Volume I

Chapter 3

Delivery

It was just around noon now, as Jacob and Blaire approached TraDa’s Breakfast Diner just up the street from his food wagon. It didn’t seem like much, but Jacob assured Blaire they had quite the spectacular breakfast menu. As they entered the establishment, they were promptly greeted by a female waitress who gave them a bright, welcoming smile.

“Welcome to TraDa’s Breakfast Diner! Just the two?”

“Yes ma’am!” Jacob gave her a toothy grin.

“Right this way!”

The waitress led the two a few tables down, before placing a set of menus and some silverware and napkins. Jacob and Blaire took their seats opposite of one another, eager to fill their hungry bellies.

“Can I get you two anything to drink?”

Blaire was the first to answer. “Can I get a coffee and some half & half?”

“Make that a double,” said Jacob.

“My pleasure, I’ll be back briefly!” The waitress bowed slightly before heading towards the kitchen, leaving the two alone for the moment.

“I’ll admit this is the first time I’ve eaten out since I moved here,” Blaire admitted shamefully.

“Oh? So you cook then? Are you any good?” Jacob leaned forward, interlacing his fingers and smiling gently.

“Oh, I guess I gave it away, didn’t I?” Blaire blushed a little. “Actually yes! I’m rather decent, if I must say. My old house maid would teach me to cook with her when my parents were away.”

“House maid? You had a house maid?” Jacob seemed surprised.

Blaire immediately fell silent, she had become so charmed by Jacob’s easygoingness that she had mistakenly revealed a detail that she had not intended to spill so early.

“Yeah, it was nothing, really. She was a nice woman…”

“Your parents must have been well off if they had a house maid. What kind of duties did she have?”

“I must apologize, I didn’t mean to talk about it like that. I was just trying to explain who had taught me to cook. Can we stick with that, if you don’t mind? Please forgive me!”

Jacob chuckled, holding his hands up to soothe Blaire’s suddenly anxious behavior. “Hey, no worries. When you want to talk about something, you do so. If you don’t, that’s your prerogative. It’s not like I don’t have my own secrets, you know!”

His words definitely soothed her mind, and her defenses relented somewhat as she settled back into her seat. She smiles warmly, happy that she hadn’t put him off. After feeling at ease again, Blaire continued.

“Anyways, the other night I cooked a meatloaf and some baked potatoes. It was really good! She would have been proud I think.”

“I agree, Blaire. I hope I get the honor of being able to enjoy a dish of yours one day. What do you think, in your personal opinion, is your finest culinary creation?”

“Oh? Hm, that’s a tough one! I’d have to say, it was probably this mashed potato recipe I was taught once! Definitely above par, though honestly I just really really love mashed potatoes! In fact, I think the potato is my favorite food ever! Hash browns, baked, mashed… I just love potatoes! Except scalloped… That shit is cursed!”

“Couldn’t agree more, my Grandmother always made scalloped potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner and I always wanted to puke when I smelt it.”

The two giggled humorously in unison, their laughter subsiding as they gazed back at each other with hearty, innocent smiles. For the brief moment of silence, Blaire found herself really enjoying herself. It had been so long that she’d talked with such a dashingly handsome, young man. He was quite a conversationalist as well, and always seemed interested in knowing more about herself. It made her giddy. However, she wanted to learn more about Jacob as well.

“So you said you lived in Valdez your entire life? Do you not have any family left here in town?” Blaire was curious to know more.

“My old folks bit the dust shortly after I was born, and my father pretty much fled for the greener pastures after my birth,” Jacob answered casually. “My mother passed away three years ago, lung cancer. The old hag never could quit smokin’. I’m an only child, and so was my mother, and my grandparents ironically. No aunts, nephews or cousins that I’m aware of so far. So yeah, just me is all that’s left.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to have asked!” Blaire felt horrible, she had no idea that Jacob had been born with such a terrible hand. Though, he seemed rather chipper about it.

“Don’t be, nobody’s ever cared before so I’m actually flattered you cared enough to ask,” Jacob assured. “I loved my mother, but she suffered a lot during her time. If it’s any consolation, she died in her sleep peacefully before the cancer got too rough on her.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Jacob. I really am.”

