Part 1
She pressed her lower back further in to her seat to keep from losing her posture, the first thing half of these women let go right after dinner was served.
Ashley could feel a few loose strands tickling her neck. It annoyed her to think that her top knot had failed. Useless last minutes spent combing her fingers through and through. Yet, she still presumably looked like she’d just got back from a workout.
Down at the opposite end of the table was her father, continuously swiping his lips with a napkin, then pressing a glass of wine to his white beard. He must have known it turned a temporary red, because he did this on repeat.
“Did you see them just outside before arriving?” Ashley turned her ear left. Two women leaned closely to one another. “I was quite unnerved,” the one speaking had a freckle on her bottom lip.
The other had a short voice. It sounded much like a whimper. “I heard he brought a criminal today,”
“Why?” lip freckle asked, reaching for her glass. “You don’t think they’ll…” her voice trailed off as the side doors burst open with a loud crack.
Instantly grabbing everyone’s attention, Madison Upson strolled out like everyone hadn’t been anticipating his arrival all evening.
Upson was a handsome man, close to the age of her father. There was still something slightly younger about him. Perhaps his green eyes? Or his unwrinkled smile?
He was born in Germany. Upson was well-known for his participation in homeland security. Upson was recognized well over seven years ago when he launched a private division program called TSE. Preservation was reportedly off the charts. Homeland hitches went down by twenty percent, in just the first year. That was enough to get most Scandinavian countries on board. Well, that and his enthusiasm to share it with world.
Ashley convinced her father she was ready for this. If she was going to break in the government business, she needed a start.
Upson made his way to the front of the room, lips curling. It was dead silent. She could tell he was relishing in it.
“Good evening,” Upson didn’t need a microphone. “Tonight, is a special night, not just for me but also,” he paused,” … for my friends in Norway.” He turned to the table accompanied by Norwegian administrators.
As he began clapping, everyone else followed instinctively. “I hope you all know who I am by now. But for those who don’t, I sure pray first impressions don’t matter much.” A few people chuckled, including her father.
“My name is Madison Upson. I am an opportunist. And like you, I understand there are many problems around us. We live through them daily. One thing that I find a constant are criminals.” He continued without missing a beat. “A crime is committed. Then the authorities decide what defenses to take. Right?”
Ashley tried casually glancing around the rest of the room. “Here’s the thing. People are criminals. People are also heroes. We are or own problems, then we are the answer to our problems. We’ve always been.”
Upson turned away from the audience. What was that? Ashley adjusted her eyes to see a light stitching on the back of his suit. A symbol.
“Don’t you feel at ease? No eye contact? No fake smiling. You’re safe.” He stated.
Next, Upson raised his left arm signaling the right doors to open. Together, two large men appeared, dragging a limp woman violently.
“This is Aud. She kidnapped three children as of last summer. Kidnapped,” As if repeating it would make things somehow worse. “She took those precious little kids to a hotel south of Norway three months ago. Three months ago.”
“Fuck you all,” the scream that stretched from the back of her throat induced Ashley to jump in her seat. “You fuckers are pigs. Disgusting pigs.”
“She took those kids one by one and drowned them.” He continued. “And now she’s here. At an end.”
Upson finally faced the crowd, and the women. Although, this time there was something black completely covering his face. Not a single outline of his features detected.
The two men carried her thrashing body forward, forcing her to her knees. Ashley’s breath went shallow as a pool of urine flooded the floor.
Mr. Greene pressed a napkin to his nose, disgusted.
“She’s never seen my face. She won’t ever see my face,” Upson freed a firearm from behind.
Ashley would have sworn she could hear the smoothness of the metal kiss her forehead before he fired, before red danced in the open air, and specs splashed her dress. The people who sat closer screamed in horror. But Ashley’s father didn’t flinch. In fact, he was amongst the several who began a standing ovation.
“May I introduce you to the TSE. Or, my personal favorite, The Silent Executioners.”
The table was spinning. All the glasses and the food. Then her lips went numb.
Ashley couldn’t count the faceless legion spreading around the edges of the room. She didn’t want to. All she could hear was the study sound of cheering.