Chương 56: Getting to Know You

"Chuck, my boy, I see a glorious future for you here," Mordak said, guiding Charlie down the hall to the conference room.

"Why thank you, sir!" Charlie said, his voice cracking slightly.

"How long have you been with us?" Mordak asked, stopping mid-step and turning to face him.

"Not long, sir, just about a month or so," Charlie replied.

"So, basically fresh out of the academy, then?" Mordak asked, nodding.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Charlie snickered.

"I had this one instructor, sir, and excuse my bluntness, but what a bitch!" Charlie said, his face flushing.

"Normally I wouldn't use such language in front of the likes of someone like you, sir, but there really is no other word for it." Charlie shrugged.

"No need to censor yourself on my account, son. You know if there is a problem, I need to know about it. I can't fix it if I don't know about it," Mordak replied, his curiosity piqued.

"Let's have a seat in here for a few minutes and you can tell me all about it." He opened a conference room door and flipped the lights on.

"Come on, I won't bite." He coaxed. Charlie smiled and walked past Mordak into the room.

"At least not yet anyway," Mordak said in a voice barely above a whisper, grinning.

"What was that, sir?" Charlie asked, turning around.

"Oh, nothing for you to worry about, Chuck," he snickered, before shutting the door. He walked slowly toward the conference table, his eyes never leaving Charlie. He eyed the younger goblin up and down, assessing even the slightest twitch. If he doesn't mess this up, he may go far.

"It's actually Charlie, sir," he said, as Mordak shimmied behind him to get to the head of the table. Mordak raised his eyebrows, but maintained his cool confident façade.

"Did you say something, Chuck?" he asked, taking his seat at the head of the table.

"Come, sit." Mordak said, motioning to the chair next to him.

"I said, my name is Charlie, not Chuck," Charlie replied looking a little annoyed before sitting down.

"Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything? Emberbrew? Some brewleaf perhaps, Chuck," Mordak asked cordially.

"No sir, I'm fine," Charlie replied.

"Sir, I'm not sure if you heard me, but my name is not Chuck, it's Charlie." Mordak leaned back in his chair, placing his elbows on the arms and tenting his fingers.

"So, tell me about this bitch you encountered at my academy?"

"Well, sir, she's some old bitty. Seems way too old to be teaching anybody anything. You know how women get when they have passed their prime." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Oh, yes, you don't have to tell me. After three wives, I know exactly what you mean," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Damn, sir, three? What are you? A glutton for punishment?" Charlie asked, incredulously.

"I wouldn't want one... let alone three of the harpies." Charlie said, shaking his head.

"How do you juggle them all? Without… I dunno… killin' one of them? I mean they must wear on your last nerve."

"I don't currently have three wives," he snickered.

"Just one. Been married to her for quite a while. When you find the right one, it sticks. She's the Ying to my Yang, so to speak."

"Sir, no disrespect, but I have no idea what a Ying or a Yang is? Is it some sort of skin condition or something? Hope it's not catchy," he said, his eyes widening while he pushed back from the table. Mordak gave him a sideways glance.

"No, it means we fit together perfectly. My wife and me. She and I, shall we say…" he paused, turning to face him.

"Think alike." Mordak said, winking.

"If you know what I mean."

"You mean like sex?" Charlie said more than asked.

"Hey, I know if you ain't got it going on in the sack, you ain't got nuttin'."

"Yeah, something like that. Only better. I tell her what to think, and she agrees." He laughed.

"Well, that's the way it should be. That's a woman's place… behind her man. Unless of course, he wants to get behind her…If you know what I'm saying," Charlie laughed.

"What is it with these women who think they can tell a man what to do? It's not natural."

"I couldn't agree more, men are superior in every way. We're smarter, we fix things, we know how to get things done and most of all, we know when to shut the hell up!" Mordak laughed.

"That's the biggest truth I have ever heard, sir. Women were put here for one purpose and that is to please us! Have our dinner ready when we get home, make themselves look pretty and sit there until spoken to," he nodded his head approvingly.

"When we want action, they should be ready to go," he said, slapping a hand down on the table.

"None of this I have a headache bullshit, or I'm not that kind of girl," he scoffed.

"We all know, they are all that kind of girl eventually, whether they want to admit it or not. Just gotta grab them by the…"

"You know, Chuck, you remind me a lot of myself." Mordak interrupted.

"I'm impressed that someone as young as you has good ol' fashioned values."

"It's Charlie, sir, not Chuck. Thank you for noticing, sir, not many feel the same way, but I know under your leadership more will embrace the vision of the future you have."

"One can hope," Mordak said.

"Well, sir, if anyone can turn things around, it's you, sir. You have the cojones to get it done. You're not afraid to do whatever it takes. It's one of the things that I admire about you."

"Keep going, I'm really interested in your perspective."

"Well, sir, most people would have walked away, you know, after the election was obviously stolen from you," he nodded.

"It was so obvious, even a woman could see it, but anyway, not you, you waited then when the time was right you showed them all. You showed them how corrupt the previous incumbency was. He smiled.

"It's because of you and your tireless work that I am even here."

"What do you mean?" Mordak asked, visibly confused.

"Well, it's because of you finding that cure… that I am alive. I was an infant and I got sick, just like everyone else. My mother, well, she died, but my dad said it was you who saved the world with the cure."

"Just doing my part." Mordak smiled.

"I'm glad you're here, I really do think you have a great future here. I can see you doing great things, Charlie. I finally have someone on the team, that I know I can trust to get the job done. I know that Rachel will fall into line with you at the helm."

"Why thank you, sir." Charlie said, his face suddenly became serious.

"You know, for a minute there I thought you were going to fire me for bringing back a dead baby instead of a live one."

"I thought about it. It's not your fault that it's dead. Besides we have a spare."

"A spare?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with, son." Mordak said, his smile fading.

"Just make sure you bring me the two fairies responsible. If you don't, then the next chat we have may not be so friendly."

"You can count on me, sir! I know what I'm doing. If she follows my lead, everything will be fine. Everyone will get what they want."