Chapter 1
The sun glimmered off the newly polished roof of a bright blue SUV as it passed by. It had been clear and sunny for quite a few days and the weather report seemed to indicate that the next week would not break this trend. Jeff put a cigarette in his mouth and once secured began fumbling around his pockets for a light. He checked his pants pockets, a pair of light khaki colored chinos, next his coat, a long dark grey trench coat, which had more pockets then he could fill on a busy day. The search was proving futile when she strolled in front of him. At first she appeared to be looking in the window of the store he was standing in front of, a popular shoe store filled with bored housewives whose kids had been left with their respective nannies and/or daycare centers. She glanced in the window for a moment before turning her sight on Jeff.
"Need a light?" a soft voice asked. The bottom of her red dress danced as a smooth breeze passed by.
"Thanks," Jeff smiled as he tipped the brim of his dark top hat.
She removed a small translucent lighter from her jacket pocket and held it up to his cigarette. A delicate, red nailed, finger pressed down on the switch igniting a tiny flame outward into Jeff's cigarette. With a single breath he filled his lungs with chemical filled delight as the nicotine raced through his system relaxing the pleasure centers of his brain. He pointed his head up and took another slower, deeper drag, this time allowing his lungs to fill up completely.
“Thanks, again,” he said with another of his patented smiles.
“My pleasure,” The woman replied, her long red dress still dancing in the wind. She removed a pack from her pocket, removed a single long thin white stick, placed it between her lips and with the same gentle motion lit the cigarette. The two stood next to each other for a few moments lost in thought as traffic and people moved past them, preoccupied with their busy lives. Jeff glanced at the woman in-between drags. She was tall, at least 5’8”, slim with perfect curves. Her red dress, partial covered by a dark red jacket concealing the upper half, but her physique was undeniable. A pair of semi-dark sunglasses hid her eyes from the world, but it was obvious that she was attractive. Not stunning, drop dead beautiful, but attractive, Jeff noted to himself.
“Lovely day, isn’t it,” Jeff decided to break the ice.
“Unseasonably,” was the reply.
“Are you expecting another snowstorm?”
“It’s not impossible,” she seemed to raise an eyebrow with the answer.
“I prefer the fall myself.”
“Hmmm…” she paused for a long moment, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Camus wrote it. He was a strong believer in the symmetry of all things. It’s obvious in many of his works.”
“Don’t really know much about it.”
“I imagine you wouldn’t. Not that I’m saying your dumb or anything.”
“Thanks, I think…”
Pulling the last drag on her cigarette, the lady in red walked off. The encounter mulled around inside Jeff’s mind for a while as he lit his second cigarette with the matches he had just found. The smoke continued to fill his lungs and images of his appointment filled his head. 11AM, 123 45th Street, corner of 6th Avenue, Suite 789: sounded like something dreamlike or out of a children’s cartoon. His watch read 10:45AM, fifteen minutes to go. In Jeff’s profession it never paid to be early. Still, fifteen minutes was a lot of time to kill. It took him about 2-3 minutes to finish off a smoke and he didn’t feel like smoking anymore right now. What to do to stave off boredom? A moment to ponder interrupted by a buzzing inside his coat pocket: his cell phone to the rescue. He pulled it out and scanned the screen. A call was coming through; the number was unfamiliar but local.
“Hello?”
“Do you sell chicken rice?” a woman’s voice, yet raspy like she had been smoking for a while.
Wrong number “ummm…Excuse me?”
“Do you sell chicken rice?”
“No.”
“Pretty certain of that huh?”
“Yes.”
“Not in the mood for talking then?”
“Aren’t you interested in your chicken rice?”
“True. Do you want to know what I’m thinking about?”
“Not really.”
“I’m thinking about why you are continuing this conversation when it seems to be going nowhere and I’m talking about chicken rice. How about you?
“I’m wondering which hospital let you out prematurely.”
“Nice.”
“Are we done here?” his voice was definitely indicating a newly formed lack of patience.
“As long as you are sure you don’t sell chicken rice.”
“No,” and he closed his phone.
More pointlessness. The sheer amount of pointlessness that seemed to permeate every aspect of Jeff’s life was increasing at a shocking rate. A quick glance at his watch revealed it to be 10:49. He turned his feet and slowly starting walking down the street. At such a slow pace, one begins to notice the comings and goings of everyday life. Walking past him were unhappy businessmen, sleepy college students, balding lawyers, loveless dentists, conspiring bus drivers, horny candy store owners, scheming politicians, a veritable potpourri of the city. They streamed by him without a second though, man, woman, child, all move down the street focused entirely on their world, problems, ideas, themselves. Jeff moved silently through this crowd of self-indulgence without giving it a moment’s thought. The wind blew, the birds flew, the water flowed into the sewer, the traffic lights changed and managed the flow of traffic, the city breathed with life as Jeff walked down the street, yet none of it fazed him. He simply existed through this sea of life and made his way to his destination.
