Greg Gifune - Sorcerer

“I often hide in plain sight, Jeff. I find it most effective.”

Jeff sat forward with an intense stare of his own, hands flat on the table between them. Despite the heat outside, the room was cool to the point of being nearly cold. Why then was he perspiring so?

And how was the temperature so low when there were no fans and appeared to be no air-conditioning? Like everything else, none of it made any sense. “What do you want from me?”

“I’d like to hire you on as a negotiator.”

“No, you’re forcing me to work for you.”

“You have every right to decline at any time. Have I chained you to that chair? Have you been restrained or in any way prevented from leaving? You can get up and walk out of here whenever you like. No one will attempt to stop you, no one will object. We’ll part as friends.”

“ Friends? Friends don’t blackmail and deceive each other.”

“They don’t?” Mr. Hope smiled with his large, brilliantly white false teeth. “Jeff, what most people fail to realize in their narcissism and selfishness is that they’re not always players in their own games, but often in someone else’s.”

“So it’s your game then,” Jeff said, pawing sweat from his forehead.

“Not necessarily.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“That you might want to consider it may not be yours either.”

Jeff couldn’t tell if there was literal meaning in what Hope was saying or if the old man was simply playing with him, so he dismissed his enigmatic musings and tried to focus on what he needed to do to bring the meeting to some sort of conclusion. He’d begun sweating like a stuck pig and needed to get out of there and away from this man. “If I agree to this… job…do I have to kill anyone?”

“Certainly not.” Hope frowned dramatically. “How absurd.”

“If I have to hurt anyone, I won’t do it.” Jeff drew a deep breath, and despite his fear, looked him in the eye. “So if that’s what this is about you can go ahead and deliver a copy of that disc to Eden and I’ll just hope she can forgive me for being so stupid.”

Hope folded his hands and placed them on the table. No bone-white talons, just manicured fingernails and a gold ring with a large ruby on the middle finger of his left hand. Had he worn that last time?

“I’m offering you a position as a negotiator.”

“Do I have to do anything illegal?”

“You don’t have to do anything at all.”

“How much do I get paid?”

“I’ve told you,” he sighed, “enough to grant you financial freedom.”

“I’d like an actual figure.”

“It’s hard to put a price on one’s happiness, Jeff. Don’t you think? Trust me when I tell you it will be a sum beyond anything you’re expecting.”

“And the discs?”

“What about them?”

“If I come to work for you, I want them turned over to me.”

“Once you’ve completed your trial assignment successfully you and I will decide whether or not your continued employment here is the right move for both parties. Either way, the other copy of the disc, along with the original, will be yours to do with what you like. I’ll certainly no longer have any use for them.”

“How do I know I can believe you?”

Mr. Hope’s eyelids nearly closed, giving him a decidedly reptilian appearance. “You don’t.”

“After the trial assignment, if I choose to no longer work for you, I can walk away free and clear? Even if you want me to continue?”

“That is correct. I will accept and respect your decision at that point. And of course I’ll expect you to accept and respect mine.”

“And you and your people will stay away from my family and friends?”

“Of course, I don’t involve myself in situations where I’m not welcome.”

Jeff looked away and nodded. “All right.”

“You’re accepting the position then? We officially have a deal?”

“We do.”

“I need you to say the words, Jeff.”

He bit his tongue until the anger and humiliation had weakened.

“I am accepting the position,” he finally responded. “We officially have a deal.”

“How exciting.” Foster Hope pulled a business-sized envelope from his inside jacket pocket and grinned like a demon. “Then let’s get to work.”

Behind them, through the still open door, the incessant sound of a dripping faucet continued to echo, and from the far end of the hallway came what Jeff guessed was someone shuffling their feet as they walked, accompanied by occasional indecipherable voices, muffled and hushed. Somewhere in the building were others-Jessica, the mousy Ms. Gill and the tall man among them, he was sure-but there was something more…something menacing. He could feel it. Sorrow…pain…fear…all of it palpable and thickening the very air he breathed.

“There’s a young man I had some business dealings with a few months ago,” Hope explained, his voice bringing Jeff back. “He agreed to pay me for certain services we provided, but when it came time to settle his account he double-crossed me. We’re relatively certain he’s here in the city, or at least he was as of this morning, but we’re not entirely sure where.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“You’re to find this man and convince him that it’s in his best interest to live up to his end of our business deal.”

“If you and your people can’t find him, how am I supposed to?”

Hope stared at him dully. “I never said we couldn’t find him.”

Jeff sighed, stomach churning. “What’s the deal you had with him?”

“That’s between us.” A bright chalky smile returned to his face.

“Professional discretion, you understand.”

“Mr. Hope, how am I supposed to convince him to do something if I have no idea what it is he’s supposed to do?”

“ He knows, Jeff. Your job is to simply convince him to come to me and do the right thing. To reopen our talks so that we can resolve these matters quickly and efficiently.”

“Sounds like something you’d be more than capable of handling yourself.”

“It is, but he’s refused to return my attempts to contact him. So this is a perfect first assignment for my newest negotiator.”

“OK, then how do I find him?”

Foster Hope nodded rather formally, as if to agree that the initial phase of their conversation had ended and it was time to move on to other things. He placed the envelope on the table and slid it over to Jeff. “Inside you will find information containing the man’s name, his wife’s name and their last known address. Far as we know the wife still lives there. He may as well but we can’t be sure at this point. Inside the envelope you’ll also find a private telephone number where I can be reached once the job has been completed, successfully or otherwise. You will call me at that number, you will be paid immediately thereafter and then we will both make our decisions regarding your future here.”

Jeff left the envelope where it was. “And what if I can’t find this guy, much less convince him to contact you?”

“Then you fail. But I believe that if you use your intelligence, instincts and skills as a salesman, you’ll be able to persuade him to do the right thing, the honorable thing.” He carefully combed a renegade strand of snow-white hair back from his forehead with a finger. “In all honesty, this is an easy assignment compared to most.

Don’t want to give you too tall an order right out of the gates, especially without any formal negotiator training.”

“And I do this alone?”

“I am many things, Jeff. A fool is not one of them. Of course you’ll be observed, but you will work alone.” He arched an eyebrow.