"Joey I need you to kill someone for me."
"Sir with all due respect, Fuck you".
"Haha!, You don't really have a choice in the matter do you?" Stephenson laughed then said, "How about we talk about this over some tea, I'll make a doctor watch over Rayla's status while we are gone."
Joey never had any other option. so he decided not to make a bid deal. They left the room and headed back down to the first floor and made their way to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was full of doctor that Joey could tell some of them were up to no good but he didn't like to assume that everyone was a bad egg.
"Come have anything you'd like," Stephenson said as he handed the plate to Joey.
"Where the hell is the tea?"
"Only old people drink tea, eat some grub. Maybe food will make our negotiations run smoothly"
"Smoothly my ass" Joey murmured under his breath.
Joey took his tray and shared stacked his plate like a game of Jenga, he skipped almost every meal of the day. His heart was telling him to break the tray over the professors head and force him to help his sister so they could leave.
But that was for another day.
Right now the different dishes in the cafeteria were alluring. Whatever he looked on he had a sudden hankering for that dish. Pasta, spaghetti, ground beef, bread rolls, barbeque chicken.
Who could resist?
Joey was just 15 and he was trying his best to stay above the water. He didn't want to seem like he was on the losing side or showed weakness so he stacked his plate with a mean face.
The doctors around the cafeteria cast glances, but Joe made it perfectly normal for someone to have that much food on his plate.
It started with a mountain of spaghetti, surrounded by barbeque wings, layered with mash potatoes and more wings but spicy. He put more minced meat on top of the over the mash potatoes and 3 different types of pasts making it look like an erupting volcano.
They found a seat then started talking.
"Joey I want you to be, my guy when I need something done," Stephenson said.
"I'm not gonna be your pawn you can just move around, I'm not some chesspiece." Joey spat "why do you want to kill people in the first place?"
"That's not the problem, you just need to kill who I say to kill"
"Shut up, what the hell do you take me for? I'm not even strong enough to kill people!" Joey slammed the cafeteria table, he looked around and said, "do you really think I won't fight you and take you to hell with me?" Joey furiously whispered.
Stephenson sighed "Fine, I'll pay you and keep your sister alive. Every person you kill for me is 10 grand"
Joey chuckled menacingly "Don't fine me, this is what is going to happen. Tomorrow you fix my sister, then I'll think about killing that person and you better give me a damn good reason. After that, I don't wanna see hide nor hair of you ever again."
Stephenson looked at Joey and secretly wondered if this guy was really 15 years old. He tried to see if he was just putting up an act, but even when looking at him and laughing he never seemed phased.
"Fine, I'll do it your way" Stephenson gave up.
"I need one more thing, I need some kind of scrub room" Joey added.
"No problem, Does that mean we have a deal?"
"Yes"
"Good why don't we shale on i-"
Before he properly offers his handshake, Joey got up from the table and left. He went back to his sister's room hoping to see if she was able to see her awake.
He had no luck. He waited until Stephenson came in and led him to an empty unused medicine room, where he slept for the night.
In the morning Joey woke.
In the morning Joey woke up and checked on Rayla to see that he was awake, she felt a little warmer to the touch. Joey felt sad that he caused her to put her through this, he should've never trusted Ms Moore in the first place.
Look where it got his sister?
"You gonna stand there gloomy all day?" Joey looked to the voice and saw Stephenson, he scoffed and turn his attention back to his sister, "Don't you have a life?".
"Oh, you worried about me now?"
"Tch, far from it" The sight of Stephenson made Joey feel immense disgust, his smug smile, and his nonchalant attitude made Joey disgusted.
"C'mere I have something for you", Joey didn't go immediately but looked at his sister a little while longer before squeezing her palm.
He walked out of the room and close the door "What do you want?", Stephenson didn't say anything and just handed him a phone. He was quite confused by the gesture, Stephenson saw the confusion in his face and took the liberty to explain.
"If I need to get in touch with you, I will be calling you from here. No one else should have those number I will send you the information on the person that I need you to kill" Stephenson said as he walked away.
Joey thought of something the asked, "do you really think I am strong enough to be able to kill the?"
Stephenson chuckled "Little Joey, I never saw you as strong enough to be able to do that. I just know If you crafty enough to survive this long you must be able to find a way to kill a person. Just take a picture for proof and all will be well.
After that, I will wire you the money and then you can come and pick up your sister and you will never see hide nor hair of me again."
Joey had trouble believing him but he could only take his word for now.