A Starry, Smokey, Night

"Hello, my name is John Lackey, I'm calling to answer your ad about the corporate accountant?" I said talking in a nervous tone.

"Ah, yes, well I got the fax of your resume and I'm very impressed" Said the Business man

"Why don't you come down to the office, so we can talk in person?"

I responded, Flabbergasted, "Ah… yes! I'm free tomorrow, Wednesday, anytime this week."

The business man confirms by saying "yes, by all means drop by any time before 5 o'clock. By the way my name is Jim Ross, I'm in room 215 on the 35th floor."

I politely say goodbye to Jim Ross and hang up the phone. As soon as the phone hit the receiver I exploded with happiness! It has been 2 years since I graduated college and I couldn't find any job that would meet my level of profession. I had to hold down my hospital job, which I swore to quit from after I got out of college. Life has good ways of throwing curve balls at your dreams. Now that I have finally found a job at a big firm, I was sure my luck has finally turned around. The company I applied to was the renowned IGP(International Global Products) corporation, the producers of everything from cars and giant robot technology to candy and other house hold products. They are a company that brings in nearly a trillion dollars in revenue each year. The CEO, Duragon Mikado, Is the richest man in the world and comes from a highly respected family line. He is named the most powerful man in the world. The mere power of this corporation has the power to break countries with its sphere of influence.

I was so excited about the results of the morning, but I forgot what time it was. It was only 12:00 in the afternoon; I decided to go play call of duty for the rest of the day. I went to bed early that night, overexcited about the interview. The next morning, my alarm went off about 9:00 in the morning, It took at least 15 minutes for me to get out of bed. "Ah man, I really need to stop playing so much call of duty. I don't understand why I even play that game, it's so shitty anyways." I got my breakfast on my way to the office, on the way I noticed a bunch of cars at the local Mcdonalds. Peering into the parking lot I spotted 5 or 6 Lancer Evolutions. The cars were beautiful; they looked very well kept and could probably kick my ass in a race any day. As I was daydreaming while driving, I neglected the red light in front of me and almost crashed into a pick-up truck. It feeling of nervousness and stress was overwhelming, but the happiness from finally finding someone willing to hire me was keeping my mind off how I'm going to break the ice with this guy. Thoughts of a giant monster with green, scaly skin and a cowboy hat went through my mind as I was walking through the main entrance of the seventy story sky scraper.

A large entrance lobby stood before me, I was enthralled by the size of just the first floor. The lobby was themed with giant white pillars, white floors, and modern style waiting areas. In the middle of the lobby was receptionist desk; there were two women there, one that looked like a sports illustrated model and one that looked like an ogre. I decided to walk over to the model-looking receptionist. "Hello, I'm here to see Jim Ross.", engaging the girl before the ogre tried to help me; the girl responded "yes, we were expecting you . Jim Ross is on the 35th floor. The elevators are over there", she pointed at a white wall. I stood looking confused at the receptionist. Just then the wall changed shape into twin elevator door and opened, revealing the elevator shaft. Standing confused I quickly ran into the elevator and hit the button with 35 next to it. I thought to myself "jeez, I knew IGP was the leader in new technology, but not technology as advanced as this. I wonder what they are developing behind the scenes." The elevator doors opened to a large room that looked like any other corporate building; cubicles lined up in rows with people typing away at computers.

I walked around the outside of the cubicles and found myself at room number 215. I knocked on the door and it automatically opened and a big fat man was sitting at the desk. My thought of a giant green monster with a cowboy hat were more than true. The giant man got out of his seat and went to shake my hand. I received his hand shake and said "thank you for having me today Mr. Ross." Jim Responded quickly "oh please son, call me JR. Now! Let get down to business" JR pointed to a chair, notioning me to sit down. "Now! Let's cut the shit son, you're hired! "Exasperated by his response I nearly fainted. I regained my composer and responded "Thank you, sir. I… I'm" just then JR cut me off mid-sentence "But! Before you are hired Ya'll have to fulfill one condition! You have to eat this and show me the results." JR pushed a small package with Twix written on the front of it. Completely confused I ask "umm… sir what is this?" JR responded "you'll see son, come with me I got something I want to show ya!" JR pressed a button on his computer and a set of doors began to form out of the wall and open.

