would have done that Alan was not only offering him contracts to steal his own products, but willing to give the man shelter from the law.

Alan walks out of the front doors and out into the grounds of the large manor, stretching for a mile north, south and west. With a large mountain range that the manor itself was set into its eastern side. Far in the western horizon lies the city of Metropololis the capital of the imperial world, a grey blot on an otherwise perfect landscape. Alan briefly smiles before walking down through the grounds and towards a small graveyard in the southern side of the grounds.

Alan opens the gate to the cemetery and limps over towards his wife’s grave before noticing that his eldest is already there, sitting down on the grass in front of the tombstone.

“Jack, down here so soon?” Alan said. Of his four sons, Jack was the one he knew the least about despite being his eldest and also the one that resemble his mother the most, which had made it difficult in the immediate aftermath of Laura’s death to look into his son’s eyes.

Jack Wolfrick; aged thirteen, thin face, bright green eyes and shoulder length dark brown hair that almost covered his right eye. Got up off the ground from where he had been sitting and looked up at Alan.

“Yeah.” Jack said. His tone was respectful enough, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Jack had been a lot closure to his mother than to his farther, as Alan had more oft than not been away for long chunks of his childhood, as well as he never truly forgiven Alan for not being there when his mother had died. The one thing he could say for Alan was that he had at least legitimised him. Being the bastard that he was, this fact at least allowed him to be accepted by society and not shunned like the plague. Although their were still those that hated him regardless of the fact that he had been legitimised.

Alan smiled. “I thought you would be inside with your computers.”

Jack merely shrugs before starting to walk away. “I got bored, just decided to walk down here. No idea why.” He knew that his father would know that he wasn’t being entirely honest, but quite frankly, he no longer cared anymore.

Alan raises an eyebrow, as Vernon could tell when he was lying, he had become apt at telling when others were not being entirely truthful, which was certainly the case with his eldest now. “Was it that?” he said. “Or were your brothers annoying you too much?” Alan finished and Jack turns around at this to answer him. 

“Both.” Jack finished in flat tone of voice, that told Alan that he didn’t want to continue this conversation anymore. Jack turns around and begins walking back to the manor, it wasn’t that he didn’t like his younger brothers, but Jack needed time alone which he quickly realised he was not going to get if he was inside the house. Jack exits the graveyard closing the gate behind him and, leaving Alan alone by the gravestone. Alan had half a mind to call his eldest back but decided against it knowing that Jack would most likely ignore the request.

“Ah I thought I’d find you out here master Wolfrick.” Vernon said a few moments later as he walked down towards the family graveyard. Whilst only a few moments had passed since Alan and Jack’s confrontation, it felt like much more time had gone by.

“Do you know what’s up with my son Vernon?” Alan asked, the lad had grown a lot darker towards him since Laura had died, and whilst Alan had understood the initial dark mood, Jack seemed to have not let go of the grudge against him.

“Yes. He seemed to be in a dark mood when I passed him.” Vernon replied, and although he had a sneaking suspicion as to what the problem was, it was neither his place, nor his responsibility to mend the rift between father and son. Not this time anyway. “I would speak to him about it master Wolfrick. As I counselled your own father to do with yourself and your brother. And his father before that.” Vernon continued, the more he thought about it, despite the way that physically Jack looked much more like Laura than Alan. The teenager took much more after his father in his attitude than either of the pair would likely want to admit to themselves.

“I tried that, it didn’t work that well though.” Alan replied, before latching onto what Vernon had said after his first comment. “And I was never as bad as him. Was I?” Alan asked looking at the old butler with a questioning look in his eye. If he was being truthful, he had been a liability in his youth, with both his father having frequently made comments about how he should be sent to a military academy and that he would destroy the family name if he continued the way he had been doing.

“As to that sir. My lips are sealed, all I would say is that your own father regretted not discussing things with you.” Vernon replied, and thought privately to himself that if Brian Wolfrick, Alan’s late father, had been alive and in on this conversation at that moment, it would have been highly amusing for him to see his son struggling with the things that he had been forced to put up with from a much younger Alan.