ã€ŠThe Tower of Power: Business Editionã€‹


 Chapter I - For the Greater Good

    Monday, June 6, 2045

    Day 1

    Kaden stepped off the bus into the heart of the City. Butterflies rose in his stomach as he took in the skyscrapers. The bus door swung shut. He glanced back as the antigrav bus pulled up and away into traffic.

    Today was the first day of the internship program. His insides seethed with anticipation. Part of him still could not believe his good luck. Against almost impossible odds, he had secured a job at the world¡¯s most powerful and secretive company. And that company¡¯s secrets would soon be his.

    Kaden breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. Looking up, he found his destination ahead of him: the Tower, global headquarters of the Company. One hundred stories of brilliant glass and steel rose into the blue sky, a singular monolith of corporate power. None of the surrounding buildings came close to its height. Behind the towering, gleaming fa?ade, Kaden knew he could find answers to his questions. And revenge, he reminded himself.

    "The Company will pay," he muttered.

    Checking the time, Kaden decided he could afford to take a short side trip. He walked two blocks north and stopped at another bus stop. Kaden¡¯s father had died here under the bumper of a City antigrav bus. He took a moment to reflect on the events that had led to this point.

    The past year had been difficult for his family, and doubly difficult for Kaden to watch from afar. His family¡¯s business had been acquired and then shuttered by the Company; then his father had been crushed under a bus just two blocks from the Company¡¯s headquarters ¨C all while Kaden was away from home performing his mandatory selective service requirement for the Army. Every paranoid fiber in his being screamed at him to find out the truth of what had happened to his father and family business.

    In Kaden¡¯s eyes, the official narrative did not add up. But any digging he did only led to dead ends. The police were less than helpful. News organizations could not be bothered. Kaden¡¯s attempts to gather information from the Company itself had been successfully stonewalled. His attempts to discover the truth of what had happened had stalled out completely ¨C until he had found a way to join the Company and continue his search from the inside.

    He reflected on the truly gargantuan size and scale of the Company. They had products and businesses in almost every industry across the whole world. Across the street, an advertisement for the Company¡¯s clean energy affiliate CleanCo glowed brightly, with the tagline ¡°Powering the Future ¨C For the Greater Good¡± reminding everyone of the Company¡¯s monopoly on its wireless clean energy grid. The antigrav engine in the City buses came from the Company; the flatbed truck parked across the street was unloading a large HVAC unit with the Company logo emblazoned on the side; the crane preparing to lift the unit in place also used the Company¡¯s antigrav technology.

    Still, the Company was far from a panacea for all of society¡¯s ills. The news these days seemed to be nothing but war coverage for one of the many active shooting wars across the globe, but there was zero coverage of the Company¡¯s role in supplying weapons to both sides of most of those wars.

    Kaden¡¯s eyes fell on a homeless man curled up in the corner of a building shaded from the early morning sun. He had talked to him on multiple occasions, trying to find out if he witnessed anything the day his father died. All he got was a confused litany of conspiracy theories about the Company, of which Kaden had become depressingly familiar.

    If you knew where to look, it was easy to find story after story on the internet of deaths and disappearances on or near Company property. Unexplainable accidents; flashing lights; loud noises in the middle of the night, and glimpses of strange creatures near Company R&D facilities. But nothing was verifiable. No mainstream news outlets ever published anything negative about the Company, nor did any social media company allow negative posts to circulate for very long without being removed. There was a wrongful death lawsuit at a Company construction site that had popped up in the news cycle recently, but it had disappeared just as quickly. Nothing negative about the Company stayed in focus for very long.

    He sighed and gave the homeless man a one-hundred dollar bill before turning to walk to the Tower. He was now running a little bit late and needed to hurry.

    The Company¡¯s corporate campus extended all around and under the Tower, with additional buildings and an extensively landscaped park. Tightly trimmed green hedges, meticulous flower beds, burbling water features ¨C the grounds around the Tower were beautiful and immaculate. The clean, clear and polished appearance of the Tower stood in sharp contrast to the dark secrets Kaden hoped to expose.

    As Kaden neared the entrance, he craned his neck up to take in the full height of the Tower from close up. He could barely make out the roof line at the end of long raceways of aluminum mullions and tempered glazing. A massive hologram of the Company logo ¨C two triangles linked together in the shape of an hourglass ¨C hung in a neon haze on the front of the building. Every time he saw the logo, it reminded him of the black widow, one of the world¡¯s most deadly spiders. Like the black widow, he knew the Company was sneaky and deadly.

    Shivering just a little, Kaden squashed the uneasy feeling in his stomach. Straightening his tie, he pushed his way through the doors and into the lobby of the world¡¯s most powerful company, his new employer.

    Here we go, he thought. Time to squash some spiders and steal their secrets.

    <hr>

    ¡°Name and ID?¡±

    ¡°Kaden Chen, I''m a new intern,¡± he said to the guard at the security desk as he handed over his government ID.

    The multi-story marble lobby hummed with early morning arrivals. Kaden marveled at the ornate plaster frieze on the wall behind the security desk. Men and women looking like Greek gods fought mythical monsters with swords, lightning bolts and fire. The detail and craftsmanship were exquisite.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your ID and your temporary badge for today,¡± the guard said as he handed Kaden his ID and a red badge on a lanyard. ¡°That badge will get you to the auditorium on the second floor. Please proceed to the visitor check-in line on your right.¡± Looking over, he could see a long queue already forming in the visitor line, but all the regular employees badged their way through security checkpoints on the way to the elevator bank without any delay.

    Kaden realized everyone in this line appeared to be about his age (early twenties) and had red badges the same as him. Aha, he thought to himself. The competition. Studying the group a little more carefully, he picked up a clear pattern ¨C nervous fidgeting, ill-fitting department store business suits, shoes that were just a little too clean to have been worn more than once or twice. Typical business school grads. B-school brats.

    A woman in line behind Kaden walked by and went to one of the other lines for employees only. Despite having the same red visitor badge as Kaden, she tried to go through one of the open turnstiles and was quickly denied. Instead of walking back to the end of the line, the woman strode over to the head of the visitor line and cut directly in front of everyone else to proceed straight through to the other side.

    Kaden looked at the clock behind the security desk - 8:55am. Everyone at the back of the line was at risk of being late; and anyone with any business sense knew that it did not pay to be late on your first day. Following the first woman¡¯s example, a couple line cutters moved out of line and strode to the front.

    He rolled his eyes and looked around for other options. He did a double take as he noticed one of the line cutters.

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    Wait ¨C Mariko? Can¡¯t be, he thought.

    A petite, Japanese-American woman dressed in a black pants suit glided to the front of the line. That effortless way of walking ¨C she could balance a book on her head ¨C that was definitely Mariko. Also ¨C the same bob haircut as she had worn since middle school. But why here and why now? Was she also part of the intern program? Kaden wanted to find out. He almost jumped forward to follow, but held himself back. I don¡¯t want to be that guy, he thought.

    A conversation on his left caught Kaden¡¯s ear. A distinctly deep voice in a calm SoCal surfer accent carried across the lobby. A tall, lean middle-aged man with a shaggy head of blonde-tipped hair was having a conversation with the security guard.

    ¡°So Cliff, like, help a bro out, dude. Any other way up to the second floor? Don¡¯t want to be late, you know?¡±

    Kaden could almost feel the guard¡¯s eyes rolling from ten feet away.

    ¡°Stairs? For real? Which way? You¡¯re a lifesaver, bro. Have a great day!¡± the tall guy said as he walked the opposite direction around the corner.

    He had a choice ¨C stay in line and be late; cut in line and be a douche; or follow mystery surfer dude up the stairs and hopefully arrive on time and not have to backtrack.

    Figuring he would be late anyway if he stayed in line, he decided to try the stairs.

    He walked past the desk and around the corner to the other side. There was a very short line moving quickly through a security checkpoint to a bank of stairs on the opposite side. He scanned his badge, went through the metal detectors and hurried to catch up with the tall surfer bro.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Are you here for the internship program as well?¡±

    Surfer bro turned as he pushed open the stairwell door.

    ¡°Yeah man, sure thing! You too?¡± he said.

    Kaden nodded. ¡°I¡¯m Kaden,¡± stretching out his hand for a handshake.

    ¡°Call me Bill!¡± he replied, accepting the handshake. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the auditorium. We only got a couple minutes.¡±

    They hurried up the stairs, through the doors, and quickly joined a steady queue of other interns flowing down the hallway into a massive speaking hall. Soft beige carpet with red accents lined the hallway. Unlike the lobby, it was much quieter here, with a hushed and elegant atmosphere.

    Once inside the room, Kaden saw that it could easily seat at least two hundred. The room was already 75% full and filling quickly. He grabbed the nearest open seat.

    On stage at the front of the room, two figures, a man and a woman, stood conversing quietly. The woman wore a burgundy blazer and matching pencil skirt with a white blouse, her brown hair pulled up in an old-fashioned bun. Despite seeming relatively young, she definitely gave off crusty old school-teacher vibes.

    Next to her, a dark-haired man with horned-rimmed eyeglasses, aviator watch, a tailored blue suit and gold tie gestured to someone at the back of the room and then strode to the middle of the stage. To Kaden¡¯s eyes, he did not look particularly impressive from a casual glance. Middle-aged, clean-shaven, a little gray / white in his short-cropped hair; this guy looked like every other middle management drone on the streets of the City. But somehow this man exuded confidence and charisma, and as he reached the lectern, it was as if he turned up the volume on his presence in the room. Immediately the entire room fell silent and all eyes looked to him.

    A rakish smile broke across the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°Good morning. Welcome to the Company,¡± he said. A voice like late-night radio rolled across the room.

    ¡°My name is Alexander Wolfe. I am a Senior Vice President of the Company and this year¡¯s executive sponsor of the Intensive Internship Initiative.¡±

    He turned to his right and gestured to the woman standing respectfully to the side.

    ¡°With me today I have HR Specialist Carol Roche, who will be your primary day-to-day contact for those of you who participate in this year¡¯s program.¡±

    With this, Alexander paused for a moment and looked around the room, making eye contact with a number of eager, expectant faces. Alexander¡¯s face and tone became serious.

    ¡°¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all familiar with the amazing line of products the Company has developed and produced over the past twenty years. Products and services that changed the world: clean, renewable energy; anti-gravity engines; batteries that last almost forever; powerful weapons of devastating power and complexity. Those products have made the world a better place than the world your parents grew up in.

    ¡°That is our corporate mission: to power the future, for the greater good of humanity."

    Alexander paused for emphasis.

    ¡°All that we do here at the Company is for the greater good, and yet, the public face of the Company that you know is just the tip of the iceberg. You know nothing about what truly happens here or why the Company exists.¡±

    Kaden¡¯s heart pounded. This is why he was here; to learn these secrets and uncover the corrupt power behind the curtain.

    ¡°And today, some of you, but not all, will gain access to that knowledge.¡± Alexander let that sink in.

    ¡°There are more than two hundred of you in this room. You represent the best and brightest that the top universities in the world have to offer. However, I have to tell you that not all of you belong here.¡±

    Looks of uncertainty and feelings of dread passed through the room.

    ¡°Allow me to give you some advice. First of all, this program is a competition. At the end of the summer, the Company will select only ten of you for our management fasttrack program. It goes without saying that most of you will not make it.¡±

    Kaden looked around the room at the assembled group. Mostly B-school brats, maybe a few super ambitious undergrads. He did not like the way they were all being pitted against each other from the start, but even so, he was feeling good about his chances. If it¡¯s a game they want us to play, Kaden thought, then I will play to win.

    ¡°Secondly,¡± Alexander continued, ¡°in order to succeed, you will all need to demonstrate successful results. Again ¨C the results you deliver from this day forward are the only thing that matters, not what brought you to this point.¡±

    If that¡¯s true, Kaden thought, then that¡¯s good news for me. Looking around at the rest of the room, he knew he didn¡¯t belong with the rest of the Ivy League and super educated crowd. His path to this role was the non-traditional remote testing route, which did not take any resume or past experience into consideration.

    ¡°Lastly, it goes without saying, but I¡¯ll say it anyway. Only the strongest and most capable will survive.¡±

    That¡­ was a creepy thing to say.

    With that, Alexander leaned back and glanced at his watch. He turned to look at Carol, who nodded.

    ¡°I am truly looking forward to telling you more about the Company and the exciting internship program we¡¯ve put together this year, but unfortunately we must pause and take care of some paperwork. Please proceed through the exit door on my left, where our HR team has prepared our standard non-disclosure package for each of you.

    ¡°As you may have guessed, the Company is quite protective of its confidential information¡­ and we go to great lengths to protect it.¡±

    Kaden nodded his head. He expected something like this. There had to be some reason why it was so difficult to find out about the inner workings of the Company and its operations. It made sense that information was carefully guarded, compartmentalized, and protected.

    Glancing again at Carol, Alexander added, ¡°Oh and I¡¯m told by HR that I¡¯m obligated to tell you that proceeding with the NDA process is completely voluntary.¡± The rakish smile returned. ¡°Those of you who wish to leave may do so at any time prior to completing the NDA.¡±

    ¡°Good luck!¡± he said, and strode off the platform and through the waiting open door.

    The room slowly filled with quiet conversation. Seat neighbors looked at each other and asked affirming questions about what to do next. Slowly a line of people formed leading through the open door. Kaden noticed that the blonde-haired line cutter from the lobby was first in line out of the room.

    Kaden made his way into line.

 Chapter II - In for a Penny, In for a Pound

    Prospective interns slowly filed out of the auditorium. The room buzzed with whispered conversations. Kaden was not particularly in a hurry. He caught sight of Bill also making his way into the line, and held back a bit so he would meet Bill as the line moved forward.

    Like Kaden, Bill was clearly not from the same class as most of the other people in the room. While dressed nicely, Bill stood out in his rolled up white shirt sleeves, loosely tied pencil-thin black tie, skinny black jeans and glossy black boots. Bill might have been twice the age of everyone else in the room, but he didn¡¯t seem to care.

    ¡°Hey Bill,¡± Kaden said in greeting.

    ¡°Kaden, what¡¯s up, bro. How ya feeling? Interesting speech from the big boss man,¡± Bill replied.

    A couple heads turned and frowned at them but Kaden just shrugged. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see what he means shortly enough.¡±

    Bill nodded. ¡°Like, they call it the Tower of Power for a reason, right? ¡®Only the strong survive¡¯ seems totally on-brand.¡± Kaden shrugged.

    ¡°I was assigned to the Marketing group,¡± Bill continued. ¡°How about you?¡±

    Kaden paused and thought for a moment. Bill seemed like a nice guy and potentially a good connection to have. He was loath to trust anyone at the Company, even a new intern, but he also knew he would have to develop allies if he wanted to accomplish his goals. Kaden decided a straight-forward, trust-but-verify style approach would probably be best.

    ¡°Mailroom,¡± Kaden said with a smile.

    Bill raised his eyebrows and nodded. ¡°Right on, right on.¡±

    ¡°So Bill,¡± Kaden said, ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind me asking, but you seem like a non-traditional intern. What brought you to this program?¡±

    Bill chuckled. ¡°Yeah man, you know, one day I just saw this ad for an online test to take for this opportunity. Looking into it, it seemed like a good change of pace for me. Opportunity to learn something new, you know? New challenge, feed the growth mindset and all that, you feel me?¡±

    Kaden raised an eyebrow. ¡°Interesting¡­ I also got in with the online test. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what did you do before this?¡±

    Bill mimed an air guitar. ¡°Rockstar, bro,¡± he replied with a wink.

    Kaden laughed.

    He felt fortunate to meet someone else who had been accepted through the online exam. It had taken him almost 16 hours to complete all of the tests, and he had finished with only 30 minutes to spare. It was a little strange how the assessments had been so much like the classic RPG video games he used to enjoy as a young teenager, but hey, it was about time all those hours deep in gaming tactics started to pay off.

    They exited the room. Following the flow of traffic, Kaden found himself directed to an empty cubicle where there was a paper document and a pen. He sat down and started reading the document.

    From working summers at his father¡¯s small business, he had a passing familiarity with some standard business documents ¨C contracts, NDAs, supply agreements, etc. This document was surprisingly easy to read, without too much legal jargon, but it had some very interesting and unexpected clauses in it.

    Never tell anyone anything about the inner workings of the company? Consent to monitoring and tracking of all communications, inside and outside Company grounds for compliance with the confidentiality terms of this agreement? Indemnify the Company and its affiliates from any and all personal harm? Consent to receive any and all medical implants required for your assigned job role? Agree to have your memory wiped if you ever decide to leave the Company?

    Who would accept any medical implant the Company wanted you to have? And how would they wipe your memory? Kaden was unaware of such technology. He glanced around and saw more than one person getting up to ask questions from floating HR staff. Part of Kaden was tempted to get up and leave. Anyone with an ounce of sense in their head would never sign such a document.

    Kaden stood up to look around and he saw Bill leaving a nearby cubicle. He handed a signed copy of the NDA to a nearby staff person and walked by Kaden on the way out. Bill gave him a wink.

    ¡°See you on the other side, bro,¡± Bill said.

    Kaden sat back down and reviewed his options. Sure, there were risks, and not just the legal issues raised by this lawyer¡¯s wet dream of an NDA. Alexander¡¯s final piece of advice still rang in Kaden¡¯s ears¡­ only the strong survive¡­ For some reason, Kaden felt more was at stake here than just participation in an internship program. He may have been reading in-between the lines a bit, but the whole experience thus far pointed to much higher stakes. His life might even be on the line.

    Kaden thought back to last year, when he was stationed halfway around the world in Korea, serving his mandatory selective service requirement in the Army. Forced to do logistics paperwork day in and day out while he waited for an update on the buy-out of his family¡¯s business. At first things seemed really good; lots of money, perhaps even early retirement for his parents. But when the Company took over control of the business, they fired everyone and closed the business down with no warning and no severance pay. Out of a feeling of guilt or compassion or perhaps both, his father then shared most of his own payout with the staff. His family was left with very little.

    And then.. After a meeting at Company headquarters, his father had supposedly died in a bus accident. Body mangled beyond recognition. Kaden never got to say goodbye in person.

    In for a penny, in for a pound, as Dad used to say, Kaden thought darkly. He gritted his teeth and scratched out a furious signature. He had to know about this Company and what happened here. He had to know what happened to his father and their business. He would do anything to find out.

    A staff member appeared next to him. ¡°I¡¯ll take the signed copy please, and if you could head in that direction,¡± pointing to the right. Kaden started walking, making his way past a crowd of angry-looking would-be interns talking animatedly with another Company staff member. They were trying to talk their way through striking or revising some of the terms, but the staff was making it very clear that the only way forward was to sign the document as-is. He pushed his way through the others. He received quite a bit of side eye and even openly hostile looks as he made his way forward. He didn¡¯t care.

    Leaving the open office area, Kaden walked into an adjacent hallway which led to another large auditorium, a mirror image of the first. While the first had finished with warm red tones and felt somewhat inviting, this room felt somehow harsh and cold. Cool gray carpet with blue-accented seats gave off a completely different vibe. Finding an empty row, Kaden sat down. He was surprised to see the room less than half full. A few more folks trickled in, but the group in this auditorium was much, much smaller than the group in the first meeting. Clearly a large number of people had not yet signed the NDA.

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    Alexander Wolfe was again at the center stage of the room. He appeared to be counting the number of people in the room. Looking satisfied, he gestured to the back of the room, and a group of security guards dressed in form-fitting black suits and dark glasses closed the doors and then took positions in front of the stage.

    All eyes were toward the front as Alexander spoke.

    ¡°OK ¨C now that we have thinned the herd, the fun can begin,¡± he said. ¡°Little did you know, but that was your first test. Congrats on passing! Those who could not accept the terms of the NDA within a set time limit have been disqualified from further participation. But all the better for your chances ¨C we¡¯re now down to just over one hundred potential interns.¡±

    Alexander took a moment to gather his thoughts and look around the room.

    ¡°Does anyone know how it all works, how we create and power our products?¡± Alexander looked around the room questioningly. ¡°Have any of you successfully reverse-engineered any of our products?¡± Alexander asked, letting the question hang in the air.

    Kaden almost rolled his eyes. Of course not, he thought. It was common knowledge that no one knew exactly how the Company¡¯s products were powered. Any attempt at reverse engineering the power source in any of their devices always failed. Tampering with a Company product always resulted in a damaged or useless product.

    ¡°This will come as a shock to most of you, but I assure you that what I¡¯m about to tell you is both the absolute truth and the most shocking secret of your life.¡±

    Alexander paused for effect, looking around the room and making pointed eye contact. He leaned forward, eyes gleaming. ¡°It¡¯s magic!¡± he whispered in a hushed tone.

    This time, Kaden did roll his eyes, frustrated. Come on, man, get serious. What¡¯s really going on here?

    Clearing his throat, Alexander stood up and adopted a more serious tone. ¡°But seriously, that¡¯s the truth. It¡¯s not ¡®like¡¯ magic; for all intents and purposes, it is magic. And the Company controls all of it.¡±

    Kaden frowned. What did he mean, magic? Sure, a lot of the Company¡¯s technology seemed like magic. But so does a lot of technology if you are unfamiliar with it. Where¡¯s he going with this?

    ¡°Now, I know what you¡¯re thinking. Once upon a time, not too long ago, I was just like you, listening to a Company manager give me this same speech.

    ¡°I could talk to you for an hour about the history of the Company and how it all works blah blah blah, but I think that misses the point, which is this ¨C ¡° Alexander paused for effect. ¡°The point ¡­ is power. Overwhelming power. More power than you can imagine. That¡¯s magic. And I¡¯m going to show you.¡±

    Heads in the room turned in confusion and shock. What was the guy talking about? No one knew. Kaden was floored. This was why he was here. He wanted to see this magical power.

    ¡°Allow me to complete a small demonstration.¡± Alexander¡¯s grin widened with devilish glee.

    ¡°Oh! I almost forgot,¡± he paused and sighed. ¡°Before the show, HR and legal need me to remind you of a few things: one, for your safety, stay in your seat during the demonstration, we won¡¯t be responsible for your death or injury if you can¡¯t comply with that directive; second, you can exit the program and this Company after the demonstration, per the terms of your NDA, which will wipe your memory of this event and all knowledge of the secrets you¡¯re about to witness. Understood?¡± Alexander looked around the room.

    Feelings of confusion, skepticism and flitted across the faces of the crowd. Already, it was clear that this was not a normal internship program. Should they be worried for their safety? Concerned for their memories? Even so, it was one thing to claim to be able to adjust someone¡¯s memory¡­ it was quite another to actually do it.

    Alexander took his mobile out of his pocket and swiped some controls. A curtain at the back of the auditorium started to open. Then Alexander took a second device out of his pocket: an emerald-green crystalline structure in the shape of a small handle.

    Kaden¡¯s eyes went wide as he recognized the geometry of the crystalline form in Alexander¡¯s hand. It looked exactly like one of Dad¡¯s research projects! Kaden craned his neck to get a better look. Two tetrahedra ¨C like pyramids with a triangular base ¨C were embedded within each other, with the wider bases of the pyramids on the outside. It looked like there were attachments on the ends of the emerald crystal, but he couldn¡¯t see clearly.

    Kaden¡¯s attention was redirected to the back of the auditorium stage as gasps filled the room. A large cage sat at the rear of the stage. Inside, a large feline shape stood up and began to growl.

    Lights over the seats went dark, and spotlights lit up the stage. Kaden could now see that what he thought had been a lion was, in fact, a lion in the front, hippo in the back, but with the head of a crocodile. Burning, beady eyes of an unnaturally red color focused intently on Alexander.

    For his part, Alexander calmly stepped toward the creature, gripping the emerald crystal in his right hand. The cage door opened, and quicker than thought, the beast leaped forward, crocodilian maw open wide.

    Time froze in Kaden¡¯s mind as he watched with fascination and heart-pounding horror as the beast¡¯s rows of flashing teeth reached for Alexander¡¯s head. Alexander raised his right hand, almost lazily, as a liquid green light flowed out of the emerald into a rope reaching to the floor.

    At the last moment, Alexander flicked his right wrist and the emerald green light whipped through the monster. A crack sounded, and an explosion of fur, bone, flesh and teeth flew through the room. In a flash, it was over. A pile of monster gore flailed around the stage, as the hippo-shaped legs pushed the destroyed front half of the monster around in a couple circles before finally getting the signal its front half was well and truly dead. The dead body of the monster shimmered and gradually disappeared in waves of iridescent smoke.

    Kaden glanced to his left where a crocodile tooth had landed on the floor next to him. He picked it up. The tip was razor sharp and very, very real. Slowly he took out his wallet and carefully folded the large tooth into the billfold so he could keep it in his pocket without poking himself or tearing his clothes.

    Alexander turned slowly to survey the crowd. The devilish grin was in full force and matched an unmistakable green glint in his eyes. The magic whip disappeared back into the crystal, which Alexander calmly pocketed in his suit pocket. He slowly walked back to the front of the stage, surveying the shocked crowd.

    ¡°Freakin¡¯ awesome, am I right?¡± Alexander couldn¡¯t seem to help himself.

    Kaden¡¯s thoughts raced as he grappled with what he was watching. Such intense violence¡­ magical creatures¡­ Was my dad mixed up in this stuff? Did he learn something he shouldn¡¯t have?

    ¡°Here¡¯s the deal,¡± Alexander continued. ¡°Monsters are real. Monsters are magical. Monsters give us mana, which is the energy that powers the Company. This mana is a very precious and extremely limited resource. With all of its amazing applications, it¡¯s the most valuable commodity in the world. And not to mention, R&D continues to make groundbreaking discoveries with real world applications that would blow your mind.

    ¡°Also ¨C you should know, we don¡¯t just do this for fun or for the money, even though we have a ton of fun making a lot of money ¨C the Company also plays a crucial role in protecting the normal world from monsters like the one you saw today. If we were not here to protect the world from knowledge of such beasts, the world would devolve into chaos. It¡¯s a win-win.¡±

    Kaden nodded to himself slowly, a resolution forming in the pit of his stomach. If it was magic that had taken his dad¡¯s life, then magic was what he would learn. This was the right path. He would find the answers he was looking for; that¡¯s all he cared about.

    Alexander continued. ¡°So here¡¯s what you have to do. You have a choice. If you want to help the Company fight monsters and ¨C quite literally ¨C save the world on a daily basis, please proceed to the right and join Carol. She¡¯ll take you to your next orientation activity.

    ¡°If you decide you do not like what you¡¯ve seen today, you can exit to your left. Regrettably, if you exit to the left, you will not remember any of this. The choice is up to you.¡± Without another word, Alexander turned to go.

    In for a penny, in for a pound, Kaden thought, as he led the way through the door on the right.

 Chapter III - Deadline

    Tuesday, June 7, 2045

    Day 2

    The hot summer sun rose over the City. The sun¡¯s rays shone deep into cross streets canyons. Shadows stretched behind the tall buildings, holding on to the fading darkness of the night.

    Squinting against the bright sun, Kaden crossed 1st Street and stepped into the cool shadow of the Tower. His thoughts went back to the end of the day yesterday, rubbing the bandage in between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. He contemplated how far he was willing to go to uncover the truth.

    After yesterday¡¯s demonstration, almost all of the interns joined Kaden in continuing with the Program. A few bowed out, leaving exactly 99 interns. There were a few additional orientation activities, like a tour of the Company cafeteria on the 3rd Floor and a catered lunch.

    And then, for the final activity of the first day, the Company installed an implant in the hand of each intern.

    The narrative from the Company was simple and straightforward, and made sense, to a certain extent. Every employee in the Company received an implant. The implant provided unique access control to Company devices and Company property. There were no passwords, no keys, and no way to pretend to be anyone other than who you were. Also, there was no choice ¨C take the implant, or leave the Company and ostensibly have your memory wiped.

    Kaden did not trust the explanation from the Company. He wondered what else the implant did. With the power of magic, who knew what was possible by inserting such devices into their bodies?

    Kaden already had a very strong suspicion that the Company used the implants not just for access control to Company property, but also used them to keep employees from sharing Company secrets.

    Last night, Kaden told his mom and sister all about his first day. He tried to tell them everything, but he found himself unable to describe anything about magic, or monsters or any of the details that might be considered confidential. As in physically unable to speak. He tried, more than once; but the words died in his throat. It was as if his body was too tired or lethargic to comply.

    He even pulled the crocodile tooth from his wallet, where he had stowed it after Alexander¡¯s demonstration, and showed it to them. He hoped he would be able to tell them about what he had witnessed, but something kept him silent. It was all he could do to stay awake in his chair. His mom and sister seemed worried by the awkward and lengthy pause. Kaden explained it away as just being tired after a long day, and went to bed early. He left the tooth at home on his dresser, a reminder of the deadly secrets he was unable to share.

    It was frustrating to discover the depth and strength of the magic controlling the Company¡¯s confidential information. He had no idea how it worked, but he now knew that everyone in the Company was severely limited in what they could or couldn¡¯t say about the Company to outsiders. That helped explain why the Company was able to keep the monsters secret. But it didn¡¯t explain all the rumors of accidents on Company property, nor his father¡¯s death.

    Even if I can¡¯t expose the Company today, it doesn¡¯t matter, Kaden told himself. What mattered was access to the Company ¨C and access to the information he needed. He would find a way around the restrictions in the future, if he had to.

    Kaden shook off these thoughts as he pushed through the entry turnstile into the Tower lobby. Today was a big day. He was supposed to meet his manager, start his official role in the mailroom, and receive his standard Company kit. He was excited to see what new developments the day would bring.

    Kaden badged through security, now able to use the implant in his hand instead of a visitor badge. The mailroom was on the first floor, past the elevator bank. Kaden easily found the entrance, and with a deep breath, he opened the door and walked into a large, open room.

    In the center of the room, boxes of mail and packages rested on a sorting table. A short, thin man with graying hair at this temples was busy picking envelopes out of a box and tossing them into cylindrical openings on the right wall. The door closed behind Kaden with a loud clang, and the man looked up.

    He greeted Kaden with a thin smile, walking over to shake his hand.

    ¡°Intern?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me. Kaden Chen.¡±

    ¡°Peter Ndugu.¡± He pointed to a door to Kaden¡¯s left, opposite the wall with the cylinders for envelopes. ¡°Julia¡¯s office is over there, she¡¯s expecting you.¡± With a curt nod, Peter returned to his task.

    Kaden walked over to the door, but then paused to watch Peter work a moment. He was fast. And ridiculously accurate. He barely glanced at each envelope before tossing each one over ten feet into one of the openings on the wall. The wall was covered with cylinder tubes, and each envelope went into a different tube. Peter never missed.

    How¡¯s he doing that, Kaden wondered.

    He knocked on the door of Julia¡¯s office. ¡°Come in,¡± a voice called out.

    Julia Kingsley, Mailroom Manager, sat behind well-worn brown desk, typing rapidly on a laptop. She closed the lid and stood up as Kaden entered.

    ¡°Welcome,¡± she smiled, extending a hand. ¡°Have a seat,¡± gesturing at one of the chairs opposite her desk.

    Julia was a petite woman dressed in a no-nonsense business suit. She had graying, black hair and appeared to be in her late 40s. Her face seemed naturally serious, but a warm smile came easily.

    ¡°So second day at the Company ¨C how was yesterday, by the way?¡± Julia asked.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Kaden shrugged. ¡°It was ¡­ interesting, I suppose.¡±

    Julia chuckled. ¡°I heard about it. Alexander Wolfe¡­ yeah, he¡¯s something else.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Anyway, glad to have you.

    ¡°I¡¯m the manager here in the Mailroom. We¡¯re a small group. We don¡¯t receive enormous amounts of mail and packages, but we do more than you might think. As you can imagine, we¡¯re connected in someway to almost every department and office here in the Tower, so that keeps things interesting.

    ¡°So first things first ¡­ I have something for you,¡± she said, pulling a mobile device out of a desk drawer. ¡°Let¡¯s hope this works ¨C it¡¯s supposed to be paired to your implant chip.¡±

    Kaden took the device and powered it on. The red Company hourglass logo filled the screen for a moment, and then a message bar appeared.

    ¡°You¡¯ve met Peter, I take it?¡±

    Kaden nodded.

    ¡°Great. We¡¯ll rejoin him in a few minutes and get you started on helping out there.¡±

    ¡°Looks like its syncing,¡± Kaden said, ¡°And now it looks like I¡¯m in,¡± turning the phone to Julia to show a home screen with a collection of pre-installed apps.

    ¡°Alright ¨C excellent. Messages, email, meeting calendar, payroll, etc. ¨C it¡¯s all on that device. I¡¯d show you how to use it, but honestly, you¡¯ll spend a few minutes with it and probably be teaching me how to use it by the end of the day.

    ¡°Before we get started sorting mail, I¡¯m curious ¨C what did you think of the online exam?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Kaden paused a moment to collect his thoughts. What¡¯s the right thing to say? ¡°It was pretty intense, but also a lot of fun. It was very different than other skill assessments I¡¯ve taken. But once I understood the structure of each game, I was able to dive into it.

    ¡°Actually it reminded me a lot of the classic role-playing games I used to play growing up. The strategy, tactics. Thinking ahead to solve problems, that sort of thing. There was a clear story to each of the quests, and once you understood the story, the path to clearing it became clear. But I could see how some people might get stuck and not finish within the time limit.¡±

    Julia nodded. ¡°Thanks for the feedback. Peter and I actually worked on that test this year. It was one of our Plus assignments. You did pretty well on it, too, by the way. Not the best, but pretty close.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear.¡± Interesting¡­he thought. Who did better than me? Perhaps Bill? I don¡¯t know of any other interns who tested into the program like us.

    ¡°If I could ask a question ¨C what¡¯s a Plus assignment?¡±

    ¡°Right ¨C so this morning when you came in, you saw Peter sorting the mail, right? That¡¯s an important part of Peter¡¯s work¡­ but not all of it. He has extra assignments that vary through the year, mostly project-based work. Everyone in the Company has a primary ¡°day job,¡± so to speak, plus extra assignments to further the Company goals.

    ¡°So as an intern ¨C your primary role will be assisting Peter with sorting, deliveries, and other tasks we do to keep the Mailroom running. You will also have Plus assignments throughout the internship. More to come on that later.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head out to the sorting room. I¡¯d like you to help Peter with sorting this morning¡¯s mail.¡±

    Kaden followed Julia out the door and over to the sorting table.

    Julia pointed to a box of mail on the table. ¡°Here¡¯s your box. Take a look at the addressee, see what department it goes to, and put the envelope in the appropriate hole on the wall.¡±

    Pointing to the wall of cylindrical holes, Julia said, ¡°That¡¯s a pneumatic tube delivery system. There are two hundred department addresses on that wall. They¡¯re each labeled with the department code.¡±

    Squinting at the wall, Kaden leaned forward and could make out ¡°X-1¡± in tiny font under one of the openings.

    ¡°Make sense?¡± Julia asked.

    Kaden nodded. ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°Good. If you have any questions, just ask Peter, he¡¯ll help you out.¡± Peter was still doing his thing, pausing only long enough to grab another box of mail off the floor. Kaden estimated he was going through at least three envelopes a second. Paper was literally flying at the wall.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back to check on you in about half an hour. You need to finish sorting the whole box by then. If sorting is done by then, you¡¯ll get to keep your job. If not, I¡¯ll have to look into having you reassigned or dropped from the program.¡±

    Wait what? Kaden thought. That¡¯s extreme.

    Kaden looked at Peter, who just smirked. Julia was already walking back to her office. Nothing else to do but get this task done as quickly as possible.

    Kaden picked up an envelope out of his box. He looked all over, but there was no department code. He picked up a different envelope, and then another. There were department names but no department code.

    ¡°Hey Peter,¡± Kaden called, ¡°Sorry to bother you, but there¡¯s no department code on the envelopes.¡±

    ¡°Ah right,¡± Peter said and then frowned. ¡°Let me see¡­ I think we have a hard copy of the department directory around here somewhere¡­¡± Peter walked over to a desk in the corner, rummaging around in a drawer until he pulled out a greasy and well-worn laminate sheet filled with columns of 10pt font.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± Peter said and went to back to slinging paper.

    It took Kaden a minute, but he found the cross reference. ¡°S-3,¡± he muttered, turning to the wall. Bottom right corner.

    Kaden went to the wall, paused to make sure he wouldn¡¯t get in Peter¡¯s way, then pushed the envelope into the tube.

    One down, Kaden thought. At least one hundred more to go.

    Kaden did three more envelopes in about five minutes. Peter was almost done with all the other boxes in the room. At this rate, there was no way Kaden was going to get through this box in thirty minutes.

    As Peter went to grab the last box, Kaden interrupted with a question.

    ¡°So Peter, I have a question if that¡¯s alright.¡± Peter looked up.

    ¡°There¡¯s a better way to do this, right? I mean, you¡¯re plowing through like 200 envelopes a minute and I¡¯m over here moving slower than a snail. Any advice on how I can speed this up?¡±

    Peter thought a moment and then said, ¡°Actually about 220 envelopes per minute. But who¡¯s counting?¡±

    He smiled at his own joke. ¡°Yes ¨C to answer your question, there¡¯s definitely a better way. But you don¡¯t have the tools or skills yet.¡±

    Kaden frowned. What was he supposed to do? If he didn¡¯t find a way out of this, he wasn¡¯t going to make it past his second day on the job.

 Chapter IV - Deliverable

    Kaden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Either there was a way out, and he would find it; or there wasn¡¯t. If he was being purposely set up to fail, there was nothing he could do about it. On the other hand, if there was a way through this, he would do his best to find it.

    Peter was about halfway through his last box.

    ¡°So Peter ¨C how long have you been working here?¡±

    Peter slowed down a little but kept going through the box. ¡°Yeah, about 10 years or so.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s Julia as a manager?¡±

    Peter shrugged. ¡°Pretty good, I guess. I¡¯ve had worse. She can be pretty demanding; very high standards. She likes to crack the whip, if you know what I mean. But she¡¯ll also go to bat for you if needed. She takes care of her people, unlike other managers I¡¯ve had. Some people make a habit of throwing their subordinates under the bus, so to speak.¡±

    Kaden winced.

    ¡°So look,¡± Kaden said. ¡°There¡¯s almost no way I¡¯m going to finish this up in 30 minutes. I see how the system works, but I have no idea how you¡¯re doing what you¡¯re doing so quickly.¡±

    Peter nodded as he wrapped up the last of the envelopes in his box, paper flying in perfect arcs across the room.

    ¡°Any chance you can help me wrap this up? Maybe I can help you with something else in return?¡±

    Peter shrugged. ¡°Sure, ok. In return, you can help me hand-delivery larger packages. Sound good?

    Kaden nodded. ¡°Sure. Thanks!¡± What choice did he have?

    ¡°Hand over that box,¡± Peter said.

    Kaden did so gladly. Peter made short work of the box. Kaden felt relieved the task was done on time, even though he had to ask for help. He was still amazed at how quickly Peter could pick up the envelopes and throw each of them so accurately.

    ¡°So do you mind explaining how you¡¯re doing what you do?¡± Kaden asked. ¡°If that¡¯s ok to ask.¡±

    Peter pointed to his eyes. ¡°Optical implants. Augmented reality overlay. AI-assisted recognition algorithm I coded myself. All of that combined literally shows me which tube each envelope should go in ¨C a visual overlay in the heads-up display embedded in my eyes.¡±

    Peter held up left hand, pointing to a pair of rings on his thumb and index fingers. ¡°Custom wards. You¡¯ll learn more about these sometime this week, but basically they help me steer anything I throw with that hand. It gets complicated, I¡¯ll explain some other time, but basically these are tools I¡¯ve built over the years using Company tech.¡± Peter shrugged.

    Kaden was amazed. While the Company sold and marketed a wide variety of products, there was nothing like that publicly available. He wondered what else was possible and if he could get his hands on something like that.

    Peter walked over to Julia¡¯s office and knocked on the door. Julia walked out.

    ¡°Done already?¡± Julia asked Kaden.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaden replied, and then added, ¡°Peter helped me get it done quickly. I offered to help him with deliveries in return.¡±

    Julia nodded her head and turned her head to Peter. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Peter shrugged. ¡°Good enough.¡±

    Good enough? It seemed like they had planned this out, as if Peter was in on the test.

    ¡°OK, great!¡± Julia smiled. ¡°Kaden ¨C so we¡¯re clear ¨C what we do here in the Mailroom is more about connection and influence, and less about mail and packages,¡± she said, gesturing to the sorting table.

    ¡°Despite doing well on the entrance exam, I needed to know a couple things right away ¨C one, are you willing to ask for help if you need it; and two, are you able to develop a connection and influence a situation to a desirable outcome. I can¡¯t have someone working for me who¡¯s overly reliant on their own abilities and unable to build their own support network. Make sense?¡±

    Kaden nodded.

    ¡°Excellent ¨C so now we have a reward for you for passing our little test. Peter?¡±

    Peter went over to the desk in the corner and pulled a box out of one of the drawers. He brought it over to the table and gestured for Julia and Kaden to join him there. He opened the box and Kaden saw ten or so pairs of eyeglasses, of varying different shapes and sizes.