The door opened and inside was a gigantic white room with no furniture in it. The room had to be as big as a football field. I walked In with amazement written all over my face. JR proceeded behind me and the doors closed behind him "Now! Son I need you to eat that bar of candy then the fun will begin!" my mind was going crazy, unsure what was going to happen next. I took the bar and opened it. Feeling that the bar was going to be something nasty and disgusting, I put it in my mouth and it tasted just like a Twix bar. All of a sudden, as soon as I took the first bite, my world turned completely upside down everything went into slow motion. JR summoned IGP military robots out of doors on the side of the white room. The robots eyes turned red, which was considered battle mood, and proceeded to attack me. One of the robots charged me and the other shot an omega beam at me. The slow motion effect made the omega beam look slow, same thing with the giant robot. I quickly dodged to the left, realizing I can jump extremely high. I must have jumped 50 feet away from my position. The robots kept charging and shooting at me, all I did was dodge their attacks; until they used their on-board communication to form a flanking strategy. Not realizing I was falling into their trap, I dodged only to have one of them charge behind me and hit me. I flew back at least 25 feet into the hard metal floor of the white room. I got up completely astonished at how little the impact hurt. "Holy shit! I must be invincible or something? That didn't hurt one bit, yet it should have!" I got up and thought to myself "well if getting hit doesn't hurt, then punching these guys must not hurt either!" I got ready for the next charge and dodged, but right as they were going to use their flanking maneuver, I turned around in mid-air and punched the robot as hard as I could. My fist went straight through the robots frontal armor and I ripped out its motherboard. Astonished at my strength I thought to myself "my goodness, how can I even do this… and how did I even know where the motherboard on this thing was?" the second robot shot me with his omega beams and I deflected them with my arms. I then went to punching it and ripping out its motherboard. JR stood with a smirk on his face "good son! You have passed the orientation! Now I just need to go over a few of the boring things with ya'll!" completely exhausted from the fight, I feel my body coming down from its heightened power. JR handed me a stack of paperwork containing, liability, and privacy. I skimmed over the rest of the text and quickly signed the papers. JR took them back and told me when I can report for work tomorrow. I ran out of that place with very mixed feelings, I thought to myself, "this job is completely ridiculous. There is no way this is all real. Jumping, punching, and getting hurt like superman doesn't seem possible in this world." I got home played call of duty till midnight, and then went to bed.

The next morning was very tiring, once again I played way to much call of duty, I felt sick. I got myself up, showered, and headed out the door. On my way to work I got passed by that group of Lancer Evolutions. They were going really fast, so I let them go by me. The entrance to the Mikado Tower looked threatening as ever, especially from what I went through at orientation. I took the elevator to the 35th floor, where I met JR, who was standing near an empty office. "Mornin son! Welcome to yer first day on the job! Here is your workplace!" I looked at JR confused; I was under the influence that I was going to be a cubicle worker. JR added "Son, I'm gonna introduce you to yer new partner." JR introduced me to a tall man wearing aviator sunglasses and a long brown trench coat. As if the strange clothing wasn't enough, he started talking in French. I looked completely confused at the tall man. He apologized and said "uhmm… excuse me, I did not mean to confuse you my name is…" JR interjects by saying "his name be Jacque or Jean or somethin…" the man in the trench coat continues "my name is Jean Reno" reaching out his hand. I shake his hand and introduce myself. The day was composed of JR telling me how to use the computer systems and the how the office runs. Jean and I share the office space. The office had a window, a computer and two desks, nothing special. I got out of work at 5:00 pm, I was about to say goodbye to Jean when he brought me to the side and had me follow him down the street. We came to a dark alley way and Jean turned around and told me in a stern, threatening voice to meet him at the Dog Street Bar at 7 o'clock. I returned to my car and drove home.

