Chapter 3 Meeting the don

Amelia collected the cash from the ATM and kept it in her bag that was hanging on her shoulder. She had to cross the road to reach her stop. While walking, she bumped across a man and the handbag fell down. Before she could bend and collect her bag, the man swiftly grabbed it and ran at a marathon like speed.

"Thief, Thief! Catch the thief. He has my purse". Amelia shouted blowing her lungs out. All the bystanders looked in the direction Amelia was pointing but the man was gone. The bag contained money for the rent, bills for the fees and it was all gone in a blink. Amelia's head started spinning around and she sat on the footpath for a while to register the event for a while. All the hard-earned money was gone in less than a second. What could she do? How would she get it back? She didn't even get to see the man's face properly. She was all tears when she noticed a police station nearby.

Amelia did not carry high hopes as the thief seemed very experienced in his work; but thought to register a formal complaint. God knows if the police somehow nab the thief with the help of CCTV cameras and help her in the situation.

She swept her feet towards the station and became completely breathless on reaching there. An officer noticed her worried face and offered her a seat.

"Please take a seat madam and let me know how can I help you? My name is Officer Roger Fredrick"

Amelia was still gasping for air while seating. "Sir, please help me, my handbag got stolen. I was returning to my house with cash which I collected from the ATM when a man with a cap bumped into me and my bag fell and he grabbed it and ran away. It just happened few minutes ago, he should be nearby, please help me officer."

"Calm down Madam. I have to register your complaint first. I can't just run around without the paper work. Please fill in the details so that we can catch the thief fast."

Amelia began answering the questions the officer asked like the colour and size of the bag, all its contents and the exact location where the theft occurred.

Her gaze was focused on the pen which the officer was using to write the complaint. Suddenly the pen stopped writing and she looked up at the officer whose gaze had shifted behind her towards the door of the station. He stopped his work and stood up and the other officers in uniform like him were all standing up. The slightly chaotic environment of the station has turned all silent like the silence before the storm.

Amelia turned her head around to see the reason for the pin drop silence and saw someone at the door. A tall figure, heavy build with sharp Greek God like features. But he didn't seem to be an ordinary person. The mere fact that his presence made the officers stand showed he had power, great power. There were around ten men behind him in black suits which Amelia understood as his bodyguards. When Amelia was rich, her father roamed with body guards too but only a couple. This man in front of her exuded immense authority and power not to mention riches. He was around 6'3" and wore dark glasses and instinctively she sensed dark vibes emitting from his aura.

A senior officer came running to greet this man. "Good evening Sir.... P...Privileged to meet you in person. P...please tell us how can we s...serve you?" Amelia had never seen a police officer of such a high rank stuttering in front of someone. Each passing minute increased her anxiety and fear of this man whose name was still unknown; she just wished the man with the dark aura to disappear fast. Even officer Roger wasn't bothered in her problem; all were now concentrating in serving the stranger who was now standing besides her.

A husky voice then spoke, "I want to lodge a complaint". Amelia's feet started trembling on hearing his voice. His voice was commanding, it evoked fear. The stranger pulled a chair next to Amelia and sat on it. The senior officer then commanded Officer Roger, "Stop whatever you are doing, lets not waste his precious time. Note down his complaint immediately".

Amelia's hearbeat fastened. She was panicked firstly by the man with the dark shadow was sitting besides her and secondly her complaint was left halfway through to note down the stranger's complaint.

"P...Please continue Sir". Officer Roger who was trying to calm down Amelia few minutes ago was now stuttering. He opened a fresh page and gripped his pen tightly in his trembling hands.

"A man seemed to be in a hurry, was crossing the road when my car struck him. He was pushed and fell down. My driver and I got out of the car to look at him when he got up and started limping, continuing to cross the road. He was slightly injured due to the accident but seemed to be running away from someone or something. I heard a faint sound from a distance, which sounded like thief catch him and this alerted the man whom I was trying to offer assistance and medical help. He simply pushed me away and walked off. I then saw this brown bag on the road and realised it should belong to a woman. It must have fallen during the accident and the man didn't notice. So I have come to hand over the handbag so that the rightful owner can claim it."

He snapped his fingers and one of his guard brought the bag. Amelia's eyes widened on seeing her brown bag. She had lost or rather it was stolen few minutes ago and it came to her on its own.

"Its mine" she shouted and grabbed it from him.

Amelia didn't bother to look at him after snatching it from his hands. She was more concerned about the valuables inside. When she opened and found the cash in its place, she sucked a deep breath to see that the contents weren't disturbed.

"How lucky! Problem solved". The rich man lips turned upwards slightly.

Amelia who was still busy searching the other contents now shifted her gaze to the man. Though the man's smile seemed fake, Amelia believed him as an angel in disguise.

"Thank you so much sir. You have no idea how much I am indebted to you. I believe in God and his miracles. God sent you today as my saviour." She rose from her seat extended her hand to thank him.

The rich man stood and accepted her hand in return. Amelia could feel the roughness of his skin. It wasn't smooth but calloused and his grip was tight. It seemed that his hands were trained could hold heavy and rough objects.

"Tony Lopez here." His grip tightened her delicate hands further.

"As a matter of fact, that you saved my time and these officer's work in writing the complaints" .Tony then removed his dark glasses to show his hazel eyes to her. Amelia tried pulling her hand away from his grasp but he held it tightly. She ignored this gesture when her eyes met his brown orbs.

He seemed to be familiar. She overlooked the fact that he wasn't leaving her hand while she was contemplating if she knew him.

"have we met before?"

Tony bent down his head to reach her height and brought his lips close to her ears

"Nice way to flirt. But many women have tried it before. Better come with a new idea."

Amelia managed pull her hand from his strong grip after hearing his comments. She genuinely felt that they had met before but he dismissed it as her flirtatious attitude.

"I am sorry sir, I don't want to have any misunderstandings. I wasn't flirting. I am honestly getting a déjà vu feeling like we have shaken hands before. I am sorry for presenting myself wrongly."

Tony's lips upturned slightly giving Amelia the same impression of a fake smile like before. "Nevermind, I am happy to meet you and hand over your belongings." He then quickly turned around and strode off leaving her in total bewilderment.