“You should run, lad,” Jeb said. “Boss Silver has been around for years, and he is not going to be taken down by the likes of you.”

“I could dodge him for a week, then go into the Astral Space and then run.”

“Can you dodge Iron and Bronze Rankers for a week?”

“It doesn’t seem likely, does it.”

“You are really set on going into the Astral Space, aren’t you?” Jeb asked.

I nodded, “I could afford my last essence from that trip.”

“That is the best-case scenario. I remember the optimism of youth. The worst-case scenario is you die. More likely, you will come out somewhere in between those two.”

I nodded. He was making sense. “Why now?” I said, frustrated, not expecting an answer.

“He knows where you work, right?” Jeb asked.

I nodded.

“Then he probably knows about the trip and sees you slipping out of his grasp. He is not going to let you dodge him for a week.”

“Why me?”

Jeb shrugged, “Probably your skill. You have been sharpening things for him, and he can see how useful it will be at Bronze rank.”

“So he will feed me an essence and awakening stones and level me up.”

“He will probably also feed you monster cores to level you so you stay weak. He will be using you all the time, so it is not a total loss for him. Your real value will be at bronze rank when you can sharpen ordinary tools to cut bronze material.”

“I am not even sure it will work that way then,”

Jeb just shrugged. “It is quite likely to work even if they are only single use.”

“That is not the life I want.”

“Then you need to run,” Jeb said.

“He will have someone watching the gates, won’t he.”

“It makes sense,” Jeb said. “He has not made it this far by being dumb.”

“Do you really think my skill is that valuable?”

“He does. I may be wrong,” Jeb said, “There may be a one-off job for you, and that is it.”

“It is not likely, is it?”

“I’ve seen the way you sharpen my machines. The bronze machine is even harder. My safe is made from bronze-rank material. You would soon earn his investment back.”

“And if not, then it would be my fault, and I would have to work off the debt,” I said.

“He is not going to lose out,” Jeb said. “It does show long-term planning on his part, but silver rankers live for longer, so that is not unusual. It may be unusual for a crime lord.”

“But he didn’t last this long by being dumb,” I finished.

Jeb just nodded, “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

I nodded, “But I want to settle things with my boss before I leave.”

Jeb nodded, “You know where the spare room is.”

I didn’t get much sleep that night. I was not looking forward to tomorrow.

Eve was not happy when I told her about Boss Silver and having to leave. She marched me into her boss's office. Harold was the area manager.

Stolen story; please report.

“We have tried to look after you, Theo, and we will continue to do so,” Harold said with Eve nodding next to him. “Have you been happy working here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. We have a mill in Stillwater. They do mostly bronze rank timber with some silver, so your skills won’t be as useful, but we will look after you. You will have to give up this moonlighting in the markets, though.”

“Yes, sir,” I was just making myself compliant so they couldn’t read my aura easily. I would decide later if I was going to be compliant.

“We will need to get you to sign a new contract,” Harold continued. “If we are doing this, it will need to be a longer-term contract and exclusive. Going against a crime, Boss is no small thing.”

I nodded, not reacting more than the minimum.

“Great,” he said enthusiastically. “You stay here. Eve will get the contract, and I will organise getting you out of the city.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“We will be back soon,” they smiled and left. I heard the office door snib as they closed it.

Why would they do that? Did they think I was going to do a runner?

Then, my enhanced hearing heard Harold say to Eve, “Use the five-year exclusive contract. By then, we should have him on permanent staff. With the savings we have made to date, when he gets to Bronze, we should be raking it in. We can probably cancel the silver rankers because he is not going into the Astral space.”

“Yes, sir,” Eve said.

I was absolutely going to do a runner. I was not going to spend my life working for this crowd. Shit, it is like two bosses are fighting over me.

I resolved then that I was never going to work under a boss again. I would be my own boss. I would be an adventurer and only work the contracts I chose.

I looked around. Harold's office was on the second floor. To get out, I would have to get past his personal assistant and the administration workers downstairs and then through the yard. I looked out Harold’s window. He looked out over the main yard toward the gate.

I went to the window on the other side of the office. It was smaller, as that was the side that had no sun. I jumped up and saw there was a cart track and then the wall of the yard. I would have to get out the window and down the wall of the building, cross the track and then scale the wall of the yard to get out. That was tricky but doable.

I heard Eve’s footsteps approaching, so I moved back to the main window and looked out as if I had been there the whole time. I calmed my mind. The company was going to look after me and help me. I made myself believe it.

The door opened, and Eve came in with some paperwork, “This is the contract for you. Harold will be fine if you use his desk. He is organising you to go on the afternoon wagons to Logging Village 1, and from there, we will get some adventurers to escort you to Stillwater. This is costing us a lot, you know. I hope you are grateful.”

“I am, thank you. I will need to read this through.”

“That’s fine. Harold will be back in an hour. He is popping down to the adventure society. You stay here. I need to get back to work. Phil is just outside the door if you need anything.”

I nodded, “Thanks again.”

I put the papers on the desk and pulled up the chair on the visitor's side. I figured sitting in Harold’s chair wouldn’t do me any favours. Eve looked at me for a minute and then left. I heard the door click again. I listened to her footsteps leaving. I could hear Phil working in the outer office.

I walked quietly over to the door. It didn’t make sense there was a lock on the outside. There wasn’t. It was just the catch making a noise. The door was not locked, but it could be from the inside. I debated locking it. It would probably make a noise. I left it for now and pulled a chair under the small window. It was designed to open out with hinges at the top. I opened it as far as it would go. I was not going to squeeze out that even though I was a small Leonid.

I looked at the hinges. Could I take the whole window off so I could squeeze out? The hinges were nailed to the wooden frame. I grabbed the window in one hand and sharpened my claws in the other. My claw easily sliced through the hinges, and I was left holding the detached window in my other hand. I manoeuvred the window through the gap and leaned it against the wall.

Step one is done. I looked around the office. Was there anything I could take that would help? I did a quick search. The safe was locked tight. The only thing I found was a small knife. I slipped it onto my belt even though my claws would be better.

I climbed up on the chair again and looked out. Nobody was around. I hoisted myself out the window so the sill was against my stomach, reached around, and manoeuvred so I was sitting on the sill. I was very careful not to bump against anything. The building was clad in Ironwood, of course. I sharpened the claw on my hands, and they cut into the wood so they would take some of my weight. I manoeuvred, so I could stand on the sill.

I sharpened my feet' claws and kicked them into the wood, then climbed down the outside of the building, leaving small punctures where my hands and feet had been. I dropped onto the track and crossed to the outer wall. This was wood as well and was about the average height of a Leonid, so head and shoulders above me. The top of the wall was lined with spikes.

I used my claws to climb up and then cut the spikes with a claw so I could get over easily. I was sitting on the wall, about to swing my legs over and jump down to the road outside the wall, when I heard a scream. My first thought was that I had been seen, but then I realised the scream was coming from the city side of the wall. Then there were more screams and the sounds of fighting. What on earth was happening? Then, a dead man stumbled around the corner from a side street, but he didn’t fall down. He kept walking. He was obviously dead, with a huge cut down his face and all the skin gone on one side. His eyes were blank, and his walk was a bit jerky, but he kept coming.

What the fuck?