Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Part 3
RADIO SHOW: The final descent of Dawoud’s million dollar business fraud.
Scene 7
THE SOUND OF A BUSY OFFICE.
NARRATION: Dawoud’s wealth had grown to a tremendous amount, and everything had been working out for him. His company was growing with a huge flow of new investors coming in. His family had come to America and they were very proud of his fortune. But he had more ambitious plans for the future. He wanted to get out of the European market and expand to all parts of the country.
THE SOUND OF KNOCKING ON WOOD.
DAWOUD: Come in.
THE SOUND OF THE DOOR CREAKING OPEN.
ACCOUNTANT: I don’t have time to waste. One of our largest investors just pulled their money out.
DAWOUD: How much?
ACCOUNTANT: Over 1,000,000 dollars.
DAWOUD: Well, what are you waiting for? Clear my schedule and everyone else’s. We need to discuss this. Quickly! No time to waste. Call up the board.
ACCOUNTANT: On my way, sir.
NARRATION: A couple of minutes later Davis and his friend Sullivan came through the door with a couple of board directors. They all sat in their chairs on a long table next to Dawoud was a whiteboard which he went to and started to write on.
DAWOUD: How much does he want?
DIRECTOR #2: He wants 1,040,340 USD. I don’t see why, though.
DIRECTOR #4: We’re giving him large returns consistently. I don’t see why.
DAVIS: Silence! Get over with his reasoning, the important thing is the amount we owe him.
DAWOUD: Using the data rights of incoming investors and the average payout, we won’t be able to pay him within a day.
SULLIVAN: Well, what should we do?
SOUND OF A CROWD ARGUING.
DAWOUD: Silence everyone! Please retain some composure!
THE SOUNDS OF CROWDED ARGUING STOP AND NOTHING BUT SILENCE PLAYS FOR 2 SECONDS.
DAWOUD: Up the ads and pay some people to spread the word.
DIRECTOR #1: What if we can’t pay him?
DAVIS: Then we pay him with our own money and give it to him.
NARRATION: So Dawoud waited there pacing around. He called “sick” and made phone calls. At the end of the day, they made 600,000 dollars. Dawoud frowned and went to the bank to pull $500,000 from his account. It was a close call, and he thought maybe next time he won’t be as lucky.
Scene 8
NARRATION: The golden sun hung over the background hiding the things that would make today the start of the fall of Dawoud’s business. His total revenue for today had been 1,040,043 dollars. Dawoud packed up and headed out to go home for the day.
DAWOUD: How’s it going, Josh?
JOSH: Great. How's the market doing these days?
DAWOUD: I don’t know. You should ask Thomas he usually knows that kind of stuff.
JOSH: Ok. Have a good one.
DAWOUD: Yeah, you too.
NARRATION: Suddenly a man holding papers looks around frantically. As he runs toward Dawoud he recognizes this man as Thomas.
DAWOUD: Thomas, how ‘s—
NARRATION: Dawoud is quickly interrupted by Thomas.
THOMAS: Sir, the stock market is crashing.
DAWOUD: What do you mean?
THOMAS: Businesses are failing. The market’s all red. No one is doing well. It looks like a losing game.
DAWOUD: What does this mean for us?
THOMAS: People will start to be afraid of investing and people will want their money back.
NARRATION: So Dawoud went back to his office and quickly made a call back home saying work got complicated and that he needed to stay longer. He waited as more and more people were requesting their money back. I held my breath and hoped for the best.
ACCOUNTANT: Mr. Davis would like to see you in the meeting room.
DAWOUD: I’ll be right there.
NARRATION: He walked slowly to the meeting looking at the time. It was well into the night.
THE SOUND OF OPENING A DOOR
DAWOUD: HI.
DAVIS AND SULLIVAN: Hi, come sit down. We’ve got some papers to show you.
Scene 9
NARRATION: Dawoud was standing in the middle of the room. He was desperately thinking of a way to save his business. He sat in his office and stared out at the stars looking at the constellation Boötes.
SOUND OF SIRENS. SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC STARTS TO PLAY.
NARRATION: Dawoud ran towards the front door and looked out. He saw two police cars going down the street. Dawoud started to sweat profusely. Little beads started to form around his neck. The cars stopped in front of Dawoud’s business and the engine turned off. Out of the car stepped the man he had known as his friend, his business partner, and the one who made him famous: Patrick Davis.
OFFICER: So, is this the place?
DAVIS: Yes, he should still be in there.
SOUND OF KEYS JINGLING AND THEN THE UNLOCKING OF A LOCK FOLLOWED BY THE DOOR CREAKING OPEN. SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC STARTS TO PLAY.
NARRATION: Dawoud ran for the back door fast. He was not getting caught today. He was not going to jail today. His thoughts about his betrayal by Davis were drowned out by his urge to flee. He ran upstairs and hid in the maintenance closet.
OFFICER: Hey is anyone here? Come out. We know what you’ve done.
NARRATION: The officer used his radio to call for backup. He then started to walk down the hallway. He stopped at Dawoud’s office door and went inside.
OFFICER: Hey Patrick, come in here.
DAVIS: Ok.
OFFICER: What are these papers lying around everywhere?
DAVIS: They’re files on all the client's investments and such.
NARRATION: Dawoud’s heart was beating so loud he could feel the vibrations.
SIRENS START RINGING AGAIN.
NARRATION: More officers start barging in. They started scanning and trying to find him. After a while, a young officer comes upstairs. Dawoud is scared and tries not to make a sound.
YOUNG OFFICER: I know you’re here somewhere.
NARRATION: He heads over to the closet.
GIANT CLIMATIC BUILD-UP OF SOUND.
NARRATION: He opens the door and finds Dawoud hunched up in a ball.
ALL SOUND STOPS.
NARRATION: Dawoud was then arrested on the spot and brought to court. He scammed thousands of people and overnight they lost all their savings. He was found guilty in court and was sentenced to jail, where he remains to this day.
