Ch.113Work Record 018 – Headhunting (2)

I thought that using real flour instead of soy starch and baking salmon with real butter instead of substitutes seemed quite luxurious for lunch.

Perhaps it was because there was a time when I resolved most of my breakfasts and lunches with calorie packs. Even on days off when I worked for the security team, I habitually prepared calorie packs for meals.

Around the time I was heading home after lunch, a communication request arrived. It was through Heroism and Hope Entertainment Company, and the image appearing in my vision was Ms. Serena. Her expression was unlike her usual self.

Unlike her previous demeanor as a stern police officer, she wore quite a bright smile. Should I be happy about seeing the backstage? After putting her on hold briefly, I went inside my house and connected the call.

Around her voice, I could hear the sound of hospital equipment operating. A persuasion strategy. She was deliberately showing her condition to persuade me on a human-to-human level.

It wasn’t difficult to notice, but I wasn’t particularly offended. Rather, I asked straightforwardly.

“I’m guessing your first words will be ‘Please keep this communication secret from the people at H Entertainment’?”

After a strained breath, laughter leaked out. She put down another layer of pretense and spoke. Probably.

“I wouldn’t treat you like that much of an idiot. Haaah… Yes, H Entertainment ordered this. The noise cancellation was turned off by the person in charge. He’s standing in front of my hospital bed right now with a fucked expression.”

Her language was as rough as Mr. James’s. It wasn’t that these two people were strange, but rather that the Shepherd was unusually calm. Probably. She seemed to choose her words for a moment, then eventually spoke as it came.

“I know why you don’t want to take the request. How pathetic is this situation? The police who should be protecting citizens are doing this kind of shitty business. Have you seen the video?”

“I knew the paper mail was a serious proposal, so I watched it. Your tone was different though. Different enough to require voice dubbing.”

She burst into laughter and coughed painfully. After that, more laughter followed before she spoke.

“Mason, we’re really fucked! The freelancer the company hired even knows about the voice dubbing!”

The proportion of swear words exceeded even Mr. James’s. Mason was probably the person in charge waiting in front of her hospital bed, and his face would be turning pale right now.

“Originally they wanted to use a voice actor, but they said someone might notice the difference from my voice, so they made me do vocal training. Thanks to that, I can now make a cute voice too, so that’s nice, I guess.”

Her voice was full of self-mockery. Seeing her like this made me curious about something. It might be rude, but since she would likely be a future client, I thought I could ask.

“This might be rude, but why go to such lengths? You don’t seem like that kind of person. You just seem like… the typical security team member from Belwether with good responsibility and a rough personality.”

People didn’t necessarily need to be heroes. Those who maintained the minimum level of public safety in Los Angeles in the name of Belwether weren’t heroes, just wage earners.

I heard her mumbling “why go to such lengths” several times. She didn’t get angry. She seemed even more composed than before.

“It’s because this is the only way. Do you know what the situation was like before Heroism and Hope Company acquired the city? The entire DPD had only three or four enhancement suits. And…”

She paused for a moment as if her throat was blocked, then stuffed all the words she was going to say into seven words of cynicism. She was cutting her words short because she didn’t know what kind of person I was.

“Never mind. I didn’t call to sell you some pathetic emotional story. It was just… terrible. The word ‘terrible’ would make it sound too good.”

“And things started to change after Heroism and Hope Company arrived?”

“Yes. Things did change. Citizens don’t die as much anymore. In neighborhoods with good security these days, kids even walk to school.”

When she said this, her voice tone rose slightly as if she was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I could almost see the smile appearing on her face.

However, she wasn’t saying that the murder rate had decreased. Only that “citizens” weren’t dying as much. It was obvious who was dying instead.

“But it seems the wish we made turned out to be a monkey’s paw. That officer who was in my arms when my body was cut in half wasn’t an actor. Just, fuck… it’s our fault.”

She didn’t sob. Instead, she gritted her teeth. It was the wisher’s responsibility to properly understand who they were wishing to. They were the ones who said anyone would do.

