I could hear the distinctive wailing of European sirens in the distance, and highly distressed though I was, I hesitated for only a moment before I took up the cloth and my trembling hands wrapped it around my eyes.
I cannot now recall much of that dark journey, I was still thoroughly shaken from seeing a man die and my mind conjured up all varieties of strange and loathesome apparitions which ran their gangly limbs across my blind face. How I managed to keep pace with my companion I will never know, and it was only after what seemed like hours to me that hands behind me untied my blindfold.
I looked around. The room they had put me in was pitch dark, and I sat at the end of a long, wooden table. The only light in the room came directly down onto this table, which was bare save for the curling smoke trail rising from the opposite end. For a moment I was confused as to the origins of this wisp, until a faint orange glow betrayed the darkling figure sucking contentedly on a stogie.
"So," said a voice, and I must admit to being somewhat surprised that the voice was female, "This is your man, Seb?" With a pause and a puff of smoke, she let out a small laugh. "Pathetic. He's hardly worth the flesh on his bones."
I looked around. The room they had put me in was pitch dark, and I sat at the end of a long, wooden table. The only light in the room came directly down onto this table, which was bare save for the curling smoke trail rising from the opposite end. For a moment I was confused as to the origins of this wisp, until a faint orange glow betrayed the darkling figure sucking contentedly on a stogie.
"So," said a voice, and I must admit to being somewhat surprised that the voice was female, "This is your man, Seb?" With a pause and a puff of smoke, she let out a small laugh. "Pathetic. He's hardly worth the flesh on his bones."
From somewhere behind me, I heard the gruff voice of Mr. King say, "Don't be so quick to discount him. I've seen his work, and it is competent, to say the least. He's charismatic-- people seem to like him, and what's more, our enemies seem to distinctly dislike him, which says more to me than any resume ever could."
I gulped hard, and gathering myself together, said, "Is this about my work as a taxidermist?"
I gulped hard, and gathering myself together, said, "Is this about my work as a taxidermist?"
At that, both of them laughed. "No, no, we have no desire or need to stuff animals. This is about your other career."
At this I despaired somewhat, for it was clear that they knew of my somewhat less legitimate work as an artist and organizer for the shadowy internet hacking syndicate known as LulzSec. "Look-- look, I needed the money. If you're from the CIA--"
"No, Mr. Culleton, you've got this all wrong. All we want is a publicity manager." There was another pause, and another puff of smoke. Then Mr. King said, "Well, Rachel? is he in?"
This woman, apparently named Rachel, leaned forward into the light, her face still obscured from the brim of her fedora. "I'll make a deal with you, Seb. You shave that rat's nest you've got growing on your upper lip, and he's in."
This woman, apparently named Rachel, leaned forward into the light, her face still obscured from the brim of her fedora. "I'll make a deal with you, Seb. You shave that rat's nest you've got growing on your upper lip, and he's in."
From behind me came a reluctant grunt. "He's in, then."
