Chương 110: Chapter 109 – Four!

The sun hung low over the impeccably manicured lawn of Blackwood Greens, a private golf course owned by the Blackwood Association, LLC. Mordak Blackwood served as its CEO, Manager, and Chief of the Board of Directors. Jethro Hardscrabble was an avid golfer and had always dreamed of playing here, but never had the standing to get in.... until now. He had been invited by none other than Mordak himself. He considered himself one of the privileged, one of the chosen ones.

Not many new hires were ever invited to the club, let alone to play golf with Mordak. Long shadows stretched across the fairway as the pair stepped onto the first tee. Jethro knew he was finally where he belonged, rubbing elbows with the big man himself. It was about time someone recognized the genius that he was. Mordak's offer to bring him back at triple the salary only confirmed his suspicions that Elios had fired him out of fear.

Gross incompetence, my ass, Hardscrabble thought, watching Mordak prepare for his first swing. Now that I'm in charge, I'll show you gross incompetence, you sniveling… Jethro's thoughts were abruptly cut off as Mordak's club made contact with the ball. The shot wasn't bad, but in Jethro's opinion, wasn't good either. The two watched as the ball landed and bounced off the green and into the rough.

"Mulligan!" Mordak shouted.

"Mulligan?" Jethro asked, looking confused.

"What do you mean by mulligan, Sir?" Jethro asked, shooting him an incredulous look.

"Don't tell me you don't know what a mulligan is, Jethro!" Mordak snickered.

"It's when the first shot goes awry and I get to do it over again." He said retrieving another ball from his pocket.

"I know what the term means, sir, but I didn't think you would want to start the game a stroke over par like that." Jethro said, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"What do you mean, a stroke over par. That shot obviously didn't count. I thought you were smarter than that, Jethro." Mordak said as he positioned himself to swing.

"Sir?" Jethro asked, confused by the statement. Mordak took another swing, sending the ball down the green with a slight curve.

"Better," he murmured then stepped aside for Jethro to take his shot. Jethro moved forward and placed his ball on the tee and began lining up the shot, his hand moist with perspiration underneath his glove. Mordak cracked a sly smile as he surveyed Hardscrabble's tentative stance.

"You know, Jethro, you need to learn the game." He said, giving Jethro a wry smile. Hardscrabble forced a chuckle, adjusting his grip on the club.

"I am very well versed in the game, sir," he began, "I won the Goblin open three years in a row."

"Good for you," Mordak replied with a glint of indifference in his eye.

"I'm not simply talking about golf, I'm talking about life." He said, watching Jethro's ball fly, landing precisely on the green.

"You need to keep your eyes open and anticipate…shall we say…hazards."

"Hazards, sir?" Jethro asked, his heart beating wildly in his chest as it occurred to him that they may not be discussing golf anymore.

"Yes, Jethro, hazards. The last thing you want to do is be the slightest bit off on your perception and hit the ball the wrong way. One bad stroke can throw off the whole game," Mordak said, walking down the green. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jethro's heart sank as he watched Mordak saunter down the green.

"Around here, you either perform or you're left behind," Mordak called out behind him.

"Remember, Jethro, you need to keep up, if you are going to survive the game." Jethro shot the caddy a harried glance. The caddy shrugged his shoulders before heading down the green after Mordak, prompting him to scramble to catch up. Mordak looked back over his shoulder to see how far behind Hardscrabble had fallen. He leaned forward, picked up his ball and threw it further down the green. Jethro, you really are a moron, He thought as he began walking towards his ideally lined up golf ball.

If I hadn't had wanted to stick it to Elios so badly you wouldn't be standing here now. He thought as he turned to see Jethro standing down the green watching him. The look of utter dismay on the man's face was just too delicious to ignore.

"Am I going too fast for you, Jethro?" he called out, snickering.

"I can slow down, if you are having a hard time keeping up."

"No, sir, I'm fine," Jethro said, picking up the pace to catch up to him.

"Now that I know the rules, I should be able to keep up just fine," he muttered to himself.

"I was just marveling at that shot, sir! In order to play the game effectively one has to know their opponent," he called out.

"Is that so?" Mordak replied, irritated by the implications of his statement.

"Yes, sir, first you need to understand the rules of the game, then figure out your opponent's strengths and weaknesses," Jethro replied, confidently. As Mordak watched Jethro head down the fairway, the soft thwack of golf balls punctuated their conversation. Mordak let Jethro catch up, then let him line up his shot. Just as Hardscrabble prepared his swing, he leaned in.

"Tell me, how's that little project of yours? The teleport. Still waiting for that miracle piece?" Hardscrabble's jaw clenched.

"Still working on it. I was hoping to tell you it's fixed today, but you know how incompetent Elios has been since that nasty head injury," he said, as he swung, hitting his mark.

"Yes, of course, Elios' head injury has rendered him rather… shall we just say… hindered his abilities to do his job effectively. This was why I brought you back. I am sure you will have no problem getting Elios back on track," Mordak said, handing the club back to the caddy.

"No give me the 7, you moron! What do you expect me to do with that?" The caddy quickly put the club back in the bag and nervously handed Mordak the club he requested. Mordak ripped the requested club out of the caddie's nervous hand, causing him to flinch.

"Nah, not gonna hit you with it, not this time anyway." Mordak laughed, a sound both genuine and chilling. He turned back to Jethro.

"Well, ultimately his success or…" he paused lining up his shot, "what appears to be failure, falls on you," he said, swinging the club. Mordak watched the ball fly wild and land in the water hazard. Mordak quickly took another ball out of his pocket and placed it on the tee.

"I will be holding you personally responsible for making sure from here on out things run smoothly. If you are…" he paused, swinging the club again. The small group watched as the ball flew wild again, this time landing deep in the rough. Mordak looked down at the club, "What did you do to my club?" he screamed at the caddy, whose face had drained of color. Mordak threw the club at the caddy.

"Get that defective piece of crap out of my sight!" he shouted. The caddy ducked instinctively, eyes wide with fear as the club clattered to the ground. Mordak turned back to Jethro, his expression hardening.

"Consider this your first warning. You're responsible for everything that happens in your section from here on out. Fail me, and there won't be a second chance. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Jethro smiled.

"Believe me, I am going to have my department in tip-top shape in no time. Elios won't be able to sneeze without me knowing about it," he said, before swinging his club. He watched Mordak's face contort while watching the ball fly straight down the green, causing him to rethink his strategy. Mordak's objective was to win at any cost. It didn't matter how well you played the game… he would always be better. Mordak didn't care how he won, as long as he was able to declare himself the winner.

"I'm not sure you fully understand me here, Jethro," he said, slapping him hard on the back.

"Time will tell." He began walking down the green, leaving Jethro to contemplate his words. He turned and called over his shoulder "Failures aren't forgotten, and I don't like repeating myself. I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare." The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in fiery hues. Mordak's mood improved as Jethro gave up any and all intention of winning. The two men played on as the sun dipped lower, one man relishing his glory, the other simply grateful to be allowed to play.