DECISIVE
Claire and Kate had been best friends since they were kids. They care and protect each other. They do not want to hurt each other. They are really sweet friends. Both of them will leave San Francisco to continue their study. And yet, they are back to be together again after a few years. They make a plea to always be there until they find their life partner and get married.
And all of a sudden, unexpected thing happens and Claire is forced to choose. This is the first time she cannot decide and is confused. Should she choose her best friend or boyfriend? between life and death!
"Are you going out
tonight?"
"Yes, I think so. Patrick and I are going to watch "The Fast & Furious 7". Have you seen?
Claire was playing with the telephone cable and said "No, I have not. I am not that kinda person who likes watching that kinda movie, you know?"
Kate smiled "Yes, I know. Hey, listen, I am not on duty this weekend so I guess it would be a good idea to have dinner, ice cream and watch "The Cinderella" afterward. How does it sound?
Claire smiled "Sounds excellent!
"Great! So see you on Saturday, then".
Claire and Kate are best friends since there were kids. They lived next door. They studied at the same school from the first grade. They always played together after school, walking around the park near their home and having an ice cream together. It was "ritual" as what they called it as they always did these three fun together, dinner, movie and ice cream. One day, when they were sixteen they lied to the cashier at the cinema that they were already eighteen so they would be allowed to watch an adult movie.
After graduation from high school, they had to leave the town to continue their study. Claire had to move to Boston to study architecture and Kate joined the FBI National Academy in Virginia. And before they left, they made a plea that they need to come back and stay together again in San Francisco unless one of them got married. So that was the time they should separate.
After so many years, they returned home. And Claire was a successful architect woman and had lots of demand of her design and creativity from the big companies in the entire San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Kate was listed as a successful Federal Agent who handled many big cases for a decade. Last year, she did very successfully handling conspiracy theory of technology and weapons.
The next Saturday evening,
Kate and Claire met to hang out together.
"How was the movie?"
"It was breathtaking and excellent!" You should watch" Kate blinked to Claire.
"So, where are we going to have dinner tonight?"
Claire smiled and said "Let's just go to Westfield. And we can just straight to the cinema afterward, okay?"
"Okay!" and we are going to have some ice cream after the movie"
Thirty minutes later, they were enjoying their food at the food court.
"By the way, Kate, how is Patrick?"
"He is okay and what about Jordan?"
Claire said, "He is fine, just busy as always. He is doing a kinda "project" that he needs to handle. He is really focused at this moment and I do not want to disturb him.
"Did he have some kind of new building with the new antique design?" Kate teased her.
"Yeah, sort of! What about Patrick? "Is there any effect of the oil price down to his company?
"Yeah, but he is fine".
Claire nodded. "By the way, you think that you are going to marry soon?"
"Not really soon, but we are planning to get married next year. And what about you?"Kate smiled.
"Yeah, we have a plan to get married as well and that would be next year!"
And they stared each other and laughed.
Even though, they are a good friend, they had never shared about their boyfriend's live specifically. They only knew that Claire's boyfriend was Jordan and Kate's boyfriend was Patrick. Either Jordan or Patrick had never met each other as well. They agreed to keep their lover until they got married. It was kind of surprising.
Patrick Barton was a CEO of one of the largest Oil & Gas Company in the US. He had been working for twelve years. He was smart and same age as Kate. They had been together for more than three years now. The National Petroleum was number seven rank of the world largest company by the revenue as well as by the market capitalization. He was a focus person and responsible. He traveled to the Middle East every month, dealing with the largest oil and gas companies in the region.
He met Kate at the first time in the cinema whilst they were in the queue to watch "The Fast & Furious 5".
"Did you watch FF 1?" Patrick started the conversation.
"Yes, I did", I like that movie from the first time I watched and waiting for the next, next and next" Kate smiled.
"Yeah, me too. Oh, by the way, I am Patrick. Would you mind if we can have a cup of coffee after the movie? And here is my number…" he handed over the business card. He was good looking, friendly and sharp.
Kate said," Okay, never mind, and let's meet at Starbucks coffee!"
"No problem" Patrick smiled.
Two hours later, they were at Starbucks. Kate drank a cup of Mochaccino (as her only favorite coffee). She did not like black coffee, cappuccino or others, she only liked Mochaccino especially when she made it at home, she put some marshmallows on the top of it.
"I love cappuccino. When I was pressured and stressful, I always made a cup of this coffee or sneaked to the coffee shop near my office just to sip this beautiful taste of cappuccino" he said as if he was a barista.
"Okay, I can see that!" she smiled.
"Yeah…so what are doing for a living?" he asked.
"Well, I am an agent"
"An agent? You mean a real estate agent? Sales Agent? Or-
I am a Federal Agent". Pause.
