Nigel’s phone alarm sounded. He realized that he only had two minutes before the grace period for accepting the assignments was ending. He opened the app, then accepted the assignment without looking.

Nigel’s chest felt tight; he longed to have even one more minute with Jet.

As Nigel’s mind began to clear, he read the assignment description—and wished he had read it before accepting it:

Greetings Nigel,

I hope this finds you well.

Collective Systems is pleased to offer you the following assignment.

Title: Recon Mission

Need reconnaissance performed on a local target. The proprietor of Better Buy Computers is a person of interest for The Collective. Please provide information on his daily routine. This individual has served in both the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA). Proceed with caution.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Nigel was stunned. Mr. Henry?

Nigel received two more alerts on his phone, both from the Collective Systems app.

“RECALL FAILED: Recon Mission.”

“Assignment sent in error, automation failed, please manually delete messages from app.”

Nigel performed the requested actions, then tapped the verify button.

“APP VERIFICATION IN PROGRESS. DO NOT TURN OFF.”

Several minutes later, he was able to access the app normally. The assignment was gone.

What just happened?

Nigel was confounded; not only did he receive conflicting information about an assignment, but the nature of the assignment seemed very illegal. Nigel was determined to get to the bottom of this. He picked up the phone and dialed Natasha.

“I’m so sorry,” Natasha said when she picked up. ”You received the wrong assignment. Sometimes the automated system gets garbled and sends the wrong information.”

Nigel frowned.

“That is only partially why I called. The assignment described my friend, Mr. Henry, in detail, and it wanted me to eavesdrop on his business. I didn’t sign up to be a snitch.”

“Clearly, you’re upset. I will get to the bottom of this mix-up and call you back soon.”