Laying about 20 or 25 stories in the sky, the building itself, was neither tall nor noticeable, it simply was. Its dark grey walls emanated the appearance of 70 years of rain, snow, wind and pollution, yet they remained, a monument to the architect’s strength of design. Jeff stopped in front to smoke a cigarette and gazed at the sky. The security guard walked by, a suspicious glare filled his eyes. Like the building, the man was nothing that stuck out. Dark skinned, older, average height and built, he walked past Jeff as he was inhaling for the third time off of his smoke. Nicotine filled his lungs and senses, fresh cancer polluting that which was giving him life. He finished and moved off to the entrance. A glass door revealed a lobby of sections and security checkpoints. He was ushered to a guard at a desk, a small swivel digital camera stand in front of pointing in Jeff’s face.
“Jeff Mavin”
“Na… where are you going?”
“Claudia Regalus, New Software.”
“Purpose of visit?” he picked the side of his nose as he struggled with Jeff’s last name on the keyboard. Jeff simply starred at him.
“Purpose of visit?”
Jeff’s eyes didn’t blink, he simply starred.
“Can’t let you up witho….” A ringing phone interrupted the guard.
“Yes sir….I understand sir…..that’s not standard pro……okay sir…..yes sir I understand….yes, I’ll send him right up.”
A small sticker like pass printed out. The guard handed it to him and pointed in the direction of the elevator.
“Take the far elevator up to the 17th floor. Someone will be there to meet you.”
“Thanks,” Jeff tucked the ID in his coat pocket and moved on. He looked at the different people walking past him. Mostly business people, a few blue-collars to be seen doing various support roles. At least one attractive woman walked by, her fair complexion glowed in the warm sunlight bathing through the lobby windows. She gave a small smile when their eyes met. Jeff didn’t look back.
The plain elevator played no music, offered no TV with news or information and included no company for the ride. Jeff watched the old style dial show the floors as they rose through the bowels of the steel and concrete beast, the number 13 absent for obvious and not so obvious reasons.
The door opened on the 17th floor with a loud ding. He exited to find a woman waiting for him.
“Mr. Mavin?”
“That’s me,” his voice coming out unexpectedly gruff.
“I’m Susan Jameson, Ms. Regalus’ assistant. This way please.” And off she went first directing him through a set of double doors, an elegantly decorated reception area and down the maze of cubicles. Susan was tall and slim, her two piece grey suit hugged her curves perfectly didn’t leave much to Jeff’s imagination. She had a slight sway when she walked, as if showing off the merchandise. Her hair was tied up in a bun, a set of thick rimmed glasses completed her look, only the top button between the collar was open. She made some small talk with Jeff about the building and the company. New Software was just that, a company which developed new types of software and sold the pieces to larger companies. Components of many of today’s popular programs and operating systems were designed here, by their engineers, Jeff learned. After what seemed like two hours of walking, Susan stopped at the door to an office.
“Go in and have a seat, Mr. Mavin. Ms. Regalus will be with you in a moment.”
Jeff tipped the brim of his hat and mumbled thank you as the shapely woman walked off. Entering the large office he noticed the clear view of the city out the main window. The desk was clutter with papers and computer items, a laptop partially buried. He moved over to the chair opposite the desk, removed his coat and hat to the coat stand near the door and sat down, making himself comfortable with his legs crossed.
“I hope you don’t mind if I smoke,” a soft female voice said from behind him as the door closed. He continued to face the desk and window behind it. “It’s turning out to be one of those days.”
“Only if you can give me a light.”
“Done,” she dropped a small translucent lighter onto his lap. He glanced at it for a second and looked up finding a familiar red dress refilling his vision. The woman, this Ms. Regalus, looked out the window, with her arms folded as she dragged her smoke. It’s a lovely day isn’t, Mr. Mavin?”
His third of the day lit, he took a drag and replied, “that it is.”
She turned to him and made eye contact. “I want to thank you for coming on such short notice. I know your policy on such things, but this is an emergency.”
“You were lucky I was free.”
“Quite, but do you know why I’ve called you here?”
“Not a lot of pre-information in my line of work.”
“True,” she sat and put out her cigarette. The two made eye contact. “I have an assignment for you.”
“Which is?”
“Something you have never done before.”
“Don’t take this the wrong why, but I here that a lot.”
She raised an eyebrow as she took another drag, as if to say ‘is that so?’ So you won’t do it?
“You didn’t tell me what it was you wanted.”
“We have a situation that requires your special skill set, and we can compensate you for it.” Jeff took another drag and focused his sight on her. She was attractive. Bright blue eyes that starred back like the sky on a summer’s day, long dark hair, he wasn’t sure if he was focusing on her words or herself.