Peaked by the curiosity of getting to know mysterious partner I decided to go to the bar. I arrived at 7 o'clock on the dot and entered the bar. Dog Street was a place full of thugs, prostitutes and gangs. It's a dirty place to have a drink for office workers like us. Entering the bar I was hit by the smell of all different kinds of smoke and the smell of alcohol. I recognized Jean's long, dark, brown trench coat. I sat down next to Jean and he turned his head to me then to the barkeeper and ordered me a drink. Jean started talking quietly without looking at me "I have to tell you something that you need to know and something that could endanger not only your job but your life." Completely surprised by Jean's statement I responded "hold on, wait a second! What are you talking about Jean?" Jean responded quickly "There are many things you don't know about IGP. IGP has been developing consumer products for centuries now and they are the controllers of the world markets. I am part of a group of people who know the true intentions of its CEO, Duragon Mikado, and we are working to stop Mikados plans." Doubting Jeans statements I retort "Jean, are you sure? How could Mikado do anything like your describing?" Jean responded "Mikado is a mad man. He is power hungry and he wants all the power not only in his own company but in himself as well" I respond "what kind of power is Mikado trying to get his hand on?" Jean lowers his voice farther and whispers to me "he is trying to get his hand on the painting a Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh." Question his explanation "Wasn't van Gogh a painter?" Jean says "yes that is what everyone thinks of when they hear his name; however he wasn't just a painter. He was also the discoverer of the Dark Paint Brush. The Dark Paint Brush was an ancient artifact and was infused with dark energy. Van Gogh used it to paint a Starry Night, which is infused with dark energy that Mikado wants to use to become all powerful." I stare into my drink and think "how can this be possible? Assuming Jean is telling me the truth, even though this doesn't seem possible at all. I have to find this out for myself." Jean takes a swig and asks "so are you in or out?" I answer back "I have to see this for myself, but how can I see it. I don't have access to the private files in the office." Jean responds "I'll help you get in. here are the access codes to the private files sector. Don't be too long or you'll get caught." He hands me a piece of paper containing the secret passcode. I walked out of the bar thinking about what Jean said. Just before I left Jean grabbed me by the shoulder and whispered in my ear "if you ever need to call me, don't use my real name. My code name is The Old Lady." My mind was spinning with all the information and false truths I've been given. I drove home quietly, thinking about whether I should believe Jean or forget about him and report him to the corporation.

The next morning was strange, I felt and eerie chill in the air that made the hairs on the back of my neck do the salsa dance. I awoke to the draft coming from my window. I looked out the window and found that it was snowing. I thought to myself, "how strange, it's august yet it's snowing?" looking over to my clock I saw that it was almost 11 o'clock. I hurried into the shower and ran out the door. I drove to Mikado Tower in ten minutes and was up to my office in five. I was met by JR standing in my office talking to Jean. They turned and stared at me until JR gave me a pat on the back telling me to go to work. The rest of the day I spent doing reports and filing papers. Once JR and the office workers left I stayed with Jean till at least six o'clock. Jean usually works late, seeing as he is an undercover agent. Jean picked up his coat and had half of his body out the door. He turned and said to me "make sure you don't stay too long. They may find the honey bee in the wasps nest." I understood Jeans analogy. Once Jean left I got to work. I used my technology powers to find the security component in the computer and disable it. I imputed the access code into the computer. A screen came up with links to different top secret projects IGP was developing. The one that caught my eye was called "Project Darkness". I clicked on Project Darkness and it came up with information on the painting A Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. The page revealed information about the search for a person who was referred to as "The One". It told me that only the one can unlock and harness the power sealed away in the painting. My eyes were glued to the screen; I started to realize Jean was telling the truth and IGP, more particularly Duragon Mikado, was up to no good. The project laid out the ground work for a plan for Duragon to become the ruler of the world. All of a sudden I got the feeling that someone was behind me. I turned around and JR was standing behind me striking down on me with a horrid monkey wrench. I used my special powers to dodge at fast speed. "So, looks like a little rat has infiltrated the system! Son, you just broke the god damn rules! Now I guess I'm gonna have to fry ya'll up like a Texas Bar-B-Q" JR came around for another attack, he swung the monkey wrench at me and it hit the floor. The power of JR's blow busted a hole in the concrete floor. I swung my arm around and gave him a full power punch to the face. JR's body flew back like a rag doll. His body went through at least 3 rows of cubicles and was still able to get up. Once the dust had cleared I looked at his face. I blew off half of his face, underneath was metal. I realized then that he wasn't just a green scaled monster with a cowboy hat; he was a green scaled monster android with a cowboy hat. I thought to myself "he must be one of Mikados androids that he made to regulate the corporation and kill anyone who seeks to destroy it." Just then JR grabbed his monkey wrench and threw it at me, when my guard was down. I blocked the monkey wrench, but the monkey wrench pushed me back because it was so powerful. It hit the ground as if it weighed 40 tons; I picked it up and was surprised it did weigh as heavy as a truck. JR jumped up and flew at me at break neck speeds. I reared up used my hands on the ground to give more power to my back legs. I turned my body, using my back legs to kick like a donkey. The blow hit JR in the chest and penetrated through his cyber heart. JR was down for the count; his body lay lifeless on the concrete. With a sigh of relief, I turned my back and proceeded back into the destroyed office. The desk and computer was destroyed, but at least I understand what Duragon is up to. "I have to stop him; he's going to destroy the world with this power. Since he is going to use me to unlock the power of A Starry Night, I must be able to destroy the powers hidden in A Starry Night!"

