A Servant of the Company (15 page)

He was pacing up and down just waiting for the mail. It had been a very frustrating time since the interview and Steve had only one thing on his mind from the minute he woke up. There had been a number of regret letters but nothing concerning his one and only interview. ‘It must come today,’ he told himself and then the moment arrived. Hearing the sound of the letter box being opened he rushed to the door as the letters fell onto the door mat. Only one for him but it looked a possibility. He was shaking, this could be it. Tearing open the envelope he unfolded the letter and read the contents. He couldn’t move, ‘For Christ’s sake no,’ he muttered despairingly. All the waiting, all the hope just gone like that. How could he tell Anthea, she couldn’t put up with him forever? ‘There’s no way I’m going to end up as a Security Guard on a bloody building site,’ he shouted at the letter. ‘No bloody way.’

Picking up the file which kept records of all the jobs he had applied for together with the results, he opened it and entered Regret next to the appropriate application. Looking at all the entries did not make enjoyable reading. ‘Don’t give up Henderson,’ he said to himself as he headed back to the computer with the idea of trawling for jobs on line.

He still had savings and considered moving into the City where there would be more opportunities, but the cost of getting a flat would reduce the bank balance to nil in a short space of time. If Anthea could suffer him for a little while longer, here was the best place to chase that elusive opportunity. Once he was in employment and had money going into the bank each month then he could move out. It would only be a matter of a week or two he tried to convince himself, but he had reached the stage where his self reassurances were falling on stony ground.

Four days later, still no progress, and then the envelope had landed on the doormat. Opening it he found a printed note, no address, no signature just a note in capital letters.

‘YOU WILL RECEIVE A TELEPHONE CALL AT 10.00 A.M. ON THE 7th. AT WHICH TIME YOU WILL HEAR OF AN OFFER WHICH MIGHT INTEREST YOU.’

‘That’s bloody strange,’ he said, reading the note for the third time. Turning it over he checked the back, but there was nothing. Shaking the envelope and peering into it proved fruitless. He was at a complete loss. Could this be the opportunity he had been waiting for, or just some sick joke. He hoped Anthea would be home early, she would know what it was about. She was tremendous in difficult situations. When he had told her about his dismissal from the Army, she had been calm and reassuring, without her he would have been lost. He would discuss this with her and together they might make sense of it.

It was normally just six o’clock when Anthea returned home. At quarter past, Steve was pacing up and down, every minute or so opening the front door to see if she was coming. He had never had time drag so much, she was only fifteen minutes late. ‘Come on Anthea, I need you.’ He hoped he wasn’t losing his reason talking to himself like this, but this really was his hour of need. The right answers to some questions might free him from the bonds of unemployment.

Hearing footsteps on the pavement outside, he recognised them immediately. Before she could put her key in the lock he had the door open. ‘Am I glad to see you,’ he bent to kiss her cheek. ‘I’ve had a very odd letter and wondered just what you might make of it.’ Passing the envelope to her, he sat down waiting for her comments.

She opened the note and read the contents, and like Steve, turned it over for more information. ‘Odd isn’t the word, maybe bloody odd. I don’t know what to think of it. Only the Army people know you are here so they can forward mail to you. It couldn’t be that sicko corporal could it?’ Anthea suddenly felt concerned, he had already suffered terribly at that man’s hands and if this was a joke, she could guess who had been responsible. ‘With this you have to take the bull by the horns, accept the instructions and if it is a hoax, you can at least tell whoever it is what you think of them. On the other hand there is a faint chance it could be a genuine offer. It’s a risk you just have to take.’ Putting the note back into the envelope she then tried to establish a postmark over the stamp. ‘Well, it was posted in London that is the only clue there is right now.’ She looked at Steve trying to judge his reaction to her comments.

‘You’re right as usual, I must keep an open mind and try not to show my feelings when the phone rings.’ He was leaving his options open, anger would only erupt if it turned out to be the call he dreaded. Otherwise the caller would hear an interested and intelligent young man.

