From The Seduction of Emy and Other Stories

Copyright 2023 A. R. Gregory

 

The Philosopher

Funny, huh? You, the newest and youngest, babysitting him? The idea is to keep him in booze and whores, or anything else he wants, till the bosses need him for whatever they got planned. He’s big, the Russian. Huge! Hands like catcher’s mitts. And eyes like either slits or crazy wide, nothing in-between. When he stares at you too long, with either the slits or the wide ones, it’s enough to make a guy piss his pants. He’s always thinking too, and if you got any brains, you don’t ask what about. No wonder they picked you to handle him — you, the youngest and dumbest, right.

They call him the Philosopher. They say he can figure out anything, get into anywhere, make anybody disappear without a trace. Even his best friend found that out the hard way. But you never wanna mention that around him. And you don’t know, don’t care, what the bosses want him for now either. But until they need him, somebody’s gotta babysit him, and tag, you’re it....