My name is Riful

My name is Riful. Sometimes I'm called Riful of the West, but that appellation is not so relevant today. Today I go by Riful West, I know it isn't very original but I like it and no one gives me any grief about it. I'm the oldest surviving ex-claymore of the female variety. Now days I generally keep to the west coast of what has become America. Nothing beats the sunny beaches of California or the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

I've pretty much given up the life of a hunted woman thanks in part to the final destruction of the Organization. I met with the remaining Claymores and Awakened beings and brought everyone to an understanding that if we settled down and only preyed on the criminal element of the humans then we could let each other alone. Heaven knows that there are plenty of scumbag humans around. As long as we don't leave any trace of the pesky critters then there isn't much of a problem. It also helped that there weren't many of us Awakened beings left after the destruction of the Organization.

Duph unfortunately didn't survive the final battle but that's ok. I've been taking human men as a substitute for centuries now and they aren't half bad. The problem lies in when they grow old. That bastard Isley won't give me the time of day and doesn't leave Chicago any more. I heard that he is the head of some multi-national corp or something like that. Maybe it was that he held a majority share in the corp, I forget and it isn't very relevant.

I just got done talking with Mira, she was out this way for a photo shoot. For some reason she went into modeling and has been a top model for about ten years now so she is also using this opportunity to scout out a new location and profession so she can swap lives again. This is something we all have to do occasionally. It doesn't look good if you never age or suffer from debilitating diseases or accidents. Our usual method of terminating one life is to drive a car off a bridge into a raging river and then just swim away down stream. So far I've lost two Porches, one Mustang and two 300Z's. I miss that Mustang.

Currently I've been passing myself off as a highschool student in the area of Modesto Ca. I make a lot of friends in the classes I take, and confound the teachers because I already know the material that they are teaching. Hell, I lived through most of the history that they teach. Weekends I take a drive down to Oakland and park the car and start wandering about the bad sections of town to get a meal. The meals here are plentiful considering the crime rate. I don't like eating the drug dealers though, they have the same stuff in their systems that the junkies have. The last time I ate one of them it took me half a day to come down off the high. Luckily, Clare found me and took me to Galatiea who suppressed my yoki until I regained my senses. My favorite prey are the pedophiles. I can spot them from miles away. The look in their eye and the way they follow your every movement. I even let them seem to get the drop on me by yanking me into their cars and driving off. The look on their faces though, as they realize that they have just become the prey, is priceless. Most of them are nicely fat and juicy too. I like to think of it as a public service.

Today though I have to go and see another sort of predator, a lawyer, about moving my money around. I do have a substantial fortune amassed over the years, so I have to be very careful about who controls my wealth. I don't exactly trust lawyers but they do what you tell them to do if you pay them enough money. The ones that cross me are never heard from again. This one is a young one though. He hasn't had time to get too jaded. Heck, if he's cute I may make him my new boy-toy. I just have to be careful because humans are so fragile.

"Good morning Miss. May I help you?" A blond twenty something receptionist asks.

"I'm here to see Georgie Abernathy. I'm Riful West." I reply.

"Mr Abernathy is with a client at the moment so if you will take a seat, I'll buzz him and let him know that you are here." The look on her face makes me think that she doesn't believe I'm worth seeing.

"Thanks." I reply cheerfully as I sit on one of the couches and pick up a magazine and pretend to flip the pages.

A few minutes later a door opens and a scrubby looking man emerges along with a tidy looking young man that I assume is Georgie Abernathy. They talk a moment longer and then the scrubby man departs.

The young man walks over and asks. "Riful?"

I put down my magazine and smile cheerily at him. "Yes, I'm Riful West."

"Hi, I'm Georgie Abernathy, why don't you come with me and you can tell me what you want."

I follow him into his office and take a seat across from him.

"So what can I do for you?" He asks with a fake smile plastered to his face. I can tell he thinks that this will be a waste of his time but he is in for one hell of a shock.

I open my brief case and place some documents on my side of the desk. "As of now I am hiring you as my full time attorney." I begin with little emotion in my voice. "I will make sure that you are well paid and won't have to take any other clients as long as we do business. As a matter of fact I would prefer that you not take any other clients as long as we do business." I watch as his face gets a questioning look on it. I slide a cashiers check across the desk to him which he picks up and examines. His face registers the shock as he counts the zeros after the first digit.

"Where did you get this?" He asks completely flustered.

"Here is the number to the bank. Call and check it out. I'll wait." I tell him in a cold voice that gives him the shivers.

"Excuse me." He stands and leaves the office for a few minutes. When he comes back he is slightly pale.

"What can I do for you Miss West?" His tone is completely different now that he verified the check.

"Like I said, I want you to become my exclusive attorney. I want you to manage the financials that I have and make sure that there are no issues that could arise over time. In return I'll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams."

He looks at the check in his hands and then at me. "How did you come to be in the possession of this much money?"

"First, do you accept the job?" I ask looking him in the eye.

He looks at the check and then back at me. I can see that he is wondering what is going on. "That check is yours even if you don't take the job." This shocks him even more.

"Well, I guess that I'm your attorney for at least as long as this meeting goes on. So tell me how you got your hands on this much money and why are you picking me of all the law firms out there?" He asks.

"Good, and as of now we have complete client attorney privilege. I'm not going to ask you to do anything illegal or anything like that so don't worry. I'm just going to tell you a tale about myself and it is to stay between you and I. When I'm done I'll show you something and then if you can't accept the job we'll part company and no harm no foul. However, if you leak one tiny bit about what I'm going to tell you there will be dire consequences." I search his face for signs of regret over taking this meeting. I see none so I continue.

Four hours later I reach across the desk to shake his hand and see him trembling at the thought of taking it. "We have a deal then? You are to manage the estate, making the financial transactions as well as keeping my personal account as full of money as I require. In return, I make you rich."

He tentatively took her hand before getting a grip on himself. He let out a small sigh and then, "Riful West, or what ever your real name is or was, I accept your offer and I'll do my best for you."

"So to celebrate, why don't you treat me to some Chinese cuisine?" I asked with a glint in my eye.

"You don't mean…" Georgie's mouth hung open after the last word and his eyes were wide open.

I started laughing. "No, silly, I meant like pork lo mein."