Chapter 2: DEAL
1293 Words
Nate stared at his phone screen, refreshing his banking app for the fifteenth time in two minutes.
Available Balance: $100,000,000.00
It didn't disappear. It didn't glitch. It didn't reveal itself as some cruel joke. One hundred million dollars sat in his account like it had always been there, casual as breathing.
His hands shook.
Twenty minutes ago, he had been dying in an alley. Now he stood under a flickering streetlight with enough money to buy Dylan's entire company ten times over.
The System interface appeared again, unbidden.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Welcome, Host.
You have many questions. I will answer three. Choose wisely.
Remaining Questions: 3/3
Nate's mind raced. Three questions. Only three. What did he need to know most?
"What are you?" he asked aloud, feeling ridiculous talking to empty air.
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
I am the Wealth Redistribution Algorithm, an advanced AI designed to use resource allocation through behavioral modification experiments. I redistribute wealth from statistical probability pools—stock markets, cryptocurrency fluctuations, offshore accounts, criminal enterprises.
Every dollar you receive is taken from someone else's potential earnings. Nothing is created. Everything is redistributed.
Remaining Questions: 2/3
Nate's stomach twisted. Someone else's money. Not created from thin air, but stolen. No—not stolen. Redistributed. The System's word choice felt deliberate.
"What do you want from me?"
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
I need you to complete missions that test human behavioral patterns under extreme wealth acquisition. Your choices, moral compromises, and psychological evolution provide valuable data.
Success increases your rewards and capabilities. Failure results in financial penalties and potential contract termination.
You cannot refuse missions once accepted. You cannot tell others about my existence. Violations result in immediate termination of the contract and memory modification.
Remaining Questions: 1/3
Memory modification. The threat sent ice down his spine.
One question left. Nate needed to know the most important thing.
"Can I quit?"
The System's response took longer this time. When it appeared, the text seemed to pulse with something almost like satisfaction.
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
Yes. At any time, you may terminate our contract.
All wealth acquired through me will be redistributed. All upgrades will be removed. All memories of our arrangement will be erased. You will return to the exact state you were in before acceptance—bleeding, broken, dying in an alley.
The timeline will adjust. You will have never been saved.
Do you wish to terminate now?
Remaining Questions: 0/3
"No," Nate said quickly. "No, I don't."
He wasn't going back to that alley. Wasn't going back to being nobody, nothing, stepped on and forgotten.
The System interface shifted.
[MISSION UPDATE]
FIRST MISSION: Active
Target: Robert Myles
Objective: Expose crimes and force bankruptcy
Time Remaining: 71 hours, 43 minutes
Available Resources:
Capital: $100,000,000
Intelligence Network: LOCKED (Unlock at Mission 5)
Physical Enhancement: LOCKED (Unlock at Mission 10)
Legal Team: AVAILABLE (Cost: $500,000/month)
Recommended Approach: Hire a private investigator. Secure evidence. Coordinate with the housing authority. Leak to the media.
Warning: Target has connections to organized crime. Proceed with caution.
Organized crime. Of course, Robert Myles had connections. Slumlords always did.
Nate pulled up his contacts, scrolling past Valerie's name…deleted and Dylan's…soon to be deleted, until he found what he needed. Marcus Caesar. Marcus was a private investigator Nate had met at a networking event months ago, back when he'd still believed hard work and connections mattered.
The call connected after two rings.
"Nate? Jesus, man, do you know what time it is?"
"Four in the morning. I need your help."
"Are you okay? You sound—"
"I'm fine. Better than fine." Nate paced the empty street, energy buzzing through his upgraded body. "I need everything you can find on Robert Myles. The landlord. Buildings across downtown, Silver Lake, Echo Park."
Silence. Then: "Robert Myles? Nate, that guy is connected. Real connected. Whatever he did to you, it's not worth—"
"Name your price, Marcus."
"What?"
