The work that they were now contracted to do required a good amount of drudgery; Even though the equipment they were given helped with the transport of the items, they still had to help load and unload particular items that did not require heavy machinery.
Navin had done a quick rundown of what they were going to be doing until their paperwork was processed. What it all amounted to was basically - gruntwork. Not like Zain could complain, his other job was essentially the same, so at least his muscles were prepared this time.
Their first day was long, but there were set curfews and cutoffs, so as soon as the clock hit 9:30, all of their work stopped for the day.
A bell chimed indicating the stop of the day, which prompted all of the boys left in the warehouse to quickly finish their tasks and head towards the exit. Zain and Brayden followed suit, making sure to touch the terminal to clock out for the day.
Navin waited near the terminal, waiting for the two of them to clock out properly before he herded them towards the changing rooms. They returned their equipment and placed their items in their new lockers.
A lot of the boys seemed friendly with one another, with minor roughhousing and banter taking place in the locker room. A few kids gave Brayden and Zain some curious looks, but besides the occasional cordial greeting or introduction, most of them kept their distance.
Zain couldn’t really think of anything he had done to upset anyone or seem unapproachable, so he just chalked it up to them waiting to see their shelf-life or something like that. He, in fact, was not planning on staying so he decided to not let it bother him.
Navin again waited for them to finish, wearing a sour face as he stared at them. It placed some pressure on the two of them to finish quickly, and, slightly pushing themselves, they finished after a few minutes.
Once done, they walked up to Navin, which made him push himself off the wall and fast walk towards the exit. Both Brayden and Zain had to go into a slight trot to keep pace with him; it really didn’t matter to him if they were left behind, his face portrayed that fact clearly.
“Okay. Day’s over, now you get to go to the cafeteria and eat dinner or go to the room. Whichever, I don’t fucking care.” He said with a dismissive wave of the hand.
“Um….where is the cafeteria?” Brayden had to ask. That had not been part of their initial tour, so he had only asked out of necessity.
“UUUUUUGGGGHHHH!” Navin groaned, irritation and impatience taking hold as he snapped suddenly. “Look! I’m not a fucking babysitter! Use context clues or some shit! Look with your fucking eyes! I did my job already so I’m going fucking home! Do what you want!”
Then he brushed them off, walking off towards the apartments, with his hands angrily in his pockets.
What a temper…
This guy was kind of an asshole. Zain and Brayden had tried their best not to get on his nerves, but even asking the simplest of questions would make him annoyed. They appreciated him vouching for them in the beginning, but his childish tantrums overtook that gratitude real quick.
“Ugh…whatever, forget him.” Zain dismissed as soon as he was out of earshot. If this guy didn’t want to be friends, he wasn’t gonna bend over backwards for him. He turned towards Brayden, who similarly looked annoyed by the other boy’s antics. “We need to go to the cafeteria to collect information.”
All throughout the workday, the informant’s stupid conjure fish was whispering in his ears.
‘Gather intel’, ‘Explore the warehouse for suspicious locations’, ‘interact with the workers to discern the location of illicit activities’, ‘steer clear of any suspicious individuals’...
Blah, blah, blah! The incessant whispering was getting on his nerves!
It was like the devil was whispering in his ear, telling him that he wasn’t strong enough to weather the storm and he wanted to tell it to shut the fuck up!
He was tired of it, so it was probably best to do what it told him to do before he went insane.
The two boys looked around the warehouse on the outside, looking for signage which would show them where the cafeteria was. No dice.
“Maybe it’s in the apartments.” Brayden offered.
Most of the other boys that had gotten off late were heading towards the apartments, so that’s where they decided to head too.
They entered the lobby area, where a few of the boys were lounging about, watching TV and playing on the community gaming console. Some were cooking individual meals in the community kitchen, but there were still no signs which indicated where the cafeteria could be found.
At the end of their rope, they decided to ask someone for help. Turning towards one of the boys lounging on the couch, they inquired the location of the cafeteria.
