I little while ago, I wrote a new opening scene for the story, Legacies. Eventually I think I should re-write the whole story (keeping the characters, ideas, and some scenes intact), but for now, I hope you enjoy this new opening scene. If you want to read the rest of the story, just look for Legacies Parts 1 - 3 on this blog.
Cheers,
Daniel Emery
*****
"My uncle's really dead?"
The lawyer nodded from across the large polished desk. Scott sank back into the deep leather arm chair and exhaled.
"Wow."
"I'm very sorry for your loss."
"Yeah, uh, I mean, thank you."
The lawyer gave him a sympathetic smile. "Were you close?"
"Not since I was a kid. He was always traveling...with his work, I guess. I was never really sure what he did."
"Ah, there I can enlighten you. Your uncle was in the import/export business - a trader of foreign goods - mostly from the orient, I understand."
"Hmm..." Scott's eyes lost their focus. "I remember, I found this tiny statue in his jacket pocket once. He said it was a Hindu god... Anyway, it's been a few years since I've even seen him. The last time was when I was in high school. He took me out for sushi."
The lawyer cleared his throat and looked away.
"How did he die?"
"He choked...on a piece of sushi...an octopus ball, I'm told..."
Scott couldn't think of a response to that, so he simply nodded.
"There are some details that we need to go over...when you're ready."
"I'm ready."
"Are you sure?"
"We weren't really that close. Frankly, he was always sort of the oddball in the family. I mean, I'm glad to hear that he was an importer or an exporter, or whatever, because for a while I thought he might be involved with something, you know, illegal."
The lawyer smiled. "Heh, heh. Well..." He opened a drawer and withdrew a large manila envelope. "Your uncle left very specific instructions. As soon as I received word of his death, I was to contact you and give you the following items." He opened the envelope and removed a ring of keys and a CD case.
"One: this set of keys is to your uncle's house. He has willed it to you along with everything that remains within it." The lawyer lifted the set of keys and held them out. Scott took them, and with a somewhat bewildered look on his face, dropped them into his pocket. The lawyer took his pen and made a small mark on a sheet of paper.
"Two: this CD which contains a message for you from your uncle." He slid the CD across the desk and made another mark with his pen.
"Three..." He reached down and hoisted a large metal briefcase onto his desk. "...this briefcase. The combination is the date that your parents first met."
Scott reached forward and pulled the briefcase into his lap. It was heavy.
There was a knock on the door, and a young woman stepped into the room.
"Mr. Jordan, those nuns from St. John's are back. They say they need to see you right away."
The lawyer sighed. "Okay, I'll be right there. Scott do you mind if I just step out for a minute?"
"Of course not. Go ahead."
"It's probably another lawsuit. I told them if they'd just go easy on the corporal punishment, but its like telling a fish not to swim." He grabbed a sheet of paper and slid it across the desk. "Scott, while I'm gone if you could just take a look at this document? It lists the three items we just discussed. Make sure it looks correct and sign at the bottom, okay?"
The door closed behind him, and Scott found himself alone.
"Well, I didn't expect any of this." He glanced down at the CD case, then looked around the room until he spotted an expensive looking stereo on the book case to the right of the desk. He walked over and popped in the CD. As it began to spin, Scott picked up the briefcase and set it on the desk.
He glanced at the combination lock. His parents had met at a St. Patrick's day parade. He rolled the combination lock until it read 0317, as the CD began to play.
"Scott, if you're hearing this then I'm already dead." The voice was deep and scratchy and definitely his uncles. "I want you to listen to this very carefully. Things are not as they seem."
Scott pushed the button on the briefcase and the lid popped up.
"You are in grave danger."
Inside the briefcase was a small stack of cash, a notebook, and a collection of shinning metal weapons.
"I'm serious," said his uncle's voice. "Grave. Danger."
Scott's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He reached down with a shacking hand and picked up a long knife in a sheath.
"You need to go the house that I left you. My lawyer should have given you the keys. Go there, lock yourself inside and start reading that notebook. It has everything you need to know. For now, don't trust anyone."
Holding the hilt in one hand and the sheath in the other, Scott slowly pulled them apart until he was staring in shock at a ten inch sharpened blade.
"I mean it," continued his uncle. "Don't trust anyone. Your life and the lives of others depend on it. If anyone you don't know approaches you, chances are they've come to kill you."
"Is this knife even legal?" Scott said out loud, unable to process all that was happening.
The door to the office opened suddenly and the lawyer entered surrounded by three nuns all talking loudly and waving wooden rulers in the air. They froze when they saw Scott holding the knife in front of the open briefcase.
Across the room, the CD continued to play.
"I don't care if Mother Theresa herself comes up to you asking for a donation. You take that knife, and you stick it right in her heart, and then you chop off her head for good measure."
Scott dropped the knife in the briefcase and leapt for the stereo.
"Now, if you need to get rid of a body, all you need to do is..."
He slammed the eject button, grabbed the still spinning CD, and turned back to face the others. The nuns were staring at him with looks of horror on their faces.
"My uncle...he was such kidder...ha, ha..." He scooped up the briefcase. "I've gotta go."
*****
Legacies New Opening Scene
