WHO:Presto and Revy WHAT: Job Interview WHEN: Recently WARNINGS: Some cursing, mentions of violence STATUS: Closed and Complete
Presto was waiting for Revy at the warehouse office he had directed her to. He was waiting and wondering if she would go for what he had to offer. From his checks on her, he knew that she was right, at least for now, for the job. Whether or not she did, though, he needed to visit a corporate office, and it would be an ideal way of testing her abilities.
After all, the heart of Moscow was not exactly a safe place. In the last week, more than a dozen businessmen had gone missing, and one of them was one of Presto’s people. He needed to check on the rest of his people, and he needed someone to watch his back. Even a wizard could be caught off guard, after all.
But first, he needed to interview her, and then reveal his magic. And see how that went.
***
Revy hadn’t been purposefully fishing for a side job but, hell, she wouldn’t outright say no to this one. Obtaining an official paper that confirmed she had some semblance of an education wasn’t something that would land her anything big, but it was a goal she’d set for herself and was pleased as fucking pie to know she at least achieved it. Better than nothing.
And she knew damn well it wasn’t reading comprehension or understanding parallelograms that was going to pay the big bucks - her expertise lied in violence, shedding blood, and working her firearms like they were fucking instruments in an orchestra. Dig deep enough and it wasn’t hard to find all the nitty-gritty details of her record, from the Triad connections to murder, grand theft auto, arson, and she would have been incarcerated for several goddamn lifetimes if trialed properly. Good thing the old employer had connections and remained fond of her throughout this time, otherwise she’d still be rotting behind iron bars and shitting in a rusty hole.
For the past year she’d been behaving. Mostly. It happened when there were people she didn’t want to outright disappoint.
The engine of her car roared and rumbled to signify her arrival. It was an old, dank mustang with severe cosmetic damage but it got her from Point A to B just fine, fuck you very much, and she chewed on a toothpick as she emerged from the vehicle to examine the location of meeting.
There was no ‘dressing for the job’ when it came to Revy - he’d have to take her the way she was, tattooed arm and scars exposed from the tank top she wore, covered somewhat by a sleeveless leather vest. Her physique was tall, firm and lean-muscled, and she wore the scent of tobacco as her perfume. There was also the fact that she was very much visibly armed with her custom guns, twin in design, for her dual-wielding preference.
Fuckin’ nineteen years old. He had to be shittin’ her.
***
A suited man was waiting for her as she arrived, and he grinned. He liked her style. He nodded to her as he waved her in. “Good morning, Miss Revy. Welcome to Morris International. Come in, please. Mister Presto awaits you in the main conference room.” Aldo, an Italian former boxer and cop, was the main annex officer, and had been working for Presto’s family for years. He showed her in and to the main conference room, stepping away as she entered.
The hall to the conference room was short, and quiet. Once she was inside, the conference room was revealed to be hosting state of the art tech in the surveillance and viewscreen technology, and Presto stepped up to her as he held out his hand. He was nervous, but she was not the first employee he had hired and he was prepared to talk to her, and, if things worked out, hopefully convince her to go to work for him.
“Welcome to Morris International’s Airport Annex Office. Please, sit.”
He waved her toward a seat, and nodded. “I’m not really good at chit-chat. I hope your morning’s been a good one, and you’ll be interested in coming to work for me, here at Morris, when this meeting is done.” He had a packet of information, and paperwork, set before her seat.
Morris International was a multinational corporation that invested in multiple other businesses, bought and managed properties and start-ups, managed a few scholarships, and engaged in a little trading as well. Presto was singularly unqualified, so far, to lead it, but he was learning and working hard to become qualified and knowledgeable enough to do so. The packet in front of her held some introduction to the company as a global actor, and a brief explanation of what Presto was going to ask her to be, a bodyguard ready to go with him into some of the tougher areas of the world.
***
Mr. Presto. Jesus fuck. The entire shebang made it seem like the kid was well beyond his years and Revy had to wonder if he even had pubes on his balls yet, and was also surprised someone hadn’t sniped him from his position of power. From the sound of their talk over the network he seemed like easy pickings, but she’d see soon enough.
Aldo got a grunt in response, and she flicked the toothpick into the nearest trash before stepping into the meeting room. “Some fancy shit you got here,” was the grumble she greeted him with. Revy planted her ass down, and reviewed the documents with some interest before letting those gold-brown tigress eyes look him over.
Slowly, a brow rose. “How long have you been calling the shots?”
***
“Money can at least buy those sorts of gadgets, and some good assets to acquire information.” He tapped the table, and the wall behind him showed a map of Moscow, Russia, and where his office there was located.
“About a year, actually, slowly getting more control. And putting into place the right people to make sure I retain it.” He would not let his family’s legacy go to hell.
“How much do you like travel? Because soon, I will need to go to Moscow, and it’s gotten a little more dangerous.”
He paused. Right, he had more to tell her. This should be fun… not. “And how much do you know about Orange County, and how it can affect people?”
***
Odd to think the topic of Russia could bring some fond memories, but it did - dream ones, with Balalaika and her fugly ass fucking face running Roanupar’s branch of the mafia. Chang had never taken her out that far into international territory in this lifetime, though she was up for exploring uncharted territory.
Revy smirked. This should be interesting.
“I’m good with travel a long as you pay the expenses,” she answered, and crossed her arms as she leaned back into the chair. “And I’m well aware, kid. Been here for over a year at this rate, and I’ve ridden a giant fucking spider while fighting demons. I’m guessing you got fucked by the dream thing a bit yourself?”