“Still, now is better than back then. The city can dream again. We can once again attempt the revitalization project that was on the path to success before the war… just like the company name.”

Detroit had gained heroes and hope. Perhaps for some, that was enough. What they feared wasn’t death, but returning to how things were before.

She revealed her madness to me. All I could hear was the howling of a beast. Though much weaker than the old beast I had seen before, it was terribly desperate.

“I… will protect the city I love and the people who call it home. I must protect them. That’s the duty I’ve chosen and my share of responsibility for approving the city’s merger and acquisition.”

During our brief time at the restaurant, she had seen through me quite well. This was not a trivial matter. She wanted to protect something so badly that she was willing to become a dog of an entertainment mega-corporation that had sold its soul for views.

The beast’s howling subsided. She began to speak human words again. It was quite a realistic conversation.

“Of course, I know well that Mr. Arthur doesn’t have this sense of duty. That’s why H Entertainment chose you. Because you’re just a freelancer with barely a month of experience. Would you mind opening the file you received?”

As she said, I opened the file on the virtual screen in my vision. They were looking for a mercenary who would actually handle criminals while Ms. Serena couldn’t properly operate.

I skimmed through it. At the end, there was even concept art attached. It showed a character wearing an all matte black… outfit that was too stylish to be properly called combat gear even if I was being generous.

The concept art mentioned plans to discuss optical camouflage with Fitts & Morrison or Belwether. The face wasn’t revealed at all, and they were trying to hide the appearance as well.

“I’ve skimmed through it, and it doesn’t seem much different from regular security maintenance work. You just want me to stay in Detroit and hunt, right?”

“No. That’s not the important part… the last concept art is what matters. Do you see the common theme?”

“My identity won’t be revealed at all.”

I heard the sound of a fist hitting a soft mattress. Ms. Serena mixed laughter into her labored breathing.

“That’s it. That unnamed character in there needs to disappear. The viewership can’t be divided. Since Mr. Arthur isn’t some industry legend but a one-month experienced freelancer with no name or face…”

“When the contract period ends, I could vanish as if I never existed. And there’s no one who could recognize me just by my movements.”

“Ah, damn it. Think from your own perspective, not just the company’s. In Detroit, where criminals from all sorts of mega-corporations gather, not having your face exposed is the biggest favor the company can offer.”

When the company’s interests aligned with mine, there were moments when I could feel a kindness that was difficult to expect from a mega-corporation. I returned her answer with a smile.

“You’re already thinking enough from my perspective, Ms. Serena. I should look at it from the client’s perspective.”

“It seems H Entertainment has one more reason to hire Mr. Arthur. Ah, this is also red information except for you. You don’t seem like someone who would go around bragging, but procedures are procedures.”

“Of course I understand. What’s in the ‘redacted’ part of my resume isn’t that impressive. It’s more ordinary than you might think.”

A life filled with ‘redacted,’ ‘censored,’ ‘unknown,’ and ‘no information’ wasn’t so bad. I chose it that way. No one can break this sentence.

“So, officially, the task H Entertainment is assigning to you is to guard the family of that officer who died in my arms. In reality, there will be H Entertainment security team members beside them.”

They have a security team, yet they sent a paper mail to a freelance mercenary. They wanted someone who appeared out of nowhere to help them. I was indeed suitable for the job.

Including me as an additional character was their way of being considerate. In a city where there is no such thing as “off-camera,” if H Entertainment wanted to help me, I had to enter their system.

At the very least, if my actual job was to become a criminal hunter under the protection of a mega-corporation and the flash of cameras, it wouldn’t be so bad. I laughed as I read through the job file again.

“Looking at it again, it really does seem that way. Whether you make me mute, appear taciturn, or add some mystique, it shows you can minimize external exposure. But why do I need to be eloquent?”

“You might need to speak occasionally. Just in case. And someone that skilled would be less likely to leak information to those around them.”

How many hours had passed since I told Kay that lying wasn’t acceptable? Just a day and a half. After that, I received a job that required me to lie.

