Flash 03: Loose Ends

The day finally came for my appointment with Max. I found his office and went inside where I was met by a slim brunette receptionist in professional attire. The rest of the office almost reminded me of something from an old black-and-white movie. I stifled a laugh and went to her desk.

"Cameron Drake," I said. "I have an appointment with Mr. Burnage."

"That's 'bern-ahj,' not 'burnage,'" she said, correcting my pronunciation. "Don't worry, almost everyone gets it wrong the first time. He's expecting you, Mr. Drake. Go right on in."

"Thank you," I said before heading to his door. The cigarette smoke wafted in the air as I stepped inside. To my amazement, I didn't smell anything offensive. Strange, I thought. The well-built man behind the desk looked up as I walked inside. He stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.

"Good to meet you, Mr. Drake," he said as he extended his hand. I took it and felt the slight shock. He smiled as we shook hands. "Please, have a seat," he said when we ended the handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Burnage," I said, making sure to pronounce his name correctly.

"I see you spoke with Sally," he said. "I'm not offended. Most people get my name wrong the first time. Oh, and don't expect to get much out of my memories."

"How..."

"How do I know about that?" he asked. "Because it's my job to know about people. And I've learned an awful lot about you, Mr. Drake. Or is it Cameron? May I call you Cameron?"

"Of course," I said. What else does this guy know, I asked myself.

"When Jack Peabody contacted me, I did a bit of digging on you. When he first called me, I told him I'd think about it. Then I remembered you from the Dirty Dozen trial and checked you out. I hope you don't mind. I like to know who I'm dealing with," he said.

"No, not at all," I said.

"The wife and I saw you address the court in the sentencing hearing," he said. "We were both... moved. My wife actually shed a tear as she listened to you. You must really love your wife to take her back after everything that's happened."

"I do, very much," I said. He nodded his head.

"After I checked you out, I was very interested in meeting you," he continued. "I understand you have a particular skill set and you're interested in helping others but you're not sure where to start. Is that right?"

"Yes, it is," I said.

"I also have a set of skills," he said. "Not quite like yours, and I didn't get them the same way. But I think there's a possibility we can work together. My wife agrees."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said.

"Uh huh," he said. "So, are you looking to get paid?"

"I'm already set, financially," I said. "I just want to get some... experience, a bit of training. That sort of thing."

"Experience. Well, I think we can help provide that for you. Tell me something, though. Have you ever used your abilities for personal gain? Ever use them to defend yourself? Or get revenge for what was done to your wife? Just between us," he said.

What does this guy know, I asked myself. Does he know about Wheeler? Or the way I browbeat Bergstrom and the others? Do I dare try to hide anything from this guy? I tried to probe his mind, but got... nothing. Odd, I thought. I saw a slight smile come across his face and I felt strangely compelled to tell him the whole truth.

"I, uh, have used them that way," I said. I told him about what I had done to Chad and his two goons, and I told him how I terrorized Bergstrom and the others. He nodded his head when I finished.

"Interesting," he said when I finished. "I would never have thought about using someone's dreams like that. Spiders, you say?"

"Yes," I said.

"And you got that from Bergstrom's memories?"

"Yes," I said. "It was from an incident in his childhood. He's terrified of the things." Max nodded his head.

"Well, Cameron, one thing I appreciate above all else is honesty. I appreciate you telling me this. I know it wasn't easy for you. Tell me something. How long do you expect these abilities to last?"

"According to Smith and Jones -- that's the two guys who did this to me -- I'm still somewhat in flux and I can expect to have these abilities for the rest of my life," I said.

"And you say you're still 'in flux.' What does that mean, exactly?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know," I told him. "I learn about these abilities as they come to me. It's a day-by-day thing."

"And you're not out to enrich yourself with these abilities?" he asked.

"No, I'm not," I said. "I did use them against the board because I felt they owed me for what they did to my wife, and I wasn't ready to spend years fighting it in court. I wanted them to settle, quickly, so I could move on with my life."

"Yeah, the court system does kinda suck at that at times, doesn't it?" he asked. I chuckled as I nodded my head.

"Alright, Cameron, tell you what I'll do," he said. "I'll bring you on, show you the ropes. You do as I say, when I say. Listen to what I tell you and we'll get along just fine. You'll get your chance to make suggestions and ask questions, but remember -- I'm the boss. And there's only one person who outranks me," he added, glancing at a photo on his desk. The photo showed him with a petite blonde woman, who I assumed was his wife.

"I understand completely," I said.

"Good. I understand you've signed up for some online courses," he said.

"Yes, criminal justice courses. They're self-paced, so I'm not tied to a schedule so long as I finish the assignments and tests by the deadline."

"Good idea. Wish I'd done that, but never had the time," he said. He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to me. "I'm actually an accountant by trade. Keep that with you. Call the number every weekday morning for instructions. There may be some days I don't call you in, and you may be asked to come in on some weekends. I'll let you know ahead of time about that. Use whatever off time you have to get ahead on your classes. Those come first. Actually, your wife comes first. Classes come second. Understand?"

"Got it," I said.

"I also expect you to keep everything that takes place between us in confidence. That's crucial in this business. Say nothing to no one. Understand?"

"I understand," I said.

"Good," he said. "Welcome aboard, Cameron Drake. And may God have mercy on your soul," he added, extending a hand. I accepted it and we shook hands. From there, I went home and saw Ginger in the kitchen. I gave her a hug and a kiss.

"How are you feeling today?" I asked.

"Getting better, thanks," she said. "How did it go with Max?"

"Went well," I said. "He agreed to take me on. I have a feeling our lives are about to get very... interesting."

"You mean, more interesting than they already are?" she asked sarcastically. I chuckled at that.