‘Well, where’s dinner then?’ Anthea laughingly gave him a poke in the ribs as a reminder that he had forgotten his duty for the day. I’ve been slaving over a hot computer all day while you have been sitting around with your feet up. Do you think I would make someone a good nagging wife?’ She grinned at Steve as he muttered apologies for failing to even think about a meal.

He took the envelope from her and put it on the table knowing it would be on his mind until his eyes closed in sleep. ‘Looks like beans on toast tonight, sorry about that, but I’ve been so uptight all day over the silly bloody letter. It has irritated nerves I didn’t think I had. I’ve just been longing for you to bring sound common sense to the situation, and that you have done and I appreciate it.’ He wasn’t sure if he was in love with her, but tonight in particular felt a warm glow when he could see in her eyes the concern for him. She had said only what he already felt, but where his feelings were founded on frustration hers were based on sound judgement. In a way she was warning him against overreaction. If the caller did have something to do with Jennings he would be ready, and he would not moderate his language. It would be pure barrack room. However, should he get the slightest intimation that the caller had something to offer, then he would react accordingly.

They had stayed up talking until the early hours, Anthea knew he would not be able to sleep and had deliberately kept him talking. When they had eventually gone to bed, she suggested he drank a hot toddy which might help him sleep. From the excitement in his voice, she feared he would be awake all night and not be in the right frame of mind for the ten o’clock phone call. There was always the chance, no matter how small, that this might be the call that would change his life. He deserved it, there were very few men about like him and she just wished that he felt the same towards her as she now felt for him. It was almost three a.m. when sleep finally won the battle for Steve’s tired body and mind. He did however recapture some ground with a dream about a new career.

It was ten o’clock exactly when the phone rang. Pausing, he gathered his thoughts before answering the insistent ring. He didn’t want to sound too eager, nor did he want to give a hoaxer the pleasure of hearing his excited voice. Slowly he picked up the phone and waited to hear the caller.

‘Good morning Mr. Henderson.’ The cultured voice took Steve by surprise, he had not known what to expect, but if he had to guess, this voice would not have been on his list. ‘The Company I represent has heard about you and we think you might be interested in considering an offer. That is if you haven’t already accepted one from elsewhere.’ The caller paused waiting for a response.

He had prepared the ground well. The interview had built up Steven Henderson’s hopes, and the rejection had done the opposite. Now he was offering a lifeline. At the interview, Steve had told the team that he had not had much success with his job applications so far, so he must be desperate. He had been acutely aware of Steve’s position and was able to exploit it to perfection. It was someone to expand the drugs empire that was being developed, with the supply coming from Mr. P. Although he wasn’t desperate at this stage, he knew Steve was.

‘Would you be prepared to move to Manchester?’ The question came out of the blue and took Steve by surprise. There had been no indication of what was involved, just this bland question. ‘We are expanding in that area and need someone of your calibre to recruit and train merchandisers in distributing our product.’ He had no intention of giving too much information. Once an agreement had been reached, then he would feed information as and when necessary. Henderson was hungry, and he had to keep him that way until he was totally committed to the enterprise.

‘At the moment I am actively looking for a career as you must know. Can I ask you how you heard of me?’ Steve needed reassuring at this point. He must have someone on his side. Who was it?

‘All I can say at this stage Henderson is that your name came up and you were highly recommended. I am just a servant of the Company and do as I am told. If you are as good as the recommendation, it will help the powers that be make their decisions. I carry them out.’ He could cope with anything that any of his potential recruits threw at him, he was an old hand at the game and good at it. ‘Now, would you be prepared to work in Manchester?’ He would now play Henderson as an experienced angler would play a trout.

