Problem Solving

[Jack]

Three men sat at a table two on one side, one on the other. All wearing suits, all talking business, while at first glance for anyone who entered there only seemed to be three in the room on closer inspection you would find out there was actually seven. Along the back wall and the front wall, behind the man who was talking to the two younger males, who had their back to the door were two large, well built men. Along the back wall (or the front depending on which direction you’re looking at it from) there were two men guarding the door, all silent all hidden yet not concealed.

I trust that you gentlemen can handle this small problem?

The man would slide over a folder of documents, Jack’s hand would slowly move out picking them up and opening it, his dark eyes flicking through it before handing it to Phoenix for a thorough read through. Jack would wait for Phoenix to finish and allow him to speak before he read through the file, it was basic enough. This gentleman wanted to buy some land and develop it, but he couldn’t because the current landlord wouldn’t sell his property as long as his tenants wanted to continue their lease. Their task was a simple one either change the tenant’s mind or the landlord’s but either way the lease could not continue. This was a multimillion dollar potential investment and spending twenty grand to make sure he could secure it was well worth it.

“Twenty thousand as agreed, five now in cash and five in digital the remaining ten after we’ve complete the job”

Jack’s eyes would drift over to Phoenix, unsure whether or not he thought that was adequate enough. It was a simple enough job between the two of them they could easily intimidate someone into changing their mind. Jack would handle any physical tasks while Phoenix would use his genius to mentally barrage their targets minds until they gave in. Jack would reach into his pocket and produce a card with their allocated bank details. Made with a fake name, fake social security number, fake passport fake everything only accessible by Phoenix and Jack.

The man would nod, signaling to one of his men, they brought forward a laptop, typing in their bank details he turned the screen around to show them the amount of money being transferred. When the notification came up that the transfer had been successful, Jack’s hand would reach for his phone and quick call and his balance was called out to him. Jack nodded to Phoenix, a yellow package was placed in front of the duo, Jack would wait for Phoenix to add anything else before standing shaking the man’s hand and then walking out. Once outside of the building Jack would place his overcoat on, being night time even in summer it got cold.

“Well that went well.. Let's go scope out the area. Shall we?”

Jack would motion for Phoenix to walk with him back to the car. Jack had recently purchased the new CTS-V, it was a beautiful car, huge boot space, big engine and could do 0-60 in four seconds flat. Perfect for storing loot, cargo or dead bodies.

[Phoenix]

Phoenix remained alert during the entire transaction, he was well aware of the two men standing behind him and the two men in front of him hidden within the shadows. They were too noisy and restless to attempt to veil their presence within his own domain. He had noticed them from the moment he had entered the room but decided to keep this information to himself and hope that Jack would eventually pick up on the fact that they were there.

“I trust that you gentleman can handle this small problem?”

A cache of documents was slid across the table towards Jack, he flicked through the contents to gain a very basic understanding of just what the problem was. One he had finished this the collection of documents fell to Phoenix to analyse and memorise the components of the folder. The main objective was outline in simple language on the very first page of type, which was no doubt the extent to which Jack had delved into the folder. Phoenix, on the other hand, proceeded to analyse the other documents; namely, blueprints of the building in question, information about the individual in question and company details that would be required to complete the objective.

“Twenty thousand, as agreed. Five now in cash, five in digital and the remaining ten after we’ve completed the job.”

Jack’s eyes wandered over to find Phoenix’s form as he finished reading through the information that they had been provided with. No doubt he was seeking to discover if he had successfully negotiated a reasonable price. Phoenix would sigh at Jack’s inability to negotiate, this deal would provide the company, represented by the man in front of them, with a chance to earn millions of dollars; all on the back of himself and Jack’s work. It was worth a lot more to them than twenty thousand.

“Actually,” Phoenix would say as he reshuffled the documents and placed them down neatly in front of him on the varnished table. “I think, now knowing what is required of us, that we can raise the price. To fifty thousand… each.”

Phoenix hoped that this businessman could see the sense that he spoke. This deal was worth ever cent to his company. It was only fair that himself and Jack got a fair amount of the money that could possibly be earned. If the businessman thought this was unreasonable and decided to unleash his cronies shrouded in the darkness on them, Phoenix knew that they wouldn’t stand a chance against Jack. If he accepted the deal then Phoenix would allow Jack to hand over the secure bank details.

[Jack]

“Actually,”

Jack died a little on the inside while Phoenix was indeed a genius in his own right, on topics he new very little about he was a complete moron. Phoenix was an expert when it came to manipulation yet he wasn’t used to manipulating men who had no morals, who qualms with killing you and throwing you to the side of the road like trash. Even going so far as to shoot you at point blank in the middle of broad daylight in a densely populated area. The only reason he hadn’t ordered a hit on the owner was because of recent media converge over his last controversial court charges, he decided to lay low and try and acquire this real-estate legally. In all honesty he had commissioned these boys for the reason, that he thought they would be cheap, after all neither Phoenix nor Jack were of legal age.

”I think, now knowing what is required of us, that we can raise the price. To fifty thousand… each.”

