Colin's posts

Jaden recoiled for a moment when he was handed the drink.

"Uh..." he stammered, before accepting it.

"Uh..." he repeated, as the bartender laughed a little.

"A tenner." he said, while Jaden looked at the alcohol.

He then took a drink of the liquid, before recoiling more violently.

"HAAAH!" he exhaled loudly.

"Holy HELL!" he exclaimed.

Jaden's eyes widened when he read the paper.

"....what." he said bluntly, as the bartender returned.

As he did, Jaden stuffed the paper in his pocket to hide it away.

"Here you go." the bartender said to the woman, handing her her drink.

"As you requested." he said.

".....hm." Jaden mumbled, looking at the alcohol.

"You got it!" the bartender responded, before going to make the drink.

Jaden, meanwhile, looked at the woman when she said what she did.

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "I am, huh?" he asked her further.

"All right then...." he muttered, slamming down his drink.

"Enlighten me." he told her.

"What am I getting drafted... I mean... volunteered... to do?" he asked her.

"Mm." the man mumbled.

"Fancy that." he said, as the bartender returned.

"Here y'go Jaden." he told the man.

"Thanks." Jaden responded.

"How about you?" the bartender then asked the one that had just joined Jaden.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked her.

He froze when he heard that.

"....hello." he replied.

"And I'll survive." he told them.

"These tests are necessary, remember?" he asked.

"Just.... ugh." he then grumbled, shaking his head.

"You KNOW nobody would miss them." he then added.

The atmosphere could best be described as 'intense and high energy'.

The place would have been completely dark, if not for the pulsing multi-coloured lights that illuminated the area, exposing a lot of people.

People that were dancing, people that were making out, people that were drinking, people that were clearing using things they oughtn't to.

It was one of the more popular, but seedier, clubs in the city. People of all kinds showed up here, and they brought all their money to the place.

But there was one in the club that wasn't partaking in any of the high-energy or mind-altering activities. He was sitting at the bar, arm on the bar itself, holding onto a glass with some liquid in it, his other arm held up, his hand palm open, with his cheek resting in it.

He was dressed in faded jeans, black sneakers, a grey tee-shirt, and a black woollen hat... with large blond bangs sticking out from underneath it.

He downed what was in his glass, as one of the males behind the bar approached him.

"Refill?" he asked.

"Yeh." was all the patron responded with, as he looked left and right, taking in the people around him.

"...nobody'd ever miss ONE of them." he mumbled under his breath. "It'd be TOO damn easy..." he muttered further, befor sighing.

Sharp just nodded and smiled.

"Indeed." he said.

"At any rate, have a good day." he told her.

"And if you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone." he went on.

"I hire good people, willing to help."

"Ah!" Sharp exclaimed.

"Yes, indeed." he said.

"If he still has his job after this, I'll tell you this much..." he told her.

"I don't know if Illias has told you this, but you're above him now." he said further. "HE reports to YOU, should you want something from that station." he informed her.

"Of course, that's assuming he retains his position for whatever reason." he then added.

Sharp nodded.

"Very well." he said.

"Again, nice to have met you." he commented.

"And welcome to the team." he said further.

"I look forward to many years of service with you." he told her with a sincere smile.

"And feel free to tour this place." he went on.

"You DO work here now, after all." he chuckled.

"Very well." Sharp replied.

"And every so often you'll be required to come here to San Diego for the occasional staff meeting and seminar." he then told her.

"Just so you know." he said.

"Beyond that, here." he then said, handing her a pair of business cards.

"My business card, and the bank I use." he informed her.

"They'll be able to cash that cheque I just gave you, or if you like, they can transfer the funds straight to YOUR bank." he continued.

"Oh, and we'll need your bank info if you want direct deposit." he then added.

Sharp nodded.

"Of course." he replied.

"You'll officially start work in a little over a month's time." he told her.

"I do hope that is enough time to upgrade your system and get it up and running." he said.

"In the meantime, do you need a place to stay while here?" he asked.

"You are free to use the guest dorms we have on site, or we will be more than willing to pay for any motel costs you incur until the date of your return trip home."

Sharp nodded.

"There is." he replied.

"We also have a special program for you to organize your work and notes and such on." he told her.

"Very streamlined. We try to make things easier for our remote employees." he went on.

"But we have several versions, some run better on various machines." he said further.

"You'll have to let us know what your computer's specs are, so we can give you the optimal version."

"Not really." Sharp replied.

"Most of them know who we are and the kinds of people we hire, but some don't." he told her.

"Do not bring it up first. Wait until they prove themselves to be trustworthy, in your eyes." he said.

"Use your own judgement." he went on.

"And obviously we're not expecting you to drive out to your areas all the time. That would be silly." he then told her. "You'll need to make bi-monthly visits or so, but... you can do most of your work from home, on a computer." he continued.

"Can your current machine do that, or will you need to upgrade?" he asked.

"Indeed." Hal replied.

"You have several areas that you'll be in charge of." he told her.

"More specifically, your hometown, Windsor, ranging up to the Greater Toronto Area" he listed off.

"That can be a lot of work, so anyone willing to take it on, as well as the potential danger that comes with it, gets a signing bonus." he told her, as he wrote on the cheque that was on top, tore it off, and then handed it towards her.

"Here." he said.

"This should suffice. It's a month's worth of pay." he told her.

When Averie looked at it, and did the math in her head, she realized that she was going to be getting paid a little over twice what she had been making before... which resulted in a very substantial sum that she had just been handed.