Dead Man's Hand (21 page)

“Why, whatever is asked
of you of course.”  He replied with a smooth voice. “You don’t need to
worry about the details right now.  All that you need to know is that my
employees are all well taken care of.”

“And just what will
happen to me if I were to refuse your, oh so generous, offer?”  As with
all of my earlier questions I had a pretty good idea what his answer was going
to be.  When you dealt with men like Dempsey there were only two choices,
the option they gave you and permanent retirement.  But, I still had to
ask.

Rather than answering
verbally, he reached into his coat and removed a simple black case.  It
was about eight inches long, three inches wide.  As soon as he placed it
down upon the table he deftly undid the single latch.  Slowly, he opened
it, taking care not to let me see the contents.  “You can always say no, I
can’t force you to take the job.  That’s one of the reasons this country
is so great.  You have that choice. And if that is your choice, then my
associates will untie you and escort you out of here.”  He stopped talking
when he saw that I was about to interrupt.  The look he leveled at me
froze my blood, making me wish I was already dead.  Once he ensured he had
my full attention, he removed something from the case, still managing to keep
it hidden from me.  “But for every decision there is a consequence and
your cheating has brought you to this crossroad. Therefore, this is your other
option.”  As he spoke he placed a rather large bullet on the table and
simply let the silence emphasize his threat.

 As I looked at the
projectile my breathing grew more labored.  He was showing me the exact
bullet he would use to have me killed.  “And your choice couldn’t be
simpler.  You can come work for me or embrace the fact that this bullet
will end your life.  Now Marcus please do not take this personally, after
all it’s just business.”

This time I was simply
unable to contain my fury. “You’re threatening to end my life, how is that
anything but personal!”

To his credit the man
actually looked wounded by my outburst.  But, he casually replied. 
“It’s not personal.  I don’t know you as a person, not yet anyway. 
This decision has nothing to do with you as a person for all I know you are
someone I could call a friend.  You cheated. And as a result of that, you
now have a choice to make.”

As I stared blankly at
the bullet I considered Dempsey’s offer; no, not an offer, this was an
ultimatum plain and simple.  I kept weighing my options, but the more I
did that, the more I realized there was only one real exit; though I hoped to
delay taking it at least for a short while.  “Just out of curiosity, what
would have happened had I been able to palm the ace?” I know with the fresh
deck I couldn’t, but just suppose I had managed to do it.”

“Do you mean what would
be happening to you if instead of being special you were merely a common
cheat?”  Not trusting my voice I simply nodded.  “Well Marcus, we
wouldn’t be having this conversation for one thing.  Nor would you have
awoken in such luxury.  Now if you would be so kind, I’m in rather a bit
of a rush so I’ll need your answer now.”

It was now or never and
while I did feel warmer I was worried it wouldn’t be enough.  But I was
running out of time so I decided to try to power a transformation.
 Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus the little heat I found, it appeared that
the drugs were doing their job.  I finally resigned myself to the only
real option laid out before me.  I answered in a very meek voice, “It
would appear that you have yourself a new employee.”  Dempsey clapped his
hands together like a child seeing his Christmas presents on that special
morning.  Ignoring the outright glee I went on, forcing sarcasm to drip
from every word.  “You have quite the recruiting technique, it’s no wonder
you have such quality employees.”

“It does work rather well
doesn’t it?”  He replied, either missing or more likely, ignoring my
sarcasm.

Keeping my eyes on his
threat I quipped back, “Only if that bullet is really mine.”

As he returned the bullet
to its case he spun it around so I could see him close the lid.  On the
side that was facing him, just to the right of that single latch, there
engraved on a plate was one word.  As I read it and swallowed, I had a
hard time keeping myself from vomiting.  The case and bullet were indeed
reserved for me.  Apparently Dempsey felt the need to gloat, “I have a
bullet and case just like this for every one of my employees.”

At this point I mumbled
something slightly incoherent, but whatever it was; I managed to catch his
response.  “Like you said, for this kind of recruitment to work I would
need a bullet for everyone.  Once my employees start, I set their case
aside and, for the most part, I forget that they even exist.  Though,
should any employee of mine try and betray me or fail to do as they’re
instructed…”  Dempsey lifted the case up, brandishing it in front of me as
he concluded, “Well they know what to expect.  Motivation is the key to a
good working environment!”