For that kind of money, I could have them killed”

Jack would shoot Phoenix a glare before going through the blue prints, his trained eye knowing what to look for. Despite his intelligence or lack of, he had been doing this for years, due to sheer repetition he has developed a certain skill level. If he were going to kidnap the landlord and transport him somewhere, he’d usually have a partner with him, Jack would be the driver due to his outstanding driving skills however in this case it may be different, depending on what method they want to use.

Very well... I’ll transfer a hundred now and a hundred later

He would flick his hand up in the air calling for one of his goons to sort it out, the door would open and close. A few awkward minutes later it would open and close again, the goon would arrive with a briefcase placing it onto the table. The contractor would open it and spin it around showing Jack and Phoenix the money, knowing very well that Phoenix would be able to calculate how much money there was. Jack’s hand would move to the middle stack, there were 1000 $50 bills here, split up into 50 stacks of 20, Jack would flick through the stack showing Phoenix the numbers which Jack couldn’t comprehend. If Phoenix didn’t say anything Jack would close the brief case, and hand over the bank details, the man would call for his laptop and it would be delivered nearly instantly. Placing the details in before he would begin to transfer the money over, turning it around he would show Jack and Phoenix to confirm that the details were correct. They were perfect Jack would give the man the okay and wait for Phoenix to give the okay. The contractor would press transfers and the bar would begin to load, couple of seconds later the page would refresh and it would say, 50,000USD transferred to XXXXX. Jack would confirm the transfer and then wait for the man to continue to speak.

Now that I’m paying ten times more then what I was told I would have to pay, I want something more. I want this done within two days.

Jack would shrug, either way they were going to have done it within the next twenty four hours this just

“We’ll be contacting you tomorrow”

Jack would stand shaking the man’s hand, picking up his overcoat and the briefcase leaving the plans for Phoenix, they would pace out of the building escorted by one of the goons. Once out of the building Jack would continue, looking at Phoenix he would nod with satisfaction. “Well that went well.. Let’s go scope out the area. Shall we?” Motioning to the car that was parked a few blocks down the road.

[Phoenix]

“For that kind of money, I could have them killed.”

Phoenix emitted a confident and all-knowing air as he stared directly into the eyes of the businessman trying to enlist his service. He would resist shaking his head, as he was generally surprised that a businessman of such calibre would enter a meeting with no bargaining chips or power. It had been only too easy for Phoenix to plan this meeting ahead of time and collect all the information that he would need to see it to the end without having to raise a single first. After all, this man’s company had been all over the internet and media for his recent brushes with the law and the last thing that this man would want would be to have his face plastered over the news for murder.

“True, but you don’t want them killed do you? If you had of wanted that then I doubt you would’ve attempted to hire men of our age to accomplish your task. Instead, you decided to pay a fraction of what is deserved so that you can make an even bigger profit from the work you enlisted us for. I suggest that you adhere to my suggestions otherwise your face might obtain the same infamy as your company.”

As he spoke, Phoenix examined the eyes of the man sitting across from him and was glad to see a stream of emotions rush through them with each syllable. It was child’s play for someone as intelligent as Phoenix to read his reactions and predict his next move before the idea of acting had even fully manifested itself in the man’s brain.

Very well… I’ll transfer fifty now and fifty later.”

The man raised his hand into the air and beckoned one of his guards over, whilst he whispered, Phoenix glanced over at Jack and was pleased to see that he was paying attention to what was going on around him. Smiling, Phoenix would be contempt to wait for the guard to return with the money. Seconds blend into minutes as the men in the room wait for the guard to return. After a short while the guard returns with a briefcase. Adhering to the clichéd hanging over the money sequence, the man would click open the case and then spin it around for Jack and Phoenix to confirm. Phoenix did the quick arithmetic in his head and gave Jack a quick nod of confirmation, reassuring him that the expected $25,000 was there.

Once again, the main raised his hand and this time a laptop was placed in front of him almost straight away. Phoenix was getting bored with this venture and the needless amount of time it was wasting, he had more important things to do. The transfer bar ticked over and over, slower and slower until it finally reached 100% completion. Phoenix would glance over the details to make sure that they were correct and assured that this was nodded at Jack once again.

Now that I’m paying ten times more than what I was told I would have to pay, I want something more. I want this done within two days.”

Phoenix simply blinked at this man’s stupidity. Did he actually think that it would’ve taken them longer than two days to accomplish this menial task? It was insulting. Phoenix would let Jack do the talking from here on in, it was good to let him feel like he was contributing to the overall successfulness of the scheme every once in a while.

“We’ll be contacting you tomorrow.”

Following Jack’s suit, Phoenix would firmly shake the man’s hand and then allow himself to be escorted off the premises by one of the business man’s guards.

“Well that went well… Let’s go scope out the area. Shall we?”

“It didn’t go badly.”

A smile crossed Phoenix’s handsome features as the beginning of a plan to accomplish the task ahead of them was already formulating in his mind. Climbing into Jack’s car he would wait for Jack to being driving and then relax deep into the comfortable seat.