Soldiers of Fortune
"The Invitation"
Although the air was warm, I was freezing. I never felt so cold in my life. I felt my chest rise up and down as it sucked in the air into my lungs greedily. This would have been a beautiful place to call home.
A song was playing on the car stereo. It was a happy kind of song so contradictory of the world today.
"Waiting on the world to change my ass," mumbled Leon as he skipped over the song and onto the next one and the next until he turned off the stereo altogether.
He leaned back in his seat and watched tall buildings of concrete and metal fly by. He down shifted and slowed his car down as he approached a black SUV sitting in front of his apartment building.
"Shit," he cussed under his breath as he pulled up behind it and watched two suits exit their vehicle. But he ignored them and walked towards his apartment.
"Mister Taylor," called out one of the suits.
"Yeah okay I get it," he cried back. "I'll have the money by tomorrow."
"Mister Taylor-."
"And you can tell that stupid bitch she's already got everything," said Leon. "And tell her to keep her goddam claws away from my car."
"Mister Taylor, that's not why we are here," said the suit as he followed him up to the stairs.
"Oh," said Leon. "Here's the paper. If you god-pushers didn't know by now, god doesn't exist."
"We aren't god-pushers either, Mister Taylor," said the suit handing him back the paper. "I think you'll need to read the cover story though."
Leon took back the paper and looked over the headline. "Pandora the New Frontier." He looked up at the two suits and noticed the other was holding a file in his hand. Leon opened his mouth and was about to say something but didn't know what to say.
"We're with the Resources Development Administration, the RDA for short," replied the other man. "After reading your file you have set of skills that would aid us with the development of the colonization of Pandora."
"Did you also read the part were it says, and I quote: I'm not doing this shit anymore," said Leon. "Killing more tree-hugging extremists isn't my thing."
"We are not asking you to fend off local extremists," said the second. "We are asking you to go to Pandora. And not because of your fighting skills in the military either."
"I've got enough problems here already. Probably get red flagged by my blood sucking ex-wife's attorneys if I even try to step foot off the planet."
"We will take care of your personal issues," said the first. "We can even settle this dispute with your divorce. Even if you decide not to go. And you will also receive compensation for your time on Pandora."
"The pay is good too," said the second.
"How good?" asked Leon.
The second suit looked at his car. "In one year you could buy ten cars. In six years the entire company."
"Six years," said Leon as he thought it over in his head. "That's a lot of underwear."