Seven Demons by Aidan Truhen (best motivational books for students TXT) 📕

like to reassure my wider clientele at this time. It is just good business I am reviving a very traditional brand of crime here.”

“Okay Jack. Okay you go ahead. I am delighted to meet you and I look forward to seeing what you can do. But please don’t put me in the way of a…noise complaint.”

We shake hands. Under the manicure, Ottavio Leopold Calvanese has skin like he builds stone walls for a living without gloves.

“I am pleased you come to me Jack not the other guys.”

“I had no idea there were other guys Mr. Calvanese.”

“Jack in Europe there are always the other guys. Deep in the woodwork there are always those guys. You know what guys I mean?”

“Those guys?”

“Those guys.”

“We’re talking about those guys still?”

“Those guys still again Mr. Price. Now more than for some time. They are everywhere.”

Doc says: “La sua gente era partigiana,” and Ottavio Leopold starts a little, then smiles like a sunrise.

“Dottore,” he says, and makes a little bow over his gut, and a nod. Partisans like anti-Fascists, back in the day when that meant the Calabrese equivalent of mujahideen.

I know there are Fascists because there are always Fascists but the idea that there are enough of them that a guy like Ottavio Leopold is talking like they are an actual opposition to his thing—but I guess I watch the news so I should not be surprised.

“Well I do not in general make business decisions on the basis of personal distaste Mr. Calvanese but even if you were less of the kind of person that I like to deal with than you are I still—well gosh how to put this delicately—”

“You do not feel they would be a good fit?”

“Well maybe not but also just to put it nicely and in language appropriate to a working environment and where there might be children and so on: fuck those guys.”

Ottavio Leopold stares at me for a moment, and then mirth ripples out of him like dancing. He waves his hands up and up in huge approval.

“Oh yes. Oh yes! Quite so indeed.” And then intense as he takes my hand: “I am sure we can find a fellow who will work well with you Mr. Price.”

—

So Ottavio Leopold has arranged at my request a brief recruitment fandango and it is here in this hotel. It is a nice hotel and I do mean nice. It is a luxury hotel in the business district it is totally anonymous and very shiny because it is not for tourists it is for the other kind of people who need a two-story fish tank in the lobby to know that someone somewhere will one day love them. It is opulent and yet not opulent because really opulent is unfettered by good taste and true bad taste is not Swiss. There’s good taste involved even in the really terrible decisions around neon ceiling art and Cyber-Casbah chic. They’ve gone completely overboard in this totally non-ridiculous way. The Swiss are a people who own lots of guns but do not have much gun crime and evidently there is a connection there with interior design.

We take the big conference room, which we do not need but it is big and there is a giant gold squid over the table and I am all about the giant gold squid.

Because you got to have a fucking process.

“Hi Nico so tell us about yourself.”

“Hi Jack I am very happy to be here I got my start in the ’Ndrangheta. I have experience with blockade running and interpersonal violence, extortion, high-level governmental corruption. Some criminal-systems analysis, you know, because I am modernizer.”

Doc says: “We are looking for someone familiar with small arms and close combat at a commando level ideally I would like to see some krav maga or similar.”

“Wait Jack I must ask it would be required to work with this lady?”

“Yeah and Charlie too.”

“I have a concern there. It is alien to my culture. Also historically it has not gone well for my people, to share secrets with females.”

“I—wait females?”

“Is not the right word?”

“Something of a red flag in terms of nuance there buddy.”

“Thank you is better to say girls?”

“Okay thank you for coming in.”

“No problem man.”

“…”

“…”

“Doc did you pat him on the shoulder? Like in a friendly way?”

“Guiding him to the door.”

“Doc.”

“Price.”

“Doc.”

“Price.”

“…How long?”

“…Fever in ten hours, respiratory problems in seventeen, total deliquescence in eighty-one hours give or take.”

“Dammit Doc what if he turns out to be the best option?”

“Well he’s not now is he?”

“…no that is true but please do not do that anymore.”

“Mmph.”

“Doc.”

“Mm.”

“No melty.”

“Mm.”

“Hallo m’name is Anthony ’m a foh’mah mimbeh of the Rhodesian Light—”

“Nope thank you nope.”

“I’m Susan I was in charge of interrogation at Camp—”

“Adieu.”

“Hi I—”

“Nope.”

“Price—”

“Dude has a lightning bolt tattoo—”

“We cannot hire on aesthetic principles Price that is irrational—”

“Excuse me hi about this tattoo? Actually it is a caduceus with lightning bolts instead of snakes?”

“…”

“…”

“Doc?”

“Mm.”

“Comments?”

“Mm-mm.”

“I am Colonel—”

“No.”

“No?”

“No but we do really like your epaulets man that is a lot of braid.”

“It is important to convey authority.”

“Disco authority please god please let this—”

“Hi I am Saul—”

“Do you have any obvious fucking personality flaws or stupid body art?”

“No if you wish I will remove my—”

“Please god no you are hired. Trial basis for this job probation five months thereafter no-fault break clause.”

“I have a variety of unarmed skills and I am proficient in big guns that go fwoosh and small guns that go bang I do not do sniper work that is kind of not my thing.”

“I said you’re hired.”

“I also like to be the first man through the door in combat situations that is kind of my thing.”

“You’re—”

“Yes I heard you man I just don’t like to stop until I’m good and finished I’m a fucking commando. Respect the skill set.”

“…Okeydokey.”

“Also the break clause is mutual and I will under no circumstances shave my head or respond to any of the following names: Skipper, Chuck, Zinger, Flea-Ring, Dumptruck, or Kandahar.”

“Why not?”

“Did you just hear me say those names? Those are terrible fucking names for