Friday, 5:00 pm – The Conclusion
It’s 5pm at the Union League Club. We crowd into a squash court, not a boxing ring, and close the door. This is a private fight between Alexander Harbinger PhD and Loop Lonagan, man-about-town. That’s right—two of my colleagues and best friends are about to beat each other senseless. And I’m here to enjoy every second of it. Continue reading
Filed under Biography, Characters, Conflict, Entrepreneur
by John Jonelis
Friday, 3:45 pm
Loop Lonagan is out somewhere looking for another bottle of $50 scotch and I’m alone with Alexander Harbinger PhD, getting his slant on the Ray Markman story. Alex looks fit—all six foot five of him—but I wonder if he has any real experience boxing.
The match is just a little over an hour away, so I put it to him.
He brings himself even more erect in his chair. “When I vas a boy I attended a special school—what do you call it ven you live at—ah yes—boarding. It vass a boarding school. They taught all ze boys to defend zemselves.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. This is all wrong. The guy hasn’t used his fists since school days, and he’s going into a boxing match with Loop Lonagan? A horrible image comes to mind and I shudder. I picture Lonagan grinning while he cranks the handle of a meat grinder. Continue reading
Filed under Biography, Characters, Entrepreneur
by John Jonelis
Friday, 3:30 pm
The hour of the duel is closing fast. Can I get the information I want out of these two hotheads before they beat each other senseless? If I prove one or the other right, will that snuff out the fuse? At this point, I can’t be sure of anything.
Filed under Biography, Characters, Conflict, Entrepreneur, Relationships
by John Jonelis
Friday, 2:30 pm
We’re sitting across my battered WWII Air Force desk digging out the history of Ray Markman. Alexander Harbinger’s argument that Ray isn’t a pure entrepreneur seems pretty well shot to pieces. Loop Lonagan told some amazing stories about risk ventures and I think Alex is squirming a bit, but I want to hear what he’s turned up before these two beat each other senseless at the duel scheduled for five o’clock today. So I put it to him.
“Yess,” he says. “I did find quite ze important story about Mr. Markman. To me, it iss poignant und highly significant. It illustrates not only his personality but ze way he affected people around him.”
Continue reading
Filed under Biography, Characters, Conflict, Entrepreneur, Relationships
by John Jonelis
Friday, 1:30 am
Ray Markman claims, ‘I never worked a day in my life.’ Now I wait for Alexander Harbinger and Loop Lonagan to give their analysis based on boxes of old documents and memories. The clock reads 1:30 when Loop and Alex finally file in. They each carry thick note pads and plunk down in soft chairs across from my desk. From the way Loop pats his belly, I know they’re straight from some heavy lunch spot.
Lonagan is first to speak. “Me and Alex want you should go first.”
“What?” I say. “There’s some problem?”
Harbinger responds in his heavy German accent. “Vee are at a point of disagreement. Perhaps, Yon, you vill set ze right tone for the meeting.” Continue reading
Filed under Biography, Characters, Conflict, Entrepreneur, Online Novel
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