【Part Three】 Good Help

“We’ll be in touch,” Adrian lied, having no intention of ever calling the man back.

The two of them stood up, and Adrian let him out of the club’s back office. The other man was pudgy, with a thick mustache and a southern drawl. He was applying to work as head of security at the club, but he was little more than a mall cop. Not what Adrian was looking for.

None of the candidates had been. The one before had been a representative from some corporate outfit. That hadn’t been a good fit either. Adrian needed someone loyal to him and his interests, not the impersonal rotating cast offered by what was essentially a staffing agency.

He sighed and walked around his club. He had a few minutes before the next interview, so he decided to inspect the renovations. Outside of the office, the sounds of construction were deafening. Power tools, hammers, and shouting filled the air as a crew of at least two dozen men worked to overhaul the club for its big grand opening. They had been at it for the past month and a half, and progress had been excellent, in no small part because Adrian had managed to convince Araqiel to fund double shifts. Finding a contractor hadn’t been any easier than finding a head of security was proving to be.. He needed someone who could not only keep up with the accelerated timetable but who would prove amenable to some of the more esoteric design requirements. But he'd managed.

Speaking of, Adrian approached his contractor, a leather-skinned man in his early fifties named Rodrigo. Rodrigo was busy overseeing his crew as they installed a thin strip of silver along the base of the entire outside wall. Another group of men was reinstalling the dance floor, which, in addition to being a simple replacement of Gilt’s old, beat-up boards, had involved the inscription of arcane glyphs into the concrete subflooring below. A third group of three men had already moved on to painting the walls where the renovation had been completed.

“How’s it looking?” Adrian asked.

Rodrigo grunted. “S’all right.” He was a man of few words.

“We going to make it?” The club was due to open in a little more than a week, and although it had come a very long way, there was a lot left to do.

Rodrigo scowled down at his workers. “It’ll be tight.”

“But we’re on schedule?”

“Mm. Might need to work nights,” Rodrigo told him.

“I’ll authorize the payment,” Adrian replied.

Rodrigo nodded, then stalked off to yell at the men working on the dance floor, who had apparently been making some kind of mistake, although Adrian didn’t have the experience to see what they had been doing wrong.

Rodrigo had been a good find. He hadn’t asked any questions about the unusual requests Adrian had made, and had kept his crew to the tight schedule set out for them. Adrian needed a base of operations up and running as soon as possible, both for the operational security it provided and for the income stream he and his squires needed to finance themselves.

Adrian turned to look towards the entrance, where a wiry man with large spectacles ducked underneath a plastic tarp, leading in the next candidate. He waited as the pair approached.

“Adrian Parker,” he said, holding out his hand. “I own the club.”

“Cole Henderson,” the candidate replied, shaking Adrian’s hand in a firm grip.

“Let’s talk in my office,” Adrian said.

He led the way out of the club’s main room to the back. The noise of construction dampened dramatically once Adrian shut the door behind them. Rocco’s old office had been one of the first things they had renovated, precisely so that Adrian would have a place to conduct business like this. It had been soundproofed, although the faint whir of the power tools could still be distantly heard. It had also been expanded slightly, borrowing space from the other back rooms. The walls had been painted a dark, warm red, and the floors had been set with new, thick carpeting.

Adrian took a seat at his desk, a large wooden affair. Cole sat in one of the two comfortable chairs across from him, while the bespectacled man, Earl, placed himself on the edge of a plush red couch in the back of the room and pulled out a laptop.

“So,” Adrian began. “I’m looking for a head of security.”

“That’s what I hear,” Cole replied.

He was a large man, three or four inches taller than Adrian, with a body of tight muscle. His red-brown skin was the color of mahogany, and his eyes were like two chips of flint. He kept his dark hair buzzed short.

Adrian looked down at where the man’s resume sat on the desk. “Ex-military?”

Cole nodded. “I served in Afghanistan.”

That was good. A definite plus. “You ever work security before?”

Cole shook his head. “No. But I was a sergeant, so if you count that, I have management experience. And I know plenty about getting drunks to behave themselves.”

Adrian laughed. “That’ll be most of the day-to-day. But I’ll also need you to take point on designing our entire security apparatus. That means surveillance, screening employees, any protocols you think may be a good idea, and so on.”

“I can do that,” Cole said. “Set you up with a good alarm system, some cameras, a few bouncers...”

“It might be a little more involved than that,” Adrian said cryptically, “but yes, we’ll need to start there.”

“What are your salary expectations?” Earl asked from behind Cole’s back.

Cole craned his neck to look at the well-dressed, scrawny man. “I’m not too picky. Anything reasonable you guys are offering, I’ll take.”

