Deal or Die?

"Jared." Mrs Porter grabbed my attention. I wasn't sure that she would accept my invitation after our last meeting but here she was. There definitely had to be a reason for it and I wanted to find out exactly why she would want to align herself with me.

"Good morning Mrs Porter." I politely greeted her as I stood up. I immediately noticed her daughter standing behind her. Her presence completely blindsided me. I know I invited both of them but I didn't actually think that she would bring her daughter. She knew what I was capable of so why risk it?

"This is my daughter, Taylor." Her mother introduced us. I honestly expected her daughter to be something special. She was the daughter of the king and queen of the criminal underworld so I thought her presence would've made me gasp in fear but she was just... normal. There was anything initially exceptional about her. Her long brown hair tied in a high ponytail and black framed spectacles were about the only pops of excitement about her and even that was a stretch.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I held out my hand but she nervously turned to her mother for approval before she did anything.

"Pleasure to meet you too." A soft, calming voice. At least that was something noteworthy.

"Please, take a seat." I permitted them. Mrs Porter took the seat opposite me while her daughter took the seat on my right.

"I'm surprised that you actually came today." I stated as I took my seat again.

"We have somethings to discuss." She replied then called the waiter over. Both of them ordered something to drink but I was surprised when Mrs Porter ordered a cup of coffee. I was sure that she would want something more... alcoholic.

"True." I agreed then took a sip of my wine. "Do you want to start discussing before or after we eat?"

"Before would be better." She definitely sounded like she had a plan. What exactly was she up to?

"Very well. What do you want to know?"

"You said that Ian Thompson is going to die of organ failure today, how do you know that?" Finally she was asking the right questions.

"Because you're going to kill him." I casually informed her.

"Me? How am I going to give him organ failure? It would be easier for me to just order a hit on him." That was true. Finesse wasn't exactly her killing forte.

"We'll get to that part in a moment." I informed her then glanced at the time on Taylor's watch. "What else would you like to know?"

"Who is your next target and how are you planning on killing him?"

"Targets this time. I'm planning on taking out both Freddy George and Monty Price on Tuesday. They usually go bowling every second Tuesday then smoke cigars in Monty's car afterwards. I'm going to melt the car with them inside it." I informed her.

"Why melting?" Mrs Porter asked.

"Basically leaves no evidence behind." Taylor surprisingly answered. She might not look like much but she clearly had a brain in that head.

"No body, no crime as well." I added.

"Pretty smart." Taylor casually complimented me.

"Thanks." I replied as the waiter returned with their drinks. I waited for him to leave before continuing.

"Now that you know my plan, there is something I would like you to do for me."

"What is it?" Mrs Porter asked me.

"I would like you to offer up the Cremwell family to the police." The anger in her eyes immediately intensified. I knew she didn't like them but the steely emotion in her eyes bordered on hate.

"You know where they are?" She tried to keep her seething emotions under check but failed miserably.

"Yes."

"Tell me where they are." She ordered me.

"I'll tell you on Tuesday evening then I want you to tell the police. Whoever gets there first can kill them."

"This is not some game. That family are a bunch of low life criminals..."

"And you're not?"

"We have a code. They kill innocent people without a second thought." Her anger suggested that the hatred she had for Cremwell's were more than just that.

"This is personal for you. Who did they kill that set you off?" I could see her debating with herself on whether or not to tell me. This was really something important to her.

"They killed my best friend's sons. Shot all three of them point blank in the head. They were just children." Damn, that is harsh. I didn't know them but even I hated them now.

"I can't tell you where they are but I will make you a deal; I'll tell you half an hour before I tell the police."

"That's not enough time."

"The Cremwell's are insanely smart which is why you or the police haven't caught them. There's no way you can get within a kilometer of them without them knowing. They've literally booby trapped the place they're hiding out in. One misstep and your guys will be blown to pieces. Trust me, you don't want to be the first people there." I informed her.

"Then your information is useless to me." She was letting her anger control her once again.

"Remember, I don't need your help to execute my plan so before you say something that will ruin this, just take a breath and think calmly. Don't let your anger and hatred control you." I reminded her. "And I have more information on them."

"Tell me."

"First, you have to take care of Mr Thompson for me." I took a neatly folded piece of paper out of my pocket and handed it to her. "Just say that command."

"Is this a spell?" She asked as she studied the page.

"In a way. You have a minute to say that or else this is all over." I instructed her.

"Bakterien: aktivieren." She unsurely read out. "What language is this even?"

"German. Let's continue." She handed the page back to me before taking a sip of her steaming coffee again.

