by C. S Luis
“That is the complicated part,” I offered, and he didn’t ask anything else. He went back to working on the tattoo; perhaps he felt bad for asking that, seeing how hard it hit me.
“Are you hoping she’ll like the tattoo? Is that why you’re getting it?” He suddenly asked again, and I wrinkled my eyes back up at him.
“I mean, why get it if you can’t be with her?”
Good point big bald guy.
“I didn’t say I couldn’t get her. I said it’s complicated.”
“Oh,” he merely said, but he looked confused as hell.
“Can you just hurry up and finish?” I asked.
“Take it easy, man; you can’t rush perfection,” he said, but I didn’t answer. I kept looking over at the entrance when the door opened again, but I was relieved when just a biker walked in.
“I’ll be with you in a minute, man. Please take a seat,” my artist said over to the biker.
“Busy night,” I offered.
“Oh, we get all kinds dude. All kinds. This is the time of night when we mostly get you guys coming in.”
“Us guys?” I asked, glaring up at him. Who the hell were ‘us guys?’
He smiled. “Yeah, you know, business guys and women, usually after a heavy night of drinking. Although you don’t look like that, so what’s dragged you in here?” He offered, which made me wonder what he had seen or thought had dragged me in.
“Oh,” I merely said. “And what do you think dragged me in?” I wrinkled my eyes at him. Would I have to murder this guy later?
He smiled again, now dipping his pen in the ink. “You look like you’re really in love, dude. I see people get tattoos all the time for the wrong reasons and regret it, but you look different. You want to have her near you any way you can. Even if it’s just a silly tattoo.”
I blinked up at him. What the fuck? Was he a minder? No. I doubted it.
“How do you know that?” I asked him.
He grinned. “I got it. I’m right, right?” He asked. “I can just tell. I’m usually good at figuring people out. I’ve been at this for a very long time, dude.” He paused and moved back. “Well. It’s done.”
I blinked up at him. “Already? You’re quick.”
“Well, it wasn’t a big tattoo, and it was fairly easy. I’m pretty sure you’re going to like it.” He pointed to the mirror at the far left.
“Would you hold on for a moment? I’ll be right back,” he said.
I looked over to the mirror. I was impressed by the big bald guy’s nice work. Claudia’s name, the heart, and tiny roses were all in red, and below it read my girl in dark ink. I heard the door again, but my artist was busy by the register with the biker. I saw a man in the shades I recognized. He was dressed in a black suit and he entered the store. I grabbed a cotton napkin and my shirt and coat and dropped a few hundred-dollar bills on the instrument table and hurried to the back of the room.
I escaped through the back door, putting my shirt and coat on and wrapping the tie over the collar of my shirt. They had actually come in looking for me. There was a first time for everything I supposed. Bryce must have really needed to talk to me.
I hadn’t gotten far from the tattoo shop when I saw the vehicle parked right outside another bar; they were looking for me. The big tall man with the shaved head smiled at me. He opened the door to the Lincoln SUV without a word. I knew the drill, and so I walked over, and without saying a word, I climbed into the vehicle.
We drove until we were inside an old abandoned warehouse on the empty side of town. The SUV stopped, and I got out as the tall man in the black suit opened the door for me. The Man in White stood at the opposite end of another SUV, and Roberts was by his side, glaring back at me with a large smile.
“Hello, Slater.” He grinned. I didn’t say a word, but apparently he had plenty to say. “You’re a disappointment,” Roberts continued. “You couldn’t even fuck her. You even failed at that. I would have torn that up; perhaps I should go back and show you how it’s done.”
He smirked. Bryce didn’t smile, he merely looked in the other direction. He knew what was coming; the look on his face told me so. Calm and collective, the twisted grin upon his face always the same grimace.
I grinned and nodded, and just as I moved to climb back into the SUV, I spun around and landed a fist on Roberts’ smiling face. Once he was on the ground, I repeatedly landed blow after blow until he was bleeding from every part of his face. I think I broke his nose. Sometimes I just didn’t know my own strength.
Bryce just watched the whole time. After a few moments, he ordered the men in black to pull me off of Roberts. They did, but I was satisfied with the damage I had done.
“All this for a mere girl?” Bryce lectured me, noticing the black eye on my face when I removed the shades from my eyes. I angrily rushed forward to him, but he didn’t even flinch once. I did nothing, of course, just climbed in the SUV as he motioned me in.
From inside, I heard Bryce speak again but this time to Roberts.
“Perhaps next time you’ll learn to keep your mouth shut. Pick him up,” he ordered to the men in black. Then he climbed into the SUV without another word, and ordered the driver to drive.
This time, there would be no money exchanged. Nicholson sat beside me. He was silent, that was a first, and odd. We must have sat there for a few minutes. A few others were there, the men in black, located in the front rows of the vehicle. They were trained as bodyguards, arms specialists, and killers. The Company’s Security. It was nothing I couldn’t handle.
“Our communication was disrupted. What transpired in your absence?” Bryce asked from the other end of the SUV.
“It got complicated,” I merely offered, glaring out the window. The caravan of black SUV vehicles followed in a line behind us.