    ¡°You get to pick one of these,¡± Peter said. ¡°Not quite the same as my implants, but similar tech. You¡¯ll be able to pair them with your mobile and other Company devices.¡±

    Kaden looked over the frames. None of them we¡¯re going to win any fashion awards.

    ¡°Which ones are best?¡± Kaden asked.

    Peter looked to Julia. ¡°What do you think? How about the 36-Es?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, yeah that should be fine. Still in beta phase but they passed all the QC checks, right?¡±

    Peter nodded.

    Julia picked up a pair of black, circular-framed glasses with thick lenses and handed them to Kaden. ¡°Try these on.¡±

    Kaden took them and put them on. Remarkably, they fit pretty well.

    ¡°Pair those with your mobile and get used to navigating the message interface. You¡¯ll need to have that up and running before you make your first delivery.¡±

    Julia went to a corner of the room, retrieved a small package, and handed it to Kaden. It was addressed to Alexander Wolfe, SVP of Product Development, 39th Floor.

    ¡°For the summer internship program, Mr. Wolfe has a temporary space on the 10th floor. He¡¯s typically on the 39th floor in the afternoon but works on the 10th floor in the morning. Before lunch, I¡¯d like for you to take this up to the 10th floor and personally hand it to him. I¡¯ve updated your badge for temporary access to the 10th floor. Do your best to deliver the package directly to Mr. Wolfe.¡±

    Kaden accepted the package. ¡°OK, will do!¡± he said, but his mouth also suddenly felt dry. Memories of yesterday flooded his mind ¨C the green whip slicing the crocodilian head; the teeth, bone and gore spraying the room; and the wicked grin on Alexander Wolfe¡¯s face. Such violent power.

    Kaden spent a few minutes working on the glasses. Peter showed him to adjust the notification settings. He also took a few minutes to orient Kaden to the tools for putting together an AR overlay algorithm.

    ¡°Later this morning, after we make our deliveries, I¡¯ll show you how to put together the code for the visual overlay to help sort the mail,¡± Peter promised. ¡°For tomorrow morning.¡±

    Now that Kaden was oriented to his new glasses, it was time to start making deliveries. Grabbing the package for Mr. Wolfe, he headed out the door of the Mailroom.

    As he made his way to the elevator, Kaden noticed Bill next to the front desk, squatting down next to a dog.

    Surprised, Kaden stopped and watched as Bill fed a cute, well-groomed Corgi a treat and scratched behind his ears. Intrigued, Kaden walked over to Bill.

    ¡°Hey Bill! Who is this? Did someone bring their dog to the office today?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Hey man, good morning!¡± replied Bill. ¡°Let me introduce you to Sandy. Sandy, this is Kaden. Kaden, this is Sandy, our resident canine office companion. He¡¯s the official office pet for the first ten floors. Sandy likes peanut butter.¡± Bill looked up at Kaden. ¡°Do you like peanut butter?¡±

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Kaden chuckled. ¡°Sure,¡± he replied as reached down to scratch behind Sandy¡¯s ears. ¡°So Sandy just stays here and roams around the office?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, pretty much! At night, he goes home with Cliff,¡± Bill gestured to the guard working the desk. ¡°There¡¯s actually an app on your mobile that will tell you Sandy¡¯s location and give you more information about him. You should definitely check it out.¡±

    ¡°I think I will,¡± Kaden replied. It was nice and somehow relaxing to see a dog during the day. The experience was comforting and homelike ¨C but also jarring and out of place here in the Tower.

    Sandy looked up at Kaden expectantly, panting slightly and tongue lolling to the side. It seemed like the Corgi was waiting for Kaden to give him a treat.

    Kaden smiled at the dog. ¡°I¡¯ll have a treat for you next time,¡± he told the dog.

    Kaden pulled out his mobile and searched for the app Bill mentioned. He installed it and pulled it up. He was prompted:

    Join canine neural interface trial? (Yes / No)

    Sure, why not, Kaden thought and selected Yes.

    Select translation algorithm:

    Corporate Standard

    Household Pet Standard

    No Filter (beta)

    ¡°Hey Bill, can you take a look at this? Do you know about these choices?¡±

    Bill stood up to look over Kaden¡¯s choices.

    ¡°So I¡¯m familiar with the first two but not the third, I wonder what that¡¯s about?

    ¡°So ¡®Corporate Standard¡¯ goes something like ¡®Good morning, how are you? Would you like to share a treat with me?¡¯ More formal language, I guess.

    ¡°I prefer ¡®Household Pet Standard¡¯ ¨C it¡¯s much cuter. ¡®Hi there! Can I have a treat? Aren¡¯t I cute today? Scratch my ears please!¡¯¡± Bill mimicked a small, cute voice.

    Bill reached down to scratch Sandy behind the ears. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, buddy? Aren¡¯t you the cutest.¡± For his part, Sandy leaned in to the scratching, eyes half-closed and clearly enjoying the attention.

    ¡°Cool ¨C thanks Bill. I think I¡¯ll try out this other third option, see what it¡¯s like.¡±

    Intrigued, Kaden selected No Filter (beta). The next screen showed a simple map of the Tower, Sandy¡¯s location, a log of his most recent activities, etc.

    ¡°So where you headed, Bro?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°Making a delivery,¡± Kaden said, holding up the package. ¡°Mailroom stuff.¡±

    ¡°Right on, right on. We should catch up at lunch or something, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Sure! Sounds good ¨C I¡¯ll message you later this morning.¡±

    With that, Kaden left Bill and Sandy and headed back to the elevator bank.

    Kaden had to scan through to a separate elevator bank for floors 10-20, and once inside the elevator, he had to scan his hand again to get the elevator moving to the 10th floor. Lots of security controls, but he was alone in the elevator as it rose smoothly.

    As the doors opened, Kaden stepped out into a small reception area. There were a handful of chairs, a couple coffee tables, and an administrative assistant sitting at a long desk. The admin glanced up as the elevator opened but then ignored him.

    Before Kaden could take step out of the elevator, a large, red notice popped up on his glasses:

    Warning - Restricted Area. Proceed with caution!

    Gravity force field in effect (2x)

    Ominous debuff active (minor)

    You have temporary authorization to enter this area.

    Huh? Gravity? Debuff? What did that mean?

    Kaden stepped out into the lobby, and he almost stumbled. It was as if a heavy weight was continuously pushing down on his body. A feeling of warning grew in his mind: You do not belong here. Something bad will happen if you do not leave now.

    Kaden clenched his jaw and struggled to the desk.

    ¡°Hello,¡± he managed to croak. The admin continued to ignore him, slowly chewing his gum.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Kaden repeated more loudly. ¡°I have a delivery for Alexander Wolfe.¡±

    The admin glanced up and pointed to a basket at the end of the desk. ¡°Deliveries over there,¡± he said dismissively.

    Kaden saw other packages and mail piled up there; however, Julia had been clear about delivering this package to Mr. Wolfe personally.

    Kaden frowned and cleared his throat. ¡°I was asked to deliver this to Mr. Wolfe personally ¡­¡±

    The admin looked up and focused on Kaden for the first time. ¡°Well¡­. To be honest, not sure if you can¡­ not sure how you got clearance for this level because you seem to be in over your head? I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to make it past the hallway if you can barely hold it together here.¡±

    Before Kaden could respond, a door to the hallway on the left opened and out walked Alexander Wolfe. Both the admin and Kaden turned to look, and Alexander paused on his way to the elevator.

    ¡°Is there something you need?¡± Alexander asked.

    The admin gestured lazily in Kaden¡¯s direction and went back to his desk screen. Kaden struggled to raise his arm; with double gravity, it was hard to move. Kaden managed to shakily hand over the package.

    ¡°Package for you, sir,¡± Kaden said.

    Alexander took the package, and examined it. ¡°Ah! Thank you. You¡¯re Kaden Chen, right? Assigned to the Mailroom?¡±

    Kaden nodded.

    ¡°Well then ¨C please give my regards to Julia. Looking forward to what the both of you can contribute to the program this year.¡±

    Alexander called the elevator and remarked, ¡°You know, it¡¯s been a long time since Julia requested an intern for her department; I do hope you have a good experience on the 1st Floor.¡± With a parting smile, Alexander went into the elevator and up.

    So this is what it¡¯s like, Kaden thought. 1st floor versus 10th Floor¡­ This is the difference in power.

    Kaden hit the down button. Sweat trickled down his brow. His hands were shaking and he was struggling to keep his breath. Kaden set his jaw and stood up as straight as he could. I can do this, he told himself.

    The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open.

    With relief, Kaden collapsed against the back wall of the elevator. Kaden was sweating and out of breath. Thankfully the cab was empty; no one else but the rude admin saw Kaden¡¯s discomfort.

    Kaden walked slowly back to the Mailroom, trying to recover from the experience.

    Julia was waiting for him when he got back with additional packages in her hands.

    ¡°So,¡± she started, raising an eyebrow. ¡°How did it go?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ to be honest, I had no idea such things existed. There was an extra gravity field in place plus something called an ominous debuff. But I did deliver the package directly to Mr. Wolfe,¡± Kaden added.

    Julia smiled. Somehow, Kaden felt like his boss had fully expected the experience to be painful¡­ and was enjoying it.

    ¡°Well done on making your first delivery! What you experienced were fields created by wards built directly into the Tower¡¯s infrastructure. Every floor has wards of various kinds ¨C of which the Tower¡¯s systems will inform you of some, but not all.¡±

    ¡°So why didn¡¯t the wards affect Mr. Wolfe or the receptionist on that floor?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Good question. There are a few different ways to combat the effects of those wards. For example, if your individual level is higher than the floor level, then you will generally but not always be immune to that type of ward. Even so, I doubt the receptionist is over level ten ¨C in this case, I suspect he had a counterward that negated those effects on his person. That¡¯s why I need you to focus on wards for the next week or so, because I want you to make more deliveries for me to that floor and others.¡±

    Kaden gulped. He couldn¡¯t say he looked forward to experiencing that Ominous debuff again¡­ so he definitely wanted to get whatever counterwards he could to help him make these deliveries.

    ¡°Where do I get these counterwards?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll learn about them in your training classes,¡± Julia replied. ¡°But don¡¯t forget to ask for help if you need it. For some locations, you¡¯ll need to take a special ward with you. Basically anything above the 10th floor or below the 1st floor, make sure you ask one of us first. When he gets back, Peter can show you where we keep specific counterwards ¨C we have a locker in the back and a check-in/check-out procedure.

    ¡°Until then¡­ here¡¯s another one¡­ Tenth floor again,¡± she said, handing him another package. A pit formed in Kaden¡¯s stomach.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be good for you. A learning experience,¡± she smiled.

    Kaden sighed. Reluctantly he turned around and set out to complete his second deliverable of the day.

 Chapter V - Deal

    Wednesday, June 8, 2045

    Day 3

    ¡°Whoa, dude, you¡¯re getting around! I thought interns weren¡¯t even allowed up on the 10th Floor,¡± Bill said in-between bites of his buffalo chicken wrap.

    Kaden and Bill sat at a small, circular table in a corner of the cafeteria on the 3rd floor. They decided to meet up for lunch today and compare notes. Kaden was wrapping up a quick summary of his first two days.

    ¡°It was definitely an interesting experience,¡± Kaden said. ¡°The pressure I felt while I was there was pretty intense. I guess my manager thought it would help me understand more about how the Tower works.¡±

    Bill nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been learning about Wards in the Marketing department. They can be quite complex, but it sounds like what you experienced was a pretty straightforward application of a security ward embedded in the floor structure. Pretty common application throughout the Tower, actually.¡±

    ¡°I also delivered a package to an HR manager¡¯s office on the 6th Floor yesterday,¡± Kaden added, ¡°and their office was definitely colder than the surrounding office area. Super frigid. Made me shiver.¡±

    Bill looked thoughtful. ¡°Probably intentional. I can see how that could be useful in some situations, like interviews or investigations. Imagine being interviewed in that environment?¡± Bill shook his head.

    Something occurred to Kaden. If that type of application of mana was common throughout the Tower, then were there wards all over the place?

    ¡°So what about here in the Cafeteria? Are there any active wards here?¡± Kaden asked.

    Bill nodded. ¡°Sure thing, dude ¨C let me think of a good example ¨C so, it¡¯s kinda hard to tell, but can you feel how the atmosphere here feels light and airy, like sunshine on a spring day?¡±

    Now that Bill mentioned it, Kaden thought he felt something. Even though they were far away from any exterior windows, their small table did seem to have an inviting and cozy atmosphere in the way that Bill was describing. Not in an overwhelming sense, but complimentary.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Yeah, I think I can sense that. Very interesting.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re the only intern in the Mailroom?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a small department. I¡¯ve only met one other employee besides my manager. Makes sense though. Most of the work is sorting through and delivering packages for different departments. It doesn¡¯t take all day. How about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m one of three interns assigned to Marketing. I¡¯ve actually only met my manager once for about five minutes. They hooked me up with an outside agency almost immediately. I¡¯m part of a team working on an upcoming social media campaign. Apparently they heard about some of my work moonlighting on social media strategy for my band, back in the day.¡±

    Bill raised his hands into an air guitar position and cracked an ironic smile. ¡°Once a rock god, always a rock god,¡± he intoned with a wink.

    Kaden laughed and shook his head.

    Bill pointed at Kaden¡¯s glasses. ¡°Those are interesting, I don¡¯t recognize those. It wasn¡¯t one of the choices I was offered.¡±

    ¡°Wait ¨C what do you mean choices?¡±

    ¡°On my second day, HR hooked me up with a standard Company kit. Mobile, specs, etc. I chose the contact lenses, since they have prescription lenses available. How about you?¡±

    So apparently everyone else got their specs for free, Kaden thought. He had to work for his pair and earn them from Peter and Julia. Interesting.

    Kaden shrugged. ¡°I was offered a few different choices and went with these. To be honest, I¡¯m not sure how it works.¡±

    He wanted to know more about what made his glasses special, but he didn¡¯t want to talk about it more with Bill at the moment.

    ¡°So did you see the message about team assignments that just came through?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Yeah! Teammates, bro! Rock on!¡± Bill stuck out his hand for a fist bump.

    ¡°Have you met the other person on our team? Jill, I think was her name?¡±

    ¡°Not yet. She¡¯s in the Purchasing Department. Haven¡¯t had a reason to go over there yet.¡±

    Kaden nodded. It felt comfortable to be on the same team as Bill, but without knowing what would be expected of them, it was impossible to know how to be successful. If the first couple days were any indication, there would be a lot of opportunities to fail out of the program. He didn¡¯t want anyone dragging him down.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look for a delivery opportunity to that department this afternoon, see if I can introduce myself in person.¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Bill said. ¡°And you¡¯re in the training at 3pm on the 4th floor, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Kaden looked at the time. ¡°We should get going.¡± Both stood up to go.

    They made their way back to the elevators through the cafeteria space. It was designed in such a way as to provide a lot of little nooks and crannies for individuals or small groups, but also retained an open and atmospheric feel with tall ceilings, lots of natural night and plenty of greenery. He thought he could hear a water-feature off to the side somewhere. Kaden shook his head; clearly, the Company spared no expense on corporate amenities.

    Before heading back to the Mailroom, Kaden decided to grab some coffee to go. He said goodbye to Bill and walked over to the coffee bar. He marveled at the beautiful sight in front of him: multiple, gleaming stainless steel espresso machines, imported from Italy, with a variety of fair trade blends and locally sourced beans available.

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    This ¨C this he could used to, Kaden thought as the espresso filled his cup.

    A notification popped up in the corner of his glasses. He focused on it for a moment to expand it. It was a message from Sandy, the office dog.

    Hey, bitch. Where¡¯s my peanut butter?

    Kaden raised an eyebrow. What the hell?

    Turning around, Kaden saw Sandy standing behind him. The Corgi was looking up at him with an open-mouth dog smile. He was panting a little bit, and licked his chops.

    ¡°Who me?¡± Kaden asked, pointing to himself.

    No no no - the other intern behind you. Of course, you! Did you forget about me? Not so smart, I see. Makes sense why you¡¯re ranked at the bottom of the list of interns.

    Sandy snorted, looked around and then back up at Kaden.

    Listen, kid, I ain¡¯t got all day. I¡¯ve got my rounds to make. Next time I see ya, I expect a double treat. You got it?

    While Kaden had no problem understanding the messages as they popped up on his glasses, he was having a hard time understanding what was happening. How is this dog talking to me? What¡¯s with the attitude? Is this some kind of shake down?

    A thought occurred to Kaden as he struggled to respond.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Kaden finally replied, kneeling down to speak more directly to the dog. ¡°But what¡¯s in it for me?¡±

    Sandy did one of those cute little doggy sneezes and fixed him with a one-eye stare. He raised a single paw towards Kaden.

    What¡¯s in it for you? You mean besides basking in the warm aura of my glory? Bitch, please. I might let you scratch my belly if you¡¯re a good boy.

    Kaden couldn¡¯t help but smile. This guy was over the top, but it was kinda charming. This ¡°no filter¡± setting on the AI-translator was for real.

    ¡°I tell you what,¡± Kaden said, as a passing pair of women paused their conversation to look over at him with strange looks. He paid them no mind, focusing on Sandy. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you a treat every day if you agree to tell me about the other interns. Feed me some intel, and I¡¯ll feed you all the treats you want.¡±

    Well well. Maybe you¡¯re not so simple after all. OK fine. It¡¯s a deal. Shake on it.

    The Corgi lifted his left paw in the air, waiting. Kaden reached down and shook it.

    But if you want the good stuff, you need to deliver. Got it?

    ¡°Got it!¡± Kaden said, standing up. ¡°Next time I¡¯d like to hear what you can tell me about my teammates, Bill Smith and Jill Chen.¡±

    Yeah yeah yeah. See ya later, kid.

    Sandy turned and waddled off. Not sure that dog really needs any more snacks, Kaden thought.

    When Kaden got back to the Mailroom, Peter was waiting for him.

    ¡°I have a job for you,¡± Peter said smiling. His hand rested on the handle of dolly loaded with large boxes.

    ¡°Ok! Where am I taking this?¡±

    ¡°Second Floor. Mark Hernandez. He¡¯s a director in the Purchasing Department.¡± Peter kept smiling.

    Kaden was suspicious. ¡°What¡¯s the catch? And why are you smiling?¡±

    Peter laughed. ¡°Oh you¡¯ll find out. Make this delivery and we¡¯re even from the other day.

    ¡°Also, let me show you where we keep our counterwards. You¡¯ll need to borrow one to carry all this stuff into Mark¡¯s office.¡±

    Peter led Kaden to a separate storage room in the back of the Mailroom. Inside, shelves with neatly organized equipment lined all the walls. In one corner was a locked cabinet. Peter took out a key and opened the cabinet doors.

    Peter pulled out a bin in the shelf on the middle and handed it to Kaden. Inside were dozens of matte black cylindrical tubes. Kaden picked one up. It was cool to the touch and fit within the palm of his hand.

    ¡°Sometimes we have to make deliveries to places with special protection measures,¡± Peter explained. ¡°Each of these has a label on it ¨C for example, there should be ones like ¡®+10¡¯ or ¡®anti-grav¡¯ or ¡®temp¡¯ for temperature control.¡±

    Peter hefted an overly large one. ¡°This guy is my favorite. ¡®+50.¡¯ Good times.¡±

    ¡°What does ¡®+50¡¯ mean?¡±

    ¡°You would need this for access to any floor above 50,¡± Peter replied.

    ¡°Oh ok.¡± It made sense for the Company to have additional access control for the higher levels. Kaden wondered what went on up there to warrant such secrecy.

    Peter fished around in the bin until he found what he was looking for. ¡°Here you go,¡± he said, handing it to Kaden. ¡°Pair it to your mobile, and you¡¯ll be able to access it on your interface.

    Kaden took the small tube with the label ¡°M.Hernandez.¡± He raised an eyebrow and looked back at Peter, who was looking a little sheepish.

    ¡°You guys have a specific counterward just for this Mark Hernandez?¡± Kaden asked.

    Peter laughed again and rubbed his chin. ¡°He¡¯s a special guy, what can I say.¡±

    Peter took the bin back and locked up the cabinet.

    ¡°So you know ¨C there is an electronic log of these devices recorded in the Company system. When you take anything out of this room, Julia¡¯s notified. Some of the stuff in here is pretty powerful, actually.¡±

    Good to know, Kaden thought. He was quite excited with this development. His thoughts were already starting to turn on how he could use this to his advantage.

    ¡°By the way, how are the new specs working for you?¡± Peter asked.

    ¡°Good so far!¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Still learning about all the features, of course, but no problems so far.¡±

    ¡°OK good, good,¡± Peter replied. ¡°Let me know if you have any issues.¡±

    Out in the main sorting room, Kaden paired the device to his system using an app on his mobile. As he did so, he noticed a small dot appear in the corner of his vision. Focusing on it, it expanded to a simple notification:

    Counterward ¡°Mark Hernandez¡±

    Status: Inactive

    Charge: 06 / 06

    ¡°Alright,¡± Kaden said, grabbing the dolly and heading for the door. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡±

    ¡°Have fun,¡± Peter called as he left the door. Kaden shook his head. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was just noobie hazing or if he should be worried. Both his manager and coworker seemed to have something of a sadistic streak. But at least he was getting opportunities to explore the Tower and meet lots of people within it. More deliveries and more connections meant more opportunities to peel back the Company¡¯s secrets.

 Chapter VI - We Are Not Friends

    Kaden pushed the dolly stacked high with boxes for Mark Hernandez out the door of the Mailroom. He needed to take this delivery to the second floor, so made his way to the elevator bank, skirting the main lobby as he did so.

    He had never been to the Purchasing Department before, so he stopped to ask directions. The admin at the reception desk pointed him down a row of cubicles. He pushed the dolly to the end of the row. Looking around, he noticed a row of offices lining the outside of the space, but he didn¡¯t see Mark¡¯s office right away. He did, however, spot a small group standing and chatting at one of the cubicles. Kaden thought he recognized one of them from the first day¡¯s orientation meetings.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Kaden said. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Mark Hernandez¡¯s office, can you guys point me in the right direction?¡±

    Three faces turned to look at him, two men and one woman. The two men turned back and continued talking to each other, ignoring Kaden.

    What the hell, Kaden thought. Did I do something to those two?

    The woman stood on the side, arms crossed, looking uncomfortable. She raised a hand and pointed back the way Kaden had come.

    ¡°That way,¡± she said. ¡°Corner office.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°I¡¯m Kaden Chen, by the way. I¡¯m one of the summer interns.¡±

    Her eyes widened and she stepped away from the other two to talk to Kaden. ¡°Me too! I¡¯m Jill. Jill Morris.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Kaden exclaimed. ¡°We¡¯re on the same team!¡±

    Jill smiled. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s good to meet you. I was thinking of messaging you and our other team member today.¡±

    ¡°Same here. Bill ¨C the other member of our team ¨C he and I actually met the first day, I think we all have a training session together later this afternoon.¡±

    Jill nodded.

    Kaden got the sense that she was a quiet person, very introverted. She was somewhat plain, a little chubby. No makeup, red hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. She wore a light blue sweater and black pants, which was on the casual side of typical dress at the Company.

    ¡°How¡¯s your experience been so far?¡± Kaden asked.

    Jill glanced sideways at the other two interns. ¡°Ok, I guess. I¡¯m one of three interns in the department. These are the two.¡±

    ¡°Ok, cool. Introduce me?¡±

    Jill nodded and turned back to the two young men. ¡°Hey guys, this is Kaden Chen, another intern. Kaden, this is Iqbal and Roger.¡±

    Iqbal was tall and thin, with a pretty face and a haircut Kaden was sure he¡¯d seen sported by some boy band pop star. Roger was short, large, and had deep-set, beady eyes.

    Iqbal rolled his eyes and Roger sniggered, as if laughing at an inside joke.

    ¡°If he¡¯s a member of your team, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be seeing each other much. Rog and I don¡¯t associate with losers.¡± Iqbal looked down his nose at Julia as he spoke.

    The smile on Kaden¡¯s face froze, and his blood pressure spiked. These two were idiots¡­ and clearly they¡¯d been making Jill miserable. It made his blood boil.

    ¡°Right,¡± Kaden replied, pointing at first Iqbal and then Roger. ¡°Tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, right? Did I get your names right?¡±

    The haughty smile drained off Iqbal¡¯s face as Kaden took a step forward, jabbing a finger into his chest.

    ¡°Or was it Asshat and Dipshit?¡± Kaden¡¯s eye¡¯s bore into Iqbal¡¯s.

    ¡°You¡¯ll regret that,¡± Roger said, his fists forming into balls.

    Kaden turned to Roger, and their eyes met. Kaden did not waiver. A heavy moment passed. Roger looked away.

    ¡°You have no idea who I am,¡± Iqbal said, his face turning an ugly shade of fuchsia.

    ¡°And I don¡¯t care,¡± Kaden said, turning to leave. The point had been made. He had made two enemies today, but that was fine. Now they knew that if they messed with Jill, they messed with him. And they wouldn¡¯t bother Jill unless they wanted to pick a fight with him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Jill,¡± Kaden said, picking up the dolly and pushing it down the corridor.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that,¡± Jill hissed, catching up to Kaden.

    ¡°Bullies are bullies, no matter where you are. Schoolyard, streets, the corporate headquarters. Bullies are the same.

    ¡°Besides, those two guys are truly idiots. I¡¯ll be surprised if they still have their jobs at the end of the week.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Delivery to Mark Hernandez. Do you know him?¡±

    Jill shook her head. ¡°I think he¡¯s my boss¡¯s manager. But I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to come along, if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ok, I think I¡¯ll head back to my desk and get some work done.¡±

    Kaden stopped for a moment. ¡°Alright then. See you at the training later today?¡±

    ¡°See you there!¡± Jill nodded and walked back the way they had come.

    Kaden hoped he had done the right thing. In the heat of the moment, he knew his temper could get the best of him. But he also knew he hated arrogant people like Iqbal and Roger.

    His thoughts wandered, as he pushed the dolly down the corridor. He remembered a very different time, and very different circumstances¡­ way back before he had learned to stand up for himself. When someone else had stepped in and protected him¡­

    Mariko¡­ Kaden thought. What brought you here to the Tower?

    Kaden shook off his reverie as he reached the door to the corner office. The nameplate on the wall outside the door read ¡°Mark Hernandez, Purchasing Director.¡± He knocked on the door and waited.

    ¡°Come in,¡± a low voice boomed out.

    Kaden pushed open the door to see a small office with a desk, filing cabinet, a couple chairs, and a coat rack. The back wall was all window, but the shades were completely drawn.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Kaden said. ¡°I have some boxes for you,¡± gesturing to the dolly outside the office.

    Mark Hernandez looked up from his desk. He was a thickset, muscular man with thinning black hair, bushy eyebrows and a short, spiky salt-and-pepper beard.

    He was wearing a bright pink Hawaiian shirt with a white flower pattern.

    That¡¯s different, Kaden thought.

    ¡°Well what are you waiting for? Bring them in,¡± he said, motioning to an empty spot beside his desk.

    Kaden wheeled the dolly around and pushed his delivery through the door. As he did so, it felt as if he was pushing his way into a wall of syrup. It gave way when he pushed, but very slowly. He also began to feel uncomfortably warm, like the sticky humidity of a hot summer day.

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    He activated the ¡°Mark Hernandez¡± counterward with a hands-free eye movement Peter had taught him. Immediately, the pressure dissipated, and he was able to wheel the dolly into the office.

    Mark looked up and harrumphed.

    I guess he didn¡¯t expect me to get in this easily, Kaden thought.

    Standing, Mark picked up each of the boxes and set them out on the floor.

    As Kaden turned to go, he noticed a jar on Mark¡¯s desk. It was a clear glass jar full of dog treats. Peanut-butter flavored dog treats. Kaden knew this, because he had just ordered a bag of the same kind of treats the previous day.

    ¡°Dog treats,¡± Kaden said, pointing at the jar on the desk. ¡°Are you part of Sandy¡¯s fan club too?¡±

    Mark looked up, his face betraying his suspicion. ¡°Sandy¡¯s fan club? Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Kaden Chen. Intern in the Mailroom. Just started yesterday.¡±

    ¡°And you already work for Sandy?¡± Mark shook his head and mumbled to himself. ¡°That dog moves quickly.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say I work for him,¡± Kaden said. ¡°More like¡­ we have an understanding.¡±

    Mark harrumphed again. ¡°Same difference,¡± he said, appearing thoughtful.

    As Kaden wheeled the dolly out of the room, Mark held up a hand. ¡°Hold on a minute. I got something you can do for me.¡±

    Kaden stopped and turned back around. Mark¡¯s attention was focused on the boxes. He had his right hand out, waggling his fingers and pointing to each of the boxes arrayed on the floor in front of him. Flickers of pink light flashed back and forth across his hand.

    Streaks of magenta flew across the brown cardboard boxes. Instantly, the top of each box flapped open. The tape holding the boxes closed had been cut. The magenta light had cut all the lines of tape simultaneously.

    Whoa¡­ That was fast! How did he do it? Kaden thought. He wanted to ask about what he had seen, but before he could, Mark had pulled an item out of the box and was handing it to Kaden.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± he said, handing him a sealed manila envelope. ¡°Take this to Cliff on the 1st Floor. You know Cliff, right?¡±

    Kaden nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, I know who Cliff is.¡±

    ¡°Alright, great. Saved me a trip downstairs. Make sure that doesn¡¯t wander off ¨C I¡¯ll know if it doesn¡¯t make it to Cliff.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°What is it, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±

    ¡°Ha! That¡¯s for me to know and you to never find out,¡± Mark said, and barked out a short laugh at his own joke and waved Kaden out the door.

    Kaden took the envelope and the dolly and made his way back to the Mailroom. On his way, he stopped at the front desk and handed the envelope to Cliff.

    ¡°From Mark,¡± Kaden said. Cliff just nodded and surreptitiously placed the envelope in a desk drawer. Cliff wasn¡¯t making eye contact, so Kaden just kept going.

    Weird, Kaden thought. It felt like he was being used to smuggle contraband or something. He made a mental note to ask Sandy about it next time he saw him.

    Back at the Mailroom, he asked Peter about what he had witnessed in Mark¡¯s office, but he left out the part about the package for Cliff.

    Peter chuckled. ¡°He was definitely showing off a little. Mark is very skilled in attack magic. He has quite the reputation, and he enjoys it. What you saw was probably some simple variation of one of his signature skills. He likes to call it ¡®Death by Thousand Cuts.¡¯ Mark Hernandez wasn¡¯t always in Purchasing, if you know what I mean.¡±

    Kaden shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say he had a long and illustrious career in the monster-fighting Operations part of the Company before retiring from active duty to take a cushy desk job. Although I hear he still gets called up from time to time.¡±

    Kaden continued to be impressed with the versatility of magic and all its applications. He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of Mark or Peter¡¯s comments, but there was definitely something there that Kaden wanted to learn more about. There was just too much he didn¡¯t know.

    Looking at the time, Kaden decided to head up to the 4th Floor a little early for the group training on wards. He was particularly excited for this session because he was getting the sense that being able to bypass wards would be critical to moving more freely about the Tower.

    As Kaden arrived in front of the training room, there was another session wrapping up. The room was square in shape, about 100 feet on each side and 20 foot ceilings. It was very brightly lit with thin strips recessed in the tall ceiling. Apart from the thick glass curtain wall along the corridor, there were no other windows. All surfaces in the room appeared to be polished, dark-gray concrete.

    Kaden turned to see Bill and Jill walking down the hall. He also noticed the leaderboard on the wall behind him for the first time.

    He scanned it as Bill and Jill walked over. They also stopped to study it with him.

    The Intern Leaderboard was divided into two major sections and took up the entire wall, almost twenty feet tall and thirty feet wide. The first panel listed the rank of the teams and a total points score. The second panel listed the individual rank and individual points. There was a total number of points at the top of each chart.

    Kaden¡¯s heart sank as he saw his name ranked dead last on the individual board. The team ranking was no better ¨C his team ¡°Tiger Blue¡± was also ranked last at 33rd. He found Jill at 53rd and Bill at 42nd.

    ¡°At least one of us is in the top 50%,¡± Kaden remarked. ¡°But how does the ranking work? Who decides?¡±

    Bill shrugged. ¡°Still figuring it out, bro. But have you looked at your stats on your mobile?¡±

    He had not.

    Bill quickly showed him where to access his overall stats screen. At the moment, it was a simple list and pretty depressing:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Name: Kaden Chen</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Job Title: Intern</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Grade: 15</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Role: Mailroom Clerk</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aura Affinity: Unknown</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ward Rating: N/A</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Individual Rank Percentile: <10%</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Team Rank Percentile: <10%</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Key Objective Completion: 0%</li>

    </ul>

    He had no idea what grade, aura affinity or ward rating meant. But he could figure out that the last three numbers were bad. It was not clear to Kaden what was driving the ranking.

    Interns exiting the previous training flowed around them. Some stopped to briefly look at the rankings.

    Kaden and his group were closest to the elevator. The doors opened and a tall woman stepped out.

    ¡°Hello,¡± she said, approaching Kaden and extending a hand. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. Patricia Stamford.¡±

    Each of them took her firm handshake in turn and introduced themselves. Kaden recognized her from the first day. She was the tall blonde who had cut in line.

    Patricia turned to look at the leaderboard, ostensibly searching for their names on the list. Turning back to the group, she asked, ¡°And you¡¯re all on the same team? Or different teams?¡±

    ¡°Same team,¡± Kaden offered.

    ¡°Right¡­ ¡° Patricia immediately looked as if she wanted to be anywhere else. ¡°Well then¡­ I would say good luck, but to be honest, I think investing your time in a back-up plan would be best. Not everyone¡¯s manager track,¡± she said with a slight shrug.

    ¡°I see your name at the top of the rankings,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Did you cut in line to get there as well?¡±

    The smile froze on Patricia¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±

    ¡°You know,¡± Kaden continued. ¡°¡®Jump the queue,¡¯ as they say across the pond. We all saw you cut in line to get through security on the first day. Not the best first impression, to be honest; I think investing your time in manners would be best.¡±

    Perhaps Kaden was going too far¡­ but he was enjoying this. No one liked a condescending know-it-all, and everyone hated people who jumped the queue. In fact, you could say he was doing her a favor, giving her some free feedback.

    Bill had a slight smirk on his face and seemed to be enjoying the exchange. However, Jill was definitely looking uncomfortable and backing away.

    Time to wrap this up, Kaden thought.

    Patricia¡¯s smile was gone. In its place was a look of cold, ruthless calculation. Strangely, she didn¡¯t seem upset or angry, just very intense. Her eyes bore into Kaden¡¯s. He did not flinch.

    Without another word, Patricia turned and walked away. Kaden watched her go. She approached another group of interns milling about in front of the leaderboard and introduced herself to them. She seemed to be making the rounds with all the interns, making sure she knew everyone and everyone knew her.

    Bill glanced at his watch. ¡°Time for class,¡± he said to break the tension.

    ¡°Why did you have to make enemies with the number #1 ranked intern,¡± Jill grumbled.

    ¡°Trust me,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be ¡®friends¡¯ with her. She¡¯s the type to push everyone else down in order to get ahead. We don¡¯t need that.¡±

    ¡°Word,¡± Bill agreed.

    As they filed into the training room, Kaden remembered a conversation he had with his father over the dining room table. It had been late, after Kaden came home from a failed job interview.

    ¡°First impressions matter,¡± his father had said. ¡°For good or bad. So make sure they count.¡±

    A ghost of a smile crossed Kaden¡¯s face as he remembered the conversation.

    ¡°But what if I don¡¯t want to make a good impression?¡± he had complained.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t,¡± his father said. ¡°But do it on purpose and with intention. People will judge you on the first interaction you have with them, and you rarely get a second chance. So make it count.¡±

    Back at the training room, Kaden pulled the door open and strode into the large room. He would make sure everyone had the right idea of who he was.

 Chapter VII - Cracking the Code

    Kaden was bored. This training session was surprisingly basic.

    He sat with Bill and Jill at a small training table. Around them sat thirty other interns at similar tables. Despite the large group, the expansive training room was mostly empty.

    Kaden sighed and looked around the room. Most of the other interns appeared to be listening attentively and taking notes. He saw Patricia sitting at the far side of the room, focused on her mobile device and ignoring the training. He looked for the stooges from Purchasing but did not see them in the room. Must be in a different training session.

    Carol Roche, the HR manager from the first day, was the instructor. She had been droning on for nearly half an hour. Somehow she managed to suck all interest and life out of the topic. Kaden had been looking forward to diving deeper into wards and how they worked. Unfortunately, she continued reading slide after slide with repetitive reminders and restatements of the same facts over and over. It reminded him of his boring Physics teacher in high school, or the mandatory training he had to complete regularly during his military service.

    Most of the content was depressingly basic, but Kaden did confirm a few things about wards that he had picked up from using them in the Mailroom.

    First of all, the wards would not last forever. They consumed mana when they were activated. The larger the ward, the more energy required to keep it active. Like a battery, though, it was possible to recharge a ward.

    The effect of wards wasn¡¯t necessarily instantaneous. Wards pushed out their effects in pulses, usually at a pretty high frequency, so it was virtually continuous. This meant that timing was important. In many cases, for wards to be effective, Kaden realized he would have to anticipate what ward to activate ahead of time.

    Lastly and most importantly, wards were programmable, within limits; using Company technology, it was possible to inspect a ward¡¯s code, copy it, and imprint that code on a special type of mana capacitor. That meant Kaden and his team could potentially find and copy lots of different wards around the Tower for their use later on.

    Carol¡¯s tone of voice started to change slightly, so Kaden perked up. Perhaps she was moving on to something new?

    ¡°So that concludes the introductory part of today¡¯s training. Any questions?¡± Carol looked around expectantly. No questions; just a few stifled yawns.

    Carol opened the lid on a large box on the table in front of her. ¡°Now comes the fun part! Everyone will receive three brand new ward caps. Once you get your caps, go ahead and register them to your individual Company mobile. These will be part of the equipment you will need for the Phase I exam, so don¡¯t lose them!¡±

    Carol continued. ¡°Your assignment for today will be to inspect and replicate the sound dampening ward inside this room. Use your Company specs to inspect the wards, which are physically located at the end of each light fixture. Follow the prompts to replicate the code and install it onto only one of your wards. You¡¯ll need a power source to fill and test your capacitor, and each table should have its own mana power block for your use. Let me know if you need anything!¡±

    Now that she mentioned it, Kaden realized that the sound in this room did not carry in the way that it should. With a wide open space and nothing but hard surfaces, there should have been an empty, echoing quality to sound in the room. Instead, there were virtually no echoes.

    Kaden¡¯s group received their ward caps and returned to the table. Each ward cap was a matte black cylinder a little larger than a shotgun shell, with a blue stripe along the body. One end had a bump on the outside, the opposite end had a concave indentation, like a battery.

    Almost everyone had received their allotment and were sitting back down, focused on pairing their three ward caps with their individual mobiles; however, Kaden noticed the last group was Patricia and her team. He watched as Patricia stuck her hand out to each of her other team members, taking one ward cap from each. Patricia walked back to her table with five ward caps in her hands.

    Seems like she will literally do anything to get ahead, Kaden thought to himself.

    Carol approached their table. ¡°Have you paired your devices successfully?¡± she asked the group.

    ¡°Actually,¡± Kaden started, ¡°I have a question. Do we have to copy the sound ward for this assignment, or can we do something else?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe anyone has asked that before,¡± she said, not exactly sure how to respond. ¡°While technically I suppose that it would be acceptable for you to work on a different ward, I should remind you that you must successfully complete this training in order to move forward with the program.¡±

    Kaden frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked.

    ¡°In order to pass the training, you need to successfully imprint a ward on one of your devices within the next thirty minutes. The assignment is the sound dampening field. But I suppose if you completed a different one, I might be able to pass you. But if you failed to complete the assignment, I¡¯m afraid that would be a performance issue requiring a job action.¡± Carol smiled regretfully.

    Kaden took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°OK - got it. Also, is it possible to get more of these ward caps before the exam?¡±

    ¡°Yes there are. The top three teams will receive rewards at the end of each week. Some of those rewards include additional caps.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± he said to Carol before motioning for Bill and Jill¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Listen up team, we need to think this through.¡±

    Both looked up from their work on the ward caps.

