Mr. Forsythe continued without any change in tone or break in the conversational flow. “That is a fair price for both parties. It works out to be about sixty-five hundred pounds per square yard for the skin on average, and the rest is made up of the remaining materials.”

Rory just barely stopped himself from moving.

This is it! This can save us!

Everything would be better. Mum would go to rehab and maybe go back to before after some time. He could invest in himself and grow strong.

Thank you, Lucifer!

Rory had thankfully managed to not let much of that show. It looked like it didn’t matter anyway, as the man across from him was still too distracted by their previous topic to pay attention to what Rory did give away with his fidgeting.

With as little emotion as possible leaking from his voice, Rory asked. “And who do you need authorization from to answer my other questions?” His hands were shaking in his lap under the table.

Forsythe cleared his throat. “I need to make a few calls. Would you excuse me?”

“Can we conclude the other business first?” Rory asked anxiously.

Nodding absent-mindedly, Forsythe touched a few things on his pad and passed it over. It was a contract to sell the snakes for two million pounds. Rory gave up any right to the snakes and anything inside of them. That was it. Nothing else. He signed it quickly and handed it back. His shaking hands showed, but again, the man didn’t notice. Forsythe counter-signed, pressed the tablet a few times, and put it down. A few seconds later Rory’s ring gave him an alert and he checked it. It projected a message to him from the bank that two million pounds had just been deposited into his personal account.

“Make your calls,” Rory said in a voice that shook like his hands. “I’ll visit the loo while you do that.”

Forsythe nodded and left the office.

Rory walked to the pristine men’s room, went into a translucent force barrier stall, and sat. His eyes closed slowly and tears fell from them onto his lap. He put his elbows on his thighs, his face in his hands, and his shoulders shook as he cried. A silent racking breakdown that seemed never-ending shook his body, as tears fell and it seemed would never stop.

For another minute or two, that was all that happened in the otherwise empty bathroom. Just one teenager crying at both his pain and, at last, his victory.

I did it, Da. I did it.

Finally, after who knew how long, Rory managed to take a few shuddering breaths. He stood, washed his hands and face well, and looking into the mirror that was projecting advertisements for Cosmica in the corners and across the top.

Staring at himself, Rory reflecting how much had changed. It was obvious to anyone that knew. He was clearly larger. Both taller and much more muscular. He was clean and healthy for one thing. He drank clear water now. Ate nutritious food, took care of his body, wore new clothes. And he was a hunter, making money and becoming self-sustaining and independent. Rory took off his gloves and rolled up his tear-soaked sleeves. His inscriptions were the last piece of evidence that eight years of misery and helplessness were in the past. He was a new man and he had a future. His mum had a future. He’d finally done it.

Gathering himself, he changed his wet clothes, straightened his back, and returned at a slow walk to Forsythe’s office.

Rory found it empty so he sat and took out his tablet and started in on his list. First, he made an appointment at the best rehab facility on the planet for tomorrow afternoon. He realized he would have to take a private transport there, so he booked that in advance as well.

He then sent a brief vid-comm to Steph saying hi, letting her know that he’d stopped by for other business but that she had not been there and the lady who replaced her was a git. And finally, he told her he missed her a lot and looked forward to seeing her in a few days.

As Rory ended the comm, he admitted to himself he was maybe feeling a bit… emotional and wanted to share. And frankly, her face was the first that came into his mind.

After that, he started looking for flats near transbuses that could get him to the mine and his eventual future hunting grounds across the planet. He found a few and reserved a handful of times to tour them the following evening. Could he do that on the tablet? Of course he could. But Rory wanted to physically see them. Who knew what sort of bullocks they sold people like him who didn’t know what he should expect?

Moving down the list, he realized he wasn’t ready to buy his own transport vehicle yet. That would require a ton of research, of which he had completed a total of zero hours, zero minutes, and zero seconds.

Rather than spend time on that, Rory remotely purchased some more advanced camping supplies as were recommended by the GalNet experts, including pre-cooked food, a portable shower, and a better tent. He scheduled to pick them up later.

His commo, earpiece, and tablet were brand new and more than advanced enough for him, so no need there. He also already had new clothes and as he didn’t have his armor yet, armor enhancements were a no. And finally, his body was still changing too rapidly as it was, so that eliminated body enhancements.

Having dispensed with shopping, Rory reflecting on his recent experiences. He tried to figure out what other ways he needed to invest in himself.