“What about you? Parents with a house maid, I know I shouldn’t pry but you can’t blame me considering you spilled it first! You’ve piqued my curiosity, would you indulge a young man’s interest in a beautiful, young woman’s familial history?”

Despite not wanting to discuss her family, somehow the manner of which Jacob requested to know more had a flirtatious flare. Blaire was blushing all over again, butterflies in her stomach as she looked down nervously with a shy grin. How could she resist such a charming and respectful interest of such a handsome man?

“I’m just afraid you’ll think differently of me, that’s all. I came to Valdez for a reason, Jacob. There’s a reason I have a hard time bringing up my family.”

“Oh trust me, I’ve already figured that much out on my own,” Jacob smiled again, always seeming to smile at every opportunity. Blaire found him near irresistible because of this.

Before they could say another word, the waitress had returned. She placed a cup of freshly brewed coffee in front of each of them. Then she placed a small dishware containing half & half for them to share.

“Are you two ready to order?”

“Yes! I’ll have the corn beef hash, two eggs, scrambled, with rye toast,” said Jacob.

The waitress scribbled his order down furiously, before turning to Blaire. “And you, miss?”

“Can I have the chicken fried steak and eggs, also scrambled, make the hash browns extra crispy on top, fluffy on the inside. No toast please, no biscuit either.”

After writing down Blaire’s order, the waitress smiled. “I’ll have that brought to you soon, thank you for dining with us today!” The waitress headed to another table to take another order.

“So,” Jacob said abruptly, “will you indulge me?”

“Tell you what, let’s compromise,” Blaire negotiated, not wanting to give the details of her past life away so easily.

“Deal, what’s the compromise?”

“Dinner at my place, six in the evening, I’m cooking chicken alfredo tonight with a special ingredient. Is that… Alright?” 

Blaire was nervous, she hadn’t intended to invite a stranger over to her home any time soon, but for some reason she felt immensely comfortable with Jacob. She only hoped he felt the same way about her.

“And you’ll tell me more about yourself? And where you come from?” Jacob raised a brow.

“I promise…” Blaire was very nervous.

Jacob smiled seductively, slowly leaning back into his seat as he placed his palms gently on the table. He then smirked, pucking his lips for a brief moment before nodding his head.

“You got yourself a done deal. Six in the evening. How will I find you?”

“I guess you’ll be needing my number,” Blaire teased, pulling out her phone and unlocking it before clicking her contacts and adding a new one. She typed in Jacob’s name, before handing him the phone to input his number.

Jacob took the phone and entered his number, clicking the save button before handing the phone back to Blaire.

“You won’t ghost me?” Jacob asked, though he didn’t seem to be serious.

“I’ll text you my address with enough time left for you to be on time,” Blaire teased, giving him a wink.

“Oh, shoot!” Jacob pulled out his own phone, he had noticed the time on Blaire’s own device. He looked at the time, and realized it was almost a quarter past noon.

“Is everything alright?” Blaire was almost concerned for a moment.

“Yeah, I just forgot I have to go back to the food wagon really quick and meet my boss. Gotta do the cash transfer and all, remember?”

“I remember! You promise you’ll be back?”

“And miss out on some killer corn beef hash? Not on your life, I’ll be back for sure,” Jacob chuckled as he gave Blaire a wink back, getting up from his seat.

“Less than fifteen minutes I promise, and I’m really sorry! She’s sort of a dunce and doesn’t know how to do it herself. She’ll probably be mad that I closed shop early, but don’t worry it’ll be fine.” 

“Are you sure?” Blaire certainly didn’t want to get Jacob in trouble for skipping on his job.

“Pinky promise,” Jacob held up his pinky, and to amuse him Blaire giddily locked her pinky with his.

“You know what happens if you break a pinky promise!” Blaire teased.

“I would never, especially not my promise to you Blaire.”

Jacob then swiftly left the diner, wanting to rush back as soon as possible to enjoy more time with Blaire.