The thought of the north didn’t thrill Steve, but the possibility of a reasonable job did. Once he had established himself, he would have the experience and credentials to move on. At the moment he had nothing. He didn’t want to sell his services cheaply or display the desperation he felt. ‘Manchester wouldn’t worry me, but the job and terms of employment would be the deciding factors from my point of view. You may be aware that I have no business training but I am a quick learner and would give any employer 100 per cent.’ He paused to get a reply from the mystery caller.

‘We are a very private Company. You may think it strange for me to contact you as I did, but if I said to you, ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do,’ it would probably mean something to you. Believe me, I had the same introduction to the Company. I soon learned that it was an excellent employer and I have been looked after extremely well. All that is asked for is loyalty and honesty. I would add that those falling short of the standards required leave in a very unhappy state.’ He did not say that it was usually with broken limbs or in extreme cases, in a box.

‘It sounds like my sort of company.’ Steve had warmed to the description he had heard. If there was a good sense of discipline, he would welcome it. ‘What would be required of me, and is there a training programme?’ He sincerely hoped there was a programme, he would cope with it and adhere to its aims. It could be everything he had hoped for.

‘From time to time,’ he now broached the difficult part of his recruitment campaign, particularly with people of Henderson’s calibre. ‘the Company might sail a bit close to the wind, if you understand my meaning. But as they say, there’s usually no gain without pain. Do I make myself clear?’ He waited for the reply.

‘Do you mean the company does things that are not strictly legal?’ Steve chose his words carefully, not wanting to turn his back on his possible salvation. After all the setbacks and his rejection by the Army, he had reached the stage where he would consider anything that might pay well.

‘I think you may have put your finger on the pulse Henderson. I would say that we never put our senior people at risk from the legal machinations operating in the country. You would be well looked after, and from time to time there would be bonuses, not necessarily cash, but pleasurable by anyone’s terms.’ He had already thought that one of the employees in his proposed escort agency might well be one of the bonuses on offer.

He now wanted to complete his recruitment. ‘There are one or two points I must stress and to which you must agree before any offer can be made. First, as I have already said, we are a very private Company, anything you hear must never be discussed outside, not even with your closest relatives. Once this agreement is made, there is no going back on your word without some form of retribution. Do I make myself clear on that point?’ He carefully examined his nails while waiting for a reply.

‘It seems like a challenge I would enjoy. I led a disciplined life in the Army and enjoyed most of it. There has to be order, without it life would be nasty, brutish and short.’ He couldn’t help introducing some of his acquired knowledge from the Open University, in this instance he thought it appropriate.

His potential employer thought it equally appropriate and laughed. ‘You seem to know your Thomas Hobbes young man. You are quite right, we have to have order. I think you are the man for the job. Are you willing to commit yourself to the Company? I can’t at this stage give you any more details other than a start date would probably be in the next three weeks, and if the board agrees, the starting salary would be in the region of thirty thousand pounds a year while you are in the setting up stage.’

It was staggering, they had never met him, and there was the offer of thirty grand. He could hardly believe it. From bugger all to this. He still did not know what the Company did or what his role would be, but he could not rely on the State for ever. ‘I would certainly like the opportunity of proving myself in the job, and given direction, I’m sure I could succeed both for myself and for the company.’ He had practiced that little speech time and time again in preparation for any interview which might end in a job offer. It had been worth the effort.

It was an impressive response from young Henderson, and he was pleased with himself. So far he hadn’t been proved wrong with any of the recruits and the Army had supplied its fair share of excellent material. There had been some problems with people recruited locally by his team but these were dealt with efficiently and often ruthlessly. With a mixture of praise, reward and coercion he felt Steven Henderson would suit admirably.

‘Well Henderson, may I welcome you into the Company, you may not hear from me for a week or so but your place with us is assured. There is one more thing I should point out. Everyone working for the company is self employed, that means you pay your own tax, insurance contributions and pension fund. An allowance to cover these items is added to the income I have given you. Do you understand that?’ This could be the clincher, he hadn’t failed yet, but Henderson was a thinker and may decide to ask too many questions at this stage.