The clouds were hanging ominously in the sky as James Shepherd walked slowly down the Vegas strip, making sure not to dirty his expensive designer suit by bumping into any of the tourists, gamblers or strippers that were sharing the sidewalk with him. He had done his job and kept up his side of the bargain, now he just wanted to get the hell out of this god forsaken city. Shepherd had hated the very idea of Las Vegas and everything that Sin City stood for since an early age. As a youngster he had watched his father flitter away his own very successful law practise and wealth on cards and hookers. In his mind it was his inheritance that his father had been gambling with on the roulette and poker tables, and it was his inheritance that his father had lost.

Shepherd navigated his way around a group of scantily clad young women in see through heels and pushed into the parking lot of the Goodfellas Casino. It had been less than an hour since he had stood in front of the media and recited the carefully worded statement regarding the purchase of ‘the Sanctioned Violence Organization’, and now he just wanted to get as far away from the sorry mess as he could. He had held up his end of the bargain, and now he was out! He was free and a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He could get out of Las Vegas and get back to the grind of every day life with every day clients…. Not the people he had been forced into representing for the past few months….

Shepherd switched his briefcase into his left hand before opening the door to his 2001 Lincoln LS. Throwing his briefcase into the passenger seat, Shepherd climbed into the drivers seat and started the keys in the ignition. He planned on really opening up on the accelerator and tearing down the road as quickly as his car would take him in order to get out of Vegas.

“Hello James.”

Shepherd felt an icy shiver run down his back as he heard the familiar gruff voice come from behind him. He began to try and turn around to face the unexpected visitor in his car when the voice stopped him.

“No James. You know how this works. Just look straight ahead and don’t try and turn around.”

Shepherd leaned forward and cradled the steering wheel in his arms. He felt the feeling of despair rush through him. He had done everything they had asked, sorted out all the contracts, signed all the papers, crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s, and still they came to him like this. Maybe he had outlived their usefulness to them. Part of him just wanted them to put him out of his misery right now in his Lincoln, at least he would be their puppet no longer.

“What do you people want? Our deal has concluded and you said I would be free!”

There was more than a hint of desperation in Shepherd’s voice, and even he didn’t like to hear himself pleading like that.

“Come on now James, you know we are just getting started here with the sVo. There is going to be a transitional period with the takeover of any company. We need you to stick around through it….. Then as agreed, you will be free to go.”

Shepherd’s heart sank. The Company had already broken so many promises to him, why should he start believing them now? Part of him knew that he would never be free, but what choice did he have apart from possibly the cowards way out?

“What do you want me to do?”

Shepherd could smell the familiar smell of cigarette smoke wafting through his immaculate car. The smell disgusted him, his father used to be a smoker…..

“We need you to contact this person and offer them a job within the sVo. We need someone to run the shows and they are the prime candidate for the job.”

Shepherd stared out of the windscreen whilst a couple strolled through the car park hand in hand, as a picture and a file was passed forward to him from the back seat.

“But what if they don’t want the job?”

There was silence in the car for a few seconds as Shepherd studied the photograph of the prime candidate.

“They will want the job James, and if they don’ t, then you will use that silver tongue of yours and persuade them otherwise.”

Shepherd nodded to no one in particular as the man behind him opened the door and exited the car. Shepherds eyes flickered over the picture of the prime candidate for the job and wondered if they would have any idea of what they were about to get into. Once you were in employment of the Company, you were there’s for the rest of your life.