Chips That Pass in the Night.
I returned to my seat with a cursory shake of the head and gestured to Mike, our jovial barrister and the branch’s sole member of staff willing to break company policy for regulars and take orders directly from tables.
“So” I resumed. “What makes them both immune to conviction?”
“The principle is ingenuous.” Mark began, bristling with glee. “Think about it. the terrorist wouldn’t have done anything physically and the detective was only a criminal threat danger because the police exploited him despite being fully aware of the risks. They would be guilty of the genocide, the suffering, the fallout, everything. In essence , the law would have destroyed itself. There’s a twist near the end you will not believe, by far the most devastating since Kaby Lake?
“Oh God not a third one!” I groaned, plunging my face into a pair of waiting palms.
Now you can’t be serious? Mark responded, his voice transitioning into a harsh whisper.
“Sincerity has been my mission/aim/goal for quite a while now” I intoned. “Yet somehow you remain immune to it. So, what’s Kaby Lake. Wait, don’t tell me.
A young Victorian girl named Kaby drowns in a lake nearby her ancestral home. It’s a huge manner house with more than 100 rooms that she was destined to be the heiress of following the death of her sick father. Except, her jealous brother, oh I don’t know, let’s call him Ryzen knew that if the old man’s wishes were fulfilled he would be doomed to a life in her shadow, something his simmering pride had been forced to endure since a traumatic birth, following which many had cast doubts over the purity of his lineage and mocked him for being just a fraction over one month younger.” I paused, surprised at my own creativity. Mark furrowed his forehead, then smiled.
“So you’ve seen it?” He said.
Oh yes! I replied, convinced he was playing along and not wanting to concede the initiative. “Now where was I? Ah! Yes! So Ryzen instigates a rumour that Kaby is severely traumatised by the burden of her legacy before murdering her under the guise of a suicide, knowing that as next of kin, the estate will default to him.
The plan works. Finally Ryzen is free to exploit his lineage, can be treated as an equal, command respect from his peers and relish the lavish lifestyle that stems from it. He becomes renowned for talents and traits that nobody thought him capable of. Traits such as…multiple cores, talents like….
“Mega tasking?! Mark cut in, warming my curious the flight of fancy.
“Yes!” I replied, ” Which is like multitasking but even more feminine.”
Barrister Mike approached with our refills and set them down with a smile before Mark instructed his own palm-based and second best soul mate to pay up.
“So of course you already know the twist.” He enquired presently.
“Absolutely.” I said. “Frankly I thought it was tad cliche. Kaby was buried in the mansion’s Orchard, the sole source of an exceptionally succulent variety of Apple from which the family fortune had been amassed.
“Better to say harvested,” Interrupted Mark. “Then you could use literally use the word literally.”
“See?” I sneered. “You’re so board by this “sensational” twist that you’ve started spouting snarky witticisms.”
“Not at all.” Mark appeased, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “I’m intrigued, please continue.”
I took swig from my secondary pick-me-up. “On the eve of Ryzen’s official appointment as lord of the manner, Kaby’s grave is found desecrated and empty with two giant trenches dug in the shape of a X where her favourite tree used to stand, the one she had wished to be married under. Ryzen is so tortured by guilt, fear and fury that he overheats and spontaneously com-busts, just like every one of his power sucking, thermally challenged predecessors.”
“Ok. I think that’s enough.” Cautioned Mark, as a teacher would discipline rowdy kids. “Perhaps you could tell me the moment our heated debate about the small screen became a cryptic means to divulge details of early 21st century computer components.
“Don’t you get it?” I chuckled. “That is the REAL twist.”
“Not as I recall.” Countered Mark.