    ¡°We need to talk strategy for our use of these caps.¡±

    Bill frowned. ¡°How you mean, bro?¡±

    ¡°So do you remember how Carol was saying that these are brand new caps, never been used? Also how once used for a particular ward, the cap itself ¡®remembers¡¯ that initial imprinting. While it¡¯s possible to change it later, it will be difficult and expensive.¡±

    Bill was starting to nod his head. ¡°These are a limited resource for us, and whatever ward we put on them will likely have to stay.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kaden said. ¡°It may be possible for us to get our hands on more of these in the future, but it¡¯s not guaranteed. Also I don¡¯t see why as a team we would need three of the same type of ward. We can program any ward we need on to these blanks we received today. All we need to do is find and copy the code for the wards we need.¡±

    ¡°But what about completing the assignment?¡± Jill said. ¡°We have to do what she says so we can remain in the program.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± Kaden replied, ¡°but my goal isn¡¯t just to stay in the program. I want to be in the top ten at the end of the summer. To do that, we¡¯re going to have to take some risks.¡±

    Kaden let that sink in, looking back and forth from Bill to Jill. They were listening.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to risk everything. Here¡¯s what I suggest - each of us should prepare one of the caps to receive the assigned sound proofing ward. Take it all the way until the last step. Set that aside; if we run out of time, return to that cap and complete the assignment at the last minute. That¡¯s our backup plan.

    ¡°With the time we have remaining, focus on copying one or more of the other wards in this room. I suspect there are some pretty interesting and powerful wards available to us here.¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Bill nodded. ¡°Makes sense ¨C I¡¯m with you, we need to take small risks along the way if we¡¯re going to reach the top.¡± Bill thought for a moment, gazing up at the ceiling. ¡°There¡¯s a large variety of field and force stabilization fields within this room. Let me take a quick look at a few of them and see what¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°But what about your sound dampening ward?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°Actually, already done,¡± Bill said, holding up one of his caps.

    ¡°Dude that was fast,¡± Kaden said, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yeah, this is pretty simple stuff. I¡¯ve been doing a lot with more complicated wards during the day job in marketing.¡± Bill shrugged. ¡°Some pretty cool stuff with musical instruments, I¡¯ll have to tell you guys about it sometime soon.¡±

    Kaden turned to Jill. ¡°What about you? How are you doing?¡±

    Jill nodded. ¡°About halfway. I¡¯m not familiar with the ward imprinting interface and so I was taking a few minutes to familiarize myself with all the options. In case we wanted to optimize our caps.

    ¡°We only have 22 minutes left,¡± Jill continued. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on completing the assignment.¡±

    Kaden went to work. His teammates were almost done and he had yet to start. With the guidance from the training fresh in his mind, he quickly found the sound dampening field and decoded the signal with the app for that purpose on his mobile. Copying it over to the imprinting module took a few minutes as he figured out the controls, but it was pretty simple. The code itself was pretty long, or so it seemed to Kaden, but he didn¡¯t waste any time inspecting it. Something to do later, he told himself.

    ¡°Right on!¡± Bill exclaimed, fist pumping the air. ¡°I just found a truly radical ward, dudes.¡±

    ¡°What did you get? Kaden asked.

    Bill leaned forward in a conspiratorial whisper. ¡°So in order to complete this exercise, they¡¯ve relaxed some of the security protocols. So we can see and copy the underlying code.¡±

    Kaden¡¯s eyes widened. Made sense, though. Why should it be so easy to inspect and copy these wards? All the more reason to take advantage of this training to find and copy the code for as many wards as possible.

    ¡°So I went after one of the key structural wards of this space. It¡¯s called the ¡®null¡¯ ward.¡±

    Kaden looked to Jill, but she didn¡¯t recognize it either.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry ¨C the what?¡±

    Bill just shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. In the meantime, we should totally copy down all the ward code we can get and parse it out later.

    ¡°Already on it,¡± Jill replied.

    The group worked quietly for the next ten minutes. Occasionally Bill and Jill would consult what each other was doing in rapid and rushed tones. Kaden took an occasional glance around the room but no one else seemed to be in a hurry or trying to do what they were doing. He saw a lot of bored and idle faces. Good, he thought to himself. We need an advantage if we can create one.

    With about five minutes left, Bill looked up at Kaden. ¡°How¡¯s your progress man? Have you imprinted a second ward?¡±

    ¡°No not yet. In fact I was going to ask if you had a recommendation.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, let me see what you¡¯re working on,¡± Bill said, moving around the table to look over Kaden¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Jill ¨C did you get the gravity one?¡±

    ¡°I have the code but did not imprint it.¡± Jill replied.

    ¡°OK ¨C I think that¡¯s a good one for you to have, ¡° Bill replied. ¡°Could help you with some of your deliveries as well.¡±

    Kaden had been thinking the same thing.

    ¡°But hold on a minute, bro, let me tweak something for you.¡± Kaden wasn¡¯t sure what Bill wanted to do, but he handed over his mobile.

    ¡®¡°What do you want to tweak?¡±

    ¡°Some of the basic parameters. The code for this room¡¯s wards generally rely on a much larger power source. The reason they asked us to start with the  sound ward for this exercise is because the power source is basically the same as the caps we received, so no need to change any code for it to work. Let me just tweak the power parameters and you should be good to go.¡±

    Kaden thanked Bill and took his mobile back. He was certainly grateful to have Bill¡¯s expertise. Jill also seemed to know a lot about what was going on and how to dig under the surface; he was starting to feel pretty good about his teammates¡¯ capabilities.

    Carol approached their table. ¡°So how is this group doing? Is everyone done with the assignment?¡±

    ¡°Almost there,¡± Kaden replied as he watched the status bar fill up on his mobile. With the imprinting complete, he handed over his ward cap to Carol.

    She scanned, frowned, and scanned it again.

    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid not. It¡¯s a fully functional ward, but not the official assignment.¡±

    ¡°And you said that you could pass me if that¡¯s what I did.¡±

    Carol smiled regretfully. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you misunderstood me but I¡¯m afraid I will have to ask you to follow me and exit the Tower.¡±

    Before Kaden could object further or pursue the backup plan, Alexander Wolfe approached their table.

    ¡°Hello, Carol. How¡¯s the new crop of candidates looking?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Oh Mr. Wolfe, I wasn¡¯t expecting you.¡±

    ¡°I just dropped by to see how things were going. Any issues?¡±

    ¡°No issues,¡± she replied breezily. ¡°Just one of the interns didn¡¯t complete the proper assignment.¡±

    Alexander raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really. That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± he said, hand outstretched.

    Reluctantly, Carol handed over the cap and testing apparatus.

    Alexander took a quick look. ¡°What am I missing? Looks fully functional,¡± he said.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct, but it was the wrong assignment. The interns were supposed to copy the sound dampening ward for this assignment.¡±

    Mr. Wolfe sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, almost theatrically.

    ¡°Carol. Dear. Where to begin,¡± he said, shaking his head.

    ¡°We¡¯re not training little HR automatons here,¡± he snapped, shoving the testing apparatus back in her hands. ¡°We are separating the wheat from the chaff. We¡¯re looking for the diamond in the rough. We want to reward and incentivize innovation, not punish it.¡±

    Carol swallowed, her face frozen in an awkward smile desperately trying to hide her embarrassment.

    ¡°So you want me to allow ¨C¡± she said, but Alexander interrupted her.

    ¡°I want you to use your brain, or you¡¯ll be the one escorted from the premises.¡±

    Alexander handed the ward back to Kaden. ¡°Good idea. Keep it up. Looking forward to seeing what you can do.¡±

    And with that, Alexander turned and left.

    Kaden risked a glance at Carol, who was trying to compose herself. She started walking away, shooting Kaden a sharp glare as she turned.

    He sighed. Another enemy. It was not good to make enemies in HR, Kaden knew that.

    Apparently time was up, as the class began exiting the room.

    A system notification popped up in Kaden¡¯s field of view. Curious, he pulled it up.

    Congrats! You have a new ranking: Ward Proficiency: Grade E

    Interesting, Kaden thought. So the Company and its systems tracked skills and training completions, like a game. He wondered how far the similarities to gaming extended.

    ¡°That was awkward with Carol at the end, but I¡¯m glad you said something at the start of this exercise,¡± Jill said. ¡°That was the right idea.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, dude. We totally scored on this training,¡± Bill chimed in, raising his hand to give Kaden a high five.

    Kaden took it with a half-hearted grin. ¡°Thanks! I hope the thing with Carol doesn¡¯t come back to bite me.¡±

 Chapter VIII - Peeling the Onion

    Day 4

    Thursday, June 9, 2045

    Kaden stepped out of the elevator and onto the 5th Floor. It was his first time on this floor, and after his experience on the 10th Floor, he was wary of any wards. Thankfully, nothing assaulted his senses as he made his way to the admin desk in the entry lobby.

    He set a handful of boxes on the desk and looked around for a moment. From what Kaden had seen of the Tower so far, the overall interior design and furnishings were always well coordinated, but there were unique differences on each floor. This floor had a cool gray color scheme, with accents of yellow and green. Shelves with binders and storage cabinets lined the walls in the waiting area of this floor, giving it a more casual, worked-in feel than some of the other Tower floors.

    Apparently, the entire fifth floor was the Facilities Maintenance department. Kaden wasn¡¯t sure what the full scope of this department actually did, but it was certainly good to learn more about each floor and who worked where inside the Tower.

    Before he turned to go, a small group of people walked by the front desk on their way to the other side of the office floor. One of them, a young woman, looked up at Kaden and smiled as she walked by.

    Kaden felt his knees lock and his chest freeze. His face tried to smile back, but the result was closer to a tortured rictus than a casual smile.

    I wonder who that is, Kaden thought. Long, glossy black hair shimmered down her back. Captivated, he couldn¡¯t look away as she sashayed out of the lobby.

    He shook his head. He didn¡¯t have time for this.

    Even though it was only the fourth day of the internship, Kaden felt mounting pressure to find out what happened to his father¡¯s company as quickly as possible. New challenges appeared each day of the internship, and the risk of a premature departure from the program was all too real.

    He felt fortunate his job in the Mailroom gave him access to many areas within the Tower, but he also felt he needed to take advantage of that access sooner rather than later. He just didn¡¯t know how, or where to look. He pondered this problem as he made his way back to the Mailroom.

    There were a number of possible paths to take that could accelerate his access to information about the Tower, its systems, and its history. He could try sneaking into a vacant office or try to find a records room, but that seemed like finding a needle in a haystack and overly risky of being discovered. He could ask more questions of the new contacts he was meeting, but he didn¡¯t know whom he could trust. The last thing he wanted to do was call attention to himself and the past that he and his family had with the Company ¨C a past that remained hidden at the moment. The best path seemed to be leveraging his growing relationship with Sandy and possibly Peter. He needed information, and they both seemed willing to trade for it, if each in their own way.

    What he really needed, Kaden thought, boiled down to two things. Firstly, any intelligence that would keep him in the program as long as possible. That meant more info about his competition. Sandy would be his source for that information. Secondly, he needed leads on where to find out what happened to his dad and their company. He decided to broach the subject obliquely with Peter or Julia and see where it led.

    Back at the Mailroom, Peter was absent, but Julia was in her office and her door was open. Kaden walked over and knocked on the door jamb.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Mind if I ask you a quick question?¡±

    Julia looked up and smiled briefly. ¡°Sure! How can I help?¡±

    ¡°I was curious about the Company logo, actually. It¡¯s two nested triangles in the shape of an hourglass. But I was wondering if it was somehow related to a three dimensional shape: two pyramids upside down and nested together.¡±

    Julia frowned. ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°How do you know about the twin tetrahedral shape? Who told you about that?¡± Julia clarified.

    Kaden¡¯s voice stuck in his throat for a moment. His thoughts raced. This was not the reaction he expected. He couldn¡¯t tell her about his father¡¯s research; he had to think of some other reason.

    ¡°The demonstration on the first day,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°When Alexander Wolfe killed the monster with a green whip. His weapon was in that shape. I guess it just reminded me of the Company logo for some reason.¡±

    Julia held up her hand. ¡°Have you talked to anyone else about this?¡±

    ¡°No, I was just wondering ¨C ¡°

    ¡°It would be best if you do not discuss this with anyone else. Alexander was foolish to use that weapon in the demonstration. His arrogance causes problems for us all.¡±

    Julia sighed and explained.

    ¡°Technically, the specific geometric configuration of the mana crystals that power our wards and weapons is a Company secret. A carefully guarded and closely held secret that interns are not authorized to know. In fact, very few outside of the Manufacturing and R&D departments know any details about how Company products are made. You¡¯ve never seen the interlocking tetrahedra before because of the tamper protections built into every Company product.¡±

    ¡°So ¡­ why did Alexander¡¯s weapon not have those tamper protections?¡±

    Julia sighed again and smiled wanly. ¡°This is another secret, but since you already know, I suppose it won¡¯t hurt to tell you that his ¡®weapon¡¯ wasn¡¯t manufactured. It was found. In a dungeon. Before he made it into that green whip he¡¯s so proud of, it was probably the heart or some other important organ of a powerful magical beast.

    ¡°Now hopefully that satiates your curiosity. I would strongly advise you to keep these secrets to yourself and stop asking more questions. It will only bring you trouble. None of this discussion leaves this room. Understood?¡±

    Kaden nodded. ¡°OK, understood. And thanks for the explanation,¡± he said as he left the office.

    But in his heart, he knew he couldn¡¯t let the matter rest. So many secrets! He was glad to confirm that his Dad¡¯s research was connected with the Company¡¯s mana crystals, but what he had learned only sparked more questions. How had his Dad known this Company secret? Or had he discovered it independently? Is that why the Company had bought his father¡¯s business?

    Peeling the onion, Kaden thought. Just like Dad used to say all the time. One layer at a time¡­

    Julia was not going to give him any more information, that was clear. And from now on, he knew he needed to be much more careful about the types of questions he asked. If he signaled he knew too much, he would attract unwanted attention.

    Checking the time, he saw it was almost noon. All the deliveries were done for the morning, so Kaden decided it was time for lunch and a check-in with Sandy. He grabbed some peanut-butter treats as he headed out the door.

    The Sandy tracker app let him know that the pudgy Corgi was currently on the 3rd Floor in the Cafeteria, so Kaden headed straight there. Probably making his rounds, Kaden thought.

    He found Sandy sprawled on the floor, stretched out and begging for another belly rub from a group of giggling young women.

    ¡°Aww!¡±

    ¡°So cute!¡±

    ¡°Absolutely adorbs ¨C why can¡¯t my dog be so cute.¡±

    Kaden rolled his eyes and waited for the group to move along. As they left, he approached Sandy, treat in hand.

    ¡°Hi Sandy,¡± he said, offering him the treat. ¡°How¡¯s your day going?¡±

    The reply popped up on Kaden¡¯s glasses.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Eh, can¡¯t complain. Gotta give the ladies some love, ya know?

    Sandy chomped down on the treat and then looked back expectantly for more.

    Stick with me, kid, you¡¯ll have your own groupies some day.

    Kaden just shook his head and gave him another treat.

    ¡°So what can you tell me about the other interns?¡± he asked.

    By the way, kid ¨C I appreciate you helping Cliff get his stash. Mark can be a handful sometimes. Not my favorite supplier. Although both of you seem to have the same taste in treats.

    ¡°The other interns?¡±

    Yeah yeah, don¡¯t rush me. Geez, I got the memo. It¡¯s in progress. But I can already tell you that you¡¯re not the most popular guy. Might work on making friends.

    Kaden shrugged. ¡°What do I need them for when I have you, Sandy?¡± He reached down and scratched the dog behind the ears.

    Ha! No need to blow sunshine up my ass. I¡¯ve had enough of that today already. But you do have a good point. You certainly want to keep on my good side.

    The Corgi licked his lips and stretched, tail wagging.

    Before I go ¨C any interns in particular you want dirt on?

    Kaden thought for a moment. ¡°My teammates, Bill and Jill. I want to know if there¡¯s anything I should be worried about. Also Patricia Stamford, she could be a problem for me. But in general, I want to know what I need to know to survive against the competition in this game as long as possible.

    ¡°And Mariko Asano,¡± he added.

    Alright, I¡¯m on it.

    The dog started to waddle away. That dog definitely didn¡¯t need any more treats, Kaden thought.

    And just so we¡¯re clear ¨C I¡¯ll have some more deliveries for you to make for me. I¡¯ll be in touch. Ciao!

    Kaden stood up and shook his head, watching the wagging tail turn a corner and disappear. He had to admit the incorrigible cuteness had its charms.

    It was almost noon, so Kaden messaged Bill and Jill to see if they wanted to meet up for lunch. Both agreed and they decided to get together in a few minutes.

    While he waited, Kaden went to one of the shiny, stainless steel espresso machines at the coffee bar and made himself an Americano. He wondered what Sandy meant by more deliveries. There was definitely something going on behind the scenes, and he really needed to find out.

    He took a sip of his coffee appreciatively. The job certainly had its perks.

    Kaden met up with Bill and Jill on his way to the chopped salad station. They all ordered their salads, and with food in hand, the group found a quiet table to have a team meeting.

    ¡°So,¡± Kaden said, swallowing a bite of chicken caesar, ¡°The code for all the wards we downloaded yesterday. What do you guys think? Anything particularly useful?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Bill said. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of stuff ¨C but the best in my opinion is the ¡®null¡¯ ward.¡±

    ¡°What does that do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a universal dampener,¡± Bill replied. ¡°Whatever effect is in place, the null ward can help guard against it. It¡¯s also effective against a lot of mana-based attacks.¡±

    ¡°Sounds pretty powerful. Any limitations?¡±

    Bill nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not as powerful as a ward made for a specific purpose. More easily overloaded. But very useful as a first line of defense when you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up against.¡±

    ¡°While Bill was working on the null ward, I focused on an air shield ward. It makes a dome or donut of compressed air blocks or slows down any attacks. We have also have a bunch of code for other wards that guard against heat, cold, light, electricity, etc.¡± Jill said in between bites.

    ¡°And I got the anti-gravity one, plus some sort of invisibility ward,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Seems like we have a pretty good list. But which should we program into our blank wards? I¡¯m thinking it might be better to wait and see, since we don¡¯t yet know what we need.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Bill said. Jill nodded.

    Kaden was curious about the other two interns¡¯ experience in different departments. He imagined they were being exposed to different parts of the Tower worked. He needed to learn as much as he could about the various Tower departments so he would know where to look for answers.

    ¡°How are your departments? Anything interesting happen in your first few days?¡± Kaden asked.

    Jill snorted. ¡°Besides you picking a fight with Iqbal and Roger? Hardly. All I do is process purchase orders for the maintenance department.¡±

    Bill was curious about the confrontation between Kaden and the other two interns in the purchasing department, so Kaden explained what had happened.

    ¡°People like that don¡¯t last long in any organization,¡± he said. ¡°If those two were in my Company during my time in the Army, they would have been cleaning toilets before the end of the first day. Probably before lunch, if they survived even that long.¡±

    Bill shrugged. ¡°It is quite different here, though. Today¡¯s enemy might be tomorrow¡¯s ally.¡±

    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re probably right,¡± Kaden said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been on an interesting project,¡± Bill said, changing the subject. ¡°Marketing campaign for a brand new product, right out of R&D.¡±

    Kaden¡¯s ears perked up. Anything connected to Research and Development could be worthwhile.

    ¡°I¡¯m just an intern, but when they learned about my background, the researchers got really excited. I¡¯ve been working on testing some of the products, and the marketing consultants want to use develop some content with me for a social media campaign.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your background?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°Band called ¡®Fire on High,¡¯¡± Bill replied. ¡°Ever heard of us?¡±

    Jill shook her head. Kaden knew they were some kind of metal or hard rock band, but didn¡¯t really know their music. He had the sense they were popular with a somewhat older, niche audience.

    ¡°What types of products are you testing?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Musical instruments! Mainly string instruments, but also some drums. Like bongos, a djembe, even a cowbell.¡±

    Kaden frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the angle? How is it a new product for the Company?¡±

    ¡°OK so let me set the stage for you,¡± Bill said, leaning in. ¡°Imagine you¡¯re up on stage in front of fifty thousand fans, screaming and chanting your name, singing along as you tear through your latest hit single¡­¡±

    Bill closed his eyes, staying still for a long moment. And then a little longer.

    Kaden cleared his throat. ¡°Still here, Bill?¡±

    Bill opened his eyes and continued.

    ¡°You¡¯re tearing through your guitar solo, and you really want to get out in front of the crowd, but the cord. The cord, bro! It¡¯s holding you back.

    ¡°So¡­ you unplug. Run across the stage and jump into the crowd. But the sound continues.¡±

    Bill paused, leaning back for effect, and raising his arms into air guitar position.

    ¡°Say goodbye to the electric guitar. Allow me to introduce you to the mana guitar. Powerful enough to rock a stadium all by itself.¡±

    ¡°So instruments powered by mana instead of electricity. No need for amps or speakers,¡± Jill said.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s basically right,¡± Bill said.

    ¡°Do you think I could try it out myself?¡± Kaden asked.

    Bill looked surprised. ¡°You play, bro?¡±

    Kaden shrugged. ¡°I learned to play the bass a little bit back in the day. I¡¯m not very good, but I enjoy it. Would love to see what it¡¯s like.¡± What Kaden really wanted was access to the R&D department.

    Bill nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Alright, yeah! I¡¯ll see what I can do.

    ¡°What about you Jill?

    Jill frowned. ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass.¡±

    Bill shrugged. ¡°If you change your mind, let me know. Happy to pull together a jam session for Team Tiger Blue.¡±

    ¡°That reminds me,¡± Jill said. ¡°We should think about our team name. We can change it.¡±

    ¡°Fine with me,¡± Kaden said, ¡°But let¡¯s head upstairs for our training session. We can talk about it on the way.¡±

    The group got up to go.

    ¡°How about ¡®Tower of Rock¡¯?¡± Bill said.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Jill replied

    ¡°Or ¡®In Power We Trust¡¯.¡±

    ¡°NO!¡±

    Kaden sighed.

 Chapter IX - Safety First

    ¡°¡®Riotous Rawkers¡¯ ¨C spelled with ¡®r-a-w-k¡¯,¡± Bill said, index and pinky fingers raised in salute.

    Jill stopped walking and stared at Bill.

    ¡°Bill. Don¡¯t make me kill you.¡±

    Bill shrugged. ¡°Hey dude, just throwing out ideas. No idea is a bad idea, right?¡±

    ¡°I disagree,¡± Jill said. ¡°But you¡¯re right we need more ideas. I just need some time to come up with good ones.¡±

    Kaden, Bill and Jill stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the large training room across the lobby.

    Kaden looked up at the leaderboard. No changes yet. He was still at the bottom, as was his team. He wondered how the scoring worked and what he could do to move up the leaderboard.

    A group of about thirty interns milled about the inside of the room. They did not have long to wait.

    Right at the top of the hour, Alexander Wolfe strode through the entrance. He was as impeccably dressed as the first day, wearing a light gray seersucker suit and salmon shirt. No tie today, Kaden noticed.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s gather around,¡± Alexander called out, his voice carrying across the room.

    A loose semi-circle formed up around Mr. Wolfe, who turned to look at Carol, who was walking up behind him carrying a case.

    ¡°If you pass today¡¯s training, each of you will have access to one of these weapons. You¡¯ll be able to check it out of the armory on this floor for use in these gyms, but will not be able to take it beyond this floor.

    ¡°Today¡¯s training will be very simple. This is the Company¡¯s standard issue gunsword,¡± Alexander said, holding up a pistol-shaped device.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a basic overview. There are two primary modes ¨C pulse beam and short sword. There are various settings, some on the weapon itself. If you link the weapon to your mobile, you¡¯ll be able to access and change those settings with your peripherals.

    ¡°To pass today¡¯s training, all you need to do is hit the target,¡± he said, pointing to a simple bullseye about 20 yards away.

    Kaden studied the weapon in Alexander¡¯s hand. Gunmetal gray, almost blue; about the same size as an average pistol. It had two barrels, over-and-under style, and the trigger guard was larger than a normal pistol.

    ¡°Let¡¯s all remember ¨C safety first. Do not hurt yourself or someone else. You must follow basic firearm safety practices,¡± Alexander said, holding up the weapon for all to see. ¡°Don¡¯t point the gunsword at yourself or anyone else. The gun safety is located on the handle here. Load a cap at the base here,¡± Alexander continued, pointing quickly to each part. ¡°Trigger here.¡± With a smooth motion, he loaded a capacitor into the gun, turned off the safety, and aimed at the target downrange.

    A small pulse darted across the room, striking the bullseye in the center. The sound of the shot, a low thwump, reached Kaden¡¯s ears a moment later. Alexander removed the cap, turned slowly and placed the pistol and capacitor on the table.

    ¡°Who¡¯s first?¡±

    No one jumped forward. Alexander pointed to the individual on the far left of the semi-circle. ¡°Let¡¯s start with you and go in order from left to right,¡± he said, motioning the blonde-haired man forward.

    Kaden did not know his name, but had seen him around.

    ¡°Your name,¡±

    ¡°Braiden Nichols,¡± the man replied. He sounded nervous.

    ¡°Go ahead and load the weapon, turn off the safety, and take a shot.¡±

    Alexander added, ¡°You should see a red dot show up in your HUD, when you point the weapon down range. Use that to aim.¡±

    Braiden reached cautiously for the pistol on the table. He picked up with his right hand. Then switched it awkwardly to his left. He loaded the capacitor, and pointed the gunsword down as he searched for the safety.

    ¡°Other side,¡± Alexander suggested.

    Braiden found the safety. He toggled it off and adjusted his grip. And then he shot himself in the foot.

    Thwump, and a flash, and then Braiden¡¯s strangled scream. He dropped the gunsword and fell to the ground, clutching his foot. Smoked curled from the top of a hole in his shoe.

    ¡°Tsk tsk,¡± Alexander clucked, picking up the weapon. He put the safety back on and set the weapon and cap back on the table.

    ¡°Carol ¨C be a dear and please escort Braiden to the hospital on sublevel one,¡± Alexander said.

    No one moved but Carol and Bill, who had run forward to help out. Bill helped Braiden to his feet, and Carol took one of his arms over his shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out to the hallway and I¡¯ll bring over a wheelchair,¡± Carol said to Braiden.

    Bill made to follow, but Alexander motioned him back. ¡°Need you to stay here, Mr. Smith. I¡¯m sure Ms. Roche has everything in hand.¡±

    No one moved, shocked by the accident. How could the training continue?

    ¡°Next,¡± Alexander called.

    When no one moved forward, Alexander said, ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that Braiden failed the training, but we will continue. Do your best to learn from Braiden¡¯s example. Remember the Company motto ¨C in this case, the ¡®greater good¡¯ is to continue your training.¡±

    Alexander paused, making eye contact with each person in the room.

    ¡°There are many ways to fail ¨C and Braiden happened upon a rather unfortunate way of exiting himself from the program. As I said ¨C safety first. If you can¡¯t keep yourself and others safe during this exercise, you will fail.

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    ¡°Reminder ¨C there¡¯s only one way to pass ¨C hit the target.¡± Alexander pointed to the next in line. ¡°You¡¯re up.¡±

    A young woman with long black hair walked confidently to the table. Kaden recognized her immediately. Although it had been years since he last saw her, there was no mistaking her. She used to live in Kaden¡¯s neighborhood; they went to the same elementary and middle school.

    ¡°Mariko Asano,¡± she said to Alexander. Her voice was clear and unwavering, but her hands shook as she picked up the pistol, loaded it, and pointed it downrange. Then she turned off the safety and focused on the target.

    ¡°See?¡± Alexander smiled and turned to the group. ¡°We¡¯re already learning!¡±

    Thwump. She missed. Her hands were shaking badly.

    ¡°Go ahead and take another shot,¡± Alexander said. ¡°Do you see the red dot in your field of vision when you point the weapon down range?¡±

    She pointed the gun toward the target and squinted. Then she nodded her head.

    ¡°Take a deep breath; let it out slowly. When the red dot is over the target, squeeze the trigger,¡± Alexander said.

    She took a deep breath, and then another. She focused on the target and slowly squeezed the trigger.

    Thwump. A hole appeared in the corner of the target.

    Clap, clap, clap. ¡°Good. We have our first pass.¡±

    Mariko grinned in relief. Carefully, she set the pistol on the table and moved to walk away.

    ¡°Ah ¨C unload it for me, if you will,¡± Alexander asked, as he motioned the next person forward.

    Kaden tried to catch her eye, but she did not look in his direction.

    Each person in line took a turn with Alexander and the pistol. Most hit the target on the first or second shots. Only two missed three shots in a row. Apparently neither had worn their Company specs to class ¨C glasses or contacts ¨C so they had difficulty aiming the weapon. Alexander failed them both.

    Kaden was towards the end of the line. When it was his turn, he walked up to the table and picked up the weapon. While he was unfamiliar with this particular weapon, he did have basic firearms proficiency from his time in the service. He was a decent shot, but he had never put in enough practice to develop any real skill. Even so, Kaden had enjoyed his time on the range. Despite Braiden¡¯s accident, Kaden was looking forward to his turn.

    When he raised his weapon and aimed downrange, he frowned. He did not see a red dot. Aiming as best he could, he squeezed the trigger. He missed.

    He looked to Alexander and said, ¡°I don¡¯t see the sight. The red dot isn¡¯t there.¡±

    Alexander just raised his eyebrows, as if to say Not my problem.

    Kaden tried again, but he was unfamiliar with the weapon and without the help of the augmented reality sights, it was difficult to aim the pistol. He missed again, if barely.

    Keeping the weapon pointed down range, Kaden turned his head to Alexander. ¡°There¡¯s no sights on my HUD. Is there anything else I should be doing?¡± he asked.

    Alexander shrugged and glanced over his shoulder. ¡°Well¡­ I suppose there is ¡­ One of your fellow interns is interfering with your HUD.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Unfortunately, not my problem. Something you¡¯ll have to deal with by yourself, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    Kaden frowned. ¡°So you know that someone has found a way to interfere with my HUD, and you won¡¯t do anything about it?¡±

    Alexander nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct. Think of this challenge as part of the test.¡±

    Kaden lowered the weapon, fuming. What should he do? Think!

    ¡°All I have to do is destroy the target, right?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°Do I have to stand here to do it?¡±

    Alexander smiled. ¡°I never said where you had to stand. You can move around if you like.¡±

    Kaden just shook his head and took a deep breath. Okay - you got this. Just destroy the target.

    Holding the gunsword in a two-hand grip out in front of him, Kaden walked forward towards the target. Five steps forward, and he kept going. When he reached ten steps, he felt something change. He almost stumbled as gravity doubled.

    Gritting his teeth, Kaden activated his gravity counterward and kept walking. After five more steps, the gravity doubled again. Kaden grunted and kept going. Three more steps and the gravity increased again. Now it was all Kaden could do to stand upright.

    At first Kaden thought he would just walk up to the target and take a point blank shot. But this close, it was almost impossible to hold his arms out steady with the increased gravity. Reviewing options, Kaden thought about moving backward to where the gravity was a little less and taking a shot from there. While that would probably work, it didn¡¯t feel right. He had made it this far; he wanted to take it all the way.

    Kaden strode two steps forward. The target was now only two steps away. With his left hand, he switched the weapon mode to sword and pulled the trigger. A golden blade shot out of the gunsword¡¯s lower barrel, thrumming with the release of mana energy. With a heave, Kaden slashed out, cleaving the target in two.

    Kaden released the trigger, put the safety back on, and removed the cap from the weapon. He then walked slowly back to the table, all eyes in the room on him. He placed the weapon back on the table under Alexander¡¯s watchful gaze and then moved back to his place in the semi-circle.

    ¡°Wait,¡± a voice protested. ¡°He passed?!?¡±

    Alexander shrugged. ¡°Yeah sure, he met the training objectives ¨C specifically, he ¡®hit the target¡¯ while not hurting himself or someone else. He achieved the desired result; therefore he passes.¡±

    Voices grumbled in protest. Kaden looked around, but no one met his eyes except Patricia. Her stony eyes bore into Kaden, and the signal was clear. She wanted him gone. Iqbal and Roger were also in this class, but they were looking anywhere but in his direction. When his gaze came to Mariko, she looked away. There¡¯s no way she doesn¡¯t recognize me, he thought.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going, we¡¯re almost out of time and we have a few left,¡± Alexander called, motioning the next person forward.

    Everyone else passed on the first or second trial shot, including Kaden¡¯s teammates. No one else had the same problem with not being able to see the AR sights as Kaden. He noticed Patricia continuing to glare. Suspicion continued to grow in Kaden¡¯s mind.

    Alexander glanced at his watch.

    ¡°Excellent! We¡¯re done five minutes early. Enough time to grab some coffee before my next meeting.¡± Looking around, he spotted Carol, who had just returned to the room.

    ¡°You¡¯ll take care of returning the gunsword to the armory, won¡¯t you? Thank you so much!¡± And with that, Alexander strode quickly from the room.

    Not a word about Braiden, Kaden thought. Safety first? Whose safety?

    A notification signaling the completion of the training popped up on his glasses.

    Congrats! You have a new ranking: Aura Affinity: Amber.

    He made a mental note to ask about the aura affinity. He had no idea what it meant, and it had not come up in any official training yet.

    ¡°Hey team ¨C here¡¯s another idea. I think you¡¯re going to love this one,¡± Bill said, pausing for dramatic effect.

    ¡°Monster Bain!¡± Bill pulled pistol hands, firing at Jill and Kaden.

    Jill turned and stomped from the room.

 Chapter X - Goat Rope

    Day 5

    Friday, June 10, 2045

    Kaden looked up at the enormous hourglass logo on the side of the Tower. Dark thoughts weighed in the back of his mind as the bright morning sun slanted across the landscaped grounds. Secrets hid behind that logo, secrets that he would uncover.

    He hurried into the building, sweating in the heat of summer in the City.. It was already over 90 degrees and not even 9am in the morning.

    Unfortunately, the temperature inside the lobby was just as hot..

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with the AC?¡± Kaden asked Cliff as he approached the front desk.

    Cliff shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just work here, man.¡±

    Kaden spotted Sandy behind the desk, sprawled out on the marble floor and panting. And there it was, a message popping up on his glasses from his favorite criminally-inclined Corgi.

    Balls! It¡¯s hot in here.

    Kaden watched Sandy roll over, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted.

    Hey kid. Don¡¯t look at me like that. The marble still has some coolness to it. If you¡¯re smart, you¡¯ll soon be down here too.

    ¡°Um, okay Sandy. Thanks I guess. I¡¯ll keep that in mind. I guess it is pretty warm in the lobby.¡±

    Sandy raised his head and fixed Kaden with a one-eye stare, tongue-lolling out of his mouth.

    A little warm?! Are you kidding me? It¡¯s hotter than a witch¡¯s snatch in here. If those Facilities guys don¡¯t get this fixed, I¡¯ll have them shish-kabobed and roasted. I swear¡­

    Sandy rolled over, kicking this legs to rotate his head back around to get an eye on Kaden.

    But before you go ¨C I got a job for you. Cliff has a package for  you to take to Mark. And make it quick. He¡¯s expecting it before 9am.

    Kaden glanced at the time. ¡°Ok¡­ but that will make me late.¡±

    Not my problem¡­ but the more you sit around wagging your jaw the later you¡¯ll be.

    Cliff handed Kaden a small cardboard box.

    ¡°Right, thanks,¡± Kaden said and hurried through security.

    As he made his way to Mark¡¯s office, he realized he hadn¡¯t brought the special counterward. He gritted his teeth and sped up. He was going to be late anyway. Best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

    Thankfully, Kaden caught Mark just as he was arriving at his office.

    ¡°Excuse me, Mark ¨C Here¡¯s a package from Sandy,¡± Kaden said as he hustled up to the office. Sweat trickled down his face. It was really hot on this floor too.

    Mark looked up as Kaden handed him the package.

    ¡°Ah yes. The Mailroom intern. Kaden, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Are you familiar with the intern program?¡±

    ¡°Ha! Familiar? I used to run it.¡±

    ¡°Wow, okay. Any advice on how to survive it?¡±

    Mark raised a critical eye.

    ¡°Who¡¯s running it this year?¡±

    ¡°Alexander Wolfe and Carol Roche.¡±

    Mark nodded, thoughtful. ¡°So definitely no training wheels. Wolfe will throw you all into the deep end to see who survives¡­ and Roche is as competent as an empty shirt.

    ¡°What¡¯s your current rank?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ well, I¡¯m currently ranked last.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Truly SOL. Oh well. But hey, since you¡¯re here, you could try to find an internal transfer. If someone¡¯s hiring, that is. You might be able to transition out of the intern program before they show you the door.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s possible? I mean, I didn¡¯t think that was a possibility.¡±

    ¡°Anything¡¯s possible. With the right leverage,¡± Mark winked and smiled briefly. ¡°Good luck,¡± he said and turned to go.

    ¡°Is your department hiring by chance?¡± Kaden asked quickly.

    Mark turned back. ¡°Ha! No, but good instincts. Remind me ¨C there¡¯s a few other interns in the purchasing department at the moment, right?¡±

    Kaden nodded.

    ¡°What do you think of them?¡±

    Kaden was surprised by the question, but he didn¡¯t delay in answering. With Mark, quick and straightforward seemed best.

    ¡°Jill is on my team. She seems smart and capable in analysis, but she caves into pressure too easily. Iqbal and Roger¡­ I don¡¯t have much to say about them. My only interaction was less than positive.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Mark said. ¡°Here¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. I could use another Plus program for this quarter¡­ and your situation intrigues me. Consider me a mentor for your team.¡±

    Mark smiled. ¡°I¡¯d also like to watch how Wolfe runs the program a little more closely¡­ and ¡®help¡¯ out if I can.¡±

    Kaden didn¡¯t know the history between Mark and Alexander Wolfe, but clearly there was little love lost.

    ¡°Keep up your work with Sandy, and schedule some time with me and your team early next week. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely, thank you!¡± Kaden replied.

    Kaden hurried back downstairs. He arrived at the Mailroom at 9:10. Julia wasn¡¯t there, but Peter was almost done sorting all the mail. There were only two boxes left.

    ¡°Good morning, sleepy head. Or did you miss the bus?¡± Peter asked with a smile.

    Kaden just shook his head. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late. I can finish up the sorting.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Peter said, pushing the remaining two boxes across the table in Kaden¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Peter ¨C I had a question about the glasses. I had an issue with them yesterday. I was hoping you could help me understand what happened.¡±

    Peter frowned. ¡°What kind of issue?¡±

    Kaden described what had happened in the gunsword training and how Alexander had implied that someone had interfered with the automatic sights that should have appeared on the glasses¡¯ heads-up display. As he talked, Peter gestured for him to hand over the glasses which he did.

    Looking back and forth between the glasses and his mobile, Peter poked around a few things while Kaden waited.

    ¡°So nothing seems wrong with the specs¡­ Do something for me ¨C check your settings on your mobile for the specs¡¯ HUD and show me what you have.¡±

    Kaden found the settings and showed him.

    ¡°See?¡± Peter said, pointing to the top of the list. ¡°It¡¯s turned off. Did you do that?¡±

    He shook his head. ¡°No! I didn¡¯t even know this setting existed.¡±

    ¡°Well there¡¯s nothing wrong with the glasses. Turn that setting back on and it should work just fine. Did you let anyone borrow your mobile or give them access to your Company account?¡±

    ¡°No, never.¡±

    ¡°Well I suppose it¡¯s possible someone hacked your account. Typically your access is via various biosignatures, but they might have been able to get in with your passcode and some social engineering.¡±

    Kaden was thunderstruck. He couldn¡¯t think of anyone who could have hacked his account, nor why they would have done so.

    Kaden suddenly thought of something. The passcode¡­ Actually, maybe there was someone who could have done this.

    ¡°You good?¡± Peter asked.

    Kaden looked up. ¡°Yeah, thanks, appreciate the help.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Peter said, grabbing a handful of packages and heading out the door. ¡°Have a good weekend if I don¡¯t see you!¡±

    Kaden waved absentmindedly, lost in thought. He was pretty sure he knew who had messed with the settings on his mobile. It also made him wonder what other settings might be off. He made a note to go through them extensively before the afternoon training sessions.

    Kaden shook his head and got back to work. If he was right and he knew who the hacker was, he had a plan on how to deal with them.

    Before he knew it, it was noon and time for lunch with his team. They had agreed to meet ahead of their training this afternoon to discuss and strategize. Bill also wanted to continue brainstorming new names.

    Kaden could hear Jill¡¯s exasperated voice as he approached their table.

    ¡°No, Bill. I swear, over my dead body. Another rock reference and I will kill you.¡±

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    ¡°Kill Bill!¡± Kaden said, sitting down. ¡°How about ¡®Team Kill Bill?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Like, as a reference to the films? I could dig that,¡± Bill said.

    Jill looked crossly at Bill. ¡°I¡¯m done with it. That¡¯s fine. Classic cinema is good enough for me.¡± She harrumphed and went back to her french fries.

    ¡°Okay then,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Glad we can move forward now. Do you guys know anything about the training sessions this afternoon?¡±

    No one really knew any details. The first session was with a large group similar to the first session. Carol was scheduled to teach them about collectors. Jill seemed excited for that one.

    Immediately after, their team was scheduled in the same room for their Initial Team Assessment. Again, no one knew any details, but best guess was that it was another pass/fail exercise.

    Kaden took a few minutes to go through all the settings on his mobile, and he quizzed Jill and Bill about their own settings to make sure his configurations were all standard. He didn¡¯t find any other anomalies, but he did find a lot more potential adjustments than he had expected. The Company equipment allowed for significant customizability, if you knew what you were doing.

