Growing up in the orphanage, Ziggy was always an easy target; but despite his best efforts, he could never figure out why. When the boys needed a victim to beat up, or when the girls needed someone to giggle at behind their back, they always chose the unsuspecting boy with curly brown hair. Ziggy wrestled over theories for his proneness to bullying, but he never nailed down an exact explanation.
Ziggy thought that maybe, he was too trusting. Like the time that Sarah Sampson told Ziggy to dye his hair green for Halloween:
"I'll do it, too," she said. "It'll be great!"
But of course, Sarah didn't follow through, and Ziggy had to endure green hair for the month of November.
Ziggy also thought that maybe, he was too naïve. Like the time that Willy Williams told Ziggy to meet the guys for a game of midnight hide-and-seek:
"It'll be spooky," he said. "You'll have fun!"
But instead, when Ziggy showed up, all the boys chased him around the park with paintball guns.
Finally, Ziggy thought that maybe, everyone in the orphanage was just resentful of his optimism and spirited disposition. Ziggy always believed that if he was happy, people around him would be happy, too, and everyone would treat him nicely. Unfortunately, he never found too much happiness around him; just selfishness, jealousy, and suppressed anger.
Even still, when he turned sixteen and was ordered by the State to move out of the orphanage, Ziggy had mixed feelings about leaving.
"I grew up here, you know," Ziggy said to Sister Anne as she hugged him. "And despite everything, I've really bonded with the younger kids."
"Everyone loves you, Ziggy," said Sister Anne.
Ziggy scoffed.
Sister Anne smiled. "Well, the Sisters have always loved you, as do the younger children."
She rested her hands on Ziggy's shoulders.
"You're a good kid."
"And look where that got me," he said, solemnly.
Sister Anne sighed and folded her hands in front of herself.
"Ziggy," she began, "Your whole life, you've wondered why you're different from everyone else, haven't you?"
"You mean, why I can't fit in with everyone else?" he replied.
"Perhaps," said Sister Anne. "Ziggy, I have always believed that there is a reason why you stand out from all the other children."
Ziggy raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Because," continued Sister Anne, "despite so many personal tragedies, you never gave up on life. Unlike most of the other children your age, you have chosen a path of righteousness. That's why you've always been such a good person in the face of life's challenges, and it's also why jealousy abounds you. Your strength, Ziggy, is your resiliency."
Ziggy was surprised by Sister Anne's honesty. He had listened to her chew out the other children hundreds of times, but she had never called them lost causes.
"I'm, uh –" began Ziggy, "I'm speechless."
"Go, Ziggy," she said. "Go into the world and continue spreading goodness to others. What you lack in some areas of life, you more than make up for in heart."
Ziggy smiled. He hugged Sister Anne one more time, picked up his bag, and walked out of the orphanage in full confidence.
"What I lack, I make up for in heart," thought Ziggy. "I'd better remember that."
***
By evening, Ziggy had more or less forgotten his conversation with Sister Anne. After riding the bus for the entire day, Ziggy could think of nothing else but being somewhere warm and bright. Instead, he found himself in a dark, dingy bus terminal in the middle of downtown.
"Sorry, sir," said the bus driver, "this is as far as I can take you. If you had some more money, I could take you back home."
"I don't have a home," Ziggy mumbled as he walked off the bus.
Ziggy's uncle was supposed to pick him up at Summer Hill Station. Unfortunately, he never arrived. When Ziggy tried calling him, his landlord picked up the phone.
"Your uncle," began the landlord in a thick accent, "left town about a month ago. I thought you knew."
Ziggy hung up the pay phone angrily.
Ziggy was shivering with cold. It was nearing midnight, and he knew the bus station would be closing soon. He stepped outside; it was raining.
"Could my luck be any worse?" Ziggy thought.
"GIVE ME YOUR BAG!!"
"What?!" Ziggy spun around – just in time to be punched in the face. As he fell to the ground, somebody ripped his bag from his arm. Ziggy heard the thief's footsteps echoing in a puddle as he ran away.
After a moment, Ziggy stood up.
"Joke's on you," he called to the darkness. "I don't own anything valuable."
Ziggy sighed and looked around. He rubbed his aching jaw and knew that in addition to his face, his ego had been badly bruised. He ran his fingers through his hair, which had become plastered to his head after standing in the rain for so long.
"Gotta find somewhere to sleep," Ziggy said through chattering teeth. He looked down and found a discarded newspaper.
"Maybe there's a YMCA or something."
Ziggy looked through the sopping pages. He smiled at an advertisement on page eleven.
"Perfect."