...

"Bergstrom, get up, you have a visitor," the guard said from the door. Harold Bergstrom, now a lifer in a federal prison, went to the door, where the guard shackled his hands and feet. Once done, he followed the guard to the visitor area and saw Thomas "Sledge" Hammer waiting for him. He sat down in the chair across from Hammer and spoke to him through the small holes in the clear partition.

"About Goddamned time you got here," he growled.

"I was busy, had things to do," Hammer said. "What do you want?"

"I have a job for you," Bergstrom said.

"A job?" Hammer asked. "And how do you plan to pay me? Last I heard, you were bankrupt, and you know I don't work for free."

"Don't give me that shit, Hammer," Bergstrom said. "You fucking owe me. If it weren't for me, you'd be in a landfill outside Jacksonville right now." Hammer took a couple breaths before nodding his head.

"Ok," he finally said. "So, what's this job? Or should I ask, 'who' is the target?"

"Drake," Bergstrom said.

"The geek? Or his wife?" Hammer asked.

"Both," Bergstrom said. "The sooner the better."

"There's still a fair amount of heat over all that," Hammer said.

"I don't give a shit," Bergstrom said.

"Well, I do," Hammer said. "Maybe you like it in here, but I have no desire to join you. Look, I have a few things to clean up back east. Might take me a couple months, but I'll deal with Drake when that's done. Not before."

"Look, you son of a bitch," Bergstrom began.

"No, you look, Bergstrom," Hammer said, interrupting him. "You want me to do this for you pro bono, then you'll let me do it my way, on my schedule. You got it?"

"Alright, Goddammit," Bergstrom finally said. "Just don't take too long."

"Why?" Hammer asked. "You're not going anywhere soon. You got a hot date or something?"

"Fuck you," Bergstrom said. Hammer chuckled at that.

"You couldn't handle me," Hammer said before standing up. "I'll see ya around," he added before he left.

I disconnected from Bergstrom, but not before planting the mother of all nightmares in his mind. I chuckled when I thought about that. So, he planned to have Ginger and I murdered. I wondered what Hammer was thinking, so I connected to his mind.

At that moment, Hammer was sitting in the back of a taxi. He wasn't too keen on doing what Bergstrom wanted, but he was fully aware of what Bergstrom could still have done to him, even from inside the walls of a federal prison. Bergstrom was broke, but he still had lots of powerful friends, in both high and low places. The cab stopped outside a Motel Six not far from the prison. Hammer paid, got out of the cab and went into his room, and locked the door.

That was my cue. Focusing all my energy, I projected myself through his mind and into his room. Even though Smith and Jones had worked with me on this, I still found it took all of my concentration to make it work.

"Well, Hammer, I see you've forgotten our little conversation," I said, causing him to look at me, surprised.

"You! How did get in here? That door's double-locked," he stammered as he started reaching for his pistol, sitting in the shoulder holster hung over a chair.

"Don't even think of it, Hammer," I said. "You'll only hurt yourself. I'm not here to hurt you, just to give you a friendly warning." He backed away from the gun and sat down on the bed.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want you to go back east and forget about Bergstrom. Forget about me. Forget about my wife," I said. "Understand?"

"Bergstrom has lots of powerful friends," he said.

"By this time next week, Bergstrom will either be in a padded cell, or dead," I told him.

"What do you mean?" Hammer asked.

"He has this thing about spiders, know what I mean?" I asked. Hammer slowly nodded his head. "Starting tonight, there'll be thousands of them crawling in and out of every orifice in his body. Big, hairy spiders. Scary-looking things. He'll do anything to get rid of them, but they'll never leave him alone. If you want to join him, that's fine by me."

"No, not particularly," he said.

"I didn't think so," I said. "Do as I say, and you may live long enough to retire. Fuck with me or my wife and I guarantee you won't. You may be an asshole, Hammer, but you're not stupid. Catch my drift?" I flashed my eyes red to punctuate my sentence and watched as his eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, I got it," he said.

"Good. Go back east. Stay there. There's nothing for you here," I said. "Trust me, if I have to talk to you again, I won't be so cordial."

"My flight leaves first thing in the morning," he said.

"Make sure you're on it," I said. He nodded his head.

"I will," he said. I disconnected from his mind but stayed around long enough to hear his last thoughts. "I gotta find me a new line of work." I chuckled to myself as I disengaged. I sat back in my chair and rubbed my temples for a few moments. Afterward, I refreshed my coffee and sat back down to my computer.

It had been a week since my interview with Max and he had put me through my paces over the last few days. Most of the time was spent shadowing him as he went about his business. He had a strange way of getting people to do exactly what he wanted and I wondered about that.

I heard the door open and Ginger came into the office. I knew she had an appointment with her doctor today, so I shut down my computer and turned to her. She always took my breath away, but something about her just made her... glow.

"Well, what did the doctor say?" I asked.

"The doctor said we need to get a bigger place," she said with a smile. "And fast."

"Oh really?" I asked. We had been talking about buying a house, but nothing we saw struck our fancy. "Why's that?"

"Well, my dear husband," she said. "You're going to be a daddy."

"You mean... You're pregnant?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"Very," she said. I wrapped her in my arms and gave her a sloppy kiss, which she returned.

"How long?" I asked.

"From what the doctor said, not very long. Maybe six or eight weeks, tops," she said. "I figured it happened that first time we did it in the rehab facility." I picked her up as I let out a very loud "woo hoo" and spun her around a time or two before setting her back down.

"Well, we'd better get busy then," I said.

...

Fade to black...

Note: Max Burnage is from my series, Max Burnage. For those who may be wondering, the story will continue, with further episodes coming over time.