Chapter Three
I was moving. Then I heard the hoot of a train whistle and my eyes shot open.
Befuddled by what I saw I looked about the ornately decorated railcar, until my eyes came to rest on the mustached form of a man of pure calculating coldness that sat behind a desk, which dominated the room with its mahogany grandeur.
“Claire is not known for her light treatment of men, but you my friend appear to have gotten under her skin. She did quite the number on you.”
Sitting up I looked around and rubbing at the back of my neck I felt something odd about my wrist. Looking at it I saw a metallic looking bracelet snapped about my wrist snugly. I had one just like it on the other wrist too.
“What’s this?” I exclaimed angrily in gesture to the bracelets.
“Oh those. Allow me to demonstrate the use of them for your benefit.”
He slipped a hand into one of his silk dinner vest pockets, but otherwise appeared to do nothing, while I was suddenly overcome by blinding pain the likes of which had me seeing stars through the ceiling of the railcar.
The pain stopped and I gazed over at the coolly smiling individual behind the desk. His voice sounding smug he said, “Those little trinkets do wonders at keeping brutes like you in check.”
“Why you…………” I swore, as I lunged for him. The blinding pain was back and I collapsed to the floor helpless to do anything else other than take it.
The pain blessedly stopped after what felt like the length of an entire day had passed by.
“Did I forget to mention that if you get within five feet of me that this device will automatically light you up like a lone tree in a thunderstorm?”
Crawling back to the couch I pulled myself up onto it and lay exhausted with my head fallen over the back of it. I did not feel well at all.
“What do you want with me?” I asked softly, as a massive headache sprang free in my head.
“Yes, getting to that. I must say that it is regrettable that I should have need of anything from the likes of someone like you. You’re nothing but a common criminal of the worst sort.”
I brought my head up to look at the man directly before saying, “It takes one to know one pops. I’ve seen your kind before. Men like me do the dirty work for jobs masterminded by people like you, who like to remain hidden behind the scenes so you can continue living the pompous double life you often exhibit as a pillar of the community.”
I expected to receive another jolt of agony for my impudence, but it didn’t come. My captor regarding me shrewdly, steepled his soft hands together beneath his chin and said, “The difference between us lies in that there is nothing common in the crimes that I commit. Otherwise you are quite correct on all accounts in your assessment of me. Tell me Logan Collins are you a man who would turn away from a golden opportunity, the likes of which lies far beyond even the wildest of imaginative abilities to conjure up?”
Treading carefully I said, “It depends. Does it pay well?”
He chuckled and said, “Oh yes, quite richly, in fact.”
“Do I get to take these off?” I asked, as I held up my wrists sporting the silver bracelets.
He shook his head no and said, “I don’t trust you. But…….” He held up one finger during a drama filled moment before saying, “I need not trust all whom I do business with. It is enough that I trust your love of money and the idle pursuits of a man with the ways of the world to bring you into line with what I propose. The promise of wealth brings along with it its own brand of loyalty so to speak.”
Strangely the proposition of wealth rang off deaf ears, as I was more consumed with the pathetic realization that this man thought I could be bought. Could I?
“My name is Lawrence Rothelson the IV and I am a man in need of your particular personal abilities, in particular your blood is of special value to me.”
I stared at the man in disbelief, as a chill swept throughout me, “My blood?” I asked uncertainly.
“Yes. You have quite a storied background that I imagine you know sadly nothing of. Those in the past were ever adept at hiding their secrets from those of us in the present.”
Waving his words aside I said, “What do you want with my blood?”
Instead of answering my question he asked instead, “What can you tell me of your older brother Taran?”
Blinking with surprise, I tried to cover up my startlemeant at the question by saying, “That traitor! Not much. I haven’t seen him in years. In fact, not since the war when he went to go fight as a damned Yankee.”
Lawrence nodded and brought up a sheaf of papers laying on the massive desk before him and said, “Fortunately for you I believe you. I’m told the departure of your brother to fight for the North caused quite a rile between the two of you.”
A little shaken I asked, “How do you know that?”
