Ruler Tootles sat quietly behind his desk and studied the dark paneling on his office door. He reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a box of Thomson’s high grade cigarettes and tapped the box for a second. When he was sure all the tobacco was compact he opened up the lid and placed one in his mouth, opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a silver lighter. Holding it up to the cigarette, he took in a long, deep breath. The nicotine filled his system quickly and calmed his edgy nerves. Who would have thought that running an antique business would have been so demanding and dangerous?
He looked down at the small yellow letter that Bob Morgan had sent him a day ago. It gave the dark details of his wonderful deed with Runt’s ship. It explained how he had pretended to be a safety inspector. It explained how he had planted and set the explosives in the right places, and least of all it explained how he’d gotten out of there and commandeered a taxi.
“You’re a clever little bugger,” said Ruler bemusedly under his breath. “You most certainly are going to earn that raise I promised you if you keep this up.” He held up the note to the lighter in his hand and watched it as it burned away into ash. No evidence could remain. No one could know that they were the ones behind all the accidents happening at Scar Co. His boss, Mr. Edmonds and Mr. Runt of Scar Co. had met early that morning. Ruler didn’t know what had been said, but he knew that it hadn’t ended well and neither Edmonds nor Runt were very happy at the moment. Runt had stormed out of his meeting with Mr. Edmonds in a hurry.
Ruler threw the burning piece of paper into the trash can next to the back wall and set the lighter on his rich mahogany desk, breathing out a sigh. He still had a lot more to do today in the way of planning.
“Looks likes it’s time to call the boss and give him the good news.”
He reached for his office phone and was going to dial Mr. Edmonds extension when the door swung open, a large figure stood breathing hard in the threshold. His silhouette was hard to make out because the man’s whole frame was blocking the doorway.
“Who’s there?” asked Ruler.
“Your worst nightmare,” whispered a deep voice.
Ruler smiled menacingly at this. He was used to seeing his worst nightmares come true. He lived in an environment where it happened all too frequently. The massive man entered the room. He walked over to the chair resting in front of Ruler’s desk and sat down in it. The large man made the room feel considerably smaller.
“Are you Mr. Ruler?” asked the large figure.
Ruler could see his hard eyes twinkle from underneath his hat. This man was big and most definitely intelligent. He was also a danger.
“Who wants to know?” He took another drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke into the air.
“Ah, so you’re the one they call Big ‘J’. I’ve heard a lot about you,” said Ruler with interest.
Big J smiled, his teeth looked blunt and twisted, yellowed and decayed. His massive hands gripped the armrest tightly and the wood cracked slightly under the immense pressure.
“I bet you have heard of me, Mr. Ruler, but I must say I don’t come cheap. I am used to picking people off, not protecting them. This should be interesting for all of us. So when do you want me to start?”
“Right now,” said Ruler bluntly. He reached over and dropped his cigarette into his ash tray. It smoldered for a moment.
“Why exactly do you want protection, Mr. Ruler? Feeling unsafe lately? Maybe slightly paranoid?”
Ruler smiled at this.
“Well, Mr. ‘J’, when you work with the people I work with, you can’t help but be paranoid. Especially with the trip we are going on… Well, let’s just say that I’ll be in need of your services.”
“I understand.” Big J lifted a hand and rubbed his chin. “I’ve lived in hostile environments before. Working in the Aggerton underground, you can’t escape that without experiencing some dangerous situations. I’ve had several…unpleasant encounters with the Fantas family, so that should give you an idea of the things I’ve seen. I’m really only doing this as a side job.”
“Are you still employed?”
Big J smiled his distorted smile and then chuckled.
“No, I got rid of my last employer.”
Ruler stiffened up.
“What do you mean you got rid of him?”
“I left him.” The small wooden chair cracked loudly as Big J shifted to one side. “I left him alone. I won’t be working for him again.”
Ruler felt a chill run down his back. He didn’t like the word choice. This guy was sounding shadier by the second.
“You left him… alone? Just like that?”
“All alone in the middle of a field.” Big J said the words and the silence that followed left an eerie ringing in the air.
“What does ‘alone’ imply, Mr. J?”
Big J laughed aloud.
“You have nothing to fear from me, Mr. Ruler. If you stay on my good side everything should go smoothly.”
