Opportunity Knocked, Innovation Answered

On what was an otherwise unremarkable day for him, Quatorze, a friend of Stourton, was minding his own business at a coffee shop, when he noticed a male known to him, Umburto. That male had a female companion. Quatorze then recognised the female companion to be Limoges, the wife of Stourton. Limoges and Umburto got very familiar with each other.

Quatorze overheard Limoges making plans with her lover to get together later and those plans did not resonate well with Quatorze.

A text message to Stourton was required, he thought. The text message he sent read:

“We have not seen each other for too long. Dinner at The Steakhouse Bar tonight at 7:00 pm. No excuses. Be there.”

The reply from Stourton read: “OK, tonight is Steak night.”

The Steakhouse Bar

Quatorze was the first to arrive at The Steakhouse Bar and he secured a table for he and Stourton. He waited until the food ordering was done and served before he delivered the bad news.

Quatorze: “Limoges, the event planner wife of yours was kind enough to interrupt my lunch by planning the wrong kind of event. She was planning the infidelity two-step with another male known to me, that male obviously being not you.”

Pausing his eating, a stunned Stourton replied: "What do you mean?"

Quatorze: "Your wife was always about the glitz and the glamour. The big events, the fancy parties. But she ignored the most important event of all: your marriage."

It is not really a surprise to see her so caught up in her own world and her own desires,  planning events for others, that she would neglect what should be the most important person in her own life."

Stourton understood enough of what was told to him, even if he did not process all of it.

The men finished their meals. Conversation between them did not dwell on the infidelity of Limoges, but focussing on other topics was difficult for Stourton.

Quatorze did not press him, he tried to be supportive. It was the kind of bad news he did not enjoy delivering, and to the extent that he could, he tried to be supportive.

The Kidnapping

As far as Limoges was concerned, her marriage had become predictable and dull. In stark contrast to the exciting job she did. Of course, she took no responsibility for her marriage not producing the excitement and variety she apparently craved.

Stourton being a fairly high-level engineer at a pharmaceutical company developing a revolutionary new energy source was not enough to meet the excitement needs of the now very important and demanding Limoges. As she got caught up in the excitement of her event planning, she became prone to gossiping. Applying some circumspection to sharing details of work information her husband shared with her did not occur to her.

The paths of Limoges and Umburto crossed at one of her planning events. He seemed younger, vibrant and exciting, in contrast to the solid predictability that was now apparently a problem for her husband. So the dalliance started and it became an affair.

Limoges was also an interesting moment of excitement for Umburto. His work had not delivered the results he desired, so he left his employer for a rival company. What Umburto did not tell Limoges initially was that he worked for the same pharmaceutical company as her husband. A company that was making real progress with a breakthrough drug. Umburto desired his own kind of results, so he took his disgruntled self off to a rival company.

With her mind focussed acutely upon herself, Limoges did not think too much about the work information her husband shared with her. She also enjoyed moments from time to time where he was definitely not good enough for her and sharing his information with others was not beyond her pettiness.

The disgruntled Umburto was happy to hear information from Limoges about Stourton and his new drug. He may be able to use that information to advance himself. The life of disgruntled Umburto was resplendent with poor choices. The pharmaceutical company employer he left, when he worked with Stourton, was having success with a breakthrough drug. The rival company for whom he now works was desperate to gain a competitive edge.

The poor decision-making of Umburto to share the information about a new drug from his former employer to his new employer triggered catastrophic consequences. The desperate to gain a competitive edge, rival company hired a group of criminals to kidnap Stourton and force him to reveal the secrets of the new technology. If this pharmaceutical company crew could monetise their stupidity, they would be very wealthy.

Quite a contrast was now in play, thanks to the lack of thinking of Limoges and Umburto. The new employer of Umburto saw Industrial Espionage as a legitimate motivation for the kidnapping of Stourton. Umburto was their useful idiot in their plan to circumvent the hard worm and intellectual dedication that is so much a part of most success.

Proper research was not a constituent component of the business plan of the new employer of Umburto. They did not bother to research the group of criminals they hired to kidnap Stourton and force him to reveal the secrets of the new drug.

The day after Quatorze revealed the infidelity of Limoges to Stourton, the criminal masterminds put their plan into action and kidnapped Stourton. The criminals told Stourton, if he does not cooperate and give the criminals what they want, they would kill his wife.

Now in the custody of the kidnappers, Stourton assessed the situation as one where he faced an uncertain future. Stourton took the view that if these geniuses were true to their word, he would not feel unhappy about the outcome. He adopted the approach of telling the criminal mastermind kidnappers that he does not negotiate with terrorists.

Upon hearing their captive Stourton declare that he does not negotiate with terrorists, the kidnappers did not respond well. Two (2) of them departed the scene and attended upon the location of Limoges, where they proceeded to shoot and kill her. Predictably, chaos ensued.

Shortly thereafter the criminal mastermind kidnappers, and now murderers, were arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder.

Locating the geniuses who kidnapped Stourton did not take the police long and he was freed to return home.

The Police Perspective

The nightmare was not yet over for Stourton. The police felt they needed to spend some more time with him.

