Chapter 5 Gabriel
Gabriel
The chemical analysis of the samples we brought in only took a day to process in the lab downstairs.
The results weren't surprising—the ocean was fucked. The lamp on my desk glowed, pushing back the darkness in my office. Repetitive, bureaucratic forms demanded my attention. I watched raindrops stream down the large window overlooking the ocean while absently drumming my fingers on my desk. Stopping the coastlines destruction and sitting here for hours slaving over these forms didn’t feel connected.
I’ve never solved problems with paperwork.
I let out a sigh of frustration, leaned back in my creaky office chair, then picked up my phone and called Sophia. The last time I heard her voice on the phone, she was furious.
"Hello?" There was no hint of that now.
"Gabriel?" Sophia's voice came through the phone, soft and delicate.
"I know it’s your day off, and it’s late, but would you be able to come into the office? These forms are a pain in the ass."
Thunder filled the silence. "I can’t, I'm working with Henry. I'm really sorry."
“No, it’s fine. I’m almost finished up anyway.” A man's muffled voice shouted in the background. "So, what are you doing with Henry?" I asked.
"Just cleaning the art gallery, making sure everything is ready for an exhibit we’re having."
Henry's voice cut hers off and their conversation became muffled. I sat in silence, staring at the wall. The phone pressed to my ear as I listened to their indiscernible, yet obviously heated words.
"I’ve got to get back to these documents, but I'd like to come by and see the exhibit."
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Ive got to get back to this, but I want to see your art sometime.”
“You do?”
“Of course. Besides, there’s something of mine I need to pick up. But I’ll let you go for now."
"See you later, Gabriel. Thank you." I ended the call and walked to the window. The clouds billowing across the night sky over the ocean showed no sign of the storm’s end.
Lightning flashed in the distance and illuminated the row of oil rigs.
They were just small, harmless dots on the horizon from here.
I clenched my teeth and sat back at my desk.
I pushed the papers aside and opened my laptop, spending the next few hours researching the company that owns the oil rigs, Rosso Drilling Company.
The more I dug, the more I realized that these people didn’t deserve “New Gabriel” treatment.
Five years ago, the company's compliance department had been caught manipulating environmental studies across numerous drilling sites.
They were hit with millions of dollars in fines, yet here they were again, mindlessly prioritizing profit.
The growing strength of the storm matched my unrest. I came here to be different, to be a normal person. Being a normal person meant doing things the right way, but the right way was rarely effective. I scrolled through the contacts in my phone and found the name I was looking for. Nikolai.
Nikolai had once been part of the Russian mob, before my family destroyed them and drove them out of New York decades ago.
His loyalty was always questionable; he only cared about two things—money and himself.
A lone wolf by nature, Nikolai came to us when it became clear he was on the losing side.
He was skilled with computers, able to access information we couldn't. I never trusted him, but we had needed him more times than I cared to admit—and I needed him again now. I pressed call.
“Gabriel, it’s been too long.” He said with a thick, cheerful accent.
“Hey Niko.”
“Listen, I heard about your brother Logan. I’m sorry. I know what that’s like.” he said.
“Don’t. Just, I need you to do something for me. I poured another drink as he spoke.
“Of course Gabriel, what is it you need, old friend?”
His voice felt like a snake coiling around me, but that was nothing new.
“I need you to look into this oil company for me. Rosso Drilling.”
“Im listening.” He said.
I need the email, phone number and home address for the CEO. His name is Victor Crass, but that was all I could find on my own. Can you get that for me?”
“Ah you're going hunting? This shouldn’t be too difficult, give me a few minutes here.”
“One more thing, don’t tell my family about this. It’s complicated, but I’m on my own now”
“Tell them about what?”
“Exactly.”
I waited in silence. Rain slammed into the building, whipping against the window relentlessly. The warm lamplight scattered through my glass as I lifted it to my lips. Lightning flashed, and Niko spoke as low thunder rolled in.
“The CEO of Rosso Drilling is Victor Crass, as you said. He’s just a corrupt suit, a nobody. What do you want with him?”
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with.”
“Alright alright I hear you, i’m sending you his info.”
“Thanks, Niko. I doubt you’ll ever be able to collect, but I owe you one.
“For this? No, Gabriel, trust me, it’s nothing.”
“Alright.”
I wasted no time calling the number Niko sent and felt myself smile at the sound of the raspy voice of Victor Crass wondering who I am.
“Who is this?"
"Gabriel."
"You haven’t answered my question," he said, already irritated.
"I'm someone who knows you, Victor. I know what you're doing," I replied calmly.
There was a brief pause, and then the voice on the other end let out a low chuckle.