“What’s the job?”
“Well,”
“No. No stories, dramas, nothing, cut to the chase.”
“Mr. Mavin, trust me, this is a story you need to hear.”
"Need a light?" a soft voice asked. The bottom of her red dress danced as a smooth breeze passed by.
"Thanks," Jeff smiled as he tipped the brim of his dark top hat.
She removed a small translucent lighter from her jacket pocket and held it up to his cigarette. A delicate, red nailed, finger pressed down on the switch igniting a tiny flame outward into Jeff's cigarette. With a single breath he filled his lungs with chemical filled delight as the nicotine raced through his system relaxing the pleasure centers of his brain. He pointed his head up and took another slower, deeper drag, this time allowing his lungs to fill up completely.
“Thanks, again,” he said with another of his patented smiles.
“My pleasure,” The woman replied, her long red dress still dancing in the wind. She removed a pack from her pocket, removed a single long thin white stick, placed it between her lips and with the same gentle motion lit the cigarette. The two stood next to each other for a few moments lost in thought as traffic and people moved past them, preoccupied with their busy lives. Jeff glanced at the woman in-between drags. She was tall, at least 5’8”, slim with perfect curves. Her red dress, partial covered by a dark red jacket concealing the upper half, but her physique was undeniable. A pair of semi-dark sunglasses hid her eyes from the world, but it was obvious that she was attractive. Not stunning, drop dead beautiful, but attractive, Jeff noted to himself.
“Lovely day, isn’t it,” Jeff decided to break the ice.
“Unseasonably,” was the reply.
“Are you expecting another snowstorm?”
“It’s not impossible,” she seemed to raise an eyebrow with the answer.
“I prefer the fall myself.”
“Hmmm…” she paused for a long moment, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Camus wrote it. He was a strong believer in the symmetry of all things. It’s obvious in many of his works.”
“Don’t really know much about it.”
“I imagine you wouldn’t. Not that I’m saying your dumb or anything.”
“Thanks, I think…”
Pulling the last drag on her cigarette, the lady in red walked off. The encounter mulled around inside Jeff’s mind for a while as he lit his second cigarette with the matches he had just found. The smoke continued to fill his lungs and images of his appointment filled his head. 11AM, 123 45th Street, corner of 6th Avenue, Suite 789: sounded like something dreamlike or out of a children’s cartoon. His watch read 10:45AM, fifteen minutes to go. In Jeff’s profession it never paid to be early. Still, fifteen minutes was a lot of time to kill. It took him about 2-3 minutes to finish off a smoke and he didn’t feel like smoking anymore right now. What to do to stave off boredom? A moment to ponder interrupted by a buzzing inside his coat pocket: his cell phone to the rescue. He pulled it out and scanned the screen. A call was coming through; the number was unfamiliar but local.
“Hello?”
“Do you sell chicken rice?” a woman’s voice, yet raspy like she had been smoking for a while.
Wrong number “ummm…Excuse me?”
“Do you sell chicken rice?”
“No.”
“Pretty certain of that huh?”
“Yes.”
“Not in the mood for talking then?”
“Aren’t you interested in your chicken rice?”
“True. Do you want to know what I’m thinking about?”
“Not really.”
“I’m thinking about why you are continuing this conversation when it seems to be going nowhere and I’m talking about chicken rice. How about you?
“I’m wondering which hospital let you out prematurely.”
“Nice.”
“Are we done here?” his voice was definitely indicating a newly formed lack of patience.
“As long as you are sure you don’t sell chicken rice.”
“No,” and he closed his phone.
More pointlessness. The sheer amount of pointlessness that seemed to permeate every aspect of Jeff’s life was increasing at a shocking rate. A quick glance at his watch revealed it to be 10:49. He turned his feet and slowly starting walking down the street. At such a slow pace, one begins to notice the comings and goings of everyday life. Walking past him were unhappy businessmen, sleepy college students, balding lawyers, loveless dentists, conspiring bus drivers, horny candy store owners, scheming politicians, a veritable potpourri of the city. They streamed by him without a second though, man, woman, child, all move down the street focused entirely on their world, problems, ideas, themselves. Jeff moved silently through this crowd of self-indulgence without giving it a moment’s thought. The wind blew, the birds flew, the water flowed into the sewer, the traffic lights changed and managed the flow of traffic, the city breathed with life as Jeff walked down the street, yet none of it fazed him. He simply existed through this sea of life and made his way to his destination.
