Meeting Jack

CHAPTER 4: Meeting Jack

By five-thirty, I was standing outside the private airport Jack had sent me the address to.

The place didn’t look like somewhere regular people should approach. A long wall of dark security fencing wrapped around it like a fortress, and the metal gates looked strong enough to stop a tank. Armed guards in black patrolled the perimeter with cold, emotionless faces that intimidated me.

A massive Black man in a tailored suit approached me.

"Miss Dashmel?" he asked with a strong bass voice.

"Yes."

"Follow me." He turned and started walking away, without waiting for me.

I hurried after him through the gates. The sight I saw almost had me opening my mouth in awe.

The place was ridiculously huge. The runway stretched endlessly. And three beautiful black jets were parked outside, but only one was lit and humming.

All of this… belonged to one man? I struggled to accept it.

The man led me toward the active jet. I noticed an unsettling red demon's face painted on the jet's tail.

The jet's staircase was already rolled down. And at the top stood a stunning flight attendant.

"Good evening, Miss Dashmel," she said, bowing slightly. "Master Jack has been expecting you."

I nodded shakily and stepped inside. The interior stole my breath away.

Dim golden lights glowed from the ceiling, giving the whole jet a luxurious aura. The couches were soft and smooth to touch. A stocked mini-bar stood several feet away.

Then Jack walked in from the back of the jet like he owned the sky itself... which, honestly, he probably did. Everything he wore from his shirt, trousers, to slippers was black.

He sat, and fixed his eyes on me.

"G...Good evening, sir," I stuttered.

"Dashmel," he said calmly. "You are early."

"I thought it would be bad to keep you waiting."

"You already kept me waiting for a long time before you called. And it was bad."

He gestured to the seat across from him. "Sit."

I sat, my heart beating fast.

The doors closed behind me with a heavy hiss. The engine hummed, and the jet slowly began to move.

Jack strapped on his seat belt, and I did the same.

Then, Jack leaned forward slightly. "Do not be overwhelmed. Everything you have seen so far barely scratches the surface of my wealth."

For a moment, I was speechless. Then I finally whispered. "If you are this wealthy, sir... then why did you take my shoes?"

His expression didn't change. "It's simply because I won them from you."

"But you didn't need them" I said.

"True. I didn't need such cheap items...," he replied. "So I threw them away."

I looked at him in disbelief. 'Those were my favorite shoes.'

"But the money you won, was much more than thrice the cost of the shoes." He pointed out. "So just take it that you sold your old shoes, for a super high price."

He wasn’t wrong, but he had completely missed my point.

Before I could say anything else, the jet sped up. I gripped the armrest as we lifted into the sky.

Jack noticed. "Relax," he said softly.

I nodded, though his words didn’t help.

Through a window, New York’s lights glittered like gold beneath us.

Jack brought out a document file from a side cabinet. "I drafted a simple contract for our partnership." He handed me a paper from the file, and a pen. "Sign, after going through it."

I read through the contract, and true to his word it was quite simple.

It stated that I agreed to play two of his fun games every month and win prizes. It also has six neat clauses which I had no problem with. There were no tricks... at least none that I could see.

I signed my name, and passed the contract back to him. He placed it back into the file, which he put away.

"Things didn’t work out between you and your boyfriend." He said unexpectedly.

I nodded. "Was I that obvious?"

"No," he said. "I am just very observant. What were his reasons?"

"He didn’t say… but I know it’s because I am not that good looking." I kept my head low.

"And it isn’t the first time you have experienced something like that," he added.

I nodded slowly.

"What if I told you there’s a way to make you better looking? Would you take it?" he asked.

I raised my head.

"You mean plastic surgery?"

"No. Plastic surgery is for millionaires. I am speaking of something far more advanced. Something that can reverse aging, turn you into an almost perfect look alike of someone else... Or in this case, make you better looking. Powerful people at the top of this world use it."

"Does something like that really exist?" I asked in surprise.

He nodded. "But you should know by now… I don’t give anything for free."

"What would it cost? My soul?"

"If your soul was the price," he asked, "would you pay?"

I thought for a moment. "Yes. I would."

"Most people would never consider selling their soul," he said.

"But people give it out for free," I replied. "The moment they lie a little, steal a little, hate a little… their souls are up for grabs. Selling it is smarter. At least I will be paid."

He leaned back slightly.

"Interesting ideology. But you won’t need to sell your soul. You only need to win your next game."

"So I can get anything I want from you, as long as I win a game?"

"Yes."

I felt a bit of fear. "Such a game won’t be simple," I whispered.

"How long do you plan to remain… simple?"

I had no answer for that.

The jet landed at another airport... This one was larger and even more secure than the first one. A Rolls Royce was already waiting for us.

"Is this another private airport?" I asked.

"Yes."

We entered the Rolls Royce, and it drove us to a big mansion.

A maid approached gracefully. Jack instructed her to take me to a spare room.

"I have something to attend to, so you won’t be seeing me tonight. Try to sleep early, you have a big game tomorrow morning." He said.

"Okay."

Then he walked off.

The maid led me to a room more beautiful than any five-star hotel suite. After admiring the decor, I showered, changed into the pajamas laid out on the bed. And ate the luxury meal waiting for me.

I became sleepy, and lay on the bed. I quickly dozed off.

---

A loud sound woke me up. I looked around in confusion... I wasn't in my apartment, nor in Jack’s mansion.

I was in a strange white room. The walls were covered in writings and paper stamps. A large digital clock glowed red on the wall... it was set at 10:00. Eight vents, each the size of a soccer ball, were embedded along the base of the walls.

My heart started beating faster.

There was a single metal door on one side. I walked towards it, only to discover that it needed a passcode to open.

"Hello. I hope you had a good night’s sleep" a voice said from a speaker above me.

"Jack?"

"Correct." He answered.

"What is this?"

"This is the game you will be playing today." He replied, "You are to escape this room in under ten minutes."

"Wait... what? I didn’t even know the game started..."

"It would be in your best interest to hurry," he cut in. "As the room will be completely flooded."

"Wait... what?"

"Good luck. The game starts now."

A red alarm sounded, and the timer dropped from 10:00 to 09:59.

Water burst from the vents.

"Hey... hold on! I did not agree to this!" I yelled out, but there was no reply.

"Jack!! I said I did not agree!" The speaker remained silent.

"Jack... are you there?!" I asked as panic started to set in.

"JACK!!!"