Page 77 of Hansel and Gerhardt
Taking the suggestion as an implication of collusion, Gerhardt said, “We’re not involved with anyone.”
“No. I don’t mean it like that. I know the men you… Well, there’s a pattern, isn’t there? They’re not exactly nice people.” Zel moved to the lounge, sat, and motioned to an armchair.
Begrudgingly, Gerhardt also sat, while Hansel shifted his position slightly so they were on either side of Zel.
Zel kept their cool gaze on Gerhardt. “When you have men who aren’t nice, and who also happen, oftentimes, to be rather wealthy… you’re not the only ones who want those men gone.”
With that, the coin dropped, and Hansel came around to take the other armchair, saying nothing, but so deeply interested now that he was barely thinking about their lunch. Though he was still thinking about it.
“The people who want those men gone will pay a lot of money to make it happen,” Zel continued. “And if my people get there and the job is already done, they don’t get paid. And that’s when the target moves.” Zel took a sip of brandy, studying Gerhardt and Hansel as they each kept statue-still on the outside, stomachs churning on the inside.
“The world is shifting. It’s becoming a nicer place, no doubt. The sun is shining, and before long, God willing, there will be honest livings to be made by all. But there will always be an underworld. There will always be criminals, and there will always be men born bad who will do bad things unless someone stops them. I can’t fault you for the choices you’ve made—in fact, I agree with them. Most of them. But you must understand.” Zel dropped a finger to one of the gold coins on the table, and pulled it towards themself, flicking it up to twirl between long fingers. “When you take the money from another man’s pocket—when you stop him from being able to feed his own family… Well, fair’s fair, in this world. He will do what he has to do to remove his obstacle.”
Gerhardt let out a light but menacing laugh. “Then that’s it? You’ve come to warn us away from what we do?”
“On the contrary.” Zel flicked the coin up and across the table for it to be snatched up by Gerhardt’s lightning-fast hand. “I’d like to ask you to do it for me.”
Two frowns crowded two handsome brows, and, “No,” said Hansel. “I don’t know what you’re getting at, what you’re asking of us at all,” he lied. “But if my line of thinking is correct, you’re asking us to become part of the problem. To become exactly the sort of people we take issue with.”
The half-finished brandy tapped down on the table. “Not at all.” Forearms on knees, fingers threaded together, Zel leaned forward. “What say I let you choose who your clients are? What say I get you access to even more information about powerful men than you might already have? Coverups of the most sordid kind. What if I gave you proof of all the awful things those people have done, gave you names and addresses, and then you just walked in there and took care of it?”
The two shared a wary glance. It was entirely too good a deal to be true.
“We’ve had no problem finding work,” said Gerhardt. “There’s more than enough to keep us busy.”
“These coins,” said Zel, “are but a down payment. For each body, I’ll give you ten times as much once the job is done. That, and you can keep whatever treasures from the site you can carry. My clients are willing to pay a lot, but only so long as I deliver. And the people who work for me… I can’t have them turning up to work and finding themselves in a compromising situation. Imagine arriving, all ready to kill, just when the mark’s been announced as missing. It doesn’t look good. It pisses people off. And you can guarantee, if I was able to find and track you, so can they.”
Hansel and Gerhardt looked at one another. It was the first real and clear threat to their new and beautiful life. Yes, they’d been careful with their crimes. But it hadn’t once occurred to them that perhaps criminals objected to those crimes.
“I can protect you from all that,” Zel declared. “What we want is for you to join our guild. Become official members of our network of assassins. You protect us, we protect you, and we all end up richer than you could ever have imagined.”
A moment of thick silence fell across the room before Hansel burst out laughing. “Is this a joke?”
“No, it’s not a joke, Hansel. This is very serious. We’ve been watching you for some time. I have eyes all over Hallin. All over Falchovari. Even up in Varinien. This is why I know where you live. This is why I know what you do. This is why I know you have at least twenty-five murders under your belts, and this is why— You don’t need that knife, Gerhardt.”
“I like the knife,” said Gerhardt, twisting the blade in lithe fingers.
“He’s going to keep the knife,” said Hansel.
“All right.” Zel wet pretty lips. “But you’re both smart. You’d be aware by now, I’m not the only one who knows about you. Andyou can probably guess that if I don’t walk back out that door in about five minutes, you’re going to have unwanted company.”
Hansel’s blue eyes shot over his shoulder, searching through those wide and open windows, scanning the building opposite, while Gerhardt kept his careful watch on Zel. Both were keenly aware of an unseasonable darkening about the place, as though a shadow had fallen over the room, lightening again almost as quickly as it happened, leaving only the shade of a threat in its wake.
Zel put their hand down on the money and pushed the lot across the table. “Consider this a gift. Of friendship. You don’t have to join us, not at all. We would never try to force you to. The guild may have been associated with… less than moral decisions in the past, but it’s now under new command, and we do things differently. You’re exactly the sort of people I’d like on board. But if it’s not your style, then please, all I ask is that you alert me before you make your next move so we can avoid trouble. For any of us.”
Once again, Zel’s hand went to a pocket, but neither Gerhardt nor Hansel made a threatening move this time. Zel pulled out a small, perfectly white pebble. “You can drop this down the drain behind the post office at any time. We check for it at five o’clock each afternoon. If we find it, either myself or a representative will be waiting for you in Jacob’s Tavern at ten o’clock sharp the same night. Don’t be late. Bring either the name of your intended, or confirmation of your membership in the guild. We’ll work with you from there. Whichever way you want to play it.”
Zel stood, and Hansel and Gerhardt followed suit, both men still cautious, but somewhat disarmed by the genial nature of their guest.
“It’s been very nice to meet you,” Zel said. “I must say, I’ve admired your craftsmanship for some time. And your skill.Never a peep out of them. You’re in and out in record time. If I hadn’t had watchers on those houses, I’d never have been able to follow the breadcrumbs, and you would have gotten away clean.”
“Thank you?” Gerhardt mumbled.
Zel walked past, back brazenly to the pair of them. Gerhardt gestured to his knife, awaiting Hansel’s instruction, but Hansel shook his head very sternly, so Gerhardt hurried after Zel to open the door for them.
In the hallway, Zel was looking in the mirror, adjusting that gorgeous golden hair, when Hansel asked, “If we were to do this… what would happen to the… um… the…”
“You can keep the bodies,” Zel said flatly. “We’re very happy with your system. Next to no evidence left, and what there is, utterly unrecognisable. In fact…” They sniffed the air decadently. “Is that a slaver I smell?”
