Friday, February 7, 2014 – 1 PM EST – Offices of Richard, Sampson and O’Farrell – Brooklyn, New York



It was an easy drive to Brooklyn; it took about 2 hours as traffic was fairly light. During that time Sebastian and I continued our conversation from the prior day regarding the possibility of having our father and my mother meet for the first time in over 20 years. As a result of our talks I phoned my mother yesterday afternoon and told her that I wanted to stop by her apartment after I finished my business at Sherman Richard’s office. Of course she was thrilled to hear that I would be stopping by. What she does not know is that I would be bringing Sebastian with me.

Sherman’s office is on the 5th floor and for some reason the elevators were not working. So up 5 flights of stairs we trekked. By the time we got to our destination I was just starting to break a sweat, Sebastian looked like Sebastian always looks. Quiet and brooding, which for the purposes of what is going on now, that’s a good thing.

Sebastian and I spent about 15 minutes sitting in the room adjacent to Sherman’s office. Sherman’s assistant slash law student secretary Jamie offered each of us some coffee and Danish. I politely declined while Sebastian just stared at her like she had 4 heads. Good ole Sebastian, making friends wherever he goes. Sherman eventually comes out of his office, if I had not seen the pictures that Matthew pulled off the internet I would have never pictured Sherman Richards looking the way he did. What I expected to be a 5 foot 8 slightly older than middle aged white guy with whitish gray hair I got a 6 foot 2 black guy in his early 50’s with not a hint of gray in his hair. Sherman approached his secretary Jamie who then pointed in our direction to let him know that his 1:00pm was here. Sherman made his way over to us and introduced himself.



SHERMAN RICHARDS: “Hello Mr. Martin I presume.”

ENIGMA: “That’s correct.”

SHERMAN RICHARDS: “If you’ll just follow me right this way please.”



I introduced Sebastian as a business partner, he and Sherman shook hands and then Sherman ushered us into a small conference room across the hall from where we had been waiting.



SHERMAN RICHARDS: “Well Mr. Martin, this should be relatively painless.”

“As you can see from the figures in front of you, you made out pretty darn well with the sale of your fathers portion of his company.”

ENIGMA: “I see that.”

“Thank you for getting that done.”

SHERMAN RICHARDS: “It was my pleasure Mr. Martin.”

“If you could, please look over all of the figures that are marked with yellow sticky arrow and then initial where the red sticky arrows are then we can cut you a check for the amount listed on page 16.”



I scanned over the documents to make sure everything added up…it did. It took about 2 minutes and the papers were signed. And just like that, I was now not just a million dollar man but a $100 million dollar man. It’s amazing. In the span of 3 months I have gone from being a no one who came from a broken home to a murder and now, part of the 1%. Talk about a whirlwind.



SHERMAN RICHARDS: “Ok.”

“Everything looks good here.”

“If you will just give me a minute I will go and get your check.”

ENIGMA: “Thank you.”




Richard’s get’s up and leaves the conference room. While he was gone Sebastian spoke up for the first time since arriving in Brooklyn.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You know $100 million dollars is a hell of a payday for your first kill.”

ENIGMA: “Why would you say that out loud?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “This is an attorney’s office.”

“Attorney client privilege, ever heard of it?”

ENIGMA: “Yes.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “That’s why.”

ENIGMA: “He’s an attorney Sebastian, he is not my attorney.”



…That rare moment when Sebastian makes a mistake. I want to take it all in for a second because those moments truly are extremely few and far between but I can’t, because Sherman Richard’s has returned with a check in his hand.



SHERMAN RICHARDS: “Here you are Mr. Martin.”

ENIGMA: “Thank you.”



I grabbed the check out of Mr. Richard’s left hand while simultaneously shaking the right. Before exiting the conference room there was one final thought that entered my head.



ENIGMA: “Sherman, did you ever get a hold of Thomas Martin’s wife?”

SHERMAN RICHARDS: “Yes we did.”

“Mrs. Martin was so happy to hear that you had made the generous decision to leave your stake in their home to her daughter.”

“That is after she got over the initial shock of finding out that Thomas had a previously family, that her daughter has a brother.”

ENIGMA: “No she does not."

SHERMAN RICHARDS: “I’m sorry?”

ENIGMA: “We may share some genetic markers but our relationship ends there.”

“My ties to Thomas Martin ended the day my mother left him.”

SHERMAN RICHARDS: “I’m sorry.”

“I did not mean to offend.”

ENIGMA: “No offense taken.”




Sebastian and I left the conference room, on the way out I received a smile from Sherman’s secretary Jamie. She’s a pretty young woman. Not my type, but maybe in another life I would have jumped all over there. Figuratively and literally. As we made it towards the stairwell to make the trip back down the last thing I had expected to happen did.

Mrs. Martin, the sequel and her young daughter rounded the corner. Thank God neither of them knew who I was but when I saw them, and could see that both of them had very clearly been crying only a few minutes before it was all I could do to not out myself right there. I quickly made my way to the stair well and then descended down the 5 flights as if I was running from something, and perhaps to some degree I was.

As soon as I got to the bottom of the steps and outside of the building I leaned up against the side of the building and just looked up at the sky for a few seconds. Sebastian followed me out of the building and then stood next to me, looking down, wondering what it was that was going on.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What the hell is the matter with you?”

“Why did you practically run down the steps?”

ENIGMA: “I had to get out of there.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Why?”

ENIGMA: “You do not know who that was?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Who what was?”

“What the hell are you on about?”

ENIGMA: “That woman and her young daughter.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “What about them?”

ENIGMA: “That was Thomas’s wife, and my half sister.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “So what?”

“You did them both a favor.”

“You know that, even if they don’t.”

ENIGMA: “You don’t get it.”

“I’m not like you Sebastian.”

“Seeing them…it just…”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “It what? What did it do?”

“Make you doubt yourself?”

“Thomas Martin was a disgusting piece of human filth, he got a far better death than the one he deserved.”

ENIGMA: “Open your eyes Sebastian.”

“I am a murder, I took a girl’s father from her and she will never know or understand why.”

“I have become the very monster I put down.”

“I have become everything I never wanted.”


Fade To Darkness.


To Be Continued