“So?” Leo says as he leans back in his chair and takes another drag.

The man in the suit smiles. “So? So what?” He asks.

“So what kind of work are we talking about? Is it the physical sort? Or is this more of a desk job gig?” Leo asks, not quite sure what to expect.

The man lets out a snort before laughing. “I'm not going to lie, sometimes both of those things are part of it. But that's not what we do. If there's a dude on a ledge, threatening to jump, you get two choices. You can be the guy who talks him down, or… Or you can be the guy who pushes him off. That’s what we do.” He says before letting out a sigh.

Leo raises an eyebrow. “What the fuck? Why would I push him off?” He asks, confused.

The man lets out another snort. “Hey man, you do you. That’s not for me to decide. All I’m saying is that our role here is precisely that. We encourage decisions and we reinforce them. We’re like blacksmiths. Yeah, we have preferences; sometimes I’d prefer if the metal bent that way instead of this way. And sometimes the metal doesn’t bend no matter what you do. And sometimes, man… Sometimes the job does itself. And you don’t even have to lift a hammer.” The man says with a chuckle.

“Anyways, that’s what the higher-ups want. Like I said, they think everyone is special, and they want to see how far people can go. Our job is to encourage them to be themselves. And sometimes that requires… a gentle push.” The man says before bursting out into laughter.

Leo frowns. “You’re sick man.” He says, wanting to ignore the weird implication.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The man spreads his arms out again. “Whatever man. I’m not saying that’s what I’d do, I’m just saying that sometimes it’s an option. Anyways, just walk around the city for now; there might be a job out there. Either way, I doubt you’ll be able to get to sleep before a bit of work.” He says before standing up. “I’m going to head out. I left my contact on your phone, and a few of the other guys who work this city. If you need us, just call. We might be busy, but it’s better than twiddling your thumbs.” He says as he puts out his smoke in the ashtray.

The man begins to walk away.

“Hey, wait.” Leo says from the table.

The man pauses. “What?” He asks.

“What city are we in?” Leo asks.

The man smiles. “This is Nouveau-Ville. The city of virgins.” He says, letting out a chuckle before exiting the apartment.

…

…

Leo steps out of the building and looks around. He lets out a yawn and stretches his body upwards. “Damn, this body feels good.” He says before taking out his keys. Wonder where this car is? He asks himself before looking ahead. His eyes widen in surprise. It was a valet.

Leo walks over and the valet sees him and nods. “Hey, think you can find this car for me?” He asks.

The valet does a short bow before taking the keys. “Right away, sir.” He says before going.

…

…

The valet parks the car in front and Leo raises an eyebrow. Huh, it’s a black corolla. Was kind of hoping it’d be fancier. I’ll take what I can get, I guess. He thinks with slight disappointment.

The valet gets out and hands Leo the keys. “Here you are, sir.” He says as he looks at Leo with expectation.

Leo’s eyes widen with some anxiety. Damn! I forgot about the tip! He thinks, somewhat panicked. Suddenly, Leo realizes that something was pressing up against his butt. Leo raises an eyebrow. A wallet? He thinks with some hope. He reaches into his ass, and Leo was surprised to find that a rabbit came out; there was a wallet, and inside, there happened to be money. Leo smiles before flipping through what was available. There were a few bank cards, ID, and some cash. But there’s only hundreds… Leo thinks with furrowed brows. Whatever. It’s not my money. He thinks before pulling out a hundred and placing the bill in the valet’s hands.

The valet smiles. “Thank you, sir.” He says courteously.

“Yup, have a good day.” Leo says before walking to the car.

Leo takes a seat and suddenly hears a beep from his phone. Leo raises an eyebrow and takes a look.

It was a notification from the Black Star app.

Mugging in progress near Main Street and Princess Street. Coordinates have been input into your vehicle’s GPS. Note: The victim must live no matter what!

Leo raises another eyebrow. What am I? A cop? He asks with a scoff.