Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Big City League

Driving along, John and Jamar look outside. We’re greeted to several hundred homes, the American dream but only for a select few, block after block the same home designs with lawns, with the occasional kid playing on the street.

“Nice isn’t it?” Jamar says.

“Yeah.”

“Makes you wonder, why we live on the streets when people are living the dream.”

Jamar looks over as he sees kids running away as their mother calls them back inside.

“You think they give a shit?”

“About what?”

“About us.”

John lets out a small laugh.

“You think they even know we exist?”

Driving along they slowly come to a stop in a parking lot. Right across from them a building with the sign, Red Hat Securities. It’s relatively large, several floors, with a basic FOB system.

“Looks like this is the place.” Jamar says.

“Mhmm.”

“Any idea of how you’re going to get in?”

John looks at the time on his phone, it’s about after lunch.

“Yeah. That’s the easy part. Don’t even know what the guy looks like, or where he is.”

Jamar sighs.

“I knew this was going to be a bad idea.”

John gets out of the car.

He begins to walk towards the building as Jamar looks over at him confused.

“Hey, wait. Where are you going.”

John waves at him.

“Relax, I’ll be right back.”

“Are you crazy? You’re not even wearing a mask or anything!?” Jamar shouts from across the parking lot as John just smiles.

Walking into a crowd, John follows them as they head into the building.

Jamar looks over confused.

“What the fuck?”

Discreetly looking around the first floor, John notices a receptionist desk.

He walks over.

At the desk a young woman is standing in front, she busily answers the phone as she quickly transfers and routes calls to other people.

John looks at her with a smile as she glances up.

“One moment please.”

John leans onto the counter as he looks around.

Putting down the phone, the Receptionist looks over at John.

“Hey, so… A friend of mine was supposed to come to a meeting but he didn’t end up showing up. I was wondering if you could help me out and tell me which floor he’s on.”

The Receptionist looks at her computer and begins to type something.

“Name?”

John looks around as he spots a security guard before leaning forward.

“Elliot Anderson”

“One moment.” The Receptionist says as she picks up another phone call, while typing.

“Yes, he’s in, I can transfer you.”

John glances over at the security guard that makes his way towards a doorway.

He checks his phone as it begins to vibrate.

On it, there are several messages from Jamar as John sighs.

“Sorry for the wait.” The Receptionist says.

“He’s on the third floor, cubicle number 308. Should I call to let him know you’re coming?”

John’s phone rings again as he picks it up.

“Oh hey, Elliot.

“Where the fuck are you?” Jamar shouts.

“Haha, funny story, I was just at the receptionist's desk asking about you.”

John waves at the Receptionist and gives her a thumbs up.

“Oh? Is it urgent? I’m on my way up right now.”

John walks away as the Receptionist seems to ignore him as she picks up another call.

“Ok? Talk to you soon, I’m about to enter the elevator.”

He joins a crowd around an elevator as he walks inside with them.

Pressing on the button 3, he waits as the others ignore him.

Walking out of the elevator, John looks around as he scans through the cubicles.

Stopping at one, he looks inside. Cubicle number 308. 

There’s a laptop around a monitor setup, relatively clean with no body inside, John looks around as he walks inside. Taking out the chip, he plugs it into the laptop as it begins to turn on as a progress bar showing an update begins to appear..

“Hey are you the new guy?” A voice calls out.

John looks over and smiles.

“Yeah.” He says.

“We need someone to help with the interviews with the kids from the foundation, we aren’t really going to hire any of them so can you just show up for me? Jason on his lunch break.” The man says.

“Sure, why not.”

“Great, the interviews are on the fifth floor. In the meeting room. Take that with you. It should have the questions they want you to ask on it.”

“Don’t worry about.” John says taking a clipboard.

“Thanks, I’m heading out for lunch so good luck.” The man says walking away.

Watching the update finish, John takes the chip out of the computer and begins to walk away.

Entering into the elevator, he hits the 1st floor button.

As he’s about to exit, he runs into another person.

Falling to the ground, John grabs the back of his head as he looks up to see a young man stumbling to pick up a bunch of papers on the ground. Around them people begin to look over, as a few security guards raise their eyebrows.

“Sorry-” The man awkwardly says.

Looking at the scene, John offers to help him.

“Here, take this.”

Finishing clean up, John takes his stuff and heads towards the exit.

Exiting the office building, he lets out a breath of air.

“Ah.”

Taking out his phone, he calls Jamar as he begins to walk back to the parking lot.

“Yeah, it’s done.”

“Holy shit, already? No way, you’re full of shit.” Jamar says unconvinced.

“Alright, believe whatever you want. You still there?”

“Yeah, I knew you were going to chicken out.”

“I’m not messing with you. I’ll be there soon.”

Walking into the parking lot, John makes his way towards the car. Putting his arms out, he puts on a grin as he enters the car.

Jamar looks down at John’s hands seeing a clipboard.

“No fucking way.”

“Too easy.”

Jamar sighs.

“You’re the luckiest son of a bitch I know.”

John shakes his head.

“It wasn’t luck.”

