บท 8: 08 - Answers
The kitten invited us two to follow him until we were in front of the knobless door. Of the big group of people, only the two of us remained alive. That was horrible. I wasn't saying that I'd rather be dead or something. I just... couldn't even celebrate or be thankful for my living.
Our trusty Pilot wasn't here anymore. Arms spread out of concrete rocks, but none of those matched her skin tone and clothes.
Without knowing it, I let a growl of disappointment, "She escaped?"
The man stopped in front of the door and touched, with his thumb, a digital button I didn't know was there. His finger let a white imprint, then it became green. An 'authorized access' notification popped up, and the door opened for me for the first time.
He entered, his armpits exposed and his arms resting on his neck, "Of course. The Boss always comes out of that alive."
"Could you explain furth..." The huge ebony hallway took my breath out. We were walking in a place mimicking a subway tunnel.
Fluorescent green urgency lights and lamps were the only sources of light in the tunnel. Sometimes, round bulbs shined from the ceiling. This place, in contrast with the blinding lights of the entry hallway, was dark, with small points of light throughout the tunnel. It was funny if you thought about it. The place bathed in light was the setting of atrocious murders, and this dark and wet place was the one we could sigh of relief.
Agents, in the same black outfits as us, were walking through the hallway. Some were making phone calls while tapping their foot in impatience. Or they would hold trolley covered with white sheets.
The kitty cat pointed to these guys with the same clothes, "They are the old employees. Your older brother, if I may say it that way. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask them. But I would rather help you myself. Weak people come and go, but your humble servant is here since the first edition of The Test."
Jieung-yong, deep in thought, murmured something when he heard those pieces of information.
"Exactly, Detective Rouletabille, I'm the first employee," Our guide said, "Because here..."
"The Puma."
Hearing her voice, I jumped, and the other two stopped walking abruptly. At least I wasn't crazy; this woman was the embodiment of fear. Even for the one who claimed to be the strongest of the employees. And did she call him 'The Puma'? Guess I was close by calling him a leopard.
"Who makes the introductions to the freshmen?" She continued.
"You do, Miss." The cat didn't put a fight and gave up the war. He walked backward and settled for walking behind us.
The Boss seemed satisfied with his submission, "Good. I am welcoming you, the winners of the employment test."
"You're making us pass tests without our consent, and we should accept it?" At the end of my sentence, my voice shivered.
The Boss scrutinized my face as if she was regretting employing such an annoying guy. She then turned herself on her heels before walking further. She snapped her fingers, and we followed her like obedient dogs.
"The World of Above has its rules and interdictions. Those who challenge the order are sentenced to death. On the morning of October, the 20th in Pyongyang, Yoh Song-ho and Lee Jieung-yong are shot dead because of their rebellion."
"But you changed that fate," Jieung-yong said.
"We haven't changed anything. Your lives don't belong to you anymore. You are now propriety of the Underground World."
"This is completely crazy..." I muttered to myself.
People with arms full of buckets, mops, bleach bottles, and large black bags walked on the opposite path. Toward the bloodbath.
The Boss's footsteps clicked again, "Those who couldn't show they deserved to live a second life lost them according to the plan of the Word of Above."
I turned my head around all these people. Agents walking around, those who tested us, and the kitten behind us... There were all fated to die? I wonder what thing the kitty kat did. I'll have to ask him later.
Jieung-yong broke the ice, "And what is expected of us in this new life?"
"You are expected to work in this invisible business, challenging the upper-world: The Firm." She snapped her fingers, and a blue hologram representing a person appeared before us.
The simulation was two times taller than us and turned on itself as a planet would do.
A description floated next to him.
"I was testing you to become hitmen." She reached her arm out in the hologram, and I felt sorry for the futuristic simulation, "I want this man dead before the end of the next week."
I watched the face of the man who should die. He had monolid eyes and long white hair despite his young age.
Long white hair... I saw this guy already. Not a lot of people have this shade of color before their 40's.
"Zheng Tai..."
Pieces of recollections came into my brain. Words I heard. Things I thought to myself.
It's our fight!
I let my mom all alone...
The Boss readjusted her arm, "You can read French, Yoh Song-ho?"
I came out of my mind, "Uh, yes! Mom taught... I have learned... before."
Jieung-yong raised his bushy eyebrows, "Why do you want to see him dead?"
"Because he's this country's Prime Minister." She looked at Zheng Tai. And suddenly, as if his virtual face was too hard to bear, she changed his hologram into a beautiful round Earth.
She returned to us, more satisfied than ever, "No more questions? Now, The Puma will show you your rooms."
"Wait! You can't ask us to agree on it. I never killed... directly," I said, correcting myself at the last moment, "And I can't plan the end of the life of someone. It's not my duty."
She threw a dagger-like stare right before us. I was startled, afraid that she would slap me here and now. Then I realized that she wasn't looking at me. Her glare wasn't directed at us, but behind.
The one she called the Puma walked toward a red case at our right and pressed his thumb on another tactile glass. The door opened with a click. It let us discover a room full of cash. An indecent amount of cash. To make you visualize it better, let's say I could bath in four bathtubs full of these banknotes.
The Puma took several of them and filled two bags before giving them to us.
I wanted to throw their bags on the ground, "Even if you do that, I still find that..."
"5,000 for you two. It's a comfortable advance if you crave pleasures at Europe's most beautiful capital."
The bag's weight pulled my tired arms. Money... for a murder? I risked prison. A life sentence isn't a joke.
"I accept." Jieung-yong then asked the Puma where was his room. He escorted him.
I rushed toward him, "You can't do that. You want to take part in the same type of dictatorship you fought in Korea?"
Jieung-yong stopped before a door while the Puma tapped numbers on the glass lock, "It's not the same thing. Here we have the power. Here, it's like we've already won. I'm going to use this power to destroy the dictatorship of North Korea. What about you?"
"Me?" I didn't know. Me?
Jieung-yong entered a room looking like a hotel bedroom then closed it.
I was alone, in front of a choice I had to take now. I didn't want to admit it, but my heart was ordering me to accept the offer. I was offered food at every meal, nice clothes, and they gave me a bed to sleep in. Besides all of that, they gave me an advance in my salary for me to explore Paris. I could even go to the Palais Garnier, at the Opéra de Paris to see the ballerinas for real.
I've been escorted to my room. I wasn't giving up my passion, and I wasn't staying for too long anyway.
It was a small room of 15 meters, with a bed already made for me, a desk, a window and a second room for the toilets and the shower.
While I was examining the pieces of furniture, I found a little sheet of paper pinned to the wall. Elegant writing decorated it.
"Next mission programmed for Friday. Until the end of the next week, stay at the Firm to not suffer from mortal body damages."
"Mortal body damages?" I was only thinking about it, and my body was already shaking.
I had been an idiot.
Of course, This suspicious individual wouldn't let me move freely. Of course, she would use us like objects and slaves. We were her cattle.
I had her letter in my hand. My sweat wetted the paper. Only on thought obsessed me: What will I do now?
I couldn't ignore that order... but Paris was literally beyond that window, above my head.
On the ground, it'll only be sadness. And it would never change. I crushed the sheet and tore it into a dozen pieces on the floor.
"I'm getting out of here."
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