“You hold your people
ransom?”  I asked with more anger than I think I ever used before, I was
beyond the point of trying to not display emotion.

“No, I would never do
that,” began Dempsey behind a slighted face.  “Their own actions hold them
ransom.  I merely hold them accountable to those actions.”

“One and done is that
it?”

“It does ensure
compliance, don’t you think?”  With a smile breaking out across his face
he pressed on, “More businesses should adopt the practice.” 

As I looked into
Dempsey’s wicked smile I wondered what he had forced me into.  No, I
wouldn’t, couldn’t, feel sorry for myself, that was the only thing that monster
had right.  I had made a choice.  It hadn’t been a good one, but it
had been my choice.  Still flashing me that genuine smile Dempsey
continued without missing a beat. 

“Now that we’re all one
big happy family, would you be so kind as to remove all of Marcus’ restraints?
Dante, including the chemical one.”  With those words there was immediate
movement behind me as one of the goons began to loosen my bonds.

“Now Marcus, was this
really such a horrible experience?  As of this moment you are gainfully
employed with terrific benefits.  What more could you want out of
life?”  As he looked at my dead eyes Dempsey snapped his fingers as an
idea came to him.  “I can think of something else that you might want,
your winnings from the tournament.”

I was beginning to think
that I had everything figured out when Dempsey dropped that bombshell on
me.  He was going to let him keep my winnings from his tournament?! 
What was going on here?  Something was wrong with the universe.  He
must have either read my mind or my surprise showed clearly on my face because
he gave me a very plain answer.  “You work for me.  I’m surprised you’re
still confused at this point; I have employees working in the tournament. 
The only thing you were mistaken about was how much of their winnings my
employee’s get to keep. Fair is fair, you earned it.”

“But… I wasn’t working
for you when I won it.”  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Which is part of the
reason why all of this unpleasantness was required,” Dempsey replied in a much
more serious tone.

“But…”

“Don’t worry about the
fact that you cheated.  Just don’t do it next year and there won’t be a
problem.  Is that clear?”

“But…”

“How have you managed to
accomplish anything in life with such a limited vocabulary?”

His verbal jab was just
what I needed to force my frustration out of the way of my words.  “You would
have killed me if not for the last hand.”

“Yes.  And where’s
your difficulty?”  Dempsey asked honestly not understanding why I was so
frustrated.

“So, just because I’m
your employee now it becomes no harm no foul?”

With a critical eye he
studied me for a moment, “You know Marcus I’m beginning to question whether
this relationship will have any kind of longevity.  It troubles me deeply
when you have trouble grasping the simplest of concepts.”  Dempsey
silenced me yet again with nothing more than a glare and a slight wave of his
hand.  I had been so focused upon Dempsey that I hadn’t noticed that the
goon untying me had finished and dropped two manila envelopes on the table in
front of me.  “Look, right now it doesn’t matter.  Over time you will
have to work out these issues on your own.”

Dempsey pointed at the
two envelopes in front of me, “For now though, these two envelops will be your
life.  In the top one you will find all of your new and updated paperwork
including an ID.  You’ll need that ID in order to access your bank
account, which has your winnings less my twenty percent of course.  Now
the other envelop has everything you’ll need to complete your first
assignment.”

“So I have a new name
now?”

“Yes, though you’ll have
to explore that top envelope to find out who you will be.”

I gingerly lifted the
first envelope; I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and extracted
my wallet as well as the promised bank account information.  That would
keep for the time being.  My primary concern was finding out what my new
name was going to be. I opened my wallet and looked down at the revised
driver’s license.  Right next to my face I saw the name Dempsey had chosen
for me, and it caused my stomach to plummet six feet through the floor.

He just smiled his
favorite, wicked smile.  “I trust you are fine with using your real name,
Francis Harrison Bailey?”  I could hear the satisfaction in his words and
I shuddered.

Sitting there I stared
down at my real name and finally understood just how far Dempsey’s reach and
power stretched.  How was I going to be able to escape a man who could
discover the name I hadn’t used in over a decade?  That name along with so
much of my past I had thought successfully buried.  But now those memories
were flooding back, drowning me with their potency.  And like that, I
realized that the only way to ever escape Dempsey would be a body bag.