What he came up with was to do some research on classes he could take on any number of topics. After a few minutes, he decided to sign up for one class, at least initially. It was to teach him how to fight. He was well aware that his lack of combat experience and knowledge was a pretty big weakness of his. There were no classes specifically for chakram, unsurprisingly, so he went with one that specialized in quickness and precise movements called Eskrima. It would take place every other morning with a new class starting in four days. That schedule would be a pain in the neck for his hunting given his transport time, but he felt it would be worth it. Or at least he hoped it would be.

He couldn’t think of any other classes he needed that he could not take on GalNet, so instead he looked up what most rich hunters did with their money. The results were fascinating, diverse, and educational.

In summary, invest, invest, invest.

***

Mr. Forsythe returned in the midst of Rory researching investing in businesses. He was wearing a pensive look on his face as he sat down. “Master Rory, the company appreciates the materials you have provided to date very much and it wants to maintain a positive relationship going forward. We feel… I feel… you will continue to provide material and likely purchase our products into the future. That being said, what you have told me strains credulity in the minds of our scientists and leaders. They feel it is more likely a beast simply not recorded in our system, or perhaps a custom-bred creature. And the risk is all on us if we provide compensation. If the information turns out to be… incorrect, it would be entirely our loss. Do you understand our hesitancy?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Rory nodded and shared his thoughts. “I totally understand, sir. I would do the same and don’t find any of that to be a negative. I’m happy to hear it, actually. I appreciate a good level of paranoia and skepticism and would probably have thought less of you all had you just agreed.”

The man nodded, a relieved smile on his face. “I thought you’d say something similar and told corporate so. I’m relieved I haven’t misjudged you.”

“I assume my compensation would be dependent upon being proven right?” Rory asked.

He nodded in response. “If we can validate your claim, then we will pay you fifty million pounds. That should tell how highly we value the potential of this information. But it is only potential until validated. You get nothing until it can be proven.”

That number was so foreign to Rory he didn’t really have a reaction to it. It was like… well, like being told he’d be able to go among the stars for all eternity. That had not worked out so well.

Rory tapped the table, considering what to do. That particular action, the tapping, had turned into a new habit he had come to like. Rory found it helped him think.

Thanks, Chief!

Eventually, Rory asked another question. “If you didn’t know an element exists, how would you search for it? What if my information is accurate and your people, pardon me for saying so, simply aren’t capable of finding it? Please don’t take that me being insulting, I’m just not sure how else to ask that question.”

“Not at all and it is a fair question” said Forsythe cordially. “The answer is, you lose nothing. Our contract will not have an end date, so if it can ever be proven you will be compensated at that time.”

Rory tapped some more. He probably wasn’t going to get a better offer. And honestly, he felt it was fair. But he wasn’t going just sign immediately.

Can’t look too interested.

“That didn’t actually answer my first question though. How would your people test for an element they didn’t know existed?”

Forsthe’s answer surprised me. “I have no idea. That is why the contract will be open-ended. It could take quite a bit of time.”

Rory was satisfied with the potential and the man was right. It cost him nothing but laid a few critical seeds for the future. The truth was, he had come to accept the reality that, eventually, his death element would get out. It was inevitable unless he never intended to spend any vessels on it or never use it outside of the mines. Being trapped down there forever was absolutely not going to happen, nor was not investing in something so potentially powerful. Thus his element being witnessed by others was inevitable at some point. So in his mind, the less of a surprise it was when that happened, the better for him. And what made this whole agreement even better was that the ones who would validate the death element’s existence were an irrefutable source: Cosmica Engineering.

Having considered as many angles as he could think of, there was only one thing left to do.

“I agree.”

***

An hour and forty minutes later, they both signed the contract. Rory had used that time to research all about the topic he was going to discuss and prepare mentally for what he was about to do.

“Our team is assembled,” Mr. Forsythe told him. “Let me bring them up on the vid projector and we can have our open discussion.”

“They know the rules?” Rory asked.

The contract explicitly stated Rory would not have to share anything besides the type of creature and its element. The where’s, how’s, who’s, and such were all remaining with him.

A few minutes later, a desk-sized projection appeared, showing Rory a room filled with what he presumed were Cosmica’s sciencey types. Mr. Forsythe kicked it off. Rory thought maybe he’d get a promotion or raise from all this. Good for him! He’d earned it as far as Rory was concerned – not that he had any idea what went into such things.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” Forsythe called to the group. “We have with us here on Queen’s Gate the provider of the material you have in front of you now. You may call him ‘R’ for the purposes of this discussion.”

