Andre’s office had a traditional design. Upon entering, the first thing that will catch the visitor's eye would be the four huge cabinets, two on each side. Inside them were some big books of law, management, and politics. These books were just for show. Their real purpose was to hide the countless hidden compartments which only Andre knew about. Other than the compartments there was a huge desk made out of red oak which was equipped with three pistols and a poison laced knife. Andre hadn’t used them yet but still maintains them. There were no windows in the room due to security reasons. The office was also equipped with some paintings and showpieces from around the world. Robert entered the room without knocking. While he approached Andre he observed some files lying around on his bench. Before Andre could put them in the drawer hastily Robert took a glimpse of one of the files and found out that Andre was looking at a portfolio. It was rather strange because he usually gives this type of work to Daniel or someone else because he himself doesn’t have much knowledge in this field.

“You have completed your school now, haven’t you.” asked Andre.

“Yeah” replied Robert half-heartedly. He already knew what was about to come.

“The time has come for you, my son, to take over the gang.”

“I refuse.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious. I don’t want to become a criminal. Neither I want to lead the criminals.”

Andre smashed his hand on his desk to silence Robert.

“Don’t dare to insult those oppressed people as criminals.” he roared. “You haven’t seen the reality of this wretched world. The rich and powerful makes the life of weak miserable. Many of us were interrogated and tortured just because we didn’t want to accept a crime that we never committed. Some were gravely injured because they tried to do the right thing. You shouldn’t judge the scenario just by observing only one side.”

“What a load of crap.” said Robert sarcastically.

“What?”

“These are nothing but just excuses for defining your actions. Just because something bad happened to you doesn’t mean you have the right to harm others.”

Andre didn’t have any opposing argument to this fact. Robert felt quite confident because of it.

“Why do you want me in the first place?” Robert continued. “Daniel is more experienced than me in this field. He will be the one who can benefit you more in whatever agenda you have in your mind.”

“Daniel is an important person for the gang, but no matter how much strong and ferocious a shark is it can never accomplish what a rat can on land.” replied Andre. “I founded this gang at the age of fourteen. I didn’t even finish my school at that time. Because of that I don’t even have the basic knowledge regarding some important stuff.”

“What important stuff?”

“The gang is always low on funds.”

“No it isn’t. Many guys send you money under the term of ‘Protection Fee’ on daily basis and those who didn’t doesn’t exist anymore.” said Robert scornfully.

“You don’t understand Robert. It isn’t that the gang doesn’t receive money, it’s just that we don’t know how to manage that money. Daniel is a good and loyal kid. He can tell us what to begin in order to earn profit but neither he nor us can manage those things. We invest our assets thinking that we will get something in return but it just only takes away from us.”

“Why don’t you hire someone to manage such things? There are people who can even work for you if you pay them enough.” replied Robert.

“The Scorpion Gang is huge now. The empire I built have more enemies than allies and the biggest enemy we have is the government itself. I cannot let some outsider handle such a delicate and major part of the gang. Outsiders can be compromised easily either by greed, lust or compulsion.”

“I still don’t understand where I come in this picture of yours.”

“You studied business in your school. I have observed that you have a knack for such things.”

“I will never help you in your criminal activities even if I could. On the other hand, I am just a student. I don’t have any experience of the professional world. There are many complex things in this field that I haven’t studied yet.”

“But you will soon enough.” said Andre with gleaming eyes. “You will pursue this subject for higher studies in college. It’s not like we are asking you to kill. Your name will never be associated with the gang. You will be an innocent guy who just manages the account of his employer.”

“Give me one viable reason that I will help you in my right mind.”

“I never thought that I have to use this measure but I don’t have any choice.” said Andre in a sad tone. “Your mother is the reason you will obey me.”

“How dare you to bring her into this?” roared Robert. “She has nothing to do with any of this. If you think you can force me by using her then you are wrong.”

“She was in this the moment I declared her my wife.” replied Andre calmly. “It’s not like I deliberately wanted to include her in this.”

“What do you mean?”

“She just got caught up in it.”

“Please elaborate before I beat the shit out of you.” said an anxious Robert.

“You know that Luna stays ill most of the times. It’s not just a minor illness.”

“Then what is it?”

“Two years ago there was a failed assassination attempt on Luna. The mercenary used a crossbow which we found rather odd since there were better options out there. The arrow of the crossbow had just grazed her so I didn’t give much attention to it. But the arrow was laced with an artificial poison which over the years have slowly weakened her so much that normal breathing tires her out.”

Robert was shocked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His mother hid a life threatening condition from her. His confidence shattered in an instance and his mind went blank. Robert got ready to storm out of the room to talk to his mother.

“Wait! I wanted to tell you this but Luna stopped me. She didn’t want to trouble you with such things.”

“Just cure her.” said Robert in a sobbing voice. “Just give her an antidote or something. You can do it. You have the resources. Why haven’t you cured her yet? It’s been two years. She should have been cured by now.”

“Calm down Robert. Get a hold of yourself. If I could cure her I already would have.”

“What do you mean?”

“The poison was artificial. It was created by someone for the sole purpose of killing the target. Only the creator has the antidote.”

“Then ask the guy to give you the antidote.”

“If we knew that bastard his every bone would have been crushed by now. After all these years we have failed to know who that person is.”

“Does this mean that you will just leave mother to die?”

“Don’t presume things on your own. It’s true that we have very few options but we still have some. I have hired a couple of scientists to look into this matter. They told me that it will be very hard to make an antidote but it is not impossible. They can create an antidote if given enough time.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Since they are creating an antidote, I am not buying a premade product. I am basically funding a research and it is putting a heavy burden on the finance. That’s why we need you. Your skills in this field are exemplary even if you don’t have any professional experience whatsoever. Remember when you absentmindedly suggested me to invest into ‘The Builder Company’ which I was so skeptical about because of that company’s debt. It turned out that the last project which they did impressed a prince of some place and he bought that company. Because of that, the company which was about to go bankrupt is now at the top. How did you know about that?”

Robert calms him down. The fact that his mother is fighting a life threatening poison without his knowledge shattered him. “I didn’t know that a prince will buy it. I just knew that the company itself will do well since they are good at their work. The debts of the company were due to an inner feud which they must have sorted out.”

“So what do you think?” Andre asked anxiously again.

“Give me some time.” said Robert depressingly.

“Make a decision quickly. We don’t have much time. Help me maintain the gang and I will help you treat your mother. It’s quite a nice offer isn’t it.”