Jared followed Marcus into the back room. At first, he thought he had come back out into the dingy corridor outside. The whole room was tinted an unsettling blue from the fluorescent light above, and unlike Marcus' office space, it contained only three things as far as Jared could see: a large monitor screen suspended on the wall to the right, a single metal chair positioned so that it was facing the screen with a small remote resting on it, and the door of a wall safe at the opposite end of the room which Jared noticed was equipped with a biometric hand reader. He had never been back here before but it was easy to determine that this was where Marcus held his bounties and the money he was given by the company to conduct his business. It seemed unlike him to allow anybody back here, with or without him, and Jared could not help but feel his senses on edge as Marcus locked the door behind him.
"Why couldn't we do this out there?" Jared asked sternly, his eyes alert as they followed Marcus.
"Rules of the house, my friend. Don't blame me," Marcus replied.
"And what kind of job are we talking about?" Jared demanded. "You know there are certain places I refuse to go to."
"Nothing like that, I assure you," Marcus said, putting his hand up to calm him down. "The client has requested that they give you the assignment personally."
"Personally?" Jared repeated, somewhat suspiciously. "You know, I'm starting to get the feeling that you knew I would come for this job."
"Was I wrong to assume so?" Marcus shrugged.
Jared could not stifle a snicker at his remark. "So where's the client then?" he asked, outstretching his arms as if to show Marcus that there was nobody else in the room.
"Not here," Marcus answered shortly. He grabbed the remote off the chair and pointed it at the suspended monitor, clicking a single button. "There."
The screen buzzed to life, streaking static for a second before revealing the image on the other end. Jared found himself looking into the eyes of a balding, middle-aged African-American man dressed in a seamless indigo suit. He was only shown from the chest up, but from what Jared could see of the cloudless skyline through the tall, glass windows behind him, it did not take long for him to figure out who he was looking at - that and the fact that his portrait could be found all throughout the complex.
"Good afternoon, Marcus," the man said in a low tone, without so much as shifting his hard expression.
Marcus nodded and then made a gesture from Jared to the monitor. "Thaddeus Burnside, chief executive officer of Korvin Enterprise."
"I know who he is," Jared muttered.
Marcus ignored his remark. "And I'm sure you know who this is," he said back to the monitor.
"Ex-Sergeant Jared Cross, if I'm not mistaken," Burnside said, his eyes panning over to Jared. "Your reputation precedes you. Marcus had spoken very highly of your work."
"I'm sure he has," Jared replied with a nod.
"Then I'm sure a man of your talents and abilities should have no problem with the task I need performed."
"With all due respect," Jared cut in, "I need to know what I'm dealing with before I consider it."
"Your request is fair," Burnside said. "I'll keep the details short. The company is expecting to receive a shipment containing cargo of utmost importance. I need someone to run security for said shipment as it is escorted into company possession."
A short but heavy pause followed Burnside's conveyance of information. Jared glanced from Burnside to Marcus, almost confused by what he was hearing. "Is that all?"
"That's correct," Burnside nodded. "It should be a relatively simple task."
"Relatively, for sure," Jared responded. "But if I may ask, sir, why not just issue a security detail?"
"There will be assigned security on location," Burnside answered stiffly. "However, the cargo is deemed highly classified. The task at hand is what someone in your former profession might call a black ops mission."
Jared narrowed his eyes. "Is that right? Sounds to me like you're smuggling something illegal into the city."
Burnside met Jared's comment with a glare behind his steepled fingers.
"I think what my esteemed friend here is trying to say," Marcus jumped in, taking a step forward as if to come between them, "is that he would be uncomfortable with a job that might bring up certain histories of his. But I have assured him that he need not worry about anything of that sort."
"Likewise," Burnside continued, "the only assurance I can offer you is that the shipment is company property and cannot afford to be lost in transit. If you accept the job then you need only ensure that it reaches its destination on time and uncompromised, and you are free to perform this task however you see fit."
Jared cast a sideways glance at Marcus, who just gave him a nod as if to tell him that the request was honest enough. "So what's the pay?" he asked, hoping to move the conversation forward.
"$20,000 now, another hundred when the task is completed," Burnside answered succinctly.
For a moment, Jared felt the warm bubble of the rum in his stomach churn as though it were about to burst up into his throat. He wasn't sure he had heard him correctly. "120?" he said with unconcealed surprise. It was by far the most he had ever been offered for a single job, even if it was only junk change to someone like Burnside. "Why the high price?"
