As a child, Mathew Lawrenson had always been taught to play with fire, unlike most safety guidelines. His parents gave him a match and watched him play with it. He was free to do anything he wanted, burn the dog’s tail, burn some newspapers, and even let the matchstick burn until the end, while he was holding it.
Eventually, his early training paid out for Mathew. He was inducted into FEAR. Later on, he’d gotten married and had two kids, both of whom were … disappointing. Conan, his older son, had been disowned. Huh. Like he didn’t know the consequences.
Jake, his younger one, had been expelled. Purposely, by the looks of it. He sighed. It had been a week since Jake got expelled. And on top of that, there was another Board Meeting. Normally, Mathew liked them. They were a chance of getting away from his mansion and kids, but this time, the circumstances were different.
“Why?” he asked himself after Jake’s expulsion, “Why did he want to be expelled?” In his perspective, training at SCAR was the best thing for a FEAR member. Mathew himself never got to go, but that was because SCAR was established after he joined FEAR.
Never mind that. He had to get to the meeting. Mathew and Kiara, his wife, stepped into their Rolls Royce Phantom and drove off. After half an hour of driving, the couple came across a man in a red suit. Mathew got out of the car and said,
“Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,”
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” the man replied. Those words were codewords used to know if a person was a part of FEAR.
The man led them to a brick wall. He tapped on three of them, and voila! The bricks slid away from each other cleanly, revealing a dark passageway. The man led them into it. After ten minutes of walking, they saw a large door.
Mathew opened it and the group was greeted by a large, dark room, only lit by lanterns standing on waist-length pedestals. Two cloaked men were standing in the middle, on a raised platform with a red carpet. In the middle was a fire, lighting up the cloaks the other two men were wearing. The light from the flame exposed small white dots on the cloaks.
If one looked closely, they would see that the dots were actually stars, printed on the cloaks. Mathew, Kiara, and the man moved closer to the platform and stood there.
“Welcome,” said a voice that sounded like steel, “High Councillors and Agent Sparrow. We must wait for the others to arrive.”
Mathew did not reply. The minutes passed by until a bright light shone through the room.
Mathew, Kiara, and the man covered their faces hastily, for their eyes felt like how you feel once you come out of a movie theatre.
“Why is there such a bright light?” asked Mathew through his arms.
“I couldn’t see very well,” answered a voice, while keeping his flashlight in his pocket. He closed the door, thereby returning the room to darkness.
“Let us start!” said the man who had told them to wait, “Is everyone here? Good, write that down Elliot,” he said to the man next to him, “As we all know, Mathew and Kiara’s sons are both … failures.”
Mathew bowed his head down. This was the reason he was dreading the council meeting. The topic of Jake and Conan would surely surface. “Therefore,” the man continued, “They shall be demoted from their High Council status. Is everybody in favor?”
Everyone apart from Mathew and Kiara nodded. “No! Please Councillor Dermont!” begged Kiara, “Let us have a second chance! I am-”
“SHUT UP!” shouted Elliot, “You do not have permission to speak!”
“Settle down, settle down,” Dermont said, “Now, we must close this topic once and for all. Kiara and Mathew do have a chance of regaining their former power. They must succeed in another mission. It shall be to burn the White House down,”
“Do I have permission to speak?” asked Mathew. Elliot nodded.
“Thank you,” Mathew said, “If I may ask Councillor Dermont, why do we have to burn the White House? What shall FEAR get out of it?”
“We will get money,” Dermont replied, with a manic glint in his eyes, “An organization has paid us very well to burn the White House down. Just imagine it! History shall be repeated! FEAR shall play the part that the Britishers played in 1812. And you will be considered, to be reinstated as High Councillors.”
“Now that the matter is closed,” started Elliot, “We must acknowledge the fact that we need two new High Councillors. I have already made Clyde Reyora a Councillor,” he said, pointing to the man with the flashlight, “but the other post is open. That post will stay open until and unless the Lawrensons succeed in their mission. And if they do not, then Elliot shall rise to the post of a Councillor.”
“Onto our third matter today,” said Dermont, “We need a headquarters. That is actually the reason Elliot recruited Clyde to FEAR. He has found us a suitable location. It is located off the coast of the Canary Islands. We are also considering a location in Mauritius, but I do not think we shall choose it since it is just a single island.”
“How much will ze island cost, Councillor Dermont?” asked the man in the red suit. It was his first time speaking throughout the meeting, and one could notice that he was from France.
“It will require around four or five million dollars, Councillor Fern,” answered Dermont, “That is why Mathew and Kiara need to succeed in their mission. When they do, then we will have enough money to build the HQ.”
