Brimstone Incorporated -

Elias felt a cold dread settle in his chest. "I want to go home. Where is this? Is this Chicago?"

"This is the lobby, Elias. And your orientation starts now." Gregory pushed a single sheet of paper across the desk. It wasn't paper; it was thin, cured vellum that felt warm to the touch. "Sign here, and you’ll be our Lead Acquisitions Officer for the Eastern Seaboard. You'll have power, wealth, and influence beyond your wildest dreams." "And if I don't?" Elias whispered. Brimstone Incorporated

"Your resume is impressive, Elias," Gregory said, tapping a folder that smelled faintly of ozone. "The way you handled the Springfield chemical spill—truly inspired. You convinced an entire town they weren't sick, they were just 'under-hydrated.'" Elias felt a cold dread settle in his chest

A man named Elias sat across from him, clutching a briefcase and sweating through his shirt. Elias had been a "fixer" for a Fortune 500 company, a man who made environmental lawsuits and whistleblower complaints disappear with a few well-placed threats and payoffs. Is this Chicago

"At Brimstone Inc., 'just doing your job' is our corporate motto," Gregory smiled, showing too many teeth. "But we don't hire just anyone. Our clients are... demanding. They don't want settlements. They want souls. They want the kind of misery that ripples through generations."

Gregory gestured to the hallway behind them. From the shadows, the faint sound of a thousand telephones ringing—and a thousand people screaming in frustration—drifted into the room. "Then you join the Customer Service department. Permanently. They’ve been on hold since the 14th century."

Gregory leaned forward, his eyes suddenly glowing like banked coals. "We saw what you did to your partner. The way you framed him for the embezzlement you committed. That was the moment we scouted you. That was your 'application.'"