“Ah, man whatever. Let’s head back. Sick of seeing this shit anyways, you know how many people I heard talking about herbal supplements and anal suppositories. Ugh.”

Pulling out from his parking spot, Jamar begins to drive away.

 

---

 

The sun is setting as John and Lamar stroll through the neighborhood again. The streets are empty as presumably they’ve all gone inside to have dinner.

Jamar turns to John as he still doesn’t believe it.

“There’s no way you actually did it. Who’d you take the clipboard from anyways?”

“Some guy just gave it to me.”

“Why?”

“Thought I was Elliot apparently, didn’t even know his name.”

“Huh, no shit?”

John looks through the files on the clipboard.

“Yeah, apparently he’s new.”

Skimming through them, he stops at one in particular, it’s a resume.

“What’s that?”

“A resume. Mmm. Not bad. Says he has a Master’s in Computer Science. Even won a few competitions, Placed third in PicoCTF. Not bad.”

“What the heck is PicoCTF?”

“It’s a security competition. Some of the techies used to talk about it. It’s pretty big.”

Jamar looks through the rear view mirror as he sees a car slowly following them with its lights off. He glares at it as a black silhouette can barely be seen.

“Hold on, I think we’re being followed.” Jamar says.

Taking a turn on a corner, Jamar looks back to see the car still on their tail.

“Who do you think it is? Another security group?”

“I don’t know.” He replies.

Waiting a while, he takes another turn, this time the car continues on as Jamar seems relieved.

Continuing on the road, Jamar and John sit in silence.

“Whoever they are, looks like they’re gone.” John says looking back.

Stopping at a red light, police strobe lights begin to flare from the rear view mirror as Jamar closes his eyes.

“Ah, fuck.” John says.

Jamar signals as he turns onto the shoulder.

With his hands on the wheel Jamar looks over at John who looks at the rearview mirror. The police door opens as a police officer comes out. He closes the door as he walks towards them Pulling out his radio, he says something into it as he stares at them.

A knock comes from the window as Jamar looks over.

He smiles. As the Officer signals for him to lower his windows. He complies.

“Evening, Officer.” Jamar says.

“License and registration, please.” The Officer responds.

“Of course. It’s in the glove, as for my license.” Jamar looks over at John who opens it up as he searches through sheets of paper while Jamar  reaches into his pockets.

“Here.” Jamar says handing him his license.

John hands over a sheet of paper to Jamar as he passes it along.

“I’ll be right back.” The Officer says.

The Officer walks away as Jamar sighs.

After a moment, the Officer begins to walk back as he coughs, they look over at him.

“Sir, do you know that your insurance is expired?”

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“I know, I know. My friend here was actually getting back from a job interview. We’re short on cash and you know.” Jamar says as John nervously touches his neck.

The Police Officer looks over and stares.

“Yeah, it can be rough out there. So, if you don’t mind me asking, what for?”

“Oh, just a CPA role at some tech company. I don’t think I’m going to get it anyways.”

“My cousins a CPA, it’s hard work.”

“You know, you two are awfully pretty big for people who sit at a desk all day.” The Officer says.

“Oh, yeah. Go to the gym everyday. You know.”

“Mmm.”

The Police Officer hands back the papers to Jamar.

“Drive more carefully, and good luck. You two are free to go.”

“Thanks- Officer” John says.

The Police Officer walks back and gets into his cruiser as John looks toward Jamar.

Jamar sighs.

“Ah, this is why I hate driving this thing. I was scared there that I was going to get fined.”

The Officer drives off as he waves. Jamar nods as John smiles.

“Fuck this shit. Get me out of here.”

Jamar begins to drive off.

“Why don’t you like the police?” John asks.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” Jamar replies.

“Ah, come on. We served in the military, have some pride.”

“That doesn’t mean shit. You wonder what he would have done if you weren’t with me?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ah, nevermind. I ain’t your fucking chauffeur, boy.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Just shut the fuck up already.” Jamar says.

 

---

 

Heading into Club Amor, John and Jamar look inside. Jamar pats John on the shoulder as he leans in to say something.

“I’m going to talk to some of the ladies, you do your thing.” Jamar says.

“Alright.” John replies.

He looks over at a few hosts as he walks up to them.

“Is there something I can help you with?” One of them asks.

“I’m here about a gig. I want to talk to your Manager.”

The Host scoffs.

“If you can’t do it, don’t show your face.” The Host responds condescendingly.

“It’s done.”

“What?” The Host asks.

“Just take me to him.” John replies.

The Host looks up and down at John as he thinks to himself.

“Alright, follow me. Just know if you’re lying, he’ll cut off your neck.”

“Jesus Christ, that’s an escalation.”

“What? So you’re lying?”

“No.”

“Then stop wasting my time and hurry up.” The Host says.

Walking inside of a doorway, we’re greeted to several Mahjong tables where people can be seen gambling and drinking with women as they smoke cigars and drink cheap alcohol.

John glances over as he continues to follow the Host through the area.

The women are scantily dressed, it’s mostly white men with latin american women, notably a few white girls and no asians. Several hosts stand by, with the exception of a few they’re all asian.

