The older man smirked. “It’d be a rookie move on your part. You could try though but what would be the point? You wouldn’t get very far…” he stopped mid sentence and jack could clearly read the meaning behind the words left unsaid. He’d be killed obviously. “What do you want with me then? I’m more than certain you didn’t bring me here to play house.” The man had smiled at that. “Where is this place by the way?” he knew better than to ask and the look the man gave him said as much.
The older man took a deep breath and crossed his legs but the pouch he carried around his middle made it a somewhat funny sight. “You are a wanted man Jack so fretting to be out there should be farthest from your mind at the moment.” Finally, he gave in to the pacing. He felt so restless and the urge to hit at something was so strong and right now, the old man’s face was looking so damn inviting. He rubbed absently at his sore shoulders. “And being coped up here like a fucking prisoner is better?” “You’re no prisoner Jack.” He countered without sparing him a glance as he thumped through the pages of a leather bound missal he had obviously walked in with which Jack had failed to notice in his disorientation. He watched as the man seemed to have forgotten in his concentration with the journal. After what seemed like a test to his patience, he snapped shut the folder and fixed Jack a direct stare_ now, he looked like it was time to get down to the crux of the matter. “Do you believe in luck, Jack?” “I believe a real man makes his own luck.” He replied without missing a beat. The man chuckled. “Be that as it may, but what about fate? Believe in that, Jack?” “Is there a point to all these questions?” he demanded gratingly. His nerves were shot as it is and the old man’s questions weren’t helping matters. The man obviously wasn’t to be deterred by his companion’s foul mood. “When you walked into that truck and found me there and during the events that superseded it, what were your thoughts?” “There I was thinking_ it’s bad enough I got to go out but to go out in the company of a shriveled up old dude, what could be worse?” “Hmm…” was all the man had said clearly unperturbed by Jack’s rudeness. He knew everything to know about the young man pacing in front of him like a caged bull_ most of which would surprise him in the event that he became privy to it. He knew of his capabilities, his sunny days and the dark ones. He’d prove to be of vital use in the coming days ahead. In his line of business, you can’t afford to be content with the present and leave the future to chance. The future is everything. “What if I told you that I had a way to make your wishes come true? Deliver your enemies right to your doorstep. You’d find we might have something in common after all.” Jack studied his palms absently before fixing the old man with a direct gaze of his. “I’d ask what it’d cost me? Surely, you don’t do freebies.” “I’ve been known to be quite indulgent.” Jack scoffed at that. “I’m your prisoner after all so am I required to carry out this act for you against your enemies in lieu of a repayment for saving my worthless life from the gallows?” “I’d be careful the way I addressed me if I were you considering that I’m the reason you are not hanging off a rope by your neck or worse, not lying dead and forgotten in a mass grave somewhere bullet ridden.” The man spoke without raising his voice and yet, it didn’t fail to conceal the weight behind those quietly uttered words. “You mean you and me both, right? That’s my thought on fate by the way. It seemed we had that in common… just tell me what you want with me.” “To work for me_ I’d like to hire your services and like I said, it’d be mutually beneficial to the both of us. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone.”
Jack seemed lost in thought for a while. “Don’t you have like a million hired goons at your beck and call?” he was referring to the men that had intercepted the truck to save who was undoubtedly their boss and they both knew it or did he? “Yes, I do.” The man had replied simply “I work alone.” “I know.” “Why come to me like I got a say in it? I’m your prisoner after all.” The old man raised a brow. “No, you are not. You are free to leave anytime you wish but I’d strongly advise against it.” With that, he pressed an invisible remote control, and the heavy brass door stood wide open beckoning.
He stared at the door in longing then back at the older man. “And what makes you so certain I’d return?” The man shrugged and uncrossed his legs then brushed invisible specks off the front of his Hawaiian print shirt. “You will especially after reading this.” With that, he tossed an envelope he had retrieved from the leather bound journal at him. It landed at his feet without a sound. He didn’t remove his gaze from the older man even as he stood and walked by him evidently making for the door. “What’s in the envelope?”
“That’s why you have it Jack. I assumed you could read.” He tossed back without a pause in his stride. “Who’s Lord Arthur then? I assumed you could tell me that.” He was glad to notice the falter in the man’s step. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting that. He had caught him off guard but by the time, he turned and walked back towards Jack, he had composed himself visibly. “It’s a name you have no business mentioning in the first place. Apparently, you hadn’t been out as we had thought.” The old man’s face was impassive and difficult to read and it didn’t take Jack a long time to figure out that this was actually something much bigger than he had anticipated. “Hmm…” was all Jack had said in cynicism. “Perhaps, I just made it mine.” They locked gazes for interminable seconds and when it came, it knocked the wind out of him. He hadn’t seen it coming and took it to the solar plexus. The older man packed a punch. He doubled over so that he was almost leaning on the older man. It took him a while to regain his breathing. “That was for threatening me earlier. You never do that. I’ve been doing this since you were in diapers.” He spoke in a whisper against Jack’s face then straightened. “Now, get out of here son and I look forward to hearing from you.” With that, he exited the room leaving Jack with his labored breaths. He stared after the old man and the heavy brass door that stood open and beckoning.