He probably thought that would make him competitive, but it left a sour taste in Adrian’s mouth. If he didn’t care about salary, it might mean he was ****. Debts, a **** problem, whatever it was, it would be a pressure point Adrian’s enemies could use to worm their way in.

“Why do you want this job?” Adrian turned on his powers, tamping down any suspicions Cole might have had at the line of questioning.

“Just looking for employment,” Cole shrugged. “But I’ve always been a night owl, so late hours don’t bother me. And I figured, you know,” he gestured down at himself, “I’d be good at keeping the peace.”

Adrian’s instincts told him there was something Cole was leaving out, something he wasn’t saying. Damn. He’d been the first good candidate they’d interviewed. Adrian hated to see him go, but he couldn’t take the chance. Whoever he hired for this job had to be absolutely solid. Things were quiet for now, but Adrian knew that his enemies were out there, plotting. Kyriakos would find him, sooner or later, and he’d need to be prepared.

“We have a few more interviews to take,” Adrian said, standing, “but we’ll be in touch.”

“Wait,” Cole said, looking worried. “Whatever I did wrong, let me explain. Please. I need this job.”

Adrian probably should have pushed him out the door, but something about Cole’s sincerity pulled at him. He sat back down. “Why?”

Cole pitched his head back and forth. “I have a custody hearing later this week,” he admitted. “My lawyer says if I can’t show proof of gainful employment, it's pretty much a non-starter.”

Adrian frowned, looking back down at Cole’s resume. “Says here that you’re currently working as a roofer.”

“That number just goes to my buddy,” Cole sighed. “It’s not a real job.”

“What have you been doing for money then?” Adrian asked, furrowing his brow.

“I was a PMC,” Cole said, looking defeated. “Worked for Peregrine.”

Peregrine. A Private Military Contractor firm that had been making the news cycle recently for some dark shit.

“I wasn’t involved in any of that,” Cole quickly clarified. “I mean, I saw some stuff, did some stuff, but not like what’s on the news.”

“But the judge isn’t going to care about that,” Adrian said, understanding.

“My ex’s lawyer has me painted as dangerous,” Cole explained, growing angry. “Makes it sound like I’m not safe to watch over my own kid.” Then he grew softer. “Also says I was an absent parent. That part's true. I’ve been overseas for most of my kid’s life. But that’s why I left. I’m trying to settle down now, make up for lost time.”

It made sense why Cole wouldn’t care too much what they paid him, and Adrian really wished he could help. The spirits agreed too. Here was a man who had decided what he wanted in life and was going to try to grab it. It would be a good fit, except…

“I’m sorry, Cole,” Adrian said. “I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

“I need this man,” Cole pleaded. “Whatever you’re looking for, I’ll be it.”

“It’s not that,” Adrian told him. “You’re a great candidate, and I’d love to hire you.”

“Then do it,” Cole interjected.

Adrian sighed. “This job requires…well, a certain degree of discretion.”

“I won’t say a thing about the ladies you bring back here,” Cole promised.

“No,” Adrian clarified, serious. “I mean _real _discretion.”

Cole looked confused for a second, then grew serious. “Oh. I get it.”

“This may not be the safest line of employment for you,” Adrian explained, “and if you’re looking to build a stable home for your kid…”

“I don’t care,” Cole asserted. “If I don’t get a job before the hearing, I won’t have a home for my kid at all. Whatever it is y’all are up to, it’s none of my business.”

Adrian met Earl’s eyes. “What’s your kid’s name?” he asked.

“Tanyah,” Cole answered. “She’s nine.”

Adrian leaned back in his chair. “If you work here, you may see things, hear things, you don’t understand. People might make you offers. Tempting ones. I need somebody I can trust.”

“I’m your guy,” Cole said with determination. “I can handle this.”

“It’ll be dangerous,” Adrian told him. “Not most of the time, but I may need you to step up.”

“Not a problem,” Cole swore easily.

Adrian took a moment to think it over, but his gut had already decided. “Alright. You’re hired.”

“Really?” Cole’s face lit up.

“Mhm,” Adrian confirmed. He slid a scrap of paper across the desk. “Here’s your pay. That work for you?”

Cole took the paper. His eyes widened, and he let out a little chuckle. “Yeah. That’ll work.”

“Good,” Adrian told him. “Like I said, this job is a little unusual. We want to keep you happy. To that end, I’m thinking we throw in a little signing bonus.”

Cole looked up from the scrap of paper he’d been cradling.

“This custody arrangement,” Adrian asked. “What are you looking for?”

“Nothing more than my fair share,” Cole answered. “Fifty-fifty.”

