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 –” 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.

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“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.

—-

“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 – 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 – that is, training exercises and meditation – 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:

1. MEDITATION HOURS: ???

2. CAPS COLLECTED IN TRAINING: ???

3. PLUS POINTS: ???

4. TARGET WARD RATING: ???

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 – 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:

1. Complete my expense reports, VP on 13th Floor (50 points)

2. Take my car in for maintenance (50 points)

3. Daily coffee from favorite cafe uptown (5 points per day)

“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 – 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?”