He felt safe from his monstrous pursuers momentarily, but he felt wary about where would this happenstance tread. He would be a puppet of his great enemies. Then he realized a famous quote, ''Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.''


    Lance hoped that what would happen with the Head of CBD leverage his rise to fame and control and would oust the Government and Corporation. He could not yet imagine that it was achievable however, he convinced himself to take baby steps first to achieve a greater goal.


    The SHF officer escorted him to the 29th level of the SkyCorp building and into Leric''s office. It appeared that SkyCorp held not only residential units for the high echelons of society but also their offices.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    As they went in, they were greeted by aromatic cigar smoke wafting in the air of a wide office thatprised a living room and an office desk on the other side. Elegance mantled the office, concrete and metallic fixtures had intricate designs that emted that of a wood. All furniture thatprised the office was cushioned, wrapped in leather, and a carpet made of rare material.


    The absence of trees made every furniture so luxurious, especially the ones that were made of fine cloth and wood.


    Chester Leric had his corporate suit on, facing a wide transparent ss window that revealed the expanse of the northern sectors. An orange hue of city lights refracted against his windows, sheepishly illuminating Leric''s office. Leric puffed a cigar while his eyes traversed outside the ss, probably sunk in his own deep thoughts.


    "Have a seat, Mister Berkley," Leric said while distinguishing his cigar against his ss ashtray. He was the kind of man who did not want to waste time and something had told Lance that Chester Leric also was a tactician of long-term mitigation ns.


    Lance was seated on a cushioned chair across Leric''s desk, the SHF office stood behind him.


    "Thank you for sending your officers, they saved me Mister Leric," Lance said. His gratitude should lighten the mood of the seemingly gloomy demeanor of the Head of CBD.


    "There''s an attack in Precinct 13," Leric sat down on his swivel chair with a serious voice, neglecting Lance''s gratitude. "Killing thirty police officers a few hours ago. So, I assumed that these killings were connected with the attack two days ago in Steelpoint. With that assumption, Mister Berkley, the killers are hunting you. The only motive that I came up with is your poison bombs.


    Probably, the monsters or the rebels. Each one of them posed a different level of danger. But what''smon between them is that the two groups are dangerous for public safety."


    "Have you mobilized the hunting party for those two suspects?" Leric shifted his sharp stare and asked the SHF officer behind Lance. Those stares could haunt one''s dreams. Leric was a guy that could intimidate everybody.


    "Yes, Mister Leric. They are hunting them down as we speak." The officer responded with military precision.


    "I want you to capture them if possible. I want to question them. If they are Abominated humans as we suspected, we need to know about them."


    The SHF officer nodded in agreement. Then, right after the officer snappily went outside the office, leaving Lance with Chester. It was clear from the officer''s reaction on how Leric delivered his instructions, that thetter was a formidable leader.


    "Mister Berkley, you are here because there are things that I would like to offer you," Leric said. "I want you to be my weapons inventor under the protection of CBD, Customs, and Border Defense Department, if you have not heard of us yet. We controlled the trades in and out of the walls when there were still surviving cities.


    Now, we have sanctioned external farming, overseen by the Corporation of course. CBD also is responsible for the city defenses, hence, my department handled the police department, the military department, and of course the ck operations, SHF. The SHF, as you know, is not being broadcast by the media. Their existence should remain ndestine.


    Now, I rely that you will keep everything in utmost confidential, Mister Berkley. You are now a part of something greater than you have ever known. We are the blood that flowed within the city. We are the unsung heroes that kept the peace of our beloved City."


    Lance nodded. The rebels had been fighting the war against the injustice of the Government and the Corporation. Momentarily, it was clear that the rebels were fighting against CBD.


    "As for your responsibility, you will be inventing weapons for me that are effective against Abominants and at the same time spearhead the production of your poison bombs. I want this to be used by the police departments and the SHF to battle against Abominants, now that we know about the entry of the walls."


    "That''s arge role to fill, Mister Leric. How can you say that I am up for the task?" Lance retorted.


    "I have read your file. You got greatmendations from Doctor Zee during your stint as a TOR and your defense for your RoFlo invention. He said you have a lot of potential. And I don''t want to waste that kind of talent which you spent only on scrapping. Scrapping is a decent job, that I can assure you, but the pay is not that fulfilling. I know that you know that.


    You have been scrapping for years. This offer will boost your social status and your bank ount, of course. You will be wellpensated if you ept this job."


    "Compensation? What kind ofpensation?" Lance asked. He knew about the sry but he had no idea how much. If it would be worth his time and would suffice his agenda supporting the rebels and continuing his ndestine illegal activities, he would ept the offer.


    "Sry, of course. You will receive 3000 units per month as my Team Leader for the weapons division."


    He was hesitant at first, 3000 units would give Lance a decent lifestyle but it would be far lower for his colossal ns to take down the Corporation.


    "Why me, Mister Leric? I mean, we have a lot of able scientists that can fill that role."


    "Well, you are in for luck, kid. My daughter, Jaqi, had high hopes for you. She said that you are the smartest kid she knew. You even impressed my wife with your project, the in-vitro propagation. So, what say you?"


    "Thanks for the offer, Mister Leric. But I have to think about it. I mean, I am earning more than 3000 units now with my scrapping and my inventions. If I am going to dedicate my time to the weapons division, it would greatly affect my lifestyle."


    In Lance''sputation, he had an average of more or less 5000 units per month, his Zelkian and Tyllrium trades would give him almost 2000 per month profits, while his inventions had given him bulkpensations every after a sessful production. Therefore, a sry would restrict his movements and would defeat his grand scheme of things.


    "Really? You are earning more than 3000 per month." A deep sigh was released from Chester. He leaned back in his swivel chair and crossed his legs. "How about I increase the sry, would you ept it for 5000 units per month?"


    Now, Mister Leric was talking sense. Hearing about the 5000 units per month was a sry more than the earnings of Electrical Tier Scientists who managed manufacturing industries. On the other hand, it concluded his suspicion that there were no budget constraints under CBD management.


    "What about my rank? Is there a probability that I can increase it?" Lance asked.


    "Yes, of course. Every sessful production of your inventions would still be under the scrutiny of the Corporation under GLD-executedws for rankings. You still have to defend your weapon inventions to them and receive respectivemissions out of it."


    "What about the budget for my inventions? My equipment? I need my fabrication table to do new prototype construction."


    "Don''t worry about budget, Mister Berkley. You will have your equipment, your fabrication table, and all the resources you will need to mass-produce everything. You will be TOR on your own, of course with the blessing of Doctor Zee or Doctor Menks. They are my close friends,"


    Hearing the name of Doctor Levi Menks had raised his skin hairs, gooseflesh crawled all over his body. It was probably excitement that he was nearing his goal or maybe it was fear that Menks could have the power to take him down in one second. He could not fathom momentarily the grasp of Levi Menks among the leaders of the City, and the leverage he had with Chester Leric.


    "Where will I sleep, Mister Leric? My home is already ransacked by those monsters."


    "You will be relocating, Mister Berkley. SHF officers will guard you at all times for your safety of course. I want you to expedite everything without regard to budget constraints. Do what you must!"