Laying about 20 or 25 stories in the sky, the building itself, was neither tall nor noticeable, it simply was. Its dark grey walls emanated the appearance of 70 years of rain, snow, wind and pollution, yet they remained, a monument to the architect’s strength of design. Jeff stopped in front to smoke a cigarette and gazed at the sky. The security guard walked by, a suspicious glare filled his eyes. Like the building, the man was nothing that stuck out. Dark skinned, older, average height and built, he walked past Jeff as he was inhaling for the third time off of his smoke. Nicotine filled his lungs and senses, fresh cancer polluting that which was giving him life. He finished and moved off to the entrance. A glass door revealed a lobby of sections and security checkpoints. He was ushered to a guard at a desk, a small swivel digital camera stand in front of pointing in Jeff’s face.
“Jeff Mavin”
“Na… where are you going?”
“Claudia Regalus, New Software.”
“Purpose of visit?” he picked the side of his nose as he struggled with Jeff’s last name on the keyboard. Jeff simply starred at him.
“Purpose of visit?”
Jeff’s eyes didn’t blink, he simply starred.
“Can’t let you up witho….” A ringing phone interrupted the guard.
“Yes sir….I understand sir…..that’s not standard pro……okay sir…..yes sir I understand….yes, I’ll send him right up.”
A small sticker like pass printed out. The guard handed it to him and pointed in the direction of the elevator.
“Take the far elevator up to the 17th floor. Someone will be there to meet you.”
“Thanks,” Jeff tucked the ID in his coat pocket and moved on. He looked at the different people walking past him. Mostly business people, a few blue-collars to be seen doing various support roles. At least one attractive woman walked by, her fair complexion glowed in the warm sunlight bathing through the lobby windows. She gave a small smile when their eyes met. Jeff didn’t look back.
The plain elevator played no music, offered no TV with news or information and included no company for the ride. Jeff watched the old style dial show the floors as they rose through the bowels of the steel and concrete beast, the number 13 absent for obvious and not so obvious reasons.
The door opened on the 17th floor with a loud ding. He exited to find a woman waiting for him.
“Mr. Mavin?”
“That’s me,” his voice coming out unexpectedly gruff.
“I’m Susan Jameson, Ms. Regalus’ assistant. This way please.” And off she went first directing him through a set of double doors, an elegantly decorated reception area and down the maze of cubicles. Susan was tall and slim, her two piece grey suit hugged her curves perfectly didn’t leave much to Jeff’s imagination. She had a slight sway when she walked, as if showing off the merchandise. Her hair was tied up in a bun, a set of thick rimmed glasses completed her look, only the top button between the collar was open. She made some small talk with Jeff about the building and the company. New Software was just that, a company which developed new types of software and sold the pieces to larger companies. Components of many of today’s popular programs and operating systems were designed here, by their engineers, Jeff learned. After what seemed like two hours of walking, Susan stopped at the door to an office.
“Go in and have a seat, Mr. Mavin. Ms. Regalus will be with you in a moment.”
Jeff tipped the brim of his hat and mumbled thank you as the shapely woman walked off. Entering the large office he noticed the clear view of the city out the main window. The desk was clutter with papers and computer items, a laptop partially buried. He moved over to the chair opposite the desk, removed his coat and hat to the coat stand near the door and sat down, making himself comfortable with his legs crossed.
“I hope you don’t mind if I smoke,” a soft female voice said from behind him as the door closed. He continued to face the desk and window behind it. “It’s turning out to be one of those days.”
“Only if you can give me a light.”
“Done,” she dropped a small translucent lighter onto his lap. He glanced at it for a second and looked up finding a familiar red dress refilling his vision. The woman, this Ms. Regalus, looked out the window, with her arms folded as she dragged her smoke. It’s a lovely day isn’t, Mr. Mavin?”
His third of the day lit, he took a drag and replied, “that it is.”
She turned to him and made eye contact. “I want to thank you for coming on such short notice. I know your policy on such things, but this is an emergency.”
“You were lucky I was free.”
“Quite, but do you know why I’ve called you here?”
“Not a lot of pre-information in my line of work.”
“True,” she sat and put out her cigarette. The two made eye contact. “I have an assignment for you.”
“Which is?”
“Something you have never done before.”
“Don’t take this the wrong why, but I here that a lot.”
She raised an eyebrow as she took another drag, as if to say ‘is that so?’ So you won’t do it?
“You didn’t tell me what it was you wanted.”
“We have a situation that requires your special skill set, and we can compensate you for it.” Jeff took another drag and focused his sight on her. She was attractive. Bright blue eyes that starred back like the sky on a summer’s day, long dark hair, he wasn’t sure if he was focusing on her words or herself.
“What’s the job?”
“Well,”
“No. No stories, dramas, nothing, cut to the chase.”
“Mr. Mavin, trust me, this is a story you need to hear.”
posted by JediCraft at 2/28/2006 11:21:00 AM
5 Comments:
What is this for??? Writing a book or just posting?
Same question from me mate
Hey now, if you are gonna post a blog, you gotta answer the questions from your audience here...
always trying new things!
So...you WROTE that? Pretty good. Always fun to find out our friends have more talent than we realized.
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