![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Kilroys_Office.png\" "\\"The")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harry Kilroy wore his office like a pair of comfortable pyjamas. He was a sweaty, squat man with dark greasy hair combed into a side-parting and a fussy little pointed moustache on his upper lip. A fat cigar sat between his equally fat lips, lazily waggling up and down in his mouth as he sucked on it, much like a child sucking on its pacifier. Today he was wearing his smoking jacket, along with a string vest and a pair of tropical boxer shorts with the crotch stitched up, and just to feel particularly relaxed he was wearing his cracked leather sandals. He was lying back in his armchair, a leather recliner that showed the signs of wear and tear from possibly two or three different previous owners, and put his feet up on his desk, which was part of an old aircraft wing that had been welded into the wall. There was a piece of paper in his hand that he\u2019d been pondering, one with a fancy letterhead, one that had been addressed to him personally and had caused him a terrible amount of deliberation. He watched the passersby below through the one window in his office, a large elliptical frame with panes that had also once belonged to an aircraft cockpit, but not the same one his desk had been taken from. Harry was very much a pilot, but of the different sort. His job was to steer people to where they were needed, and he was very good at it.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Harry](\"http:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/MercsTale_Harry_Kilroy.png\" "\\"Harry")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFrom the control booth over the other side of the room, his large thug of an associate Rodney watched security feeds on a row of monitors, each of varying size and quality given the patchwork nature of the office. Rodney had a tall face and a bent nose, with a bowl haircut. He stirred from his dead-eyed stare at the monitors, and called over to his boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGot McCracken, Blaise and their mage pal \u2018ere for you, Mr. Kilroy. At the door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHmm,\u201d replied Harry, sinking down lower into his chair, apparently in deep thought. He wiped a trickle of sweat from the end of his nose. \u201cMaybe? Could I\u2026? Should I\u2026?\u201d he murmured to himself. He looked at the paper in his hand once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMr. Kilroy?\u201d repeated Rodney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Bugger it,\u201d sneered Harry, crumpling the paper into a ball and dropping it at his feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShall I tell \u2018em to piss off an\u2019 come back later?\u201d asked Rodney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, no need for that Rodders,\u201d said Harry, hoisting himself back up into his seat. He had a nasal voice, one that sounded like it believed it was upper class despite all evidence to the contrary. \u201cLet them in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodney thumbed a toggle switch on the panel in front of him and there was a sudden whirring from a distant generator. One of the strip lights blinked, crackled and then phased back to life as one of the walls on the lower floor began to clank upwards, hoisted by a rudimentary pulley and a series of gears. There was a clunk as the door came to the top of the mechanism, and when the sound of footsteps began to echo on the metal stairs Rodney toggled the switch again to lower the door, before going back to staring at one of the monitors which was depicting a fazeball1<\/a><\/sup> game in monochrome with no sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug appeared in the stairwell, followed closely by Blaise and the robed man. They stepped into the office and stood for a moment. Harry perked up, the cigar rolling in his grinning mouth as he opened his arms wide in welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDougie McCracken! Back so soon? Did you miss me?\u201d greeted Harry. The mercenaries began to make their way towards his desk, the mage hanging back. Getting to Harry\u2019s desk was a task in itself, what with the cables and piles of paper scattered around the floor. As they stepped around and over the obstacles in their path, three automated machineguns encased within half-domes in the ceiling sprang to life and started to track them, whirring on their axles as they maintained their line of sight with the approaching visitors. The mercenaries ignored them \u2013 they had been here before, and the guns were there just for Harry\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello Mr. Kilroy,\u201d said Doug, flicking away the dog-end of a finished cigarette. \u201cNoticed we didn\u2019t have to sit in the lobby today and wait. Only got Rodney on security?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a slow day,\u201d explained Harry. \u201cAnd Trigger\u2019s popped out to do a little message work, collecting from a courier. Have a seat, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were no seats for the visitors in front of Harry\u2019s desk. Blaise sat on the corner of one of the generator boxes half-welded to the wall next to her, and Doug moved an old broken computer from the top of a wooden crate to the floor, before shifting the box closer to the desk and perching himself on top of it. The robed man remained stood a few feet back, arms crossed and looking around his surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo business, then,\u201d said Harry. \u201cWhere\u2019s my fucking money?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Mr. Kilroy. You\u2019ll get your ten percent from the last job,\u201d replied Doug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThirty,\u201d Harry corrected instantly, reaching for the cigar case on his desk and proffering it to Doug, who frowned as he selected one of the cigars for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStandard\u2019s ten,\u201d stated Blaise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you\u2019re not standard customers, now, are you? Or are you forgetting about the Dalminettis last month?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, not this again,\u201d Doug complained as he carefully lit his cigar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, this again. Ol\u2019 Harry had to run a bit of maintenance after you left him in the lurch on that. You\u2019re lucky I managed to get them to come around to the idea that it wasn\u2019t worth actively pursuing you lot. Until you pay me back for the trouble you caused, you, Blaise and Mister Twilight over there\u2019ll be paying the extra 20 percent. I say that\u2019s a good deal, all things considered,\u201d Harry explained, his words stirring the mage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy name isn\u2019t \u2018Twilight\u2019. It\u2019s Gratin,\u201d he replied, not offended but just stating a fact. Blaise stiffened in her seat, Doug puffed a smoke ring in a pause of expectation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m no bigot, friend,\u201d said Harry, shrugging at Gratin. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of guys who\u2019d never let your sort into their premises what with the current political climate, but given the circumstances I think I\u2019ve been pretty nice so far, so I don\u2019t particularly care what you want to call yourself, Mr. Cheese. Or do I have to apologise to the big mage who\u2019s all grown-up and yet can\u2019t stand a little name calling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Point taken,\u201d the mage murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blaise pressed her finger against a post-it note on the generator she was sitting on and, realising that the grotty faded handwriting on it warned of high-voltage shocks, slid off of it on to her feet in a manner that implied that she was just bored of sitting and wasn\u2019t really worried about death by electrical fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, how about a job?\u201d said Doug, getting back to the topic at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs I said, it\u2019s a slow day,\u201d said Harry, slapping the monitor on his desk with the palm of his hand. It flickered to life, showing blocks of sentences with orange monotype on a black background. With a pudgy finger Harry pressed the screen and scrolled it down, looking through the slim pickings on offer. \u201cRogue scientist needs taking out, sounds a bit basic for you guys and the travel costs probably won\u2019t be worth it,\u201d said Harry aloud to himself, scanning through the criminal\u2019s job board2<\/a><\/sup>. \u201c\u2026The Russians have a job, but it requires subtlety and will be in a public area so that rules you lot out…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He scrolled through and tapped at the monitor, but after a few minutes he gave up, leaning back in his chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t honestly say there\u2019s anything worth your time,\u201d said Harry cheerfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut-\u201d Doug went to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c-Except! I\u2019m Harry gods-damn Kilroy, and that means that I know of all the jobs that aren\u2019t being circulated in the regular places. It\u2019s why you come to me, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The familiar whirr began again as someone entered on the lower floor. The mercs turned expectantly as the tall figure of Trigger emerged from the stairwell, a blank paper folder in his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd here it is!\u201d beamed Harry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrigger\u2019s got a job?\u201d asked Doug, confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes! Er, no. I mean, give us the file, Trig,\u201d said Harry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trigger made his way across the room and passed the folder into Harry\u2019s hand. He opened it and began reading from the pages inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMercenaries needed for search and destroy mission, main objective is sabotage prevention. Must be professional. Reward given upon deaths of targets. Good tracking skills and familiarity with explosives essential. Pay upwards of 10,000 Kronz.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s gotta be a typo,\u201d Doug replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo typo,\u201d said Harry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug surveyed his companions\u2019 reactions. Gratin stayed as silent as ever, Blaise looked to be doing some quick calculations, her arms crossed across her chest whilst a finger idly tapped against her arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSounds as though they expect us to be disarming a bomb or something. We normally end up setting them off,\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have the utmost confidence in my ability to contain an explosion in such an eventuality,\u201d Gratin interjected. \u201cI do have a way with fire, after all.\u201d Blaise couldn\u2019t help but smile at the mage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow could I forget?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s no problem then, eh? It\u2019s worth a look. How do we get in touch with the client?\u201d Doug asked, turning his attention back to Harry, who proceeded to search the document for the relevant information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019re holding a meeting to give a full brief to any applicants in an old warehouse up on Plate 3, I\u2019ll write down the address. Looks like they\u2019re treating this like a bounty though so you might have some competition, but I\u2019m sure it\u2019s nothing you guys can\u2019t handle,\u201d said Harry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug nodded and once again looked to his companions to see whether or not it was a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, all right. I guess it won\u2019t do any harm just to look,\u201d Blaise agreed. Gratin nodded to show his vote and Doug grinned as he lifted himself up from his seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s settled then; we\u2019ll check it out and wire your thirty percent to you if we take the job. Thanks Harry,\u201d he announced, shaking Harry\u2019s hand to seal the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll phone ahead and give my endorsement to let them know you\u2019re coming!\u201d Harry announced as the mercs left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harry waited for them to leave, for the whirring of the door closing to stop downstairs before he reached for the phone on his desk, tapping in the number for the automated operator. Trigger leant down and picked up the crumpled paper ball at his feet, unravelling it and raising an eyebrow in curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this, Mr. Kilroy?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat, my good friend, is a very big meal ticket,\u201d sneered Harry. The paper had the iconic diamond symbol of Salmanic Incorporated on it, as well as the address for Salmanic Tower up on the top plate far above them. Trigger looked over at the open folder in Harry\u2019s lap, and noted that the pages inside it had the same icon on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello?\u201d said Harry on the phone, \u201cOperator? Hello, could you please put me through to Salmanic Tower? Reverse charges? Oh I\u2019m sure they won\u2019t mind. Tell them it\u2019s Harry Kilroy. They\u2019ll know what to do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The makeshift office of Harry \u201cthe Fixer\u201d Kilroy took the form of a layer-cake of sheet metal supported by bars that had been welded into what could vaguely be called the building\u2019s infrastructure, insofar that the place could be classed as a building with an infrastructure in the same way…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[32,36,31,35,33,34,9,26],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-mercenaries-tale","tag-blaise","tag-crime","tag-doug-mccracken","tag-fazeball","tag-gratin","tag-harry-the-fixer-kilroy","tag-the-mercs","tag-undercit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payneful.co.uk\/tales-of-sin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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