Chapter 3 The Letter.

Ethan Morris looked a bit dazed as he sat on the corporate chair which shared the same space as his table.

He activated wheel mode, letting the matte black chair spin him in circles as though it provided a cure for his indecisiveness.

He looked down at his hands, his gaze only settling on the envelope he had between them.

Raising his head back up, he pondered quietly about the contents of the letter.

For the umpteenth time today, he repeated the words on the letter as he tore off the envelope.

He wasn't sure it was going to be easy to force a quick decision. He reasoned, shifting his gaze to the date written down the note.

He was expected to revert in few days and to him, the request was something he really did not mind doing, although there was a problem.

He was already off the police force, even if he seemed to miss his days while being there. The request from the letter was not something he thought as easy as what he had done, while back in the force.

His head flew to the back, as he rested his neck on the adjustable head rest his chair possessed.

"And besides, it doesn't seem like a day's job" he thought loudly, shifting his gaze to his assistant whom, all this while, was standing right in front of him.

"Do you think I should do it?" He asked the young man, ignoring the fact that the man knew not the slightest bit of what he was talking about.

"Well..." The young man had begun, aiming for an insight "if you would tell me what you're on about, sir." He, asked, involving both his lips in a thin line.

"Alright", Ethan had answered, same time he drew his seat closer to his table, placing his arms on them as he narrowed his eyes briskly, he gestured that the young man shifted close.

"Closer" he waved his hands.

The man moved forward, halting just as he got too close to the rich caramel table, separating him from Ethan.

"Who was I before now?" Ethan had asked to make sure his assistant would, in grace and psyche, be able to aid even after he explains the contents of the letter.

"You mentioned you were a Cop, sir" The young man briskly answered, leaving no room for doubt.

"Good", Ethan used a gentle tone, meaning to march to the exact issue this time. His eyes lessened the pressure it withheld as they settled on air. "Matteo"

"Sir?" His assistant, who was also Matteo, responded. He was a man from Italy who single-handedly passed the famous interview hosted by Ethan's large company a year ago.

"They're asking that I join the force temporarily.." Ethan's voice trailed off even before he found words to complete his statement.

"What?" Matteo had expressed shock. He knew almost nothing about the police, but from the little he knew, an officer couldn't be called back after resignation. "Is that possible, sir?"

"It's why I said, temporarily" Ethan had panned, arching his left brow and letting his eyes hold that of

Matteo.

"Oh"

"To answer your question," Ethan had begun. "There is a way to make it work."

"Now" Matteo paused for a bit, taking in air before making a continuance "I'm more interested in exactly what the letter says, sir."

Ethan laughed, he knew exactly why he had chosen Matteo to work as his assistant among the many others who showed up for the interview back in the time.

He cleared his throat, letting go of the slightest elements disrupting his seriousness, most being his laughter. "An undercover job"

He had said, leaving Matteo in awe.

"How dangerous would that be?" Matteo at least knew the danger such things possessed. He felt that if it was going to be too dangerous, then he might as well try to advise his boss against it. "Sir?"

"Well.." Ethan started as his lips twitched from the left corner "Not too vicious, it's nothing I haven't done before."

"So, you would take the offer." Matteo hadn't presented that as a question, he meant it more as a statement.

"I didn't want to" Ethan struggled with his indecisiveness, tilting his head to the corner as though he had suddenly changed his mind. "But now, I suddenly want to."

"What do you think?" he turned to his assistant to completely assess him. "There are many people to be saved through this."

"I support that, sir" The part about saving people clung onto Matteo as he had briefly imagined himself in a position of need. He had no idea what the said people were to be saved from. However, following his conversation with his boss, he figured they might be in dire need of help. "You should help these people."

"That's what I thought" Ethan sounded impressed as he stood from his space, walking towards Matteo and letting his left hand fall on the young man's back, twice. "I should help them."

"But what exactly are these people?" Matteo's curiosity had already began to set in "what crime do they attest to?"

Ethan tskked, turning towards his table and placing his butt on its surface. "I didn't ask, what's the worst it can be? We have a meeting set up for further explanation, when I at least revert back with a positive response."

"Sir", Matteo had called to gain his boss's attention, wholly this time. "I understand that you've been in something similar to this, you probably won't think anything of it either."

"Yes?" Ethan nodded, gesturing that Matteo goes on with his point.

"Since you left the police, the crime rate has doubled up, and toughened up too" Mateo paused to confirm that his boss was listening before he continued. "What I'm saying is that you call and ask what exactly you'd be going into."

"Good point", Ethan had confirmed.

"You might have been able to catch thieves while being undercover, but this appears to be way more than catching just thieves." Matteo continued.

A small smile tugged against Ethan's lip, even if he had, in reality, gotten the letter. He had made up asking his assistant about it, just to see how contributing he could be.

"Knowing you..." it wasn't a surprise to Ethan that Matteo had not concluded his talk. In short, he literally expected a long epistle, knowing the kind of person Matteo was.

Matteo sure didn't fall short of his expectations as he continued. "You would want to jump into it because they're people in danger. It's totally fine to do that. But you have to consider your chances of survival too", he concluded.

"The organization won't offer me a job that threatens my life", Ethan had defended, but suddenly leaned back in slight thoughts. "But these days, they do."

"Exactly" Matteo had on, a smirk for the first time. He ignored the fact that Ethan might notice it and call him to order. All he thought of at this point was how good he had become at convincing. "So what do you say?"

Ethan's eyes leveled to the ground, as he indulged swiftly in a chain of thoughts before grabbing his phone from the corner of his workbench.

Imputing numbers into the gadget, he dialed thereafter, placing the device at a close range to his right ear.

"Hello" a voice spoke up just as the call went through. "Ethan?"

"Yes, it's me" Ethan had answered, half in his thoughts. "What crime are we investigating?"

The voice at the other end let out a dry laugh, it sounded so hysterical that it made both Ethan and Matteo's heart beat noisily against their chest.

"Too many" the man with the voice said at last. "But mostly, drug trafficking, human trafficking and murder."

Hearing his mention, Matteo's gaze spun immediately to Ethan, wordlessly asking if he heard what had just been said by the man.

But Ethan had appeared too calm, he only nodded to him and made to continue listening to the man who was still talking. "They're really vicious, so I wish you luck."

"Luck?" Ethan was curious. Did the man know he'd taken the offer already?

"Yes, Mr Ethan" the man answered with a small laugh. "They're stuff you like to do, aren't they? But I must say you add care to the list."

The man spoke, laughing at his words and hanging up thereafter, prompting both Ethan and Matteo to direct their gaze at each other.

Letting go of the heavy air that settled on his chest, Matteo asked in reconsideration. "Are you still willing, sir?"

"I'm suddenly not sure", Ethan slowly answered with a tone that seemed as though it was the quietest he had ever indulged while speaking. "Should I?"

His gaze shifted to meet that of Matteo, as he waited calmly for a response.