Lawrence smiled at me in a not very nice way and said deprecatingly, “I make it my business to be well-informed of all matters that pertain to my interests. Now let’s see here. You had quite the military record fighting on behalf of the Confederacy. You were promoted and demoted from the rank of Sgt. seven times. Almost executed for insubordination on two separate occasions and yet you were awarded more medals and commendations for bravery than any other soldier in your entire division. It says here that you showed a complete disregard for danger and that you volunteered for every dangerous job that came along. In short these reports tell me that you are a born killer that takes issue with authority figures. Am I right?”
I shrugged, “Mostly. I like to think that there’s more to me than that, but on second thought I am pretty well as much of a lost cause as the war I fought in.”
Lawrence regarded me closely for a moment before saying, “I can use men like you, but get this straight I’m the boss!”
“You’re the boss.” I affirmed.
He nodded, as if believing me and perhaps he did. Poor fool.
I didn’t take orders and I never had, but I wasn’t stupid either. I knew when to fly low and this was such a time. At least until I got a grasp on whatever the heck was going on.
“Now on to business. Your brother quite simply is no longer on the planet and I represent a group of interested individuals that would very much like to know how he went about doing it. Tell me is this your brother’s handwriting?”
A paper was shoved toward me and in a daze I stood up and stepped closer to the desk to pick up the weathered piece of paper. My brother’s handwriting in his typical bold style leapt off the page at me.
“Yeah it’s his handwriting, sure enough. What’s this about leaving the planet?”
“It might surprise you to learn Mr. Logan that there are other worlds in the galaxy other than just Earth. Other worlds and alien beings that could quite easily wipe us all out. I represent an organization that finds its roots in the highest levels of our government. Our mission is to protect this nation, indeed the entire world.”
I looked from the paper in my hand to him and I think it dawned on him to some degree of just how little I believed him.
He smiled narcissistically before shrugging his shoulders and admitting, “During the course of our work it behooves us to take certain liberties with the freedoms of others and to engineer as it were what the political and technological face of tomorrow will be. Our core agenda though is one based in a doctrine of peace. A peace wherein we rule, uncontested, that is.”
“Good luck with that. I already fought in one civil war and I want no part of a second.”
He smiled in the cunning way that he manifested, as if it was a beloved personality and said, “Another war at present won’t be necessary. The work we do of unification is best done in stages over a long period of time. That as it may be it is nonetheless important that we position ourselves strategically against all possible threats and the ability to come and leave this planet via unknown means and perhaps via higher end technology constitutes such a threat. I have prepared some reading material for you, which will help you get reacquainted with the storied past of your forebears. Decidedly not much is known, but I think you will find what we have been able to compile of great interest. Claire will show you to your cabin. Number nine I believe.”
I looked to the right as a door opened at one end of the railcar and the brunette who had kicked me in the goods made an unwelcome appearance. I looked back to Lawrence and took the proffered bundle of papers before heading toward the door and the woman I sincerely disliked on the deepest of levels.
I didn’t break eye contact with Claire as I approached, but together we stared at each other in mutual dislike for everything the other stood for. I watched surprise dawn in her eyes as my fist shot out toward her.
In an effort to evade the hit she backed up and fell over a chair to crash onto the floor unceremoniously. I’d never intended on hitting her and if she hadn’t been so intimidated by me she would’ve realized that I was too far away from her to have even connected.
I’d made my point rather clearly I thought. I tipped my hat to the beet red enforcer on the floor, who featured herself as some kind of a higher form than man and glancing from her to Lawrence, who was watching the drama unfold in silence, I said by way of confirmation, “Cabin nine?”
He nodded before adding, “Dinner is at six.”
I nodded closing the door of the railcar behind me as I chose to escort myself alone down the series of train cars until I reached cabin nine.
*****
Claire picked herself up off the floor and fingered the concealed stun gun on her side.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.”
Claire looked to her boss and said, “I have a limit as to how much I’ll take from the likes of him!”
Lawrence laughed outright in her face and looking her over contemptuously he said, “Yes, I saw your limit. Now get out of here!”