"Okay, Gabriel. What brings you to the forefront of my attention? Trying to be the hero, are we? This isn’t the first time you environmentalist scum found my number. Why don't you go chain yourself to a tree."
"Funny you mention chains—they’re what you’ll be in if you don’t do what I say."
"Is that right?" He nearly wheezed as he laughed.
"That's right."
"Now you listen to me, Gabriel. I’ll give you one chance to end the call right now and never try this shit again."
"Check your email," I said.
The silence dragged on, broken by the slow clicks of a mouse and keyboard. He didn't say anything, but I could hear the anxiety tearing him apart in his quick, shallow breaths.
"I'm going to send our findings to the government the moment this call ends.
The fines alone will set you back tens of millions, especially if your other rigs are polluting as well.
Listen, Victor, I only care about the rigs off the coast of Port Aranza.
But man, could you imagine how hard the government's cock would be for you if they smelled your oil in the water again? Let's face it, Victor, you couldn’t survive another government fucking.”
His voice was distorted through the phone as he shouted incomprehensibly, but I kept it to my ear, it was my turn to laugh.
“I know about your shell company in Panama. Use it to wire a million-dollar donation to the Marine Biology Center in Port Aranza. Of course, you also have to stop polluting the ocean here, unless you want this to be a recurring payment.”
He breathed heavy, labored breathes into the phone. “Now you listen to me. You think you’ve got me by the balls, but you need to understand that's how you lose a hand. This is your last chance to fuck off.”
“I expect the money by noon tomorrow.”
I ended the call. With a smile, I kicked my feet up and poured another glass.
I swirled the whiskey relishing the power I had over him.
It was a calculated risk, one that could potentially expose me to danger if my plan didn't go as smoothly as it should.
But this was a joke compared to the life I left behind.
It may have been a little illegal, but it was moral, it was right.
Now, I could finance my new, normal life.
My mind wandered back to Sophia and her involvement with Henry at the art gallery.
Whiskey burned down my throat and trickled down the glass onto my white shirt.
Damn it. I took my shirt off and pulled out my tightly folded air mattress from under my desk.
My money would come in soon, but for now, I would have to spend a couple more nights living like an animal.
There were a few things I could never forgive my father for, and this was close to being one of them.
I plugged in the pump, and the plastic bed began to inflate.
I sealed the opening and went back to my desk—my dresser.
I stood in the middle of my office and took a final swig from the bottle.
Its soothing warmth evaporated as a fist knocked on my door.
The old door with loose hinges rattled in its frame at each sharp knock.
I stood there shirtless and frozen, the bottle to my lips.
I narrowed my eyes at the door as I finished the bottle.
The knocking continued, and I shifted my grip to the neck of the thick bottle, I found the darkest part of my office to spring out from, but before I could move, a soft voice called out from the other side of the door.
“Gabriel, are you in there? Can I come in?"
“Sophia? I thought you weren’t coming?”
I set the bottle down and reached for the door when I remembered the damn air mattress in the corner. Shit.
"Hey, just a minute. Don’t come in." I called out, hoping to stop her in time.
There was silence on the other side of the door.
I flopped onto the air mattress, which let out a deflated sigh under my weight as I tried to shift the remaining pockets of air.
Just as I was about to stuff it behind a chair, I caught a glimpse of her in the doorway, eyes wide.
"I said don’t come in."
"I... I'm sorry," she stammered, her voice faltering. "I didn't expect... I mean—"
I cut her off with a wave of my hand. "It's fine, Sophia.
Just give me a moment to get dressed." She nodded, still looking a bit flustered, but didn’t avert her gaze.
She watched as I rummaged through the drawers of my desk, searching for something to wear, only to come up empty.
My clean shirts were still in the car. The desk lamp cast a warm glow over me, shadows emphasizing the spaces between my muscles.
Trying to ease the tension, I smiled. "I guess I don’t have any shirts up here."
She stepped forward, a cute smile forming on her lips. "Well, I guess you'll have to go shirtless," she teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes. But her expression shifted when she noticed the empty whiskey bottle on the floor.
"You’re soaking wet, Sophia."
"I am," she admitted. A blush spread across her cheeks as she looked away. "I got caught in the rain outside. Henry dropped me off at the street instead of pulling in—he wasn’t too happy that I insisted on coming to help," she added softly.
"Well, you can’t stay in those wet clothes."
"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity and a hint of uncertainty.
I stepped closer until we were just inches apart. "I have something comfortable you can wear, but it's in my car. You can change into it," I offered.
Sophia hesitated for a moment, her gaze locked with mine. The tension between us was palpable, caution and desire both flickering in her eyes.