    After they finished eating, they went up to the gym as a group and waited until their instructor arrived.

    The leaderboard now read ¡°Team Kill Bill¡± at the bottom of the board. Jill huffed when she saw it and stomped into the room. Bill posed for a selfie in front of it, tongue sticking out and rock hands raised.

    As more people made their way into the large training room, Kaden thought there was no way this session could be worse than the first¡­ but he should not have been surprised. After all, the instructor was Carol Roche, HR Specialist, who excelled at removing all interest from any and all topics. If anything, Carol was marvelously consistent. Another meeting that could have been an email¡­

    He noticed Jill furiously taking notes. At least I¡¯ll know who to ask about this topic if I have any questions, he thought.

    Near as Kaden could tell, mana collection was dreadfully simple.

    Of course there had to be nuances to specific situations, but the long and short of it was point, shoot, and watch your capacitors fill up with mana. Easy peasy. All you had to do was make sure the aural affinity of the capacitor matched the type of mana aura coming off the monster. The training made it sound simple, so Kaden didn¡¯t worry about it.

    At the end of class, every intern received a small metallic disk with a carabiner key ring. One side of the disk had a glossy grid pattern. Kaden attached it to his badge lanyard. Bill stuck it on his belt. Jill held hers in both hands for a long moment, looking at with such obviously intense delight that Kaden thought she might kneel down and worship the thing.

    ¡°This¡­ this is so amazing,¡± Jill said softly to herself. She removed the carabiner and carefully inserted the disk into a leather bangle on her wrist.

    Kaden got up to stretch his legs a little bit, but he and his team stayed in the room as the others left. For this next session, it was just ¡°Team Kill Bill¡± in attendance.

    A young man entered the gym and walked towards the three of them.

    ¡°Hey y¡¯all. Glad to see you¡¯re here on time.¡± He twirled his lanyard around his fingers as he made his way across the gym.

    ¡°My name is Andy Smith,¡± he continued in a slight Southern drawl. ¡°I¡¯m an Associate here at the Company. My side hustle this summer is babysitting teams of you interns as you figure out how to kill each other in the training gyms.¡±

    The guy looked really young to Kaden, who thought he couldn¡¯t have been any older than himself.

    Andy had a short crew cut, brown hair, brown eyes, and was a little shorter than Kaden. He wore a black and white tracksuit, with squeaky white tennis shoes that were unnaturally bright.

    ¡°Think of me less like a teacher and more like a lifeguard,¡± Andy continued. ¡°I have two goals: 1) Weed out the truly pathetic who might be a danger to themselves or others, and 2) Make sure most of you survive your time in the gym.¡±

    Most of us? That¡¯s ¡­ not so good. But strangely consistent with yesterday¡¯s weapons training!

    ¡°Today¡¯s your chance to complete the initial Team Assessment. You will face three low-level monsters. Your job is to confront the monsters, take control of the situation, and harvest enough mana to fill at least two standard small caps,¡± Andy said, holding up two fingers. ¡°Any decent analyst or associate at the Company would be able to get up to four caps from these creatures, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for three of you together. Are you with me so far?¡± Andy mimed nodding his head. The group nodded their heads in return.

    ¡°Ok! I¡¯ll be sitting over there. I¡¯m not going to intervene unless it looks like one of you might die¡­ Oh, and technically there¡¯s no time limit, but honestly it shouldn¡¯t take more than a couple minutes.

    ¡°Any questions?¡±

    Kaden looked at Bill and Jill. Seemed pretty straightforward. Kaden felt excited and a little nervous.

    ¡°What kind of monsters?¡± Kaden asked.

    Andy smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a surprise ¨C you¡¯ll see ¡®em in just a sec.¡±

    With that, Andy walked back to a chair by door, spinning his lanyard as he went. After sitting down, Andy took out his mobile and entered a command.

    Three monsters materialized in front of the group. At first glance, they looked a lot like chickens: two legs, two wings, red and white feathered body, and a small pointy head with two beady eyes and a yellow beak. On closer inspection, however, Kaden noticed some monstrous abnormalities: instead of tail feathers, scaly snake-like appendages floated behind each creature. And instead of soft combs on top of their heads, razor-sharp spikes stuck out at odd angles. These monsters were also bigger than your average chicken, almost as big as a turkey.

    Kaden quickly checked a notification:

    <ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Chickenator</li>

    </ul>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level 2</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attacks: Physical (pecks, head strikes, razor talons) and sound (mana-based blast attack)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aural affinity: Variable </li>

    </ul>

    The monsters started squawking and pacing around. Kaden took a moment to look over at Bill and Jill. Bill was trying to fish something out of his pocket and Jill was intensely studying her HUD.

    ¡°Hey guys, any reading on the aural affinity for these guys?¡± Kaden asked.

    Before anyone could respond, one of the creatures scurried forward towards Kaden. The creature lunged for Kaden, its legs and razor-sharp talons extended. Kaden jumped back, surprised. He lashed out with his mana sword, which he had primed and ready to go with his backup power supply.

    Kaden¡¯s hurried strike connected, separating the monster¡¯s head from its body. Viscous blood continued to pump out of the neck, spraying the room with a dark, purple ichor as the body continued running. Kaden watched in horror as the body kept going past him until veered into a wall, where its limbs gradually shuddered to a halt.

    ¡°Oops,¡± he muttered, as the chickenator¡¯s body dissolved into mana that quickly dispersed through the room. That sucks! I didn¡¯t harvest any of its mana, Kaden chided himself.

    Meanwhile, Bill had a handful of peanut-butter dog treats in his hand, extended out to one of the monsters. It approached cautiously, moving its head back and forth, eyeing the treats in his hand suspiciously.

    ¡°Here birdy birdy,¡± Bill called soothingly. ¡°Stay right here while we drain your mana. That¡¯s it, hold still,¡± he said, reaching for the collector disk on his belt.

    ¡°Bill!¡± Jill shrieked. ¡°That¡¯s not going to work!¡±

    Before he could do anything, however, the chickenator caught the scent of blood in the air and attacked immediately. Opening its beak, a pale blue orb appeared, gathering strength. The chickenator released it, and a shockwave of sound pulsed outward.

    Bill flew backward, landing awkwardly and sliding toward the back of the room.

    ¡°Bill!¡± Kaden cried. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Bill struggled to stand on his feet.

    Kaden froze, not sure what to do. Should he run to Bill and try to help him? Should he stay here and try to help Jill with the remaining two monsters?

    ¡°Kaden! I¡¯m almost ready,¡± Jill said. ¡°I need just another minute. Can you help distract the monsters for me?¡±

    Kaden unfroze and started walking warily towards the two remaining chickenators. Both were now squawking loudly and circling the space around Jill, trying to assess if she was a threat.

    Kaden tried to think of an effective distraction. He didn¡¯t want to kill them outright, because that would negate the purpose of the exercise. He needed to give Jill the time she needed if they were going to have any chance of passing this assignment.

    So Kaden did the first thing that came into his mind.

    ¡°Hey!¡± he yelled at the chickens. ¡°Over here!¡±

    The monsters paused and turned toward him.

    ¡°That¡¯s right ¨C Over here. I just killed your friend. How do you feel about that?¡±

    The chickenators appeared to be listening, so Kaden kept going.

    ¡°Wanna piece of me? Or are you too scared?¡± Kaden feinted a lunge at the monsters, who jumped back defensively.

    ¡°Yeah, I see how it is. Scaredy cats. Chickenshit chickenators. Come and get me,¡± And with that, Kaden turned his back on the monsters.

    Kaden waited a moment, listening, waiting to see if they fell for his ruse. He activated his gravity counterward in anticipation.

    The scratch of talons on concrete confirmed it. The monsters jumped to attack him.

    So Kaden ran. As fast as he could, away from Jill and Bill, he led the two chickenators on a chase around the far side of the gym. The antigrav counterward gave each stride extra power, and he flew across the room.

    The monsters were fast enough to keep up, but they were clearly unfamiliar with the jukes and jives of basic schoolyard tag. Kaden kept them busy for a full thirty seconds, sprinting, dodging, and pivoting rapidly to keep their flashing beaks, combs and talons away from him. He also kept an eye towards Jill, waiting for her signal.

    Bill was back on his feet and standing with Jill when she started waving frantically. Catching the signal, Kaden sprinted back towards his teammates.

    ¡°Get down!¡± Jill shouted, motioning her hands downward.

    Kaden went into a slide, turning on his side and coming back up next to Jill. As he turned to face the chickenators, he saw both monsters open their beaks wide and release a combined sound blast.

    The mana-powered sound attack flew towards the group but did not strike them. Kaden glanced over to see Bill, hand outstretched, sound dampening ward in his hand and activated. The mana energy of the attack crackled blue over Bill¡¯s ward, and gradually filtered down into the collector Jill was holding.

    The chickenators kept attacking, but the ward held. Jill filled up two and half capacitors before the chickenators showed signs of flagging.

    All of a sudden, one of the chickenators flopped over, out of energy. It immediately expired, dissolving into a pool of rapidly dissipating mana. The last chickenator followed suit shortly after that, having exhausted the mana reserves that kept it corporeal.

    Those have to be the stupidest monsters ever, Kaden thought.

    Still out of breath and panting, he sank to the ground. ¡°Thanks Jill,¡± he said between deep breaths. ¡°You saved us.¡±

    Jill pushed glasses back up and tucked her bangs back behind her ears. ¡°Well. All¡¯s well that ends well, I suppose. It took me a minute to calibrate the mana capacitors to absorb the mixed auras from those monsters. We were not well prepared,¡± she said. ¡°But Jesus Bill, you nearly died. Pull something like that again and I will kill you myself.¡±

    Bill looked up sheepishly. ¡°Hey you know, I gotta soft spot for farm animals. Thought I could distract them long enough to get the mana collection feed going, you know?¡±

    Jill rolled her eyes. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t kill them outright like Kaden did. That was a disaster.¡±

    Kaden felt a little upset at Jill¡¯s comment, but he knew she was right. He had put the whole team in jeopardy with his mistake.

    A slow clap sounded across the room.

    ¡°What a show¡­ that was¡­ something else. I gotta say, quite the goat rope,¡± Andy drawled. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot in this training room, but nothing quite like that.¡±

    An awkward silence hung in the room. Jill looked down at her feet. Kaden, however, looked Andy in the eye.

    ¡°We passed, though, right?¡±

    Andy grudgingly nodded his head. ¡°Yep, I s¡¯pose you did. You did meet the session¡¯s minimum objectives with at least two mana capacitors filled up, so good on you there. But I wouldn¡¯t be expecting any high scores. Y¡¯all are just¡­¡± Andy shook his head.

    ¡°A bit of free advice ¡­ y¡¯all should think about how you want to work as a team. And each of you have some major developmental areas that need some work ¨C you might do well to shore up your individual weaknesses.¡±

    With that, Andy turned and exited the room.

    Kaden sighed. At least they had passed. Clearly they had a lot to work on, but at least they passed.

    A system notification blinked on the periphery of Kaden¡¯s vision. Kaden pulled up two notifications:

    Congrats! You have passed your first Team Assessment. You¡¯re now granted access to schedule and use Company gyms for team practice. Please reach out to your manager or team coach with any questions!

    Congrats! The Company recognizes your skill in verbal combat. New skill unlocked: Trash Talking, Level 1. Keep up the hard work!

    He rolled eyes. It could have been worse; at least no one else was watching. Or so he thought.

 Chapter XI - Is the Juice Worth the Squeeeeze?

    In fact, many people had been watching as Team Kill Bill embarrassed themselves.

    Upon exiting, the team found a small group of about 15 interns waiting outside the gym, pretending to do anything but look in their direction. The awkward glances and sudden silence said it all.

    From the back of the room, Kaden heard someone start making ¡°cluck cluck cluck¡± chicken noises before someone else shushed them. He felt his face turning red.

    Bill, on the other hand, leaned into it. ¡°Cock-a-doodle-do!¡± he crowed loudly, and then laughed, reaching for a high five from the nearest onlooker.

    The tension broke as a bunch of others laughed and started talking again.

    Bill slapped Kaden on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t take it so seriously, bro,¡± he encouraged with a wink.

    Kaden tried to smile and shake it off. A message from Sandy popped up on HUD. Kaden looked around, spotting the incorrigible Corgi in the far corner next to a window looking into the gym.

    You guys suck! Balls!

    Kaden rolled his eyes. Sandy kept going.

    But I gotta give you credit. That was an exceptionally gory finish to your kill. I quite enjoyed it, actually ¨C almost as much as watching you getting chased around by a bunch of chickens.

    Makes me want to get in there and show you how it¡¯s done!

    Kaden got out his mobile and typed out a reply. Thanks I guess. By the way, why are there so many people here?

    Ha! Sorry, pal, they¡¯re not here to watch you. They¡¯re here to watch the next session. Team numero uno, led by you-know-who. Patty-not-so-fatty.

    Kaden looked back at the gym and sure enough, there was Patricia and her cronies talking to Andy before the start of their assessment. Her team name was ¡°Team Alpha.¡± He watched with the others as her team formed up on the far side of the gym, Patricia in front and the others slightly behind and to each side.

    Do you have an update for me on the competition, like I asked? Kaden typed.

    Working on it, should have you something over the weekend.

    OK, Kaden wrote and then turned his attention back to the training room.

    Three chickenators appeared, same as before. Team Alpha acted immediately, with three individual wards snapping into place. Patricia called out instructions, and the group marched forward, moving to flank and corral the three monsters.

    It was over very quickly. When the blue-streaked sound waves shot out, the energy was deflected and absorbed by each of the team members. As the monsters quickly exhausted themselves, Patricia signaled to her teammates and then leaped forward. Instead of attacking, each of them deployed a different ward. The chickenators froze in place, immobilized. Each of the team members then siphoned up the remaining mana.

    ¡°Over three and a half caps,¡± Bill remarked.

    ¡°How did they do that?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Zero loss on the frontal attacks,¡± Jill replied. ¡°They were prepared. But also at the end, the way that they held the monsters immobile allowed for 100% capture of the mana making the monsters corporeal.¡±

    Team Alpha exited the gym, and a small group of the onlookers applauded. Patricia smiled and looked at the leaderboard. Team Alpha remained at the top, with a current score of 50. Kaden found his team now in about the middle of the leaderboard, with a score of 35.

    ¡°At least we¡¯re not last anymore,¡± Kaden remarked.

    Bill chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s certainly true, but not all the teams have attempted the assignment yet.¡±

    Bill was right ¨C none of the teams below them had a score yet. In fact, they were the last of the teams that completed the assignment so far.

    He sighed.

    ¡°We have a review session with Ms. Kingsley next, right?¡± Jill said.

    The group headed into a conference room on the same floor where they were scheduled to meet with Julia. While they waited, Jill found a way to pull up a recording of the fight and play it on the screen at the front of the room. They watched in silence, waiting for Julia to arrive.

    Kaden found his thoughts wandering to a memory of his parents, almost ten years ago. It was late at night, and his father had just come home from work. Apparently his dad had failed to win an important contract and was feeling down about it.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t know if it¡¯s worth it anymore,¡± Kaden had heard his father say. It stood out in his memory as the first time he had ever heard his father be anything other than optimistic and positive about the family business.

    ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t win today, but the seeds were planted. They¡¯ll come around,¡± his mother had said. Kaden found some peace and wisdom in those words.

    Today¡¯s performance wasn¡¯t a win¡­ but they did live to fight another day.

    Kaden came out of his reverie when the door opened and Julia entered the room. She and the others watched silently as the playback of the battle finished. Kaden cringed as he saw himself running haphazardly across the gym, three chickenators following close behind.

    ¡°Alright,¡± she said, taking off her glasses and taking a chair at the head of the table.

    ¡°How do you think that went?¡± she asked, looking at each of them in turn.

    Kaden spoke first. ¡°Could have been better,¡± he said.

    ¡°We made some mistakes,¡± Bill chimed in, ¡°but we managed to finish on a positive note.¡±

    Jill remained silent, and Julia waited.

    ¡°The guy in the room with us ¨C Andy ¨C he suggested we had a lot of individual development areas. Weaknesses we should shore up,¡± Kaden said.

    At this Julia frowned and stood up, walking over to the display screen.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°I¡¯m with you up until that last comment,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s not necessarily wrong, but let¡¯s focus for a minute on what went well and what each of you are good at. There were a few good things I would like to point out.¡±

    Julia pointed at Kaden. ¡°First up ¨C good combat reaction. Quick instincts will keep you alive and help protect against injury. While killing the monster without collecting any mana wasn¡¯t the objective, it would have been far worse to freeze with indecision.¡±

    Moving the recording forward, Julia paused at the point where Kaden started running back to Jill.

    ¡°Jill ¨C you arrived at the correct analysis of the mana auras and set up the collection array perfectly. It took a little too long, if I¡¯m completely honest, but you were also working 100% by yourself. And this was your first attempt, correct?¡±

    Jill nodded.

    ¡°Speed will come with practice. But clearly you know what you''re doing with managing mana for the team.¡±

    Julia turned to Bill, continuing in a clear and concise manner.

    ¡°You were knocked down, but immediately got up and had the right ward up to defend your team at the right time. Shows resilience and guts. And if I¡¯m not wrong, you¡¯re currently the most knowledgeable on the team in how to program and use defensive wards, correct?¡±

    Bill nodded and gestured to his teammates. ¡°We¡¯re pulling together a pretty full quiver of solid wards.¡±

    Julia raised an eyebrow. ¡°Good to hear,¡± she said, moving back to the head of the table and taking a deep breath.

    ¡°There¡¯s really only two things I want you to do,¡± she said, leaning forward with both hands on the table.

    ¡°Number one: Focus on your strengths. Make them stronger. Learn from each other. Learn from your network. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve come into contact with colleagues at the Company that could teach you what you need to know.¡±

    Heads nodded.

    ¡°But don¡¯t listen to Andy. There¡¯s a reason he¡¯s stuck at the Associate level¡­ If you''re unsure about any advice you¡¯re getting, feel free to run it by me first.

    ¡°So to make sure you can progress adequately, immediately go ahead and book at least two hours each day in the gym. Do it now before other teams snap up the spots.¡±

    Jill picked up her mobile and went to work. ¡°What time slots should I pick?¡±

    ¡°Preferably in the afternoon, but honestly anytime will do. Does that work for you Bill?¡± Kaden said.

    Bill nodded.

    ¡°The second thing,¡± Julia said. ¡°Each of you needs to spend as much time as you can in the mana meditation chambers.¡±

    Kaden hadn¡¯t heard of those yet. Sensing that no one knew what she was talking about, Julia continued.

    ¡°Meditating in the Company mana meditation chambers will gradually imbue your body with mana, making your bodies faster, stronger, and more resilient.

    ¡°By themselves, wards are not enough to guard against the challenges you will face in the next phases of the internship. You have to harden your bodies if you want a chance of surviving this internship until the end. And the best way to do that, besides intense physical exercise, is mana meditation.¡±

    Kaden had a host of questions. He opened his mouth to start asking, but Julia waved him away.

    ¡°There¡¯s lots of different meditation practices and paths to follow, but at this point, just stick to the introductory basics. You¡¯re all beginners. You just need to put in the time. Follow the Company training and you¡¯ll be fine for now. We¡¯ll revisit to review your progress in a week or two.¡±

    ¡°Why are we only learning about this now?¡± Jill asked.

    Julia smiled. ¡°Because you passed the initial team assessment! You¡¯ve made it this far, so the Company is now willing to invest more of its resources in you.¡±

    While it made sense in a coldly logical way, it also meant that injuries like Braiden sustained in the gunsword training were acceptable collateral damage. Almost necessary, in fact. The Company was literally willing to sacrifice the interns'' health and bodies in the name of its interests, and that made Kaden sick to his stomach.

    Bill raised his hand to ask a question. ¡°So when we¡¯re doing our time in the gym, what should we do to make the most of our time there?¡±

    ¡°Good question. What I want you to do is to get better working as a team, while each of you performs the same basic role you demonstrated today: Kaden on attack, Bill on defense and ward implementation, and Jill performing the tactical analysis and mana management.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean Bill and Jill shouldn¡¯t practice attacking, or Kaden work on mana management. Instead, each of you needs to become the master of your domain, and then teach the others what you know. Make sense?¡±

    Heads nodded around the room.

    ¡°So like, if we were a band,¡± Bill started, as Jill groaned, ¡°Kaden would be like our lead signer and front man. I¡¯d be on the guitars or keyboard, laying the foundation for the melody, and Jill would be on the drums, driving the beat that tells where we all should be.¡±

    Julia nodded slowly. ¡°Sure, I guess that analogy works.¡±

    ¡°I have a question,¡± Kaden spoke up. ¡°How do we make sure we win?¡±

    Julia became serious, her gaze steely.

    ¡°There¡¯s only one tried and true rule in this business: the rule of power. Never forget that. If you have the power to achieve results, you will move up the Tower. Results are power,¡± Julia said. ¡°If you want to survive, if you want to win, you will need to make it clear to Management that you have the power to deliver results.¡±

    Julia leaned in. ¡°But here¡¯s the kicker ¨C what you need to understand that they won¡¯t publicly advertise. You need to deliver results not just for yourself ¨C but also for your team. And also for the whole program. Focusing only on the individual competitiveness of this program will be the kiss of death for you.¡±

    ¡°Wait ¨C for the whole program?¡±

    ¡°Yes. If the overall performance of the cohort is insufficient, they will shut down the whole program. No one will pass. It happens more often than you might think. Phase 3 in particular will consume significant Company resources. At the end of each phase, they will ask themselves if the juice is worth the squeeze. If it isn¡¯t worth it, they¡¯ll stop the program,¡± Julia shrugged.

    Wow¡­ that seems unfair, Kaden thought. Even if he did really well by himself, he wouldn¡¯t be able to move forward unless the whole group did well enough.

    ¡°And by the way, for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m also incentivized to see you succeed. Each intern¡¯s manager will be ranked and graded in terms of the success of their interns. I¡¯ve got skin in the game too, as do all the managers of interns in the program.¡±

    Kaden felt relieved and supported by Julia¡¯s statement, but also somewhat worried. What she said seemed to make a lot of sense but also raised a number of questions. He wondered if he could really trust what Julia was saying at face value. For the time being, Kaden went with his instinct and decided he needed to trust his manager. He didn¡¯t know Julia that well yet, but if he could verify some of the stuff she was telling him, he would feel a lot better about his position.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kaden said. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Are there any other questions I can help you with?¡±

    The team looked around at each other.

    ¡°No? If you do, you know where I¡¯m at. Send me a message or put a time on my calendar for us to talk. Ideally we should be checking in a couple times a week on progress. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Julia,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Appreciate the help!¡±

    ¡°You guys have a long way to go¡­ but it¡¯s doable. With hard work and a little luck, I can see you progressing to the next Phase of the internship. You¡¯ve got only three weeks until the final team assessment on July 1st so make the most of your time over the next few weeks.

    ¡°Go ahead and put a check-in on the calendar for us sometime mid-week. I want to make sure you¡¯re making steady progress.¡± With that, the meeting was over.

    Bill and Jill thanked Julia as everyone stood up and filed out of the room.

    It was the end of the day on Friday, but Kaden felt like he was at the beginning of the next step on his journey at the Tower.

    Surprisingly, he felt optimistic. It was the end of a tough week; his team was in last place; and he had yet to find out anything about what happened to his father. And yet, for the first time during this internship, he felt like he knew where he was headed and that it would be worth it when he got there. Julia had made their next steps clear, and he was ready to get back to work.

    Kaden cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck.

    ¡°Coffee, anybody?¡± he asked.

 Chapter XII - Overtime

    Day 6

    Saturday, June 11, 2045

    Sweat flowed down Kaden¡¯s face, trickling into his eyes. He blinked, focusing ahead and waiting for the next monster to appear.

    A fox-like creature appeared in front of him. It was much larger than a normal fox, at least twice the size, and three bushy tails floated out behind it. Massive teeth glinted in its¡¯ oversized maw.

    Catching sight of Kaden, the demon fox jumped to the right and started running, gliding smoothly over the floor. As he watched, the fox¡¯s figure skipped forward in rapid steps, moving faster than he could follow as it tried to circle behind him.

    As he rotated to keep himself facing the threat, Kaden took a precious moment to scan the readings on the monster¡¯s aura displayed in the corners of his HUD. What he saw confirmed his suspicion.

    ¡°Aura signature readings¡­ spacetime skipping¡­¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°That should mean enhanced speed¡­ Let¡¯s lay a trap for this guy¡­¡±

    Quick as he could, Kaden activated the air-shield ward that Jill had captured during the ward training. He and Bill had worked on configuring it last night. Basically, the ward created a layer of thicker air in a donut around Kaden. At this ward¡¯s current configuration, the donut started a yard or so away from Kaden and extended about three yards.

    The creature disappeared from his view. Kaden whirled around, expecting an attempt to attack him from behind. Sure enough, the creature was trying to move its way through the donut of compressed air, using its skipping ability to lurch forward. It was impossibly quick. Without the ward in place, it would have been on his back before he realized it.

    In one smooth motion, he raised his gunsword and activated the blade. Swinging down, he released the ward holding the creature back.

    The fox surged forward into his waiting blade. With a clean thwick, the gunsword cut the monster in two clean halves. Ichor sprayed, throwing streaks of steaming green goo all around.

    Breathing heavily, Kaden deactivated the gun sword and stood up straight. This was the fifth and final monster in the training session he had programmed for the gym. As an intern, there were only a handful of basic training sessions available for individual or team practice. So far this morning, he had worked his way up from three consecutives monsters to the max of five consecutive monsters. He was starting to feel fatigued.

    Following Julia¡¯s advice, he had focused this morning practice sessions on his attack skills. Of course, the training sessions were not without danger.

    He pulled at the torn sleeve of his business jacket as he walked out of the training room. In his first session of the morning, a lynx-like creature with eyes the size of softballs had gotten a little too close.

    He had to buy a new jacket and hadn¡¯t even been paid yet.

    Bill and Jill were waiting for him outside.

    ¡°Hey guys! How¡¯s it going?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all good, bro. You¡¯re looking pretty solid in there. Didn¡¯t realize you¡¯d be out here on dawn patrol.¡±

    ¡°Early bird gets the worm and all that,¡± Kaden shrugged.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re getting a handle on reading the various aura alignments,¡± Jill chimed in.

    Kaden nodded. After the meeting with Julia on Friday, the team had their own debrief over coffee and a light dinner. Bill had helped each of them encode additional wards, and Jill had walked them through additional detail on mana auras. Each monster¡¯s primary aura was a big clue into the types of magical powers they possessed. This was particularly important when they had to face a new monster for the first time.

    ¡°Yeah, that last monster was definitely a speed-type.¡±

    ¡°You need a break, bro, or are you ready to go?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°Nah let¡¯s do this,¡± Kaden replied.

    The team entered the training room, which they had booked for the next two hours. Kaden pulled up a team training protocol on his mobile, and selected the Chickenator exercise.

    ¡°You guys ready for this?¡± he asked.

    Bill gave a thumbs up.

    ¡°Yep. Just like we discussed,¡± Jill said.

    Three chickenators materialized in front of them, about ten yards away. Each of them activated a sound-dampening ward and moved to surround the monstrous fowl.

    This time, the team attempted to replicate the way Team Alpha had performed during their team assessment. And for the most part, things proceeded as planned. One of the creatures didn¡¯t quite get captured in the immobilization ward Kaden used, but as a team they were able to fill a little over three capacitors.

    ¡°That went pretty well,¡± Jill said.

    Kaden frowned for a moment, thinking.

    ¡°You know,¡± he said, ¡°It¡¯s good to know we can run the play like that. But there¡¯s another way to approach this, more in line with the feedback we got from Julia on Friday.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°So instead of each of us taking on one enemy individually, what if we work as a unit, taking on all three as one unit.

    ¡°What I¡¯m thinking of is what happens when we run into a situation where we can¡¯t divide and conquer like we just did. In fact, most situations are not going to allow us to operate independently. It¡¯s better if we pool our strengths and work as a unit.¡±

    ¡°OK, makes sense, I think,¡± Bill replied.

    ¡°I think we should be able to do both approaches,¡± Jill said. ¡°Individually and as a team. That way we¡¯re most adaptable to the situation.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again. But this time, let¡¯s do it differently. Jill ¨C you focus on collecting the mana. Bill will focus on the defensive ward to protect us from the sound attack. I¡¯ll focus on trapping them for optimal mana collection. Make sense?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Jill said. ¡°Let¡¯s try it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, bro. Let¡¯s go!¡± Bill added.

    Kaden teed up a repeat of the exercise. This time, he and Bill took lead in front, with Jill behind. As the chickenators materialized, he noticed they were a different color.

    ¡°Different aura signature!¡± Jill called out.

    ¡°Stick with the plan,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Bill ¨C you ready?¡±

    Bill nodded. ¡°Null ward in place, instead of the sound dampening one.¡±

    The chickenators attacked the group at the moment. Instead of blasts of sound, bursts of light and fire sped toward the team. As the attacks hit Bill¡¯s invisible ward, they sputtered and died out.

    ¡°Going on the attack!¡± Kaden called as he moved forward.

    The beasts were spreading out to encircle them, but he pulled up his gunsword to stop that from happening. He quickly fired off shots to the left and right, missing wide intentionally. The monsters stopped spreading out and focused instead on Kaden, eyeing him and preparing for a charge.

    Kaden took a step back, and they charged.

    Kaden caught Bill¡¯s eye. He nodded.

    At five yards, both Kaden and Bill activated wards, trapping the chickenators in a double-strength immobilization field.

    ¡°Hold!¡± Jill called. ¡°Drawing in mana now,¡±

    And within moments, the form of the monsters was disappearing as the mana flowed into Jill¡¯s empty capacitors.

    ¡°Almost four full capacitors guys!¡±  Jill said, beaming. ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll need to get more empty caps from the armory!¡±

    ¡°Right on,¡± Bill said, extending his hand in a fist bump for his teammates.

    ¡°Run it again?¡± Kaden asked.

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    With a short break to get more caps and reload for the next round, Team Kill Bill went back to running through the team exercises. Over the next ninety minutes, they cleared each of the three team exercises available multiple times. The chickenator exercise was the easiest / lowest rank exercise; the medium difficulty exercise featured five three-tailed foxes, and the last exercise had one enormous elephant-like creature with cobras for tusks. That one took attacks from all three of them to subdue it.

    At the end of their two hours, they heard a knock on the door. Outside, another group of three people waited to use the room. Kaden didn¡¯t recognize them; they weren¡¯t interns.

    As they left the room, Kaden hoped to be able to watch this other team of employees. But the first thing that team did was to darken the viewing glass into the room.

    ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t know that was possible,¡± Kaden said to Bill, but Bill was looking at the Leaderboard.

    Turning to look at the leaderboard, he noticed a new column on the team board. In addition to rank, there was a column for total caps next to each team name. At the top, there was a total displayed:

    Total:  1213 / 100,000

    ¡°Do you guys know what ¡®100,000¡¯ means?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Not sure,¡± Bill replied, ¡°But I bet it has something to do with what Julia told us on Friday. About the overall performance of the program.¡±

    Uh oh, Kaden thought, feeling a new pit form in his stomach.

    ¡°One hundred thousand must be sort of target for the group.¡±

    ¡°And the due date is probably three weeks, at the end of phase 1,¡± Jill added.

    Kaden did some quick math in his head. There were about twelve teams and thirty-six interns left in the program. One hundred thousand divided by twelve was a little less than ten thousand points needed from each team¡­ and in the last two hours, his team had collected a total of fifty three caps. They had made multiple trips back to the armory to turn in filled caps in exchange for empty ones.

    At that pace, it would take his team approximately two hundred hours to collect his team¡¯s share¡­ but that was practically impossible. It would take them ten hours a day every day for the next three weeks. The math didn¡¯t add up.

    ¡°Either we¡¯re misunderstanding the target, or there has to be a better way to get a lot more caps,¡± Kaden said.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re right,¡± Bill said. ¡°Something to ask our managers on Monday.¡±

    Kaden agreed, but there was no time like the present to make progress. If they only had three more weeks, they needed to make every day count.

    ¡°Hey, did you guys see the Black Widows this morning?¡± Jill asked in a hushed voice. ¡°They were filing out of the stairwell when I was coming in the front entrance.¡±

    Both Bill and Kaden shook their heads. ¡°What are the Black Widows?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Special ops,¡± she replied. ¡°The best field operatives and soldiers working at the Company.¡±

    ¡°Whoa, for real? How do you know about them?¡± Bill asked.

    Jill shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. ¡°You know, you hear things,¡± she said.

    ¡°I wonder what they were up to,¡± Kaden said.

    ¡°I know right? But at least the air conditioning is working again!¡± Bill said.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got an hour or so before we have a training room reserved, right?¡± Kaden said to the group. ¡°Shall we refuel? Hit the third floor for a bit?¡±

    Bill and Jill agreed and they all headed for the elevator.

    The door on the elevator closed, and Bill turned and said, ¡°You know, I wonder where all those monsters in the training rooms come from, you know? It¡¯s like they''re transported in from somewhere. I wonder if the Company is creating them somehow?¡±

    ¡°You mean like some twisted form of Animal Farm, but for monsters?¡± Jill joked.

    ¡°Who knows, right? It would be interesting to find out.¡±

    Bill had a good point, Kaden thought. He made a mental note to try to find out.

    ¡°Hey Bill ¨C after lunch, do you think you could take a look at something for me? I was working on the code for the invisibility ward, and part of it doesn¡¯t make sense. Think you can help me parse it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah sure, man. I could see how that definitely could be a good one to have in a monster fight,¡± Bill replied.

    And also in sneaking around the Tower, Kaden thought but didn¡¯t say.

    As they exited the elevator, Kaden spotted a familiar brown form trotting around a corner.

    ¡°Hey guys, go on ahead, I¡¯ll see you in a minute,¡± he said, following the Corgi¡¯s trail.

    He caught up with the dog at a window wall on the north side of the Tower. Sandy was staring out the window at the street below. It was the weekend in the Financial District, and it was practically deserted. Kaden didn¡¯t see any pedestrians.

    ¡°Hey Sandy,¡± he said. ¡°Surprised to see you here on a Saturday.¡±

    Sandy glanced over his shoulder in a motion that seemed almost human. Eerily so.

    Right back at ya, kid. Who¡¯s got ya working the weekend? The Mailroom Mistress? Or someone else.

    Kaden frowned. Mailroom Mistress? Did he mean Julia? ¡°No work for the Mailroom today. I¡¯m here with my team, practicing in the gym and trying to improve. Gotta grind while I still have the chance.¡±

    Ha! That¡¯s for sure. You guys suck balls. You are going to have to get a lot better if you want to be seen in public with me.

    Anyway, I got some info for ya. Then the dog turned looked up expectantly, mouth widening in a toothy dog grin.

    Kaden smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a couple peanut butter treats. ¡°Of course!¡±

    Kneeling down, Kaden held up a hand. ¡°How about you sit first?¡±

    Sandy¡¯s tail stopped wagging.

    Bitch, please. Treats. Now.

    Kaden chuckled and threw the treats in the air, one by one, and Sandy caught them in his mouth with a satisfying crunch-crunch.

    Smacking his lips, Sandy sprawled out on the cool tile floor, looking somewhat mollified.

    Listen, kid, only going to say this once. Mind your manners and know your betters. I¡¯ve been part of this damn tower longer than you would believe. I could make your life hell if I wanted to.

    ¡°Right,¡± Kaden said, trying to keep a straight face. He wasn¡¯t sure he should be scared or if he should laugh. This dog was confusing and not just a little aggressive. Despite the adorably cute face.

    ¡°So¡­ the info on the other interns?¡± Kaden prompted.

    A deal¡¯s a deal¡­ So ¨C your teammates. The Bill guy, he got the top score on the online exam. Same one you took. He¡¯s a little bit of a black box. There¡¯s a lot online for his previous career, of course, but why he¡¯s pivoted to being an intern at the Tower is anyone¡¯s guess. But he appears to have done it on his own merits. Even so, I¡¯d keep an extra eye on him if I were you. Something doesn¡¯t add up in my opinion.

    Kaden frowned. ¡°That seems a little paranoid.¡±

    Hey, like I said, when you¡¯ve been around as long as me, you have a sense for this type of thing. Something with his background and story doesn¡¯t quite add up. Could be something, could be nothing.

    ¡°How about Jill?¡±

    She comes from a family with connections to the Company. She has an aunt in a pretty high role at the San Francisco office, and most of her extended family members either work for the Company or for Company contractors. It¡¯s actually not that uncommon, to be honest. That Patricia girl is similar in that way.

    ¡°Oh really? How so?¡±

    The head of the London office is Patricia¡¯s father. Her schooling and other work experience has prepped her to be successful here from day one.

    Kaden shook his head. ¡°So is nepotism that rampant within the Company?¡±

    Sandy raised a hind leg to scratch furiously around his collar.

    It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. The family connections might give you a ticket to the dance¡­ and they might help you network more effectively once you¡¯re in¡­ but no one will help you prove yourself. The Company¡¯s a true meritocracy in that way. Brutal, in fact. Many scions of Company leaders have learned that the hard way, and many more will as well.

    ¡°Like Iqbal?¡±

    Sandy cocked his head, surprised at Kaden¡¯s question.

    Yeah, I think you¡¯re probably right. I got money on that turd washing out this week.

    ¡°But what about Patricia? She¡¯s a grade-A asshole, in my opinion.¡±

    Maybe, but she¡¯s a competent asshole. Trust me ¨C like a lot of people in this cursed Tower, she doesn¡¯t care about words, feelings, or other people. Just competence and results. So don¡¯t take it personal. She¡¯s probably trying to sift through the cohort of interns to find out who will be an asset, who will be a liability, and who will be worth taking under her wing.

    Kaden wondered about that, but he had no reason not to trust Sandy¡¯s judgment. At least not yet. Still, he really didn¡¯t like her entitled attitude and didn¡¯t want to work with her, even if she was the second coming of the Company founder. He decided to avoid her if he could.

    ¡°What about Mariko?¡±

    I think you can tell me more about her, kid. Didn¡¯t know you were neighbors, once upon a time. You got a thing for her or something?

    Kaden bristled, but let it go. ¡°No, I¡¯m just really surprised to find her here. Seems like a strange coincidence, that¡¯s all. I haven¡¯t spoken to her in years, since high school maybe.¡±

    Well she got into the program through the more traditional route ¨C Ivy league, B-school, capstone project for a Company subcontractor, etc. Not the best candidate but not the worst. Middle of the pack. No family connections, but seems driven and ambitious. With a little luck, she could make it here. She¡¯s in the Facilities department, which she¡¯s turned into an advantage. She¡¯s been quite the busy bee making her into other parts of the Tower. She¡¯s already got a pretty extensive network from what I can tell.

    Kaden nodded. From what he knew of Mariko, that made sense.  ¡°Thanks Sandy. That¡¯s helpful.¡±

    Sandy hopped up and started trotting off.

    Gotta go ¡­ but we¡¯ll be in touch. I¡¯ll have more deliveries for you next week. So don¡¯t do anything stupid and get kicked out of the program!

    Kaden waved at the Corgi, watching the wagging tail head off down the corridor.

    He wondered about Sandy¡¯s last statement. Did the dog think he would do something stupid? He shook his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said to himself. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything stupid.¡±

 Chapter XIII - Strike While the Iron is Hot

    Day 7

    Sunday, June 12, 2045

    Kaden was trapped.

    Voices outside the conference room grew louder. Kaden ducked down under the window, peering through the vertical blinds at the open office area.

    He saw two figures approaching. A woman and a man. He felt his face grow cold as he recognized the man striding confidently this way.

    Alexander Wolfe! What was he doing here? Kaden thought.

    But then the answer came to him immediately. This was the 10th Floor, and Kaden was sneaking around on Sunday afternoon trying to see what he could see while no one was working. Except that there were actually other people working the weekend, including Alexander Wolfe, the VP in charge of this year¡¯s internship program. He should have thought of that!

    He dropped down below the conference room window, desperately trying to be quiet. Quickly he activated the invisibility ward, and slowly the outline of his form disappeared. It also left Kaden completely in the dark, but he could still hear the voices approaching. And then he heard a hand on the door knob.

    He didn¡¯t dare to breathe. He didn¡¯t want to think of what would happen if he were discovered snooping around in places he wasn¡¯t supposed to be.

    Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea, Kaden thought.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen my coffee cup, have you?¡± a voice came through the open door. ¡°Ah here it is! Right where I left it after Friday¡¯s meeting.¡±

    Alexander strode into the room, took a mug off the table and left. He locked the door on the way out.

    Kaden took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Gradually, his heart rate settled back down. He waited a good ten minutes without hearing anything before pushing himself to his feet and looking around.

    Despite his slowly receding terror, Kaden was still keen to make the most of his weekend foray to the 10th Floor. He certainly didn¡¯t want to leave empty-handed.

