Chapter 7
Jeremy arrived at Tory’s house, rushed up the stairs, and before he could knock, the door opened. He entered to a full room, aware there was a person standing behind the door. Tory came to him and embraced him, burying her face in his chest. He held her, but assessed the room. There was a man on the Balcony. There was a man in front of the sliding glass floor, sitting; fifty something, a little over weight. He seemed to be in charge. The others seemed to be goons. They were all well dressed, matching attire, jackets. Only the man sitting wore a tie. He had several rings and watch a little too large in the band. There was female standing to his right. She was twenty something, blond, and her hair went to her thighs. If it was combed and pulled from her face, he might have thought she was cousin It. She studied him.
The furniture in the room had been rearranged, pushed up against the wall so there was a clear space in the floor.
“Jeremy Vale, I presume,” the man said.
“Cliché bad guy, I presume,” Jeremy said.
“I am hurt,” the man said. There was a hint of a Russian accent. “I am so not cliché. My name is Chadek.”
“I really didn’t want to know your name,” Jeremy said.
“Humanizes me? Makes me harder to kill?” Chadek asked. “Come closer, son.”
Tory came out of the embrace and accompanied Jeremy closer to Chadek. She took his hand. He squeezed her hand, signaling he was with her, even if he wasn’t attending directly to her.
“You’re hard man to find,” Chadek said.
“A hard man is good to find,” Tory said.
Jeremy actually looked back at her. “Mae West? Seriously?” “I am nervous,” Tory said.
“You two have such a cute little banter,” Chadek said. “I hate to break it up.”
Jeremy turned back to facing Chadek, but kept his eyes down. “But…” “But, let’s get right to business. What’s your relationship to the Goddess?” Chadek asked.
Jeremy nearly turned his head to the man coming out of the bathroom. He had miscounted the people in the room. They weren’t threatening, per say. The ones in the kitchen had made coffee. Several were drinking coffee. They were armed, but not holding their weapons in their hands.
“Are you on the spectrum?” Chadek asked.
“What?”
“Do you have autism or were you home schooled?” Chadek asked.
“Both,” Jeremy said.
“I can always tell,” Chadek said, chewing his thumb nail. He pointed his thumb. “Back to the goddess. Who are you to her?”
“I am no one of consequence,” Jeremy said.
Chadek looked to the woman. She didn’t react. He hummed.
“Wrong question, I guess,” Chadek said. “Can’t come at the goddess straight. What’s your relationship to the witch?”
“Her name is Tory,” Jeremy said. “She has nothing to do with me.” “Truth,” the long blond haired woman said.
“Really?” Chadek asked. He frowned as if he had lost a bet. “That surprises me. I thought for sure you’re her handler.”
“He doesn’t understand the…” Tory said.
Chadek held a finger up to silence her. Tory went silent. Jeremy was a little curious at the interaction, but also became a little angrier. He held his tongue. Chadek gauged this.
“You have experience,” Chadek said finally. “You don’t enter a room and start making demands.”
“I have experience with people like you,” Jeremy said. “You own the room. Being overly emotional, sentimental, or dramatic is not going to change the outcome. Best hope of survival is rational discourse.”
Chadek nodded, appreciatively. “I have a witch, too. Her name is Avril. I am her handler.”
“What tier are you?” Jeremy asked.
“I don’t understand,” Chadek said.
“You own the room, but you’re not the boss. How far removed am I from the boss?
Who’s your handler?” Jeremy asked.
Chadek laughed. “You really don’t understand the terminology. I am not handled, son. But you are right, I have a boss. That boss has a boss. Witches have handlers. Remote viewers have handlers. Prostitutes have pimps. Pimps, handlers, it’s about the same to me. I thought maybe you were handling this witch. But maybe she is a free agent. I could always use a spare…”
“She is mine,” Jeremy said. He didn’t see the smile that flash across Tory’s face.
“Truth,” Avril said.
Chadek laughed. “This is amusing. She was nothing but now she is something. Oh, I love this. She is your witch. Clarity. So, I, as a handler, am always searching for assets. I have a boss, but I am allowed to free range. My boss doesn’t micro manage me, and I don’t micromanage my assets. I am always looking for clever folks who make money, especially people who have learned to live off the grid. I’m looking. I’m looking. And my witch keeps coming up against you.”
“This feels more personal than how random you’re making it seem,” Jeremy said. “Nice,” Chadek said. “So, you’re also intuitive. It’s also personal. You have a secret. I am interested.”
“It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you,” Jeremy said.
“Read him,” Chadek said.
“He’s hot,” Avril said.
“Follow it; who watching him?” Chadek asked.
Avril frowned. “Multiple lines of interest. There’s an obscurity field around him, scattering information, confusing…” “Touch him,” Chadek said.
Avril frowned, clearly reluctant. Chadek gave her a look and she stepped forward. Her eyes went down to the floor. Her hand came up and she touched his chest, hand over heart. Her head tilted as if listening to something too far away to make out.
“Pain,” Avril said. She frowned but pushed into it. “Loss. Isolation. There’s a safe.
Something precious. Priceless. The last one. Still searching for…” Avril took in a deep breath, a gasping noise.
“What do you see?” Chadek asked.