Adrian nodded at Earl. “Put it in the contract.”

Cole raised an eyebrow. “You guys have that kind of pull?”

Earl coughed apologetically, “I don’t know if-“

“Make it happen,” Adrian ordered.

Earl, or really Ulgruur, scowled. Most of the time, Earl was a mild-mannered accountant with a homey wife and three rowdy children. Earlier in the month, however, Earl had decided that what he really wanted was a young woman who would allow him to indulge in certain…proclivities. Ulgruur, a Spirit of the Script serving in Araqiel’s court, had been there to provide. All Earl needed to give in return was permission for Ulgruur to commandeer his body from time to time, allowing the spirit to walk around and conduct business in the mortal world.

“We usually need more time for this kind of thing,” Ulgruur protested.

“You’ll figure it out,” Adrian said sternly. “Also, draft up a normal-looking offer letter for Cole. He'll need one to show the judge.”

Ulgruur grumbled, but started typing.

Cole looked back and forth between them in surprise. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Adrian told him. “The contract I’m going to have you sign has a few…unusual clauses.”

“Like what?” Cole asked.

“Loyalty,” Adrian said firmly. “You betray us, and your soul is forfeit.”

Cole gave him an uncertain look, but Adrian didn’t flinch. “You’re serious?”

“Yes,” Adrian said simply.

“He needs to believe us,” Ulgruur spoke up. “If he doesn’t think it’s real, the contract will lack the informed consent needed to make it enforceable.”

Adrian frowned. He wasn’t about to bother Araqiel to come and prove her existence over something so far below her notice. “How do you usually handle that?”

“A trial contract should do. Let me throw together something real quick, boilerplate stuff.”

“What’s this about?” Cole asked, looking less certain than he’d been earlier.

“Give him a second,” Adrian said, holding up a hand. “It’ll make sense soon.”

After only a minute, Ulgruur had printed out a ‘simple’ contract that was nonetheless eleven pages long.

“The terms are straightforward,” Ulgruur explained as he set the papers down on Adrian’s desk. His eyes looked like a bug’s behind his thick glasses. “You agree to abstain from using any of Sir Adrian’s pens for the duration of one day. In return, we enter your debt for the total of five US dollars. If you break the agreement, the left side of your body will be subject to punishing heat, the right side to punishing cold, and your mouth will taste of filth, for a sentence not to exceed thirty seconds.”

“What the hell is he talking about?” Cole asked Adrian.

“Just sign it,” Adrian shrugged.

“No,” Ulgruur insisted. “He must read it first.”

“Go ahead then,” Adrian sighed, motioning towards the contract. Spirits of the Script were sticklers, and although he understood the need for them to adhere to their peculiar set of arcane regulations, it could really slow things down.

Cole seemed skeptical, but he humored them and did as they asked. When he was done, he signed his name at the bottom with a flourish. “Now what?”

“Now break the agreement,” Ulgruur said. “Write something with one of Sir Adrian’s pens.”

“_Sir _Adrian?” Cole squinted.

Adrian ignored the question and handed over a random pen from his side of the desk. Cole took it and scribbled something in the margins of the contract.

Immediately, Cole jumped up out of his chair. “What the shit!” He began to shake his arms, then a disgusted look came over his face, and he started spitting onto Adrian’s carpet. The other men waited calmly for the episode to pass. When it was over, Cole stared at them with a concerned expression.

“Satisfied?” Adrian asked Ulgruur, who nodded.

Cole spoke under his breath. “What the hell are you?”

“I’ll explain everything once you sign the contract,” Adrian told him. “For now, understand that the terms are very real. We can’t dictate your actions, but if you betray us, your soul is ours.”

Cole licked his lips. “And if I never betray you?”

Adrian shrugged. “Then there’s no problem. You remain in control of your own soul, collect your paycheck, and life goes on.”

Cole settled back into his seat, and Ulgruur proffered him the much longer contract of employment.

“You’ll need to take this home and go over it,” Ulgruur explained. “It’s important that you read every paragraph. I’ll know if you don’t. In the meantime, here’s an official offer letter for the courts.”

Cole took the piece of paper and let it rest in his lap. “So when you say you’ll get me custody of Tanyah…”

“It’s a guarantee,” Adrian confirmed, although Ulgruur resumed his sour expression.

Cole thought things over. “Fuck it.” He took the contract. “You have a deal.”

Adrian shook his hand. “We’ll have another meeting later this week for me to fill you in on the details. Welcome to the team.”

Adrian escorted Cole out of the office, then turned to look at where the man had spat on his floor. “Ulgruur, go find Rodrigo and let him know we’ll need to clean the carpet in here.”