Broker Chapter 8: Always Read the Fine Print
- Location
- Oklahoma
Broker Chapter 8: Always Read the Fine Print.
I look down at the swirling ball of light and power in my hand for a moment, before I shake my head ruefully and chuckle as I look at the three Merchants in the room.
"Got a bit of ahead of myself there, didn't even think about shelf life, or any other benefits for that matter."
Squeeler's expression conveys curiosity, even with the domino mask, as she tilts her blonde head slightly before speaking. "So, what'd ya mean by other benefits, it gets ya high don't it?"
Looking at Martin's and Skidmark's expressions before I replied to the female tinker's question, apparently they were both curious about what I meant.
"Oh it'll get you high, the problem is that the manifestation time is currently set at a default of thirty seconds." I paused for a moment before continuing as Skidmark started laughing, followed quickly by Martin.
"The capsule would appear, then vanish thirty seconds later, which would mean Martin would end up having to do a communion wafer routine every time someone bought a dose!"
Martin goes wide eyed and starts to sputter and cough before dropping his cigarette. "Nope, that shit ain't gonna work Johnny!"
Skidmark gives Martin a glare as he spoke, before looking over at me and sighing. "Well fuck, Johnny, since Marty boy can't keep his fuckin yap shut, the names Adam, and this here's Sherrel." He jerks his thumb over towards Squeeler as he says this.
It's hilarious watching Martin facepalm when Skidmark pulls his domino mask off and tosses it over his shoulder, this causes Squeeler, aka Sherrel, to fall off the bed laughing.
I find it amazing just how much a simple domino mask can change the shape of someone's face. Adam's facial features are very different in obvious ways from Skidmark's, higher cheekbones being what stand out the most.
"Adam, Sherrel, pleasure to meet you, my name's Johnny." I say as dryly as I can, before I can't hold it in any more and start to chuckle.
"Okay… Okay, now where were we?" I said as I looked back down to the glowing manifestation of power in my hand. "Oh yeah, shelf life, let's see… I think five hundred years should do the trick." A few seconds of concentrating after I finished speaking and starburst lines of crystal clear energy bloom through the golden globe in my hand, seeming to bring stability and balance to the randomly flowing swirls of energy.
After a few seconds of looking over the changes to the soon to be power, I sigh before speaking again. "I also forgot about having it restore the brain's ability to produce and absorb dopamine and oxytocin, and restore chemical balances in the brain, I'm gonna have it do that one slowly though." A moment of concentration later and a light green, almost fractal fern leaf pattern twists through the energy.
Martin gets a thoughtful look on his face as he taps the butt of his unlit cigarette against the pack on the table. " you weren't joking about not selling poison anymore were you, Johnny?"
"Nope, Martin, I wasn't joking at all." I reply in a serious tone, before glancing down at the globe of glowing power.
I raise my eyes from where the sphere rests in my hand and look around the room at the three Merchants. "Now just the glowy piss left to take care of... I'm thinking having it last an hour after dosing will be long enough, have the colors randomize per dose, and cause your breath to smell like mint."
Squeeler, who was still sprawled at the foot of the bed had been getting her giggle fit under some semblance of control, manages to grasp out a question. "The piss… like mint... or the pill?" Before she's off to giggling uncontrollably again.
Adam's face splits into a bright eyed, manic grin as he whips his head towards me. "How about fuckin both?"
Martin's wide eyed and sputtering a laugh at this, before fumbling his lighter and dropping it onto the table with a clatter.
"Sure, that's easy enough to do." I replied while shrugging my shoulders and concentrating on the developing power. Orange and cream colored clouds bloom along the bottom half of the sphere, blending in a balance with the other shapes and flows of color.
I wait a few minutes for everyone to get the laughter out of their systems, before I turn towards Martin and grin.
"I think it's done… So how's it sound so far, do you like the idea of a product that gets you high, has novelty appeal, and fixes chemical imbalances in the brain?" I ask him in my 'showman's' voice, before snapping my fingers and collapsing the multicolored ball of light and power into an octagonal sided crystal bottle that rests in the palm of my hand, the liquid inside shining and shimmering with all the colors it held when it was a sphere of energy.
"Now that, motherfucker!" Adam exclaims loudly, his eyes fixed on the glowing bottle that I set on the table with a tap. "That is how you sell fuckin product!"
The Merchant leader bounces to his feet with a manic smile and wild eyes. "You said thirty grand for this, right?" He exclaimed while pointing at the glowing bottle.
"And ten grand for getting rid of the fu-jizz monkey fuck-tourettes!" Skidmark's, not Adam at this moment, but Skidmark's eyes blaze and his face twists into a frustrated snarl, as he spits out words that are not under his control.
This seems to be one of those 'I never noticed until you said something!' situations.
"So do we have a deal" I ask as I hold out my hand for him to shake.
"Damn right we do!" Skidmark says as he grabs my hand to shake it vigorously.
I grin like a demon and rip the power out of the Merchant leader, my face lighting up by the twisting purple glow of his manifested power forming a sphere in my other hand.
