“Definitely. Definitely. Do you need that fee today?” Felix opened his work computer and flipped to the Excel spreadsheet he kept his finances on.
Negative three hundred and sixty-two dollars and fourteen cents.
“Yep. I’ll have a courier pick it up out of your mailbox tonight after everyone’s out in that sleepy little neighborhood of yours. That is, if we have a deal?”
Felix chewed on that mentally. He didn’t have the money, and wouldn’t have the money. But… how often did you get a chance to power up your abilities?
I can go get a loan. My car isn’t in that bad of shape. I can sell it if I really need to clear the loan later. I don’t have any debt, either.
Get six thousand. Buy the two, set up a room that they can convalesce in. Use all my vacation and sick time. Get those three up and running to a point that they can care for themselves.
Then use that to upgrade things and make money.
Felix blinked.
It was a lot like those games he used to play when he was a kid. Spend money to buy upgrades. Use those upgrades to make more money, to buy new things that would help you make more money. Which in turn would let you buy upgrades for those items.
His power was literally that game, he realized. He might as well call himself Upgrade Man.
“Done.”
“Great, I’ll have it delivered to your place in an hour. They’ll pop the garage and leave it there. No need to meet us or even disarm your security. Don’t forget to use the box. You’ll need to do that for their loyalty and your safety to finalize.
“See ya later, Felix.”
The line disconnected suddenly.
Felix pulled his phone from his ear and looked at the screen.
From being essentially a nobody, to owning slaves.
He knew that the owner’s box he’d been given could hold up to ten thousand slaves without a problem. It used magic to bind them to their master’s will. That they couldn’t harm or work against their master.
Couldn’t use it on someone against their will, though.
It did leave open the ugly loophole of giving someone no choice but to allow it, but that wasn’t his problem today.
Looking to his phone, he dialed in the regional manager’s number and mashed the voicemail button the moment it started to ring.
“Hey, Joe. This is Felix over at number forty-two. I’m going to be heading home sick for the rest of the day. I’ll be out tomorrow as well. Sorry about the short notice. Just not feeling well. Everything here should be covered.”
Felix ended the phone call and then opened the browser on his smartphone.
He was generations behind the newest wrist phones, but he liked his old phone. It had a big screen and… well, it was one of the few things he’d been able to successfully modify.
It had taken him peeling it apart and upgrading individual components, but it had worked.
Tapping in a request for directions to the closest branch of his bank, Felix laid out plans to get the loan, buy supplies, and head back home. He’d have to build an impromptu ward and start treating his cash cows.
Having them die on him would be gut-wrenching now that he’d figured out how to increase his power.
Now that he could be somebody.
Before all that, though, he’d need to head over to the law offices. Today was his monthly visit with them.
Felix wasn’t looking forward to it. He never was, really. It only made him realize that those he cared for were gone.
Bank, supplies, home, meeting, home.
With a nod of his head, Felix started what he believed would be the changing point in his life.
Pulling in front of the office building, Felix shook himself and then ran his fingers through his hair. He hated doing this, but it was something he had to do to make sure his family dues were taken care of. Both in this life, and wherever they ended up.
Getting out of the car, Felix looked up at the sign hanging above the entrance to the building.
“Reznik, Blacketer, and Troy,” the sign read. Supposedly they were the ones who owned the business, though Felix had nothing to do with them.
Walking up to the front door, he pulled the handled and stepped inside.
Waiting for him was the same steel-haired matron he always saw behind the reception desk.
She never smiled, she didn’t say anything out of line, and Felix wasn’t even sure if she blinked.
Maybe she’s a robot.
“Felix Campbell. Monthly meeting for my trust,” Felix said, picking up the clipboard and signing himself in.
“Take a seat, they’ll be with you shortly,” said the woman without a hint of anything resembling a personality.
Rolling his eyes, Felix sat down in a leather recliner. The lobby was empty, and he couldn’t help but feel like they were making him wait to prove a point.
That they could make him wait.
Felix picked up a magazine and started to leaf through it.
He was halfway through an article about the fact that the economy was on the rise since the takeover before they called him in.
Tossing the magazine negligently onto a table, Felix followed behind one of the young associates as they led him to the same conference room they always went to.
She gestured to the lone chair that he always sat at.
Felix took the proffered seat. Looking up, he found himself facing the eight lawyers his aunt and uncle had contracted should something happen to them.
One of the clauses of those worst-case scenarios was if they happened to be missing. And that they were to be declared dead in absentia, providing that it was the appropriate amount of time they were missing.
Along with that provision came an impressive and full set of rules they’d had to put together to protect themselves, their estate, and Felix.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Campbell. Good to see you, as always,” said the lead legal expert. The group that had been put together was evenly split by men and women, though they seemingly came from every background imaginable.
The head honcho of this little group was an older man in his fifties by the name of Mr. Joseph, who had a head of salt-and-pepper hair and a clean-shaven face. He looked like your next-door neighbor—minus the fact that he was a bloodsucking bastard without a soul.
“First order of business, we’ve reviewed your request to have a regular gardener take care of the front and back yard,” said Joseph.
He’d gotten sick of mowing the massive yards and decided he might as well make use of the maintenance money that was set aside.
“It’s been approved and we’ll be hiring an appropriate candidate to take care of the grounds. Salary will be paid out of the maintenance account, of course.”
Felix nodded at that. That was fine. He didn’t like them picking the candidate, but he wasn’t going to argue with them. They’d just start quoting clauses and subsections at him.
“Second, and I apologize for this, as I don’t believe this is fun for anyone, we need to discuss your living arrangements.”
Felix lifted his eyebrows at this. “What about them? I’ve been living in that home for as long as I can remember. Grew up there.”
“Yes. Well. As you’re living there, we believe you should be paying rent. Should have been paying rent as well.”
Felix shook his head, his mouth opening and closing twice.
What the actual fuck? What stupid horse shit is this?
“To that end, we need to collect roughly one hundred and fifty thousand dollars from you in overdue rent.”
“Are you fucking kidding!?” Felix stood up, pressing his hands to the table.
Four of the people on the other side of the table looked uncomfortable, while the other four seemed sure of themselves.
“It’s all perfectly accurate, I assure you.”
“You want me to pay rent for living in a home that I’ve been in since as far back as I can remember?” Felix shouted at them.