Prologue
Dark Matter Metal & Leather, Alienn, Arkansas
Luca Radbourne, undercover Alpha-Prime secret agent, stepped inside Dark Matter Metal & Leather in downtown Alienn, Arkansas, and smiled to himself. The information on the shop had been surprisingly accurate and it was exactly as he’d pictured.
Yes. This will do nicely.
He approached the man he was fairly certain was the sole proprietor, seated behind a wooden, countertop-high worktable next to an old-fashioned cash register. He planned to inquire about the purchase of the man’s business. It wasn’t officially for sale, but Luca had it on good authority that the owner planned to retire soon,ifhe could find therightperson to take over his business. Luca needed a base of operations on Earth for the foreseeable future and he planned to be therightperson.
To that end, he had set in motion a silent offer through a proxy and been told what was needed in order to move forward with the purchase of this store. He was posing as Jake Jones, a human metal and leather craftsman looking for an established business to run here in Alienn, Arkansas.
Dwight “Dutch” Corley, as Luca had been informed of in advance, was a weathered, wizened old human of an unguessable age somewhere between sixty and infinity. His wrinkled, tanned skin spoke more of a man who spent his timeworking in the sun to earn his living, but Luca had been told he liked to go fishing at sunup before coming to his shop to work. Perhaps that’s where he’d acquired the leathery skin.
Dutch looked up and watched with an unreadable expression as Luca stopped in front of the worktable.
“Good morning,” Luca said.
“Morning.” The reply was civil enough but there was a bit of edge in his voice, as if he knew Luca—or rather, Jake Jones—wasn’t simply another customer in search of a souvenir from Alienn, Arkansas.
Tapping into the human’s thoughts, Luca heard,Who is this guy? Not a customer. What doeshewant?
Luca shaped his mouth into a relaxed smile. “I’m Jake Jones. I believe a friend of mine mentioned to you that I’m interested in purchasing this shop. I was told you’d like to retire and leave the store in good hands?”
Dutch’s eyes narrowed, then widened. Finally, a friendly smile replaced the suspicious look. “Right. You’re the guy from up north.”
Luca nodded. “Yes. That’s correct.” Even though he was, in fact,notfrom up north. He wasn’t even from this lush little planet.
Dutch stuck out his hand. “Dwight Corley, but you can call me Dutch. Everyone does.” In the old human’s head, Luca heard a combination of a happy and relieved jumble and not an ounce of doubt or suspicion. That was a relief.
“Good to meet you, Dutch.”
In the human fashion, Luca shook the man’s surprisingly strong hand.
Luca’s contact had assured him that Dutch wanted to retire well away from Alienn. That worked in Luca’s favor, as he didn’t want the former owner checking in on him once the purchase of the business was complete. He needed a fair amountof privacy to complete his clandestine mission and Dark Matter Metal & Leather seemed like the best bet to serve his unusual and specific needs.
Though it was a necessity for the sake of the mission, the ruse suited Luca down to the ground. He secretly loved working with metal and leather and looked forward to crafting unique items to sell here during his time in Alienn, Arkansas.
His job in the Alpha-Prime Command Secret Service was a demanding one. It didn’t allow him the free time to do metal- or leather-crafting much anymore. Or ever, really. This would be an exceptional opportunity for him to do his dutyandbang out some metal trinkets and hone his leather skills.
It was a rare boon to be afforded such a long stint during a mission that allowed for any personal creativity beyond getting the job done. Again, he looked forward to it—ifhe could convince Dutch to sell the business to him.
“Did you bring samples of your work?” Dutch asked, appearing eager to get a look at a fellow craftsman’s pieces.
“I did.” Luca shrugged off the backpack he’d slung over one shoulder and placed it at his feet. He retrieved several pieces he’d created long ago, a few that were crafted more recently and, finally, a couple of combined metal and leather pieces he’d turned out specifically for this meeting to ensure he’d retained a decent skill level to pull off his cover. He was very happy with the results and hoped Dutch felt the same way.
“I couldn’t bring some of the larger pieces, obviously,” Luca said as he placed piece after piece on the worktable for Dutch’s interested perusal. “But I have a few pictures.”
Dutch shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t sell too many big pieces. Usually, it’s only when something specific has been commissioned. You will still be doing commission work, right?” he asked, picking up each piece and studying Luca’s work with a practiced eye.Nice work, Luca heard in the man’s mind.
“Absolutely. I love doing specialty items, no matter the size.” Though the mission meant his time as a professional human craftsman would be limited, Luca looked forward to stretching his skills with special projects, big, small or anything in between.
“Excellent.” Dutch nodded as he inspected Luca’s samples. “Your metalwork especially is top-notch, but your leatherwork is also very good. I think you’ll do well here, Jake. Our artistic styles are not drastically different, though you certainly bring your own flair to the work. I like it. I believe the customers will as well.”
“Thank you,” Luca said, embarrassed to feel his face flush at the praise. He felt like a raw recruit again, getting a nod of approval from a trainer. He struggled to contain his delight. The appreciation of a professional craftsman wasn’t necessary to the reason he was buying this place, but Luca was proud of his artistic skills.
It was a warm feeling he hadn’t experienced since before he’d left home. Back then, his teacher hadn’t praised him nearly as much as this old human had in their short meeting. It was even more moving because Luca could hear in the man’s thoughts how much he truly liked Luca’s work.
The stipulation for the very loosely discussed business proposition had been that Dutch had to approve of Luca’s metal and leather “style” before he would even consider an offer. Hopefully, that was a done deal now that it seemed Jake’s style suited Dutch.
