Elite Read online

  The breeze coming off of Lake Michigan was warm and moist. It felt good as it blew across Daniel’s skin. He arrived at Navy Pier at five o’clock – a half hour before when Jordan said she would get there – which meant that Daniel could expect her around 5:45. He decided to get there early as he had quickly grown tired of his apartment.

  As soon as he had gotten home he flopped down on his bed, and hadn’t moved until deciding to change and go out for the evening. He had considered turning on the TV or reading a book, but none of that interested him. He had wanted to do absolutely nothing, so that’s what he did.

  It felt good to be out of the apartment and out with the rest of civilization enjoying a little slice of life as if his whole world wasn’t in ruins. He decided to walk the length of the pier and bought himself a beer at the Landshark Biergarten, then turned around and made his way back down to Margaritaville Café.

  He wondered if this would be the last time he would make the walk along the pier.

  No, he decided. Even if he were no longer a resident of Chicago he would still make many trips to this city that he loved so dearly. On top of that, he would make it his mission to find a way back. They might have successfully forced him out for the time being, but they wouldn’t keep him out forever. He would be back.

  When he finished his walk back down the Pier he saw that Jordan had yet to arrive. He walked over to the railing and leaned over it, looking over at the Museum Campus on the other side of the marina. He would miss it, for sure.

  After no more than a minute, a familiar face came up alongside him, only it wasn’t the one he had expected.

  “It’s a beautiful city, Kid.”

  Mr. Blank walked over and leaned on the railing beside Daniel. “I’d hate to know a life without her.”

  Daniel wanted to be startled, but the reaction never came. In fact, he had hardly felt any surprise at all.

  Blank was in what must have been his version of summer-wear. He wore brown, casual slacks and a brown and red checkered polo shirt that looked straight out of the fifties. His same fedora was still perched in its usual spot atop his head.

  “I am certainly going to miss her,” Daniel responded.

  “You don’t have to, ya know?” Blank countered, clearly referring to Horchoff’s procedure.

  Daniel let out a small laugh.

  “I’m sorry Mister Blank, but I don’t think I can take that risk,” Daniel said, as if repeating himself to a determined salesperson who refused to take “no” for an answer.

  “I heard what happened Danny—about your job,” Blank said, changing his pitch. “That’s a real shame. I hate to see that sort of thing happen to such a good guy. But you have to at least be considering Mister Richfield’s offer now. You hafta!”

  Daniel stared out at the water for a moment. The thought had arisen within his mind at least a billion times since this morning, and if he was being honest, another thousand times every other day before that.

  But every time he had ignored it—pushed it aside as if it were never there.

  He dropped his head and stared down at his toes poking out of his flip-flops.

  “I know it’s scary Danny Boy, but just think of all the great things that could happen to ya! You could do anything you wanted to. And better yet, go anywhere you wanted to.”

  As Blank finished his argument he turned around and leaned his back against the railing, looking up at the Chicago skyline just off to his left. He was clearly alluding to the fact that Daniel would be able to continue living in Chicago should he take the job with Richfield.

  And he had a point. Daniel had spent the whole day being miserable, deciding that everything he had ever worked to accomplish in his life was suddenly gone in the blink of an eye. But the truth was, it wasn’t. He could have it all, and so much more. But he would have to put his life on the line to do it.

  Daniel turned to look up and admired the beautiful skyline of the Windy City alongside Blank. He really did not want to lose the place he called his home.

  “Trust me Kid,” Blank said as he slapped Daniel on the back, “she’s worth it.”

  Blank then stood up from the railing and walked off in the direction of the city. After only a few steps he passed Jordan who was walking the other way toward Daniel.

  Had Jordan been the “she” he was referring to? You never knew with Mr. Blank. If he knew about Daniel getting fired he could know about anything.

  Daniel had to admit—the man would make one hell of a salesman.

  “Who was that?” Jordan asked as she approached Daniel.

  “He actually offered me a job,” Daniel answered.

  “Really?!” Jordan cried with genuine excitement. “Doing what?”

  “Why don’t we sit down at the bar and I’ll tell you about it?”

  “So he wants you to be a security guard?” Jordan asked just before taking a sip of the pink, tropical concoction in her glass.

  “More like a body guard,” Daniel explained. “They would provide all of the training.”

  “And the guy in charge used to be in the CIA?” She retorted.

  “Yes. He used to kill people, and now he thinks he knows the best way to protect them.”

  “Wow,” she said. “Are you sure this thing is real? It sounds like a scam.”

  “I saw their headquarters,” Daniel contested. “The training facility was huge. And there was a medical wing and everything. If it is a ruse, it’s the most elaborate and outlandish one I’ve ever heard of.”

  Daniel took a sip of his Bahama Mama. It was one of his favorite summertime drinks and was loaded up with three or four different types of rum. Some men scoffed at “fruity drinks,” but Daniel didn’t subscribe to the idea that because his drink was delicious it was less manly. Plus it only took a couple to get him good and loose.