    He walked up to the whiteboard at the front of the room. There were names of interns written on the board in the three columns. On the left, there were only five names. Patricia was at the top of the list. On the far right, there was a list of about ten names, with about half of them crossed out. He noticed Braiden was one of the crossed out names.

    In the middle were the remainder of the names, including his, Bill and Jill¡¯s. About twenty names in total.

    A few of the names were circled, with arrows pointing right and left. He and Bill¡¯s names were circled, with an arrow pointing to the right. Mariko¡¯s name was circled and pointing to the left. He took a quick photo of the board.

    They expect Mariko to move up to the top tier and expect me and Bill to fall to the lower tier, Kaden thought.

    While not exactly what he was hoping to find, it was good to know where he stood. He and Bill would have to step it up this week. In fact, it would be best if they both made a measurable improvement on the leaderboard by the end of today.

    Sneaking quietly back out of the room, he locked the door from the inside and closed it quietly. When he had been snooping around earlier, it had been the only unlocked room on the floor. It seemed strangely unlucky that he had run into Alexander Wolfe in the same room at the same time.

    Kaden hurried quietly back through the maze of cubicles in the middle of the open floor plan on his way back to the elevator. With his anti-grav counterward, it was just like walking around normally. The ominous debuff effect was still there, but since he knew it was artificial, it was easier to fight off the abnormally high anxiety.

    Thankfully no other surprises waited for him as he made his way down to the cafeteria on the 3rd Floor, where Bill and Jill were waiting for him. He knew they wanted to talk about the meditation sessions they had all completed yesterday.

    Each of them had spent time in individual meditation yesterday afternoon, going through introductory tutorials which covered basic breathing and visualization exercises. At first Kaden had found the tiny meditation rooms somewhat claustrophobic, since they were only about a meter wide on each side, just enough room to sit down on the mat provided.

    He didn¡¯t feel any different yet, but the training program said that with consistent daily practice, he should see gains within the first two weeks. He felt that was too long to wait, given the urgency of his situation, so he had decided to double up on the meditation sessions and do two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening every day for the foreseeable future. It would make for a long workday, for sure, but it was one of the few things he could do to help improve his chances. He was determined to do whatever needed to be done.

    And as made his way through the nearly empty cafeteria, that was why he was surprised not to run into any interns. Only his team had been in the office this weekend, as far as he knew. None of the other interns seemed to feel the same urgency as him.

    ¡°Hey guys,¡± Kaden said. ¡°How was your morning?¡±

    Bill and Jill were already at their normal table in a quiet corner of the cafeteria. Both looked up and welcomed Kaden.

    ¡°Did you see the message from Carol yet?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°No, not yet,¡± Kaden said, pulling up his mobile to check his messages.

    His eyes sped through the message, which had been sent just five minutes ago.

    ¡°Is this really what it sounds like?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Yeah bro ¨C ¡®Plus¡¯ initiatives for the interns. Project-based work outside of your day job,¡± Bill said.

    ¡°This answers the question we had yesterday about the points. The only way for the whole program to get enough points will be if enough people complete the extracurricular Plus programs,¡± Jill said.

    Kaden finished scanning to the bottom of the message and looked up. ¡°So any manager can create one of these ¡®side quests,¡¯ and if you complete it to their satisfaction, you and your team will receive the points as a reward.¡±

    ¡°I just checked the link in the message to the Intern Project Board, but there¡¯s only one listed so far,¡± Jill added.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Document destruction, for Human Resources,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it. Today.¡±

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°OK, but why today?¡± Jill frowned.

    ¡°No time like the present,¡± Kaden said and tried to smile. He wanted to get up and run to the 6th Floor, but held himself back. This was a great chance to get ahead.

    ¡°I agree with Kaden,¡± Bill said. ¡°Gotta strike while the iron¡¯s hot! But honestly, if we wait, someone else will get to it first.¡±

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go. Sixth floor ¨C I know where Carol¡¯s office is,¡± Kaden said.

    ¡°Actually ¨C this says to go to the Basement level,¡±Jill said, hastily finishing her last french fries before standing up to follow Bill and Kaden.

    ¡°Also ¨C guys, sorry but I have to take off later this afternoon,¡± she said. ¡°Family thing.¡±

    Kaden paused to turn and face Jill. ¡°Oh! Ok sure ¨C no problem. Will you be able to help us get started?¡±

    Jill nodded, and the group made their way to the elevators. Kaden wondered what the family thing might be, but didn¡¯t press for any more information. It was important to remember they all had lives away from work, a fact that Kaden was starting to forget.

    ¡°Uh, Bill, do you mind messaging Carol?¡± Kaden said. ¡°She and I aren¡¯t exactly best friends.¡±

    ¡°Sure man, no problem,¡± he replied, pulling up his mobile.

    Carol responded right away and said she would meet them in the lobby of the basement level.

    Despite making deliveries all over the Tower, Kaden had yet to go to the Basement or any other levels lower than the first floor. He had heard there was a medical facility on one of the lower levels, but otherwise he knew nothing of what lay underneath the Tower. Both Bill and Jill were in similar situations.

    As they made their way to the elevator, Kaden asked the group, ¡°So do you guys know what the other interns are doing?¡±

    Bill shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s other interns in the marketing department but I don¡¯t see them much. They¡¯re working on other stuff. But I don¡¯t think they¡¯re very busy, because I see them all the time in one of Marketing¡¯s special conference rooms, practicing with wards and gunswords.¡±

    ¡°Special conference rooms?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, same basic idea as the big gym spaces on the 4th Floor, but a lot smaller. Can¡¯t do all the same exercises, but there are options to practice fighting some basic monsters either solo or as a team.¡±

    ¡°Can anyone use those rooms? It¡¯s getting difficult to schedule time on the 4th floor.¡±

    ¡°Nah, afraid not, bro. Only managers can reserve those rooms. When I asked my manager, he said those rooms were pretty much fully booked for the rest of the month. It must mean the other interns¡¯ managers booked the rooms for their own use.¡±

    Bill raised his hand and tapped his head. ¡°But now that you mention it, those rooms might be free late in the evening or really early. Could be a back-up option for us.¡±

    The special treatment the other marketing interns received was definitely unfair. As they entered the elevator cab, Kaden opened his mouth to complain about it, but Bill cut him off.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, but just remember. We have our own special advantages. I¡¯ve got the special R&D collab I¡¯m working on, you¡¯ve got access to a ton of floors on the tower. And Jill ¨C ¡°

    Bill turned to Jill, who had been quiet the whole time.

    ¡°Tell us what you¡¯ve been up to, Jill. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got something special happening in the Purchasing department.¡±

    Jill frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know, not really. Iqbal and Roger barely do any work and goof off all day. All they do is play some game on their Company mobiles. I end up processing almost all of the requisitions assigned to our group.¡±

    At the mention of a game, Bill perked up. ¡°Game on Company mobile? Is that a legit Company app? Or something sideloaded somehow?¡±

    Jill shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a Company app. Some sort of strategy slash platform game. I tried it out a little, but I¡¯m not big on video games. Apparently it¡¯s supposed to help you understand standard Company tactics and monster fighting techniques. If you do well in the game, you can earn points to push up your individual ranking on the intern leaderboard.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Bill said, appearing lost in thought. ¡°I¡¯ll have to take a look at that.¡±

    Kaden  was thinking about what Jill had said about the requisition process. He had a thought, something they might be able to use later. ¡°So you know the whole purchasing process? How stuff gets requisitioned, approved and purchased?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. It¡¯s nothing special though. Sometimes I have to go in and fix orders, but that¡¯s about it.¡±

    ¡°Can you show me how it works later today?¡±

    ¡°Sure. It¡¯s easy!¡±

    At that moment, they arrived at the first basement level and the doors opened into the bustling lobby of the Company¡¯s onsite medical facilities. Service desks lined the far wall to process the people in the waiting area. Signs to corridors off to the side pointed to various departments.

    Carol was waiting for them and approached the group, waving her hand and smiling her typical cheery smile.

    ¡°Hello and good afternoon on this fine Sunday,¡± she said, beaming at Bill and Jill. She avoided looking at Kaden. ¡°Glad to see a group of eager beavers ready to take on their first Plus assignment! Follow me this way please!¡±

    Carol led the group down a long hallway, then took a right turn, then a left, then another right. When Kaden was completely confused and certain it would be difficult if not impossible to retrace his steps, they stopped at a storage closet.

    Carol explained as she opened the door. ¡°In here you¡¯ll find copies of records that need to be destroyed.¡±

    She opened the door and turned on the light. Rows and rows of shelves stacked high with paper document boxes filled the room.

    ¡°All of these need to be destroyed?¡± Jill asked. It was a huge room. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands, of boxes.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. What you¡¯ll do is take each box from this room to another room down the hall where you¡¯ll incinerate the documents.¡±

    Carol showed them to a tiny room barely bigger than a broom closet. Inside was a simple steel box with a slanted drawer. Operation was simple; load the drawer, close it, hit the big red button, whoosh. Documents went up in smoke ¨C literally, up the pipe on top of the incinerator and out of the room. The whole process took about one minute.

    ¡°So every document in that room goes into this incinerator?¡± Bill confirmed.

    ¡°Yes, and I want to doubleclick on one thing,¡± Carol said. ¡°Every document must be destroyed. Nothing left out or leftover. Understood?¡±

    They all nodded.

    ¡°The reward for this assignment is two hundred points each and six hundred points for your team total. I¡¯ve already updated your security profile to give you access to these spaces for the next week.¡±

    ¡°Why does the Company have all these documents in the first place?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°Oh you know,¡± Carol said, waving her hand. ¡°Legal requirements. Enough time has passed, though, so the Risk department told us to go ahead and get rid of everything. No need to keep it around if the government can¡¯t come looking for it, right?¡± She made an awkward heehaw of a laugh, but no one else got the joke.

    ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll leave you to it ¨C let me know if you have any questions!¡± And with that, Carol departed.

    The group looked at each other, and Jill sighed. ¡°This is going to take a while.¡±

    ¡°No time like the present to get started,¡± Bill said, trying to sound encouraging.

    ¡°What was it you said earlier, Bill?¡± she asked. ¡°¡®Strike while the iron¡¯s hot?¡¯ Something like that?¡±

    Bill laughed sheepishly. ¡°Ha! Yeah I guess I did.¡±

    ¡°Great assignment for our first Plus initiative, guys. I hope it¡¯s worth it,¡± Jill said sarcastically and walked off toward the storage room. Bill followed close behind.

    Kaden remained in the hallway, thoughts racing. It might take a lot of time and effort, but this was the break he had been looking for. Access to old Company records! There had to be something in here that would give him a clue as to what happened to his father and their family business.

    He jogged to catch up with the others.

    ¡°Time to find some answers!¡± he said to himself.

 Chapter XIV - Shot Across the Bow

    Day 8

    Monday, June 13, 2045

    It was 7am in the morning. Kaden sat on a bench near a water feature in front of the Tower. The quiet burble of the fountain hid the sounds of the City waking up around him.

    He yawned and tried to shake the sleep from his eyes. He needed some coffee. It had been a late night going through the records in the basement. As time went on, Kaden¡¯s excitement at discovering anything useful had waned. So far, almost all of the records he had seen were individual patient records from over five years ago. Nothing useful.

    He had arrived at the Tower at 4:30am this morning to do two hours of mana meditation before taking up watch outside the Tower entrance for the past half hour. He had yet to see the person he was waiting for arrive. He was guessing she came in early, because he had yet to see her arrive except for the first day, but had no idea exactly when. He wanted to have this conversation before the workday began, and he didn¡¯t want to search for her in the Tower.

    As he waited, he pulled up the app on his mobile that showed his current status. It was refreshed weekly, every Monday morning at 12:01am. He was glad to see his hard work over the weekend already paying off.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Name: Kaden Chen</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Job Title: Intern</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Grade: 1 / 15</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Role: Mailroom Clerk</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aura Affinity: Amber</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ward Rating: E</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Individual Rank Percentile: 47%</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Team Rank Percentile: 33%</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Key Objective Completion: 1%</li>

    </ul>

    He now had an aura affinity. The amber aura affinity came from his extensive time in the Company meditation chambers, where he had focused on the ¡®S¡¯ aura almost exclusively. He had experimented with other auras as part of the initial Company introductory training, but he definitely felt the closest connection to the ¡®S¡¯ aura. It was difficult to describe but felt right.

    Having a ward rating of ¡°E¡± wasn¡¯t too exciting, but at least he had a rating now. ¡°A¡± was the highest rating possible, and ¡°E¡± was the lowest rating. He had learned that the Company measured and awarded different ratings based on passing specific requirements for each rating, including competency exams.

    No longer ranked last, he was now ranked middle of the pack. His team was now ranked better than two-thirds of the other teams. He did wonder a little about why it wasn¡¯t even higher, considering he hadn¡¯t seen any other interns in the office over the weekend.

    He expected he and his team¡¯s rapid jump forward would turn some heads this morning. If the other interns were as ambitious and driven as they claimed to be, Team Kill Bill¡¯s new rank and progress would be a shot across the bow and a clear signal not to ignore them.

    If they didn¡¯t already have a target painted on their backs, they would now, Kaden thought.

    Across the courtyard, Kaden finally saw who he was looking for. Jumping up, he moved to intersect her before she reached the front door.

    ¡°Mariko!¡± Kaden called. She didn¡¯t look his way or break her stride.

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯d like to talk to you for a minute.¡± She continued to ignore him until he literally jumped in front of her, forcing her to slow down and stop.

    Only then did she look at him, a stony expression on her face. She waited, saying nothing.

    Kaden took a deep breath. Hands on his hips, he tried to keep his voice neutral.

    ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t really understand why, but I know it was you that messed with my gunsword settings during the training. Were you trying to make sure I failed?¡±

    Mariko sighed. ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°How about an apology to start. And maybe an explanation if you¡¯ve got one.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t belong here, Kaden. And I¡¯m not going to apologize for trying to protect you.¡±

    Mariko moved to walk around Kaden, but he stepped in front of her and jabbed a finger in her face.

    He could feel his pulse skyrocketing, blood boiling as it rushed to his face.

    ¡°You had no right,¡± he hissed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection. You think I¡¯m still a little kid that needs protection from bullies outside the bodega? Huh? Is that it?¡±

    Kaden paused, glaring at Mariko, who stood still, expressionless.

    ¡°You know, I used to look up to you. You and your family were good neighbors. I thought we were friends. But I¡¯m warning you. I¡¯m not that little kid anymore.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re doing, Kaden.¡±

    ¡°And you have no idea who I am or what I¡¯m capable of doing.¡±

    He raised his finger, pointing directly at her face.

    ¡°Stay out of my way.¡±

    With that, he turned on his heels and stomped into the Tower.

    ¡ª-

    The cold water felt good on his face. Patting himself dry, Kaden put his glasses back on and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.

    Bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep. Tousled hair too long to be fashionable. A lopsided tie knot and a sports coat smelling of stale sweat.

    And yet, all Kaden saw was his own determination. He was not going to let Mariko or anyone else get in his way.

    As he made his way to the Mailroom, he brought his thoughts under control. It was time to focus on what he needed to do today. There were things he needed to learn from Peter this morning, and he hoped to make it to the Marketing department today. He expected to complete Carol¡¯s Plus assignment this evening, so he and the team needed to find more side quests.

    Peter had arrived just moments before Kaden.

    ¡°Good morning, young intern,¡± Peter said. ¡°Are you ready for another exciting day working at the Company and promoting the greater good?¡± He smiled sardonically.

    ¡°Ha! It¡¯s a little early in the morning for the Company propaganda, Peter. At least let me have a cup of coffee first.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough! If you¡¯re going to get some coffee, mind getting me a latte with oat milk?¡±

    ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Kaden said, heading upstairs. Honestly, he looked forward to his time with the imported Italian espresso machines. If this job with the Company didn¡¯t work out, he wouldn¡¯t mind a gig as a barista for a while.

    A little while later, he returned with two cups. He handed Peter a steaming latte with a solid heart shape, and he took a sip appreciatively.

    ¡°Wow, did you make this yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yes I did. You like it?¡±

    Peter chuckled. ¡°Be careful who you make coffee for around here. Word gets out you¡¯re good at making lattes, that¡¯s all you¡¯ll be doing.¡±

    ¡°Ok! Duly noted. I guess I should ask you to keep my secret.¡±

    ¡°Just keep bringing me one of these every now and then and you¡¯re secret¡¯s safe with me.¡± Peter winked.

    The two set to work sorting the mail into the delivery tubes. After a week of practice and help from Peter, Kaden was starting to get the hang of how to do it quickly. Peter had let him borrow a pair of older custom wards so that he could toss and slot each letter into the proper tube.

    He wore one of the ward rings on his right hand index finger, and the other on his thumb. The thumb ring compressed the air into a cylindrical pipe aimed at the far wall, and the other ring allowed him to blow air down the pipe, effectively forcing the envelope in his hand down the pipe of air and into a receptacle on the far wall.

    Combined with the AI-assisted targeting in his glasses, he could take an envelope in his hand, point at the highlighted target on the wall, activate the ring wards and release the envelope to flow down the pipe of compressed air and into the proper tube.

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    He wasn¡¯t nearly as fast as Peter yet, but he was getting the hang of how the wards worked. Of course he made a mistake every now and then, sending an envelope fluttering across the room, but that happened less and less.

    ¡°Getting pretty good at this,¡± Peter said. ¡°Any ideas on how you might use this technique in a battle situation?¡±

    Kaden cocked his head to the side, thinking. ¡°To be honest, I hadn¡¯t given it any thought yet. But now that you mention it, I can see how it might be useful to send caps or other resources back and forth between your team members on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Peter said. ¡°That¡¯s a good application. I also use it on the attack. Imagine multiple small monsters spread out all around you, scurrying to overwhelm your party.¡± Peter took an aggressive stance, flashing his hands out dramatically.

    ¡°You can deliver any payload in your possession to a host of enemies in quick succession,¡± he said, miming firing off a flurry of projectiles. He stood up and shrugged.

    ¡°At least, that¡¯s how I pitched it to the R&D guys. They weren¡¯t too impressed, though.¡±

    ¡°Really? It seems like a good idea to me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Peter sighed, ¡°They said it had a major limitation. You see, they prefer rechargeable or handheld weapons like the gunsword. They don¡¯t like having to produce projectiles, because that can get expensive very quickly.¡±

    ¡°Oh ¨C because the gunswords don¡¯t have ammo per se. They use mana in bursts instead of a bullet.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Peter nodded, while returning to tossing more envelopes. ¡°It only works if you have a source of ammunition that¡¯s more effective than the blast of a gunsword. But hey, it helps us get the job done here in the Mailroom!¡±

    As they finished the last of the morning¡¯s sorting, Kaden asked a question that had been on his mind for a few days.

    ¡°So Peter, do you know what happened on Friday? Why it was so hot inside the Tower? Did the AC break down or something?¡±

    Peter paused, taking a moment to look at him a little askance. ¡°Hmmm, I wonder. You would think with all the wards embedded into the Tower something like that couldn¡¯t happen, right?¡± His eyes twinkled mischievously.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s exactly what I was wondering. There must be multiple redundancies for all of the building systems. But somehow they were overwhelmed on Friday.¡±

    Peter nodded, tapping his forehead. ¡°Good logical thinking.¡±

    He leaned forward, motioning for Kaden to come closer. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. I heard about it from one of my friends in the Facilities department. It¡¯s not technically a secret, but it¡¯s also not something we¡¯re supposed to talk about.¡±

    Kaden leaned in, waiting for Peter to continue. ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°And I can¡¯t tell you,¡± Peter said, laughing.

    ¡°Ah c¡¯mon man. Tell me something.¡±

    ¡°OK ¨C but you didn¡¯t hear this from me ¨C but I heard there was a breach at the dungeon on basement sublevel five. Some sort of fire monster broke out. It took a very big part of the system¡¯s cooling capacity to contain the heat to that level. I also heard they had to send in a squad of Black Widows to deal with it.¡±

    ¡°Dungeon? Black Widows? What are you talking about?¡±

    Peter just laughed. ¡°See? I told you. You didn¡¯t hear it from me,¡± he said with a wink.

    With that, Peter grabbed a handful of packages and headed for the door, signaling an end to their conversation.

    ¡°Catch you later, Kaden!¡± he called.

    ¡°Oh one other thing, real quick.¡±

    Peter turned back, eyebrow raised.

    ¡°You know about the internship side quests, right?¡±

    ¡°Side quests? You mean the Plus initiatives for interns that managers can create and assign?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°I like that term ¨C side quests. I think I¡¯ll use it,¡± Peter chuckled good naturedly. ¡°I think I know where you¡¯re going with this. I¡¯ll give it some thought. I don¡¯t have anything at the moment, but I¡¯ll try to think of a good ¡®side quest¡¯ for you and your team.¡±

    ¡°Awesome! Thanks, Peter,¡± Kaden said as Peter went out the door.

    He took a moment to collect his thoughts. Dungeon on the fifth floor? Fire monster? Black Widows? More questions that needed answering. Clearly there were equal parts new mysteries and new dangers waiting to be discovered on other levels of the Tower.

    Next, Kaden decided to head over to Marketing to check-in on Bill and investigate the conference rooms being used as de facto private training gyms. He didn¡¯t know if he could do anything about it, but he didn¡¯t like other interns having an unfair advantage in the competition. Rummaging around for a delivery to the Marketing department, he found one and headed upstairs to the second floor.

    As he made his way to the Marketing department, he passed by the auditorium where the interns had gathered on the first day. It was only a week ago, but it seemed like a lifetime. So much new information had changed Kaden¡¯s life and perspective on the world. At the same time, he was still waiting to find answers to the questions most important to him.

    The Marketing Department had a different style and feel than the rest of the Tower. Fewer walls, more glass, and lots of small and medium-sized collaborative meetings spaces. While most of the offices Kaden had visited thus far had a more muted color scheme, the Marketing office had lots of vibrant colors on the floors, walls, and furniture.

    At the main admin desk, Kaden delivered his package and asked where he might find Bill. The admin wasn¡¯t particularly helpful, but eventually they figured out that Bill was probably in a conference room at the rear of the space.

    As he made his way through the open office layout, he kept an eye out for other interns. Sure enough, he spotted a team of three filing into a large conference room, gunswords in hand and accompanied by an older manager. The door locked, and they drew the shades as he walked by.

    He kept walking, shaking his head. Inside, he was seething. He wondered how he could get his own private training facility, or take this one away from this group. At the moment, he and his team were severely limited in what time they had available to them in training rooms on the fourth floor. He had to do something about this.

    Kaden could hear music being played somewhere in the office. As he walked along, the sound grew louder. He recognized the tune; it was a popular rock song that had topped the charts a few years back. As he rounded a corner, he found the source of the music in a open area common space.

    Bill stood in the corner with an electric guitar in his hands, just diving into a solo riff. There was an old guy with a white beard behind a full drum kit, as well as a huge mountain of a man with a neck beard playing rhythm guitar. Kaden just stopped and watched, soaking it in. It was quite impressive to see Bill in his element.

    They finished the song with a strong flourish, and Bill set his guitar down to greet Kaden.

    ¡°Hey bro! Glad you could make it, man! Come meet the rest of the band.¡±

    ¡°Kaden, this is George,¡± he introduced him to the big guitar player, who nodded his head.

    ¡°And on the drums we have the inimitable Emmett,¡± who promptly mimed tipping his hat and punctuating the moment with a short flourish.

    ¡°These are guys I was telling you about in R&D who invented the mana-powered instruments. We were just doing a prep session ahead of our next meeting with the consultants in an hour or so. Your timing is perfect.¡±

    ¡°Timing?¡± Kaden asked, as Bill went and fetched a bass guitar off the floor behind a couch.

    ¡°Here you go, bro,¡± Bill said, handing Kaden the instrument.

    ¡°Oh man, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Kaden protested, raising his hands.

    ¡°C¡¯mon man, trust me, it¡¯ll be fun.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Bill, but I¡¯ve got other work to do.¡±

    ¡°Dude ¨C no worries, I¡¯ve got you covered. My man Emmett here has assured us that this gig will be worth it. And there¡¯s a place in the band for you, Kaden ¨C we need a bassist. Here ¨C just try it out,¡± Bill said, holding out the instrument.

    Kaden took the sleek black instrument in his hands. It looked just like a normal bass guitar, except he could spot mana crystals in the tuning forks and under the strings, where the mouth of a normal guitar would be. It was a little lighter than he expected, but otherwise felt the same as a typical electric bass.

    ¡°I saw the other Marketing interns in the conference room,¡± Kaden said in a quieter voice directed just at Bill. ¡°I need to do something about it this morning.¡±

    Bill paused, pulling a pick out of his pocket and handing it to Kaden. ¡°So¡­ I hear where you¡¯re coming from, but I think you should take a beat and think this through. I can tell you¡¯re frustrated, and that is warranted. But think about what¡¯s the best use of your time. Spinning your wheels trying to think of a way to sabotage the other team? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s you, man.

    ¡°Take a breather, play some tunes, and earn a boatload of points for the team. All you have to do is spend a couple hours playing with me and Emmett, and we¡¯ll earn over 10,000 points. Yeah?¡±

    Kaden sighed, taking the pick. Bill made sense. Besides, what was he going to do anyway? Instead of focusing on holding the other teams back, he needed to focus on pushing himself and his team forward.

    Besides, it might be fun to loosen up for a little while.

    ¡°Alright,¡± he said, plucking the strings in a simple chord progression. Sounded in tune.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡±

    ¡ª

    After goofing around for a bit and then practicing for about half an hour, the group was ready.

    Kaden had to admit he felt pretty good. It had been a while since he last played, but he got back in the swing of things pretty quickly. Bill and the other guys were great to play with. No one was too hung up on a perfect performance. Instead, Bill made sure everyone was having a good time.

    He was surprised, however, to find out that the ¡°gig¡± they were being rewarded for doing was actually being filmed. Apparently, the outside marketing consultants were putting together a social media campaign promoting the new inventions. Most of the focus was on Bill, of course, given his former stardom. Kaden wasn¡¯t sure how to deal with the cameras, but he decided the best course of action was to ignore them and try to enjoy himself.

    At first Kaden tried to straighten his shirt and redo his tie, but Bill hurried over and stopped him.

    ¡°Nah man, too late for that. Let¡¯s lean the other way¡­¡± he said absently as he loosened the tie knot a little, unbuttoned the top button of Kaden¡¯s shirt, and had him roll up the sleeves of his sports jacket.

    ¡°Really?¡± Kaden said, not sure if this was the look he was going for.

    ¡°What do you think, Theresa?¡± Bill said, calling over the lead consultant for a quick calibration on Kaden¡¯s appearance. ¡°A little grunge, the lived-in office look, yeah?¡± Bill put a hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°This guy ¨C he¡¯s been up all night, just pulled an all-nighter finishing an assignment for the boss man. What does he do? Roll into bed? Nah dude, he rolls up his sleeves and rocks on. Am I right?¡±

    ¡°I like it,¡± Theresa agreed firmly.

    Bill gave Kaden the thumbs up and snatched up his guitar.

    ¡°Let¡¯s rawk!¡±

 Chapter XV - Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps

    Team Kill Bill stood in front of the 4th floor training room waiting for their turn. The shades were drawn on the windows, so they couldn¡¯t see what was happening inside the room. As they waited, they discussed their approach to today¡¯s session.

    ¡°So quick recap, to make sure I have it,¡± Jill said. ¡°Phase 1: defense. We group together, overlapping wards. My job is to configure the mana feeds and give you guys info on the monster¡¯s aura alignment.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Keep going.¡±

    ¡°Phase 2: offense. Kaden will go on the attack, drawing the monsters into a position for optimal mana collection. Bill will focus on wards to deflect or defend attacks. My job will be to start collecting mana and optimize the configuration.¡±

    ¡°And don¡¯t forget to give us feedback,¡± Bill added. ¡°If you need something from me or Kaden, just let us know.¡±

    Jill nodded and continued. ¡°Phase 3: collection. You guys run interference, making sure I stay protected and able to finish the job.¡±

    ¡°What happens if me or Bill starts to get overwhelmed?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll call out a switch, and we¡¯ll go into 100% defense mode. I¡¯ll pause what I¡¯m doing and load up the best wards I have,¡± Jill answered.

    Kaden nodded. ¡°Also if one of us feels like an all-out offense approach is needed to ensure our safety, any one of us can make that call.¡±

    Andy Smith, Associate and intern trainer, walked out of the conference room, shaking his head.

    ¡°So, look here,¡± he said in a full Southern drawl, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to apologize on two fronts. One, I might have implied in the past that y¡¯all were the worst team. But I¡¯m going to have to take that back. Those idiots in there ¨C ¡° Andy jerked his thumb over his shoulder ¨C ¡°they are the worst. By far.

    ¡°Which brings me to my second apology. I¡¯ll need y¡¯all to chill for about ten minutes or so while I escort these bozos from the building.¡±

    Andy turned on his heel and marched back into the conference. Not long after, three figures stumbled out the door, pushed by Andy towards the exit.

    Kaden recognized two of the three interns on this team ¨C Iqbal and Roger ¨C and they did not look happy. Roger had a bloody nose, and Iqbal was cradling his arm.

    ¡°Get on outta here,¡± Andy yelled, pushing them along. ¡°You¡¯re done. And don¡¯t come back.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll hear about this from my father!¡± Iqbal screeched.

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Andy said, eyes cold and frosty. ¡°You tell him he can have your mom back too, because I¡¯m done with her as well. Move!¡±

    Kaden caught Jill with a small smile on her face.

    ¡°Happy to see those two go?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah I guess so,¡± she said, trying to hide her obvious satisfaction.

    Andy returned shortly, looking a lot more relaxed as he swaggered out of the elevator in his black and white tracksuit.

    ¡°Alrighty then,¡± he said, motioning for the team to follow. ¡°Let¡¯s get this started. Y¡¯all are doing the first advanced training, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kaden said.

    ¡°Can¡¯t say I ain¡¯t looking forward to this,¡± Andy said and smiled.

    For the first session of advanced training, a single, oversized monster appeared in front of the group. The goal was the same as before ¨C collect as much of the monster¡¯s mana as possible. Without getting killed, of course.

    As mana coalesced into the form of the creature, Kaden took a quick look at the notification that popped into his peripheral vision:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Horse-headed Hydra-3</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level 5</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attacks: Physical (trampling, kicks, bites) and poison (bites)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aural affinity: Multiple</li>

    </ul>

    This creature was huge, easily twice as tall as Kaden and over thirty feet long. As its black form materialized fully, Kaden could see it was mostly horse, but had three heads and chitinous armor protecting its main body. Red hooves and a glowing orange tail made the creature¡¯s appearance quite menacing.

    Following the plan, the team had defensive wards up and in place as soon as the monster materialized. When it charged, the compressed air shields deflected it to the side. One of Kaden¡¯s wards took the brunt of the force, rapidly draining most of its power.

    ¡°OK ¨C it¡¯s an even mix of three different auras,¡± Jill called out. ¡°Configuring mana collectors now.¡±

    Kaden glanced at Bill who nodded and moved in line between the monster and Jill.

    Kaden leaped forward, activating the anti-gravity ward. Huge strides ate away the distance between him and the three-headed horse.

    Raising his gunsword, Kaden fired off two low-powered shots. They ricocheted harmlessly off the armor, but it did get the monster¡¯s attention. Refocusing on Kaden with three loud brays of rage, the horse monster wheeled around and charged.

    Before he could be trampled, Kaden activated the blade on his gunsword and dove to the side at the last moment, swinging the blade in a slashing arc at the right foreleg. A satisfying spray of ichor colored the gray floor.

    Enraged, the huge beast turned and reared up on its hind legs, preparing to charge again. Kaden did not wait for it. Instead, he sprinted forward in long loping arcs.

    As the horse¡¯s crimson hooves hit the ground, Kaden struck with a sideways slash, severing the left leg at the knee. Unbalanced, the creature flopped to the ground, rolling and kicking as it struggled to right itself. Two of the horse heads neighed in terror and pain, and one of them tried to bite Kaden, but he was already retreating and too far away.

    Kaden and Bill took up defensive positions while Jill drew closer and siphoned up the remainder of the mana. A tipping point was reached and the creature slowly began to dissolve into light crystals of amber, purple, and green. Within seconds, it was gone.

    ¡°Why did it have to be a horse,¡± Jill sighed. Bill just looked at her, remembering the first battle with the chickenators.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad,¡± Andy sniffed, rising from his chair. ¡°I was hoping you might cut off one of the heads to see what happened¡­ but oh well. Y¡¯all just might make it here. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make something of yourselves.¡±

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Thanks, Andy!¡± Bill said, reaching out for a fist bump. Andy sighed, but obliged.

    Kaden checked the time. It was still relatively early; if they went to the basement now, they could push through and possibly finish the assignment tonight.

    Both Bill and Jill agreed it was worth it to move ahead on Carol¡¯s task, so they headed out right away.

    ¡°So Bill ¨C did you happen to find out where all the monsters come from?¡± Kaden asked as they waited for the elevator. He was hoping to corroborate what he learned from Peter and Julia.

    ¡°Yeah, so I made some discreet inquiries with my R&D buds,¡± Bill replied. ¡°Apparently, the monsters we¡¯re fighting come from a natural source. They aren¡¯t manufactured or anything. The monsters come out of ¡®dungeons.¡¯ The Company gathers them and stores them in magical stasis for when they¡¯re needed for training or other purposes.¡±

    ¡°Where are these dungeons? Who collects them?¡±

    Bill shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, dude. Emmett and George clammed up when I started asking more questions. So clearly a Company secret. Maybe we¡¯ll find out later in the internship.¡±

    ¡°I heard there was a dungeon inside the Tower,¡± Kaden offered. ¡°Somewhere below the Basement level.¡±

    Bill looked surprised. ¡°Really? Huh. Kinda makes sense, but also seems dangerous.¡±

    Jill looked worried. ¡°Isn¡¯t that where we¡¯re going now?¡±

    Kaden smiled. ¡°I think it¡¯s supposed to be a lot deeper. We¡¯re in the medical space anyway, right? Lots of Company employees are between us and the dungeon, so I don¡¯t think we have much to worry about.¡±

    When they arrived at the storage closet, the team set to work quietly and efficiently. The team made good progress through the boxes, but Kaden found himself wishing they went a little slower. Even though it was increasingly unlikely Kaden would find anything of value, he still kept up hope of finding something. He scanned the contents of each of his boxes carefully, looking for anything that might be a clue.

    And with only a shelf of boxes left to go, he finally found what he was looking for.

    ¡°David Olson,¡± he breathed, holding up a record.

    The record was over ten years old. It looked like a payment record of a visit to this hospital. There were not too many details, but that didn¡¯t matter. The record had a name and a photo that Kaden recognized.

    Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he folded the papers and put them inside the pocket of his jacket. Checking the time, he decided his next move. If he hurried, he could make the express bus back across the Hudson and be home in time for dinner.

    ¡°Hey guys,¡± he called out to Bill and Jill. ¡°I¡¯m going to head home for a bit and grab some dinner. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡±

    Taking his leave of the others and walking quickly, he made his way out of the basement and through the Tower lobby, into the thick and humid summer night air.

    A tepid breeze washed over his head and shoulders as he hurried toward the bus stop. The neon glow of the Company logo cast the courtyard in an orangish-reddish glow, deepening the shadows. A familiar homeless man with a begging cup walked by, but Kaden ignored him, his face troubled and his mind trapped in thought.

    The whole trip home went by in a blur, as he struggled to remember everything he knew about this man.

    David Olson had been a partner at his father¡¯s firm over ten years ago. There had been some sort of falling out between the two. Olson had left. Kaden vaguely remembered seeing him at his family home for dinner on some occasions. But other than that, he didn¡¯t remember anything. Just a name, a face, and a vague recollection of someone who liked to laugh.

    As he opened the door to the apartment he shared with his mom and sister, he heard voices coming from the kitchen.

    ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± he called out.

    ¡°Kaden!¡± his sister called, rushing around the corner to give him a hug. ¡°You know you live here, right? Not at the office?¡±

    He managed a weak chuckle. ¡°Haha, yeah, I know. Trust me, I¡¯d rather be here than at work.¡±

    ¡°Come sit and have some supper,¡± he heard his mother call.

    Kaden sighed and made his way into the small dining room / kitchen area. The three-bedroom apartment was not very large, and the appearance was dated. To an outsider, it would have seemed well worn and homey, but also clean and well maintained. It was the only place Kaden had ever lived.

    ¡°Have a seat, Miranda. Let your brother eat,¡± their mother chided.

    ¡°How was your day?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°Did you do anything interesting today?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I worked on destroying a bunch of old documents,¡± he said.

    Miranda wrinkled her nose. ¡°Boring,¡± she decreed.

    ¡°Yeah! No kidding,¡± he said, then turned to his mom.

    ¡°You know Mom, a name came up at work today. David Olson. Did you know he worked at the Company?¡±

    His mother paused ladling rice into a bowl for Kaden and looked him in the eye.

    ¡°David Olson.¡±

    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right.¡±

    She handed Kaden his bowl and leaned back in her chair.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t heard that name in a while,¡± she said.

    ¡°He was one of Dad¡¯s early partners, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, until the Company poached him. It caused us quite a setback. It took years for your father¡¯s company to recover.¡±

    ¡°Why? What happened?¡± he said in between bites, shoveling stir fry into his mouth.

    She sighed and got up to walk into the kitchen. ¡°From what I remember, your father was relying on David¡¯s connections to scale the business. Plus capital from David that never materialized. Basically, after he left, your father had to pull himself and his company up by its bootstraps. He made it, but it took a lot longer.¡±

    ¡°Was this when Dad opened the factory in the Hudson River FEZ?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± she sighed, sitting back down. ¡°Didn¡¯t see much of your father during those years. He did it all himself, building a world-class contract manufacturer in the federal Free Enterprise Zone.¡±

    She smiled wanly. ¡°David did show up at your father¡¯s funeral. But he didn¡¯t stick around. Left without saying anything.¡±

    Kaden nodded as finished his bowl of rice. He thought he had the basic picture of what had happened. He also had the beginnings of an idea of how to approach the man. It was slim, but he thought he had a little bit of leverage. Applied in the right way ¡­

    ¡°Hello? Earth to Kaden?¡± Miranda called out.

    He shook his head and looked up. ¡°Sorry, what did you say?¡±

    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Miranda harrumphed. ¡°Anyway, I was asking if you would be at my dance recital this weekend?¡±

    He had forgotten about it, but didn¡¯t see any reason why he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it.

    ¡°Sure! I think so. Work is a little hectic, but I should be able to make it.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± she said, looking pleased.

    ¡°I better go,¡± Kaden said, pushing his chair back. ¡°Gotta put in a few more hours tonight.¡±

    ¡°What?!?¡± Miranda said.

    His mother looked worried. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just pretty crazy right now.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem right they¡¯re working you so hard. You¡¯re just an intern.¡±

    ¡°Haha, yeah, just an intern. Doesn¡¯t feel like it,¡± he said as pushed his chair back in. ¡°Thanks for dinner. It was good to see you guys.¡±

    Miranda got up to give him another hug. ¡°Say hi to Sandy for me,¡± she said.

    Kaden laughed. He had told Miranda about the Corgi the other day. Not anything about his smuggling activities or predilection for saucy vocabulary, of course, but his sister was completely enamored with the idea of a dog at work.

    ¡°Alright, I will,¡± he said.

 Chapter XVI - Circle Back

    Day 9

    Tuesday, June 14, 2045

    An orangish, amber light permeated the meditation closet. The only sound was Kaden¡¯s controlled breathing, slow and steady.

    Kaden sat on the ground in a relaxed meditative stance. Eyes closed, he focused on the visualization for today¡¯s exercise. He imagined light irradiating his body, filling it with energy.

    A low-toned gong chimed, alerting him to the end of his scheduled session. While Kaden had sat and meditated for two hours, he felt fresh and energized. The feeling of warm and power the visualization had prompted stayed with him as he exited the 4th floor and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast.

    Kaden checked the time: 7:11 AM. He had time to grab some coffee and a breakfast sandwich before heading to the Mailroom. He wanted to be there before Peter arrived.

    Making his way back to the first floor with two coffee cups in hand, he arrived just as Peter was walking in.

    ¡°Here¡¯s an oat milk latte for my favorite Mailroom employee,¡± Kaden said, handing Peter one of the coffee cups.

    Peter chuckled, taking the cup. ¡°Uh-oh. What¡¯s this for? Hoping to butter me up? Because it¡¯s working,¡± he said with a wink.

    ¡°What? Nothing, no hidden agenda here,¡± Kaden replied jovially. ¡°Just a cup of coffee for a hardworking colleague.¡±

    Peter rolled his eyes. ¡°Easy, buddy. You don¡¯t have to lay it on so thick,¡± and they both laughed.

    The morning passed by quickly with the various tasks in and out of the Mailroom. Mid-morning, Kaden found a good opportunity to ask a question that had been on his mind recently.