A few of the men look over. Some chuckle.

“Who’s the new guy?” They ask.

“A nobody.” The Host replies.

Continuing along, they make their way towards a more private area. Several doors, with blacked out windows, moans and grunts leak out from the walls as John continues to follow the Host along, a few other hosts walk by carrying drinks.

The Host stops in front of a door. On the other side, a woman can be heard moaning.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

He waits for the sound to stop as he looks over at John as if telling him to wait.

The sound stops as the Host waits for a bit, then knocks.

“What is it?” A voice says in Mandarin.

“That guest is back.” The Host responds in Mandarin.

“Already? Tell him to go away.” He says.

“He says it’s done.”

The voice doesn’t respond as the sound of someone zipping up their pants can be heard. The door opens and a face peeks out, it’s the Manager. He looks over at the Host who blinks as he turns towards John who’s next to him.

“You better not be fucking with me.” He says.

The Manager turns back into the room.

“Get out.” He says.

Opening the door, he pushes a hostess out of the room, she’s still naked as she runs off. John looks over, it’s a Venezuelan girl.

“Not bad, huh?” The Manager says.

“Been training her, for our premier customers. Come in.” He continues.

John doesn’t say a word as he stares at the Manager.

The Host and John walk inside as the Manager closes the door behind them.

“Take a seat.” The Manager says.

Walking towards a couch drenched in sweat and other things, John looks at it as he remains standing, turning to look over at the manager who’s now lighting a smoke.

“I think I’m good.” John responds.

“He speaks.” The Manager jokes. As the Host glares over at John before the Manager waves him off. John meets the Host eye to eye.

Taking a seat on the couch, the Manager sighs.

“Well, looking at it from one point, you’re either the man I need for the job or you’re not walking out of here alive.” The Manager says pulling out a glock.

“Check for yourself, the updates all done.”

“We’ll see.” The Manager says pointing the gun at him, he pulls out a phone.

As it rings, John looks around the room.

“Eye here, Gweilo.” The Host shouts firmly.

“Yeah, yeah.” John replies.

The phone picks up as the Manager lets out a cough. 

“Is it done? Do we have a signal?” The Manager asks in Mandarin.

“Yeah, the client’s going to be very happy.”

The Manager looks over at John as he lowers his gun.

“Good.” He responds.

Hanging up his phone, he looks over at him.

“So, when do I get paid?”

“Getting straight to business, huh?” The Manager says throwing his cigarette on the floor. 

He gets up stomping it as he puts on his shirt.

“Bet you’re looking for your next assignment already. Don’t worry, I know the rules. I’ll let the others know about you. But I got another job if you’re interested.”

“Alright. Let’s hear it.”

“Heh, slow down. Gotta get paid first. Am I right?”

Getting up from the couch, the Manager heads towards the door as the Host opens it up. He takes a few bills and hands it to the Host.

“Good job. You can head back up front now.” The Manager says.

“Thank you.” The Host replies bowing to him.

“Come on.” The Manager says as he begins to walk out.

Walking deeper into the building, the Manager and John make their way back to a break room. On the way there they pass by a host moving several stacks of bills on a cart. Euros, Pesos, Dollars, and the most important of them all, Yen.

“Most people think that our business is poor, cheap drinks, easy women. What do you think?”

“I’m learning new things everyday.” John replies.

“Hah. And they say old dogs can’t learn new tricks.” The Manager replies.

Inside the break room, several people are counting cash on move to fill trays and carts. Grabbing a bag the Manager turns towards John.

“Here take this, there should be more than enough. Consider the rest a bonus.” The Manager says throwing the bad toward John. He opens it up. Inside, there are several wads of a 100 Yen Bills stacked up thrown haphazardly inside.

“More than appreciated.” John says with a smile.

“You ready to talk more business or do you need to talk to that friend of yours?”

“Maybe. My partner’s doing this as a side hustle really.”

“Whatever, just come to me when you two are ready.”

John nods.

“Alright.”

The Manager calls over a host who’s watching the operation. He says something in Chinese to him as the Host bows.

“He’ll show you out now.” The Manager says.

 John follows the Host as they head back into the main area.

Out in the main club area, we’re greeted by Lamar who’s somehow become the center of attention. Dancing on top of a pole he’s confidently dancing around making jokes.

He winks at an older man who’s laughing.

“Hey, you like what you see?”

The man laughs as the hostesses around him seem to be enamored.

Seeing John walk in with the Host, Jamar points towards him

“That’s him, that’s my man!”

John looks over and cringes. He looks over at the Host who seems unfazed.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, I see gay men all the time.” The Host responds.

“Oh, he’s not-”

John looks over at Jamar. Who’s running towards him. Jumping towards him, Jamar hugs him.

“You’re still alive, holy shit.”

John raises his eyebrows.

“What?”

“Nothing. Come on, let me introduce you to some of the girls. Some of them are pretty cute.”

John waves him away.

“No, I’m good-”

“Ah, don’t be like, it’ll be a lot of fun.”

John looks over at the Host who begins to walk away.

“Yeah, sure.”

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