Considering they met over the network. Just about everyone there was fucked in some way or form.
***
“All part of the job, of course. I’ll take care of travel, living expenses, and food.” Presto nodded.
“And yes, in a way.” He concentrated and a glowing hand of pure force, formed out of nothing to lift and pour a cup of tea from the set at the side of the room, then deliver it to her. “Drink?” He chuckled. “Apparently dream me is a wizard, and I’ve inherited his abilities.”
He shook his head. “It’s fun, but I still need someone to watch my back.”
*** Huh. Revy wasn’t a stranger to magic - Trevelyan taught her how to light a cigarette with a flick of her fingers (though it didn’t always work, she wasn’t really meant for the hocus pocus shit) and she’d seen first hand how Midna impaled a fucker with her goddamn hair with some kind of shadow-fueled magic. Having tea poured and delivered for her by the same force was a new one. Less violent, for one.
Part of her hoped it was actually rum but from the smell and steam? Hot herbal water.
“Makes sense with the name,” she chuckled, her voice naturally raspy - like sandpaper in her throat from all the smoking and shouting she had done throughout her short life. “Chances are if anyone’s going to target you, it’ll be someone with some combative experience. A professional. If you’re worth the money, they’ll make sure to off you without a trace back to them. And I can use a gun better than the majority of them.”
Guns more like it, considering her ambidextrous skill when it came to wielding two firearms. It wasn’t a very common skill, but Chang had taught her damn well.
***
“Exactly. I have some defensive spells, but even they can be overwhelmed. I need someone who knows what to look for, and who is ready to respond and keep us safe long enough for me to get us out of there.” he nodded. “Teleportation, at least on a small scale, say, halfway across Orange County, I can do. But in a foreign country, even with money, I need someone ready to help me fight, then make my way to the airport, or a secure location.”
He grinned. “I can also enhance your rounds, make them explosive or go around bends of walls, if you tell me you need them so. But I suck with a gun, and so I need someone who can hold their own.”
***
Upgraded ammo? Don’t fuck with her heart, Presto, because that would easily have her face light up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. Revy’s eyes rounded considerably. “If you can supply or, hell, enhance the shit I have now with that sort of crazy shit then you’ve got yourself a bodyguard,” she said. It’d be a good role to put her talents to use; she’d get that needed release of violence if shit went down. Whitman fever needed some treatment now and then. “I can handle it if you trust me to give your ass alive, kid. You need anything from me?”
Did she have to sign up for a background check? It was possible he already did that before bringing her in but if he hadn’t, then she hoped he could stomach the particularly red record of her former crimes. It didn’t even list all of them, and some charges were watered down all thanks to her illustrious mentor.
***
“I wouldn’t know where to start getting the ammo, but if you bring it, I can enhance it. That’s one spell I already tried, and perfected, with Aldo. Shoulda seen him grinning when he got to play with it.” He nodded. At her question, he shook his head. “I already did a background check. I wouldn’t have met you for this job without doing so. I wanted to know who would have my back, and I think you fit the bill.” He’d seen her record, and he was more than ready to hire her.
“My idea is this. If you’re in, I put you on the payroll and next week, we go do the Moscow trip. We meet a few days before and go over the plan, then go to Moscow, take care of business, and come home. When it’s done, if we are both happy, you get the job permanently, or until we either or both want to end it. And I will enhance the weapons and ammo you bring with you on the Moscow job, free of charge, whether or not you end up using it for me. How does that sound?”
And then he pulled out a paper and handed it over to her, listing the amount he would pay her for the Moscow job. He had done his research and the offer was very generous. Presto was prepared to pay for services rendered, and if things worked out, pay generously to keep a person he could work with.
***
“Leave the ammo to me,” Revy told him, honeycomb eyes scanning through the document he sent her way. Sounded like a decent deal. He had to test the goods before committing completely, right? Or some kind of fucking weird metaphor like that. “I’m up for it. Tell me when and where you need me to go over the details, then we can have a send off.”
Moscow could be some dangerous territory. Lots of backhanded shit went on there, but she was ready to break bones and spill blood without second thought. If this paycheck rested on making sure that this scrawny kid lived, then she could oblige. For this much, she’d give the fucker a piggyback ride around the airport too.
Not that she’d tell him that.
Her hand stretched out across the table. “We’ve got an arrangement or what?”
***
Presto grinned, glad it was going well. “We do. I’ll call you with an exact time and any more intelligence I get before the date.” He shook her hand, and then took out and handed her a check with two zeroes in the number. The lowest of two zero numbers, but still.
“And this is for today. I take care of those who are in my employ. I hope the rest of your day is a good one.”
He rose then, smiling. It might seem like he threw around his money, but the truth was, he recognized quality when he saw it, and he was willing to make sure that quality was willing to stick around. He was treating her like a true pro.
***
Hey, if she just got paid to come in and agree to his terms then fuck yeah, like hell was she going to knock on it. Even if he was putting her firearm expertise to practice this situation was more of ‘help this kid stay alive because people are evil greedy fucks’ as opposed to ‘help this crimelord stay alive because he is an evil greedy fuck.’
“You’re doe-eyed as hell, Presto,” Revy said, wondering if she was supposed to add a ‘mister’ out of formality now but she’d figure it out later. She rose from her seat too, check safely tucked away, and the push of her jacket gave him a sneak peak of the fire and steel she was currently packing. Twin pistols on each side. “Hope you stay that way.”
Live long enough with money like this, shit could get tough, but at least she could help make sure he wouldn’t get out of any messes fatally wounded. That was a guarantee.