Catering with Benefits (1) - 28. Jared

NINE YEARS AGO

The naked body lay flat on the table, face up. Above the table was a high definition camera of such quality that even a single pore in the skin could be seen when the photographs were enlarged. The body was photographed front, back, both sides, top of head and soles of the feet. Every angle possible was used to ensure no external part of the body was missed.

The young photographer stepped back from the equipment. Now that he was not concentrating on the technical side of his duties he focused his gaze on the body in front of him. He was indeed a beautiful man. He had a tall slim build with well-proportioned muscular structure. As he tightened his muscles to sit up the true beauty and strength of his body became evident. He had very little body fat so every movement and flex accentuated his muscle structure. He was not heavily muscled but his body was very firm and taught.

As he stood up he was ushered to the centre of the room where an array of cameras was ready to photograph a 360 degree record of his body. For the last part of the process he was put in a state of the art MRI like machine that imaged all his internal organs, bones, vessels and nerves.

He was told that all the images of his body would be stored and hopefully would never need to be accessed again. The reason for collecting all those images was to provide positive identification of him or any body part, in the event of serious injury or death. In his intended line of work, death could be extremely violent and in the end, identification could come down to just one body part. DNA was not available in the field but photographs of his remains could be sent electronically to central command to be compared with the images kept on file.

Later in the day he was required to attend an interview where every word he said was recorded and would later be poured over by both military and psychological experts to gain a thorough understanding of the man’s thoughts and beliefs. They could even extrapolate unconscious thoughts that he did not know he had or thought he did not reveal in his interview. The questions covered his entire life from earliest memory to what he did in bed last night. If the interviewers suspected he lied or omitted to tell them something he was reminded and asked to go over the topic again. The interviewers made it clear that while they expected total honesty from him, this was not a forced interrogation. He was free to leave any time he wanted to. But if he did this, his application to join would cease immediately and could never be resumed. He indicated he understood this and acknowledged he was participating voluntarily.

Although he found the process invasive, he none the less found it fascinating and wanted to participate. The questions were probing into every part of his life, his past actions, his thoughts and his wishes. But he felt safe that whatever he revealed would go no further than to be stored in confidential files once the experts had completed their assessment of him. His questioners were so expert at delving into his mind that he dredged up memories he had forgotten many years ago.

His sexuality was dealt with at length, not because it was in question, it was just that he had to convince them that he was being totally honest. What he liked or did not like was not of concern to the panel, but they needed to know he could cope with it and handle revealing it to them. He had no trouble revealing he was bi-sexual and this was also of no concern to the panel. What he did have trouble with was revealing another secret. When the panel members sensed this, they advised him to take a break, think about it and come back in an hour. Upon return he was expected to give full disclosure or the process would be terminated. He was further reminded that his revelations would not be judged, provided his activities were legal. This made him feel more relaxed so he took the break and returned later to tell of his secret fantasy.

One week later Jared received confirmation that his application was successful and was invited to join the initial training command of The Special Air Service, the most celebrated and prestigious units in the armed forces. These elite special forces are tasked with the most difficult missions in warzones. 

NINE YEARS LATER

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome you all here on this beautiful Saturday morning. As you all know we are here today to sell this magnificently restored house to the highest bidder. I am confident we will sell it, and one of you will be the proud owner by the end of the day. My name is Sergio and I am your auctioneer for today. Firstly I am obliged by NSW real estate law to explain the rules to you”.

***

“Now that we have covered that, I will soon ring the bell, you come out fighting and I want a fair fight. Oops, sorry a bit of a flashback to a previous occupation. But then again, this is a bit like a fight with the highest bidder wining. Will all registered bidders please stand where I or one of my staff can see you and remember you must use your numbered paddle to indicate your bid. So, if we are all ready, who will start off the bidding with $500,000? Any bidders, please help me out here, we can’t sell this very desirable property if we don’t have a starting bid; $500,000 anybody? OK, how about we start at $450,000. Yes, do I see a bid up the back there? Thank you madam, we do have a confirmed bid for $450,000.”

***

“Thank you sir for your bid of $900,000. I would like to remind you ladies and gentlemen that the house is now ‘on the market’ and it will sell today. So, don’t miss out for just a few thousand more. Do I have another bid over $900,000? No further bids, gong once at $900,000, going twice. Remember at the sound of the hammer the property will be sold and there can be no further bidding. Yes, sir on my left is that a bid. Thank you we have a bid for $905,000. Going once, going twice......Sold for $905,000. Congratulations sir, you are now the owner of this beautiful Marion St. property. Please come forward so we can complete the paperwork.”

The highest bidder stepped forward and was congratulated by the auctioneer with a firm handshake. “Please come inside Sir, so we can sign the contract and then the house will be yours”

“Thank you, I’m very excited, this is my first home, and please call me Jared.”

“May I ask, is your wife here today, Jared?’

“No, I don’t have a partner.”

“Well with an attractive home like this I don’t think that will be the case for long.”

“Maybe.”

“Would you excuse me for a moment while I get the contract? Please take a seat.”

Sergio returned a few minutes later with the paperwork but firstly said “I’ve just been speaking with the vendors. They are very pleased with the price you paid and would like to sweeten the deal a bit.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems they are downsizing and moving to a small unit, where they won’t have the space for all this furniture. So they are offering you their excess items at no charge, if you would like them.”

“Well that sounds generous, what’s on offer.”

“The four larger items are the double size fridge over there, the weight training set out on the veranda, a king size bed and this large, and may I say very beautiful red sofa we are sitting on. There will also be some smaller items. If you don’t want the items they are happy to give them to charity. The choice is yours.”

“Well, I’m happy to accept. I don’t have any furniture at all. This is not only the first home I’ve bought but the first home I’ve set up. I was previously in the armed forces and lived in barracks or furnished army housing. So please thank them on my behalf.”

“You can thank them yourself; they are just over there and will join us here shortly to complete the contract signing.”