Chapter 72: CHECK

Up the narrow stairs. Through the still-busy main floor of the club. Past the bouncer and the line of people still waiting in the cold. The night air hit me clean and sharp after the smoke and tension downstairs.

I slipped the envelope into the inside pocket of my jacket and kept walking.

Kidneys: still present. Heart: still beating. Good.

And now I had twenty thousand dollars in cash sitting against my chest. A fucking jackpot by any reasonable standard.

If only my Luck stat had been higher. I was already a solid player. Give me better variance and nights like this could become a regular income stream instead of a one-time favor for a man I never wanted to see again.

Worth investing in eventually.

I pulled my jacket tighter against the cold and headed for the bus stop, the weight of the envelope a constant reminder against my ribs.

"Alright," I muttered to myself. "Could’ve definitely been worse."

I hadn’t made it more than a few steps before I spotted a familiar face among the people waiting outside.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Jodi.

My sister was standing near the back of the line, looking perfectly comfortable despite the cold. And she wasn’t alone. A guy stood beside her, close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed. Her new boyfriend, if I remembered correctly.

Of all the places. Of all the fucking nights.

I slowed for half a second, my eyes settling on her. She noticed me almost immediately. Our eyes met across the pavement, and I gave her a small shake of my head.

Seriously?

I’d told her to stay the hell away from this place. More than once, as a matter of fact. Yet here she was, waiting in line like she hadn’t heard a single word I’d said.

Jodi held my gaze for a moment. Then, without so much as a change in expression, she turned her attention back to the guy beside her.

Just like that. She acted as though she hadn’t even seen me.

I let out a humorless breath through my nose and shook my head again. God damn idiot.

Was she here for another gambling session? Or was she just looking to get drunk with her new boyfriend? Maybe she’d decided that my warnings were nothing more than background noise. Wouldn’t exactly be the first time.

Ah, fuck it.

Whatever her reason for being here, it wasn’t my problem. Not tonight. I’d had more than enough trouble for one evening, and I wasn’t about to invite any more of it into my life.

If she wanted to keep making stupid decisions, she could do it without dragging me along.

I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets and continued toward the bus stop, leaving Jodi and her boyfriend behind with the rest of the waiting crowd.

Twenty thousand dollars in my pocket, and somehow, I was still having a shitty night.

????????????

The next morning my hands were full of grocery bags when I unlocked the door. Twenty thousand dollars had a way of making the world feel less hostile. Real food. Actual options. I stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind me.

I set the bags on the counter and started putting things away. Meat and frozen vegetables into the freezer. Milk, eggs, and leftovers into the fridge. Dry goods into the nearly empty cupboards. For the first time in a long while the kitchen didn’t look completely pathetic when I was finished.

Once everything was sorted I opened the system and checked the daily Endurance quest.

"Run 5 kilometers. Walk 2 kilometers. Complete 3 sets of push-ups."

Doable. I’d already covered most of the walking distance earlier, the bus had been packed past the point of tolerance, so I’d gotten off early and walked the rest of the way home with the bags. One less thing to worry about.

I stretched my arms over my head, went into the bedroom, and changed into something I could actually move in. It was snowing outside, but the air didn’t have the same bitter edge as the day before. Still, I pulled on my jacket.

A new quest window appeared as I was zipping it up.

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NEW QUEST

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[!] MISSION:

Check

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> OBJECTIVE:

Call Sarah.

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> REWARD:

+190 EXP

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Just call her? Easy enough.

I dialed.

She picked up after a few rings. In the background I could hear water running.

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MAIN MENU

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NAME: Chance Brooks

LVL: 14 [373/1240]

RANK: Homewrecker

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[ CORE STATS ]

> CHA: 30 [Min. 2 | 0.5 cost]

> END: 11

> PER: 30

> LCK: 4

> IBE: 31

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[ ENERGY ]

> LUST: 200/200

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[ACTIVE PERKS: Expand]

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SIN POINTS: 1509

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"Hey," I said, still finishing the zipper. "Sarah."

"Morning." Her voice sounded tired. "Just washing the dishes."

"Bad time?"

"A little. I’m wiped."

"Hubert’s bullshit?"

A short breath. "You could say that."

"Well... if you feel like it, you can come with me. I’m heading out for a run in a bit."

"I think I just want to be lazy today," she said. "I’ll pass."

"Fair enough. Just wanted to check in after yesterday." I nodded even though she couldn’t see it. "I won’t keep you. Bye."

"Bye. And thank you, Chance."

"Always."

I hung up. Easy EXP.

I grabbed my keys, left the bedroom, and opened the flat door. The moment I stepped into the hallway and turned to lock up, the door across from me opened.

Karim. He leaned against the doorframe with that same lazy smirk, arms loosely crossed, watching me like he had all the time in the world. He didn’t say a word. Just looked. Hubert was home today. That much I already knew. Karim wouldn’t try anything loud or stupid while the husband was upstairs. He was waiting for a better opening.

I locked my door, met his eyes for half a second, then shook my head and walked past him toward the building exit.

"Twat." I muttered under my breath once I was out of earshot.

Something still had to be done about him. If his plan had been to run straight to Hubert with the photo, he would have already done it. He hadn’t. Which meant he was keeping it as leverage, probably to pressure Sarah directly when the timing suited him. Today wasn’t that day. Hubert’s presence bought a little time.

Outside, the snow was still falling in light, steady flakes. A thin wind cut down the street, but it didn’t have yesterday’s teeth. Manageable.

I started running.

The system interface appeared at the edge of my vision almost immediately, the progress bar beginning its slow fill with every stride.

First the Endurance quest.

Everything else could wait until after.

While I ran I opened the quest menu and scrolled through the available options. Most of them were either too risky or not worth the time. Then one caught my eye.

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NEW QUEST

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[!] MISSION:

Early Bird

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> OBJECTIVE:

Complete Endurance

quest before time runs out.

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> DEADLINE: 01:27:05

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> REWARD:

+1 Endurance

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Oh, that was good.

I picked up the pace immediately. The progress bar at the edge of my vision started filling faster. Behind me the apartment building shrank with every stride. Karim was still a problem I had no clean solution for. He knew people like Cole. I had money now, but money didn’t equal protection. Not yet.

Annoying didn’t even begin to cover it.

I was still turning the problem over when a body slammed into me from the side.

The impact drove me straight into the mouth of a narrow alley near the gas station. I hit the ground hard, air punching out of my lungs. When I looked up, a man I’d never seen before was already scrambling back to his feet.

"Move, bitch!" he shouted, and took off running.

I pushed myself up, rubbing my back, just as two police officers sprinted past the alley entrance after him.

"Fuck this street..."

My old place never had shit like this. Everything wrong with my current life still traced back to Jodi in one way or another. At least now I had money. If I could grow it, especially by sharpening my Luck and using the tables properly, I might actually be able to leave this shithole behind.

I shook my head, stepped out of the alley, and forced myself back into a run.

"What a shitty day..."

Whatever little patience I had left was slowly running out, thanks to this wretched place. Every passing moment seemed to test what little restraint I had managed to hold on to. The longer I stayed, the harder it became to keep my frustration buried. But then again, losing my temper wouldn’t do me any good. Not here. Not now.

I had to play my cards right. I couldn’t afford to make careless decisions or draw unnecessary attention to myself. Just thinking about it... somewhere I could finally breathe without feeling like I was constantly waiting for the next terrible thing to happen.

All I needed was a little more time. A little patience, even if I had almost none left to spare. I could endure a few more days, perhaps a few more weeks, if that was what it took.

After all, I’d come this far. I wasn’t about to let this place break me now.

??????????