Joe stood at the window in Mary’s office, watching the wind parade rubbish along the street below. As the detritus skipped from spot to spot Joe considered his options. Behind him, at her desk, Mary sat reading the days paper with an occasional eye flicking to Joe’s back. Opposite her sat another man whose stature was so immense it made the chair seem as if it were designed for a child. A navy blue cap snugly hugged his crown which accentuated the tops of his ears. From beneath the cap, just above his right eye, a thick purple scar rose like a mountain range crossing his face, which terminated just before his chin. The man sat with his eyes closed, and his hand cradled as if in meditation.
Joe looked back at the man with a sense of trepidation. The man emitted a quiet promise of violence despite his casual posture. Joe could almost taste the danger in the air. He returned to watch a bag of crisps spin in the air and then promptly collide with a poor woman's face who was passing by. Joe couldn't tell if he was the empty bag of crisps or the unfortunate woman. Before Joe lay his future, and the large man, if he wished, could be his temporary guide. Joe scratched his chin. “What sort of training will I be subjected to?” he asked the man, whilst Mary visibly paled behind her paper. The man merely send a gush of air though his nostrils in reply. Joe looked at Mary who shrugged weakly. “Like we said Joe, it's a leap of faith on your part. Before you lays a road paved by agony, but a road with a destination all the same. If, and it's a big if, you make it down this road, you will have the strength and more importantly skills, to deal with what's to come.” She folded the paper onto the desk. “You must go into this blind yet with an unshakeable resolve. How far” she looked meaningfully at Joe” are you willing to go to see justice for your father?”
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Joe felt a bit manipulated. Yes, he wanted answers. Yes he wanted skills to discover the truth. And yes, most likely he would have to seek justice for whatever had happened to his dad in the end. Still, the frightening silence from the man, and the obvious fear from Mary gave him pause. And why could they not just bloody well tell him what he would be signing up to. Bloody riddles! He fumed.
He turned his sights back to the street to watch a homeless man be harrassed by a pair of coppers. They pulled him from his cardboard bastion which was uncermoniosly dismantled. Parts of the castle were picked up and whisked away by the wind, future unknown. The homeless man was shoved into the back of a waiting car and soon the doorway he once claimed was a mere doorstep once again. Joe felt a sense of angst as he watched the scene, remembering too his own helplessness in similar situations. He patted down his wild hair and turned to the pair. “I accept”.