章 18: Black Who? I
Jack quickly got into a routine of sorts.
Wake up. Brush teeth. Shower. Dress up. Breakfast. Walk outside to explore the neighborhood or buy some things that are missing around in the hideout. Return to said hideout to suit up for work. Get to work. Deliver pizzas. Complete a 100% delivery rate.
Make bank. Rinse and repeat.
Tis was the grind.
Surprisingly, he was indeed making bank for someone who was delivering pizzas. On average, the young rogue ended up making 200$ at the end of his night shift, commission fees and tips included. That was 1000$ a week. In 2011. Which admittedly, he knew was really not bad.
Back home, when he was looking at his supe's future prospects, deciding whether to sign up for the government or go 'entrepreneur', aka solo; one of the biggest deciding factors that influenced his choice and titled the balance was the salary.
Because he was a minor at the time, and he would have to work part-time for a government-sponsored team, meaning the usual minimum wage. It translated to getting paid less than 200$ per week.
Of course, there were other advantages. Health and dental insurance were 100% covered for example, along with a solid retirement pension plan – not like supe tended to enjoy these – and some funds put aside for a College or University of his choice.
However, a 16-year-old Jack, having done extensive research on the subject, believed that he knew better than his parents on the subject. Because insurance? What for? He never got sick and thus wouldn't need it. Pension? He was 16! Why??? College funds? "I can make more money going the 'entrepreneur' route than slaving for the government."
So in the end, he opted for going rogue in order to make a hell lot of money, get famous and get those big booty bitches.
While his reasoning was… euhh… suspect and less than good, Jack never truly regretted the decision.
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Friday night, day for day, one week after his first night of the job, Jack was greeted by Lorenzo's at the pizzeria front door while coming back from his first delivery run of the night. Waiting alongside his boss was a classic scooter.
The scooter was painted in red and white colors, with Lorenzo's pizzeria logo sketched on the side of the pizza box. As far as scooters go, it was standard in appearance – a step-through frame, a seat, a transmission that shifted without the operator having to operate a clutch lever, and a platform for the rider to put his feet under. It was a transport vehicle that prioritized the method of operation and fuel economy over comfort.
"This is your new partner, a 1999 Honda Elite scooter. Single-cylinder, with 10,000 miles on the counter." Lorenzo patted the top of the pizza box. "This beauty here has served me faithfully since the day I bought it. Resilient, dependable and maneuverable. Got some touch-up to the engine, a change of oil and frame, and now it's as good as new to go back to service and raring for another dance." He finished his presentation, crossing his hand over his chest and sending him a small satisfied smirk – Lorenzo's smirking!
"So… what do you think?" Lorenzo questioned. "Is this good enough?"
Honestly, he would have appreciated it if the older man had given him the scooter at the start of his shift. This way, he would not have needed to make the deliveries on foot, roller skaters or not. But he guessed that he must have only received it now because else, it didn't make sense for him to… hold on to it, just because.
'No matter,' As he could clearly see how much it meant to him to have his approval, instead of voicing his complaint, Jack instead opted to give him a solemn nod and a thumbs up.
"I'll take it as this being good enough then," Lorenzo humphed, suddenly going tsundere on him. And once the image got into his head, he couldn't unsee the sight of him standing there in all his glory, hand crossed, tressed blonde mustache quivering and giving him a dirty look. "Right on time because I just got an express delivery for someone… special." He said, trailing off toward the end with a small grimace.
"Someone special?" Jack couldn't hide his curiosity as he further asked, "And an express delivery? Hmm, does this mean that if people pay enough for it, you'd prioritize delivering their order." It was more a statement than a question.
Which Lorenzo confirmed with a nod, "Yes, I do. It's also a part of the service I offer. The pay for the commission fee isn't the same either. As long as you can deliver the order within 30 minutes of taking off, you get triple the fee. 15$."
Jack let out a low whistle. If he was ready and willing to pay this much for a single pizza to be delivered, this must mean that he was getting paid some good money on the delivery fee alone to make up for it.
"Okay, just tell me the address where I'm supposed to drop this pizza and it will be done."
"Not so fast," Lorenzo held up his hand. "I said that I just received the order, not that it was ready. It's somewhere in Diamond District, practically on the other side of town and I still need to make the pizza. First, you got twelve orders to deliver in Crime Alley and The Bowery. Once you're done, you can come back to make that delivery."
"Seems good. Got it," he replied, taking off his backpack and giving it to Lorenzo, who took it. Wheeling toward the scooter, Jack swept aside the side stand with his foot before sitting on the seat. A problem became quickly apparent though. "I need a change of shoes. Do you perhaps have a spare pair of shoes or boots…?" He asked sheepishly, making Lorenzo roll his eyes.
"I do. Wait a second. I'll be back." Lorenzo gruffly answered, going inside the pizzeria before returning sometime later with a pair of khaki military boots. "It might be a tight fit but it should suit you." He said, offering him the boots. Jack quickly put them on, having already removed his roller skates in the meantime.
