Chapter 5 : a way to become less poor

Quota 0/270 - On break : 13 days left to start the quota

'Did I just hear 5,000 euros?'

Experimentation's voice had turned angelic to Victor's ears.

His debts were substantial enough that 5,000 euros wouldn't clear them, but it would at least buy him some time.

He finally replied to the angel waiting patiently for his answer:

"Oh divine beauty, I would be grateful if you could deposit the money into my bank account."

Experimentation chuckled softly before typing a few keys on her computer.

Just seconds later, Victor received confirmation of the transfer on his phone.

His only desire after receiving the money was to embrace the angel in front of him.

But he restrained himself, thinking back to his misadventures from the day before.

'Don't anger the heavens, Victor,' he admonished himself, taking a deep breath to calm down.

He was still as poor as before, but he might have underestimated the salary that the Company would pay him.

He had only one desire : to return to the shitty house 30 minutes from here to earn more.

But before that, he still had a few questions for Experimentation.

"When does my next quota start, and where should I go?

- You need to start it in the next 13 days, and once you ask me for the address, you have only 4 days to get there and 3 days to complete your Quota.

- Can I choose from different addresses?

- No.

- Can I search for more than 3 days?

- No.

- Can I be assisted by porters to help me remove the items?

- Not unless they are members of the Company. However, if you decide to undertake a quota with teammates, the profit will be divided."

'So the letter that wants me to go to New York, wants me to give part of my due to strangers.' Victor thought, increasingly finding the idea unpleasant.

He still asked Experimentation:

"Is there a branch of the company in New York?"

For once, Experimentation seemed surprised by his question. She opened a compartment in her desk to pull out a world map.

It was covered in different colors, sometimes enveloping cities, countries, or even places in the middle of nowhere.

For example, Lille was colored green with an E symbol. The rest of France was crisscrossed by a multitude of colors, including a black zone surrounding the Maginot Line annotated with a T.

Victor focused on the United States. Inside the American metropolises, different colors indicated different neighborhoods.

New York had all of them except for black.

Brooklyn was colored green with an E, the Bronx in yellow with a V, Manhattan in orange with an M, and finally Staten Island, in red, annotated with a D.

"What do the different colors on the map mean?" he asked.

- They represent jurisdiction zones.

- Are there differences between these zones?

- Green zones earn the least but have the most employees completing their quota. As for the other zones, the closer you get to red, the higher the salary, but also the fewer people completing their quota."

'Ah, so these ominous colors just mean fewer people complete their quota. I really wonder why.' Victor thought, eyeing the black-marked zones on the map with curiosity.

Perhaps Experimentation sensed his interest in the black zones, as she quickly added:

"The salary in the black zones isn't specified even to company members because too few people complete their quota there."

'It must surely be due to a lack of items on site.' Victor convinced himself before losing interest in the topic and thinking back to the money.

"Do you earn more working in green zones alone or in other zones with others?

- You'll earn approximately the same in a yellow zone, more in an orange zone, and the two should not be comparable in a red zone."

That was all Victor needed to know to agree to board the plane to New York. He would have preferred to stay in France, but all the red zones were lost in the middle of nowhere. Victor felt it would be a nightmare just getting there, not to mention finding accommodation.

With some luck, his trip to New York would be paid for by the person inviting him.

He then looked at the flight ticket inside the envelope.

April 18, 6:00 AM

He checked the date on his phone.

April 17, 10:30 PM

Tomorrow's wake-up would be tough.

He bid farewell to Experimentation before returning to his apartment.

It was only once home that Victor remembered his car was still in the impound lot.

'It can wait until my return from the States, I guess.'

Sure, the bill would likely increase, but upon his return from the land of opportunity and wealth, he would presumably be rich enough to buy the impound lot outright.

With this dream in mind, Victor fell asleep.

And he woke up dreaming of being able to go back to sleep.

He checked the time on his phone.

4:00 AM

He had an hour and a half walk to the airport. By the time he arrived, his body was bent from the lack of sleep and the cold.

'Damn this airport, they didn't even turn on the heating!'