“I’ll take your silence
to mean that you’re fine with the name.”  He waited a moment for me to
respond, but he eventually went on.  “Well, we’ll just have to work on
your manners, not to mention your patience.  I do not appreciate rudeness,
no matter what the reason.”  One second I was staring down at the ID and
the next I was lifted up by the neck.  One of the goons must have been
signaled by Dempsey.

Catching sight of my eyes
Dempsey stared down at me with another hard glare and through clenched teeth
spoke with controlled anger.  “Employees of mine who lack in those areas
quickly find themselves unemployed.  And I’m sure you’ll understand what
I’m implying when I tell you I do not have to worry about unemployment
benefits.  Do I make myself abundantly clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

With a simple hand motion
from Dempsey my assailant, gently lowered me back down to my chair. Through
another one of his smiles Dempsey asked.  “See? That wasn’t so hard was
it?  Now, as I said before, I’m in a terrible rush so Dante will show you
the way out and answer whatever questions you might still have.”

Immediately the same
goon, presumably Dante, grabbed my neck again and forcibly lifted me to my
feet.  This prompted Dempsey to slam his hands down on the table. 
Everyone froze and fixed their attention upon the still seated man as he moved
his glare away from me and upon Dante as he growled.  “Dante, how dare you
assault one of your co-workers, and after I had just laid down the importance
of manners to our newest employee too.  I don’t care what might have gone
on in here before I arrived.  He is now one of my employees just like you,
and you should know better.”

The pressure had come off
of my neck the instant Dempsey started speaking, I was fortunately able to keep
my feet, though barely.  When I turned around I saw Dante’s massive form
and realized that I had been trying to royally irritate a living mountain.  That
had certainly been one of my dumber moves; right up there with attending this
tournament in the first place.  And when he spoke, I was certain that he
was number one, “I’m sorry boss.”

“I’m not the one to whom
you need apologize.”

I expected the room to
shake as the massive mountain of a man turned around to look at me and voiced
his apology.  “I’m sorry for lifting you up by your neck Francis.”

Despite the apology, I
couldn’t help but feel like I had just been threatened.  How could a man
who had been cowed mere moments ago manage to lace a threat inside of an
apology?  Though now that I saw the man I had zero desire to press him any
further so I quickly replied, “Don’t worry about it Dante.  Like the boss
said we’re all family here.”

With another one of his child-like
smiles Dempsey spread his arms out wide saying, “See, I knew we all could get
along.  Now Dante, you will lead our newest employee out of here.”

As I picked up the two
envelopes, Dante put his hands under my arms and assisted me to my feet. 
When I turned around I saw a few things that I burned into my mind.  There
were two other people in the room, the other goon, an older woman, and of
course there was the equipment I was told about.  Now there were plenty of
reasons to be nervous, one of them was helping me from the room right now, but
it was the woman that was the real source of my unease. But, it was another
puzzle for another time, right now I needed to get out of here.

“Oh, by the way,
Francis.”  Hearing the dissatisfaction in Dempsey’s voice, I hesitated for
a moment before turning back to him.  Once he could see my eyes he added a
personal dig.  “I hope you don’t mind but I made the assumption that you
would accept my offer.  And I’m sorry to say that Bella seemed less than
pleased when I mentioned it to her.”

Those words made my
stomach drop again.  Bella had thought I was a good man, now what would
she think of me?  Would she even speak with me again?  As thoughts of
Bella swirled inside my head, I turned back toward the freezer’s door.  Walking
through, I was almost boiled alive by the hot air of the kitchen.  Either
Dempsey didn’t know what happened with an extreme temperature change or he just
didn’t care.  Or perhaps, even more disconcerting, Dempsey simply wanted
to teach me a lesson about how dispensable I really was to him, despite my
special abilities.  Whatever the reason I was grateful to be getting away
from Dempsey and that odd woman. 
Who had she been?  And why did
she trouble me more than Dempsey, or even Dante for that matter?

Dante, as frightening as
a man of his stature is, I was thankful for his assistance.  I don’t think
I would have been able to move a step without him helping me stumble my way
through the kitchen.  Also just as fortunately, we made the small trip to
the rear exit in silence.  I was fairly certain that Dante was mute simply
to keep his temper in check.  Once outside the restaurant, Dante surprised
me by helping me into a sitting position on the loading dock.  I had been
expecting him to basically dump me and allow me to continue my defrosting
alone.