I look down at the swirling ball of light and power in my hand for a moment, before I shake my head ruefully and chuckle as I look at the three Merchants in the room.
"Got a bit of ahead of myself there, didn't even think about shelf life, or any other benefits for that matter."
Squeeler's expression conveys curiosity, even with the domino mask, as she tilts her blonde head slightly before speaking. "So, what'd ya mean by other benefits, it gets ya high don't it?"
Looking at Martin's and Skidmark's expressions before I replied to the female tinker's question, apparently they were both curious about what I meant.
"Oh it'll get you high, the problem is that the manifestation time is currently set at a default of thirty seconds." I paused for a moment before continuing as Skidmark started laughing, followed quickly by Martin.
"The capsule would appear, then vanish thirty seconds later, which would mean Martin would end up having to do a communion wafer routine every time someone bought a dose!"
Martin goes wide eyed and starts to sputter and cough before dropping his cigarette. "Nope, that shit ain't gonna work Johnny!"
Skidmark gives Martin a glare as he spoke, before looking over at me and sighing. "Well fuck, Johnny, since Marty boy can't keep his fuckin yap shut, the names Adam, and this here's Sherrel." He jerks his thumb over towards Squeeler as he says this.
It's hilarious watching Martin facepalm when Skidmark pulls his domino mask off and tosses it over his shoulder, this causes Squeeler, aka Sherrel, to fall off the bed laughing.
I find it amazing just how much a simple domino mask can change the shape of someone's face. Adam's facial features are very different in obvious ways from Skidmark's, higher cheekbones being what stand out the most.
"Adam, Sherrel, pleasure to meet you, my name's Johnny." I say as dryly as I can, before I can't hold it in any more and start to chuckle.
"Okay… Okay, now where were we?" I said as I looked back down to the glowing manifestation of power in my hand. "Oh yeah, shelf life, let's see… I think five hundred years should do the trick." A few seconds of concentrating after I finished speaking and starburst lines of crystal clear energy bloom through the golden globe in my hand, seeming to bring stability and balance to the randomly flowing swirls of energy.
After a few seconds of looking over the changes to the soon to be power, I sigh before speaking again. "I also forgot about having it restore the brain's ability to produce and absorb dopamine and oxytocin, and restore chemical balances in the brain, I'm gonna have it do that one slowly though." A moment of concentration later and a light green, almost fractal fern leaf pattern twists through the energy.
Martin gets a thoughtful look on his face as he taps the butt of his unlit cigarette against the pack on the table. " you weren't joking about not selling poison anymore were you, Johnny?"
"Nope, Martin, I wasn't joking at all." I reply in a serious tone, before glancing down at the globe of glowing power.
I raise my eyes from where the sphere rests in my hand and look around the room at the three Merchants. "Now just the glowy piss left to take care of... I'm thinking having it last an hour after dosing will be long enough, have the colors randomize per dose, and cause your breath to smell like mint."
Squeeler, who was still sprawled at the foot of the bed had been getting her giggle fit under some semblance of control, manages to grasp out a question. "The piss… like mint... or the pill?" Before she's off to giggling uncontrollably again.
Adam's face splits into a bright eyed, manic grin as he whips his head towards me. "How about fuckin both?"
Martin's wide eyed and sputtering a laugh at this, before fumbling his lighter and dropping it onto the table with a clatter.
"Sure, that's easy enough to do." I replied while shrugging my shoulders and concentrating on the developing power. Orange and cream colored clouds bloom along the bottom half of the sphere, blending in a balance with the other shapes and flows of color.
I wait a few minutes for everyone to get the laughter out of their systems, before I turn towards Martin and grin.
"I think it's done… So how's it sound so far, do you like the idea of a product that gets you high, has novelty appeal, and fixes chemical imbalances in the brain?" I ask him in my 'showman's' voice, before snapping my fingers and collapsing the multicolored ball of light and power into an octagonal sided crystal bottle that rests in the palm of my hand, the liquid inside shining and shimmering with all the colors it held when it was a sphere of energy.
"Now that, motherfucker!" Adam exclaims loudly, his eyes fixed on the glowing bottle that I set on the table with a tap. "That is how you sell fuckin product!"
The Merchant leader bounces to his feet with a manic smile and wild eyes. "You said thirty grand for this, right?" He exclaimed while pointing at the glowing bottle.
"And ten grand for getting rid of the fu-jizz monkey fuck-tourettes!" Skidmark's, not Adam at this moment, but Skidmark's eyes blaze and his face twists into a frustrated snarl, as he spits out words that are not under his control.
This seems to be one of those 'I never noticed until you said something!' situations.
"So do we have a deal" I ask as I hold out my hand for him to shake.
"Damn right we do!" Skidmark says as he grabs my hand to shake it vigorously.
I grin like a demon and rip the power out of the Merchant leader, my face lighting up by the twisting purple glow of his manifested power forming a sphere in my other hand.
