The Stronghold

Parcel Or Letter?

Oh yeah, and I'm crap at metaphors.

"What's this you're reading?" I said with interest.

"Francis finished writing up the first Super Glitches book," she explained. "And so I got Kevin to turn it into a paperback."

"Don't use my robot butlerpod for your own means," I scolded playfully, handing her back the book. A roll of the eyes and an irritated mutter replied.

I laughed and walked over to the wardrobe, another room entirely. Along one side were all my clothes and the opposite was Georgina's. Both mainly consisted of jeans, T-Shirts and dark coloured jackets.

"Who's said they'll stalk us today?" I called, still unable to decide what to wear. I didn't usually take so long but it had been a busy week with lots of visitors and so I had to be prepared.

"Shaade threatened to drop in, Sophie said that she'll finally teach you how to cook-"

"I'm good at cooking!"

"You're good at experimenting, Pepper," Georgina corrected. "Not actually making edible food fit for human consumption."

"Thanks. Anyone else?"

"I gave Francis the day off because Rebecca was about to drag him back to her school."

"Okay... So if it's just friends I guess I can go casual, yeah?"

"The only things you ever wear are casual."

"Good point."

*

Finally dressed in a navy T-Shirt and faded black jeans I strolled into the main area, not looking where I was going, texting on my phone. Fortunately I didn't trip and die. Unfortunately I walked into a table that was directly at groin height.

"Ow," I groaned, doubling over and glaring at the table. "Stupid coffee table. Who put you there anyway?"

"Are you talking to inanimate objects?" Georgina asked, sounding amused. I looked up and nodded.

"It offended me," I said in a hurt tone, dodging around it with caution.

"How did it offend you?"

"It hit me."

"Are you going to elaborate?"

"Nope."

Georgina sighed and passed me by, picking up the post off the bar as she went. "Fanmail, fanmail, invitation," she murmured, throwing them over her shoulder. "Birthday cards - I'm confiscating these for now - bill, invitation, random letter..."

"A parcel came for you, sir," Kevin said, swooping over and dipping his body in respect. "It is over on the table."

"Not the one that just hit me, right?" I said in alarm. Georgina laughed, a short, Tiggery sound, and shook her head with disbelief.

"No sir," Kevin chuckled. "On the dining table."

I slid over to the glass object, socks sliding on the tiles. There were rugs in various places but the majority of the ground was tiled with marble. I like living the high life, okay?

"I wonder who sent it?" I murmured, running my finger over the flaps of the box. That's all it was - a plain old cardboard box, slightly damaged by the rain.

"If it's another bomb..." Georgina trailed off and lowered her face to the box's level. "Nah, it's not a bomb. Is it a puppy? If it's a puppy then we're calling it Velcro."

"Velcro?" I echoed, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, you're called Pepper, so don't even bother complaining."

"If it were a puppy then it would be dead," I pointed out. "There are no air holes in the box."

"Shut up."

I rolled my eyes with a smile and opened the parcel. The brown tape wound itself around my finger and I peeled it off, widening the top of the box by pulling on the flaps.

Inside wasn't a puppy, or a bomb. It was a letter, neatly sealed with a stamped-on wax crest, blood red in colour.

I lifted the letter out, looking at it curiously. I turned it over in my hands and felt the thick parchment rub roughly against my skin, coarse to the touch, concealing the item inside perfectly.

"What is it?" Georgina asked, putting her head on my shoulder and reading the words on the front. "'To be opened by P Rogers alone'," she said. "'None other may see the contents. S'. Who's S?"

"I don't know," I frowned, slitting open the envelope with my penknife. "Something about the handwriting seems familiar... I really don't know."

"Can I read it?"

"It says for me..."

"Please?"

"Okay." I unfolded the paper and held it up, near enough so that I could see it and angled so that Georgina could see it too. The handwriting was the same but seemed rushed, hurried and snappy.

"'Mr Rogers'," I narrated, "'I write to inform you of a little request we have.

'You will know me simply as S from now on. In time you will learn my name but my nickname should be known to you - think back to your childhood, man.

'I am warning you before you do anything stupid. Drop any other companies you may run and concentrate on your own. Soon you will get an offer from a new, profitable company. Accept it. You will be put in charge and be expected to show your face at all meeting, becoming the new manager completely.

'We know your facial features so no minion of yours can stand in for you.

'It is crucial that you show this nobody. It will be tempting, due to the mystery surrounding this letter. But if we find out that you have shown it someone then they will be killed. The only way you can spare their lives is by accepting the job and doing everything we ask.'" The word 'everything' was underlined, in bold and in italics for maximum emphasis.

"'We cannot tell you any more at the moment. If you will do as we say then write your reply on the paper enclosed. Do not complete a whole letter, just yes, no and who you have shown it to. We know you - that fiancée of yours will be persistent and will end up knowing what is in this letter.

'A final warning word, Mr Rogers: many of the tasks assigned to you will be awkward and will test your moral strength. The first one is to write your reply, as I earlier stated. Not too hard, I believe. But they will get a lot worse.

'Regards,

'S'." I finished the letter and turned my head to look at Georgina thoughtfully. She re-read the letter, a frown growing on her forehead.

"If I die now then you can't say curiosity killed the cat," she said at last. "You'll have to say 'curiosity killed me fiancée'. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," I said, giving a mock salute. Georgina blew air out through her nose and rolled her eyes.

"You look like a horse now," I commented. She glared at me and then I felt something whack into the back of my head. That something was a metal fist.

"Sorry! You're not a horse, honest!" I cried, covering my head with my arms and giving her a sheepish smile. Her eyes narrowed, giving a hint of gold, portraying her anger and hurt. In an attempt to calm her down I kissed her. If it didn't calm her down it certainly shut her up, at any rate.

"Happy now?" I whispered, opening my eyes and piercing her with a questioning look. A smile was the only reply.

"Sir, I-" Kevin broke off and raucous 'eheheheheh'ing filled the room. I turned my head to glare at our newest visitor, also known as Shaade.