Rory confirmed that they did indeed have his original two-by-two inch sample in front of them. The roll was probably locked away or being experimented on. Or both. Hopefully, they’d skip the groping.

“This young man, who has provided us with even more material – including a fully intact terra basilisk I might add – has told us why you have been unable to identify the material in front of you. I will turn it over to him now.”

He then nodded to me and I sat forward. “Umm. Hello everyone,” I said with a little wave. Rory had to admit to a level of intimidation from all the brains on the other side of the comm. He was self-aware enough to know that he wasn’t exactly smart. But he was also aware that this was for his future, so he cleared his throat and spoke up. “So, the reason you haven’t been able to figure out what creature it’s from is because it was never publicly registered.” He could see and hear there were some whispers and mutters, but not hear what was said.

Rory turned to Forsythe and whispered, “Can I ask them questions?” He nodded. Turning back Rory said, “The terra basilisk I sold to your company today is an interesting place to start the conversation. What do you all know of basilisks as a species?”

One guy with short black hair and a weird but wide swirly mustache on the left asked, “What does this have to do with anything, R? Just tell us and we can all get to work.”

The “R” was quite derisive in his tone. That guy clearly didn’t like Rory for some reason. Rory thought his accent was a rather smarmy too.

Mr. Forsythe cleared his throat to regather their attention. “R is here to provide the information you need, not necessarily the information you want. I recommend you listen.”

“Do we know his name?” Rory whispered.

Forsythe checked his tablet for a few seconds and said, “Doctor Preston.”

Rory nodded his thanks and said, “Okay. Back to my question. Basilisks. What do you know about them?”

A black-haired younger lady on the right answered first. “To my knowledge, which I admit is incomplete, terra basilisks are almost always found in forest, jungle, and mountainous environs. They produce an extremely aggressive acid and reproduce only about once an Earth century-and-a-quarter. That’s not exact of course, it’s simply an average and rounded for ease of discussion. There have been reports of Fire basilisks near extreme heat sources and are known to cause great destruction through wildfires and the like. Water basilisks are obviously found in large bodies of water and are known to cause severe flooding or drought. There are no reports of any other element that I’ve read, although the fact that those three exist seems to lead one to believe it’s possible.”

Rory smiled as he responded. “That’s excellent, thank you. What’s your name?”

“Dr. Cynthia Graves.”

“Thank you, Dr. Graves. Does anyone know anything else to supplement Dr. Grave’s excellent answer?”

“What else matters? And who cares?” That was spoken out loud by the mustached guy but not fully projected.

“I’m so glad you asked,” Rory said back enthusiastically. “Why don’t you tell me how Basilisks gain their element?”

“Obviously they are born by the parents of a species. Why are we still on this topic? This is a waste of time. Just tell us what the damn thing is and get lost!” He was pointing and almost shouting at the end.

As he had seen some enforcers do when they wanted to intimidate without using physical violence, Rory stared at him through the projector for a full minute with his lips pursed and his glare obvious.

Most of the room’s residents were fidgeting by the time Rory spoke again. “No. That is not how.”

Then he turned to Mr. Forsythe and asked loud enough so they would all hear on the comm. “Is Dr. Moustache there really one of your best? Cause right now seems like an arrogant, uninformed git.”

Forsythe coughed into his hand but did answer. “Everyone in that room is an expert in their field.”

“And what’s Dr. Moustache’s expertise?” Rory asked, still loudly. “Clearly, it’s not snakes.”

After looking at his tablet, his eyebrows rose. “Actually, it looks like he is one of our experts on the evolution of reptiles and how their evolutions can impact changes in armor.”

“Are you kidding?” Rory exclaimed. “That moron? I thought you told me only your best were going to be on the comm.”

The moron in question raised his voice then. “Who the hell do you think you are? I’ve been studying reptiles longer than you’ve been alive. What could you possibly know? In fact, I would wager everything you are about to tell us is a lie just trying to get money from the company. I think we should sew you for the wasted time.”

Rory turned to Forsythe who had his hand on his forehead as he looked down. “What do you think, Mr. Forsythe?”

“Dr. Preston,” Forsythe said firmly. “You should really stop making business recommendations. In fact, I advise you not to speak again until you are asked a direct question.”

“You’re taking his side over mine?” Dr. Moustache spluttered. “Are you insane? I demand your supervisor join this comm right now.”

“I’m already here, doctor,” a new voice said over the comm.