"Oh…um... are you FBI?"
"Yes, I am. Um... are you going to leave me and just forget about it?" she asked.
"No… no, of course not. I am just…wow! Surprise! a beautiful woman, absolutely gorgeous, smart and nice is a Federal Agent. You should be …a model!!!" Well, I mean, you do not look like FBI, you know?" he smiled.
"Yeah, you are not the only one who said that" She smiled. "You know, my father was a former commander and I was so close to him. A day before he was shot, I told him that I wanted to be a detective. He smiled at me and saying how proud he was having a daughter like me"
Patrick said, "he should!-"
And, by the way, you look like Ryan Gosling, you know?" Kate grinned. "Well, thank you for the compliment" His face turned red and smiled.
Ever since, they have become a couple and it had been three years now. They complimented each other and their love was getting stronger and stronger every day.
One day, after having a dinner at the fancy restaurant in San Francisco, he proposed her to be his wife.
A waiter approached them and asked "Would you like the dessert to be served now, sir?"
"Yes, please, we are waiting for the last delightful and amazing experience at this restaurant" he blinked. And Kate just smiled at him. She looked very happy and comfortable with him.
"What is it, babe?" Did you order a chocolate cupcake for me?
"Just cut in a half, please?"
She did what he asked. She saw a shiny silver band with a beautiful sapphire and diamonds around it which made it look so gorgeous.
Patrick took the ring and put it on her beautiful finger "Would you be my wife?"
"Oh, Pat, it is so beautiful and-". "Would you?"
Kate's eyes were sparkling and she looked so happy "Yes, I would be your wife"
He kissed her hand and lips "Let's go home, honey".
Meanwhile, Claire and Jordan had been together for five years and they looked like the happiest couple in the world. They supported and protected each other.
Claire had protected his job as a Federal Agent for anti-corruption. He had to run complex undercover operations and surveillance, hence Claire told Kate that he was an architect as well. Kate had never met Jordan and she did not even bother if he did not want to meet or Claire did not introduce him to her. And it had been agreed by the two of them to leave their personal life away.
Fiona. She was Claire's client. She was the one who introduced Jordan to Claire. And apparently, Fiona was Jordan's sister. She loved her design. She was a very successful business woman and lived in New York. Claire had designed her house in NYC. The most that Fiona loved was her home bar. It was small and intimate bar and it blew her mind after a busy time. She built the oval bar shape in the corner of the living room. The bar was made of acrylic and designed just like an aquarium so that we could see the small sea world there. It was so beautiful.
Jordan was shy and introverted. Even though, he was handsome and had an athletic body, he always pulled himself from the crowd, hence he did not have a lot of friends, only a few. He was so happy when his sister introduced him to Claire. He was very fortunate having a girlfriend like Claire. On the job, he was an expert to handle public corruption. In everywhere on this planet, public corruption was one of the top investigative priorities. It was categorized as Criminal Investigation Division in the US. Public Corruption erodes public confidence and undermines the strength of democracy. In investigating these crimes, the FBI could leverage tools such as undercover operations and electronic surveillance to root out those who betray the public trust. And he was an expert in his field.
The next few weeks, Kate called Claire to have an urgent meeting. It was unusual. Claire might have a thought something else about Kate. Is she pregnant? Did Patrick cheat on her? Well, she could not figure it out until they met.
"Claire, thanks for coming. And I am sorry that I take you here"
"Hey, no worries. You are my best friend and I considered you as a part of my family, okay? A Family comes first than others. So, please tell me, what is going on?"
"Patrick. He is in a difficult situation at this moment", did you watch the news this morning?"
"No, I did not. I was in a hurry to reach my office this morning. I had a deadline to finish my design by 09:00 a.m."
"Claire, Patrick was in the whole news this morning. He is accused of misconduct by hiring the services of Milliard Investments to secure the oil contracts with UAE country. The Milliard Investments was paid $ 15 Million but he doubled the figures and his actions are known and reported by the finance department"
"Oh God, how could he do that? I mean, did he really do that?"
"No, he did not! Patrick is not the type of person who is going to do that, such a nasty thing, but I am myself will investigate this case. I will try to do my best to save him!" she cried. He is sick now. I need to call a doctor for him.
Claire asked, "Is he here?"
Kate nodded. Claire hugged and said "Just keep prayer, we believe that the truth is out there"
***
The next a few hours, in the afternoon time, Jordan and Claire were having a cup of coffee and cookies on his balcony. Jordan told the case that he had been trying to resolve.
"I have been investigating this case for a long time and I must be very careful because it involves many important people including the Minister"
"Right, if the case involves "big people", yes, we need to have an extra careful. By the way, which company is that? I am sorry, I am not following the news", she said smiling.
