Chapter 29: The Amos Brothers
Dent Amos, grumbling under his breath, stormed into the lavish office space of his older brother, Kain Amos. His eyes were ablaze with irritation as he held the phone out towards Kain.
“Ayyo Kain!” he called out, his voice reverberating across the room. “This fool says he’s gonna make us pay ten million to use the gallery for the auction.”
Kain Amos, the infamous leader of the Amos family, looked up from his desk, a humorous expression lighting up his face. He cocked his head to the side, his lips curving into a smirk as he motioned for his brother to toss him the phone.
“Give me the phone,” he commanded, his voice filled with dark confidence. Kain caught the phone smoothly in one hand, bringing it to his ear.
“What’s your name?” he asked, his voice deadly and unnervingly calm.
“M-m-mister Amos, s-s-s-sir, please, the pricing is o-o-out of my hands. I’m just the c-coordinator; the pricing is s-set by the owners,” sputtered the man on the other side of the phone in fear.
Kain chuckled, a low and menacing sound.
“Well, then,” he said, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. “It seems we have a problem. You see, my family is not in the habit of paying exorbitant prices for anything. We prefer to...negotiate.”
“I-I understand, sir,” came the hesitant reply. “B-but I don’t have the authority t-t-to negotiate the price.”
“I see,” Kain said coldly. “Then it seems we’ll have to take this matter up with the owners. Would you be so kind as to provide me with their contact information?”
The coordinator frantically rattled off the gallery owner’s contact details. Kain scribbled them down on a piece of paper, his smirk never leaving his face.
“Thank you for your cooperation. You’ve been most helpful.”
With that, he ended the call and tossed the phone back to Dent.
“There,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Dent scowled but didn’t say anything. He knew better than to argue with Kain when he was in this kind of mood. After all, it was this ruthless determination that had made the Amos family the feared organization it is today.
“Find the owner and his family and bring them here,” Kain ordered, a dark glint in his eyes. “I’d like to give them a little...preview of what we have in store for them,” he added with a menacing smile.
Dent's face gleamed with anticipation, relishing the prospect of some good old-fashioned intimidation. He often found his brother’s grandiose crime lord antics irritating. Still, he had to admit that ever since Kain took the reins, the Amos family had entered its most prosperous era yet. It was a pity they had to eliminate their uncle to claim headship of the family, but it was a necessary sacrifice.
“Dent, some of our henchmen arrived in Dalton earlier today. It shouldn’t take long to bring the owner and his family here,” Kain said.
Dent nodded, making a mental note to arrange the owner’s and his family’s ‘visit.’ Still, he was a bit confused as to why Kain wanted to do an auction in the first place. They had only barely managed to steal several ancient artifacts from the National Museum of China.
“But Kain,” Dent asked, his brow furrowed in confusion, “are we really going to auction off the artifacts we stole? Are we really just going to sell them? After how hard they were to steal?”
“Of course,” Kain laughed. “We’re not just selling those artifacts, Dent. We’re selling the entire collection we’ve accumulated this year!”
“What?! Are you insane?!” Dent blurted out, taken aback.
“Brother,” Kain said in a calm voice as he walked across the room. “This will be our biggest con yet. The Luxe Luminary Gallery is famous in the black market for its authentication and auctioning services. By my estimates, we stand to make nearly a billion dollars from our collection. After all, if people are willing to pay, who are we to deny their money?”
Seeing Dent’s confusion and disgruntlement, Kain paused and laughed.
“It’s not OUR fault if somehow things go missing after the auction,” he continued.
As the weight of Kain’s words settled in, the realization dawned on Dent. Kain was suggesting that they sell their collection and then...steal it back! All the while, they would pocket the money from the sale.
Dent’s eyes widened with excitement as he began to grasp the magnitude of his brother’s scheme. This was not just a heist; it was an audacious manipulation of the underworld’s greed. And they were going to get away with a billion dollars!
Dent erupted into laughter, the booming sound echoing through the room.
“Haha! Finally, I understand you, Brother! With us in charge, the Amos family is unstoppable!”
Copyright © 2024 by A. J. Knight
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