The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigl

Author:Colin Gigl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books

CLAUDE

* * *

THE DEATH OF YOUR HERO

Dawson! Mr. Dawson!”

It was initially the sound of the high-pitched voice, thick with a Manhattan accent and a slick cadence, rather than its words that caught Claude Toulouse’s attention. A young man—a boy, really, probably no older than seventeen or eighteen when he’d been recruited into the Institute’s ranks, by the look of him—was scrambling through the mob of people bustling around the control room floor.

“Mr. Dawson, can I get a quick word with you? It’s an emergency!”

It was only after that particular outburst that Claude noticed the other man, the one the youngster was trying to stop. He recognized the Ferryman immediately.

Charles Ronald Dawson. In the flesh.

Despite his sixteen years of service as a Ferryman, Claude had never actually run into the Institute’s most legendary employee, let alone met him. Even with their nonacquaintance, to say that he admired the man was to understate it somewhat severely. He’d gone through and studied almost all of Dawson’s cases—the Benderman Affair in 1793, his pioneering work with young children during the mid-1800s, and even his recent work handling celebrity cases. Dawson was a revolutionary, and Claude wanted to emulate that as closely as he could.

From his very first days in its employ, Claude had immersed himself in the world of the Ferryman Institute with a gusto that bordered on fanatic. He worked at his trade with zealous dedication, seeking the pinnacle of the craft clearly marked by where Charles Dawson stood. Though most saw his ethic as excessive, if not slightly frightening, it was perhaps understandable when viewed as the long-sought dream it represented for him, now finally come true: it was in almost every sense a new beginning. The place had come to be his paradise, his Avalon. The Institute had unveiled itself as a fresh start for Claude, and with that came the chance to finally mold himself into a person whom people admired and respected.

What better person, then, to choose for the template of his new life than the universally revered Charles Dawson.

Even if Claude hadn’t met him personally, the Ferryman record Dawson had amassed was nothing short of extraordinary. It was impressive even to the average employee, but to someone well versed in the difficulties of Ferryman service, as Claude fancied himself, it was positively staggering. But while he’d heard much about Charles Dawson’s exploits—he’d been the Institute’s crème de la crème for over 175 years, so what employee hadn’t, really—the man himself was notoriously reclusive. Yet here he was, heading directly toward Claude at a brisk pace.

The facial expression the Ferryman currently wore seemed slightly bemused, but it was clear the look was an overlay hiding his true feelings underneath.

“I’m sorry, but I just finished for the day,” Dawson said as he continued walking on, his pace picking up just enough to be noticeable. A few people turned to look at him as he brushed by but most ignored or, more likely, didn’t recognize him.

The young man chasing him, however, wasn’t so easily turned away.

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