Chapter 135: Crossfire

Aiden didn’t need to think twice before he inferred who the vehicle belonged to.

It was also why, he found himself immediately becoming deathly calm as he stepped out of his vehicle and walked in.

Seated cross-legged in the living room--and on his father’s favorite couch no less--was none other than Osborne Callaghan.

Casper was literally a chip off the old block, his features mirroring his father’s to an uncanny degree.

The only notable difference, was in their hairstyles and age, Osborne rocking a classic, slick-back pomade as opposed to Casper’s more recent taper fade.

He was also seated on the couch just opposite the man with his palms interlocked, a tenseness to his features Aiden had never once seen before in all their time together.

Osborne on the other hand, had an apathetic gaze on his features, a black long coat draped over his shoulders, his head tilted slightly to the side as he watched the coal-haired youth walk in.

"We’ve been expecting you--"

"You’ve been expecting me." Aiden immediately cut the man off, a cold smile and a frigidness to his tone that had Casper whipping his head over, his eyes widening briefly in realization.

Equally, the blonde-haired youth had never seen such an expression on his buddy’s features.

Yet, he didn’t need to think twice before he knew exactly what was up as his gaze flicked over to the chair his father was seated on.

’Ah, shit.’

"Let’s not put words into anybody’s mouth here." Aiden added as he slipped into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and then made his way back to the living room.

Then, settling on the main couch just adjacent to the man, he then asked, the same frosty smile resting on his lips, he asked;

"Now, to what do I owe this visit?"

For a moment, Osborne remained dispassionate, his gaze seemingly trying to read Aiden’s intentions.

Though he knew the youth was clearly pissed, some part of him could intuitively tell that it wasn’t because of what he was probably thinking.

Nonetheless, he spoke, a suavity to his tone;

"[Gothic Survivors], was it? Made over five million dollars in two months."

"I refuse to believe that Casper doesn’t have any stake in it." Osborne continued, his posture expertly poised as he remarked;

"Especially since he was the game’s lead writer."

Casper briefly glanced over to Aiden, hoping to high heavens that his buddy would remain cool-headed and not rat him out in a fit of cold anger.

Casually opening the cap of the bottle, the general air of gelidness around him persisting as he took in a few gulps, Aiden capped it close a moment after and replied with a thin smile;

"Crashout Interactive recently went LLC, registered under my name, so I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean."

This time, Osborne’s gaze flickered, as did Casper’s--his expression reflecting his genuine surprise for an instant before he quickly schooled it back into place.

Narrowing his eyes afterwards, realizing exactly what the play here was, Osborne nodded his head curtly in acknowledgement.

If what Aiden said was true--which it in fact was as he’d been worried about the IRS looting all of his and his friends’ hard-earned cash with their unfair taxes--then it essentially meant that he was the owner of Crashout Interactive.

If he was the owner of Crashout Interactive, then it meant that he’d be the one to dish out the salaries of all his ’employees’.

And if he was the one to do that, well... it also meant that he could simply withhold their funds and refuse to hand it over.

That, naturally, meant that the verbal promises between he and his buddies was null, so to speak--though Aiden would never do his people dirty like that, ever.

But in this context, it did a good job of sending a message to Osborne that he could just simply walk in here and play smart.

"An LLC, is it? How very convenient." Osborne’s gaze lingered on the youth for a moment, his form leaning back as his fingers tapped against the armrest.

"I thought so too." the youth replied, his frostiness to his gaze dipping by another degree despite the amiable smile on his features.

"And what exactly does that make...him?" the man asked, noting the oddity as he briefly gestured to Casper.

"A talented writer who helped created a successful game." Aiden replied, taking another sip of water.

"Beyond that, I suppose we’d have to look at the agreements involved... which right now is pretty disposable." he added without batting an eye.

To that, Osborne let out a low, disturbingly amused chuckle.

Then,

"You’re a smart kid. A very smart kid." he remarked as he rose up from the couch.

No sooner had that happened, all of Aiden’s chilliness vanished, a natural smile settling into place as he replied;

"Why thank you, Mr. Callaghan. You’re so kind."