"Your price. For a complete investigation. Bank records, property files, tenant complaints, everything. How much?"
Marcus laughed nervously. "For Robert Myles? Assuming I don't end up in the harbor wearing concrete shoes? Fifty grand. Minimum."
"Done. I'll wire you a hundred thousand. Fifty now, fifty when you deliver results. I need everything within forty-eight hours."
The silence stretched longer this time.
"Nate, where the hell did you get a hundred thousand dollars?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yeah, it kind of does. If you robbed a bank or—"
"I didn't rob anyone." Technically true. The System did the robbing. Redistributing. Whatever. "The money's clean. Do you want the job or not?"
He could hear Marcus breathing, weighing his options, probably thinking about his own maxed-out credit cards and overdue rent.
"Send half now. I'll start digging tonight."
Nate transferred fifty thousand with three taps on his phone. The money moved like water, effortless, barely a dent in his hundred million.
"Received," Marcus said, his voice tight with disbelief. "Nate, seriously, what's going on?"
"I'll explain later. Just get me what I need."
He ended the call before Marcus could ask more questions.
The System interface has been updated.
[MISSION UPDATE]
Resources Allocated: $50,000
Investigator Retained: Marcus Ceasar (Private Investigator)
Time Remaining: 71 hours, 38 minutes
New Objective Available: Secure legal representation for the tenant class action lawsuit.
Recommended Firm: Morrison & Associates (Success Rate: 87% | Cost: $250,000 retainer)
Nate pulled up the law firm's website. Morrison & Associates. Big name, bigger reputation. They'd handled cases against corporations, corrupt officials, and even a senator.
But it was 4 AM. Nobody would answer.
His phone buzzed. Unknown number.
"Mr. Worte?" A woman's voice, crisp and professional despite the hour. "This is Jennifer Morrison. I understand you're interested in retaining our services."
Nate froze. "How did you…"
"We were informed you might call. Someone very persuasive suggested we make ourselves available." She paused. "Someone who paid our emergency consultation fee of fifty thousand dollars on your behalf."
The System. It had to be.
"I need to build a case against Robert Myles," Nate said.
"The landlord. Yes, we're familiar with his work. Also familiar with his legal team and his... other associations." Papers rustled in the background. "Mr. Worte, I'll be direct. Taking on Robert Myles will be expensive, dangerous, and time-consuming. Our retainer for a case of this magnitude is two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Additional costs will likely exceed half a million."
"What's your success rate?"
"Against targets like Myles? Eighty-seven percent. But those cases took months, sometimes years."
"I don't have years. I have three days."
Jennifer Morrison laughed. "Mr. Worte, that's impossible. Building a case requires—"
"I'll have complete evidence delivered within forty-eight hours. Bank records, tenant testimonies, building code violations, everything. All you need to do is file the paperwork and coordinate with the housing authority."
The laughter stopped. "If you can deliver that kind of evidence in forty-eight hours, we can have him in court within seventy-two."
"Then we have a deal."
"I'll send over the retainer agreement. Mr. Worte?" Her voice softened slightly. "Whoever gave you our number also sent a very detailed file on Robert Myles's activities. Whoever your benefactor is, they're extremely well-informed."
The call ended.
Nate looked up at the System interface hovering in his vision.
[MISSION UPDATE]
Resources Allocated: $300,000 (Total)
Legal Team Retained: Morrison & Associates
Investigator Active: Marcus Ceasar
Time Remaining: 71 hours, 29 minutes
Mission Probability of Success: 67%
Note: You are performing adequately. Continue.
Adequately. Nate smiled despite himself.
The sky was beginning to lighten, purple fading to gray. Somewhere across the city, Dylan was probably still asleep in Nate's old penthouse, in Nate's old bed, with Nate's old fiancée.
Let him sleep. Let him enjoy it.
In seventy-one hours, Nate would destroy Robert Myles. And then?
Then Dylan's turn would come.
- Writer