***
As the paper had promised, the Racing Track was open all night. Ziggy walked inside and graciously accepted the blast of warm air that greeted him. Even though he was soaking wet, Ziggy looked no more bizarre than the rest of the clients at the Race Track. He couldn't understand why so many women looked like they were dressed for Halloween. Ziggy checked his watch: it was just after one in the morning.
Ziggy made his way to the bathroom and spent thirty minutes warming himself at the hand dryer. It was bliss. Afterwards, he went to the lobby and got himself a complimentary cup of coffee and a stale bagel. It was the best meal he ever had in his life.
Next, Ziggy looked around the Race Track for somewhere to sleep. Even though all races were called off due to rain, Ziggy found a way to sneak into the stands. He found a padded chair near the back of the stadium, sat down, and closed his eyes.
***
"Hey."
Someone was poking Ziggy in his ribcage.
"Hey, you."
"Just five more minutes, Sister," Ziggy groaned.
"Do I look like your sister, kid?"
Ziggy opened his eyes. After rubbing his face and sitting up, he found himself staring at a middle-aged, bald man in a business suit.
"Oh – um –" Ziggy began in startled spurts.
"What are you doing here, kid? The track is closed."
"I was, uh – I'm the night guard. My shift ended twenty minutes ago, and I fell asleep. I'll just be going now…"
Ziggy stood up. The bald man pushed him back into his seat.
"Not so fast, kid. You think this is some fancy hotel or something?"
"Um… Would you be flattered if I said yes?" Ziggy smiled and batted his eyes.
"You're coming with me."
The bald man grabbed Ziggy by the shirt and dragged him.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Ziggy pleaded. "Be gentle! I bruise easy!"
***
Ten minutes later, Ziggy found himself in the nicest office he had ever been in. At the orphanage, the Father's office was modest and dreary. But this office had leather sofas, a flat screen TV, an aquatic fish tank, and –
"Look at all that candy!" Ziggy licked his lips. His mouth watered and his eyes grew wide.
"Pay attention, kid," said the bald man.
After an awkward pause, Ziggy spoke:
"Can I have some candy?"
The bald man's scathing stare answered his question.
The next moment, two skinny men in business suits walked through the door. Behind them was the most accomplished-looking person Ziggy had ever met. Wearing an Armani suit, he was fixing gold cufflinks onto his sleeves. After taking a few confident strides into the room, he stared down at Ziggy.
"What's this about, Benny?" he asked the bald man. "I've got an appointment at nine," he continued, consulting his Rolex watch.
"Boss – I found him asleep in the stands this morning. I don't know how long he'd been there."
Ziggy decided he would attempt to make a good impression. He stood up and reached out his hand.
"It's an honour to meet you, sir."
Before Ziggy could take a step, Benny grabbed his shoulder and threw him onto the couch. In shock, Ziggy managed to glance at the other suits, who were reaching into their jacket pockets.
"What gives?" Ziggy yelled.
"Don't you know who this is?!" Benny shouted at Ziggy. He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief before continuing. "This is Fresno Bob, kid."
"Fresno Bob?" Ziggy repeated. "Was he born in Fresno, California?"
Benny groaned in frustration.
"Want me to take care of him?" Benny asked. He pounded his fist.
Fresno Bob raised his hand. Benny growled, but sat down without a word. The suits removed their arms from their jackets and relaxed.
"He was just being polite," said Fresno Bob. His voice was intimidating but undeniably endearing. He walked around the office and sat down behind his mahogany desk. "Why did you come here?"
"Well, you see," Ziggy began. He explained everything that had happened to him the preceding night. When he had finished, Fresno Bob smiled.
"An orphan, huh?" he said. "And you say you're jobless and homeless?"
"Yes, sir," Ziggy replied.
Fresno Bob looked at Benny.
"Benny –" he began.
"Yes, sir?"
"Don't we need a young person for that job you were talking about?"
Benny grinned.
"Yes, sir."
"Well, perhaps Ziggy would be willing to help you with that." Fresno Bob looked at Ziggy, and their eyes met. Ziggy was too excited to notice anything sinister about his gaze.
"You mean, you'll pay me?" he asked hopefully.
Fresno Bob sat back in his chair.
"How does two hundred dollars sound?"
Ziggy never felt happier.
***
"This is great!" Ziggy went on as he wolfed down another piece of candy. "I've never had a real job before."
"I wonder why," Benny said sarcastically.
Benny was driving, and Ziggy was sitting in the passenger's seat. He had never been in a Lexus before. The job sounded easy enough: they had to pick up a shipment of medication. He couldn't understand why Fresno Bob needed a kid, but since he was being paid more money than he had ever received, he didn't ask any questions.