“I have another question Councillor Dermont,” started Elliot, “What will the Lawrenson’s punishment be if they do not succeed?”
“That will be discussed later, Elliot.”
“If I may, I do have a punishment for them,” Elliot suggested, “It will be that part of their house shall be burned down. And their beloved Rolls Royce!”
Mathew got a feeling of dread. That Rolls Royce Phantom had been the only thing that was left to him after his father had died. It was a very sleek, vintage one, that Conan had been particularly fond of.
Mathew was flooded with memories of his sons that would have made anyone shed tears, but he held them back, for it would make the Councillors think that he was sensitive and unsuitable for the mission. That mission was the only chance of their status being regained.
“Yes,” agreed Dermont after a few moments of careful thinking, “that will be a good sentence. Now, that is all for this meeting. The next time that we will meet, it will be only after Mathew and Kiara succeed or fail in burning the White House. Goodbye.”
And with a swish of his cloak, he exited the room. Fern (The man in the red suit) followed after him.
Only Kiara, Mathew, and Elliot were left.
“Okay, I’m going. I’ll wait for you in the car Mathew,” said Kiara while heading out.
Mathew nodded. Elliot waited until Kiara was out of sight. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you fail in your mission,” he said. He was only an assistant councillor and had always wanted to become a councillor. He saw Mathew and Kiara’s demotion as a chance of achieving his ambition.
“You don’t deserve to be a part of FEAR,” Elliot continued, “just like your children.”
“Don’t talk about them like that!” shouted Mathew. He was angry at both his sons, but he couldn’t tell Elliot that. He had to stand up to him. “As for your threat,” he continued, “I don’t think much of it. You won’t be able to do anything.”
“Oh, will I? I can make people hunt you down. I can make the police chase you. I have all the evidence, and you don’t!”
Mathew and Elliot stared daggers at each other. Mathew was the first to break eye contact. He hurried to the exit and reached his beloved Rolls Royce. “Is everything fine?” Kiara asked.
“No,” Mathew replied, “Elliot just threatened me.”
“It’s okay,” she said, “we’ll get through it. We always do.”
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143 comments
It' s an amazing story!
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Thank you!
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Voldemort here comes Harry Potter
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Alright.
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So, let's fight like Deathly Hallows
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You have clearly not read all the books.
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I didn't expect Lord Voldemort to be nice!😲😲
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That was Akshat.
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Ohh okay
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I am Lord Voldemort.
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Nice work!!
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Thank you!
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YAY! Part 2!!!! I love it 🥰
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Thanks! (Sorry for the late reply. My notifications thing had 1 and a half pages so I got lost in it xD)
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XD that's fine :) and your welcome!
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Lord Voldemort is my top fav in Harry Potter btw. Glad to know there are others with similar interests 😉
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Love the story AND your alter ego! ( Lord Voldemort is your alter ego, right? Or is he at the back of your head- like Quirrell?😂)
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Yes and no. The body I am possessing is Akshat Atal. I am Lord Voldemort.
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Oh... Thank you for gracing this humble servant with your presence, Dark Lord
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I shall be gone soon. Akshat is getting much stronger. PS. As Akshat. I'm changing my bio right now, after this comment. So ... you are officially the last person to meet Voldemort!
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I shall be ever grateful 😊
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Ohh good thAt voldemort has left ur body
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Yeah
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Brilliant one Akshat Atal. And pls upvote my comments as well (PLEASE)
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Thank you! Sure!
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Interesting premise. You executed it well. I didn't see this was a part 2 when I started reading, but the lack did not make the story hard to understand. Reads more like a vignette, part of a larger tale, than a full short. Still, it is serialized, so that makes sense. The opening might be stronger. This has a hook, but you have a lot more than "this guy was taught to play with fire at an early age" and you want to hint that something serious is about to happen. Something like, "Despite a lifetime playing with fire, Mathew Lawrenson ne...
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Wow! Thanks a lot for this very informative feedback! My next story will definitely be better!
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Yay! A part two! It was really good! Great job!
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Thank you!!!
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You're welcome!!!
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:D
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Lol I already commented on this, but HELLO Lord Voldermort!
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Hello Avery G.
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Again, Akshat, wow! I'm impressed. How many words was this? Could you have fit in Matthew and Kiara's plan to burn the White House? Or are you going to make a part 3? I think that this story was a little more fast-paced and less descriptive than part 1. Slow down. Maybe express Matthew's emotions more. You're doing a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. Another thing I would have included- what happened to Jake? Where did he move to? Is he still living at home? All you said was that he officially got expelled. Where did he go? We...
