October 19 Contest: Antagonist

“It’s really dark in there.” The young man, dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a blue and black plaid flannel shirt stood outside the house, peering inside.

“I paid you to get me inside, not to complain about it being dark.” During the week, Kiliaen Van Rossum wore well-tailored suits from New York City, wore Italian loafers that cost more per pair than what the young man with him made in a week, but today, he was not in the office. He needed to find some information that could crush a competitor, and a private investigator found that it lay inside this home.

“I know,” the man said. He was nervous, never had been asked to break into a house before. “Let me think.”

“I thought you could do this. I brought you here because I was told you could break in.” Van Rossum was upset: he hated to receive misinformation. He sighed heavily and pinched between his eyes. “If you can’t do it, I’ll get someone who can.” He looked at the young man, “And you’ll be looking for another job in the morning.”

Harper Nix was an assistant to the Actuary department, not a “second story man.” He didn’t know how his name came to the attention to Van Rossum, and when he found out, he would deal with it. He wanted to turn down the request, but thought better of it. He heard the rumors that swirled in the company: Never cross the boss, never say no. He had no choice to agree to accompany Van Rossum on his clandestine action.

Nix took a step back and looked at his boss. “There’s someone in there.”

“What do you mean, ‘someone’s in there’? I was told that no one’s lived here for years.”

“Take a look for yourself Sir.”

Van Rossum stepped up to the window and looked inside. He didn’t need Nix to point out where the body laid: He saw the man prone on the floor.


Kiliaen Van Rossum sat in his car while detectives questioned him and Harper Nix. He came up with a story, telling the police that he received a call from an investigator to meet him at this location. The man had some information that Van Rossum needed on a personal matter. He went further to give the name of the private investigator who would verify the story. The lead detective, a man that had known Van Rossum since childhood, shook his head and told him that it wouldn’t be necessary. Twenty minutes later, the two left, but not before being told to be available if further questions arose.

“We dodged a bullet there, Mr. Van Rossum,” Nix said. The assistant was driving, Van Rossum beside him.

“I commend you on your performance, Nix,” Van Rossum said. His tone was gentile, honest. “You did a masterful job of keeping to the story.”

“It wasn’t difficult. The real story and the one you constructed while we waited for the police was believable. We just didn’t tell them that we knew the murdered man.”

“I wish to add more congratulations on your masterful entry into the house to retrieve what I needed, without leaving evidence of your being inside.”

“It wasn’t hard. When I found the key to the backdoor was under the mat, all I had to do was walk carefully upstairs to the study. Your information was correct: It was in the unlocked desk drawer.”

“As I stated before,” Van Rossum said as he touched the large envelope that sat between them, “you’ll be rewarded handsomely for this endeavor.”

Harper Nix looked out the windshield, keeping his attention on driving. In his mind, however, he was crunching numbers, the amount he would ask for as a reward for tonight’s work.

“Will what’s in the envelope help with the takeover?” Nix asked as they approached a stop light.

“More than you can imagine.”