Part 5 - The Benefactor

Across the city Charles O'Brian set leaned back in his chair, pondering what he had just heard. It seemed tapping Mr. Sweeney's phones had been a good call, expensive though it was. So, he thought, Gibbs has the chest. I would have expected this from the old man, but I didn't think the boy had the guts to use that maniac. Well, I suppose this is why one has contingency plans.

O'Brian stood slowly and pondered his next move. As the most powerful man in the city he had many options available to him. The chest was certainly important, but even so, he couldn't afford to attract too much attention. As much as he would like to have Gibbs gunned down in the street like the animal he was, it was too risky. No, it would take a more delicate touch to resolve this situation.

O'Brian looked around his office, taking in the trappings of his success. In the center of the office was a magnificent dinosaur skull atop a silver pedestal. Nicolas Cage had been sorely disappointed when O'Brian had outbid him for the magnificent piece. Along the rich mahogany walls were various trophies and pieces of art. He admired the Picasso he had recovered from the wreck of a German U-Boat many years ago at great expense. It was flanked by an original copy of the Magna Carta on one side and one of the larger remaining pieces of the True Cross on the other. That last artifact was almost more trouble than it was worth, what with the constant stream of priests and minister of every denomination offering to purchase it from him.

Still considering the situation he found himself in, O'Brian turned towards his desk and picked up his most prized possession. He picked up the small stone pendant he had obtained all those years ago, before his rise to power. It was an unassuming thing, this pendant. It was made of stone, black as the sin in man's heart. A strange light danced across its surface, hinting at smoky depths below. Even in the warmth of his office the pendant was strangely cold in his hand. He turned it over and over, studying the runes on its surface. The runes which no one had been able to identify.

O'Brian let out a low sigh. He supposed he knew it would come to this all along, but it had taken actually holding the pendant to make him admit it. His benefactor would be very upset if he failed to obtain the chest. he would have to go to him and obtain his help. O'Brian pocketed the pendant before calling for his car. O'Brian may have been the most powerful man in the city, but his benefactor was more powerful still. And O'Brian was going to see him.