It had been almost five minutes since Deita had arrived at the food wagon. The window was closed, and the sign flipped to the ‘closed’ position. She sat impatiently at one of the tables, wondering if Jacob had fled. Trust was the last thing she had with the young man, but her master was quite clear in his instructions, so she hoped that Jacob wasn’t foolish enough to waste her master's time and efforts.

Before long, she spotted Jacob rushing towards her in the corner of her eye. She quickly smiled, pursing her lips as she crossed her legs and folded her arms expectantly. Jacob finally reached the table, sitting across from her and cupping his hands on the table.

“So?” Deita asked curtly.

“Yeah, yeah! I have your product,” Jacob quickly spat as he rolled his eyes. 

He wasn’t happy about it, he could feel Liz jostling herself around inside the prescription bottle within his pocket the entire time he was inside of the diner. She had been making a fuss for sure. He reached into his pocket, pulled the bottle out and cupped it in his hand to make sure no passersby would see it. The last thing he needed was for someone to think a drug deal was going down.

“That’s not who I think it is…?” Deita wide eyed the bottle, seemingly anxious to know the occupant.

“Who do you think it is, you retard? You literally requested her yourself.” Jacob knew it was rude, but frankly he hated Deita and would call her whatever names he could get away with.

“Blaire!?” Deita almost appeared to be salivating at the thought of it.

“What!? No! It’s Liz! My cook! Are you fucking stupid? Say Blaire’s name one more damn time and you can kiss your fucking product goodbye!”

“Ah, of course,” Deita reached over and sneakily took the bottle from Jacob’s hand. “You best watch your tone with me, you don’t have to be such an asshole you know!”

“We aren’t friends, now do you have the money?” Jacob realized his anger had gotten his better judgment. He had just surrendered Liz to Deita before obtaining the cash that was promised.

“It took four bags, two and a half each. It’s tucked under the back, left wheel of your food wagon. They’re hidden behind the plywood support, out of view,” Deita informed him.

“I’ll be counting it, every last dollar!” Jacob hissed.

“Sure, if you say so. But Avaramix doesn’t short his suppliers, so if you want to waste your time then knock yourself out.”

“Now if you don’t mind…” Jacob was about to stand up, but Deita held up her hand to stop him.

“Sit,” Deita commanded, “we have more to discuss.”

“I’m on a date! I don’t have time for this,” Jacob spat.

“You best make time, Jacob. We paid you more than fair wage for this specimen, do you understand? Don’t test my fucking patience, plant your ass in that chair. I have some questions that Avaramix would like answered promptly, for our future transactions.”

Jacob was annoyed, but he couldn’t argue with the woman. He was well aware of how dangerous the organization was, but he also knew that they feared him to a certain degree as well. Jacob sat back down, glaring at Deita with hatred untold.

“Was that so difficult? Now then, our master wanted to learn more about your abilities. Would you mind?”

“It’ll cost him,” Jacob answered.

“The price was paid, now begone with your undesirable attitude and comply. For someone who is ten million richer, you sure seem miserable for it!”

“Fine then. What exactly is it he wants to know? And to be clear, if it compromises my position with your organization, I will not answer. Got it?”

“Sure, whatever.” Deita sighed with annoyance, but she had no choice but to proceed. “He wants to know, how difficult is it to do what you do? And how long once you pull the trigger?”

“Difficult? The most difficult part is the time and place. Aside from that, if no one’s watching and no cameras are rolling, it’s the easiest thing in the world. How long after I do the deed? Basically instant, like four to seven seconds depending on their height and weight. Why does this matter?”

“I’ll tell you why,” Deita was pleased with his answer so far, “then if we were to supply you products directly, how many could you shrink at one time? Do you have a timer? A cooldown of sorts? Resting period?”

“You could bring me a hundred people and I’d have them all at an inch height in under ten minutes,” Jacob assured her. “Wait… Are you actually implying that’s the direction you want to go with this? Mass scale?”

“Precisely, I guess you’re not a moron after all,” Deita retorted. “Your product has become quite… Popular. The master would wish for faster delivery of such specimens. Your method is too slow, you have more to lose and risk getting caught too easily in a small town with people who know everyone and everything that goes on in Valdez. It’s time to change tactics.”