  Jordan sat and contemplated for a moment. He had told her all of the details he could about the Misters Blank and Richfield, leaving out the emotional reactions that led him to each encounter. He presented the situation to her with matter-of-fact, making sure not to involve any emotion. He hoped this level headed approach would lead her to give him her honest opinion on the matter, without any emotion of her own becoming a factor.

  “How much would they pay you?” She asked.

  Ah yes, Daniel thought. That was a detail he had left out intentionally. This was because the pay structure Richfield had laid out before him was somewhat complicated, and depended on a number of different factors. On top of that, the amount of money was so great that it might arise more suspicion within Jordan, and he was afraid that if he got too deep into specifics that it might cause him to say something he shouldn’t.

  “It’s substantial,” Daniel compromised. “Depends on my level of success, but even if things don’t work out the way they hope, I still get a good amount of money.”

  “Like, how much?” Jordan inquired.

  He hoped she wouldn’t pry, but he knew that she would. Jordan knew the importance of money just as Daniel did, and she wouldn’t leave it alone until she had some idea of what level of wealth Daniel would be obtaining.

  “A lot more than I’m making now,” Daniel countered, trying to shut her down.

  Jordan just stared back at him for a few seconds, and Daniel tried to make it clear that he was done speaking. Then she widened her eyes and gave a slight shake of her head, letting him know that she was dissatisfied with that response and was waiting for something more specific.

  Daniel took a long sip of his drink, swallowed, and finally gave in.

  “Six figures,” he said.

  Jordan instinctively let out a “Whoa!” Then she took a few more long seconds to stare at Daniel, a smile on her face, as if trying to read his thoughts on what he had just revealed to her while simultaneously sending her thoughts to him. It was something she did quite often, and because of how well the two knew each other it was generally effective.

  “That’s really good!” She said, breaking the mo
mentary mind-meld and switching back to verbal conversation.

  “I know,” he said flatly. “Almost makes it seem worth it.”

  “Totally!” She responded instantly. “So why don’t you do it?”

  Now Daniel was in trouble. There were two answers to her question. The first was that Daniel didn’t want to be locked away for several months of training, leaving her all alone in Chicago with only Gordon Demérs. Jordan wouldn’t like that answer, and would insist that Daniel not make any decisions based on her.

  The second, more substantial reason that Jordan would agree with, was top-secret. If he told her the details he would be acting outside the law. It wasn’t that he was so afraid of legal action, but that it would also give Richfield cause to have him killed, and Daniel believed that he could do it. In fact, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Richfield or one of his men was listening in on this entire conversation right now.

  He surveyed the outdoor patio of the bar. For all he knew, any of these people could be working for Richfield. Just because they were body guards didn’t mean they couldn’t also operate as spies on the side. Richfield recruited from all kinds of organizations. Some of his people were bound to be spies.

  “I would have to go away,” Daniel finally said. He knew what this line of conversation was going to amount to, but he didn’t see much choice. He had to give her something.

  “Go away?” She inquired.

  “For training,” he elaborated.

  He took another sip from his drink and continued.

  “They would basically lock me away in the training facility for several months and train me to be a lean, mean, protection machine,” he said with a smirk, hoping she would find his quip at least somewhat witty. “I don’t know that I would want to be gone for that long.”

  “Yeah, that would be tough,” she concurred. “But totally worth it I think. You would be in such good shape, and you would be making great money. You can’t pass that up.”

  It sounded so simple when Jordan said it, except that she didn’t know the true details.

  “It would be dangerous,” Daniel countered, trying to include the danger aspect in his argument without giving away the details he had sworn to keep under wraps.

  “Very true,” Jordan said. “Didn’t think about that. Maybe you shouldn’t do it. It’s some good money, but it’s not worth you risking your life I don’t think.”

  Not worth risking your life. Those were the words Daniel was looking for because he agreed – It wasn’t worth dying over.

  “That’s why I’m not going to do it,” he said with a half-hearted smile, genuinely happy that she had reinforced his decision.

  “So what are you going to do?” She asked.

  He finished his drink, set the glass down on the bar, and took a deep breath. That was the question, wasn’t it? His options seemed limited.

  Able to sense his disappointment Jordan moved closer to him and put her arm over the back of his neck and began rubbing his far shoulder. She placed her other arm on his bicep.

  The intention was to comfort her friend, but in reality she had only made it worse. Daniel now felt an intense surge of emotion that brought him to the verge of tears. It was cliché, but he loved Jordan so much that it quite literally created a pain within him. He had waited so long for moments like these to be common place, and now that she was here, he was going to have to leave.

  “The easy answer is to go home.” It took some effort, but he managed to force out the words.

  “There is no shame in that,” Jordan responded in an attempt to soothe him.

  “What if I can figure something out?” He asked, picking up his head and looking Jordan in the eye.

  “Like what?” She asked, trying to sound as though she believed there was potential in what he was saying.

  “I don’t know,” he said, looking up at the sky as if searching for an answer. “I could probably get a job at a restaurant or something. I wouldn’t make as much and it wouldn’t be easy, but I could get a roommate. Lots of people manage that sort of thing.”