“Oh, it's not in the main building. There’s a side building, near where the laundromat is, that’s where the cafeteria is.” The boy answered, looking up from his phone. “Hey, y'all are Navin’s friends, right? Why don’t y’all have him take you?”
Zain couldn’t really tell what face he pulled, but it likely wasn’t a very good one because the boy let out a snort. Another boy, who had been listening in, answered, “Haha! I don’t think they’re friends. That makes more sense.”
“Oh really? We all thought y’all were his friends or something, considering that he vouched for you…” One of the boys playing on the console added. “To be honest I didn’t believe it when I heard it because I didn’t think he had friends. Looks like I was right.”
“Pffftt! Don’t let him hear you say that! He might shit in your bed or something!”
The boys all laughed amongst themselves, at Navin’s expense. It was almost to the point where Zain started to feel bad for the guy.
“Well, thanks for the information. When does dinner end?” Zain asked, changing the subject.
“It ends at 11, but they stop making fresh food at 10 so you might want to hurry there or y’all will be left with the stale scraps.” The first boy answered. “The asshole probably didn’t mention, but you need your IDs or room cards for meal swipes, and you only get two a day. Extra shit comes out of your paychecks.”
They hurriedly waved the boys goodbye as they made their way to the cafeteria, navigating there based on their memory of the compound during the daytime. After a few minutes of jogging, they were able to reach the cafeteria.
It was a bit smaller than a school cafeteria, but with more options, the dining hall looked rather quaint. It reminded Zain a little of the cafeteria at the college, but not as good.
There were far fewer groups than they anticipated there, likely because of how late it was. Gathering intel would likely be much harder than they thought at such a late hour, but the both of them really couldn’t help that they were starving. The last thing they wanted was to rely on Navin for food right now.
They got out their temporary IDs and swiped for entry. In the buffet style dining hall, they were able to get a decent amount of food together quickly; afterward, they huddled together in order to think of who to approach.
There were a few people eating alone while watching videos on their phones, so they were out of the question. That left the few groups of boys eating together at the bigger tables.
After working for just a few hours, Zain could safely say that he knew not one of these boys. Striking up a conversation with a stranger required more charisma points than he was decked out with.
“You recognize anyone?” He asked Brayden, hoping that he would somehow remember a single person that they could maybe converse with.
“Uhhhh…..I think that guy might be from our section…but I don’t know his name…” Brayden admitted.
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Figures. There were only a handful of people who had taken the time to introduce themselves to them, so the number of people they could realistically recall the names of were probably less than ten.
Zain let in a bracing breath, then stepped toward the group Brayden had pointed to. The group of boys were just conversing casually with one another, not giving the two of them a passing glance until they were right next to them.
“Do you mind if we sit here?” Zain politely asked, ready to die inside if they said no.
A few of them looked at one another, but they shook their heads. “Y’all can sit here, we don’t mind none.”
Brayden gave a polite thanks, then sat next to Zain. Trying to prevent there from any awkward silences or glances, Zain tried to start up the conversation immediately. “Sorry to bother y’all, we don’t really know that many people. I think we were working with one of y’all during our shift today. We just wanted to introduce ourselves now that we don’t have to work. I'm Corey and this is Phillip, it's nice to meet y'all.”
The small group of boys looked at one another, and following a short silence, one finally spoke up. “Why isn’t Navin here with y’all? Aren’t y’all friends?”
Zain was starting to think that being associated with Navin was going to be a handicap when collecting intel. He needed to set the record straight. “No…I don’t think he likes us very much. He kind of left us hanging after he was done training us.”
“Yeah…I think he was only sticking with us because he was told to. Now we have to share a room with him….I really don’t know how well that will go…” Brayden lamented aloud.
Now the boys seemed more open to talking as they almost immediately dropped their guard. They began murmuring to themselves, collectively agreeing that what they were saying made sense.
“Yeah, no way that guy has friends.”
“Did you know that he got into a fist fight with Bill because he criticized how he operated the forklift? That dude for sure has some screws loose.”
