Sid : the Devil's secretary

29. The red mile

29. The red mile

"Sid?" Sid heard a welcoming voice over the line.

"Lucifer, sir. How's your business trip?" the secretary sounded glad.

"just taking care of things as usual. I have a request of you. first, did you sign the deal with the Nazis?" Lucifer asked.

"we had a long talk, but we buffed out all the edges" Sid replied.

"good. What I need you to do next may require some stamina and resilience" Lucifer continued.

"what would that be?" Sid questioned.

"do you have a pen and paper?" Lucifer compelled his assistant to begin taking notes.

"yep" Sid began to write four names, four occupations and four locations across town where they were commonly seen.

"great. I need you to find these people for me. they come highly recommended in their fields of expertise and I'd like to have them on board for my personal gain" Lucifer explained.

"then I'll get right on it, sir. Stay safe" Sid put down the phone and walked out of the office just as several suited office clerks came with cleaning supplies for the devastated office of their ruler and CEO. His first target was in his home neighborhood of Sheol on the south west side at his usual firing range where he had originally come to celebrate his promotion. Inside the concrete building, Sid saw several people in stalls firing guns across a hall at paper targets. A well-built brown haired man in camo gear caught Sid's attention from across the room as he was firing a rifle at his paper target.

"excuse me, are you Cole?" Sid approached the man.

"who's asking?" the man turned.

"king Lucifer" Sid reiterated.

"are you shitting me?" the man gave a small laugh.

"frankly not" Sid stood without a sense of humor about him.

"well if his highness wants me so badly, he'll have to earn it. Do you know how to shoot?" Cole asked the seemingly inept noob, who took a similar rifle off a nearby wall and shot Cole's target clear in the head.

"does that answer your question?" Sid called out over the shots. Soon the two were outside the firing range for a competition, both clad in roller skates, rifles, and bandoliers of shots on their chests.

"it's simple. I got some guys to place targets at the intersections of Yama drive, Baron way, and along the lava lake of the citadel. There are also more targets leading up to a green patch near Vittorio's green. If I win, I don't have to listen to your crap, but if you win, I'll come work for you" Cole explained the rules.

"bring it on" Sid accepted the challenge as Cole shot a single round into the air, starting the race. Initially, Cole seemed to have the upper hand, hitting most of his targets swiftly before zooming off through the cleared streets to the finish. Sid had very little experience with skates, but soon got the hang of it and managed to catch up to Cole around the lava lakes of the citadel. Both skaters ditched their skates over open ground in this dry biathlon through to Vittorio's green. Cole had slight trouble reloading his rifle, giving Sid the necessary lead to hit the final target at a flower bed on the meadows of the green to win.

"I must say, I'm impressed. Count me in" Cole caught up and congratulated the victor before walking off with his pride intact.

"good, you start Monday...one down, three to go" Sid walked off a separate way to find his next quarry.

"I've got it... Carlos, do you mind if I take you to lunch?" an idea sparked in Sid's mind, an idea that made him run to the nearest payphone he could find. Despite the presence of Wi-Fi in Hell, payphones were still very widespread to cater to the older breed or those that had little time telling touch screens from calculators. Sid was one of them, as a man from the fifties. He called Carlos and arranged a reservation at Siccaro's, a bustling restaurant in northern Elysium. Rose bushes grew in groves outside the dining area sprawling over two floors and onto the pavement as the red sun was still high in the sky.

"great place Sid. What made you want to come here?" Carlos felt impressed by his flame's choice of venue while sitting out under a parasol at a table for two. Each table had fine crafted glassware, cutlery, ceramics, and a picnic blanket like covering, even a rose in a glass to add to the ambience.

"I just thought I would treat you" Sid rested his chin on his hand while looking at Carlos through his glasses.

"consider me treated" Carlos replied. Little did he know the real reason Sid wanted to come here.

"just go to go for a sec. if the waiter comes, could you order me the ribeye?. thanks" Sid slipped his way to the bathrooms before diverting to the main kitchen, where dozens of cooks dressed in red were preparing the day's special treats for the lunch hour.

"oh, okay. Hurry back" Carlos waited.

"sorry sir. Does a Mark work here?" Sid asked a tall toque wearing man who appeared to be the head chef.

"sure, he's in the back. MARK!!!" the head chef called out through the crowd of cooks to a strawberry blond young man who slithered through effortlessly to meet Sid and his boss.

"yes chef?" the man said.

"this accountant needs you" the head chef walked off, leaving Mark alone with Sid.

"who are you?" the boy asked.

"a man with a plan" Sid smiled.

"where do I come into it?" Mark continued.

"as a personal chef to the king of Hell in the royal pantry at his palace" Sid suggested.

"really?" Mark looked in disbelief.

"he's read your reviews in the paper. Even by me, your dishes, simply off the charts" Sid gestured to the cook's brilliance.

"you sure?" Mark quizzed the newcomer.

"would a few g's change your mind?" Sid rubbed his fingers together.

"royal kitchen, Eh?. Worth a shot" Mark shook Sid's hand then returned to the depths of the kitchen.

"good" Sid said to himself before heading back to his table.

"that took you a while" Carlos noticed.

"sorry, been drinking a lot this morning" Sid sat back down.

"well it looks like you're just in time" Carlos saw the waiter arriving with their lunch, looking as succulent and enticing as they had been told.