Chapter 26

The following day William met with his lieutenants in front of the school as was their norm. “Good morning all. How is everyone this morning?” Receiving the usual responses, he said, “Given that classes begin soon, I’m going to briefly open the floor for discussion.”

Lukas cleared his throat deferentially, “I do need to discuss a small matter with you, boss. Somewhat privately would be appreciated.”

William nodded, “Very well, we shall talk over lunch. Any other concerns of the realm?” He waited a moment, “Hearing none, the floor is now closed. Lukas, meet me at the entrance to the quad and we can talk then. In the interim, everyone, get to class.” He nodded to himself as he watched his lieutenants disperse, they were coming along nicely. He mentally made a note to see about deflowering at least Alexandria in the coming week along with possibly Rose, but that was less certain. For his part, he made his way towards the library to check one of his side projects. Her long term value might be limited, but at least for the moment, she provided an interesting distraction. He smiled as he entered the library. He saw her behind the counter and her frown as she looked his way wiped the smile from his face at the same time as he arched an eyebrow.

The woman tilted her head ever-so-slightly towards one of the stacks and relaxed minutely as her young lover nodded his head a few millimeters.

William casually strode towards the research section to see if they had anything particularly useful pertaining to local history, which ‘just happened’ to take him past the area where Lindsey had indicated. He wasn’t surprised in the least to find AP Stein lurking. He smiled pleasantly at her even as she glared daggers at him. He mentally sighed, “I’m going to have to deal with that upstart bitch sooner rather than later. I’ve already got Becky just about ready to eat my ass but I’m going to need a lot more information before I can bring the bitch to heel.” He started to peruse the shelves and more than once bemoaned his lack of height as he had to repeatedly get the library stool to even look at the top shelf. He did his best to keep track of seemingly aggressive woman, but when a group of students walked in, he knew it was a lost cause. Unless something changed radically, it appeared he’d be unable to converse with Lindsey this morning. Whilst he could easily pull the ‘help getting a book’ scam, it would look suspicious if used too frequently. He was mildly disappointed to have his free period segue into Social Studies without a summons from Becky.

When the lunch bell tolled, William was close to seething; the only part of that infernal class that was even remotely challenging was his having to keep his personal views in order. He nodded to Lukas as he entered the Quad. He led the way over to where he’d first met Rose, well out of the way. “So, what can I do for you Lukas?”

The (much) larger teen sighed, “I need a favor. My younger brother, Freddy, is looking for a job and I was hoping that you’d be willing to provide one.”

William nodded slowly, “I take it then he’s ... unsuited for ... our lifestyle?”

“Ours, I’m not sure. Mine, absolutely.”

Though he had a very good idea what Lukas meant, William cocked his head, inviting further information.

“He’s a good guy, and I think he’s reliable, but he’s not...” Lukas sighed, “He’s not comfortable with violence; which is my shtick with you. Even if he can handle the stress of your ... activities, I seriously doubt that he could handle the violence that’s a part of my job.”

“Which is why you don’t simply make him a part of your crew,” King said with a nod. “What can you tell me about him?”

“He’s kind of a geek. He’s always got his nose in a book of some kind.” Lukas sighed again, “No one in the family really understands him; not Mom, not me, not Dad, and definitely not Mark, my older brother.” The last was added at his boss’s arched eyebrow.

William nodded, “Alright, I’ll meet him and form my own impression. However, you do understand that if he sees something he shouldn’t and he reacts too poorly...”

Brasi nodded somberly, “Then he’ll have to be dealt with. I understand. I hope it won’t come to that, and I seriously doubt that it will, but I understand. When do you want to meet Freddy?”

William said, “This afternoon if you can arrange it. Depending upon my read of him, I have at least two different employment options for him. For now, let us go sit with the girls.”

&*&

When it came time for gym in the afternoon, despite knowing it was a requirement, William was seething once more. For reasons that should be painfully obvious, he had a pointed aversion to round ball; basketball. He made a good showing of himself despite his disadvantage, but he wasn’t able to put on the show he preferred to in regards to athletics; or anything else for that matter.

He took a deep breath as he walked into the Library and smiled pleasantly at Lindsey even as he saw Lukas standing next to a young man; maybe a year younger than Lukas, so roughly William’s age, with the same curly black hair. He wasn’t nearly as well built as his brother. On the other hand, if Lukas’ eyes were alight with intelligence, then Freddy’s were positively glowing.

Lukas cleared his throat, “Boss, this is my brother Freddy. Freddy, this is William King, my boss. Show him proper respect,” the young man growled at his brother.

William merely raised his hand, “Thank you Lukas; that will be all.”

The senior Brasi nodded at the obvious dismissal and walked over to where the poker game was starting.