Jacob remained silent, and slowly sat back in the metal chair as he entered deep thought. This was taking an abrupt turn, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. It was a hard pill to swallow already, the victims he’d shrunk thus far and delivered to fates unknown to him. Now Avaramix wanted to deliver his victims directly? To mass produce his product on a huge scale? It seemed heinous, no… Nefarious. Jacob wasn’t sure he could do it, then again, what’s the difference between a few innocents and a thousand? Every single victim was damned, what did it matter how many? Did it make a difference in his conscience?

“I’m not sure about this,” Jacob admitted, his stuck up demeanor suddenly fading as nervousness enveloped him.

“Oh Jacob,” Deita giggled wickedly. “Don’t tell me your moral compass is flying off the radar! You remember Alicia? The last woman you delivered to us? I received word of her purchase today, do you have any idea what cruel fate awaits that young woman?”

Jacob glared up at the middle aged woman, but admittedly he had never cared to know about the fate of his victims. However, suddenly, he was interested more than ever. He didn’t know why, he didn’t care before. Something inside him had changed, and he wanted to know.

“I don’t. Tell me, please.”

Deita was surprised. She had meant to torment him and tease him, but Jacob’s entire demeanor had changed. The woman sat back as well, eyeing Jacob auspiciously.

“Alright then. The young woman is supposedly a petulant brat, according to Jinshin, my cohort. Remember her? You met once, months ago.”

“I remember, get to the point,” Jacob snapped.

“Of course. Alicia Portman was sold to this young woman, Camilla is her name if I recall. Quite the catch, if she wasn’t a psychotic nutcase. Apparently her last purchase, the young man you shrunk a month and a half ago, was so tormented by Camilla that he jumped out of her hand the first chance he got and killed himself by plummeting to his death.”

“What did she do that was so horrible?” Jacob leaned closer, his interest killing him now. He had never heard the details of his victims' fates before.

“No clue, it wasn’t asked,” Deita said with dismay. “Alicia apparently sobbed relentlessly, I doubt she’ll last very long with this ‘Camilla’ character. I think this customer will be a repeat one, very often at that. I bet she’ll have a bad habit of breaking her toys.”

“They aren’t toys,” Jacob retorted, “how did the man die when he fell from her palm? I don’t understand.”

“You don’t? Isn’t it obvious?” Deita giggled humorously. “He splattered on the hard, tile floor. He was half an inch tall. How could he possibly have survived?”

“No, that wouldn’t have been enough,” Jacob declared, bringing a hand up to his chin in deep thought.

Deita eyed Jacob suspiciously, it seemed he was keeping some very needed details to himself.

“Explain, what do you mean it wouldn’t have been enough? He was tiny as fuck, wouldn’t that fall kill him? Shouldn’t it?”

“No, you don’t understand,” Jacob answered. “When I shrink somebody, most of their density remains regardless. While not invincible, and it doesn’t take too much effort to harm them, they are more durable than you would think. A fall would have given him a sprained ankle or two, maybe a fractured bone somewhere if they landed in the right spot. No way it would have killed him though. Camilla has to be lying, it’s not possible.”

Deita was speechless, her eyes opening wide with shock. “Seriously!? You must be joking!”

“I’m not, trust me I’ve experimented with this shit. You think I don’t know the extent of my own abilities?”

“Why didn’t you inform us earlier? This changes everything! We can use this as a selling tactic for sure! Durable shrinkies, make em’ last! Avaramix will be very pleased.”

Deita turned her hand, peering at the prescription bottle in her hand. She could see Liz curled up in the fetal position, appearing to be sobbing silently.

“This one’s bigger,” Deita noted aloud.

“Oh, that’s another thing,” Jacob had almost forgotten. “I can make them slightly different sizes.”

“Really?” Deita couldn’t contain her continued shock, it seemed Jacob had been full of surprises today.

“I can’t keep them any bigger than three inches once I’ve triggered my ability. However, after some testing, it seems I can make them as tall as three inches, or as small as half an inch. Any smaller or larger is impossible, at least to my knowledge so far.”

“Is it permanent? I’m just curious.”

