After the first decent sleep I have had in a long time, I stand from the corner I was sleeping in. When I enter the main room, I find a small letter on the floor in front of me. It is from an old friend, Don Hollywood, my dearest rival and the closest thing to a father I have. Also, when it comes to him, I am surprised the letter wasn’t already here when I moved in yesterday. Maybe he is slipping in his old age. I lean against the inner wall and access the data chip.

               “Well now Reiter, I see you got kicked out. So much for the military being your only home. Anyway, you should stop by my shop. I doubt anyone will hire someone with so much black red and every other color in their profile, and my shop can always use skilled personnel.

               Go ahead and keep the AT link, it’s the not the newest but it is new enough, consider it a retirement gift.”

               So, this isn’t just a data chip? Well I guess a three by five folding opaque is a bit big to be a mere data chip. Might as well go to see him, he is right about my profile and job prospects. If I am going to be menial labor, I would rather do it at family’s place. Looks like the attached address is on the Wall, maybe I can stop by the black market while I’m there. I sling my board onto my back and head out.

***

               After navigating the slums for a few hours, I reach the outside. I will need to set up a path for navigation, or at least find a map of the slums. I secure myself on my board and head towards Don’s shop. After another couple of hours of travel, I reach the wall’s security entrance.

               The security guard motions to me to step up to the booth. “What business do you have at the wall?”

               “I am looking for work and family.”

               The guard looks me up and down, “profile.”

               I hand the man my profile data chip. He scans it gives me a scowl. “what is someone with so much redaction doing at the wall?”

               I look at the man, “like I said work and family.”

               With a snort the man opens the entryway, “I don’t care who you are but this isn’t a place where money can fix your problems.”

               I suppose my profile looks like some spoilt rich kid’s, with most of it reading redacted. Their clearance here isn’t even enough to see the clearance level required for that data. Anymore discharges are just a way to get rid of problem rich kids.

               While making my way to Don’s shop I browse through the areas shops. Most of the stuff here is of low quality, but every now and then there may be something interesting. These shops will also accept currency from the kingdoms. Lots of incognito bandits and kingdom merchants use this place as an intermediary for business with the central countries. Money supersedes everything.

               I found a decent tool kit and a few spare parts for my board but not much else. Most of the stuff here is trash with the price of treasure.

***

               Ranger Security. Why am I not surprised Don’s shop turns out to be a security firm? Although, I thought it would be something like a laundromat or a distributer that doesn’t sell anything, but I guess he just can’t stay away from the field.

               When I enter the building a receptionist greets me from her desk, “Good afternoon, how may I be of assistance?”

               The door in the back opens as the receptionist speaks, “he’s here to see me.” Don walks in from the back with a laugh and gives me a large hug. “It has been years, brat, it’s nice to see you again.” A few strands of grey in his hair the old man is nearing his seventies. Despite that he still has well defined muscles without them being bulging, the real dangerous kind that have ridiculous agility while hiding explosive power. Even the few wrinkles he has are well defined and chiseled.

               “sup pops it’s good to see you as well, I’m surprised you’re not in a rest home yet.”

               Don laughs uproariously, “I know you have always had a hard time dealing with me but to panic enough to flip your switch the instant you see me?”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

               “well what do you expect pops? You’re like a dad to me and you know everything, even the shit I have hidden from the indigence bureau. I mean what the hell, dragon kid’s head broke after we lost contact with each other and you know that when he panics I come out. Even those black masks spying on me every day in the deep don’t know that.”

               Don releases his hug only to hold onto my shoulder, “Oh Reiter, you’re going to make my heart melt, and a dad always knows about his kid.”

               “Really? I doubt anyone could phase that iron heart of yours, you malicious sadistic shadow. Besides I’m more of a pet to you than a kid.”

               Don removes his hand and shows such a realistic pained expression, “now that hurts Reiter.”

               I give a small chuckle, “your acting is getting better pops.”

               Don’s face instantly returns to his normal impassive look with a splash of seriousness and coldness and that fucking disturbing grin of his. How the hell can people say this is a friendly expression I will never know.

               Don walks back to the door he emerged from, “well anyway, let’s talk in my office, I got a gift for you too.”

               I enter his office with him. The place is furnished well. A large composite desk, even looks like wood, maple I think. A bookshelf on each side full of random books and nick knacks, seriously Don? Nick knacks? There’s also a large window monitor in the back depicting the endless deep greens and spotty prairies of the frontier past the Wall, got to admit the place is beautiful. Looks like a kingdom on its own, nothing like the deserts and wastelands of the Badlands.

               I plop down on the chair in front of the desk giving Don an amused gaze, “So Don, how you enjoying, what are you calling it, retirement?”

               Don takes a seat in his own chair behind the desk, “it’s good. I’m my own boss, no more bullshit from higher up and if I say so myself, I even have quite the influence in these parts.”

               “Well pops, this is what you get for refusing all those promotions.”

               Don gives a light chuckle, “no way in hell would I ever take one of those desk jobs, now I am in charge of my own security firm, I can go out whenever I want.”

               “Yet here you are, sitting behind a desk.”

               Don’s face instantly becomes slightly depressed, “I still get out . . . sometimes. You really know where it hurts don’t you?”

               “A dad knows his kid, just the same a kid knows his dad.”

               Don takes out a small data chip from his desk, “here take this before you make me any more depressed.”

               I take the chip, “what is this my job?”

               Don gives me that creepy friendly smile of his, “nothing of the sort, it’s a video game.”

               What the hell? A video game, I haven’t played any of these since I was a kid and snuck into the arcade at night, “Why a video game old man?”

               “it just came out less than a week ago, and I have seen some interesting case studies on how video games have helped repair brain damage and mental illness. Something about how the consuls stimulate the neurons in the brain and cause them to create new pathways or something like that. Too much neurology for me to fully understand the process. As for your job, how about an escort gig?”

               I set down the game and give him a look, “what, some kind of dignitary or specialist that needs to find their way to some secret location or some bullshit?”

               “for an entry level like you? No way. Your job is to just escort some kids to an underground Gaming circuit every now and then. Nothing fancy. We are just a security firm here.”

               I am a little surprised I must say, I really would have thought Don would have had me do something a little shadier, “so it is just a normal escort job?”

               “if it was anything else would you have even accepted it?”

               “I refused that shit once, I have no plans to take it on now.”

               Don sits back on his chair and sighs, “well, there you go, just a simple job, has decent pay as well. You brought some money you had stashed, right? Go see the receptionist, she’ll exchange it to credits for you.”

               I stand up from the chair and turn to leave, “thanks pops, it’s good to see you again.”

               Don throughs the game on the desk to me, “Reiter, play the game, get better, I don’t want to be employing a bomb that can go off any moment. Now get out of here, unlike one lazy bum I got a business to run.”

               With a nod, I leave the room and exchange my money for credits. As well as pick up the details of my job. I am not too happy about jumping right back into being a soldier, albeit a make believe one. I hoped I could just leave it all behind and be a regular person. Sadly, with my record, I don’t have much of a choice.

               Having received a good amount of credits I decide to skip the black market and head home. On the way, I stop at a terminal and order furnishings for my apartment. A bed, dresser, storage chest, table, chairs, and several appliances as well as a game consul. It is a bit of a splurge, but I might as well play the game Don gave me, I have nothing else to do anyway. The lot should be here tomorrow morning. So, time to sleep.