I proceeded to the elevator and hit the button with the 71 next to it, The Corporate Office. I felt my power rising in correspondence with my anger for Mikado. The elevator stopped and the door slowly opened. It opened to a large room with black marble floors and a large desk in the center of the room. Sitting behind the desk was a shadowy figure; the shadowy figure rose from the chair and started to laugh subtly. A few lights came on as I took my first step onto the black floor. When the light shined on Duragon, I saw his true face. He was a pale white man with long blonde hair. His body mass was huge, his muscles were toned like body builder. Durgon began talking in a condescending tone "So, you are the little lab rat that I have been searching for. I see you have learned how to unleash your potential. You will unlock the painting whether you want to or not. I don't need your body living to unlock the power!" I retorted back "Duragon! I will stop you; you will not use the power of A Starry Night to conquer the world!" Duragon responded "I will enjoy crushing your pathetic powers and using your mangled corpse to fulfill my destiny! Maybe I will leave you alive so you can see the anointment of a god! Hahaahahah!" just then Duragon jumped forward and it seemed like he disappeared. He appeared behind me and out the corner of my eye I could see him punching me in the back. I flew forward at least 50 feet; I thought to myself "Shit! That actually hurt! To think, that was only a low powered punch. I can feel that he has power more than I thought he did. Duragon came around for another attack, punching me straight in the face. I fell to the ground and he got on top of me and started punching me into the ground at lightning speeds. My body convulsed with amount of power being unleashed on my upper body. I felt like I was going to die if I didn't force myself to move. It was no use I couldn't move; Duragon's punches were too strong. My mind went black, I could no longer see, and the world was completely pitch black. I felt like I was dead, I thought I was in limbo or something to that extent. Then all the sudden I was looking over my body, Duragon still punching furiously, I lay there lifeless. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a man in brown trench coat, wearing aviator sunglasses, and carrying a giant rocket launcher! It was Jean, he must went home stocked up on ammo and came back to work! Jean pulled the rocket launcher off his back and aimed it Duragon and shoot an RPG. The rocket hit Duragon in the back. Duragon cringed and stopped punching. Just then I felt the massive pressure coming from my body lift away. I awoke from my near death experience and quickly retaliated against the brutal villain. Duragon was still recovering from the devastating blow to his side. There was a massive crater in his side from the explosion of the rocket against his skin. Just then Duragon fell to the ground face first. "He must be dead! Good job Jean" I exclaimed as I walked over to Jean. "We aren't done yet. We still have to find the painting and destroy it." Jean explained. Jean brought out a laptop he was hiding under his trench coat. He hooked it up to Duragons computer to hack into the painting vault. A large door opened in the floor behind Duragon's desk. Up came pedestal, holding the painting A Starry Night. I could feel the dark powers pulsating from the painting; it was starting to give me a headache, being within direct sight of it. "The power of this painting is incredible; no wonder Duragon saw so much destruction with this painting." Jean exclaimed, coming away from the desk to look at the painting. Since I was the only one with the powers to touch the painting, I approached the painting. "If this painting is capable of such destruction, how come it can't be used for good? I sense there is some goodness in this painting. The powers in this painting is not darkness, this painting contains the power of creation and destruction. This painting can help so many people!" I said out load. Before I touched it I heard rapid footsteps coming behind me. I went to turn around and Duragon somehow got up and kicked Jean, full force, in the back. Jean flew across the room, going completely unconscious. Duragon then went for a high kick, hoping to catch me off guard. I blocked the kick and threw him, by his leg, across the room. Duragon writhed with pain and pulled out of his pants pocket, something that looked like a remote control. "We are all going to die! If I am to die, you will die with me! This building is rigged with a fusion bomb, powerful enough to cover up everything I have done here, including you and your partner." A timer lit up on Duragon's computer screen. I rushed over to the computer and tried to see if I could stop it. It was no use, the computer had locked me out and I only had 30 seconds. For a moment I thought to myself that I can only escape with the painting or "The Old Lady" Jean Reno. I closed my eyes and thought over the effects of my choices. "If it wasn't for the The Old Lady, I would have been dead on the floor. The painting can help many people if the power is in the right hands. I know jean would save me over a million dollars or something ridiculous like that. I would be betraying Jean if I didn't save him"

I got up from the desk and sprinted as fast as I could over to Jean. I picked him up on my back; Jean was still unconscious from the blow that Duragon dealt to him. I felt the power of the painting flowing into my body. There wasn't any stair ways down; I ran as fast as I could and jumped out of a hole in the windows of the 71st floor. I was falling with Jean hanging over my back, I felt a surge of power from the painting and I started flying. I must have been flying as fast as a fighter jet. In the background I could see the building explode like an atomic bomb. Duragon and A Starry Night were no more.