The Black Book

*Posted by : TheRyanLee on Apr 24, 2018, 9:56pm*

- Montclaire Estate, Highholm. Night, August 20th -

It was dusk by the time Tate arrived back home. He stepped out of the car onto the granite pavement. There was a renewal of excitement on his face. He walked up the steps to his family's estate. His servant Leo came running out to greet him.

"Leo, what is it?" muttered Tate, slightly annoyed.

"Master Tate! You must come at once! Your father requests your presence," Leo urgently exclaimed.

Tate loosened up his neck and groaned. Leo motioned for him to come inside.

"He's waiting for you in the study, Master Tate."

"Right.."

Tate nodded and made his way to the study. He blasted his way through the study doors, not wanting to appear weak in front of his father this time. The sudden entrance startled his father. Tate grinned almost gleefully.

"Very nice. Are you happy now?" His father questioned.

"Haha, no. Frankly, I'm not happy at all. I want my position back. You owe it-"

"Please, enough, enough," interrupted Benjamin as he pounded his desk with his fist.

Silence. He adjusted his glasses as he looked intently at his son. He pointed at a chair. Tate shrugged and sat down.

"Why am I here? What do you want?"

"Hush, child. First, when were you going to tell me about Belko?" Benjamin asked as he settled into his desk chair.

"Oh, well, I don't know.. some bastard butchered him.. I was trying to investigate on my own, but it just seemed so-"

"Difficult? Complex?" His father interrupted again.

"Uh, yeah, whatever," Tate groaned.

"Typical."

"What's typical?"

"So typical of you, my son. The going gets rough and you quit. It's too challenging for you, is it? So then you run off and do something else to occupy your obscenely short attention span? Is this how you think life works?"

Tate started to burn with anger.

"Listen, father, I've accomplished quite a bit! Have you forgotten about my steamtech studies? Or how about all the games I won as a multi-sport athlete??"

"Ah, yes, your studies. You mean the engineering school you couldn't qualify for on your own, so I called in a favor and had them put you in the class because half the buildings on that campus were designed by me and the other half by my father!"

Tate was breathing heavily now.

"Okay, okay, but all that aside, I've still achieved a lot. You can't deny it. You can't deny me of my right to lead AGES."

Benjamin stood abruptly. He grabbed a black leather-bound book from the shelf behind him. He handed the book to his son.

"Yes, I know. You are correct. I overreacted. You are my progeny, after all."

Tate blinked, "Uh, what? I'm confused. I thought you hated me. And what is this book?"

The desk chair creaked softly as he sat back down to face his son.

"Son, I do not hate you. I just want you to use discernment and practice more discretion. This is why I called you in here."

"Okay, so what now?"

Benjamin gestured toward the book.

"This book is something I should've given you awhile ago."

Tate quickly paged through a portion of the book.

"What is this?"

"Son, that book was written by your mother. She was the true founder of AGES. It wasn't your grandfather. It wasn't me. It was all her."

Tate lost his breath for a moment at this revelation. He had so many questions. His father put a hand up.

"I know, I know, you have many things to ask. Before you do, I only ask that you read the book. Then you can ask me anything."

"Okay, if you insist. What is this book about? Her diary or something?"

"Son, just read the book. You will discover its truth."

Tate stood up and clutched the book in his left hand.

"Does this mean that I am reinstated as leader of AGES?"

"Not so fast, my son. One step at a time. But you will debut again as leader after you've read that book and we've chosen a counselor for you."

"A counselor?"

"Yes, that is the old way of AGES. A leader would have a counselor to help guide them. I ended up doing away with that practice, but in light of recent events, I've decided to bring it back. You will have a counselor, or you will never be part of AGES again. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," shrugged Tate.

"Great. I'm glad we had this talk," his father replied as he extended his hand.

Tate shook his father's hand, still somewhat unsure of what was actually happening. Then he remembered that his father was never really that good at personal conversations.

"And son?"

"Yes, father?"

"Don't worry about Belko. I have my personal security team on it. We will catch the arrant fool who committed this atrocity."

Tate nodded with a chuckle before heading out.

- Montclaire Estate, Highholm. Early Morning, August 21st -

Tate shot out of his bed at the crack of dawn. He was grinning. All he thought and dreamed about during the night was his day out with Emily. He decided to get ready for another day. He was going to see her again. As he perused through his outfits, he noticed the black leather-bound book sitting on his desk. He snatched it up and packed it in his bag. He was ready for the day.