Osborne felt the shift as well, the man blinking a couple times in evident confusion while Casper was doing everything in his power to not burst out laughing as he looked to the ground.

’Is he bipolar or what?’ the man demanded of no one in particular as Aiden’s olive-green irises reflected a genuinely relaxed gaze.

Brushing aside the thought, he proceeded to head out. He had bigger and more pressing things to worry about than the mental state of one cunning youth.

Just before he stepped out the door though, he angled his head sideways and said briefly;

"Death Wish. It’s a nice product."

"I hope you won’t be averse to a little competition from my end." he added, the door closing behind him almost immediately.

Casper’s expression immediately shifted.

Immediately, the youth abruptly rose from the chair, all traces of his earlier amusement vanishing from his features and morphing into genuine anger as he began stomping towards the door.

Clearly, his father was angry.

That was the only explanation for his sudden need to create a new line of beverages, just so he could crush the business his buddy had worked so hard to get off the ground.

Casper was just about to barge out the door and give the man a piece of his mind when Aiden’s laughter rang out loudly and clearly, enough that it gave Osborne pause even though he had already settled into his SUV.

Looking to the simple family home, his apathetic demeanor much the same, the man reversed out the driveway as he thought to himself;

’What a weird lad.’

Yet, the thought persisted, one that soon caused him to furrow his brows. Osborne didn’t like feeling that way about anyone at all.

Meanwhile,

"See you in the market, Mr. Callaghan." Aiden ticked a finger off his head, clearly unbothered by the threat.

As if he wasn’t going to have competitors going forward.

It was just so funny to him that the very first one he might be having, was because he’d caught the ire of a petty little shit whom was just looking to punish him for outsmarting his ass.

In reality, Aiden hadn’t outsmarted anything. It just so happened that his mind worked fast enough that he could pull that out of his ass...

...which was exactly what made their interaction that much funnier to him in hindsight as he kept laughing.

"This isn’t funny, Aiden." Casper warily said and dragged a palm down his face.

Clearly exhausted with having to deal with his old man and just as irritated by his lack of power to actually do anything to stop it, he let out, his voice muffled behind his palms;

"Oh, God. I’m so sorry I dragged you into this, man."

Aiden slapped the blonde-haired youth’s back with enough force that all his moping immediately evaporated as he exclaimed;

"Hey! What was that for?"

"A moping vanquisher. Works like a charm." Aiden casually replied as he made his way into the kitchen, Casper still angling backwards to touch the tingly spot as he trailed behind him;

"The fuck does that mean?!"

"Exactly what you heard." Aiden replied as he filled up the bottle and returned it into the freezer.

"And let’s be really honest, Casper," Aiden turned to face him, as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He was always going to come after me for working with a company that he once tried to run into the ground. Me protecting your funds from him, is just an added cherry on top."

"So, I don’t really see why you’d think you dragged me into this, insomuch as I willingly walked into a crossfire." the youth added, his shoulders shrugging slightly.

"Now, let’s go watch the music video those punks made. I’ve been waiting all day to see it." Aiden declared as he made his way out of the kitchen.

For a while, Casper simply stood still, processing everything his buddy had said. He also knew the youth was right.

He just wasn’t comfortable with an uninvolved party getting between he and his father’s messy relationship.

Letting out a deep breath of acceptance a moment after, Casper reset his frame of mind into his peppier self as he walked into the living room.

"Remind me never to sit on your Pop’s Leather Throne again." the blonde-haired youth gestured with a pointed finger towards the chair.

"The last thing I’d want is seeing you go caped-crusader pissed on me, thank you very much!" he added, arms crossed across his body as he shook his head a couple times.

Aiden chuckled in response to that as he switched on the Smart TV and navigated over to ViewTube;

"You, and the rest of the gang, are worthy of seating on the Leather Throne, Casper."

"Your old man? Not so much." Aiden waved a hand in clear distaste as he typed in the name of the video.

At the same time,

"Cecilia. I want you to keep tabs on Aiden North. I want everything there is to know about him." Osborne spoke to his secretary through a call via the infotainment system, his eyes on the road.

"Understood, Sir." a curt, immediate reply came from the other end of the line.