Of course, I only lied when necessary, and Kay could make the excuse that lying was habitual for her… but it was somewhat absurd. It seems I can’t be a perfect person either.

The job period was about two weeks. That would be enough time for rehabilitation with the new lower body, and any longer might make me look like a regular character. This was also absurd.

What we should call life was just a drama and content for Heroism and Hope Entertainment.

If it brought hope, I wouldn’t hate it. But the reason for doing the job would be entirely for Ms. Serena.

“Sounds good. Having my first mega-corporation freelance job be a security detail is good for showcasing expertise, so it’ll look good on my freelance resume. But since our company is quite small… how will the personnel gap be handled?”

“H Entertainment will probably connect you with two or three unaffiliated mercenaries who, while not freelancer level, are quite skilled. H Entertainment will bear a significant portion of the employment costs. There won’t be any disruption to your work.”

If they were unaffiliated mercenaries, it might be a good opportunity for President Yoon, who was looking for new employees. She mischievously continued.

“And if your first field job is in Detroit, everywhere else will seem like heaven afterward. If you say ‘I did VIP security in Detroit for two weeks!’ all those resume-flashing bastards will shut up.”

I laughed softly at that. It seemed like another line would be added to the lies filling my life. I never worked at Belwether. I never suppressed a coup. In Detroit, I did security work.

“This might be the best start. Please tell them to send a properly organized contract besides these job-related materials. I need it to get approval from the president.”

“Mason, he says send a contract. Understood. Looking forward to seeing you in Detroit.”

Though it would be after spending Christmas. Not long after, a contract was delivered to my vision, perhaps because it was already prepared.

It wasn’t a short one or two-page contract like the ones I used when working for Lone Star Rangers, but it was still much reduced thanks to my freelancer license.

Originally, Heroism and Hope Company and Yakyung would have had to get Belwether’s approval for my work… the contract would have been two or three times longer, and the number of people involved would have increased three or four times.

The fact that an individual mercenary could contract with Heroism and Hope Entertainment on fairly equal terms… made me realize what the freelancer license I received after giving up on following Mr. Günter meant.

I could do the work I wanted. I could hold onto the work I could enjoy, and that was almost everything. It gave me a refreshingly free feeling.

After the communication ended, I immediately contacted President Yoon. Since it was a holiday, I only intended to give her a heads-up. The connection was made quickly.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Arthur. What brings you to call?”

“Ah, well. I just received a personal request from Heroism and Hope Entertainment through the freelancer network. I’ll come to the office early on Friday, so if you could review the contract with me…”

“Let’s meet at the office in 30 minutes.”

“Excuse me?”

“If you’ve received the contract, you just need my approval to proceed with the work, right? Then we should do it quickly. Why wait until a workday? Albatross, contact Mr. Enzo.”

I thought she might scold me for making a work-related call on a holiday, but her response was the exact opposite of what I expected. Feeling a bit dazed, I replied.

“Ah, yes. I’ll be right there.”

I headed back out to the street just minutes after coming home, not even having time to change clothes. Where did my leisurely holiday go? It felt like something that had been in my possession just this morning had disappeared.

When I arrived at the office and waited briefly, President Yoon and Mr. Enzo were waiting, and we reviewed the contract together, which spoke of something quite different from the actual work. The real contract existed only in my head.

Except for the work part, it wasn’t that different. Points like H Entertainment connecting three mercenaries from their network, and all other aspects were identical down to the punctuation.

President Yoon’s conclusion was approval. The contract that Mr. Enzo thoroughly reviewed had no poison clauses or carelessly written parts. It was a clean contract.

She said they put a lot of effort into finding one security guard, but since the actual job wasn’t just finding a security guard, they had no choice but to put in the effort.

After receiving permission for the field work and signing the contract, I also signed the real contract and transmitted it to Heroism and Hope Entertainment.

This time, they didn’t use paper. This was because it needed to appear like a routine security guard hiring, not a job concealing a mega-corporation’s great shame. A tree could only hide in a forest.