Ice and Fire novel Chapter 402

Jackson said, "Then stay there and I'll go see you. Call Bobby, and ask him to join us at your apartment."

Derek answered, "Okay, I got it."

Jackson hanged up and drove towards Derek's apartment.

Within half an hour, Jackson arrived and walked into Derek's apartment. Bobby arrived earlier and was already making himself at home. He was having his morning coffee, courtesy of Derek's pantry.

When Bobby saw Jackson coming, he greeted, "Hello, Mr. Jackson. Would you like some coffee too?" he asked.

"Everyone please, let's all have a seat, " Jackson ordered. He then walked towards the living room and sat down on a sofa.

Derek and Bobby followed his example, each selected their own chair and sat down with him. It was an informal yet urgent meeting.

Derek asked, "What's the matter? Why the urgency? Is anything wrong?" Derek added to his question. It was unusual for Jackson to call so early in the morning, so he presumed that something serious must have happened.

Jackson nodded as a reply to his question. Then he looked at Bobby and asked, "Any news about the butler?"

Bobby shook his head and answered, " No, not yet. Our people are still looking for him."

Hearing this, Jackson stayed quiet and thought.

Derek and Bobby looked at each. Both were puzzled but remained silent as well. They wondered why Jackson asked about the butler and what the connection of butler with what was presently happening was.

Derek did not like being kept in the dark, asked, "Jackson, what happened?" He needed to know what happened, all the details. He thought, 'How the hell could I help Jackson if I have no idea with what is going on?' He knew that Jackson was in a mess. He has a lot of issues and people to deal with. Derek, being his trusted friend was eager to lift some of the weight off of his shoulder, but to be able to do that he needed information.

"Bobby, send out more people to look for the butler. Make sure you will find him as soon as you can, " Jackson ordered. His voice was serious and it had a tone of urgency.

Bobby nodded his head and replied, "Yes, Mr. Jackson. I will."

Derek thought for a moment and said, "He shouldn't be out of contact for too long. He knows too many things, and, " Derek paused for a second and continued, "We need to know something about Andrew from him."

Bobby stood up silently and listened to two men's conversation hoping to get more idea on what the issue was.

Jackson then said, "So we must find him as soon as possible. Or else, what happens next will possibly influence Eric and Jonson."

Bobby asked, curious not seeing the connection. "Influence them, in what way?"

Jackson didn't reply to his question. Derek however, had pieced the puzzle and understood that the butler was indeed a ticking time bomb. Once the bomb went off, the two sleeping wolves would certainly create havoc and more problems for Jackson.

Jackson looked at Bobby and said, "Bobby, you know what you should do next. Right?"

Bobby understood Jackson's meaning and said, "Okay. I will go now and continue with the search. I will also send more men to look for him." If it was related to the interests of Eric and Jonson, Bobby needed to find this butler and he would not let go of him.

Jackson denied immediately, "No, that would be impossible."

Derek asked, "Why so? He was the closest person to your Grandpa and he disappeared before your Grandpa died."

Jackson explained, "It only proves that the token is not being held by him. He suddenly disappeared before Grandpa's death, so my Grandpa must have noticed that. If the token were gone when he left, Grandpa would have told me."

Derek continued, "So it was possible that Grandpa knew the token was gone, thus he wrote the note to apologize to you."

Jackson disagreed with Derek's statement once more and said, "No, it isn't my Grandpa's way of doing things. He knew that the token was of great importance and it was very valuable to the family. And if the butler has the token, I would now be in danger. So if my Grandpa knew these things, he would secretly have sent out people to find the token. He would not allow me to be placed in danger."

Derek was silent and he pondered on Jackson's reason. It was true, Andrew would never allow his beloved grandson to be in any danger.

Jackson was silent, also deep in thought. There was something that confused him. He thought that something wasn't taken into consideration and he might be wrong about this. But he believed that to certain extent, his guess made some sense, so he said, "Derek, if I am not wrong, Grandpa knew where the token was, so he left this note. it was not to tell me that the token was gone, but it was to tell me that he was sorry for not giving it to me in person."

Derek said, "But the major problem is that none of us has seen the token before. We have no idea what it looks like. Maybe the butler hasn't seen it, either. But, why was there a need for him to leave the Chu House? And where is he?"

Jackson looked at and said, "Derek, I'm more worried about one thing."

Derek hesitated but asked, "What?"

Jackson said firmly, "The butler might be planning something bigger against the family."