"As I said," Burnside replied, "the asset in question is of great value to the company. I will do whatever I must to ensure its delivery."
"Alright," Jared pressed on. "So what's the timeline? When are you expecting delivery?"
"A week from today."
"And I'll need to know locations and everyone I can expect to be along for security."
"I'm afraid that's all the information I can give you at this time," Burnside responded strictly.
Jared raised an eyebrow. "All the information? I can't go into a job like this blind. I need every detail you can give me."
"Not to worry," Marcus cut in again. "We have an agent on the outside who will be in contact with you shortly, should you accept, that is."
"Another agent?" Jared asked, turning his attention to Marcus. "So I wasn't the only person you got for the job."
"No, not entirely true," Marcus retorted. "This person works for me and is very skilled at gathering information on the ground. They will provide you with all the finer details - the mission specifics, timelines, routes, you get the idea - all from a much more secure environment."
"I thought that was the whole reason you brought me back here," Jared said, pointing around the room. "To conduct business in absolute security."
"Not absolute," Marcus said. "It's secure enough for Mr. Burnside to present you with the initial details, but beyond this point you will be out on the streets, entirely on your own."
"And more importantly," Burnside added, "clear from any prying, unauthorized eyes within the company."
That certainly wasn't the worst argument Jared had ever heard, but he was still unsettled by the notion of not knowing exactly what he was getting into. Turning back to Marcus, he said, "I want your assurance that I can terminate my involvement with this task if I decide it's not something I can be involved with. You know what I mean."
Marcus gave Jared a serious look followed by a vague smile. "Mr. Cross has my complete trust," he said, speaking to Burnside. "He'll forget the events of this assignment the moment his involvement ends. But as I've said before, that shouldn't be an issue."
A short silence followed before Burnside spoke again. "Do I have an answer from you then, Mr. Cross?"
Jared still found the words of any definitive answer sticking within his throat, but finally he said, "I'm in, but I'll be expecting to hear from your agent by the end of the night."
"Of course," Marcus nodded. "You'll have plenty of time to prepare."
"And I'll take my pay the usual way."
Marcus snickered. "Yes, I thought you might."
"Very well, gentlemen," Burnside said, straightening up in his chair. "The burden is on you then. If you're as good as Marcus says you are, then I expect I can sleep soundly tonight knowing I've made the right decision. Good day, then."
The monitor cut to black faster than it had activated. Jared was lost in thought for a moment. This was all so unusual. He typically got all the details of a job from Marcus before setting out into the streets, let alone from the top of the corporation. It made him undeniably anxious deep inside.
"So what's going through your head?" Marcus interrupted his thoughts.
Jared's attention shot up. Despite all the questions that were flowing around in his head, he was not entirely sure what to say. "This agent of yours," he began at last, "who are they? And when can I expect to meet them?"
"You need not worry about it right now, my friend."
"No, I think I should worry about it right now," Jared pushed back. "If I'm getting all my information from them, then don't you think I should at least know their name? How are they even supposed to get ahold of me?"
"You think I haven't gone down that avenue already?" Marcus said.
"I think you've gone down quite a few avenues with me today," Jared responded bluntly. "Probably before you even contacted me about it."
"Come on," Marcus said as he took out his phone and started fiddling with it. "Would you have come if I told you that this wouldn't be like any work you've done for me until now?"
Jared hesitated for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Can't say I can tell."
"Well this should ease your tension a bit. I just transferred the preliminary payment to you right now," Marcus said, holding up his cell phone before slipping it back into his pocket.
Jared immediately pulled out his phone and checked it. There was a notification on the lock screen from Korvin Enterprise's company banking system. The majority of employees preferred to keep bank accounts with the company instead of other traditional banks, if only for the benefits and convenience. The company even provided more secure and private accounts for people like Jared who did such dirty work on their behalf.
The notification on Jared's screen indicated that $20,000 had just been transferred to his account. He could barely comprehend the promise of payment for this job when he had heard it from Burnside, but seeing it now was a whole other story, and another hundred grand coming his way once it was completed. That would be enough to set him up for the next three years if he wanted. Still, more money and less information only made him more and more nervous the longer he thought about it. He wouldn't know until he met this contact of Marcus'. With that in mind, Jared straightened up and gave Marcus a nod that told him he was ready.