The heavy waft of smoke drifted into the air, carrying with it the familiar aroma of tobacco. Tom Reid held the cigar firmly clutched between his thick fingers, his lazy eyes staring out the window of his truck. He was twenty-five, and the once-lean body he'd worked so hard on throughout his teenage years was already showing signs of indulgence. He had packed on a few pounds, and while he was still a construction of tough sinewy muscle, he was noticing more imperfections every day.
He didn't raise the cigar to his lips, and hadn't for a good ten minutes. He simply sat there, alone, a despondent statue. His still serenity was disrupted by a sudden cough, followed quickly by several more. It felt like a blunt scalpel tearing at the back of his throat. Maybe he was getting lung cancer. Good, he thought, he deserved it. After the way he'd acted since his injury, all these years, there was nothing too grievous that could happen to him.
There was a knock on the passenger door window. Tom turned his head, remembering the gun in the glove compartment. He'd never fired it, not even at a range with his father. But carjackers could be persistent, although no one in the entire Texas town messed with Tommy Reid.
He saw that it was a man dressed in a sharp suit with an olive complexion. Clearly not a carjacker. Tom leaned over and opened the door. "You lost or something?"
The man reached in, extending his hand. Tom took it cautiously as the man introduced himself. "Hi, Mr Reid. I'm Richard Alpert. I know this is a terribly inappropriate time, but I was hoping to talk to you."
"Hey…you were at the funeral today, weren't you?"
Richard nodded solemnly. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr Reid. But I still need to talk to you."
Tom eyed him suspiciously. "You a lawyer? 'Cause she didn't leave anything to me or Dad. She didn't have anything to leave."
"I'm not a lawyer. Do you mind if I sit down?"
"You're fine where you are."
Richard, who was still craning his neck, got down on one knee as if proposing. He didn't step inside the truck. "I work in Portland with a privately funded scientific research team. We're a pretty closed off community, and not all of us are scientists. We have many different staff working with us, and we'd like to know if you'd want to join us."
Tom stared as if Richard had thrown an ostrich egg at him. "You serious? You turn up at my sister's funeral, then follow me here, just to offer me a Goddamn job?"
"To be honest….yes."
Tom stared a little more, and then burst into bitter laughter. "You've got some nerve, pal. Asking me to be a goddamn janitor after everything that happened-"
"Not a janitor, Mr Reid. Head of security."
That caused Tom to stop laughing. "This is a joke. I got no experience in security-"
"And yet the offer is here for you. You're on a select list, Mr Reid, very exclusive. You'll be given a three bedroom house, a six-figure income, and complete freedom over the staff working under you."
"You've got the wrong guy, pal."
"No, I haven't."
The certainty in Richard Alpert's voice both calmed Tom and terrified him. He was starting to feel increasingly small.
The well-spoken, well-groomed, charming and ridiculously attractive Richard Alpert smiled easily, and the terror began to leave. "You're a good person, Mr Reid. Contrary to what you might think."
"You…you don't know me."
"True. I only know what I can guess at, and it would be silly to guess at what you're thinking." Another smile. "But let me take a stab at it anyway. Your football career never took off after that injury on your leg. Doesn't stop you from doing anything else, you can run and catch and tackle, but those professional football regulations can be a real bitch. So you wallow, like most of us with failed ambitions do, for years. But unlike most of us, you get a wake-up call. Your sister commits suicide-"
Tom snarled, "You don't get to talk about-"
Richard continued without even raising his voice. "-and you think to yourself….why? Why didn't I see this coming? Was I too close-minded? Too self-indulgent? And people throw these words at you about her being in a better place, about how you couldn't have seen it coming, and you don't believe them because truly, you are a good person. And you won't let yourself off the hook that easily. But Mr Reid, I'm here not just to offer you a job, or to tell you the truth, which is that your sister's death was not your fault. I'm here to give you another shot at true greatness, a shot that no one else can take because, quite simply….there is no one else for this job. For this….this funny kind of destiny."
This guy had cracked his head wide open and stared deep inside. Tom had never believed in destiny, or magic. He was down to earth, and practical, but….this man had read to him from the book of his life. And he trusted this man. He didn't know why. He just did, and there was nothing more to it than that.
"Tom," said Richard, using his first name for the first time. "You're meant to do this."
It didn't sound like Richard was telling him something….it sounded like he was stating something Tom already knew.
"I'll think about it," grunted Tom, turning away. Richard's next tone of voice let Tom know how wide he was smiling.
"No, you don't. Not at all."
Thirty-five years later
Tom disliked the sight of blood. But there was something different about the sight of his own slowly saturating his ragged vest. It was almost calming.
This was how he would die. He wouldn't die on his feet, fighting to the last breath. He wouldn't die as he wanted, at home with his family and friends surrounding him. He wouldn't die as he'd expected, his life disappearing in his sleep. He'd die here. Shot out of vengeance and bitterness by a man he'd wronged because it was necessary.
The pain was dulling now, soothing him away. His eyes slowly moved to face the man who'd killed him, and he couldn't summon the straight thoughts or ability to speak. He fell backwards onto the dry sand beneath him.
Well I've got God on my side
And I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a dangerous thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust
Yeah it'll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust