Broker

Amos shifted back and forth on his feet, his hands in his pockets. He hadn’t been around here in a long time and while every thought about this place had filled him with dread for the past few years, now he felt something else. Confidence. He rest his head against the wall and smiled to himself, swaying a little as he listened to a little music playing in his earbuds. Good old gamer rock. He grinned as his connection to the local security cameras around him alerted him to someone approaching.

He tilted his head and glanced in the direction of the approaching man, a big smile on his face.

Where was he? Well, if he had been fully honest with Sonya when he first met her, he hadn’t exactly washed out of college. No. He had been chased out. He was at MIT. Beautiful Cambridge. He’d taken a flight here the previous night and had spent the evening doing what he did best. He didn’t take many days off, but Sonya had insisted that he get a little bit of down time before she and the others went off to Vegas. It was going to be a big deal apparently and he really ought to be fresh in case he was needed.

So he figured he’d settle up while he was out. Sonya didn’t know what he was doing, or at least probably not, his computers were the only ones she couldn’t poke around in with her own technopathy. It wasn’t like he tried to keep it a secret from her, he just didn’t bother bringing it up. It was his problem to deal with and to be frank she’d already helped him enough towards his goal. Now he just needed to act. Which was why he was so elated to see the University president marching his way in his direction.

“President Williams!” Amos said brightly, throwing his hands out wide, “Good to see you, how long’s it been?” He asked.

The president frowned, a bit of sweat dripping down his brow beneath a carefully combed head of brown hair, he wore a black suit and red tie that did not agree with the heat, “Mister Carter, you seem to have forgotten that you were banned from this institution.”

Amos blinked, raising his eyebrows dramatically. Just like Sonya would, he thought with amusement. “Really?” He gasped, “Oh man, that sucks! And here I wanted to have a chat with you! I’m honestly shocked you came out all this way. If that's the case, sir, shouldn’t you have sent security instead?” He asked.

The president’s frown deepened, “I have been trying to, but apparently their communications are on the fritz. We can’t even call the police. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, Mister Carter?” President Williams asked pointedly.

Amos pointed at himself, wide eyed, “Me? Why would I do something like that?”

“To force a meeting with me,” The man said with a scowl. “What on earth do you want? 

Amos beamed at him, “Mister President! Johnny!” He soothed, walking over and throwing an arm over the president’s shoulder, “Can I call you Jonny?” He asked, grinning ear to ear as he threw basically his entire social battery into the interaction. “Listen, I just want to have a conversation. You and me, somewhere private, have a few drinks, talk about the good old days!”

“You are not allowed in-”

“Avery Stolls,” Amos said, suddenly stony in his tone.

“Huh?” The man blurted.

“Bianca Harold, Lucas Myers, Sammy Redmond, myself,” Amos continued, counting on his fingers.

The man looked at him wide eyed, “What are you-”

“Mister President,” Amos said and turned his head slowly towards the man, “Do you know where I work now?” He asked, “You watch the news, right?”

“I fail to understand your point,” The president said, his face turning redder.

“I’m that Amos Carter. There are only like what, sixty of us in the states? Come on, man, piece it together, you’re a smart guy!” Amos said, giving him a playful squeeze with his arm around shoulder, “Do I really have to say it here?”

The President paled a little but held his ground, “You can’t just blackmail me in public!”

“Cameras aren’t working,” Amos said, “Your phones off. Mine is too. All electronics within a mile are disabled. Your students are having a pretty bad time right now, it’s kind of funny since it’s all your fault,” He snarled at the end, “And since you don’t have enough grey matter to figure out what I’m getting at, let me put it to you plainly.”

“I know what really happened when you kicked me out, I know who you were covering for, I have all of the emails, I have all of the records, I have all of the photographs, camera feeds, evidence, Mister President, evidence,” Amos growled and squeezed a little tighter, “I know I’m not the first and I also know that if this scandal gets out, that the board finds out that you did this to the head researcher of ASTA, that his name could be tied to this University’s pedigree… well…” He trailed off and lowered his voice, “Screw your job, I’d be surprised if you didn’t end up in a ditch somewhere with a bullet in your head.”

The president was shaking at this point, his skin a ghastly white.

“You fucked up, Johnny, and you fucked over the wrong guy. I’m here to set the record straight and give you a chance to nut up or I send everything to the board, newspapers, broadcast agencies, web forums, hell I’ll even put one up on vidTube,” He laughed, “I will fucking bury you,” Amos said.

The president trembled again, “What do I have to do?”

“Public apology you don’t have to elaborate, just say it was a mistake, reinstatement, my fucking Doctorate, and a partnership with ASTA,” Amos bit out, “That’s all I want.”

The man stared at him, bewildered.

Amos let out a sigh, “See, I wish the conversation could have been more pleasant, but hey, what can you do?” He shook his head and held up a hand to wave at another figure who was sitting at a bench nearby. Colin approached with a suitcase in hand, his hair done up just right, and his skin practically glittering in the sunlight. “Colin can you take it from here?”

Colin pursed his lips and smiled at Amos, “Of course,” He said sweetly. 

Amos grinned and let go of the man. “All yours babe,” Amos said and stepped away, leaning

Colin stepped forward and held out the suitcase, opening it. Inside was a thick tan piece of paper with a contract written on it. “As per the terms of this contract, Doctor Williams, you will be responsible for the terms that Mister Carter just explained to you. You will have twenty four hours to approve the reinstatement, fourty eight to complete the public apology and issue the aforementioned degree. You will then have one week to contact ASTA headquarters and discuss a long term educational partnership with the company,” Colin said matter-of-factly.

Mister Williams swallowed, “And if I’m unable to meet these terms in time?” He asked.

“It says right there in the document, you will die of a heart attack the instant the contract is void. Complete the terms and you will live as long as you were intended to. This contract was made with a powerful ability that makes deals quite binding and includes an indefinite gag order. So don’t bother trying to get help, you dug this hole, you can dig yourself out,” Colin said, his eyes twinkling with malice. “Amos will also be held to a similar standard, having to eliminate all evidence connecting you to your crimes that he is aware of within twenty four hours of you holding up your end of the bargain.”

The president of MIT stared at the document for a long time, his eyes wide as he read every line. He swallowed hard. 

“Hurry up Johnny, you’ve gotta agree to the terms whole heartedly or it won’t work and the longer I’m here, the longer I’m gonna keep the whole school’s systems down,” Amos said from afar, “I can do this all day.”

The president let out a sigh and snatched up the pen sitting next to the document. His shoulders sagged and with a weary look in his eyes he signed the document. It flickered for a moment before it started to glow and the ink from the pen immediately dried. Amos felt a tingle run up his arm that felt very similar to the time he made his first deal with Sonya. He looked down at it with a small smile as the president set the pen down. 

“May I leave now?” The man asked.

“Sure, fuck off,” Amos said and glanced to Colin. “Dinner and a movie?” He asked, walking past the man as if he didn’t exist.

Colin just smiled at him, “Sure.”