Dear readers, tonight we print an in-world encounter between two characters from this literary speculative fiction collection.

Helen sits alone at a small table by the window of the busy coffee shop, her silver hair short and neatly cut, reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose as she holds the paperback open with one hand. She sips her latte and turns the page. Her back is to the wall; by long habit she has chosen a spot with a full view of everyone in the room, and all the exits.

A stern, powerfully built woman with an ex-military bearing enters the café, scans the tables, and cautiously approaches Helen, who smiles, places a bookmark in her paperback, and greets her.

Oh, I’m so happy you got in touch, dear. I’m sure you have all sorts of questions. Won’t you sit down?

The woman narrows her eyes and sits across from Helen, spine stiff. A waiter takes her order – coffee, black. She has a thick Russian accent.

~~~

Who are you? Your group is government, NGO? Private, maybe?

Helen Rosenthal, pleased to make your acquaintance. We had so little time to chat when me met last time.

Little chat time because you tased me with tricky knitting device! And stole from boss. Former boss.

Oh, yes, well, you did have a Glock pointed at me, dear. And I’m sorry if our little operation cost you your security position with your… unpleasant former employer. He’s still in federal custody, isn’t he?

Yes, sure. Unimportant now. Business card from you had no details. But you said maybe job. Merc?

Not exactly, no. We’re indeed private, as you surmised. We take on security-related engagements for a variety of groups. Corporate, private, occasionally government when they need something with plausible deniability. And you showed excellent instincts, we’re always looking for new faces, but it’s a far cry from mercenary work. Our assignments usually require subtlety and eschew more pedestrian wetwork.

Subtlety. Hah. You broke into safe and stole money.

Oh, the cash was a spur of the moment decision. I ended up giving that to the nice young man who ran the front desk at that hotel. He didn’t know it, but all the trouble I put him through proved essential to gaining access to the penthouse suite where you and I met. The actual target of that episode was the thumb drive in that safe, which contained enough incriminating evidence to put your horrible boss away for a very long time.

Who hired you?

I’m sure I have no idea. Mabel handles all those sorts of details. Likely a disgruntled business associate or some such nonsense.

You are old to be spy.

Well, I have been doing this for a long time, no argument there. Likely active before you were born, dear. But the essential skills and requirements to perform well in our… volatile environment… are evergreen I find, as long as one keeps up on the latest tech. Sure, new players come and go, but human nature remains delightfully base, and there’s always someone getting up to mischief. And someone else willing to pay our team to clean up the mess. Or, in some cases, make a mess, but those jobs are entertaining in their own way!

What is buzz? You get text?

Yes, it’s Mabel… oh my. It seems you were followed. Look carefully out the window. Do you know the men in that green sedan across the street?

No.

Well, how exciting! Seems that in order to continue our delightful conversation, we’ll need to move to a more secure location. Are you interested in exploring opportunities with our little group?

Well… sure. Is interesting, yes.

Splendid! Then let me just leave this, to cover our coffees and tip, and if you’d be so kind as to follow me, I’ve mapped out an alternate route we can take through the kitchen to the alley in back. Let me just text Mabel… yes. She assures us that the CCTV cameras show no other signs of pursuit, so we should be fine. Take your time, dear, no rush. You’re in good hands now.

Award-winning author Eric J. Hull writes speculative fiction with elements spanning fantasy, slipstream, magical realism, urban dystopia, and horror. Recently, he’s been dabbling in sci-fi comedy. He has published short fiction and poetry in various magazines and literary journals. He co-wrote and published a series of high fantasy novels with his longtime collaborator C. M. Stultz. Once, he told an ongoing improvisational story every night for over three years running. Eric’s inspirations include Ray Bradbury, Kelly Link, Shirley Jackson, and N. K. Jemisin. He crafts his words from the damp little burg of Seattle, Washington, USA. He likes cats more than dogs, Star Trek over Star Wars, and kindness most of all.

You can find Helen on the pages of The Artificial Elephant anthology.

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