    ¡°So Peter, quick question. Where do the wards in our locked cabinet come from? I mean, what happens if you need to add one?¡±

    Peter shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s a requisition process. Usually I¡¯ll put in the order and Julia will approve it. Something like that. Why? Do you think we¡¯re missing anything?¡±

    ¡°Nah I was just curious,¡± Kaden said.

    Kaden waited until Peter had left on a handful of upper floor deliveries before he enacted his plan for the day. His goal was to find out more about David Olson and the R&D department. He didn¡¯t really have a good reason to head up to the 19th Floor, but he did have the material on hand in the Mailroom to create a reason.

    Working quickly, he assembled his ¡°fake¡± delivery with a short note inside the corrugated box. Thinking through the plan in his head, he realized he could use some help. He pulled up the Sandy app on his mobile and found he was with Cliff at the front desk.

    Package in hand, Kaden went to the backroom and checked out the 19th floor ward. Locking up, he left to catch Sandy. On the way, he messaged the canine on chat.

    Need a favor, Sandy.

    Yeah sure, but it¡¯ll cost ya. You got any treats?

    Of course I have treats. I need you to come with me upstairs.

    Alright but what do you need me to do? And what floor?

    Just be your cute, adorable self. And maybe distract someone. On the 19th floor.

    R&D, huh? You got me curious. Where you want me to meet you?

    I¡¯m headed your way now.

    Kaden spotted the canine up ahead, splooshed out behind Cliff¡¯s chair at the security desk. Sandy turned his head and made eye contact, then scrambled up to his feet and trotted toward the elevator bank.

    Kaden caught up to him at the elevator.

    ¡°Here¡¯s a treat,¡± he said, tossing a peanut butter treat through the air. Sandy snatched it and munched on it, lips smacking.

    The dog raised his head, as if asking for another.

    ¡°Alright, fine,¡± he said, tossing him another one.

    Into the elevator they went, and Sandy messaged Kaden.

    So what¡¯s the play here, kid?

    ¡°I¡¯m delivering a package. I also want to go talk to a couple guys on the floor while I¡¯m here. You just need to hang out with the receptionist and make sure they¡¯re not bothered by me sticking around.¡±

    And how do you know this will work? What if said receptionist isn¡¯t a dog person? I got skills, kid, but cat people are the worst. Not much I can do in that situation.

    Kaden gave him a sideways glance. ¡°Puh-lease. Trust me. I¡¯ve done my homework. You¡¯re about to meet one of your biggest fans.¡±

    The elevator chimed and they exited on the 19th floor. With the custom ward activated, Kaden felt no ill effects. Sandy appeared to be unbothered as well; Kaden wasn¡¯t sure how that worked for the canine, but clearly he had no issues going practically anywhere.

    As they stepped into the admin area, Kaden heard a gasp and squeal of delight from behind the desk. A young woman with dark glasses and brown hair in a ponytail stood up and ran around the desk.

    ¡°Oh what a treat! Sandy! Oh this is great! You¡¯ve made my day coming to see me!¡± The woman squatted down to scratch the dog¡¯s ears. Sandy flopped to the ground obligingly, legs up in the air and stretching for a belly rub, which he promptly received.

    ¡°I have a delivery for ¨C¡± Kaden started before being interrupted.

    ¡°Yeah yeah, just leave it on the desk,¡± the woman said, focused entirely on Sandy, who¡¯s rear right leg started twitching slightly as she found the perfect spot and dug in.

    Feeling increasingly like a third wheel, Kaden edged toward a door on the right.

    ¡°While I¡¯m here, I¡¯m going to say hi to a couple of my friends. Do you know where I might find Emmett or George?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Over that way,¡± she responded absentmindedly, waving her hand to the right past Kaden.

    Hey kid. Not sure how I feel about you pimping me out like this. Sandy¡¯s message reached Kaden as he was slipping through the doorway and into the open office area beyond.

    He strolled along with purpose, not wanting to look like he didn¡¯t know where he was going. He didn¡¯t make eye contact with heads that looked up from cubicles he passed. Eventually he got to the end of a row, and he paused. Luckily, he saw George sitting with his back to Kaden a few rows over.

    Kaden knocked on the side of the cubicle wall. ¡°Hey, George, how¡¯s it going?¡±

    George turned around slowly. Seeing Kaden, he looked surprised. He cleared his monitor quickly before speaking.

    ¡°Kaden. What¡¯s up. Didn¡¯t expect you to come by.¡±

    ¡°Yeah I was in the neighborhood. Had a delivery to make.¡±

    George raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s right. You¡¯re assigned to the mailroom.¡± George seemed to relax a little bit.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°I dropped off a delivery for a David Olson. Do you know him?¡±

    George nodded. ¡°Yeah, but he typically works out of a different office upstate.¡±

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird,¡± Kaden said, feeling nervous his ruse would be found out. ¡°I wonder why a package would come here for him then.¡±

    George shrugged. ¡°He comes into HQ every now and then. In fact, I think he¡¯ll be here later this week.¡±

    Kaden did an internal fist pump. Perfect, he thought to himself. Outwardly, he played it cool.

    ¡°Huh, that must be it,¡± he said, and then changed the subject.

    The two talked about the instruments and the band for a few more minutes. Kaden learned that there was a possibility the group would have another gig in a few weeks, but it was still to be determined.

    Exiting into the lobby, he spied Sandy on the lap of the admin assistant, head resting on the desk. When Sandy saw Kaden, he stood up and jumped down onto the floor.

    ¡°Aw you have to go?¡± The woman looked accusingly at Kaden.

    ¡°He follows me around a lot,¡± he said. ¡°I think he likes making the rounds and seeing lots of people.¡±

    She pouted and crossed her arms.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Bring him back again if you can!¡± she called as they entered the elevator.

    That was fun and all, but you need to tell me what that was all about.

    ¡°Right after you tell me what¡¯s in those packages I deliver for you,¡± Kaden said as the elevator descended.

    This ain¡¯t over, kid. We¡¯ll circle back on this later. For now, you caught me in a good mood.

    Kaden rolled his eyes, smiling to himself.

    ¡ª-

    ¡°Alright team. What are your goals for this week?¡± Julia asked.

    Team Kill Bill sat around a conference room table. Bill, Jill, and Kaden each looked at each other, as if seeing if someone else wanted to speak first.

    With the lack of an immediate response, Julia asked another question. ¡°Who¡¯s the team leader?¡± Again, no quick answer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s solve that problem right now. Among other responsibilities, the leader needs to set the goals and make sure the team does what¡¯s necessary to achieve those goals.¡±

    Bill raised a hand. ¡°I think Kaden should be team leader.¡±

    ¡°OK, Bill. Why is that?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been successful taking the lead during training sessions so far. I think I¡¯m better suited to a support role. What do you think, Jill?¡±

    Jill nodded her head. ¡°Fine with me.¡±

    ¡°Are you good with that, Kaden?¡± Julia asked.

    Kaden was surprised and somewhat flattered at Bill¡¯s endorsement. What Bill said might be true, but he also felt he had a lot of gaps and weaknesses. At the same time, his inner drive thrilled at the prospect of being the team leader.

    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Thanks Bill, thanks Jill. I¡¯ll do my best ¨C and I¡¯ll certainly need your help.¡±

    Bill gave him a smile and thumbs up. ¡°You can count on it, bro.¡±

    ¡°Alright. With that out of the way,¡± Julia continued, ¡°Kaden. What are your goals for the week?¡±

    Kaden sighed inwardly. Were all bosses like this when they had a question they wanted answered? Like a dog with a bone?

    ¡°Continue doing what we¡¯ve been doing ¨C that is, training exercises and meditation ¨C plus add-in Plus initiatives to earn points for our team.¡±

    Julia frowned. ¡°Those are activities, not goals.¡±

    She pushed back her chair, standing up walking to the whiteboard. She grabbed a marker and started writing.

    ¡°By the end of day today, send me a message with clear, discrete, and measurable goals for each of these areas:¡±

    On the board, Julia wrote the following in a rapid but clean all-caps script:

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">MEDITATION HOURS: ???</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">CAPS COLLECTED IN TRAINING: ???</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">PLUS POINTS: ???</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">TARGET WARD RATING: ???</li>

    </ol>

    She underlined the last one and turned to face the group.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the Ward Competency Exam next Tuesday. There¡¯s both a written and a practical component to the exam. You should be spending your nights and weekends preparing for it.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any suggestions or guidelines for us to follow? Like, what¡¯s your expectation for the right goal for each of these activities?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Give it some thought and do your research, but I suppose there¡¯s a few things I could point out. Meditation should be at least an hour a day. Target ward rating should be ¡®D¡¯ or ¡®C¡¯ if you can manage it, but that might be a stretch. Honestly the number of Plus points you can achieve really depends on the initiatives available, but you should coordinate with the other teams to make sure the program generates sufficient value by the end of Phase 1. Same as caps collected ¨C it¡¯s just a math exercise.¡±

    ¡°The end of Phase 1 is July 1st, right?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Any other questions?¡±

    ¡°What if the Plus initiatives can¡¯t give us enough points?¡± Bill asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking through the ones posted so far, and while I haven¡¯t analyzed them in depth, it doesn''t seem like there¡¯s enough to go around or enough in total.¡±

    Julia frowned. ¡°OK, I¡¯ll take a look at that. Let¡¯s circle back on that next week. We¡¯re scheduled for a check-in next week at the same time, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jill said.

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± Julia said, heading for the exit.

    As Julia walked out of the room, she called back, ¡°End of day, Kaden. Don¡¯t forget.¡±

    ¡°Alright guys. Help me put numbers on these goals,¡± Kaden said as Julia left.

    It quickly became apparent to the group that it really mattered what Plus initiatives they decided to pursue. They estimated they could only realistically get about 100 caps a week, if they maxed out their training schedule, and that just wasn¡¯t enough to reach the team or cohort point targets by July 1st. The only way to make up the difference and also to rise above other teams would be getting the right side quests.

    None of the descriptions listed, however, looked appealing. Nor were the points very high. The group shortlisted a few and wrote them out on the whiteboard:

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Complete my expense reports, VP on 13th Floor (50 points)</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Take my car in for maintenance (50 points)</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Daily coffee from favorite cafe uptown (5 points per day)</li>

    </ol>

    ¡°These are garbage,¡± Kaden complained, tossing his mobile on the table. ¡°The rest of these listed are even worse.¡±

    ¡°Julia said she would look into it,¡± Bill said. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something she can do.¡±

    Kaden frowned. ¡°There might be, but honestly, I doubt there¡¯s much she can or will do. All of these Plus initiatives for interns come from other managers. I don¡¯t think she has any control or sway over them.¡±

    ¡°Maybe there are managers out there that have a special project we could do but haven¡¯t had the chance to put it into the program,¡± Jill said.

    Kaden snapped his fingers. ¡°That¡¯s a great point.¡± Kaden jumped from his chair, excited with his new idea.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this. You all know different managers and staff around the Company, right? At least some contacts outside of your chain of command, right?¡±

    Jill seemed hesitant, but Bill nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go on the attack,¡± Kaden said. ¡°Instead of waiting for side quests to come our way, let¡¯s go find some. Whatever they might, they couldn¡¯t be worse than what we have to pick from on this official list.¡±

    ¡°Right on, bro,¡± Bill said. ¡°I¡¯ll mine the network. See what comes up.¡±

    ¡°Are we done for the evening? I really should get going,¡± Jill said.

    Kaden paused for a moment. Jill did not seem as committed to success as he and Bill. It was starting to worry him a little bit.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re close to being done. But I feel like there are some other things we should be doing,¡± Kaden said.

    Jill rolled her eyes. ¡°Really? It already seems too much for me. There just isn¡¯t enough time in the day.¡±

    ¡°We need to prioritize our time, for sure,¡± Bill added.

    ¡°Agreed ¨C but we need to think two steps ahead. If we¡¯re successful in getting through Phase 1, what comes after. I want to start thinking of how to prepare for that.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t know what Phase 2 will be. No one does.¡±

    ¡°But I know someone who might give us a good idea,¡± Kaden said. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and schedule time for us with him. Think of it as advanced weapons training.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°Mark Hernandez,¡± Kaden replied.

    Jill gulped. ¡°Is that meeting optional?¡±

 Chapter XVII - Stretch Goals

    Day 10

    Wednesday, June 15, 2045

    Kaden looked over Julia¡¯s response to his late night message. He had sent her the team¡¯s goals by the end of the day yesterday, as requested. She had responded almost immediately, even though it was almost midnight by the time he sent it.

    Basically, she had increased or doubled all the targets. He didn¡¯t know yet how to achieve all of this by next Tuesday. He read over the goals again, trying to focus on the best way to tackle each problem:

    Week 2 Goals

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Meditation: 10 hours</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Caps: 100 </li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Plus points: 2,000</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ward rating: D (stretch goal = C rating)</li>

    </ul>

    The meditation goal wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him. He was already doing morning and night sessions. Their team¡¯s ability to collect monster caps from training was limited by the time they had in the main training gyms, but he mused that there might be a way to increase the difficulty (and increase the potential mana to be collected). He or Bill would have to find a manager or two interested in giving them lucrative Plus assignments. And the Ward rating ¨C that was going to require study. He was confident he could pass the written exam, but if he wanted any chance at getting a D rating or better, he was going to need help.

    Kaden sighed. It wasn¡¯t even the end of the second week, and he felt exhausted. He reminded himself that all of these goals and activities and targets were not his main quest. His primary goal was to find out the truth about the Tower and what happened to his father, and that meant he needed to make faster progress on the David Olson lead.

    A notification popped up on his mobile. It was a message from Sandy.

    Hey kid. Got something for ya. Something related to that little field trip we took yesterday.

    Great! Thanks, Sandy. What is it?

    Ha! Don¡¯t thank me yet. I need you to do something for me this morning.

    Kaden sighed. It was always this way with the Corgi.

    Alright, Kaden replied.

    So here¡¯s the deal. There¡¯s this sweet piece that lives somewhere over on Water Street. I have it on good authority her owner takes her out every morning around 7:30 for the daily constitutional. At any rate, I need you to get chummy with her and her owner. Make friends. So one day soon you can introduce.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± Kaden muttered to himself.

    This intel better be legit, Kaden replied. And I¡¯ll need something to go on up front. This sounds like a long-term operation you¡¯re asking me to do. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s worth it.

    Trust me, I¡¯ll make it worth your while. You get me in with this girl and I won¡¯t forget it, kid.

    Kaden sighed. Seemed like a lot of work for little benefit. Not to mention he felt just a little gross.

    Wait a sec. Why not get Cliff to do it?

    Cliff and I aren¡¯t on the same page on this one. And not a word to him about this, ok? Or deal¡¯s off. Got it?

    Yeah, got it.

    Alright, here¡¯s a little teaser for ya, out of the goodness of my heart and to let you know how serious I am about this, ok? That guy you¡¯re looking for? He¡¯ll be in the City this weekend, starting Friday. He¡¯s got meetings scheduled in the Tower on Friday and Monday. He¡¯s also supposed to be at the shindig they¡¯re holding for some of the managers this Friday evening.

    Kaden sat up straight, a spike of adrenaline rushing through his body. That was great news! He could use that. And the timing was great. With a little luck, he could arrange to meet David Olson and hopefully have a private conversation.

    That is great intel, Sandy. Thanks. I¡¯m on board.

    There¡¯s more where that came from, just get to work. Yeah?

    Alright. I¡¯m on it. What am I looking for? What does this dog look like? Who¡¯s the owner?

    You¡¯re looking for the hottest little toy poodle you¡¯ve ever seen. White coat, English saddle haircut. Usually has a pink or purple scarf. Her owner is some gay guy who likes to wear matching scarves with his dog.

    I¡¯ll take a look and get started this morning.

    That¡¯s the spirit. Keep me posted.

    Will do. And by the way, my sister says hello.

    Sister, huh? Bring her by someday. Always happy to meet a fan.

    Kaden stretched and got out of his seat in favorite corner spot on the 3rd floor cafeteria. It was just after 7am. A short walk outside and some fresh morning air seemed appealing. He would grab some more doggie treats and head over to Water Street for a stroll around the neighborhood.

    <hr>

    It was a good thing Kaden prepared for his short walk outside the office. He spotted the target exactly where Sandy had told him to look, and the matching pink scarves the pair wore today were a dead giveaway.

    Pretending to be a fellow dog owner, Kaden struck up a conversation with the man about having pets in the City in general and specifically dog treats. He kept the conversation short. He learned their dog''s name was Penny. Foundation laid, he returned to the office and gave Sandy the update.

    Good work, kid. You¡¯re a natural. I¡¯ll keep you posted on the next phase of Operation Penny. I¡¯ll need you to take me on a short walk with you next time.

    Kaden caught up on his messages as he hurried up to the 4th floor. This morning, his team had an early morning session scheduled in the large training gym. He had messaged Andy about what other advanced training sessions the team might do to maximize the cap collection rate, but he hadn¡¯t heard back yet.

    Bill was waiting for him.

    ¡°Sup, bro? How¡¯s it hangin?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I guess. It¡¯s already been a long week and it¡¯s only Wednesday.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I hear ya, man. I got some good news, though. I found another gig for the band this Friday night. There¡¯s a happy hour for some Company leadership, and some higher ups in Marketing thought it could be a good look to showcase our collab with R&D.¡±

    Perfect, Kaden thought. Things were finally coming together. Same party David Olson would be at. If he was lucky, he could use the access to this party to make a connection with David.

    ¡°Nice! How many points will we get for it?¡±

    ¡°At least a thousand, maybe two,¡± Bill replied.

    Kaden raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a lot!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the manager sponsor is an SVP who reports directly to the CMO, so they have some pull. It¡¯ll look good for Emmett and George as well. Win-win all around,¡± Bill added.

    ¡°Same set as before?¡±

    Bill hesitated. ¡°Kinda, not exactly. We need cover some classics. We¡¯re getting somebody in Facilities to be lead singer. Not exactly my favorite type of show, but I can roll with it.¡±

    Kaden sighed. This was a good opportunity, but the last thing he needed was learning a new set of songs in just a few days.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send you the details. Don¡¯t overthink it. You¡¯ll pick up the new songs fast.¡±

    ¡°If you say so,¡± Kaden said, shaking his head.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Jill and Andy arrived, walking out of the elevator.

    ¡°I got your message,¡± Andy said in greeting. ¡°Not sure it¡¯s the wisest course of action, but given the solid performance y¡¯all put in last time, I can give a more difficult and lucrative assignment.¡±

    ¡°Excellent!¡± Kaden replied. ¡°That¡¯s what we need.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not without risk,¡± Andy said, looking at the rest of the group. ¡°Are y¡¯all sure you want to do this?¡±

    Heads nodded all round, and Andy shrugged.

    ¡°Alright then. Suit yourself.¡±

    Andy found his folding chair and plopped down by the door. ¡°Whenever you guys are ready,¡± he said, sounding bored.

    ¡°Same game plan, right?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kaden said.

    Without warning, the lights dimmed and changed color. The light levels settled at a barely visible, deep reddish hue.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jill asked, instinctively backing up.

    ¡°A heads-up would have been nice!¡± Kaden called out to Andy. All he heard was a soft chuckle in reply.

    Mana began to coalesce around the gym, except it was different from every other time before. This time, the sparkles of mana forming into monsters were everywhere. Across the entire space.

    Kaden checked his notifications.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Name: Chiroptera Horde-A</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level: 7</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attacks: Physical and Mana-based (dependent on aura type) </li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aura Affinity: Multiple </li>

    </ul>

    ¡°Are you guys seeing this?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Looks like a swarm of bugs!¡± Bill said.

    ¡°All kinds of different mana auras,¡± Jill said. ¡°And they¡¯re moving around so fast!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Kaden said, falling back toward Jill. ¡°Full defensive formation. Let¡¯s layer it like we practiced,¡± he said.

    Bill activated the general-type null ward in a dome about ten yards in diameter, centered on the group. It immediately started getting hits.

    ¡°Whoa,¡± Bill said. ¡°Losing energy fast over here.¡±

    Kaden struggled to activate the air shield ward he had. The plan was for his shield to be a backup behind Bill¡¯s, at approximately five yards out from the group. Before he had it up and locked in place, one of the creatures broke through Bill¡¯s shield and dove straight for Kaden.

    Seeing a blur in his peripheral vision, Kaden raised an arm instinctively to shield his face. Sharp claws raked across his forearm, gouging three deep cuts and knocking him to his knees.

    He gritted his teeth, blocking out the stinging pain and shock of the injury. The creature was still buzzing around inside his inner shield, dive bombing the other two. So far, they had successfully dodged the attacks, but it was keeping the team distracted.

    Kaden¡¯s gunsword blazed to life. He focused on the monster¡¯s erratic movement, it¡¯s bat-like leathery wings flapping furiously in the low light. When the creature¡¯s flight path swerved toward him on its way toward attacking Jill, he swept the blade out on instinct, clipping a wing and sending hurtling to the ground.

    ¡°Everyone ok?¡± Kaden called, his ears pounding with his pulse and his body thrumming with adrenaline.

    ¡°Yeah but how about you?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± he replied immediately. ¡°What¡¯s the plan? Any ideas?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to get a read on these bat things,¡± Jill said. ¡°They won¡¯t stay still. And there¡¯s four different aura signatures out there. And at least a hundred of those things, I can¡¯t get an accurate count.¡±

    As if to accentuate Jill¡¯s statement, blast attacks started to bound off of Bill¡¯s shield. Unable to push their way through, the monsters were unleashing sound-based attacks and mana-based blasts as well.

    ¡°Uh, shields at 40% and falling,¡± Bill said.

    ¡°Was that a Star Trek reference, Bill?!? At a time like this?¡± Jill hissed.

    ¡°Sorry! My mind goes to weird places in the face of imminent death.¡±

    ¡°No one¡¯s dying,¡± Kaden interjected. ¡°Let¡¯s try to trap these bats. Immobilize them so we can siphon off the mana.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a good idea,¡± Bill said. ¡°But whatever we¡¯re going to do, let¡¯s do it fast!¡±

    Kaden jumped in with orders.

    ¡°Jill ¨C on the count of three, you activate your air shield at three yards, ok?¡± Jill nodded.

    ¡°Bill ¨C after Jill activates her shield, we¡¯re going to drop both our shields. When the bats surge forward, I¡¯m going to reactivate my air shield at five yards. They¡¯ll be trapped in between me and Jill¡¯s shield. Can you work on a torus-shaped ward that will fit in the middle and pin the bats to the ceiling?¡±

    Bill nodded, and Kaden started the countdown. ¡°Three, two, one, now!¡±

    The bats surged forward in a rush, bombarding Jill¡¯s shield. The bats themselves bounced off the air shield, but a few of the sound and mana blasts filtered through the shield, which wasn¡¯t a complete barrier to those attacks.

    Kaden activated his air shield ward, which was only at 50% power. It took Bill a few seconds but he eventually had a wobbly donut-shaped field filling the space between Kaden and Jill¡¯s wards, gradually pushing the bats toward the ceiling.

    ¡°I¡¯m not close enough,¡± Jill said as she struggled to start the mana collection process. ¡°There¡¯s too much interference from all the different creatures and different aura signatures.¡±

    ¡°Can you throw the collectors closer to the edge of the shield? If we move, the wards will move with us and the instability might cause a crash.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Jill snapped, and tried tossing a collector toward the edge. It rolled on its edge back toward the group, settling just a few feet away.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± she muttered. ¡°Close enough.¡±

    Gradually, Jill worked her magic, pulling the mana in the now immobilized bat creatures into steady streams toward collectors tossed around the periphery of their interior air shield. The process was slow and unwieldy. The screeching and fighting bats didn¡¯t stay still, and all the squirming movement and constant scratching and attacking on the air shields disrupted the mana flows, requiring multiple restarts and reconfigurations. But eventually, the number of creatures remaining grew fewer and fewer, as the collectors gathered more and more mana, filling over five caps of each of the four primary aura types.

    The lights came back up to normal levels as the last of the creatures disappeared.

    Clap. Clap. Clap. Andy¡¯s deliberately slow applause echoed across the empty room. ¡°You guys never disappoint. Fun to watch. Absolutely batshit crazy. But fun.¡±

    There was a collective groan.

    ¡°Like, what¡¯s your problem, man?¡± Kaden asked.

    Andy let out a genuine laugh. ¡°Bless your heart, kid. You might want to get that arm looked at.¡±

    Andy turned to leave, whipping his lanyard back and forth. ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend I didn¡¯t see the injury, otherwise I might have to report it. I don¡¯t need the paperwork, and you don¡¯t need the points deduction. See y¡¯all later.¡±

    The team looked at each other.

    ¡°That was gnarly,¡± Bill said. ¡°And not in a good way.¡±

    ¡°We need more wards, or wards with higher capacity,¡± Kaden said. ¡°We almost ran out of juice before we could start siphoning some of the collected mana into our defense.¡±

    ¡°And more collectors,¡± Jill added. ¡°It would be nice to have a way to push a bunch of collectors out to various points on the battlefield. It would make mana collection a lot more efficient.¡±

    ¡°And we need a way to do more things at once,¡± Bill said. ¡°One attack or one ward at a time doesn¡¯t work for this type of monster.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea about the collector issue,¡± Kaden said. ¡°I want to talk to someone about it tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I need to ask permission,¡± Bill said, ¡°But I¡¯ve got something that would absolutely rock and definitely take our ward game to the next level.¡±

    ¡°What about your arm?¡± Jill asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to go to the doctor?¡±

    Kaden looked down at the shredded and bloodied sleeve of his sports jacket. Not another one, he thought. He was ruining clothes faster than he could pay for them.

    He gingerly peeled the jacket off and rolled up the tattered remains of his shirt. Now that the fight was over, he was starting to feel the pain of the cuts, but surprisingly it was less than he expected. The blood had stopped flowing as well.

    Raising his arm to the light, he studied the cuts. He thought for sure that he had been cut into the muscle, but all he saw was three bloody scratches. Rubbing at the blood caked on the edges of the cuts, he uncovered fresh pink flesh underneath, as if new skin was already growing.

    ¡°The cuts don¡¯t look so bad,¡± Kaden said.

    Jill pointed to the shredded jacket on the floor. ¡°They were bad. Look at all the blood.¡±

    He frowned. When he had been attacked, the strike had certainly felt more serious. What was going on?

    ¡°How much mana meditation have you been doing?¡± Bill asked.

    ¡°Three or four hours a day.¡±

    ¡°Everyday, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°And there you have it. Faster regenerative healing. That¡¯s a direct result of high levels of amber mana absorption.¡±

    ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t expect to see any benefits so quickly.¡±

    ¡°That is unusual,¡± Jill said. ¡°Normally it would take a month to see any measurable improvements, but even then nothing this dramatic. You must have a very strong alignment with that aura.¡±

    ¡°Huh, I guess so. Interesting.¡±

    ¡°Are you seeing any side effects yet?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°No, not that I know of.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Just be careful. You might be pushing too hard.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± he said, but he wasn¡¯t really listening. He was studying his forearm closely. By now, the cuts had closed to the size of small scratches. He was definitely impressed. And definitely wanted more of whatever this was.

 Chapter XVIII - Ask Permission or Beg Forgiveness

    Day 11

    Thursday, June 16, 2045

    As Kaden exited the meditation chamber after his two hours of morning meditation, he saw a familiar face approaching down the hallway.

    He nodded his head in greeting, the other man did a small wave and slowed down, as if he wanted to speak to Kaden.

    ¡°Hi,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m Han Mifan. I¡¯m in the internship program. Are you one of the other interns?¡±

    Kaden stuck out his hand for a handshake. ¡°Yes I am. Kaden Chen.¡±

    Han shook his hand vigorously. Han was a big guy, but not very tall. Quite round, actually. With somewhat short and stubby arms and fingers. But he had a vitality and briskness to his movements. He was always moving, bopping up and down on the balls of his feet.

    ¡°Nice to meet you! You know, I don¡¯t see many other interns here doing meditation.¡±

    Kaden smiled. ¡°I know right?¡± He raised his fingers to lips. ¡°Let¡¯s let it be our secret.¡±

    ¡°Ha! I don¡¯t know how long that will last. Hey quick question, if you don¡¯t mind. What aura did you pick for your primary meditation practice? I picked tau for the speed. Also working on beta for strength as a secondary.¡±

    Kaden thought over what he learned about auras thus far. Apparently there was a large spectrum of possible mana auras, each with unique characteristics. He thought of it like a ice cream store with very large selection of potential flavors. Some flavors went ell together, and some did not; similarly, some auras combined well together, and others did not. That was why mana collection became complicated when presented with a group of monsters with too many different types of monsters.

    But also like ice cream, there were the mana auras that were most common, like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. There was a simple chart Kaden had committed to memory, in order to keep track of the basics.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Beta | Green | Strength</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Tau | Purple | Speed</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ni | White or black | Stamina</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sigma | Amber | Will</li>

    </ul>

    ¡°Well, you know, for me I guess it was more like I felt most comfortable with sigma, so I¡¯ve stuck with that one.¡±

    ¡°Really! Just sigma as your primary, no secondary or anything?¡±

    Kaden shrugged. ¡°Nah, just keeping it simple for now.¡±

    ¡°OK! Nice. Anyway, I¡¯ll let you go, I can see you¡¯re on the way out.¡±

    ¡°OK! Let¡¯s talk more later!¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll see you around.¡± Han bopped along with a spring in his step, turning the corner quickly.

    While Kaden knew the faces of most of the interns, very few made a point of connecting with each other, probably because of the competitive nature of the program. Han was one of the few who had introduced himself to Kaden and was probably the friendliest by far.

    Also, he knew enough about the meditation chambers to be here early in the morning. Not as early as Kaden, of course, but even so, he was truly surprised the benefits of the meditation chamber hadn¡¯t caught on yet. Not that he was complaining. He was going to take any advantage he could get.

    He checked his messages quickly as he made his way to the 3rd floor for some breakfast and some coffee. Nothing new or urgent had come across in the last couple hours, so he had a little free time before he was due to meet the rest of the team for a repeat of yesterday¡¯s training exercise.

    Kaden grabbed his food, made himself a double-shot mocha latte in a to-go cup, and found a hoteling station in a quiet corner to do some work while he ate.

    There were a number of workstations available on a first come first served basis. Theoretically he could do anything that needed doing on his Company mobile, but it was definitely better to use a full keyboard and large display for some tasks, particularly anything to do with the Company¡¯s ERP system. Such small font!

    He put down his empty yogurt-granola parfait and took a sip of his before starting on the next equipment requisition.

    He went through the form quickly, tabbing through a series of drop downs quickly.

    ¡°Quantity 1, item number CC0100245, replenish stock, direct pick-up option¡­¡± he mumbled to himself as he typed away.

    His team needed collectors, so he was buying them.

    Except he wasn¡¯t really buying them. He was using the Mailroom department to order collector ¡°replacements¡± for the inventory closet, placing a requisition for one collector at a time, That way the system would auto approve the order, because the order¡¯s total value was relatively low, without any additional approvals required.

    He had debated asking his manager Julia first, or even Peter, but in the end he decided this was the type of situation where it was probably better to ask for forgiveness, rather than ask permission. Even if someone did raise a flag or complain, he didn¡¯t expect anything more than a slap on the wrist. Why would there be loopholes like this if people like him weren¡¯t supposed to use them? It¡¯s all for the greater good, right?

    Kaden hit submit. He checked his messages. He already had a notification that the part was in stock and available for pick up on the fifth floor.

    ¡°Perfect. Let¡¯s do this nine more times and then head upstairs,¡± he said to himself. ¡°I¡¯ll have time to pick up the collectors on my way to the gym.¡±

    After a few more minutes of processing the same requisition nine more times, Kaden grabbed his latte and strolled over to the elevator bank.

    For the first time this week, he was feeling pretty good about things. He was excited to try out his idea on how to deploy their new collectors, and he was optimistic Bill would have something good to share today as well. Instead of the constant overwhelming sense of too much to do with too little time, he was feeling optimistic about making a big step forward with the team today. He also had a concrete lead on the mystery with David Olson and a plan in place to meet or confront him within the next few days. Things were coming together, and it gave Kaden¡¯s stride a little swagger.

    As he left, he spotted Han standing at a self-service counter. Han was taking what looked like a glass of orange juice out of the microwave.

    That¡¯s weird, he thought.

    On the 5th floor, Kaden didn¡¯t know where to go to pick up his supplies, so he stopped for directions at the front desk. He was directed around the elevator bank and to the rear of the Tower core, where there was a service counter with a glass window in front of rows and rows of shelves. It looked a little bit like a pharmacy, with the security screening, except instead of drugs, there were bins and bins of parts and equipment. He rang the bell on the counter and waited.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming,¡± a sweet soprano voice called from the back.

    From behind the shelves, the young woman with the long, black hair that Kaden had seen on the 5th floor last week came into view. She was tall, but small-boned, and not skinny at all. A tight-fitting blouse and form-fitting skirt let the world know to slow down and drive carefully, lots of curves ahead.

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    Kaden must have lost a moment because when he came to his senses, his mouth was open and the woman had a quizzical look on her face.

    ¡°Picking something up?¡± she repeated.

    ¡°I¡¯m Kaden,¡± he said, putting his hands in his pockets, and then on the counter, and then under the counter. He didn¡¯t know what to do with his hands.

    ¡°And I¡¯m pretty busy,¡± she replied, still wearing a smile. ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sorry, of course, I¡¯m picking up some supplies for the Mailroom.¡±

    ¡°Do you have the PO number?¡±

    Kaden pulled out his mobile and pressed furiously on the screen to find it faster. He felt his cheeks turning red.

    ¡°Here you go,¡± he said, showing her order number.

    ¡°OK! I¡¯ll be right back,¡± she said.

    He took a deep breath as she disappeared around the corner. After about a minute of him still wondering what to do with his hands, the woman arrived back at the desk with a small box, which she placed on the counter.

    ¡°Here you go! Sign for it, please. Just wave your hand over the ID scanner so it can read the implant in your hand,¡± she explained.

    ¡°Oh, uh,¡± Kaden said, picking up the small, squarish cardboard box containing a single collector. It fit in the palm of his hand.

    ¡°You know what, I forgot to mention that I have multiple orders to pick up.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Ok.¡± The woman did her best not to sigh out loud. ¡°Order numbers?¡±

    Once again, Kaden dove into his mobile to pull up an order number. He felt the heat increase on his face. There¡¯s nothing quite like being the obstacle between a pretty girl and the rest of her day.

    ¡°What was your name again? Kaden? I¡¯ll just look it up that way,¡± she said, typing away at her workstation. She turned to look at him.

    ¡°Ten individual orders of the exact same item¡­ is that right?¡±

    He nodded his head and smiled sheepishly.

    She looked at him closely. She was about to say something, but then seemed to decide not to. He felt like she saw right through him and what he was trying to do.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let it go this time. Not sure what you¡¯re up to, and I don¡¯t really want to know. But please don¡¯t do this again,¡± she said with a wink.

    Kaden¡¯s blush went even deeper, approaching beet red territory. ¡°I understand. And appreciate it,¡± he added.

    She brought back a shoebox-sized cardboard box with the rest of the collectors. ¡°Here you go,¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks, uh, I didn¡¯t get your name,¡± he said.

    ¡°Alicia,¡± she smiled sweetly.

    ¡°Thanks, Alicia! I guess I owe you one. Uh, see you later,¡± he said, backing up to go.

    ¡°Uh-huh, okay,¡± she said, smirking.

    Finally able to do something with his hands, Kaden grasped the box of collectors like a football under his arm and hustled back to the elevator. Hot girls still flustered him, and this one had caught him by surprise. He didn¡¯t expect to run into a supermodel in the Facilities department. While he wasn¡¯t completely unskilled in romantic relations, it had certainly been a while, and he definitely was focused on other things at the moment.

    Focus, he reminded himself. Next up was the team training. He needed to get in the right headspace to improve on yesterday¡¯s performance.

    Absentmindedly he glanced at his left arm. Under his new sports jacket and shirt, his arm had completely healed. Just a light pink scar quickly fading. The mana absorption was doing amazing things for his body already.

    Andy, Bill and Jill were waiting for him on the 4th floor.

    ¡°Good morning, sunshine,¡± Andy drawled. ¡°Nice of you to join us.¡±

    ¡°Hey Andy,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Give us a minute? Need to coordinate with the team before we redo yesterday¡¯s exercise.¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Suit yourselves. Clock¡¯s ticking ¨C you¡¯ve got the room reserved for thirty minutes.¡±

    Kaden showed the box to Jill. ¡°Here you go ¨C more collectors.¡±

    ¡°Wow, where did you get these?¡± she asked. ¡°How did you get these?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Perks of working in the Mailroom?¡±

    Jill frowned but didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Bill ¨C what¡¯s that you have on your shoulder?¡± Kaden asked.

    Bill unslung the case and set it on the ground. Popping it open, he showed them what was inside.

    A sleek guitar with a purple body gleamed inside the velvet lined instrument case. It looked exactly like an electric guitar except for a few noticeable differences. The strings were iridescent, with strangely attenuated tuning forks. In the body of the five-string guitar were five circular slots, each the diameter of a standard ward cap.

    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Yep! Got this prototype on loan from Emmett over in R&D. Agreed to let me do some field tests in exchange for performance data. And keeping it safe from damage, of course.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ interesting, I guess,¡± Jill said, ¡°but how does it work?¡±

    ¡°Five slots for five different wards. When I play the strings, I can control and adjust those wards.¡±

    ¡°Ok I guess that makes sense,¡± she said, ¡°but how is this better than using your mobile or the ocular interface to control the wards?¡±

    ¡°Response time,¡± he replied. ¡°I can react in less than a tenth of a second with this. Also I¡¯ve programmed the interface to allow me the same breadth of control for all the ward settings, all on the fret board. No more diving into menus on the fly.¡±

    ¡°Any limitations?¡± Kaden asked.

    ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t thought about that too much,¡± he replied, ¡°but I suppose protecting the instrument itself is the biggest potential problem. If it¡¯s damaged, the wards most likely won¡¯t stay active. And it will take time to reconfigure and load those wards in the normal manner.¡±

    Kaden nodded. It made sense. In a way, the instrument was a large analog control board, programmable in different ways. As long as it was working, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems. But if it stopped working, then the group would have to have a back-up plan in place.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Jill said, gesturing at the guitar and the collectors. ¡°How are we going to run the training differently today?¡±

    Kaden grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve got a couple ideas.¡±

    After a quick five-minute discussion, the team filed into the training room. They had about fifteen minutes left in their allotted time.

    Andy yawned. ¡°Y¡¯all sure you want to do this? If you run out of time, I¡¯ll have to shut it down and you¡¯ll fail the assignment.¡±

    ¡°We got this,¡± Kaden replied with more confidence than he felt. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    The lights fell as before, and the horde of massive bat creatures began to appear. The group stayed clustered together. This time, they planned to work closely as one unit, utilizing their new equipment.

    Kaden activated an air-shield ward as their inner shield. Using the Mailroom wards on his fingers that he had borrowed from Peter, he pushed out four of the new collectors until each one was firmly lodged in the semi-permeable air-shield at equal intervals around them and about halfway up the height of the shield dome.

    ¡°Ready,¡± he called out to Bill, who had been plucking a single string on his new guitar to keep the growing horde at bay with a long-distance null ward. A few of the creatures had pushed through and were starting to attack Kaden¡¯s shield, and as Bill dropped the outer ward, all of the creatures rushed in.

    As they did so, Bill pivoted to recreating the shield pincer the team had employed last time. The massive bat creatures struggled as they were caught in between multiple shields and pressed into the dome surrounding the team.

    Jill was already pulling in mana from the well-positioned collectors. The bats had little time to attack before their essence was being pulled away into the bank of capacitors at Jill¡¯s feet. In less than a minute, the whole thing was over.

    Andy walked over, twirling his lanyard around his finger as the lights came back up.

    ¡°Not bad for a bunch of noobs,¡± he conceded. ¡°Not bad at all.¡±

 Chapter XIX - Two Birds with One Stone

    Day 12

    Friday, June 17, 2045

    Kaden handed Peter a double-shot, oat milk latte with a perfect rosetta on top. He was starting to really enjoy his time with the espresso machines upstairs.

    Peter accepted the cup graciously. ¡°Keep this up and you will be truly indispensable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°By the way, any deliveries to the 19th floor today?¡±

    Peter raised an eyebrow as he raised the latte to his mouth for a sip. ¡°Um, that¡¯s really good,¡± he said appreciatively.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a Plus assignment as part of the band playing for the manager gig tonight,¡± Kaden explained. ¡°Couple of the other guys in the band are in R&D. Was hoping to talk to them a few minutes this morning about the performance tonight.¡±

    While technically not false, he was only telling half the truth. What he was really after was a David Olson sighting. Anything he could to maximize his chances of a casual encounter would be worth it, in Kaden¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Actually, yes, there is one. You can take it up there for me, I suppose. Technically, I¡¯m supposed to handle this one myself, but if you¡¯re headed there anyway, two birds with one stone, right?¡±

    Peter went into the backroom and came out with a small, waxy brown paper box and the Mailroom¡¯s counterward for the 19th floor. He handed it to Kaden, who peaked at the addressee, which was none other than David Olson.

