The Second Layer

Chapter 6: Garen

Chapter 6: Garen

"Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Johnson," Garen Carnus said as he dropped into a seat at the room's only desk.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Reis. I understand you're interested in purchasing one of my pieces," Johnson said as he re-seated himself on the other side of the desk, using the fake name that Garen had given him. They were in a very nice office, plush carpeting, expensive bookcases. Johnson was a collector of sorts. He acquired a variety of valuable objects, and while it wasn't for the express purpose of selling them, he had no compunction against parting with them for a high enough profit. Garen had tracked the item he was searching for from the freak who'd previously owned it to this man, who'd managed to purchase it from an estate sale after the freak's death.

"That I am. I'm looking for a very specific piece in fact. A knife with about a five inch blade, it has a black handle with an eye design on each side and two red tears falling from each of the eyes," Garen said, describing it precisely as it had been described to him.

A few seconds into the description he saw Johnson's face twitch, after which the man's expression went completely neutral. Almost too neutral. And there was suddenly an odd look in the man's eyes as he began to speak. "It's interesting that you should mention that piece. While the design is unique, it's not especially valuable. It's not made of rare materials. In fact it's almost more of a novelty than a collector's item. What brought you to desire this piece in particular?"

"I knew the previous owner, and I always admired the knife while he had it. It had been a long time since I'd seen him last though, and I wasn't aware he'd died until recently. I discovered that you were the one who purchased the knife after his death, and so in turn I'd like to purchase it from you," Garen lied smoothly. But it wasn't like he was going to explain the nature of the knife, nor mention who'd hired him to hunt it down.

"Still, you must realize you could probably get a new knife made with a similar design for far less than the price I'd ask for this one. So there must be something more than simple admiration involved," Johnson replied.

"I have nothing else to remember my friend by. So let's just say the knife has sentimental value to me, as a memento of him. Enough to make it worth the additional cost required to take it off your hands," Garen said, hoping the man didn't notice he'd only now tacked on the 'friend' part.

Johnson studied him for a long moment, that strange look still in his eyes, before finally just shrugging. "I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I recently sold that piece to another man who, like you, came looking specifically for it. He made a surprisingly generous offer. Far more than I would've expected for a knife like that one."

Garen had to bite back on a surge of annoyance, resisting the impulse to ask why the man hadn't just told him that to begin with. Instead he put a smile on his face, striving to look as relaxed as possible. "Well, if possible, I'd appreciate it if you could give me a way to contact this man. A phone number, an address, whatever you might have available. I believe I could make him an offer that might convince him to part with it."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Reis. I hold in high regard the confidentiality of all those who make purchases from me. Unless they specifically ask me to release their information to other potential buyers, I don't give it out. And I'm afraid this man made no such request," Johnson said. Partway through it however, his face twitched again. And the man was regularly shifting in his seat. That along with the look in his eyes told Garen very clearly that the man was on edge. The question was why.

That this mystery buyer who'd purchased the knife was another freak went without question. The odds of a human coming to look for that particular knife and being willing to offer Johnson a substantial amount for it were abysmal. Another freak however would know that what would seem a large amount for so simple an item to Johnson was in reality only a fraction of the knife's real worth. A larikin that could easily be used as a weapon was worth a small fortune in the right circles. This only made it more imperative that he get useful information from Johnson, though. If the buyer indeed was a freak, they could potentially be much harder to track down than a human would be.