There was suddenly the subtlest of smiles. Her head stayed bowed but her eyes came up to meet him. It was a creepy stare and smile, like she was possessed. The rhythm of her breathing changed. Her other hand came up and took hold of his shoulder. She made a low groan. Her hands tightened, against his chest and shoulder as if she were clinging to him for dear life. Her forehead dropped to his chest. Weapons came to bear at him from all directions, but Chadek motioned them to wait. Avril gasped and made a high pitched squeak. Her eyes rolled back into head.
“OMG,” Avril said. “Fuck me! Yes!”
She fell to the floor and went to the fetal position. She hugged her knees, sighing into it, trying to recover her breath. Jeremy bit his lips, uncertain. Tory looked to Jeremy for an answer. He shrugged.
“Nice,” Chadek said.
“Truth,” Avril said.
“Did you get the location of the safe?” Chadek asked.
“Yes,” Avril said.
“There’s nothing of value in it,” Jeremy said.
“False,” Avril said, and her breathing started escalating again. She grabbed Jeremy’s leg.
“Fuck me! OMG. Yes.”
“I must admit,” Chadek said, sighing. “I am rather jealous of this performance for him.” “She’s not performing,” Tory said. “You just suck in bed.”
“Truth,” Avril said, unable to control herself.
Chadek was angry, but recovered quickly. “You have sullied my witch.”
“Sorry,” Jeremy said. “I’ve never seen that before.”
“Well, my new friend, we now have a new problem,” Chadek said. “You have blinded my witch. Very nice. You are clearly a force to reckon with and I don’t understand it. If she doesn’t recover, I may be in the market for a new witch.” “Tory is mine,” Jeremy said.
“I can’t use her as a witch,” Chadek said. “She has the mark of the whore. You can’t trust a sexually active witch.”
“Entanglement, attachment,” Avril tried to say, and fell into another round of orgasm that stole her breath to the point everyone thought she was choking and might die but at the last moment started laughing. “OMG!”
“I would like to know how you did that,” Chadek said. “I know some other witches I would like to blind.”
“If I knew how to do that intentionally, I’d have a lot more pocket money,” Jeremy said.
Chadek laughed. “Me, too. Speaking of which, how do you make your money? Casinos? Influencing the dice? Hypnotist at Comedy clubs?”
“FUUUUCK!”
“Can you stop that now?” Chadek asked.
“No!” Avril said.
“I am not doing that,” Jeremy said. Avril began to cry.
“Alright, son,” Chadek said. “Here’s the deal. I want you to fetch me ten million dollars, cash, and bring it back to me.”
“I don’t have access to money like that,” Jeremy said.
“Truth,” Avril said. “Yes!” She pulled herself closer to Jeremy and bit into his pants. “Bring me ten million dollars, or I will kill your son, and I will kill your other witch,” Chadek said.
“What is wrong with you?!” Jeremy demanded. “Don’t you have rules? No Women. No children.”
“Oh like in the movie? The Professional?” Chadek asked. “Great movie.”
“You don’t want them. You don’t want me. You want the Goddess,” Jeremy said. “That is correct,” Chadek said. “You have not been forthcoming about your relationship with her. Apprentice. Disciple. Priest. Medium. I don’t know. But I know enough about channeling supreme beings to know, one doesn’t just demand an audience. You have seven days to bring me my money. Seven is kind of Biblical, don’t you think? What do you know about the occult?”
“I am a man of science,” Jeremy said.
“Me, too. You do know, all science originate in the occult,” Chadek said. “You can even take your witch sidekick.”
“No, don’t leave,” Avril said, clinging to Jeremy.
“Take her, put her in a cold bath,” Chadek said to his men.
Two guys took Avril away. She protested but laughed, as if their touching her tickled and escalated her further into another round. Jeremy and Tory stood there.
“Go ahead. You can both leave,” Chadek said.
“How do we contact you?” Jeremy said.
“Sorry,” Chadek said, fishing a card out of his pocket. “I am a bit distracted.” Jeremy reached for the card. Chadek pulled it away. Jeremy met his face for the first time. He couldn’t place it. He couldn’t let go of the thought that this was personal, but there was no Chadek in his memory. Now, there would never not be a Chadek in his memory.
“Christopher Walkens?” Jeremy asked.
“I get that all the time,” Chadek said. “But seriously, I am not that creepy.” He offered the card and withdrew it again.
“I don’t I have to say it, do I?” he asked.
“That would be cliché,” Jeremy said.
“That would be,” Chadek said. “You and I are on the same page. I like that. This might just be the beginning of a beautiful working relationship.”
Jeremy took the card and put it in his pocket. He took Tory’s arm and led her out, grabbing her purse off the counter as they departed. He handed her purse to her as they headed down the stairs. His backpack was on the lawn, where a car use to be. He grabbed up his bag.
“I need you to drive,” Jeremy said.
“They got…”
“I know,” Jeremy said, digging in his bag for something. They got in the car.
“Drive,” Jeremy said. “Just out.”
He pulled out a picture of a falcon. It came to life in his lap, rubbed its cheek against his. When they came to the stop at the stop sign, he opened the door and it jumped out and then took flight.
“Go, that way,” Jeremy said.