    Kaden¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    ¡°Go ahead and get that done right away. Supposed to have it delivered in person before 8am today.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Will do!¡± Kaden couldn¡¯t believe his luck. As he turned to go, he realized he really wanted to know what was inside this package. A desperate idea came into his head. Quickly he palmed a boxcutter off the counter and headed out the door.

    Moving quickly, he went straight to the restrooms on the 1st floor. Finding an empty stall, he locked the door and got out the boxcutter. He removed the razor blade and as carefully as he could, slowly slid the blade between the box and the tape sealing it shut. If he cut through the box or the tape, it would be obvious someone had tampered with the package. But if he could get the tape pulled open without ripping the paper, he could reseal it without anyone noticing.

    As he gently pulled the tape back, most of it came off without tearing or ripping the paper. One corner of the tape, however, split apart. Kaden cursed under his breath, but kept going.

    Finally he got the box open. Inside, a packing slip sat on top of a small object wrapped in paper and nestled in a bunch of peanuts.

    He examined the paper. It didn¡¯t say much except a brief description of the contents ¨C ¡°Partial Dungeon Seed Core ¨C Item #AF1290356¡± and where it came from ¨C ¡°R&D Unit 17, Salt Lake City UT.¡±

    Carefully unwrapping the contents, he found a piece of porous, brown rock. He turned it over in his hands, but he didn¡¯t see any identifying features. For a moment, as he stared at it, he thought he felt something on the edge of consciousness. Something akin to his time deep in meditation. A slight pull on his thoughts. It was there for a moment, and then gone.

    Quickly, he wrapped it all back up and carefully re-applied the tape. One corner was torn a little bit, but he figured it could be explained away as damage during transit. He only had a few minutes before 8am.

    He hurried out of the stall, heading for the exit.

    ¡°Hey,¡± a voice called. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Kaden froze, turning in his tracks. A face he didn¡¯t recognize was at the sink, drying his hands.

    ¡°Forget something? Do us all a favor and wash your hands.¡±

    Kaden smiled sheepishly and mumbled something. He washed his hands as the other man left, shaking his head. ¡°Kids these days¡­¡± he muttered.

    Without any more delays, Kaden made his way up to the 19th floor. He felt a little nauseous from the butterflies in his stomach, but he clamped down hard on those feelings. He needed to focus. He ran through the script of how he expected the meeting with David to go.

    As he stepped off the elevator, he greeted the admin behind the desk. It was the same woman as the last time he was here with Sandy.

    ¡°Aww, no Sandy today?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Sorry, not today. I have a package for David Olson. I¡¯m supposed to deliver it in person by 8am.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm. He¡¯s already in a meeting. You¡¯re too late,¡± she said, tilting her head to the conference room off to her left. ¡°They all just went in there. Probably best if you leave it here with me.¡±

    He struggled with what to say. This was not what he expected. ¡°Uh actually I¡¯m supposed to deliver this in person.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty high profile meeting in there,¡± she said, pointing to the full conference room. ¡°SVPs and the head of the entire R&D department. It¡¯s both of our heads if you interrupt that meeting.¡±

    Kaden sighed.

    ¡°But hey, look, I understand you¡¯re on the hook for making the delivery,¡± the admin continued. She pulled up an electronic form on her display and turned it so Kaden could see. ¡°I¡¯ll take delivery of the package. Just sign here, and I¡¯ll make sure you get a copy.¡±

    Having no choice, Kaden signed the screen and started to leave.

    ¡°Tell Sandy I said hi!¡± the woman called as he left.

    Kaden had a few minutes to kill before he and the team were due to meet with Mark Hernandez on the 2nd Floor. He decided to head over to Jill¡¯s desk first and then walk together to the conference room they had booked for the meeting with Mark.

    As he walked, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little out of place and disappointed. Still, all was not lost. He had another opportunity tonight to make the connection with David Olson. Honestly he was hoping he would get some sympathy points. After all, he and his father had been business partners once upon a time. That had to be worth something, right?

    He found Jill sitting at her desk, plugging away at reviewing purchase orders on her workstation. He noticed her desk now had a few decorations, including a family photo with Jill, her parents and an older sister. He realized he really didn¡¯t know anything about Jill outside of work, besides the fact that she had an aunt in the Company¡¯s San Francisco office.

    ¡°Hi Jill! I bet it¡¯s a lot quieter around here without Icky and Sticky. Am I right?¡± Kaden asked.

    Jill looked up, pausing what she was doing. ¡°Oh hey Kaden. Yeah! Much better.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Is that a photo of your family?¡±

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    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me and my parents, with my sister.¡±

    ¡°Is everyone close by? Do you get to see them often?¡±

    Jill hesitated. ¡°It¡¯s gotten, uh, kinda complicated recently,¡± she said. ¡°I guess one thing that¡¯s happened is that my sister¡¯s getting married pretty soon.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Congratulations to your sister, I guess. When¡¯s the wedding?¡±

    ¡°In a few weeks. July 2nd.¡±

    ¡°Cool. Are you looking forward to it?¡±

    Jill smiled an awkward smile. ¡°It should be a good time. Shall we go to the meeting?¡±

    As the two walked the short distance to the conference room, Kaden couldn¡¯t help but wonder that there was something there he didn¡¯t fully understand. He wasn¡¯t always the best at picking up subtle clues in conversation, especially with introverted young women like Jill, but he did know there was something bothering her.

    Mark and Bill were already in the room, waiting for them, even though it was still five minutes early. The room had a hard floor and tall ceiling, and didn¡¯t have any furniture nor any windows. It almost seemed more like a storage room than a conference room.

    ¡°Kaden. Jill¡± Mark said, nodding his head to each in turn.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Thanks for meeting with us and agreeing to be a mentor for our team.

    Mark waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, looking pretty relaxed in his bright yellow Hawaiian shirt. ¡°No problem. Don¡¯t mention it.¡±

    Mark continued. ¡°So what did you want to cover today? Anything in particular?¡±

    Bill and Jill looked to Kaden.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a few things I think we could use your help on. Obviously, we want to do as well as we can in this internship. I¡¯m a little unsure of how best to focus our efforts and time to maximize our chances for success.¡±

    Mark raised an eyebrow. ¡°And for you, success means¡­?¡±

    ¡°A full-time offer at the end of the internship. So finishing in the top ten.¡±

    ¡°Ok, ok. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°It would be nice to know what to expect going forward,¡± Bill added. ¡°Kaden told us that you used to run the program before.¡±

    ¡°Is that what he told you¡­¡± Mark said, looking over at Kaden. ¡°Phase 1 is pretty much the same every year. And you¡¯re almost through that. Phases 2 and 3 vary from year to year, depending on a bunch of factors including the relative strength of the cohort itself, leadership in charge, the broader economic situation of the Company itself, etc etc.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°Sometimes Phase 2 is a battle royale-style tournament, either teams versus teams or individual versus individual. Sometimes they group the three-man squads into six or nine-man squads for platoon-type exercises; that¡¯s usually what the Ops people do if they¡¯re in charge, because that¡¯s all they know. One time, I remember I got a lot pressure from upstairs to have each of the interns do a month-long product development challenge, with the results presented directly to the Board.¡± Mark shook his head. ¡°That was a disaster.¡±

    ¡°What about Alexander Wolfe?¡± Kaden asked. ¡°How does he typically structure the later phases of the internship?¡±

    Mark paused for a moment, inspecting the palm of his hand before responding. ¡°Alexander Wolfe¡­ That asshole will probably choose the most violent scenario possible. Thinks he¡¯s got a flare for the dramatic. But really all he has are illusions of grandeur. Thinks he¡¯s a real operator. But he¡¯s not.¡±

    Mark flexed his forearms. As he did so, Kaden noticed a small tattoo on the underside of Mark¡¯s right wrist, something he hadn¡¯t noticed before. It was a small, red hourglass, just like the shape on the underside of the black widow spider.

    ¡°Were you a member of the Black Spiders?¡± Kaden asked.

    A ghost of a smile crossed Mark¡¯s face as he nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± Mark said, his tone returning to a clipped business cadence. ¡°I¡¯d like to observe each of you in an individual 1:1 exercise with an opponent I¡¯ll choose for you. I don¡¯t quite have a complete baseline yet for what each of you can do. As an official mentor for the team, I have been able to access and review most of your battle data. But I always like to observe some things directly in-person. Sound good?¡±

    They all nodded.

    ¡°Alright. Go ahead and equip yourselves out of the closet here. Kaden, you¡¯re up first.¡±

    ¡°Wait, so this room can be used for training, like the gym rooms on the 4th floor?¡± Kaden asked.

    Mark nodded as he opened an equipment cabinet mounted flush into the wall beside the door. Inside, Kaden could see a small assortment of standard-issue Company equipment, including a few gunswords. He took them and passed them out to his teammates.

    Meanwhile, Mark pulled up the commands on his mobile. ¡°Going forward, just let me know if you need an extra space for some practice. Ok ¨C here it comes. Let¡¯s see how you do with two kitsune-3s.¡±

    Mark, Bill and Jill retreated to a corner of the room, and Mark activated a strong null ward in front of the group so that Kaden could use the rest of the room to face off against the monsters.

    Two purple foxes with three tails each appeared on the far side of the room.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Name: Kitsune-3</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level: 4</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attacks: Physical (teeth, claws, tail)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aural Affinity: T</li>

    </ul>

    The last time Kaden had faced this particular monster, he only had to face one. And it had only been level 2. This time he had to face two Level 3 monsters. He gritted his teeth and prepared his air-shield ward. He figured he would use the same approach as before to trap the speedy creatures.

    The two kitsune¡¯s floated along the ground, licking their giant maws and angling to circle around behind him. He followed them with his eyes as they sped up. His air-shield was active, ready to block a head-on strike.

    There was a flash on the edge of his vision, and a streak of purple ricocheted off the air-shield. Now he could only see one of the creatures, the other had disappeared. Looking behind him, he spun to intercept the second creature trying to push its way under his air-shield.

    He lunged with the sword, but the creature scurried away before he struck it.

    The second kitsune-3 took that moment to attack the shield. On the periphery of his vision, he saw the fox pinwheeling toward him in the air, its three tails a blur as they struck and then pierced through the shield. Like teeth on a sawblade, each of the tails forced the opening in his shield wider as the fox continued to spin against his ward.

    Breaking through, the fox landed adroitly on the ground in front of him, fangs bared and tensing for a strike.

    Kaden dropped the ward, which was now almost spent of energy and useless. He brought the gunsword up in a defensive stance, blade activated and extended in front of him. He slowly back away a couple steps. He was tracking the other fox, who was circling.

    When both of the creatures were in front of him, he lunged forward in a feint, pretending to strike low, as if he were overextending himself. Both foxes took the bait, leaping forward and attempting to jump over the blade.

    In a clean upward cut, he cut through both of the fox creatures. Black ichor sprayed the room as the bodies fell to the ground, each cloven in two. The smell of burnt hair and iron filled the space, as the creatures slowly dissolved into mana and dissipated.

    Deactivating his blade and holstering the weapon, Kaden stood up straight and breathed a sigh of relief. Facing two of those monsters at once had been difficult. The tactics he had used previously to take down one did not work well facing two at the same time.

    ¡°Not bad, taking down both with one strike. But I wouldn¡¯t count on your enemies always lining up themselves up for you every time,¡± Mark said.

    ¡°No kidding,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Any recommendations? Perhaps your ¡®Death by Thousand Cuts?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Ha! Not as easy it looks,¡± Mark said, flexing his fingers. ¡°To start off with, have you considered a shield or even another weapon? Maybe two gunswords? To be honest, that¡¯s how I got started on the path to techniques for multiple simultaneous strikes. Early on in my career, I adopted a dual-wield approach. My defense was more offense. Doesn¡¯t work in every situation, obviously, and depends on the team your with, but it could suit you. You might give it a try..¡±

    ¡°I think I will! Any suggestion on technique? I¡¯m not exactly a swordsman, if you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Mark pulled up his mobile for a moment. ¡°Just sent you some material. Also sent an introduction to one of the gunsword training groups. Tell Adrian, the instructor, I suggested you focus on dual-wield skills.¡±

    ¡°Great! Thanks!¡± On the one hand, Kaden felt the burden of yet one more thing to add to his schedule. But on the other hand, he was excited to connect with gunsword experts and improve his skills. He would find a way to add the training to his schedule somehow.

 Chapter XX - Risk vs Reward

    Kaden and Jill watched from the corner of the windowless conference room on the 2nd floor, as Mark ran Bill through a 1:1 training exercise similar to Kaden¡¯s.

    Behind Mark¡¯s shield, they watched as multiple of the bat-like creatures the team had faced before ¨C the Level 7 Chiroptera ¨C swarmed around Bill¡¯s shields.

    For this exercise, Bill had borrowed a couple caps from Kaden. The team as a whole was still short on caps. To have more flexibility and versatility in battle, they needed to get their hands on a lot more ward capacitors.

    ¡°Can I ask a question?¡± Kaden asked Mark, who was focused on watching the battle.

    He grunted in response, eyes staying on Bill.

    ¡°What do the creatures¡¯ levels mean? Like this one is level 7, the kitsune were level 4, etc. I assume higher level means greater difficulty, but what else does it mean, if anything?¡±

    Kaden started to wonder if he¡¯d said something or asked a stupid question as an awkward pause stretched out. But eventually Mark responded.

    ¡°In the internship program, you should expect to see monsters up to level 10. It¡¯s generally safe to assume higher level monsters are more dangerous, but don¡¯t allow that assumption to make you underestimate lower level enemies. There are many, many Company operatives that have made that mistake, and not all of them lived to regret it.¡±

    Kaden nodded, taking the warning seriously.

    Meanwhile, Bill had successfully trapped the chiropterae in a shield pincer, similar to what the team had done together before. It was impressive how using his new instrument allowed Bill the speed and flexibility to activate and adjust multiple wards quickly and on the fly.

    ¡°At your own current level, I would attempt to flee if you ever find yourself confronted with a monster over level ten. Above level ten, the strength, speed and lethality of the potential attacks you could face rises exponentially. Surviving battles at that level requires strong ward capabilities, deep capacitor reserves, and mana-enhanced physiques.¡±

    He paused to look pointedly at Jill and Kaden.

    ¡°You all are still newborn babes in the world of Company operations. So do your best to stay out of situations you can¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Will do.¡± Kaden wondered about the warning; was it really necessary? In what kind of no-win situations might he find himself?

    Bill was now struggling a little bit. While he had all the bat creatures trapped in his web, he didn¡¯t seem to know what to do next. He was fumbling around with a collector in one hand, his guitar in the other, with one eye on his shields and the other trying to configure a mana pull.

    ¡°Should we help him out?¡± Jill asked.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Mark replied.

    The group watched as Bill continued in the same vein for the next five minutes or so. It was a stalemate until Bill finally got mana flowing into a mana collector. It was a lot slower and took a lot longer than when Jill did it, but eventually the chiropterae all disappeared in sparkles of disintegrating mana.

    Bill slung the guitar around to his back and strolled over, a sheepish look on his face.

    ¡°Sorry that took so long, folks,¡± he said.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen one of those before,¡± Mark said, pointing at the guitar. ¡°Where did you get it?¡±

    ¡°Some of the guys in R&D let me borrow it. I¡¯m told it¡¯s a prototype. They let me borrow it to test it out, they¡¯re hoping to use real-word data to improve it before introducing it to a wider audience.¡±

    Mark whistled, shaking his head. ¡°R&D let you play with one of their toys? Most impressive. So keep it up. You seem to be making good progress with your ward skills in general, and that instrument could certainly be a game changer, especially at your level.¡±

    Bill nodded appreciatively. Mark continued.

    ¡°Two suggestions. One ¨C add some sort of attack capability to your ward arsenal. Do you have a good library of ward code?¡±

    Bill nodded. ¡°Yeah, I believe I do.¡±

    ¡°Ok. So pick something that will do some damage and add it to that guitar of yours. Doesn¡¯t have to do a lot of damage ¨C but something that can ¡®soften up¡¯ a target while you or your team is working on other objectives. In this battle, it would have been good to have while you were getting the mana collection going.¡±

    Mark continued. ¡°Number two ¨C Don¡¯t become overly reliant on one specific tool or instrument. What happens if your special weapon becomes damaged during a battle? Plan out contingencies and have backup skills and plans should the worst happen.¡±

    Bill nodded. ¡°Makes sense. Thanks for the recommendations!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Jill. You¡¯re up,¡± Mark said, already looking into his mobile to pull up the next opponent.

    Jill walked nervously out to the center of the room, activating a pre-programmed null ward while she waited for her opponent to appear.

    Two large canine creatures appeared off to the side, dark and menacing, with red-tinged black fur. Each creature¡¯s head came up to Kaden¡¯s chest, and when one of them glanced in his direction, he felt a spike of foreboding.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Name: Bloodhound</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Level: 4</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attacks: Physical (teeth, claws); Mental (fear-based debuffs)</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aural Affinity: Red (S)</li>

    </ul>

    Jill looked petrified, face white as a sheet. The hounds circled her position, growling and looking for an opening. She held her ground but did not immediately move into action.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°You got this, Jill,¡± Kaden called, giving her a thumbs up.

    Jill shook herself off and reached for the gunsword at her hip. Her hands shook as she raised it, firing off two quick shots. Both missed her target. One of the shots dissipated against the shield Mark had in place to protect them from the battle.

    Kaden winced.

    ¡°Hey Bill,¡± Mark said quietly. ¡°Let me know if I can help you with any feedback for the R&D boys,¡± Mark said with a wink. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t hurt to let them know I¡¯m helping you make the most of their investment.¡±

    Bill chuckled. ¡°Alright, I got it. I can do that. You don¡¯t happen to play music, do you? We happen to be looking for more members to join the band.¡±

    ¡°Ha! No, not unless you need someone to play the spoons. Or maybe the cowbell,¡± he replied, turning his focus back to Jill and the bloodhounds.

    ¡°We can always use more cowbell.¡±

    The situation was much the same as before, although Jill had dropped the gunsword and was focused on setting up an array of mana collectors. The bloodhounds continued circling at the very edge of her shield, aware of its presence and waiting for an opening. With the creatures at full strength and moving constantly, Jill was having a hard time getting a mana pull started. Sweat ran down her face, as she anxiously watched the hounds circle her position.

    ¡°Kaden ¨C go help her out,¡± Mark said, briefly lowering the shield so Kaden could enter the battle area.

    He strode forward, pulling his gunsword and activating the blade. With an additional enemy approaching, the hounds broke off from Jill¡¯s position and retreated, trying to circle around both of them.

    ¡°Jill ¨C let¡¯s try to trap them in the corner over there,¡± Kaden said.

    Jill nodded, and moved to follow his lead.

    Kaden quickly activated his air-shield ward, pushing it out until it pressed against the near wall. As Jill worked to activate a similar ward against the other wall, Kaden switched his gunsword to gun mode and quickly fired off a couple of shots at the hound closest to Jill. It had been preparing to pounce, but in the face of the shots, it retreated into the corner.

    Realizing they had been cornered, the bloodhounds rushed towards Jill, but she had her shield up in time to rebuff them. They tried Kaden¡¯s shield, but his shield held as well.

    ¡°OK Jill,¡± he said. ¡°Do your thing.¡±

    Now that the hounds were relatively stationary, she could get a strong fix with her mana collector. In short order, the creatures were disintegrating into the mana they were made of, outline slowly fading in sparkles of deep red.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Jill said, looking pale and subdued.

    ¡°That was a tough enemy,¡± Kaden offered. ¡°Difficult for anyone to face on their own.¡±

    She nodded, but he could tell she was feeling discouraged. She was the only one who had been unable to handle the individual assignment on her own. It made Kaden wonder why Mark had chosen these specific monsters for Jill¡¯s turn.

    ¡°There¡¯s a guy in the healthcare department I¡¯m going to introduce you to,¡± Mark said as he approached. ¡°You¡¯re the team specialist in mana management and collection, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s pretty much become my role on the team,¡± she replied.

    ¡°I figured as much. Which is totally fine. Actually, it¡¯s a very valuable specialty to have. Not many in the Company actually know what they¡¯re doing when it comes to optimizing collectors and capacitors for efficient and rapid mana collection.¡±

    Jill seemed to perk up at that. She had been expecting a dress-down, not an affirmation of the value of her burgeoning skills.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not my area of expertise, though. What I would recommend you do is talk to Fred. Show him what you¡¯ve been working on lately, and he¡¯ll have some additional pointers for you.¡±

    ¡°Great! Thank you!¡± she replied, looking encouraged.

    ¡°Alright guys, as fun as this has been, I¡¯m late for another meeting and better run.¡±

    ¡°We appreciate your time, Mark,¡± Bill said, holding out his fist. Mark gave him the fist bump.

    As they all made to leave, Mark called out, ¡°Kaden, if I could have a quick word with you in private.¡±

    ¡°Sure! What would you like to talk to me about?¡±

    ¡°I have a special assignment for you. For Plus points,¡± Mark added.

    ¡°Excellent! What do I need to do?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a couple laptops I need you to collect for me. And then put them back where you found them.¡±

    Kaden frowned. ¡°Laptops? What do you need them for?¡±

    Mark eyed Kaden before responding. ¡°IT Maintenance.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not in the IT department, are you?¡±

    Mark didn¡¯t reply. The silence drug out for a couple moments.

    ¡°Okay¡­. Which laptops?¡±

    ¡°Offices 1013 and 1015, on the tenth floor. I need this done on the downlow, if you know what I mean.¡±

    This was getting shadier and shadier¡­ and Kaden felt trapped. He supposed he had a choice; he could say no and walk away, but in doing so, he would almost certainly alienate Mark, one of the highest-placed friendly faces he had in the Company at the moment.

    ¡°If I do this, how many points will I get?¡±

    ¡°Five thousand points. Plus I¡¯ll throw in ten more capacitors for your team. High volume caps, better than the toys they typically give you interns.¡±

    That was a lot of points. Five percent of the entire program goal, and all for him and his team. Plus his team was short on caps. They had a lot of potential wards they could code, but didn¡¯t have enough caps to go around. This opportunity seemed too good to pass up. Almost too good to be true.

    ¡°And when would you want this to happen?¡±

    Mark smiled, sensing he was closing the deal. ¡°Next Tuesday between five and six o¡¯clock.¡±

    Kaden swallowed hard. This was a big risk, but the potential rewards were large as well. In addition to the points to put him and his team ahead, he knew he would likely have more leverage with Mark in the future. He would do this, but he would also do his best to de-risk any fallout.

    Mark pulled a key card out of his pocket, handing it to Kaden. It was translucent and heavy, with a thin red border running along its edge.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pass to access the stairwell,¡± he said. ¡°Easier to get in and out unnoticed in the stairwell.¡±

    Kaden nodded. Made sense. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I really am late now and need to hustle to my next meeting. We good?¡± Mark asked.

    ¡°Yeah I think so.¡±

    Mark patted Kaden on the shoulder as he walked past him, leaving him alone in the conference room, staring at the translucent keycard.

    What had he gotten himself into?

 Chapter XXI - Happy Hour

    ¡°I just might have to kill you, Bill,¡± Kaden muttered under his breath for what felt like the fifth time that night.

    Bill was not the best at communicating details.

    It was five minutes before the band was scheduled to start playing, and they had just been asked to move their setup yet again. As they hustled to get everything in place, Kaden couldn¡¯t help but feel frustrated. He glanced at his other band mates, who didn¡¯t seem to be as bothered. Bill was Bill; chill, relaxed, and already working the room with his bro-ness. Emmett and George were business as usual, not hurried but not slacking around either; very professional, as he was learning to expect from the R&D department. And then there was Alicia.

    Which was another point of contention he had with Bill. Kaden would have appreciated knowing ahead of time that the ¡°new singer from Facilities¡± was the same person as the ultra hot inventory manager Kaden had embarrassed himself in front of a few days ago. Tonight, she was wearing a low-cut, shimmering red cocktail dress. Her hair was up and makeup was flawless. Whenever anyone entered the room, the first thing they noticed was Alicia. To make matters worse, he was pretty sure she had been trying to flirt with him. With him of all people!

    He sighed as he adjusted the strap on his mana-powered bass guitar. Apparently they were just the opening act for the evening; there was a real, professional blues band that would play most of the night. All he had to do was get through a short set and then he could focus on his real goals for the evening.

    ¡°Ready, tiger?¡± Alicia said, looking over shoulder. ¡°You know, if your music career doesn¡¯t work out, you can come work for me,¡± she said as she looked him over and winked.

    Kaden coughed as he almost choked. He gave her a thumbs up with one hand as covered his mouth to cough with the other.

    People were starting to trickle into the event space, so Bill got them started on their first number. It was a cover of a song popular about a decade ago. A crowd-pleaser. Also not too difficult to play, but somewhat challenging to sing. But Alicia hit all the notes; and people definitely noticed.

    Looking around the room, he saw a lot of people he didn¡¯t recognize, but a few that he did. Alexander Wolfe was here, holding court with a group of four other middle managers. He saw Carol Roche walking around, looking awkward and out of place. Andy Smith, the Associate assigned to oversee their official team training assignments, was working behind the bar. Mariko, dressed in a navy blue pants suit and carrying a large tablet, was buzzing around directing various support staff and checking various details. He had learned a few minutes ago that she and her team had been awarded the Plus assignment to organize and run this event, and the gossip was that the reward was a whopping ten thousand points. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how she had managed to land such a lucrative assignment.

    When the band wrapped up the final song of their set, Mariko strode over to address the group.

    ¡°Great job, everybody. Now that you¡¯re done, if you could take your equipment out the door behind you when you exit. That way we don¡¯t disturb the guests by exiting through the main event space,¡± she said.

    Alicia, Emmett and George seemed to expect this, as they picked up their instruments and headed for the door. Kaden exchanged a look with Bill, who seemed to also be expecting something different.

    ¡°So that¡¯s it?¡± Kaden asked. He had assumed he would have more time to find David Olson.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it,¡± she said, turning to go, already focused on the next item on her checklist.

    ¡°Wait, do you need any help with anything else? Are you short-staffed anywhere?¡±

    She paused to check something briefly on her tablet, but shook her head. ¡°Nope, we¡¯re good.¡±

    He looked at Bill, who just shrugged and went to help Emmett with the drum kit.

    ¡°Here,¡± Kaden said to Bill, handing him the bass. ¡°Do me a favor, take care of this for me?¡±

    ¡°Sure, bro. What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Oh you know me,¡± he said smiling. ¡°Work the crowd, press the flesh, build the network.¡±

    Bill chuckled as he took the bass. ¡°Too many sharks in the water for me ¨C stay safe.¡±

    Kaden looked over the room quickly, pushing down his rising anxiety. His eyes settled at the bar, and a quick plan came together.

    He felt a touch on his arm, and a voice in his ear.

    ¡°Come by and see me sometime,¡± Alicia said. He turned around, but she was already walking out the door.

    He spotted Mariko speaking with Alexander Wolfe. Making sure they weren¡¯t looking his way, he strode quickly along the wall and over to the bar. He had learned quickly during his military service that if you walked like you knew where you were going and you belonged there, fewer people would challenge you or even pay attention to where you were going. He focused on his target and strode confidently right up to Andy, who was refilling the ice behind the bar.

    ¡°Andy. How are you this fine evening,¡± Kaden said.

    Andy looked up, surprised.

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t say. What are you doing here?¡±

    Kaden casually leaned against the counter, pointedly turning away from the crowd and Mariko¡¯s position. ¡°I could say the same thing about you. Why are you here?¡±

    Andy made a face and raised a hand, middle finger scratching at his eyebrow.

    ¡°What can I do you for ya son. I am kinda busy.¡±

    ¡°I just came by to see if I could help out.¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Okay¡­ any particular reason?¡±

    ¡°Out of the goodness of my heart. And out of a sense of service to my senior colleagues at the Company.¡±

    Andy rolled his eyes, but he was beginning to catch on. He glanced around, slowly untying his white apron.

    ¡°Tell you what. I could use a short break. Do you think you could cover for me for a few minutes?¡± he said, handing Kaden the apron.

    ¡°Not a problem,¡± Kaden replied, smiling. Before he had the apron tied on, Andy was gone. Kaden was fully confident that was the last he had seen of him for the evening.

    He glanced around, making sure he was familiar with what he needed to do. It was an easy setup for a party. Beer on ice, wine by the glass. A couple people were waiting for assistance, and he jumped in to get them a drink.

    After serving guests for a few minutes, Kaden looked up to see Mariko at the bar.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked.

    Kaden smiled. ¡°Serving drinks. Would you like anything?¡±

    ¡°You know, I should have you thrown out of here. You don¡¯t have the security clearance to be working this room tonight.¡±

    ¡°You know, it¡¯s a good thing I was here to help out,¡± he replied. ¡°Otherwise you might have been short-staffed and that would not have looked favorable for you.¡±

    Mariko leaned forward slightly, voiced pitched low. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your game is, but you better not make a mess of it. You¡¯re playing with fire. And you will be burned, sooner or later.¡±

    ¡°Sheesh, take it easy. And please ¨C keep it professional. I¡¯m just working the bar.¡±

    She scoffed. ¡°¡®Keep it professional?¡¯ That¡¯s rich, coming from you.¡±

    Kaden frowned as she walked away. She might have had a point, given their last interaction outside the Company entrance. He hadn¡¯t exactly kept it cool when he had confronted her. He wondered if he should be worried about her doing something to him since he was here, but he figured it would look just as bad for her if she was forced to take any action.

    Which meant that as long as he kept his head down and didn¡¯t draw attention to himself, he would have plenty of opportunity to do what he needed to do tonight.

    After serving a few guests, Kaden spotted Sandy trotting by. He fired off a quick message.

    Not now, kid, Sandy replied. Working on closing a deal that¡¯ll score me some major dough. Gotta get it done before that bozo from Marketing shows up. Ciao!

    Kaden smiled and shook his head. He should have guessed Sandy would be working some angle for profit.

    As the evening wore on, he kept an eye out for anyone that might look like his target. Higher-ups trickled in over the course of the next hour, but many of them did not stay for very long. He saw Julia, his manager, show up for a few minutes and then exit quickly. After Sandy left, he saw a large, hairless Siamese cat ¨C another office pet, apparently ¨C arrive with a full entourage of marketing executives. The cat leapt on top of a circular table in the center of the room, exuding a calmly regal presence. The hairless feline proceeded to greet a never-ending procession of mid-level managers wanting to make an appearance.

    He recognized one of the guests he served from photos he had seen on the Company¡¯s website; he was pretty sure it was the chief operating office. The COO and a small group of senior execs having a quiet conversation in a corner of the room. He was beginning to wonder if he had missed his opportunity, but then a large group came in and he recognized a face in the crowd, laughing loudly at someone¡¯s joke.

    David Olson, his father¡¯s former business partner and current SVP in the R&D department.

    Kaden calmed his mind, reminding himself to act natural. David approached the far end of the bar, where someone else was serving guests, so Kaden moved to make sure he was the one to take David¡¯s order.

    ¡°Hi. What can I get you?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Glass of red,¡± David said, not recognizing Kaden.

    He poured the glass slowly, and set it on the bar in front of David.

    ¡°Sorry if this seems weird,¡± Kaden started, ¡°but you look really familiar.¡±

    David paused as he picked up his glass, looking back at Kaden.

    ¡°David Olsen, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. But how do you know me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Kaden Chen. David Chen¡¯s son. You wouldn¡¯t recognize me. Last time I saw you I think I was nine years old or something.¡±

    David rocked back on heels, surprised. ¡°Oh my god. I do recognize you now. Wow you¡¯ve grown up! And you¡¯re working here. What a coincidence!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you worked here either. I just started, actually, in the intern program.¡±

    ¡°Oh okay, that¡¯s interesting. Well congrats on making it into the program.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡±

    ¡°And listen, what happened to your father was an absolute tragedy. I was devastated to hear about it. My heart goes out to you and your family. If there¡¯s ever anything I could do, please just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Thanks and I really appreciate that.¡±

    Kaden paused, as if choosing his words carefully. ¡°Actually, if it¡¯s not too much trouble, I would love to get your advice on how to succeed here at the Company. Anything you could tell me would be really helpful.¡±

    ¡°Oh of course! I tell you what ¨C I¡¯m in town for the weekend, I¡¯m staying at the Four Seasons in midtown ¨C why don¡¯t drop by for an early lunch Sunday morning, say around 11:30am if that works for you? Would love to catch up and hear about your experience so far and how the family¡¯s doing. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely, sounds great!¡± Kaden replied. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± David replied, putting on a large, people-pleasing smile, as he picked up his wine. ¡°See you then!¡±

    Kaden thought the whole interaction had gone pretty well. The result was about as good as he could have hoped for ¨C a one-on-one meeting with his father¡¯s former business partner, who seemed to have an invested interest in helping or supporting Kaden and his family going forward.

    Kaden kept up with more orders, and drinks flowed. The alcohol was doing its work, lubricating the crowd. Loud voices and red cheeks, and one or two stumbles. Despite Mariko¡¯s worries, he didn¡¯t hear anything other than the punch line on a few questionably inappropriate jokes.

    Mariko ignored him for the rest of the evening, but she did seem to spend a lot of time checking in with Alexander Wolfe. At one point, Kaden saw Wolfe leaning in close to whisper something in Mariko¡¯s ear and then laugh.

    As the evening came to a close, one of the big wigs in the COO¡¯s orbit separated himself from the main group to take an urgent phone call. A few seconds later, a trio of large men decked out in paramilitary equipment, including submachine guns and armor, appeared at the door. The man who had taken the call hurried over and led the group out at a run. Everyone else turned to watch for a moment but then went back to their conversations. It was just as interesting to Kaden that no one really looked surprised or worried.

    Middle managers sucking up to corporate execs? Hushed conversations, dirty jokes, and thinly veiled interoffice romance? Armed Company operatives rushing around to address some emergency? Kaden just shook his head. All part of a typical happy-hour at the Company. Business as usual.

 Chapter XXII - Rain Check

    Day 14

    Sunday, June 19, 2045

    Kaden checked the time again. It was 11:45am, fifteen minutes past the agreed upon time to meet David.

    He sat in the lobby of the Four Seasons, trying to keep tabs on everyone who came in and out, without looking like he was doing so. He had arrived early, anxious to meet the man who had been his father¡¯s business partner and now worked for the Company.

    He pulled up his mobile to check if David had responded to his message yet. Instead, he had a message from Sandy.

    Kid ¨C you¡¯ll never guess who I saw come out of a conference room a few minutes ago.

    Kaden typed out his reply. You¡¯re right, I have no idea. Who was it?

    Remember that guy you tried to meet on the 19th Floor? The VP of R&D, David whats-his-face?

    Kaden sat up straight, re-reading the message. Are you sure?

    I tell you what, you tell why you¡¯re so interested in that guy and I¡¯ll tell you when he¡¯s leaving.

    Kaden stood up, running his hand through his hair. He wondered what was going on.

    Another message popped on his mobile.

    Kaden ¨C apologies for the late notice ¨C something urgent came up and I won¡¯t be able to make our lunch meeting. Rain check? So sorry to do this, but would love to catch up again soon. Best of luck with the remainder of your internship!  ¨C David

    He started for the door, striding quickly out of the lobby. Either the situation was as David purported it to be, or Kaden had been played. He suspected the latter, because it made sense ¨C David probably suspected Kaden wanted to talk to him about his dad.

    He debated with himself for a moment before pulling out his mobile and dashing off a quick message to Sandy.

    I¡¯ll explain. Just tell me when he¡¯s getting ready to leave.

    Sandy¡¯s response came right back. He¡¯s wrapping up a meeting right now. He¡¯s got his luggage with him. I¡¯d bet his next stop is the airport.

    He cursed under his breath, scrambling to think of the best way back to the office. Calling a ride would take at least fifteen to twenty minutes at the fastest, and there was no guarantee he wouldn¡¯t get snarled up in some random manifestation of midday traffic. Scanning his surroundings, he spotted an old Citi bike, some spotted rust showing through the aged blue paint. It was rare to find one of those around, after the rebranding with the Company as the new sponsor.

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    Making his decision, he sprinted to the bike, jumping on it and pedaling into traffic. It had been a few years since he had been on a bicycle, and the city¡¯s bike lanes were not as safe as they used to be. But this was the fastest way for him to get back to the office. Cars, pedestrians, and other cyclists passed in a blur as he rushed down the city streets. He pushed the pedals as fast he could make them go, weaving through traffic and shooting across more than one red light.

    A flashing light in the periphery of his glasses warned him in time to stop ahead of a garbage truck roaring through the intersection ahead. He slowed, letting the truck go by before renewing his sprint down the hill. Without the warning, he would have been crushed under its massive wheels.

    Wordlessly thanking Peter for helping him configure some of the AI-assisted safety protocols last week, he pedaled as fast as he could. The city passed in a blur as he threaded a path along the fastest route back to the Tower.

    As he pulled up, he ditched the bike and jogged across the intersection, struggling to catch his breath. He was sweating and breathing heavily from the sprint. His legs felt like jelly. Scanning the block, he looked for his target as walked toward the Tower entrance.

    On his left, waiting on the curb of the cross street, he spotted a man waiting with his luggage. He had made it in time.

    A large, black vehicle pulled up next to the man with the luggage. The trunk opened and Kaden watched as David Olson put his luggage into the back. Kaden jogged to catch David before he left.

    ¡°Mr. Olson!¡± he called.

    David saw him approaching and looked down, shaking his head with resigned acceptance. ¡°Hey Kaden,¡± he said, a tired smile on the corner of his lips.

    ¡°So ¨C I wanted to ask you ¨C ¡°

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about what happened with your father,¡± David interrupted. ¡°Truly.¡± He glanced at the waiting car. ¡°Unfortunately, I have to go. We¡¯ll catch up some other time, yeah?¡±

    David reached for the car door, opening it and starting to climb in.

    A writhing knot of emotions coiled and uncoiled in Kaden¡¯s chest. With each rapid heartbeat, he felt the frustration of ignorance combined with the desire for revelation threaten to overwhelm him. With an effort, he held the heat of his emotion in check ¨C just barely.

    He reached out and held the door, preventing David from closing it.

    ¡°What about the dungeon seed? What does that mean?¡± Kaden said in a raspy voice, his breath still short from the bicycle sprint.

    David looked up, his face flashing with surprise before quickly becoming cold and calculating. And a little fearful.

    ¡°Kid. Listen. I can¡¯t help you. You shouldn¡¯t know anything about that. Also, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re talking to me. Why aren¡¯t you talking to Julia? Isn¡¯t she your manager?¡±

    ¡°Why Julia?¡±

    David just shook his head, looking a little relieved. ¡°You really don¡¯t know anything, do you.¡±

    ¡°Know what?¡±

    ¡°Look. If I had to guess, you want to know about the history between the Company and Tetrionics. It all started with Julia, and it all ended with her. Everything to do with the acquisition of Tetrionics, the company I helped your father get off the ground. Ask her. She didn¡¯t tell you? She was the driving force behind the acquisition, back when she was in charge of such matters.¡±

    Kaden was stunned. He released his hold on the door.

    ¡°Be careful. Seriously. You¡¯re treading on dangerous ground.¡±

    Kaden let go of the door, stepping back. He didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°Goodbye, Kaden,¡± David said, pulling the door shut. The taxi took off, leaving Kaden alone on the street, in the shadow of the Tower rising behind him.

    Large raindrops hit the sidewalk in a staccato rhythm as Kaden turned and walked into the Tower.

 Interlude 1 - Mariko

    The pale light of the City''s nightlife filtered through the thin white curtain, illuminating the foot of the bed.

    Mariko sat up, pulling the sheet around her naked shoulders.

    She leaned back, taking the cigarette from her lover¡¯s mouth. With a slow drag, she gazed at the window, contemplating the source of its light. There was no moon. The City made its own light at night. Inescapable, really. There was no true darkness out there in the City. Only inside, shut off from the outside, with no exterior illumination, was there any chance of true, deep darkness. Peaceful darkness.

    She glanced behind her, slowly exhaling. Alexander Wolfe sat against the headboard, face illuminated by the mobile device he was scanning intently.

    ¡°Always working, aren¡¯t you,¡± she said.

    ¡°No rest for the weary,¡± he replied absentmindedly.

    She flicked ashes into an ashtray on the nightstand. Wolfe frowned at the screen, and hastily punched out a message before continuing to scroll through his message feeds.

    ¡°You seem particularly distracted tonight,¡± she said.

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    ¡°Mmmm,¡± he replied. ¡°There are system outages popping up all over the globe. Apparently a bogus software update. Long and short of it is that EnOps will have to pick up the slack this quarter.¡± He shook his head and tossed the mobile away. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a busy summer.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ what about me?¡± she said, passing the cigarette and leaning in. Her long dark hair fell around shoulders, framing her face in the faint light.

    He took a quick pull on the cigarette. ¡°I don¡¯t think it should impact your plans. Your transition to a full-time role in Facilities becomes official next week, right?¡±

    She nodded, listening. He continued.