"Are we there yet?" Ziggy asked.
"Put a sock in it, kid," Benny said.
"You know," Ziggy began, "you slept in a bed last night, and I slept in a stadium; which makes it hard to understand why you're the cranky one."
Benny rolled his eyes. After a few minutes, they arrived at the destination. Benny spoke:
"Okay, kid. This is the big leagues. You're up to bat. Are you ready to be a man?"
"I was born ready!" Ziggy responded. He flexed his right arm for Benny.
Benny blinked. After a moment, he continued:
"Just stay behind me and follow my lead. Got it?"
"Yup," said Ziggy.
Benny continued to stare at Ziggy, who suddenly shrank back into his seat. He knew Benny was being serious. Now that he had a job, he needed to get it together.
"Got it," Ziggy said sternly.
"Good. Let's go."
***
They walked into what looked like a pharmacy. However, there was barely any merchandise in the store. The two walked up to the counter, where a tall, husky man was waiting. His white coat barely fit him.
"You again?" His voice echoed throughout the store.
"I know what you're thinking, Jim" Benny began. "You told me not to come back until I brought you proof. Well, here it is."
Benny pointed at Ziggy. Ziggy didn't know what Benny was talking about, but he didn't say anything.
Jim stared at Ziggy. "This is the kid?" he asked.
"Yeah, Jim," Benny answered. "This is him. Now, look at him, Jim. Look at him real good. Then tell me: Are you really gonna let him die?"
Ziggy choked. "What did he say?" Ziggy thought.
"He has a horrible cough," said Benny. He looked at Ziggy expectantly. Ziggy began to cough.
"It's horrible," he said, and he began to cough some more.
"See his face?" Benny went on. "See how pale he is? Jim – you really wanna stand in the way of this kid's medication?"
Jim crossed his arms and stared piercingly. Ziggy was shaking with fear, but was pleased that it made his act more convincing.
After a moment, Jim relaxed.
"Alright," he said. "Sorry about the wait, kid, but I had to be sure that Fresno Bob was buying the medication legitimately."
Jim disappeared behind the counter. When he returned, he was holding a giant box.
"This should be enough for a few months," he said.
Benny handed Jim an envelope, then he picked up the box. The two turned around to leave. As they were about to walk through the door, Jim called after them:
"Hey, kid."
Ziggy began to sweat. Slowly, he turned around.
"Yes?"
"Feel better, kid."
Ziggy's heart jumped into his throat.
"Thank you," he squeaked. Then he left the store.
***
"What was that all about?" Ziggy demanded when he and Benny returned to Fresno Bob's office.
"What's the problem?" asked Fresno Bob.
"You hired me to lie to a pharmacist?"
Fresno Bob sighed. He stood up, walked around his desk, and sat down next to Ziggy.
"Ziggy, what you did today wasn't a lie. There are many dying children who need this medication. What I asked you to do was to represent them. By getting it, you've saved many lives."
"So, you mean you're giving this medication to needy children?"
Fresno Bob smiled.
"Yeah. Something like that."
Ziggy stood up and paced the room.
"Then, what I did today – it was to help people."
"Yeah," said Fresno Bob. "And Benny tells me that he likes your spunk."
Ziggy looked at Benny, who winked at him.
"You're a good kid," said Fresno Bob. "You did for me what no one else on my payroll could. How about I hire you to do some more jobs for me?"
Ziggy beamed.
"You mean, you'll hire me full time?"
"That's what I said, kid," Fresno Bob responded. "How about it?"
Fresno Bob reached out his hand. Ziggy was overwhelmed with everything that had happened to him in the last twenty four hours. He was afraid that blinds were being pulled in front of his eyes, but he couldn't think of any negatives. After being robbed and lying in the gutter, Fresno Bob and Benny had taken him in and were offering him a full-time job. He'd make friends, eat good food, and have a place to sleep. Even better, as far as he knew, he'd be helping people with what he was doing.
Ziggy took Fresno Bob's hand.
"I'm in, sir. Thank you."
"Excellent," said Fresno Bob. "Benny will show you around. You and I will meet tomorrow for breakfast, and we'll talk details."
"Yes, sir," said Ziggy.
Fresno Bob left the office, leaving Ziggy alone with Benny.
"You any good at driving?" asked Benny.
"Oh…" Ziggy started.
"Never mind," Benny interrupted, "we'll talk about that later." He rested his hand on Ziggy's shoulder and escorted him to the door. Ziggy smiled, but he couldn't overcome the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Welcome to the Scorpion Cartel," said Benny.