Ardent stared in shock. He had lost. Luck just wasn't on his side. He leaned back in his chair crossing his arms in frustration. It wasn't the end of the world, but he would have no money in his account for the next week. How was he supposed to feed Alsen.
Roy consoled, "It's unfortunate indeed. But a bet is a bet." He then gave a look at one of the guards who then approached Ardent with a small tablet.
Ardent sighed and transferred the money. Emptying out his account. He was hoping he could double his money so he wouldn't be so tight on funds this week but now things had turned out worse.
Roy looked at the young man who was seething. He stood up as he straightened his suit, "Well good attempt, you probably would have won if it had turned out differently. I know you probably don't have much in your account. So how about this. I have a job for you. Are you interested?"
Ardent looked up skeptical. Roy had never cheated him or lied to him before but he still couldn't trust him fully. He didn't want to end up as one of the prisoners he usually executed by getting in to deep with the wrong people.
His brow lowered, "Explain."
Roy smiled, "Don't worry, nothing that violates the Coalition Pact. I just need something delivered and I fear word may get out. This is Top Secret. You can never trust these swindlers." He gestured to some men in black suits gathered around a table outside the room.
These were the men hired by Roy. They usually took on tasks such as debt collecting, deliveries, threatening, and other stuff. Ardent was surprised. Usually Roy trusted these guys with everything. This delivery must be extremely valuable, such that he doesn't want any of the henchmen to be bribed.
"So why trust me?", he asked.
Roy turned and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and started pouring a glass. "Simple really. There are three reasons. First, Nobody outside this room knows I hired you. So it would be hard for outside forces to approach and bribe you. Second, You work for the Coalition Prison. If you decided to run away and hide they would be the first ones to hunt you down. And if you didn't hide I could always find you. Thirdly, I know where you live. And which school your little brother goes to. If you ever cross me I will make sure to make you regret it."
Ardent listened to the reasons with a frown. This was troubling. He knew Roy meant what he said. To be honest it would probably be better to just refuse the job. But thinking back to his now empty bank account he struggled with the decision.
What if this was bigger than what he thought? What if he was being used as bait to lure out someone else? What if what he was delivering was highly illegal and Roy was lying? This had too many risk. But what were the benefits?
He looked back up, his dull grey eyes piercing Roy's, "What will I be paid if I accept this job?"
Roy took a sip of his glass. Closing his eyes and enjoying the flavor. As you have already probably guessed, there are some risk involved. So I would have to match it, the pay for a successful delivery is 10,000 credits.
10,000 credits! Ardent was shocked. What the hell was he transporting. That is like 10 weeks of his normal pay.
Ardent weighed the pros and cons. This was risky but if he took the job he wouldn't have to worry about money for quite a bit. After a few minutes of silence he had come to a conclusion.
"Alright I accept. What are the details?"
Roy set the cup down and pulled out a prepared contract. "The job will start tomorrow. 8:00 Am. You will receive the package and under no circumstances are you allowed to open it. You will be traveling west to the Golden Empire. Once there you will be required to find a man named Shirley at the Anvil Boxing Ring. He will tell you the rest."
Pausing for a second he continued, "You will receive 2,000 credits before the delivery for travel and the other 8,000 afterwards. If ambushed protect the package and don't let it fall into other's hands. Do you understand?"
Ardent nodded. He didn't expect he would be traveling outside the Coalition Zone. This trip might take a few days. 2 weeks at most. He would have to take time off of work and use up his vacation days. But that was worth it for the pay.
Roy smiled with satisfaction and pushed the contract towards Ardent. Ardent slowly read the contract, not finding anything amiss. He had known Roy for about two years now. Hopefully he wasn't sending him on a suicide mission.
After reading the contract, Ardent took out a pen and signed it. He had officially accepted the job. Quickly one of the nearby guards walked over. He placed his wrist against his and a ding sound occurred. Ardent turned his watch on and checked his account. 2,000 credits had been transferred over. He couldn't believe it. He had just made 2,000 credits that easily. But he wasn't foolish enough to believe that this was a simple delivery.
He momentarily thought about taking his little brother and fleeing to one of the surrounding empires. but quickly got rid of that thought. It was to dangerous and the chances of him being caught were too high.
The two of them shook hands and Ardent bid Roy a farewell. He then walked through the door and exited the building.
Roy watched his back retreating carefully. He stood there for a minute. Then the previous card dealer walked up behind him, "Sir, Are you sure it's a good idea to let the boy handle this? He has no experience. What if he loses or fails to deliver the package?"
Roy shook his head while turning away, "I've known the kid for about 2 years. I think he can handle it. Besides no one would expect it. Trust me this kid hates losing. He will try his hardest to complete the mission."
The dealer nodded and stepped back, "Understood sir. Would you like me to contact Mr. Dallow and inform him that the mission is in progress."
Roy shook his head, "No, hold off on that for now. I believe Mr. Dallow is planning something. Another war is brewing, I can feel it. Also put a tail on Mr. Grey's little brother. Just for insurance."
"Understood Sir."
...
Ardent walked down the street. The rain was still pouring down hard. As if the whole block would be washed away. The cars passed along the street next to him. Splashing even more water over his head. He was completely drenched.
He had stopped by the store earlier after receiving so much money. He had bought a big chunk of beef and a sack of potatoes. The Grey family would eat good tonight.
Ardent arrived at a tall row of buildings with multiple bridges and awnings connecting them together. It looked like a weird puzzle in the shape of an apartment building. He ignored the weird design and walked inside.
Despite the weird design of the exterior the interior was bland and repetitive. Just long corridors of concrete walls and iron doors. Ardent lived on the fifth floor. He slowly walked up the stairs. His feet aching from the long day.
When he reached his floor he turned a corner and froze on the spot. At the end of the concrete hallway was a shadowy figure. Ardent quietly slipped back around the corner hiding from sight. His heart was pounding. "What the heck was that?"
The thing didn't even look human. It seemed like a large mass of shadowy limbs crawling across the wall. He didn't get a good glimpse but it looked like it was entering room 509.
Ardent hurriedly took off his watch and turned it to camera mode. He then poked the watch around the corner. The holographic screen was still in front of him displaying what the camera was seeing. He saw the long corridor and the flickering light in the back. But the creature was gone.
'Was I dreaming? No I definitely saw that.', Ardent pondered silently. Does this mean their is a Prospect nearby. Probably a high level Prospect as well. Perhaps Level 3 or 4. He couldn't gauge the level off a single glance.
Stifling his paranoia he cautiously stepped from behind the corner. He looked around but nothing was out of the ordinary. It should be gone. I can't be for certain if it saw me or not. If it did, it might try to silence me depending on it's intentions.
Ardent slowly walked down the hall and made it to his door. Room 503. He brought out his key and unlocked the door making his way inside. He set down his stuff and locked the door behind him.
He turned around and started peering out of the peephole to see if it returned. But it did not. Feeling relieved he let out a loud sigh. But then suddenly something grabbed his shirt from behind.
Ardent shouted and jumped in fright spinning around. A little boy, 13 years old stood there with a mischievous smile.
Alsen Grey laughed, "Did I scare you big bro?"