“You comprised your assignment over your affections for a naive girl,” Bryce answered his own question. He was dressed in a white suit with a black shirt underneath and a blazing red tie. He might have been the only man I knew that could pull off such an outfit. His blond hair, more a white color, slicked back on his head, so pale he seemed more like a ghost. His eyes were blue but pale so they appeared a different shade with the contour and color of his black shirt and red tie. A neat man —correction— a control freak.
I spun my head around, meaning to say what was on my mind, but I couldn’t and I dare not to.
“I suspected you were distracted,” Bryce said in that cruel tone.
“She has nothing to do with this. She’s irrelevant,” I angrily voiced, using his words.
“Irrelevant? --I strongly disagree that is accurate—she’s strictly responsible for your queer behavior over the last few months. She is, after all, everything you desire, is she not?”
Bryce looked away, facing the window of the SUV. The SUV came to a stop just outside the front gates of a large mansion, an elegant fortress. Bryce’s safe house, the home had a large metal gate that prevented visitors from merely wandering in without permission, there was no guard, only a computer key panel. Just beyond the gate, I could see a peaceful garden, the driveway path ran up to the front of the large home and curved back to the entrance.
This wasn’t the ADA office. This was merely a safe house, and what a luxury it was, the amenities of being the Director.
“I want you to go back.” Bryce suddenly spoke.
“Why?” I gazed over at him; he didn’t look at me.
“The alien may have escaped, but what lured it may still be near…eliminate any possible leads,” he said in a very dry tone.
I felt uneasy and hated it. He, on the other hand, found it quite amusing.
“What difference will returning make?” I firmly asked.
I knew what he wanted me to do. He wanted the source, which I couldn’t do, as the source was none other than Claudia. I hated to think so, but why else had Quentin so eagerly wanted to return, if not for her?
Bryce grimaced. “The source is the key, and it’s essential
we find it. We have staked so many valuable resources on this. I will not give up." Bryce sternly answered.
Quentin fed from a form of energy that he needed to rejuvenate his being; that much I had learned. An entity rather who possessed the ability to shape molecules to his will. He could bend the order of space to create whirlpools and vortexes in the fabric of time. I knew this after witnessing it myself. Now I wanted to know more about this. It hadn’t mattered before, only the money had, but now it mattered. It mattered because of her.
And I would have answered if not for what Bryce said.
“You've made friends there. There is no denying it,” Bryce revealed, but it wasn't a question.
I felt a shudder crawl up the side of my arm.
I narrowed my eyes at Bryce, trying not to show my uneasiness or discomfort or any emotions.
“What's your point, Sir?” I asked, trying to ignore Bryce’s crude words.
Bryce narrowed his pale blue eyes straight over at me. There was no denying he was trying to get into my head. The great manipulator, I hated his mind tricks. He enjoyed playing psychological games with people.
“My point is, you defied me, and as a result, caused the alien to escape.” he harshly directed, “But perhaps not all was a loss, when they entrusted their lives to you. This can serve me…” he seemed amused at the mere idea his words had revealed.
“That place holds the key to what I seek, I sense it. And that’s why I want you to go back,” Bryce said.
“I know you want to,” He came to the point.
“What I want is of no importance.” I said. “It makes no difference in the retrieval what you seek, Sir.”
“It does if they trust you. And in sense, may offer the information I require.” He stated.
“And so forth--It makes all the difference. Especially her.” He revealed his motives, and I glared over at him, was he talking about Claudia? And why?
“Her?”
“What does she know?” he pushed.
“Nothing of importance to The Company. She’s just naive,” I said sounding a bit cruel, and there was a brief silence as The Man in White took a deep breath. He seemed unconvinced, and I feared his curiosity.
“If you wish, I will return and do whatever it is you require in order to find your source, but under one condition,” I suddenly declared, trying to convince him otherwise, and he glared at me, and I knew what he was thinking. Perhaps I was falling apart for suggesting this.
“And that is?” He calmly asked.
“You let me do it my way. And trust that--” I offered. “I can deliver. Just don’t hurt the girl, and the others, they’re innocent.” I thought he would pinpoint my obvious weakness, but he strangely didn’t for whatever reason. Regardless, we both already knew my weakness.
Although he did say, “What is your interest in such a girl? Besides the obvious.” He beamed, I did nothing but exhaled. “Nothing but the obvious, of course,” I answered. He took a moment to consider my words then wrinkled a single lip slightly, his dull eyes were dry of expression as they always seemed to be.
He grinned widely. “Very well,” he merely answered. “I’ll entertain this.”
“Then I have your word on that?” I sternly asked.
One of the men in black opened the door. Having to exit the vehicle before him, I got out of the car, glancing back at Bryce.
“Remember, no one touches the girl and her family,” I boldly said as he was now looking over at me. “And if you keep your end, we might both find what we’re looking for.”
“And that is?” he asked.
“Your alien, of course.” I answered.
“If you deliver, no harm will come to her. In that, you have my word,” he simply said. “Proceed with your warm reunion --- and make it brief.” He stated. “Then return, I may have a new assignment for you. I will be in contact,” he merely said, which I didn’t like the sound of.
