I can see him in the distance, the dark clouds thundering overhead. The look on his face matched the intensity of the rain, his coat seemingly undisturbed by the wind mercilessly whipping around him. His hair, however, is not spared from the wind’s fury. With every step he takes I can feel the intensity of the wind rise from a light embrace to an uncontrolled fury. 

Grunting, I stand up from my rocker as the wooden deck creaks beneath me.

Creak, creak, creak.

I stop when I reach the edge of the deck as he stops with about five feet of space between us.

“It has certainly been a while now, hasn’t it?” Unsure of what to expect.

“You just had to do it, didn’t you? You could’ve just walked away and been here all the same but you just had to watch it burn, didn’t you?”

“I said it before and I’ll say it again, it wasn’t your fault. You know as well as I do that I had to do what I did, they threatened my family-”

“Do you still not realize the immediate side effects of it? You burned the company to the ground, all that we worked for for the last 10 years!”

“They shouldn't've been in charge of anything, we both know it was bound to end horribly. Besides, you still got to retire early and quite well if I do say so myself, so I don’t see why you’re so upset.”

“It was never about the money, Clark!” He’s on the brink of tears. “That company was my shot to redeem myself, build a legacy, prove to my forefathers that I’m not a failure, not some loser working a generic 9-5 while everybody else did something great. You could’ve just kidnapped Clyde and Josh and buried them alive right where I’m standing, but no! You had to watch it all burn because you couldn’t stand to see yourself get outdone by your little brother now could you?” Lightning struck in the distance, the rain growing more intense.

“David, you knew what you were getting into. Those men were shadier than a tree in summer yet you still did business with them. There was no way I was allowing any remnant of them behind, there’s no telling what they could’ve done!”

“We were trying to help people, Clark, they had nothing!”

“You were trying to exploit them! I don’t know what graphs you were shown or what you were told but you can’t better a society through slave labor.”

As I finished my last word he charged at me, face shrouded. Although I’m a rather muscular man I still reach for the emergency bat just in case, no telling what he’s-

BANG

“You sack of manure,” I shout through gritted teeth, my hands clenching my side while I fall onto one knee. He had shot me while I was reaching for the bat. “If you’re gonna do this, don’t do it here, not in front of my-”

“SHUT. UP.”

THUD

He struck me with his revolver and I hit the ground.

After hitting the ground I groggily open my eyes and see sun pouring through the window along with a nice breeze. 

“The heck?” I say, rather disoriented.

I reach onto the nightstand for my watch and read 11:46 on its face. Whew, must’ve been a nightmare.

I hear the doorbell ring as my wife says “I’ll get it,” while I lay on the bed.

Chills are sent up my spine, my blood freezes, and my eyes snap open as I hear what she says:

“Honey, it’s David, he said he wants to talk to you about ‘business.’”