"The National Oil & Gas Company. We are still looking for the CEO, Patrick Barton. He is accused by misusing the company money. He put the money in Swiss Bank and we are working on this case. He has disappeared for two weeks. We searched his house and apartment, but he was not there. It's been very stressful. And we believe that he has some backup to protect him"
"O-oh…" Claire's mouth fell open, but she was trying to hide her surprises. "How many years in jail for a corruption case?"
"It depends…, could be ten, twenty years…, plus the penalty needs to be paid and well…sometimes, the death penalty will be applied"…
Claire could not sleep. And it has been a week since Jordan told her the case which had involved Patrick Barton. Her mind kept thinking. She was a dilemma... If I protect Patrick for the sake of Kate, and Jordan knows, he is going to hurt and leave me, but if I tell Jordan where Patrick is, Kate is going to hurt and leave me. I love them both. Kate? Jordan? Oh God, please give me a guidance to do the right thing.
"Jordan, can you come to my place right now, please?"
"Um...what about in the afternoon?"
"I need to talk to you right now, please? It is kinda important, and I cannot wait until afternoon", Claire's voice sounded nervous.
"Are you alright?" Oh, well, Okay, I am on my way now"
Forty-five minutes later," are you alright?" Jordan hugged and kissed her.
"I dunno, but I-"
"You look so nervous, what is it?" what the important news are you going to tell me?" Please, not now babe.
"It is about Patrick Barton", she was so nervous and tears rolled down her cheeks."I know where he is. Patrick is Kate's boyfriend. They are engaged. She told me a few weeks ago that he is in her house and sick. I was there. Kate is confused and trying to investigate herself that he is not guilty that he is not doing something wrong!"
Jordan hugged her "Thank you, honey. I know that it is hard for you to tell me this. My job is to catch him. He can argue in the court whether he is guilty or not. I am very proud of you. I believe that you did this is not because-"
"No, I did this is not because of you, but I did this because I wanna do the right thing, and I know that Kate is going to hurt and leave me forever!"
"Claire, you did the right thing. And I believe Kate will understand and forgive you"
"I hope so… she is a federal agent too"
Jordan was aghast "What is her name?"
Kate Philips.
The next few days, Kate came to Claire's house. They were in her basement having a serious talk. "They have caught Patrick", Kate's voice cracked.
"You lied to me. Jordan is an agent. You told me that he is an architect. I trusted you. I thought we were a best friend. I thought we were a family. How could you do this to me, Claire?" she wiped the tears on her cheeks.
Claire stood frozen. She was quiet and could not say anything.
"Pat will be in jail for at least ten years, so it means that we are not going to get married. You have screwed up my dreams! Patrick admitted that he did the wrong thing just to spoil me with everything I wanted!!!" Kate cried.
Shortly after, Claire's mouth worked, tears welling into her eyes, "I am so sorry, Kate. I was in a dilemma. I just thought that I should do the right thing".
There was a silence.
Kate pressed her lips together, fury burning in her eyes and all of a sudden; she took a screwdriver and stabbed Claire's stomach. Claire was aghast and not ready for this attack. She held her stomach trying to stop the blood and said "Why did you do this to me?"
"You fucked up! You destroyed my dream!" Kate said with an angry looked.
Claire shuddered and her body trembled. She looked at Kate taking her gun and pointing at her. Claire was afraid and she saw a hook which was under the table next to her.
"Kate, please, do not shoot me. I just did the right thing. And I love you"
Kate was approaching her with the gun in her hand and said "Bullshit! You are the most selfish woman that I have ever known!"
Claire did not waste the time, she took the hook and swung it to Kate and ripped her stomach open. She collapsed. Blood everywhere. Claire crawled to reach the door. I have to get out of here and get some help. She is still alive. And she needs a doctor too. Before she reached the door, she felt the hot object piercing the flesh in her back. Kate shot her. Claire felt so terrible and very painful. I do not wanna die. Please, God, help me. She was lying prone and saw her tools in the box and took a rasp. Kate got up with the handheld the open wound and approached and squatted next to her and said "Claire, I love you too, but I do not think that we can be friends anymore. You hurt me!"
Claire turned the body and faced her. She stabbed Kate's face by a rasp. Kate screamed and trying to take the rasp off. And Claire crawled and grabbed her gun and shot her in the chest. Blood spurted on the wall. Kate tried to stop the blood but could not make it. Blood spouted through her fingers. Kate did not move. She was dead.
Claire looked at her and cried "I am so sorry, Kate. I just did the right thing. I love you, and you were my best friend. I wish I could turn back the clock, the time when we were kids and young. Sweets and happy”. There is a dangerous when we love someone too much and it would be more dangerous when the love controls our life. Not the logic takes the part, but the feelings.