The man in black closed the door as the SUV pulled away up to the gateway leading into the mansion, and the gates opened for his vehicle. I walked away from the SUV, and that was the last time I saw Bryce before another vehicle pulled alongside me and carried me away. The vehicle drove to a private hangar owned by The Company, and from there I boarded a private jet back to Houston. The same men in black accompanied me. Once we arrived, we boarded an awaiting black SUV to the same location to my rental and back to my life as John Black, but I had a feeling things would be different this time.
As the car came to a stop outside the house that had been my home for a few months, the other man in black sitting in the front gave his partner a briefcase, and the other man in black opened it and took out an envelope.
“Your instructions, sir,” he said, handing the envelope to me. I took the yellow packet as he closed the briefcase and handed it back to his partner in the front seat. With that, I opened the car door and got out.
The sun above me had gone down a long time ago. I carried with me my assignment, and as I entered the house, everything seemed to be where I had left it before the incident, before everything had torn me away from her.
I went into the kitchen, opening the large envelope as I took a protein shake from the refrigerator. Inside, there was a white apple iPad. I turned it on, and a video immediately clicked open; the ADA website and Bryce’s face came on the small screen.
“Because your laptop was compromised after the incident, I’ve replaced the equipment. You should find a replacement inside the trunk of your Shelby, which now sits in the parking garage of your rental.”
I smiled. I had to hand it to The Company; they always handled things quickly and professionally.
“Also, inside this envelope you’ll find your new identification cards. You’ll return to Milton not as a principal, but as an assistant principal under the direction of Michael McClellan who is now the acting principal. It so happens that Dr. McClellan is looking to fill in this position, and he found your name among those supplied by The Company, those supplied to the district by us.”
Interesting. That was going to take some time to get used to.
“You will return to Milton within a month and will return as a deserter of the ADA, having abandoned your life as our agent. They must believe it. According to District records, you had to leave the country because of an emergency. Upon your return, you requested a position of assistant principal and demanded a transfer for reasons unknown.” He beamed.
“You will return under the assumed name, Christopher J. Slater.”
Ah, I thought, my middle name. So I’m returning as myself this time? But wouldn’t that be obvious?
“Of course, the use of such credentials will be obvious. But your return is quite brief, as we have discussed.” Bryce answered my question, of course.
“Michael McClellan has requested your transcripts and resume. It’s changed since then, of course. This is exactly what we anticipated, that he’d seek you out. And he has more than once requested your contact information, but because you’re still on leave, the District has stalled.”
I put the papers down and drained the protein shake and set it aside. Michael would be surprised to see me, but whom I really hoped to see was Claudia. If only I could show her the tattoo I had gotten in thought of her. My arm merely ached in remembrance. I missed her so much. But I couldn’t let Bryce see that in my eyes; I couldn’t let him see my weakness again. He had to believe me. He had to trust me; this was the only way I could protect her.
“The ball is in your court now, John. I’ve given you all the tools you will require to precede. Do not disappoint me. Make contact once you have acquired the subject.”
The video ended abruptly and started to spark and smoke. I grabbed the iPad and tossed it into the sink where it popped. The Company had a serious sense of humor when it came to video recordings, and I had really wanted to keep that iPad.
1
Milton High never looked so good
I kept myself busy training, running mainly in M
emorial Park during the early morning hours and sometimes into the late nights to avoid people seeing me. The rental had a small weight set, all arranged by The Company. I had to stay in shape, and this was the best way to stay out of sight. I stayed away from the clubs, away from the bars, and I drank at home even though I hated it. I wanted to be with the ladies. I had a final request. I needed a woman, but even if it was a request I could easily have, I resisted. But how long could I resist for?
The tattoo had healed by now, but even if I wanted to walk around baring it, I couldn’t. I couldn’t chance someone from The Company seeing it or even Bryce. Then he would think I had lost it, just like the Man in Blue had warned me.
I spent another night alone, doing push-ups to keep my mind busy from thinking of other things, mainly sex. When the doorbell rang, I froze. I hadn’t expected any visitors. I reached for the secured loaded magnum under the kitchen table and slowly peered out towards the entry of the foyer; there was a knock now.
I came to the door and slowly opened it; the gun pointed to the back of the door. Did I mention this was a specially designed magnum that could blast through a door? It would be like shooting through paper. At the front door was a man in a black suit and dark shades; behind him were two women dressed in suit jackets and slacks. Their cleavage was popping out of their suits; they didn’t seem to be wearing any blouses underneath. He flashed me his ADA emblem. I put the gun behind my back and opened the door more widely.
“Sorry to disturb you, sir,” he said, but I was too distracted by the women beside him to really listen. I was like a wolf in heat. They looked more like dancers in nice fitted business suits, all dolled up and wearing 5-inch heels. Dancers couldn’t escape the keen eyes of John Slater. I knew them right away.
“Ladies,” he said, and they walked past me into the house before I could say anything or know what was happening. They brushed past me, and I was immediately hard. I wanted to slam the door and forget about asking whom these women were and why they were coming into my house because I already knew the answer to those simple and foolish questions.