“Yes, it’s permanent,” Jacob assured, though he didn’t seem happy to say it. “Unfortunately I learned that the hard way. Once I shrink someone, there’s no going back. They don’t have to eat as much, or drink as much. Their time between urination and excretion is quadrupled as well. It seems they develop hyper metabolisms, along with their dense durability. But like I said, if you step on them for instance, your weight could easily crush them like any other bug. The durability only goes so far.”

“I see,” Deita got a brilliant idea. “This one, Liz, is it? She’s a mute, right? She can’t speak?”

“That’s right,” Jacob confirmed.

“So if I were to indulge before deliverance, she wouldn’t be able to testify?” Deita let a cruel grin spread across her lips.

“She can sign,” Jacob answered.

“Sign?” Deita didn’t understand what that meant.

“Yeah, sign language? She can sign to speak. If anyone knew sign language, they’d be able to communicate with her,” Jacob explained.

“Dutifully noted,” Deita chuckled wickedly again, standing up and placing the bottle into her purse. “You’ve enlightened me today, Jacob. Inside one of the bags of cash is a cell phone, untraceable. You’ll get a call from me in exactly thirty-six hours' time on instructions for what’s next.”

“About that, where exactly would you people be ‘delivering’ products for me to do my thing?” Jacob asked, wanting details immediately. “And we need to discuss the price.”

“Actions are already being taken for such measures,” Deita assured him, “so don’t worry, we won’t pull you out of Valdez and away from your precious Blaire. It’ll be lowkey and untraceable in all manners. Avaramix simply wants no more products from Valdez residents, it’s poor business practice.”

“And the price?” Jacob repeated impatiently.

“Your risk is plummeting to near zero now,” Deita answered. “Therefore the price is changing to something more reasonable. You will be paid two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars per product. You will quit your job as a food wagon peasant and be given a nifty job as a security consultant for a particular automotive industry, those details will come in time.”

“Two-hundred and fifty!? Thousand!? Seriously?” Jacob was not happy to hear this.

“Relax,” Deita calmed him, “your job will be easier, and that’s two-fifty thousand per product. You’ll be delivering ten times the product on a monthly basis from now on, you’ll still be raking in the millions Jacob, and without any of the risk. We’ll launder every last dollar for you, including what you’ve been paid already. You’ll have a successful career as a consultant, and you can impress Blaire with the lesser details. What is there to complain about?”

“I suppose nothing at all,” Jacob murmured, standing up as well and pushing his chair under the table angrily.

“That’s what I thought, now best return to your date,” Deita winked at the young man, turning on her heel and strutting away elegantly.

As Deita returned to her car a few blocks down, Jacob could do nothing else but ponder the situation he was getting himself into. He had never revealed such details regarding his abilities before, and learning about this customer ‘Camilla’ really began to eat away at his conscience.

If Camilla was the type of clientele purchasing his products, that meant his victims had to be suffering in ways he couldn’t even imagine. It didn’t seem to matter to him at first, at least not until he shrunk his own employee, Liz. While they weren’t friends, he had never shrunk anybody that he knew personally before. Three weeks they worked together, and he got to know her quite well in that time.

Jacob was pushing the boundaries, and he knew it. He never cared about anyone before, not really. Not until Blaire, that’s when it all changed. It was clear why, not to him at least. Sure, Blaire was beautiful, stunningly so. A lot of women were, what made Blaire any different? Jacob couldn’t answer that question, he only knew how felt, and he wanted to keep Blaire as far away from this as possible.

It didn’t sit well with him that Deita had her eyes on Blaire, repeatedly considering her as the next product. Jacob would shut that down as harshly as he could, but he didn’t trust Deita. He didn’t trust anyone within the organization.

“Shit,” Jacob checked the time, his fifteen minutes had been up three minutes ago. He needed to return to the diner immediately.

Sprinting his way down the block and towards the diner, Jacob did his best to repress his moral conscience and resume his standard, charming nature as to not alert Blaire. The last thing Jacob would accept was Blaire ever suspecting the truth as to what he did for a living and the fate of those he had condemned for a quick buck.