“Haha! I thought we had to deal with two more of him! I’m so fucking glad.” Another jeered. “Don’t know how that guy hasn’t been fired yet!”
Collectively, everyone they interacted with had bad impressions of Navin. It was sort of a relief to know that they didn’t invoke his anger alone, because he treated everyone the same. However, keeping him the center of the topic was not good for information gathering. The faster they found where the illegal activities were occurring, the faster they could leave this place.
Trying the best he could, Zain tried to steer the conversation away from Navin. “Yeah, we're just going to avoid that guy as much as we can. Is there anyone else or any place we should also avoid? I want to avoid trouble as much as I can…”
The boys stopped laughing amongst themselves, pondering at the sudden question. Some looked slightly suspicious at his phrasing so Brayden decided to add on. “Every time we tried to ask questions regarding safety or the rules, he kind of brushed us off and didn’t really answer our questions. We just don’t want to wander into an area that is off limits and then get fired for not knowing the rules. We also don’t want to make bad impressions in front of important people. We honestly just want to work and save money…”
“Ah…yeah that makes sense.” The boys seemed more at ease, deciding to take it upon themselves to fill in informational gaps that they had.
Brayden and Zain asked normal questions regarding safety and hazardous areas. There were some things that they actually didn’t know, but there wasn’t anything that was given that would give them any ideas as to where illegal activities would be concealed.
“Oh yeah!” One of the older boys recalled a final tip. “Don’t enter the warehouse after clock out time. THAT for sure is how you get fired.”
“Yeah…One of our buddies tried to get his phone from the warehouse after clock out and he was fired on the spot. They accused him of breaking and entering and he was moved out the same day.” A smaller boy added. “We haven’t spoken to him since. Prolly cuz he went back to his shitty family. If you don’ wanna be sent back home, then don’t break into the warehouse at night.”
The group unanimously agreed on that rule, recounting other cases of other boys staying past clock out who were then promptly fired.
“And, for people you should watch yourselves around….” The older boy thought to himself for a second. “Besides Navin, no one else here is so obviously mental. Sure, some boys will pick fights, but they usually got a reason. But if you want to know someone you should make a good impression in front of, it's probably the Owner. He can get you raises if you work hard enough.”
Some of the boys chimed in to brag a bit of how the owner had been watching them work and they had received bonuses or raises. They looked happy that there was merit to working hard in this place, Zain felt slightly bad working against their interests without their knowledge.
What will happen to these kids if we bust this guy anyway?....Maybe I should ask…
His train of thought was interrupted by the dimming of the cafeteria lights, a slight indication that it was to close soon. A few of the boys around them started to take their empty trays to the dish area, and the rest hurriedly tried to finish their meals. Zain likewise ate what he could.
Brayden and Zain waved the boys goodbye as they went their separate ways, walking back to their dorm room. The both of them walked outside, nothing but the crunching of the rocks beneath their feet could be heard. A chill traveled down Zain’s spine, and a heaviness pitted in his stomach. For some reason, he felt a little guilty now.
“So…You think the warehouse is where they are making the drugs or whatever?” Brayden interrupted his rumination.
Zain snapped out of it immediately, trying to not think about the small stuff. They had a mission to complete afterall. “That’s the most likely place. But where exactly…I have no idea. The warehouse is so big, so how are we supposed to collect incriminating evidence if we don’t see anything happening?”
‘Go to the warehouse, I will see if the construct can infiltrate without detection.’
The sudden command made Zain jolt in slight fright. He relayed the message to Brayden, and together they navigated to the warehouse.
There were cameras around of course, so they tried to appear as if they were just strolling around and exploring. They feigned conversation, trying to find a place that looked far enough from any cameras.
They found a place near some trees; Zain leaned against one, casually pulling out his earring.
Brayden took the earring from him discreetly, then placed his hands in his pocket. In order to activate the construct’s scouting mode, he needed to imbue a bit of mana into it. Using his mana as a battery charge, the construct would be remotely controlled by the informant. There were of course limitations as to how far and how long it could scout, so Brayden and Zain needed to stay put until it returned.