"Thanks, boss, I will be back in no time!" He chirped – hand twisting the throttle on the handlebar as he raved up the engine – before saluting. "Toodles~" And taking off.
"I already told you to stop calling me boss!" Lorenzo yelled over the sound of the engine at his retreating back as he started to speed off into the night. "Also, your parting word is goddamn cringe! You should stop saying it!"
Jack cackled, wind whistling behind him as he expertly drifted into the cracked asphalt road, leaving only a red streak for people watching him drive by.
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With the help of his new scooter, which he dubbed [Sasha] after the primary minigun for the Heavy, Jack made each and every one of his deliveries in a record time – at least for his personal one – blasting through the streets of Crime Alley and The Bowery, and delivering to each and every last one of his clients.
Like always, it was another 100% delivery rate for him.
An hour later, after notifying Lorenzo that he was done with this round of deliveries, he went back to the pizzeria to pick up his third run of orders.
Lorenzo was waiting for him behind the counter, the pizzas already piled on top of it. It was before his shocked eyes, that he casually levitated the pizza boxes and strode outside with them trailing behind him.
Next time, he wouldn't even bother with entering inside the pizzeria to take off the orders. Jack only did it now to show off a little as he never blatantly used his power while the pizzeria's owner was there, despite the fact that Lorenzo knew from words in the grapevine that he was a 'meta-human'.
Also, if some casual display of power could get him used to the fact that his delivery guy could levitate shits, the better it was for him. Especially later in the future when he'd do even more overt things.
After listing each delivery address on his GPS – the priority delivery on top of the pizza boxes written on a post-it note, highlighted with a green marker pen – Jack strapped the pizzas inside the pizza's box compartment.
It seemed like he'd deliver to other neighborhoods outside of Gotham, Crime Alley, Burnley and The Bowery now that he has a scooter.
'Good.' He thought. It gave him the chance to see more of the city outside of these three decrepit neighborhoods.
Stepping onto the scooter, he drove off into the dimly lit streets toward his destination.
Diamond District.
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Jack speeded off hard into the road, using a chamber to get an idea of the state of the traffic each time he was approaching a red light, before driving past them when he deemed it safe enough to do so, in order to make his delivery on time. To the honks, insults and curses of the other drivers.
It was a needed action, he told himself. Otherwise, he feared that he wouldn't be able to make it on time and cash in that sweet, sweet 15$ commission fee.
In the end, he made it within the time limit, with 3 minutes to spar, skidding to a halt in front of a tall, dark and gloomy-looking building. The building was one of the tallest ones around, but not the tallest one in the entire district, looking to be only around twenty floors tall.
"Now, what's next?" He muttered to himself under his breath as he opened a [chamber]. Immediately after, he picked up on every single thing and detail in his zone. The range of his [chamber] got expanded at some point in the middle of the week, going from roughly a 20 m radius to 30. Probably as a consequence of his extensive power usage these last weeks, and of the rigorous training regime he did early in the week.
Jack picked up a lot of things. People still working in offices even at as late of an hour as 9:00 pm, some couple fucking in a car parked a street down from here, and…
A feminine figure standing on top of the building that just happened to be his delivery drop-off point…
He had the sinking feeling that it was his client up there, waiting for him.
Taking off his walkie-talkie from his parka's pocket, he initiated a call to Lorenzo.
"Come in Lorenzo."
There was a brief bout of static noises before Lorenzo picked up the radio call.
"Yes, Lorenzo here, what's the problem? Over."
"I'm in front of the delivery address. But it's an office building which seemed to be already closed. Nobody outside. Can you call the client to ask him or her to come to the front of the building? Over."
"Copy that, on it. Out."
The line was cut off and he began to wait for some kind of confirmation from Lorenzo's part. He hoped that he wouldn't have to climb the entire fucking building now that the client would be made aware of his position.
However, his prayers were for noth as two minutes later, Lorenzo called him back.
"You need to climb up there…" He paused, sounding embarrassed. "And meet your client to deliver her order… it's her request. If you don't feel capable, I will let her know. Just leave the pizza on the ground and go back to your other deliveries. I will be paid at a later date for the order so don't worry about it. You will still receive your commission fee too."
Jack pursed his lips in thought.
Before cursing under his breath, "Goddamn it, better be worth it."
He already made it all the way here, so why not meet her and climb up there? It's only a twenty-floor tall building after all.
'Only a twenty-tall building. An everyday delivery man can climb it without using stairs or the elevator.' He sarcastically thought even as he gave his reply to Lorenzo. "Roger, on it. Out."
He wasn't in the mood to try and climb up such a tall building.
Luckily for him, while the set of double, heavy metal doors was closed, inside the building, there were numerous sets of key rings resting in the compartment drawer of some kind of room closet.
He levitated some trash from the streets before pulling them toward him even as he switched the trash with the different set of key rings.
Four sets of key rings appeared in front of him, lazily floating in the air, five feet from the ground. Unfortunately, none were labeled.
Jack let out a sigh. This was going to take a while.
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