The humourless Detective Harper interviewed Stourton at the city centre police station.

Harper to Stourton: "So, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Stourton: "Correct, Detective. I was minding my own business, and suddenly, I was kidnapped."

Harper "And you are sure you do not know why you were targeted?"

No hesitation from Stourton. "I am certain. I have no enemies, no outstanding debts. It was a random act of violence."

Detective Harper had no evidence to suggest Stourton was not telling the truth.

Harper: "Alright, then. We will do our best to find out who is responsible for this."

"In the meantime, I suggest you try to relax and let us handle this. You have been through a lot."

The Train Station Interlude

Stourton left the police station and proceed home after his eventful day, happy that he had not been charged with any offence. There was no reason he should be charged with any offence, but things had not gone well for him recently.

He made his way to the train station and waited patiently for his train.

Helping pass the time during that patient wait was a conversation her overheard between two lawyers known to each other and waiting for their respective trains. As is the want of lawyers, they shared a war story. This one was colourful.

The Bank Job Gone Wrong

The professional bank robbers entered the bank. They had planned this heist meticulously, down to the last detail. They had studied the layout of the bank, its security systems, and the routines of its employees. They had even gone so far as to create elaborate disguises to help them blend in with the crowd.

But as they were about to make their move, chaos erupted. Two drug-addled individuals, clearly under the influence of heroin or methamphetamine, stumbled into the bank, shouting and swearing at the top of their lungs. The robbers were taken aback, and from that moment, they were put off their game.

Oblivious to the danger they were in, the two junkies continued to cause a commotion, drawing the attention of both the employees and customers of the bank. In their panic, the robbers were forced to act quickly, but their usual precision and coordination were thrown off by the sudden and unplanned junkie interruption.

The attempts of the bank robbers to carry out their plan were thwarted. They found themselves struggling to keep up with the unpredictability of the situation. The junkies continued to cause havoc, making it impossible for the robbers to complete their heist without being detected.

Just as the robbers were about to give up and abandon their plan, the police arrived on the scene. The chaos created by the junkies had tipped off the authorities, and now the robbers found themselves surrounded by blue lights, sirens and police.

In a desperate attempt to escape, the robbers tried to fight their way out, but they were no match for the police. They were quickly subdued and taken into custody, their plans foiled by two very drug-affected junkies they might have included in a better thought out plan.

The reputation of the most professional bank robbers in the business had been shattered, all because of two junkies high on drugs. It was a bitter pill for them to swallow, and one that would haunt them for the rest of their days.

Unsurprisingly, the two junkies were oblivious to the impact they had just had on the lives of the bank robbers. The junkies were taken away by the police, still high on drugs and still causing havoc wherever they went. Their actions had inadvertently saved the day, but they would never know it.

The trains then arrived for the lawyers and the overheard conversation ended.

Homeward Bound

Stourton did not have to wait much longer for his train.

When he arrived home, Stourton closed the door to his residence and to this sorry episode in his life. The silence of the apartment was comforting to him.

He made his way to his entertainment cabinet and browsed his collection of recorded television shows. He selected an old DVD, the kind he had not watched in years, its details hazy in his memory. It was just an hour of dated drama, perfect for switching off. He settled onto his couch, the familiar opening credits of "Fatal Obsession" flickering onto the screen.

Fatal Obsession

The air thickened around her, a suffocating blanket of dread. An ultra-feminist, utterly consumed by a narrative of male menace, she stepped off the train, the station’s artificial calm doing nothing to quell the rising tide of her fear.

“He is there.” Her mind screamed, a phantom presence at her back. “He has seen me.”

As she walked, the familiar sounds of the suburb warped into sinister omens. Every rustle of leaves, every distant car engine, became a confirmation. She picked up her pace, her knuckles white around her bag strap.

“He is closer. I can feel him.”

A relentless loop of danger, her internal narrative tightened its grip. 

For just a fleeting, panicked moment she glanced over her shoulder, seeing only the shifting shadows that her paranoia shaped into a man following her.

Her conviction solidified into chilling certainty. This was not just fear; this was a pursuit. Her walk quickened, then lurched into a desperate sprint. She swerved abruptly down a side street, her breath ragged. The pavement became a blur beneath her, the world a disorienting rush of colour and noise.

“I have to lose him!”

She cut hard through a narrow alley, then burst onto a busy main road, headlights flashing like malevolent eyes, horns blaring in what seemed a deliberate cacophony. Oblivious to the true dangers, her focus was fixed on the unseen malevolent male figure she imagined to be at her heels.

A car horn blared, a prolonged, angry shriek. But to her, it was white noise. She charged forward, a desperate, fragmented desire for freedom overriding all sense. The heavy traffic on the main road became a fluid, terrifying gauntlet. The fast-moving motor vehicle was upon her before the terror could truly register. A sickening thud, a screech of tires, and then, silence.

Just a few paces behind, her cousin Marcella stumbled to a halt, panting, her arm outstretched. "Wait! I just ... I just wanted to ask you about ..."

As the closing scene of Fatal Obsession finished, Stourton fell asleep.