“Yes… of course.” Ruler trailed off. His thoughts were swirling in a hundred different directions. Big J seemed a bit like a loose cannon. But he also knew Big J had a reputation from his days working for the Rican Family and for being the best at providing services including assassination.
“So you’re my boss now… but who’s pulling your strings?” Big J asked with a nasty grin.
Ruler’s thoughts strayed to his boss, Mr. Edmonds. The middle-aged man had started Shark Inc when he was almost 30-years-old with a rather large fortune. No one really knew where Mr. Edmonds had acquired the several million dollars to start the company, only that the money had built the company at its foundation allowing it to slowly progress through the years until Shark Inc was one of the largest and most prestigious companies in the antique collection business in all of Aggerton. Mr. Edmonds would always talk in a very condescending tone about how he was a hard working man who took all the right steps to get to the company to where it was today, but Ruler knew Mr. Edmonds was greedy. A man like that couldn’t be in charge once they got to the island; that’s where Big J came in. Ruler was not a killer, but a man like Big J, who had killed dozens, maybe hundreds of times, would have no problem knocking the old man off when the time came. Ruler knew he needed to be in control of someone threatening to make himself look more powerful once the old man was gone. Big J was all the bulk and brawn Ruler needed to show everyone that he was not only a clever thinker, but someone who held power over other, more physically intimidating people. He would have to watch Big J like a hawk though during the journey. It was a risk even bringing him because he also had a reputation for being trigger happy and having a violent disposition.
“I work directly under the company’s founder and owner; Mr. Edmonds,” said Ruler matter-of-factly. “The man I want you to kill.”
Ruler reached over and pulled a piece of paper off the mahogany desks surface and slid it across the table toward the burly man.
“I need you to sign this.”
“What is it?”
“Every good businessman covers his bases. I want you under contract.”
Big J smiled. He seemed amused at the words of the man sitting behind the desk.
“Do you honestly think this piece of paper will stop me from doing something drastic?”
“Oh, I know it won’t stop you from killing me,” said Ruler with confidence. “But if I die while you are my bodyguard then you can say goodbye to your family.”
The burly man let out a thunderous laugh that dripped with sarcasm.
“The Rican family? You can’t touch them, and you know it. They are the most powerful mafia family in Aggerton.”
“I’m not talking about the Rican family, Mr. ‘J’. I know about your family… Your real family. I know about your brother.” Ruler leaned back in his swivel chair and stared at the dark ceiling. He didn’t need to look at Big J to know that he had him now. “I wouldn’t have called you here unless I knew I could control you. Like I said, in this business you can never be too careful. I don’t plan on hurting your loved ones; I only plan on using them.”
Big J’s face had fallen into an apathetic stare and his eyes were cold as he spoke.
“Why, Mr. Ruler, you’re already getting on my good side.” His words seemed heartless.
“I tend to do that with a lot of people, Mr. ‘J’,” he said as he cleared his throat. “Now, it’s entirely up to you what you want to do. You can either leave my office or sign the contract. You choose.”
“Oh, I’ll choose.” Big J grabbed the contract off the desk and studied it. After awhile he reached over to the pen resting on the desk and signed the piece of paper. When he was done he slid the papers back over to Ruler allowing the businessman to examine it.
“Very good.” He said all business.
“I’ll be seeing you real soon Mr. Ruler.” With that said Big J stood up and walked over to the door. Ruler watched as he left.
“Now, that is a dangerous man,” said Ruler to the cold air. “He’ll be perfect!”
Ruler reached over to the phone and picked it up. He dialed Mr. Edmonds’ number and waited as the receiver rang. After a second someone picked up.
“Yeah what do you want?”
“Mr. Edmonds, you sound angry,” said Ruler mildly. “Did something go wrong?”
“Shut it, Ruler, and tell me why you’re calling.”
Ruler leaned back in his chair.
“I am calling to give you the good news!”
“What news is this?”
“That we’re ahead of schedule.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“This is good indeed… do you have the star map?”
“One of my agents is working on it. We should have it shortly.”
“Don’t mess this up, Ruler… if you mess this up I will–”
Ruler cut him off.
“Yes, yes, I’m quite aware of your anger.”
The line went dead and Ruler dropped the phone back onto the receiver. Who would have thought that working in an antique business would be so dangerous, he mused to himself as he leaned back in his swivel chair.
Authors Note: Please leave a comment telling us what you think. We'll post again next Friday at around 4PM MST.
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