"So what other information do you have on the Cremwell's?"

"Their getaway vehicle is parked in the north corner of the junkyard. It has a sensor though so if you get within a couple of feet of it then they will be alerted and it will blow up." I informed her.

"I don't see how that is useful." Mrs Porter stated.

"Kill box them." At least her daughter caught on quickly.

"Exactly." I agreed. She had a triumphant smile on her face as I nodded in approval but her mother still looked confused. "Do you want to explain?" I asked Taylor.

"The Cremwell's house is a trap so we use the police to activate the trap which allows the Cremwell's to escape while the police get blown up. They will then make their way to the junkyard and that's where your men will be waiting to corner them and take them out." Taylor successfully explained.

"I like you." I told her as I sported a dumb smile now as well while I looked at her.

"How do you know all this?" Mrs Porter immediately asked her daughter.

"Video games, series, movies, books... there's literally articles in magazines about things like that." Taylor informed her mother.

"Your daughter is right though. You know where they're going to be so use that to your advantage." I reminded her. "Also, they will probably be wearing bullet proof vests and other armour so it would be best if you tell your men to use armour piercing rounds and have a few snipers on nearby buildings just in case they get away."

"I know how to organize a hit so you two can get off your high horses." Mrs Porter told us as we heard police and ambulance sirens blaring in the distance but it was getting closer to us.

"Looks like Mr Thompson is dead so let's continue with why you're here and what you want from me." I told her. She took a moment to compose herself before answering me.

"You clearly know more about what is happening in this town and what is going to happen so it would be foolish of me to miss the opportunity to work with you." Mrs Porter stated but I knew that there was something else that she wanted from me as well.

"What is it that you want me to do for you?" I asked her again.

"I want you to look after my daughter and protect her." I wasn't expecting that but I probably shouldn't have been surprised. She would do anything to protect her daughter, even if that meant aligning herself with me.

"What would that entail exactly?"

"You already have people protecting me. I don't need more." Taylor added as well.

"Jared is just a couple of years old than you. You don't like it when I send bodyguards with you to the malls or when you meet up with your friends so I'll substitute Jared in for them rather." Her mother informed her.

"Deal." Taylor quickly stated. What the hell just happened?

"You know, I didn't agree to anything yet." I pointed out.

"If you want my help then you've got to accept my terms." Mrs Porter's arrogance finally came out. I couldn't blame her, she finally thought she had the upper hand.

"Firstly, I'm no ones bodyguard. I have my own things to do so if you want to make sure that your daughter is safe then I suggest you continue what you're doing." I stated but I could see a hint of annoyance on the older woman's face. "I will, however, offer a compromise. My house is safe from any physical and magical attacks. No one can break in or enter it unless they're authorized to do so. I'll allow you and your daughter to use it whenever you need a place to escape to. Also, if I am available then I will accompany your daughter wherever she wants to go."

"Sounds fair enough." Taylor agreed while taking out her cellphone. Both of us turned to her mother for the final verdict on the matter. Whatever she decided didn't bother me. I got what I wanted this morning so this was just the icing on the cake.

"Okay. I look forward to working with you." Mrs Porter agreed as well then took a sip of her steaming coffee.

"Things are really starting to get noisy outside." Taylor drew our attention to the loud sirens opposite the street. Most of the people seated in the restaurant seemed to be more interested in what was happening across the street than the people who they were seated with.

"Do you plan on killing anyone yourself?" Mrs Porter suddenly asked me.

"I have thought about it but I think I will pass on that. I won't give them that satisfaction." I proudly answered her.

"I heard that someone ordered a hit on you the night you came home but no one can seem to find the guys who were paid to do it." I knew she wasn't the one who ordered the hit but it didn't surprise me that she knew about it.

"I sent those guys to a parallel universe." I casually informed her. "They're probably dead by now."

"Jared, are you available tonight?" Taylor suddenly asked me.

"I am. This brunch was the only thing I had scheduled for today." Her eyes lit up with excitement. Whatever she was about to drag me into already sounded like too much trouble.

"Great. We're going to meet some of my friends at the arcade tonight." Definitely not something I would've wanted to be doing on a Saturday night but I did agree to this arrangement. I had to hold up my end at least.

"I didn't say that you could go out tonight." Mrs Porter told her daughter.

"Jared's going to be there and you trust him to look after me so why is it a problem?" This was a battle I wanted no part of. I turned my attention to the windows everyone else was looking out of. The police seemed to have evacuated the building and kept the crowd at bay but more and more people were beginning to gather to find out what had happened. I was just glad my plan worked; 2 down, 5 to go.