    ¡°Honestly, the timing couldn¡¯t be better for you. It sucks for me. I¡¯m going to have to wrap up the internship program very soon. It¡¯s becoming a drain, and the results just aren¡¯t there. They¡¯re all a disappointment really. Present company excluded, of course.¡±

    ¡°So when you say wrap up the program¡­ Do you mean to send everyone home?¡±

    Wolfe frowned. ¡°No, not exactly. There¡¯s a small chance some talent might actually emerge¡­ so I¡¯ll probably give the pot one final stir. See what rises to the top.¡±

    ¡°What will happen to those that don¡¯t rise to the top? Just curious.¡± She reached back for the cigarette.

    He handed it over and shrugged, confused by the question. ¡°I don¡¯t care. Neither should you. Survive or not, their time at the Company is over.¡±

    She took one final drag on the cigarette and snuffed it out in the ashtray.

 Interlude 2 - Sandy

    Hey how ya been, boss.

    Sandy plopped down next to the man seated on the leather sofa. He was Jack Singh, CEO of the Company. Relaxed in loose-fitting athleisure clothes and spread comfortably on the sofa, he did not look like the world¡¯s most powerful man.

    Together, the two sat for a moment in silence, watching the twinkling lights atop the City¡¯s skyscrapers.

    I bet you never get tired of the view from the top.

    Jack chuckled. ¡°The City at night is certainly a nice view. When I have a chance to enjoy it.¡± He raised a tea cup to lips and took a sip. Setting down his drink, he pulled a few peanut butter treats out of a canister on the coffee table and held his hand out to Sandy.

    ¡°So tell me, Sandy. How are things going for you?¡±

    Sandy sniffed the treats appreciatively, and snarfed them down, one at a time.

    Never better, boss, Never better. You know me, I never complain. Living the dream, boss.

    ¡°Ha! Here it comes. I do know you quite well. And I know if you¡¯re not complaining, you¡¯ll be asking for something.¡±

    The Corgi paused his snarfing a moment to cock his head to the side so one eye could affix on Jack¡¯s face.

    Jack. C¡¯mon, man. That¡¯s not fair. How far back we go? Geez, you had to ruin the vibe. We were havin a nice moment.

    Jack sighed. ¡°It was a very nice moment. But the moment has passed. Tell me what you got.¡±

    What I got is a pretty poor paystub. Have you seen the inflation numbers this quarter? Have you seen our profit numbers this quarter? My salary could use a little bump. I know you can afford it. C¡¯mon, do me a solid.

    Sandy put on his best puppy-eyed expression and pointed it right at Jack, but he didn¡¯t flinch. His face was neutral and unmoving, like it was carved from granite. The moment stretched out.

    Jack picked up his tea cup, took an unhurried sip, and looked inquisitively back at Sandy. ¡°So I take it your little side hustles must not be earning you enough.¡±

    Side hustles? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, unless you mean my multiple philanthropic efforts. I don¡¯t make a dime off those. I¡¯m actually losing money helping other people!

    ¡°Oh really,¡± he replied.

    Sandy let out a little whine and flopped down in a huff.

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    Alright. No problem, boss. We can table my comp requirements for now and come back to it after I give you an update on all the hard work I¡¯ve been doing.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that,¡± he replied.

    I¡¯ll start with the fun stuff. As I predicted, the intern program is a complete cluster. There might be a couple diamonds in the rough, so to speak, but the way ¡®ole Wolfy runs the program, there¡¯s a good chance all the kids will be casualties by the end of the week.

    Jack frowned, but nodded for Sandy to continue.

    The intern you asked me to look into? Definitely suspicious. And definitely up to something. Haven¡¯t escalated to Security. Are you sure you want to let this play out?

    He took a sip of his chai, thinking for a moment.

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s see where this goes. I¡¯m less worried about our potential exposure and more interested in finding out what they hope to gain. It¡¯s still unclear to me.¡±

    You got it, boss. Will keep it hush-hush for now. You want me to loop in security?

    ¡°Yes, I think now¡¯s a good time to do so. But keep it just between you, me and Stu. And if Stu says he wants to involve more people, tell him he needs to clear it with me first.¡±

    Hehehe, I¡¯m going to enjoy that conversation.

    Jack rolled his eyes. ¡°Sandy, please. Let the Chief of Security do his job. Just keep it professional.¡±

    You got it, boss. Professional. Since you asked so nicely.

    Bill sighed as Sandy rolled over on the couch, stretching his legs and offering his belly up for a scratch. He obliged.

    Can I ask a question about recent events?

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    What the hell is going on with R&D and that heat wave inside the Tower last week? I mean, sometimes those guys freak me out. Do they forget what they¡¯re messing with?

    He just shook his head as continued scratching Sandy¡¯s belly.

    ¡°It¡¯s under control.¡±

    Ha! I¡¯ve heard that one before. No offense, but those nerds have no concept of ¡°unintended consequences.¡± They¡¯re only focused on their own results. And you already know what I think of the dipshit running that department. Nothing more than an empty shirt! Based on what happened, I can guess what his underlings are up to ¨C more experiments with dungeon seeds. And if you ask me, they¡¯re putting us all at risk. The Tower. The Company. The whole world, for that matter. If the Travelers ever found out what they¡¯re up to ¨C lights out for all of us. And for what benefit?

    ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve had my eyes all over it.¡± Jack rubbed his face as if to make the thought go away. ¡°I¡¯ve already made some changes to help oversee the more adventurous avenues of our research.¡±

    That¡¯s good to hear, but I¡¯m telling ya. Something ain¡¯t right. And whatever they¡¯re telling you, it¡¯s bullshit.

    ¡°Noted, Sandy. Noted. Please continue.¡±

    OK OK. Moving on. Let me tell you about that happy hour on Friday. Prepare yourself for some absolutely outrageous rumors I heard. You know that Siamese in marketing? Get a load of this¡­

 Interlude 3 - Jill

    Day 15

    Monday, June 20, 2045

    ¡°Thanks for meeting with me early,¡± Jill said.

    Mark Hernandez shrugged. ¡°Not a problem. It¡¯s a good time. So how can I help.¡±

    Jill sat up straight on the edge of her chair.

    ¡°I wanted to let you know that I¡¯ve accepted the offer to join the Purchasing department full-time.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Glad to hear it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m looking forward to continuing my role here.¡±

    ¡°We are happy to have you. Last we spoke, you also mentioned you were interested in a future in Research and Development. Given your family connections, that does seem like a natural career path. Is that still what you¡¯re thinking?¡±

    Jill nodded. ¡°Long term, yes. Not that I don¡¯t appreciate the opportunity here in purchasing, bu eventually I¡¯d like to find a way to transfer over to R&D. At the right time, of course.¡±

    Mark nodded, folding his hands on his lap and leaning back in his chair. ¡°Makes sense. If you want my advice, stick around here for a couple years. It won¡¯t hurt your chances of a transfer. It might actually help to have a little more experience at the Company before diving into the deep waters over there.¡±

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    ¡°That makes sense. Thanks. And again, I¡¯m not looking to leave Purchasing any time soon. I actually enjoy the work.¡±

    ¡°Ha! You¡¯d be the first.¡±

    They shared a chuckle, followed by an awkward silence.

    ¡°So I was wondering,¡± Jill said, ¡°if possible, over the next couple years, if I could work on procurement assignments related to R&D activities, I would really appreciate it.¡±

    Mark shrugged. ¡°Sure. Might be possible. I¡¯ll be on the lookout for those opportunities. But just so you know, for most of what they buy, they do it themselves, because it¡¯s all super secretive. But if you¡¯re able to raise your security clearance, more opportunities in that area could open up for you.¡±

    Jill smiled. ¡°Great!¡±

    Mark leaned forward in his seat. ¡°There is one thing I need you to do for me.¡±

    ¡°Ok. What is it?¡±

    ¡°First of all, what I¡¯m about to tell you doesn¡¯t leave this room. Am I clear?¡±

    Jill nodded, her face solemn. She knew that in the Company, secrets were precious and jealously guarded. She had heard many stories from her relatives working at the Company. A single betrayal of confidentiality could be a career-ending mistake.

    ¡°Ok. I just learned this morning we may have a security problem with one of our interns.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who it is?¡±

    Mark nodded. ¡°Yes. And the problem is on your team.¡±

    Jill¡¯s mind reeled. She tried to say something but coughed. Finally, she was able to speak.

    ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± she said, dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

 Chapter XXIII - On the Same Page

    Kaden ran through the open office space, passing row upon row of cubicles. He gasped for air as he turned a corner and sprinted for the exit. Before he crashed through the stairwell door, he risked a glance behind him. He didn¡¯t see his pursuer. But he did feel it. There was something just around the corner and it was gaining on him.

    He ran up the stairs. Out of breath, he pulled on the door to the next floor up. Stumbling out, he jogged through more rows of empty cubicles.

    A loud crash rang out behind him, but he didn¡¯t look back. He bolted through the cubicles, desperately looking for another exit or a place to hide.

    Up ahead, he spotted a blue door in the sea of gray cubicles. Desperate, he rushed to it, pulling hard on the lever. It was locked. He banged on the door.

    ¡°Open up!¡± he yelled in frustration. He kept banging on the door. Something was fast approaching from behind, plowing through cubicles and shaking the floor. He was out of time. He kept banging on the door, to no avail.

    Kaden woke up. He shook his head. That was a dream? Felt so real, he thought.

    The banging continued. Someone was knocking on the door to his meditation chamber. There was also a steady alarm beeping somewhere, insistently annoying.

    Groggily, Kaden sat up. He had slumped against the side of the chamber, completely passed out in an awkward position. He could barely straighten his neck. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, he tried to peer through the glass to see who was knocking.

    The door popped open and Kaden stumbled out. A pair of hands got under elbows and pulled him to his feet.

    ¡°Hey man, you okay?¡±

    It was Han Mifan, the intern he had run into here last week.

    ¡°Uh, thanks, yeah, I¡¯m okay,¡± Kaden managed to say.

    ¡°Did you fall asleep in there?¡±

    Kaden¡¯s thoughts were coming extra slowly. ¡°Uh, I guess so. What time is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s 7am. How long were you in there?¡±

    Kaden didn¡¯t remember exactly when he had arrived last night to put in his extra hours of meditation practice. He remembered cramming for the ward exam with Bill and Jill, and then going to late night gunsword class with Adrian, which had been a good session for Kaden. While he was clearly the least experienced of the group, he had already picked up a handful of new techniques and drills to practice.

    ¡°Not sure,¡± he replied. ¡°Um, thanks. For waking me up.¡±

    ¡°No problem. We interns gotta look out for each other, right?¡± Han tried to laugh, but he looked worried. ¡°You don¡¯t look so good, man. You know that overexposure can lead to mana poisoning, right? Remember the intro training?¡±

    In truth, Kaden did not know that and did not remember the training. But he didn¡¯t want to admit that in front of Han.

    ¡°Yeah, of course. I¡¯ll be alright. What are you up to this morning?¡± Kaden wanted to change the topic.

    ¡°Oh you know, the usual. Since I got my primary alignment up to level two, I¡¯ve been working on getting my secondary aura alignment up to level one. Almost there. How about you?¡±

    Kaden wasn¡¯t sure. He paused for a moment to pull up his stats on his mobile. It was the start of the new week, so all his KPIs should be refreshed.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Name: Kaden Chen</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Job Title: Intern</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Grade: 1 / 15</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Role: Mailroom Clerk</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Aura Affinity: Amber IV (up from Amber I)</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ward Rating: E</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Individual Rank Percentile: 33% (up from 47%)</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Team Rank Percentile: 10% (up from 33%)</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Key Objective Completion: 13% (up from 1%)</li>

    </ul>

    It was good to see the individual and team ranks continue to rise. It meant he and his team were doing relatively better than the other interns. Even so, it was a little depressing to see the Key Objective rise to only 13%. That left a long way to go. And it implied the other teams were not doing as much as Kaden¡¯s team to complete the objective.

    Han just stood there, waiting. Kaden realized he was waiting for a response.

    ¡°Oh right. Uh, it looks like I¡¯m up to Amber IV for my aura affinity.¡±

    Han was shocked. ¡°Whoa dude, that can¡¯t be right. Especially for such a short time. This is only the third week of the internship. Are you sure you¡¯re all the way up to level four?¡±

    Kaden didn¡¯t know what to say. He was still really sleepy, and his head was starting to hurt. Like dueling icepicks on each temple.

    Han laughed in the awkward silence. ¡°Ha! You got me. You had me going there for a minute. It¡¯s okay, I get it. You don¡¯t have to share your stats with me. Gotta play it close to the vest, right? I can respect that.¡±

    Kaden just nodded.

    Han patted Kaden on the shoulder. ¡°Anyway, have a good day, man. I¡¯ll see you around. Also - a few of us interns are getting together later this week ¨C I¡¯ll send you a message with the details later, if you¡¯re interested.¡±

    ¡°Ok thanks, Han.¡±

    As Han turned to go, Kaden rubbed his head and massaged his temples. He was starting to feel nauseous. This headache was no joke.

    He checked the time. It was either get coffee and be late, or be late without coffee. He sighed. And then winced as the deep breath triggered a wave of pain up his neck into the base of his skull.

    He decided he didn¡¯t want to be later than he already was. So he rushed downstairs to the mailroom, stopping only at the restroom on the first floor. Glancing in the mirror, he paused to straighten his hair and noticed his eyes were completely bloodshot.

    A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and he was struggling to keep his thoughts in order. The conversation with David was rumbling around in his mind, threatening to break the surface. He didn¡¯t want to address it, not yet; he also didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d react if he saw Julia this morning.

    Steeling himself, he pushed the pain in his body to the back of his mind and willed himself to make the most of today.

    One step at a time.

    When he arrived at the Mailroom, Peter was already there, getting the morning¡¯s mail sorted and packages ready for delivery. He glanced up at Kaden and clucked his tongue, shaking his head.

    ¡°No coffee? That¡¯s no way to start off the week right,¡± Peter joked. Kaden didn¡¯t respond right away, as he came up to the sorting table and started in on sorting some of the mail. Peter looked at Kaden more closely.

    ¡°Dude, how late were you out last night? You look like absolute shit.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah, thanks, man,¡± Kaden mumbled. He yawned, and then winced at the twin picks plunging deep into his temples. The headache kept getting worse and worse.

    ¡°Seriously. What kinda rave where you at last night?¡±

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    Kaden frowned. ¡°No parties, man. All I do is work. Didn¡¯t even get to go home this weekend.¡±

    Peter raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s not healthy. Did you get any sleep last night?¡±

    ¡°A little. I accidentally fell asleep in a meditation chamber.¡±

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Julia called as she walked in, heading towards her office.

    ¡°Hey boss,¡± Peter called. ¡°Do you have a minute? I think you should take a look at Kaden here.¡±

    Julia paused, turning toward them. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Kaden looked darkly at Peter before responding. ¡°Nothing¡¯s going on, I just didn¡¯t have a lot of rest this weekend.¡±

    ¡°He fell asleep in a meditation chamber,¡± Peter said somberly.

    Julia strode toward Kaden, looking at this face. ¡°Can I take your pulse?¡±

    ¡°Really, I¡¯m fine,¡± Kaden said, but held out his arm.

    She took his pulse, checking the time on her wristwatch. ¡°120 beats per minute. That¡¯s high for resting heart rate. Bloodshot eyes. Do you feel feverish?¡±

    Kaden shrugged.

    ¡°Looks like a butterfly rash appearing on his face,¡± Peter said.

    Julia peered up at Kaden¡¯s face as he tried to turn away.

    ¡°Wow, would you look at that,¡± she said. ¡°Textbook case of mana poisoning.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Kaden started to say.

    ¡°Not without medical treatment,¡± Julia said. ¡°You can give me the story on the way.

    ¡°Peter ¨C I¡¯m going to take Kaden down to the medical wing. Can you let my eight o¡¯clock know I¡¯ll be late?¡±

    ¡°Sure thing, boss,¡± Peter replied. ¡°Hope you feel better soon, Kaden.¡±

    Julia took Kaden by the arm and led him out the door.

    ¡°Are you sure this is necessary,¡± Kaden grumbled.

    ¡°Yes, absolutely. Fortunately for you, we¡¯re catching it relatively early. Left unchecked, mana poisoning could lead to a permanent autoimmune disorder. It¡¯s unlikely but still within the realm of possibility.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? Are you serious?¡±

    ¡°Deadly. This is no joke. What happened?¡±

    Kaden sighed. He had hoped to avoid the embarrassment, but there was no other way around it.

    ¡°I fell asleep in a meditation chamber last night.¡±

    ¡°How long?¡±

    ¡°Best guess, around 5 hours max.¡±

    Julia frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s talk more after you see the doctor.¡±

    They made their way down to sublevel one. Instead of queuing at the reception with the rest of the patients, Julia badged her way through the front desk and led Kaden through a labyrinth of hallways until she came to a nondescript door leading to a typical exam room.

    ¡°Wait here,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll have a doctor come see you in a moment.

    ¡°And when you¡¯re done here, come see me before heading home. We need to talk.¡±

    She closed the door, leaving Kaden alone in the exam room.

    It looked exactly like most other exam rooms he had been in before. Patient chair, doctor workstation, sharps disposal, etc. He did notice some additional equipment attached to the wall that looked like some sort of imaging equipment. The power source appeared to be mana capacitors, so he figured it must have something to do with the special nature of mana use within the Tower.

    Kaden did not wait long. A nurse in blue came in to measure his vitals and collect a vial of blood.

    A few minutes later, the door opened to reveal a female doctor in a white coat with a stethoscope around her neck. She appeared to be in her fifties with black hair streaked with gray and tan skin. She had a pleasant smile on her face but carried herself with a measure of authority that Kaden had come to expect from Company leadership.

    ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Dr. Ahmed. You¡¯re Kaden? An intern?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been better,¡± Kaden tried to smile. ¡°Headache, nausea, fatigue.¡±

    ¡°OK. We¡¯ll get you fixed up. How long have you been with the Company?¡±

    ¡°This is the start of my third week.¡±

    ¡°Huh. So how does an intern with two weeks at the Company present with symptoms of mana poisoning¡­ let me check a few things and do some tests.¡±

    Dr. Ahmed checked Kaden¡¯s eyes and ears, listened to his heart and lungs, and checked his reflexes. It was starting to seem like a typical annual physical until she pulled the wand-type instrument that Kaden had been studying earlier and scanned his body with it.

    A diagnostic image came up on the screen at the workstation. Orangish/amber highlights permeated the screen, spiking particularly high around his joints, his head, and his upper chest.

    ¡°Huh. Interesting,¡± the doctor said, lost in thought as she pulled up Kaden¡¯s file on her mobile.

    ¡°It says here that your aura affinity is Amber Level IV? Is that right?¡±

    Kaden shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s what my stat sheet shows.¡±

    ¡°And no exposure to intensive mana meditation before joining the Company, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.

    ¡°So Doc, what¡¯s going on? Can you explain?¡±

    ¡°OK,¡± the doctor said, sighing and sitting down. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. You¡¯re approaching third degree mana poisoning. It¡¯s a good thing Julia brought you in when she did.

    ¡°You should be fine, with treatment. But you¡¯ll need to be very careful about your exposure going forward.

    ¡°Normally, it takes a lot higher exposure to reach the level of mana poisoning you¡¯re experiencing. I¡¯ve looked at the logs in your file for meditation sessions and based on what you¡¯ve told me, you just haven¡¯t had a whole lot of time in the mana-rich environment of the meditation chambers.

    ¡°Which means that you¡¯re very sensitive to mana absorption. Particularly anything close to amber-type aura.¡±

    Kaden was relieved to hear that he could return to normal with treatment, but he wasn¡¯t sure what to make of the rest of what the doctor said. ¡°What do you mean when you say I¡¯m sensitive to mana?¡±

    ¡°It means that you absorb it faster and more quickly than most. Which is both a blessing and a curse. You¡¯ll attain the benefits more quickly and deeply, but you¡¯ll be at risk of overexposure, which can lead to sickness and even death.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ so what do I do now? I¡¯ve got a lot of stuff to do this week.¡±

    ¡°You need to rest for at least a week. No mana meditation for at least two weeks. I have a couple prescriptions you¡¯ll need to take ¨C one for some of the symptoms you¡¯re experiencing, it might make you sleepy, and another specifically to counteract any further poisoning of your body.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Doctor Ahmed, but I really need to get back to work this week. What would happen if I keep going with my regular activities?¡±

    She sighed, leaning back in her chair and looking at Kaden appraisingly.

    ¡°Kaden. I want to make sure we¡¯re on the same page here. Humans are not meant to be exposed to high density mana for long periods of time. Potential consequences include autoimmune disorders, cancer, and a host of other potentially deadly health problems.¡±

    ¡°I understand, but what about the benefits? I mean, I¡¯ve already noticed my body heals really fast now. Won¡¯t the regenerative benefits help protect me from some of the bad effects?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. As mana integrates into your body¡¯s cells and systems, your body will both benefit from that integration and be damaged by it. And changed.

    ¡°But also your body will become addicted to it. People with long-term, overexposure to mana require a minimum amount of mana to keep their body functioning normally. And without it, withdrawal can be extremely painful and even life-threatening.

    ¡°We don¡¯t want you to get that point. And you¡¯re not yet. But if you push the envelope and overexpose yourself, particularly when you seem to be so sensitive to its effects, the mana in this Tower will harm you and potentially kill you.

    ¡°Am I clear? Are we on the same page, Kaden?¡±

    He cleared his throat. ¡°Yes, Doctor. Same page.¡±

    ¡°Alright then,¡± she said standing up. ¡°A nurse will be with you shortly to go over your medications and check you out. Please remember our little talk. I do hope you get better soon. And give Julia my best.¡± She smiled as she exited the room.

    Kaden leaned back on the chair, letting out a deep breath. He closed his eyes, dizziness overwhelming his vision.

    Monday¡¯s really suck, he thought, before drifting away.

 Chapter XXIV - A Test of Leadership

    The elevator door closed on Sublevel 1, and Kaden looked into the white paper bag in his hand. Inside, he saw a pale blue pill bottle full of liquid-filled capsules. The capsules were a glowing green color, and so massive they were difficult to swallow. He knew this because he had taken his first dose before leaving the exam room.

    After Dr. Ahmed left, a physician¡¯s assistant had arrived and hooked him up to an IV. The treatment took about 45 minutes, and he was already feeling better. The PA gave him his pills and instructions to take them every day for ten days, without fail, and to come back for a quick check-in in a week¡¯s time.

    Kaden felt his feet dragging as he left the elevator on the ground floor. He was reluctant to return to the Mailroom, because he knew he would have to face Julia. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready. He desperately wanted to know what she knew about her father, but he wasn¡¯t sure how to ask it. It was also awkward timing, given what happened his morning.

    He sighed. She was expecting him right away. Might as well get it over with.

    Peter greeted him with a cup of coffee when he came through the door.

    ¡°Here you are, have some coffee. Not as good as you make it, but I hope it¡¯s passable.¡±

    Despite himself, Kaden smiled and accepted the cup gratefully. ¡°Thank you! I really appreciate it.¡±

    ¡°Of course. No problem! I hope they were able to fix you up downstairs?¡±

    Kaden took a sip. It was hot, dark, and gloriously good. He smacked his lips and took another sip.

    ¡°This is great! Thanks again. Yes, they did take care of me. Already feeling better.¡±

    Peter patted his shoulder. ¡°Alright. Good to hear.¡± He gestured at the closed door of Julia¡¯s office. ¡°Good luck. She¡¯s waiting for you.¡±

    The butterflies returned to his stomach, but Kaden pushed it down and strode to the door, knocking before entering.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Julia called.

    Kaden sat down in the chair in front of her desk, and took a sip of his coffee.

    ¡°So. Here we are at the start of the third week of your internship,¡± Julia began, leaning back in her chair. ¡°How do you think it has gone so far?¡±

    The question threw Kaden for a loop, for a moment.

    ¡°Well, I guess pretty good, except for getting sick of course. My stats have improved this week, and I¡¯ve got some Plus projects in the pipeline to help meet the team and overall cohort goals. I think I¡¯ve over delivered on the goals we set last week as well.

    ¡°I mean, aside from the accidental mana overdose, so far so good is what I would say.¡±

    Julia looked thoughtful, taking a moment to phrase her next question.

    ¡°How about the other goal we talked about? The big goal.¡±

    ¡°You mean, landing a full-time role at the Company after the internship?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s still to be decided, right? I feel like I have as good a chance as anyone at the moment. Why? Do you know something I don¡¯t?¡±

    Julia shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not. Not sure how much you know. I did check-in with Carol while you were downstairs to make sure I had the latest information. Did you know that around a third of the remaining interns already have full-time job offers from various departments around the Company?¡±

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    His stomach fell. He felt sick. He swallowed and squirmed in his seat.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°There are thirty-two interns left. Which is shockingly low, by the way. A lot of people quit during the second week, apparently. But Carol did confirm for me that twelve interns will be starting full-time roles when the internship officially ends.¡±

    His mouth tasted bitter and bile was rising in his throat. He set the coffee cup down on Julia¡¯s desk.

    ¡°How? I mean, how did they get that?¡±

    Julia frowned slightly, looking skeptically at Kaden. ¡°Well what did you think was the point of all those Plus assignments? Or all the package deliveries around to the various departments? Or even the gigs your ¡®band¡¯ played?¡±

    ¡°Well those were for points - ¡°

    ¡°The points don¡¯t matter,¡± Julia interrupted, waving her hand. ¡°We gave you opportunities to network within the Company. To meet people, to see different departments, to access a whole host of different aspects of the Company.

    ¡°The internship is quite special in that way. Normally, security protocols keep departments quite separate. Exchange of information and intra-departmental collaboration is carefully monitored. Compartmentalization of information is not just a buzzword here. It¡¯s a way of working. And I can tell you from my years of experience that the level of access you¡¯ve had over the past couple of weeks is second to no one but the highest level VPs and senior executives.¡±

    Julia leaned forward. ¡°That¡¯s what the internship is for. To see what you make of the opportunities given to you. In a way, it¡¯s a test of leadership.¡±

    ¡°Ok, but why wasn¡¯t I told that? Why not just come out and say from the beginning what it was I was supposed to do?¡±

    Julia sighed, as if dealing with a slow and stubborn child. ¡°I did. Do you remember our first conversation? Did I not say that what we¡¯re truly focused on here in the Mailroom is building connections? It¡¯s not about the mail and packages. That might be our currency. But the real power is in the access and influence that currency provides.¡±

    Kaden rubbed his hand over face, struggling with how to respond. Part of him was absolutely furious, enraged to the point of exploding because he had worked so hard towards goals he was now told were meaningless. Another part of him was panicking, because he could see all of his hard work and effort slipping away and any chance of him achieving his long term goals at the Company was becoming increasingly slim. For the moment, the panicking part won out.

    ¡°OK. I think I get it,¡± he said slowly, keeping his voice as calm and level as possible. ¡°And I certainly appreciate the many opportunities I¡¯ve been given. So where do I go from here? Do you know of any departments with open roles that you could point me toward? How about here in the Mailroom?¡±

    ¡°I have to be honest with you. The mana poisoning is going to go on your record as a safety incident. It¡¯s not a good look. And unfortunately, it¡¯s strike two.¡±

    ¡°Wait, strike two? What was strike one?¡±

    ¡°Accosting a senior VP on his way to the airport is not the best way to make friends.¡±

    He just sat there, absorbing the fact that Julia knew about his conversation with David yesterday. He must have told her. Which meant they were in communication about him.

    ¡°Look. Kaden. I don¡¯t know a whole lot about your family and what happened, but I am truly sorry for your loss. While I could never understand what you¡¯re going through, I can empathize. And grief is a terrible, terrible thing. But unfortunately it doesn¡¯t excuse bad behavior.¡±

    The rage roared up in Kaden, turning his face hot. He gritted his teeth, trying to control his anger. He could feel his pulse in his temples and his hands started shaking.

    ¡°Bad behavior?¡± he practically spat. ¡°I¡¯ve been a saint these past two weeks compared to almost everyone else in this Tower.¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°That may be true. But we have higher expectations of our future leaders.¡±

    He rolled his eyes. ¡°And how about you? As my de facto manager and leader. How do you measure up? You¡¯ve known this whole time who my father was and never said anything about him or my family¡¯s company.¡±

    She just shook her head. ¡°Personal attacks are not going to help your situation. Again, I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t tell you any more than you already know about what happened to him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not telling me everything you know,¡± he said, leveling a hard stare at his boss.

    Julia returned the gaze with even more gravitas. ¡°Because I don¡¯t trust you.¡±

    Kaden was the first to look away.

    ¡°Go home. Take your meds. Get some rest. Come in tomorrow for the scheduled team meeting. Until then, I don¡¯t want to see you working. Got it?¡±

    He stood up, grabbing his coffee cup as he left without another word.

 Chapter XXV - Its All About the Money!

    Kaden was in a foul mood.

    He sat in a quiet corner on the third floor, sipping his second latte. He frowned. It just didn¡¯t taste as good as it usually did. He pushed it away, leaning back in his chair.

    Julia had ordered him to go home and rest, but in a moment of pique he had decided he would do anything but that.

    He needed time and space to think. There were a lot of emotions boiling inside him, and he wasn¡¯t sure what he should do. He was furious at Julia, Wolfe, and all the other managers in the Company for how this internship was structured and how he was being treated. He was frustrated with Julia¡¯s refusal to share more of what she knew about Tetrionics, his father¡¯s former firm. He was disappointed with himself for his current situation, and admittedly jealous of the other interns who had already secured full-time offers.

    He had messaged a handful of the other interns to see if what Julia said was true. Jill had replied in the affirmative, as had Han and Patty. Bill and Mariko had not replied yet. He just did not understand why the Company was doing things this way.

    On top of it all, he was still feeling sick and out of sorts. The medicine and painkillers had helped, but his head was still pounding and the nausea was starting to return. Maybe it was time to head home and try to sleep this off.

    A message popped up. It was from Sandy.

    Earth to Kaden. You there, kid? You look like someone killed your cat. Or knocked up your girl. Or maybe both.

    He looked down. The corgi was right there, sitting next to his table and staring up at him.

    ¡°Not in the mood, Sandy.¡±

    That¡¯s what she said.

    Kaden just stared at the dog, who nonchalantly used a paw to scratch under its shoulder.

    No, seriously. That¡¯s what my first ex-wife used to say all the time. And what do I say? Good riddance. Take a page out of my book, kid. Time to move on. Forget that girl, you¡¯re better than that.

    He sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not a girl.¡±

    A boy? Hey, no judgment here. Just didn¡¯t expect it. You don¡¯t seem the type. Normally gay men dress a lot better, you know?

    He just shook his head. ¡°What do you want, Sandy?¡±

    You and me, we got business. Remember? That little tip you got on Saturday? You owe me. Time to pay up!

    He remembered now. In the heat of the moment, he had agreed to share with Sandy the reason he was so interested in David Olson. Now, he regretted it. He felt uneasy sharing this with Sandy; he knew it might come back to haunt him later. But he was also tired of being pushed around and just wanted to get him off his back.

    ¡°Fine. If you really want to know. David Olson was a partner at my father¡¯s firm Tetrionics, about a decade ago. The Company acquired Tetrionics a little over two years ago. My father died in an accident not far from here, after a visit to the Tower about the acquisition. I wanted to learn from David more about what happened during the acquisition.¡±

    Interesting. OK, I can see how you¡¯d want to know more. It¡¯s not like the Company keeps any secrets or anything. Did you learn what you wanted?

    Kaden sighed. He had not. He continued to explain what David had told him. And then it was like a tap opened up, and he kept talking, explaining what had happened this morning and then a summary of his conversation with Julia. It felt good to vent and get it off his chest. Even if venting to Sandy was like telling the town gossip your secrets.

    Wow. What a disappointment you are. To be honest, I¡¯m kinda surprised. I mean, until I heard this sob story just now, I would have hired you myself. If I had the budget, of course. Sadly, I do not.

    ¡°Huh. Thanks, I guess.¡±

    No problem. I¡¯m always here when you need me. And now that therapy is done, we¡¯ve got work to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really feeling it, Sandy. I might just go home and go to sleep.¡±

    What, now you''re a quitter? Because you had a bad morning? C''mon.

    Sandy accompanied this line with muffled bark and whine.

    Another sigh. ¡°Alright. Tell me what you want to do. Maybe I''ll help.¡±

    That¡¯s better. I have something you can help me with. And it might actually help you get what you want as well.

    ¡°Really.¡± Kaden raised an eyebrow.

    Sandy raised a paw, as if to accentuate his next statement.

    Yes. No guarantees, of course, but what we¡¯re going to do could put you in the good graces of a very large number of middle managers in the company.

    He sat up. ¡°OK, I¡¯m listening.¡±

    That¡¯s the spirit. All you have to do is take some photos for me.

    ¡°Photos?¡±

    Yes.

    ¡°Of what?¡±

    Your fellow interns.

    He frowned. This seemed too easy.

    ¡°What for?¡±

    Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m working on a slide deck of all the interns, to circulate with a group of managers who have expressed interest in getting to know the current intern cohort a little better.

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you use the official headshots they took of everyone on the first day?¡±

    Oh I have those already. Let¡¯s just say what we¡¯re pulling together is supplemental research. You know, some live action shots.

    Kaden¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°And all I have to do is take photos.¡±

    You got it. Just take some photos. But the other interns don¡¯t need to know about it.

    ¡°They don¡¯t need to know about it?¡±

    That¡¯s right. Just take a few photos on the sly, you know? And, for extra credit, if you wanted to give notes on the relative attractiveness of your fellow interns, I¡¯d appreciate the favor. Men or women. Or both. Our conversation today has left me confused about your preferences.

    It all clicked in Kaden¡¯s mind. Now it made sense.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Ahhh. I think I got it. So you¡¯re helping put together some sort of ¡®hot-or-not¡¯ presentation for a bunch of predatory mid-managers.¡±

    Your words not mine.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass.¡±

    You¡¯re missing out. I¡¯m telling ya, it¡¯s easy work. And it¡¯ll boost your cred with a bunch of powerful people. If you don¡¯t feel comfortable taking full body shots, I can still give you partial credit for some foot pics ¨C

    Kaden stood up. ¡°You know, I think I need a little fresh air.¡±

    Ok ok fine. Let¡¯s take a walk first. Think about it, alright? You don¡¯t have to give me an answer right now.

    Kaden was walking away, trying to leave Sandy behind, but the dog trotted along to catch up.

    Exasperated, he looked down at the dog. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come with me.¡±

    No no, of course not, but I need you to come with me. You still owe me a visit to my lady friend. It¡¯s late in the morning, but who knows? Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky today.

    Kaden stopped. ¡°Dude. I already told you. I¡¯m not feeling well and I don¡¯t want anything to do with your shenanigans right now.¡±

    A couple of women walking by paused their conversation, looking at him quizzically, as if to say, ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± He just sighed and looked down at the dog, who had his tongue lolling out in a big dog grin.

    Look, kid. I know you¡¯ve had a rough day. But just because you haven¡¯t been laid in forever doesn¡¯t mean you need to go around cock-blocking everyone else. Trust me. I¡¯ll help you get your mojo back. The best way to get back on your feet is to take a little trip outside. Didn¡¯t you say you wanted some fresh air?

    ¡°Fine. Fine! Let¡¯s go,¡± he said, walking off toward the elevator.

    That¡¯s the spirit.

    Kaden didn¡¯t reply. He was starting to feel more than a little bullied.

    Monday¡¯s truly are the worst, he thought.

    They stopped at the front desk to get a leash from Cliff. Kaden attached it to his collar and stood up, ready to go. But Cliff had a package in his hand, held out for Kaden to take.

    He looked down at the dog. ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Bagel cart on Water Street. Yankees hat,¡± Cliff said.

    Kaden took the padded brown envelope. ¡°Anything else? And we¡¯re doing this out in the open now?¡±

    Cliff shrugged and smiled. ¡°You work in the Mailroom, don¡¯t you? Thanks for helping me make a delivery.¡±

    Before he could respond, Sandy pulled him along, heading for the door.

    Let¡¯s get going.

    Sandy pulled him along, walking quickly outside and around the Tower complex to Water Street. They hurried along, walking north. It was a pretty pleasant morning, a little overcast and not too humid. There were a relatively large number of people out and about for his hour, a few people likely stepping out for an early lunch or mid-morning coffee break. It was a nice morning for the summer.

    The dog led Kaden right to the street vendor with the bagel stand. The proprietor was an older man with gray hair and a deep tan. He wore a faded Yankees cap.

    He had to wait in line for a couple minutes for his turn. Meanwhile, Sandy sat watching the sidewalk northward, never taking his eyes off the flow of pedestrians moving up and down the street.

    When it was his turn, Kaden stepped forward to hand over the package.

    And then multiple things happened at once.

    He raised the paper envelope in his hand toward the counter, but before he could set it down, Sandy pulled hard on the leash and let out a sharp bark. Pulled off balance, Kaden stumbled to his left. The envelope in his right hand caught on the edge of the sill, ripping it completely open.

    Reflexively, Kaden dropped the leash and tried to catch the envelope¡¯s contents before it spilled all over the ground. Small blue and white containers bounced on the ground, rolling everywhere. He scrambled to pick them up and put them back in the torn envelope. Meanwhile he could hear Sandy continuing to bark, the noise growing further away each second.

    He stood and started to hand over the ripped envelope full of pill bottles, but then he froze, because he recognized the bottles. They were exactly the same as the prescription he had received this morning. He read the label. It was the same drug.

    What the hell, he thought. Why are they smuggling the mana poisoning antidote?

    ¡°Sir, your dog,¡± a voice said, breaking his concentration.

    ¡°What?¡±

    The man with the Yankees cap pointed up the street. ¡°Your dog is getting away.¡±

    Quickly, Kaden shoved the torn package and its contents onto the counter and then ran off up the street. He could no longer see Sandy, but he thought he heard a bark followed by someone yelling.

    Arriving at the next intersection, panting and squinting from the pounding in his head, he looked left and right, trying to find where Sandy had gone. On the left, he saw a man he recognized, sitting on the ground holding a torn pink scarf.

    He hurried over, kneeling down beside the sobbing man.

    ¡°Have you seen a ¨C¡± Kaden started.

    ¡°That bitch!¡± the man shrieked. ¡°That dog attacked me and my poor princess!¡±

    ¡°Which way ¨C ¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Wait. Are you that dog¡¯s owner? If you are ¨C wait! I¡¯m going to ¨C¡±

    He didn¡¯t listen to the rest of the threat. He was already running again, past the man and up the cross street. He came to an alley and shot a glance inside. He thought he saw movement.

    Skidding to a halt, he circled back and peered down the alley. At the far end, he recognized a familiar outline. The silhouette of a corgi¡¯s head.

    Jogging down the street, he called out. ¡°Sandy! What are you doing?¡±

    As he spoke, another dog, a very petite white toy poodle with a pink collar, jumped up and scampered around the corner. Sandy just sat there, tongue lolling out in a big dog grin.

    Kaden slowed as he came up to the corgi. He had a stitch in his side, and his stomach was rumbling uncomfortably. With a whiff of the garbage piled around the corner, he lost it.

    He bent over his knees, vomiting what little he had in his stomach out on the ground. Leaning against the wall, he heaved a few more times before standing up and casting a baleful eye at the canine.

    You know, up until this moment, you were a pretty good wingman.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go,¡± he said, snatching up the leash. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry before Princess¡¯ owner finds us.¡±

    That¡¯s the spirit. We¡¯ve got photos to take.

    ¡°Nope, not happening.¡±

    They hurried down the street, walking briskly toward the looming Tower in the distance.

    I think you need my help, kid. I mean, you got any other plays left?

    He didn¡¯t answer right away. He did have one ¨C the request from Mark Hernandez. He could potentially give Kaden some leverage, or a lead, or even an outright job offer. The task from Mark, however, was absolutely shady ¨C possibly even worse than Sandy¡¯s hot-or-not slidedeck. But he definitely wasn¡¯t going to tell Sandy about it.

    Even so, he didn¡¯t have everything he needed yet in place to pull it off. Basically steal two laptops without getting caught? This was not going to be easy.

    As they walked back to the office, a thought occurred to Kaden, and a plan clicked together in his head. It was devious, and it would definitely get him kicked out if he was ever discovered. But hey, what good had the Tower done for him? A very large part of him felt no small amount of anticipatory schadenfreude at his potential plan.

    ¡°Alright, Sandy. I¡¯ll help you with your slidedeck.¡±

    I knew you¡¯d come around.

    ¡°But I¡¯ll need something in return.¡±

    Of course, of course. If it¡¯s within my power, it¡¯s yours.

    ¡°But no foot pics.¡±

    Fine. Whatever.

    The two walked along in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the morning.

    ¡°By the way. I¡¯m curious. What are you going to get out of this slidedeck?¡±

    Do you even need to ask?

    The dog stopped and looked over his shoulder, giving him his best one-eyed dog grin.

    My first and final love, kid. It¡¯s all about the money!

    He rolled his eyes. Yeah, he should¡¯ve known.