Chambers Island: A Story of Cheating and Revenge by Richard Brown

Author:Richard Brown [Brown, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2018-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Game’s Afoot

Lightning flashed, thunder boomed and the house shook from the storm outside. Patty studied the unassuming man sitting in front of her. She watched him gaze unseeing at the floor in front of him. She stayed quiet, allowing him time alone with his thoughts. After several minutes, he took a deep breath, sighed and mumbled, “Nemo me impune lacessit.”

“What did you say?” she asked.

“It’s Latin, the motto of Scotland. I first saw it in a story called The Cask of Amontillado.”

Patty scrunched her face and asked, “Sorry, you lost me. What does that even mean? What are you talking about?”

He looked up, but his eyes didn’t seem to focus. Slowly he turned to look at Patty and his eyes did focus, sharply, as though piercing into her. In a steady monotone he stated, “What I’m talking about or thinking doesn’t matter. Do you know that all the good intentions in the world aren’t worth as much as one good deed?”

Feeling uncomfortable with the seemingly disjointed conversation she answered quizzically, “Sorry, still lost. I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“What that means is,” he answered, rising from the bed, “I can’t just sit here. I have to take action, do something. The world rewards actions, not thoughts.”

Patty’s face continued to appear puzzled, concerned. Brad’s strange philosophical musings worried her. “Don’t do anything crazy. Remember, doing the wrong thing could literally ruin your life,” she admonished.

“You mean more than it already is,” he replied, lips tight. “Not to worry, I won’t cause a scene. Nope. That wouldn’t be the right approach at all. Sun Tzu said, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I have a plan. I’m, gonna put a smile on my face, go downstairs and join the party.”

Her shock showed. Standing up quickly, she blurted, “You sure you want to do that?”

He quietly answered. “I’m not a guy who screams or throws things when I don’t win a game. I don’t punch someone out to prove a point. Maybe that means I’m not an alpha male. I’m okay with that. Still, I can’t just slink away like a cowed dog while he steals my wife.” He walked steadily toward the door. Patty followed close behind him out and down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, she offered to accompany him further, but he waved her off. “I’ll be fine. You’ve done your job.” She raised an eyebrow, but dutifully walked away, retreating to the kitchen.

He followed the sounds of laughter and conversation until he located the three happy couples in the game room. Larry-the-Asshole and Brenda were playing ping pong. Troy and Zoey were playing billiards as a team against Mason and Cindy. They all looked up as he entered. Conversation stopped for a moment. Brad nodded silently, and took a seat on a stool by the bar.

Cindy scrunched her face. She glanced at Mason, shrugged and turned back to look at her husband. She gave him a tentative smile and cautiously approached him. “Hey, babe.

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