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Thanks! I’m not sure how many words it has. I’m gonna make a part 3 to it whenever a prompt fits. Thanks for the advice, I do agree with you! But it’s too late to edit now. Thanks though!
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Yeah, I'm here for advice! 😂
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😁
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Please read my latest story The Secret Organisation { Part 2 }
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Ok!
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Hi Akshat, I love the twist at the end! Wonderful, as always! Also, I heard you can become any character! If possible, it would be really creative if you could be someone in Percy Jackson! (If you haven't read Rick Riordan then Harry Potter?)
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Thanks a lot Niveeidha! I have read Percy Jackson, but I dont think I can impersonate any of them. As for Harry Potter, I was thinking perhaps ... Dobby? If not that, then maybe Trump.
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Hahah, Trump and Dobby would be nice! You can choose! I would love you to impersonate any of them! 😂
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Yeah! I think I'll do Dobby though, Trump would cause controversy.
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Yeah...no problem, it will cause chaos, or heated arguments... Are you the "free" Dobby or the one that still works in Hogwarts? If you're the free one... (Hi Dobby! Got any new socks yet?) If you're the one in Hogwarts...(Hey Dobby, how are you coping with work?)
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Dobby is free, no matter if he's at Hogwarts or not. But I think I'll do the one on which he's at Hogwarts.
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All Hail Lord Voldemort!!!!! Btw Say Congratulations To Akshat for moving up to the 25th place on the learderboard!
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You are not a Death Eater. And NO ONE says Voldemort. Not even Bellatrix.
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😬😬
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🐍🐍
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Loved this! Especially the code word! When I was younger, I loved Mary Poppins 😂I think without reading part 1, I still would have understood this. Anyway, have a lovey day! And keep up the good work!
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Thank you! I'm not much of a fan of Mary, but my favorite word is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
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I never watched the movie but I remember reading all the picture books 😂. But yeah, the word rocks!
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Yeah!
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Please read my newest story it's based on reedsy
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Ok!
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Enjoyed reading the story. HERE SHE COMES IN HER SNOW WHITE DRESS WITH A LOVELY SMILE ON HER FACE JACK'S BEAN STALK With CANON ON TOP ...... GO FIRE IN FAIR SNOW MAIDEN WHO SAW IT THAT DON KNOW IT FAIR TO FAIR WITHIN.
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Thanks! What?
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☺
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I love this story as much as the previous one. Good take with describing the dad's feelings. Good job! PS: I hope there's going to be a third story! ;)
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Thank you! I'll write a third part when there's a good enough prompt.
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Like my new name ? 😝😝
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PS. As Akshat. Why did you make it like that?
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Just like that
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I'll change it in a while.
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PS. As Akshat. Ok. But why Destinet Davis?
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I invented the name : Destiny + Violet, and Davis, just like that. My friend In the UK had her surname like that.
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A good story, at least for Voldemort. Remember that you are scared of me :)
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Aaaahhh, Dumbledore. Such a barmy old codger. Didn't Snape kill you?
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Harry killed you too and I believe Snape betrayed you as well. I pity you :) As I once said, "Do not pity the dead, Harry, pity the living, and above all, those who live without love." That quote screams "Voldemort", don't you think?
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Harry did not kill me. If he did, how would I be possessing Akshat? I had 1 secret Horcrux. As for your quote, I do not think much of it. Did "LOVE" protect you when Snape killed you at the Astronomy Tower? Did "LOVE" protect Snape once I slaughtered him? Did "LOVE" protect the countless others I have killed? NO! IT DIDN'T!
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I am shocked. I must tell Harry. Also I'm not dead because a part of me stayed with Harry. I have had enough! I demand a comeback/roast battle, as the muggles say! And my quote is wonderful! Here's another one. "Of course it is in your head, Harry, but why on Earth should that mean it isn't real?" It was unrelated, but a good quote nevertheless. Now excuse me, for I must go find Hermione to help me with this battle of wits. I again will remind you that you are scared of me according to google.
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A roast battle you say? I am not fond of these silly Muggle things. Let us have a duel, as true wizards have. You mustn't believe everything that Rowling says on the internet.
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Hey Akshat! Why did you change your name to He Who Must Not Be Named? I won't be giving any likes to stories penned by a child murderer! (Just kidding!) Anyway, why did you change your name?
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I dunno. Just a joke! Read my bio! 🤣🤣
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Hey, you forgot 'descended from the Peverells'! I just read it :)
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Oh yeah! Lemme update it
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