cut from the will [gideon thatcher]

Gideon Thatcher.

”He is going to keel over before we get anywhere…I am going to keel over pushing the useless shit all the way there!” Dad never misses with the back of his hand against my head and today is no different. I have always got to ruin my body testing drugs for my crippled brother and now I have got to be his donkey, pushing his wheels across the district to one of the factory lines. Not exactly sure why dad has us out on this family outing, it is a rare sight for us all to be together. My brother is usually couped up at home, I am usually strapped to a chair in a laboratory and my dad is out somewhere bargaining with one of the rival families.

Poor kid is trembling in his seat below me, the sun soaking the back of my neck with sweat and my brother has a blanket on his knees. It must suck being him. It sucks even more being his guinea pig to test out the drugs that could save him. While the rest of my family and cousins are reaping the benefits of the Thatcher gold, my dad is wasting his share on a cure. After fifteen years of failing, I would have thrown in the towel by now. Live the life of luxury like my uncles, their houses are so much better than ours. Dad can leave all his money to me, and I can finally buy those cool shades and trade my bed for a pile of dollars.

”Pretty sure we just walked passed our last factory on this road, where are you taking us dad? I need a break, he is heavy to push you know.” Light as a feather actually, I aint got strong arms but pushing my bro is like pushing a sack of potatoes.

”This, right here. This is where I am taking you.” Dad points across the road at the boarded up and burnt out factory that used to be owned by Ollie Garner’s grandpa. ”Yeah, that burnt out shell. What about It?” The one that caused a little bit of drama in my family’s industry last year. It was fucking funny to be honest, everyone fought for the license of his legitimate drug when he got shut down. When it slipped from my family’s grip, I fucking laughed and blazed up with Ollie for days. I know it was his grandpa and like he got executed and everything but seeing my family lose a piece of their monopoly game was fun. And then someone set fire to the old man’s factory so they couldn’t even purge that!

”It is yours son.”

Haha. What the fuck!

”What?”

As if.

”It is time you took on some responsibility. I want you to rejuvenate this building and start manufacturing the lesser known drugs in our formulary.”

”How am I meant to rebuild that? It doesn’t even have a roof!” Literally, the flames must have caused the roof to collapse into itself in the building. The only real thing still standing are the metal beams holding it up. ”I skipped the rebuilding literal factories classes at school!”

”I don’t expect you to rebuild it yourself, you can hire an architect and make a plan from there!” George the little fuck is sniggering away in his wheelchair. I kick the back of his wheels with my toes, he can shut up. ”What about him? What is he going to do?” I point down at the bane of my life who is lucky to be resting his legs right now. ”He can help you. He is the only one out of you two that has brain!”

”Oi, I have a brain! All those MRIs you have had me do confirm that!” Dad looks so unimpressed right now, as if I would be so ecstatic to be gifted a derelict burnt out eye sore that is good for nothing. ”It is time my two sons start earning some money for this family, the pair of you need to catch up with your cousins. Even if one of you is as stupid as a donkey and.” He stops when he looks at George, of cause that kid gets away with being insulted! What was he going to say, as sick as a dog? Carry on the comparing to animals theme!

”And if I say no?”

”You have no choice Gideon. If this building is not open by this time next year, you are cut from my will!”

Wow. He really said that. Well fuck. I think I need to ditch my bro right now and find Ollie for a fix. It will be a good way to think this through.