asterisk convo #2

G: Haha I know. He's so smart too.

M: Just not smart enough, eh? *fatherly chuckles and swivels around in office chair to face you*

G: *walks around your office slowly and grabs a novel off of huge library collection* "Guess not." *flips through the pages, coughing on dust* "Don't you ever clean?"

M: "Eliza's been..taking the week off we'll say." *takes book from you, blows off dust, and places it perfectly back on shelf* "How ya been, Will?"

G: *smiles slightly and traces a perfect 69 into the dust with pinky* "Ya know sir, to complain would do me no good." *grabs two glasses off personal bar* "Drink?"

M: *nods and angles head to the window* "Truer words have simply never been spoken, my kind man. And uh scotch. On the rocks." *confusedly watches you retrieve the alcohol and glasses, wondering when my office had become yours*

G: *adds ice and adds scotch. walks over slowly and hands you the drink. sits halfway on top of your desk* "Sir, i've been thinking a lot lately..about..the job." *takes sip of scotch and slowly moves my hands into my pocket, darting glances at you nervously*

M: *stands up and takes a sip of the perfectly aged beverage* "Ah. Nothing quite like it." *walks over to antique globe and twirls it twice, stopping finger on asia* "The job, Will. You need to be ready to leave by Monday at 1300 o' clock." *mentally checks military time to make sure I said time correctly. stern look overcomes face and stares into your soul* "And you need to be ready."

G: *begins to breathe extremely shallow and picks up the fountain pen that has been passed through your family* "Sir.." *gulps loudly and sets down pen* "I..I.." *stands up and grabs gun out of pocket and sets it on the desk facing you* "I didn't agree to take it this far.."

M: *inhales deeply and looks down at polished shoes* "I thought you might take this approach, William." *slowly sits down, places hand on gun and turns it towards you now* "And to your dismay, I have planned accordingly." *pulls recorder from inside jacket pocket and clicks play. your wife and daughter's screams and whimpers fill the room*

G: "You sonofabitch!" *grabs you by your suit near the chest with both hands* "What have you done with them?!" *shouting in an exasperated voice* "I'll do anything!" *looking desperately into your eyes, pleading in a way* "Don't do me like this, Tom."

M: *evilly laughs and gently removes hands from jacket* "Careful, William. You're on real thin ice." *takes a gulp of scotch and puckers lips from the potency* "And nah, I'm just playing. That's actually my wife and kid. They both sassed me last night, so i smacked 'em around a bit and recorded it." *finishes off scotch* "Sometimes I need a pick-me-up at work. You know how that is."

G: *wave of relief overcomes me. I unclench fists from your suit and fix the newly formed wrinkles* "Some things never change with you." *a nervous smile of relief emerges from lips* "Ah, you dog. Got me again." *picks up gun and twirls it on index finger before putting it in pocket* "I won't let you down."

M: *sighs with a smile, straightens jacket, and looks up* "I know you won't, Will…it's truly *nods and makes eye contact slowly* been an honor."