They sat down at the tree’s base; Zain just picked at the grass, waiting for Brayden to finish charging the construct. It took a good five minutes before they saw a small fish zip from his pants.
Brayden leaned back on the tree, clearly worn out and slightly woozy. They watched the construct the best they could, but it was hard to make it out in the dark. The construct darted in a zigzag, hardly disturbing the grass as it made its way to the warehouse.
It looked to be heading towards a vent, but as soon as it ventured within five feet of the warehouse, it dissipated into water droplets.
“Huh?” They both looked on in confusion, unsure as to what had happened.
“Maybe we’re too far away?” Zain tried to reason away.
“But…they said that the construct should be able to travel within a hundred yards of us…” Brayden remembered.
Yeah, no they were close enough. So, why?
The construct slowly reformed, then slithered through the grass towards the boys. It reached Zain, then disappeared in his hand in an unstable manner. He placed the earpiece that was left behind into his ear. At first, he only heard static, but then a distant voice whispered again into his ear.
‘Mana barrier….unable…from outside…’
The voice faded in and out, as if the frequency was off. Zain gave a worried look, trying to put together the message. “I think it says that there’s a mana barrier and it can’t go in from outside….The voice is not clear so I’m not sure…”
“Will we be able to receive more instructions with it like this?” Brayden looked a little pale.
‘Recharge….fine….continue as…’
The voice instructed vaguely. Zain could only guess that the energy Brayden had put in was used up, so he had him put a little more in. There was only so much he could give, as he had already used most of his mana.
‘Thank you…Earpiece can charge with Zain’s mana overnight…just resume normal activities…’
The voice was still faded, but more clearer now. They decided to do as instructed. As they headed towards their dorms.
Lamps lit up the walkway to the dorm; People were now scarce in the lobby area, with most having left, opting to sleep as they were to wake early the next day.
The two boys went into the elevator, not conversing at all due to fatigue. Once they reached their floor, they searched for their room, a single name still in place at the front. It would likely take some more time before their fake names were placed there, if at all. Maybe they would leave before that would happen.
Zain decided not to dwell on such trivial thoughts, as he swiped his temporary room card. Until they got their fake IDs back, these would be their key to access where they needed to go.
They opened their door to complete darkness. Navin had not waited for them to return, just returning to his own room and turning off the living room lights without caring if they ever got back. Sure it wasn’t his duty, but courtesy certainly wasn’t in this guy’s vocabulary. Zain just let it go for now as he hobbled to his room.
After wishing Brayden a goodnight (and helping him a bit because he was slightly lightheaded from earlier), Zain went into his room.
The room was considerably smaller than his room at the college, with the quality of everything inside somehow shittier. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
He started up at the ceiling, thinking about what he needed to do, and for some reason, thinking about everything made him nauseous.
A restless mind, an upset stomach, and a shitty bed made sleep impossible so he went up to drink water from the tap.
He entered the living room, not bothering to turn on the lights; fumbling a bit to search for something to use as a cup, he found, to his dismay, there were absolutely no dishes of any kind. How Navin lived like this up until this point, he had no clue.
Now, drinking directly from the tap, Zain gulped down some water until he was satisfied.
No longer thirsty, but still not sleepy, he decided to sit on the couch. Though the living room was small, they still had a window that allowed him to look outside.
Why couldn’t he sleep? Maybe the stress of it all was weighing on him, but he didn’t want to think too clearly about…everything. He just stared listlessly at the outside clock tower, trying to empty his mind from everything so maybe sleep could take hold of him.
The click of a door handle made Zain turn towards its source; it had not been Brayden who had entered the hall, but Navin instead.
He was dressed as if he was ready to go out somewhere, only noticing Zain when he was at the front door.
Slight annoyance darkened the creases of his eyes as the two of them looked at one another in the dark. “Hmmm, so you’re awake…”
