31. Brass Tacks
1646 Words
Guy
Year: 1983 1st of August, Monday, just after 3pm, Summer.
Deet stared at her like an eager puppy as I carefully opened my bag and started pulling out treasures. He was getting on my pissing nerves. The Enchantress however simply looked at the items I was placing on the table with an air of disinterest whilst sipping her tea.
“Mr. Murphy, may I inquire as to where you acquired these items?” She thinly veiled her accusation with politeness.
“Well my dear Enchantress I happened upon someone from a Hunter family who was no longer in need of their Vault and we did an exchange.” I long suspected that the nasty cup of tea she insisted on serving had some interesting properties, including making whoever consumed it only able to tell the truth but I was a sneaky bastard and a few drops of truth potion wasn’t going to screw up my plan. As long as I didn’t lie I could spin the truth however I wanted. I placed the last item on the table and caught the weary look on her face.
“Is this everything?” She looked at me intently, having noticed the way I still held the duffle bag carefully.
“This is everything I was hoping to get cash for today.” It wasn’t a lie. That little word ‘hoping’ kept everything ticking over just like it had for my Doll. I almost chuckled. Clever me.
“How much?” She asked cautiously, not wanting to reveal her hand.
“Well, I'm not looking for a price per piece, just a quick bulk sale. I got a ballpark in mind but I know you to be an honest Witch so I tell you what…” I pulled my notepad from my pocket and tore a blank page off before putting the pad back. “I’ll write down my ballpark and you can say what you're thinking. That way I won’t be thinking you're low balling me and you won't think I’m trying to get more than it's worth. Hopefully we can meet in the middle.” I covered the paper with my hand as I wrote before flipping it over and placing it within her reach.
"What do you think then?" I smiled and drummed the table with my fingers. The Enchantress scanned the items with her eyes touching nothing. I sipped the f*****g tea hoping to demonstrate that I wasn't a threat.
"20." Her voice was hard and I almost spat the tea everywhere.
"20 what?" I asked surprised, trying not to cough.
"Thousand, 20 thousand." She eyeballed me as I choked down some more tea to hide my surprise. Well I suppose it was a bit late for that but f**k that was a lot of green. I waved my hand for her to flip the paper.
"So we meet in the middle then?" The Enchantress asked, clearly amused.
"Well gorgeous I think that was the loose agreement we came to." Deet who I'd temporarily forgotten about growled at my informality or perhaps it was 'cos he was f*****g her and felt my compliment was encroaching on his territory.
"Deet!" She scolded him before turning back to me. "I'll go from the top of your 'ballpark' Mr. Murphy which puts us at 16, would you agree?" A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Clearly she was pleased with herself having won this round. I tried counting to the median number but my brain was fried.
"Sure, sure 16 grand, I can agree to that." Christ I could swear there were dollar signs glowing in my eyes. She grinned and waved her hand, a contract appeared out of nowhere before it was handed to me. A quick read made it clear that it was uncomplicated but air tight.
"Deet, clear the table please. Oh and you will need gloves, some of these are silver." The Enchantress practically sang to her floppy haired pet and he jumped straight up to sort it all out. Happy with the agreement I took my hunting knife out and pricked my thumb before pressing it against the bottom of the paper. The Enchantress did the same but I didn’t catch what she cut it on.
When Deet cleared the table she waved her hand again and a stack of money appeared on the table. Gesturing for me to take/count the money she leaned back in her chair and handed Deet her tea cup, he dutifully refilled the cup and brought it back without a word. I avoided raising my eyebrow at the behaviour. Ok so they were a bit more to each other than just bumping uglies… noted.
I tucked the money away in the duffle bag, 16k was quite a stack as it all appeared to be in small bills but that suited me just fine, easier to spend. Step one and two were complete, we agreed on a price and I got paid, now time for step three.
Noticing I wasn’t making like a tree and leaving the Enchantress glared at me.
“Mr. Murphy, am I mistaken? I was under the impression our business was concluded.” Her lips were pressed in a thin line and her deep forest green eyes were narrowed.
“Well if you recall I said that I had presented everything I was hoping to get cash for.” I left the rest hanging in the air, allowing the Enchantress to take the bait.
“So Mr. Murphy I presume then that there is something else? A deal of some sort?” Her voice was cold and unimpressed.
I took a moment to read the room and debate my next move. Seems she wasn’t in the mood for any games so I decided to stop playing and cut to the chase. Keep her sweet as it were.
“I have a potion that requires a Witch to activate it. I want to trade these two,” I said, putting the animation powder and the invisibility potion on the table. “for the potion that is left in my bag to be activated on the subject of my choosing today.”
The Enchantress picked up the two potions individually and inspected them before crossing her arms.
“What are you hiding Mr. Murphy? There is a game afoot here and I am not best pleased.” She hissed. Deet was in guard dog mode standing behind her puffing out his clearly well defined chest.
“Don’t be naive Enchantress, life is a game and as you well know if you let your guard down you might lose a card.” I grinned at her flashing my teeth.
She was seething but I knew she got the message loud and clear because she was the one that let her guard down, she was the one that had lost a card. Stupid f*****g b***h.
“I’m interested in the trade but there are too many unknowns for me to accept.” She said begrudgingly. “Fill in some blanks and I’ll reconsider.”
I took a moment to deliberate. The air in the room was becoming thick with tension. I would have to choose my words carefully.
“This is the potion I want activated on the subject of my choosing today.” It was a big gamble. Revealing the potion was risky but so was saying I wanted a potion applied to a Vampire. The Enchantress was soft at heart. When she passed on my first barter I knew the chances of me keeping my favour were slim but I decided I could afford to part with one more piece of the puzzle and still be at the advantage.
The Enchantress didn’t inspect the potion, from the disdain on her face it was crystal clear that she knew what it was and did not approve.
“No deal Mr. Murphy.” She scowled her words like acid. I didn’t push. I had to keep my guard up.
Carefully I pushed the obedience potion to one side.
“All right then, as you know I was looking for an exchange but I can see that I have offended you and I wouldn’t want that. We have done some good business together and I’d like to still be doing business for years to come so how about this…” I let my words settle before I continued. “I’ll take a cash offer on these two then we can stay amenable and in good stead. Win win, I line my pockets and you get some A-grade rare goodies. We stay friends.”
Her face softened as she took in my words, Deet however didn’t relax but he also didn't butt in. Good, the love sick puppy knows his place.
“I find your proposal to be acceptable.” The Enchantress nodded and waved her hand making both a stack of cash and a contract appear. “Take it or leave it, this is my final negotiation on this matter.”
I eyed the contract, it was the same as the first one with just the item and exchange value amended. Once again I pulled my hunting knife and pierced my thumb before crushing a bloody print into the paper. I hadn't even looked at how much she was offering me. Not that it mattered. This was the round that I was willing to take a loss on, after all I came here with the intention of calling in my favour anyway. I gave it my best shot but eh, had to cash in my chips some time right?
With the latest contract complete I decided to make my final move.
The shock on her face as I pushed the obedience potion back into the centre of the table was worth every minute I’d spend posturing.
- Writer