He glanced again at the plane ticket in his hand. He was allowed one suitcase, but he didn't have a suitcase at his apartment, nor enough clothes to fill it.

So, he had only taken his small backpack, trying to stuff it with whatever he could find in his apartment.

Which meant not even enough clothes for 3 days.

Victor had arrived at the airport half an hour before departure because it was his first flight, and he didn't want to be late.

He approached the security check.

There weren't many people at this hour, but Victor still watched what they were doing.

They were placing their belongings in a small plastic bin that was going straight into a machine for scanning. Victor placed his small bag in a tray before passing through a scanner himself.

When he came out, the entire scanner was beeping.

As someone was searching him from head to toe to find the problem, Victor saw his bag take a turn and end up in the hands of a security member.

It seemed that his bag also failed the scanner test.

Meanwhile, the man searching Victor found the discrepancy. Victor had kept in his pocket the badge that the hotel manager had given him the day before, as he had no clue about the security rules. The man rummaging through his bag also pulled out various items : he had found forks, butter knives, a bottle of shampoo, and even a screwdriver. He was even surprised to see someone so oblivious to the rules.

While he was lecturing Victor, who was merely nodding his head while thinking about the unfair treatment he was enduring, the head of security approached the scene. It was not his habit to be up so early in the morning, which made him extremely grumpy at that moment. The last thing he needed was to come across a poor soul to unleash all his frustration. And that poor soul happened to be someone inside the security checkpoint. He approached a young man who was scolding someone even younger than himself.

He would normally have sided with his team member, but not after receiving a message yesterday.

An important person will be coming through tomorrow morning. I hope for your sake they make it to New York without any issues.

It was a threat, plain and simple, yet the supervisor wasn't worried. He knew these people were reasonable. However, he briefly doubted it when he saw the young man in front of him trying to get through the checkpoint with more than a dozen banned items in his backpack. He glanced at the badge the man was holding before stepping forward.

"Raymond, go take your break." His face might have been friendly, but his entire body emitted an aura of authority he had acquired over the years.

The security officer, though confused, couldn't refuse his superior's command. He just shrugged and went outside to smoke. Victor was also confused. He had only dozed off for a moment, and yet the man in front of him seemed to have aged decades and was now speaking to him in a soft voice:

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir," he said, handing back his backpack while putting back all the items inside. He then added, "To make amends, let me escort you to your plane." Victor didn't refuse the offer. 'It should be easier to find the plane with the help of this kind gentleman,' he thought, looking appreciatively at the man in his fifties in front of him.

The journey only lasted a few minutes.

They had arrived in front of a boarding gate. The digital screen was displaying two pieces of information. Firstly, the flight destination: New York.

And secondly, the boarding status: boarding completed.

Victor checked the time on his phone.

5:40 AM

He then read the line just below the flight's departure time in a low voice.

"Boarding ending at: 5:30 AM"

He checked once more the time on his phone.

5:40 AM

'That's unfortunate.' He didn't react further due to fatigue. He was about to head back to his apartment when the man beside him grabbed his arm. Without offering any explanation, he pulled out his phone and began a call. Victor could only catch a few words out of the conversation. The call lasted only 30 seconds before the man beside him hung up. And barely 30 seconds later, a flight attendant rushed to the boarding gate in a panic. Like a suitcase, Victor was passed from the man's hands to the flight attendant's, hearing the man whisper in his ear:

"Safe travels and happy hunting, Mr. de Lafayette."

'Thank you, sir, I'll continue my hunt for wealth just for you,' he thought to himself as he entered the plane.

The attendant led him directly to his seat under the curious gaze of the other passengers.

Victor checked his seat number on his ticket. 1A He then looked at the luxurious leather chair in front of him. 'Why does everyone say it's cramped in planes?' His seat, like those around him, was spaced out by at least 2 meters, and he would have no trouble stretching his legs. The attendant left him to himself and went back to her duties. He settled comfortably into his chair and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He might have taken longer to fall asleep if he had known that his plane would encounter a storm or that he would have to pay for his accommodation in New York out of his own pocket. But for now, it was better to let him sleep. Because the awakening would be sudden and unexpected.