  Jordan continued rubbing his shoulder and tilted her head to the side. “Yeah,” she said, “but you don’t want to live like that. I know you don’t.”

  Daniel threw his head back and to the side with dissatisfaction.

  She continued, “You didn’t get a college degree to work in a restaurant. You need to find something better. You deserve that.”

  Daniel brought his head back to meet her gaze.

  “But I want to be here! I won’t be happy back in Indiana either, no matter what I’m doing.” Daniel’s tone was beginning to make him sound like a child arguing with his mother over having to finish his vegetables before getting dessert.

  “You’ll find your way back here eventually, “Jordan offered. “I know you will.”

  Daniel hung his head once again, defeated. He was stuck. There was no way for him to spend the summer with Jordan in the city, acting as a buffer between her and the fantasy man that was Gordon Demérs.

  “I won’t be happy without you—knowing that you’re here and I left. I’d do anything to stay here with you,” he finally admitted.

  “You can come visit me,” the tone in her voice went up as she said this, as if it were the perfect solution to all of Daniel’s problems and he was silly for not having thought of it already.

  “I don’t want to come visit you in the city I waited for you in for a year, just so you could move here and date Gordon Demérs while I moved away!” He said. It was all on the table now, there was no holding back. “I want to be with you. I will make sacrifices to do that.”

  Jordan’s hands had now been removed from Daniel and she leaned forward on the bar, displeasure on her face. That had been the last thing she had needed to hear tonight.

  “I never asked you to wait for me,” she said. “In fact I told you not to.”

  “I love you,” Daniel countered immediately, leaning in toward her and pointing all five fingers on both his hands to his chest. “I don’t want anyone else. Waiting wasn’t a choice, it just happened.”

  “I wish…” Jordan began, “that you didn’t feel that way. I really do. And I am so sorry that I don’t feel the same way Daniel. You know how much I care about you—you’re my best friend.”

  Daniel’s heart sank, as it did every time Jordan told him they couldn’t be together.

  “But I’m no Gordon Demérs,” Daniel said, finishing Jordan’s thought for her.

  “It’s different with Gordon,” she tried to explain. “I am so drawn to him. He makes me laugh constantly, and every moment I’m with him I just feel like such a fun person. Of course I love the way I feel with you, but I have urges with Gordon that I don’t feel for you, and I think that is so important.”

  Daniel closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, taking a moment to keep any tears from becoming visible to Jordan, or more importantly any of the other people around them.

  “I understand if you hate me for that,” Jordan concluded.

  Daniel rolled his eyes. She loved to play the “hate me” card. The truth was that Jordan almost hoped he did hate her because it would make things so much easier on the both of them. He would no longer long for something she couldn’t give him, and she wouldn’t have to feel so guilty for not being able to give it.

  “You know that I will NEVER hate you,” he assured her. “But yes, it is very hard to hear that.”

  They both sat silent for the next minute or two – Daniel wasn’t exactly sure how long. They ran their fingertips along the outside of their glasses and both stared up at the TVs behind the bar—Daniel contemplating what he would say next and Jordan preparing herself for an apologetic response.

  “So even if I find a way to stay, we wouldn’t date?” He asked her.

  “Daniel, we’ve already talked about this,” she said with exhaustion in her voice.

  Daniel sat and stared at the TVs for another moment. He knew what he wanted to ask nex
t.

  “Are you going to date Gordon after I leave?” He had decided that at this point there was no reason not to ask.

  “I’m not sure about anything with Gordon right now,” she retorted. “All I know is that I don’t feel the things with you that I should. I wish I did, but I don’t.”

  Daniel hung his head again and began giving half nods of understanding, his chin hitting his chest.

  Jordan finished her drink and pulled some cash out of her purse and threw it up on the bar. “I’m sorry, but I need to go. I have school in the morning,” she said.

  Daniel sat up in his bar chair and got to his feet. “Walk you to a cab?” He offered.

  “I would love that,” she accepted.

  Daniel both loved and hated when she did that. She would break his heart and then act like he was the most important thing in the world to her and was constantly pleasured by his company.

  There was little conversation between the two of them as they made the short walk from Margaritaville to the front entrance of Navy Pier. When they reached the circle drive in front of the entrance Daniel hailed a cab for Jordan. He opened the door for her and she climbed in the back seat.

  “See ya when I see ya,” Daniel said leaning over the door and peering into the back seat.

  “Yep,” she said with a forced smile.

  He shut the cab door and she was off. Even though he was broken, he hoped he would see her again very soon. He would try not to text her for the rest of the night, though it would take a great amount of effort on his end.

  Daniel stood in place and looked up again at the city skyline. It was dusk and the lights on many of the buildings were just starting to come on.

  I’ve lost my soul mate either way, he thought to himself. But I don’t have to lose you too.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone.

  “Don’t bother,” he heard a familiar voice say from behind him.

  Daniel slowly turned around to find both Richfield and Blank standing about fifteen feet behind him, side by side, both looking directly at him.