Greg Gifune - Sorcerer

It’s all a setup. I’ve been the mark from the start, but why? None of it makes any sense. For Christ’s sake, I’m a salesman, what could they possibly want with me?

Just moments from the city, Jeff soon found himself barreling through the streets of Braintree. He’d tried calling Craig’s cell and home phones to let him know he was coming and needed to talk, but both went directly to voicemail, so he could only hope he was home and had simply missed the calls.

When Jeff turned at the top of Craig’s street he was relieved to see his car parked in front of the house, a modest raised ranch in a quiet working-class neighborhood. As he pulled in alongside Craig’s car, he noticed Katy, Craig’s wife, was in the passenger seat, and their two kids were in the back.

He waved. Katy returned it with an awkward, embarrassed, almost apologetic wave of her own then looked away as Jeff pulled into their driveway and stepped from the car.

Lugging a suitcase, Craig stumbled out the front door of the house. He froze when he saw Jeff. “What are you…what are you doing here?” he asked, voice shaking. He looked back in the direction Jeff had come, as if expecting someone else to pull in behind him.

“I need to talk.” Jeff hurried across the small lawn. “I’m in trouble.”

“I can’t.” He locked the door and checked the street again, his face a tapestry of panic and fear. Of average height, with dark red hair and a matching mustache, Craig normally possessed an extremely laid-back demeanor, but he was clearly terrified, something had frightened him beyond anything Jeff had ever before witnessed. “We’re going away for a few days before I start the new job.”

“Did you hear what I just said?” Jeff blocked his way. “I need to talk to you, man. I’m in some serious shit.”

“Yeah, I…” Craig nervously ran a hand up over his face, across the top of his head and down to the back of his neck. “I gathered, but I can’t.”

“You gathered?”

“Just leave me out of it. This has nothing to do with me.”

“What happened? What’s wrong with you?”

“Look, whatever it is you’re mixed up in, I want nothing to do with these people. I want no part of this.”

Fear crawled up Jeff’s back and nested at the base of his skull.

Hope and his people were going after his friends now? This was insane. How did they even know about Craig?

The application… the reference…

“I don’t believe this,” he muttered. “This cannot be happening.”

Craig tried to get around him then thought better of it. “I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into-and I don’t want to know-just leave me alone, OK?”

“ Leave you alone? What the hell are you talking about? Did someone threaten you? What happened?”

“Please, I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Craig’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. “I have a wife, I-I’ve got kids.” He leaned closer. “ Children, you hear me?”

“Who frightened you like this? What did they do? I need to know.”

“I can’t talk to you, I-they could be watching right now, they-they told me they were watching.”

“Who did?”

“You tell me. What’s wrong with you? You’re working with these people? I know times are tough but-”

“No, I’m working with you, remember?”

Craig tried to shoulder by. “I have to go.”

“Hey,” Jeff said, grabbing his arm. “I am working with you, right?”

“They told me you worked for them. I’m not about to interfere with that.”

“I need that job, Craig, don’t-”

“Goddamn it!” He yanked his arm free, dropped the suitcase and squared his stance. “I didn’t want a scene in front of Katy and the kids. Just let me go before this gets out of hand.”

“What are you going to do, hit me? You’re my best friend.”

“Get out of my way, Jeff. Please.”

“I need your help. I’ve got nowhere else to turn.”

“They said they’d hurt my family. My family, do you understand?”

“Jesus Christ,” he sighed, hands on his head. “I’m sorry, I never meant for any of this to touch you. I fucked up. Bad. Real bad. I got into something I didn’t mean to and-I don’t even understand what’s happening myself or how you got involved, but-”

“I’m not involved.” He picked up the suitcase. “I’m sorry too.

I really am. But you’re on your own on this one.”

Jeff watched as Craig walked to the car, tossed the suitcase in the trunk then slid behind the wheel and pulled away. He never looked back.

After a brief flirtation with calling the police and taking his chances with Hope delivering a copy of the disc to Eden, Jeff found himself standing on the curb in front of the brownstone where he’d been interviewed. Again, but for the burned-out shell at the end of the block, there were no other cars or signs of life, and the entire area seemed eerily quiet.

He climbed the steps, moved through the door, past the foyer and stopped at the reception area. As before, the desk was unoccupied, the odd sound of a dripping faucet echoed from somewhere deep within the building, and the empty plastic chairs lined the narrow hallway to his right. But this time the first office door was open, as if in anticipation of his arrival. Jeff swallowed hard. Except for the meeting table and two chairs, the office was empty. No coffeemaker, no donuts, no clipboard with application. Clearly he was alone. Why then did he have the overwhelming feeling he was being watched? Skin crawling, he forced himself into the office, sat in the first chair and watched the closed door on the opposite wall. They knew he was here, Jeff was sure of it. They were just making him squirm, letting him twist in the wind a while at the end of his noose, and probably enjoying it.

After several moments, the door opened and Foster Hope entered.

This time his presence was intimidating. No longer was he simply an eccentric and elderly businessman, but something far more sinister.

He was dressed in the same cream-colored suit as the day before, and Jeff imagined him having dozens of identical outfits hanging in a closet somewhere. The old man acknowledged him with a polite nod.

“Good morning, Jeff.”

“Why are you doing this to me? Who are you people?”

“I’ve done nothing to you.” He slid into the other chair and crossed his legs. “These are decisions you’ve made to-”

“What did you do to Craig? He was terrified out of his mind.

I’ve never seen anyone so frightened. Why would you threaten his family, his children?”

“I simply had an associate pass along some useful information to him, so he could make an informed decision.”

Jeff’s hands clenched into fists but he kept them in his lap. The urge to strangle the old bastard was overwhelming. “This is all just some sort of sick game to you, isn’t it?”

The look in Hope’s emerald eyes indicated he was thoroughly enjoying himself. “ Sick seems rather harsh, but otherwise, yes, that’s exactly what it is. Life is a game, Jeff, and we’re all players of one sort or another.”

“These aren’t just my decisions then. You’re manipulating things, forcing me into corners where I have no other way out.”

“There are always other ways out of any situation. We all move through the world and do what we have to do in order to survive and flourish. We look out for our best interests, and in the end we make our own decisions.” The green eyes narrowed. “Regardless of what I’ve done or haven’t done, you don’t have to be here. You’ve chosen to be here.”

“Why would you want me to work for you under these conditions?

Why would you videotape me with Jessica and-how the hell were you in that room without my knowing it? You and that other…man.”