Hello again! My apologies, as this chapter (and some of the other upcoming ones as well) is a bit short , but I'm having difficulty in dividing my story up into equal chapters. I hope everyone will enjoy it nonetheless. Let me know if you guys think its too short or not, or if you have any suggestions. And now, onwards to chapter 3, where Eli's luck seems to be changing... but is it for the better or for worse?
Present Day…
"… and then that jerk Mason got expelled after that! Best news I heard that day!" Isaac finished with a laugh.
"Good riddance. Add to that the fact he got whooped by Eli, I bet he learned his lesson. Right Eli?...Eli?"
"…Hmm? What?" Eli responded, as if snapped out of a daydream.
"You okay there pal?" Mike asked.
"Oh, sorry. Was just remembering the details of that day."
After finishing their meals, the three friends ordered coffee and continued their conversations as they sipped on them. Mike and Isaac finished theirs earlier and soon realized they were out of time for their lunchbreaks.
"Well Eli, it was great catching up with you. I wish I could hang around longer, but the boss'll kill me if I'm back late." Mike explained.
"I gotta go too unfortunately. Need to get back to helping the guys finish up a project. Maybe we'll find more time to do fun stuff on our vacations. At least we still have our lunch breaks until then. Looking forward to seeing you again next time Eli." Isaac added and hugged his friend goodbye.
After Mike's farewell to Eli, he and Isaac decided to leave together until they'd have to part ways further on. Eli decided to stay a little longer, partly also because he hadn't finished his coffee yet. He still had to fetch the groceries, but there was still plenty of time to do that. From the window he was sitting next to, he watched his two friends leave, then merely continued to dreamily enjoy the city life, watching the various mammals passing by as he sipped on his coffee, with the late afternoon sun lighting up the scene. Even the café had its own sights, sounds, smells and atmosphere that made him relax as he observed the other patrons eating, chatting and laughing. His attention landed on the nearby TV mounted on the wall, tuned to ZNN, where the news anchor seemed to have just finished with the headlines.
"…In other news, many Zootopians, especially the human populace, are celebrating today the addition of Zootopia's newest human resident. Whats so special about that, you ask? Well this particular resident happens to be the first human to arrive in Zootopia the natural way. Doctors at Zootopia General have finally officially announced the birth of the cub, a male, and stated that he is perfectly healthy and in stable condition, currently under precautionary observation after which he will be given to his parents. The proud parents, for that matter, were known to have arrived in much the same circumstances as other humans two years ago on separate occasions. They stated that they met shortly afterwards and were married almost a year ago.
This event comes as welcoming news to officials at the Zootopian Demographics and Census Bureau, who describe it as 'a start to a bright future for the otherwise dwindling human population.' Citing this event as an example, they are actively encouraging more humans to couple with their own, or at the very least, donate semen samples and participate in surrogacy, all in the hopes of pulling humankind out of the 'critically endangered' status."
"Huh, neat. Now if only they were offering payment for a semen sample…" Eli pondered with a grin.
Soon after, Eli was jarred out of his thoughts by the sound of the chair opposite his being moved, the one Isaac had been sitting on. Looking in that direction, he saw the culprit responsible was a snow leopardess who had just seated herself at his table. She was wearing a dress coat a slightly darker shade of grey than her own fur with a white dress shirt underneath. Initially Eli thought she may have made a mistake. Perhaps she was here on a blind date and thought Eli was her date, or judging by her clothing, she was here for a business deal and sat on the wrong table.
"Uh… can I help you?"
"Mr. Eli Hopps?" she inquired, much to Eli's surprise.
"Y-Yes?"
"Good afternoon Mr. Hopps. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Anya Purranova." She introduced, extending a paw for him to shake which he did.
"Is there something I can do for you, Miss Purranova?"
"Yes, I hope you don't mind sparing a few moments of your time? I'll get right to the point. I'm here as a representative of Mr. Shere Khan. More specifically, I work as his secretary. Perhaps you've heard of him?"
"Can't say I have."
"Mr. Khan is an influential businessmammal, entrepreneur, and the founder and Chairmammal of Khan Industries, a technological corporation producing various tools, devices, goods and commodities, as well as conducting research and development in the advancement of newer technologies for the benefit of all mammals. In addition, the company also partakes in construction, logistics, mining, resource collection, and the refinement of minerals into usable raw materials. He has an industrial empire that spans across the entire country, including one complex here on the outskirts of Zootopia, and the headquarters of the company is located here as well in the Business District in Downtown Zootopia."
"That's all very impressive, but what does it have to do with me?"
"Mr. Khan has heard that you're having an 'employment crisis', correct? He realizes your true potential, and as such, wishes to offer you a position in his company."
Now this was unsettling. How would this person know about him? Was he spying on him or something? And why him in particular anyways?
"And how exactly does this Mr. Khan know about me?"
"As I said before, he's a very influential mammal. He has eyes and ears everywhere, and he is constantly on the lookout for 'specially talented' individuals suitable for being a part of his unique workforce."
Eli thought about the offer while the snow leopardess patiently waited, her tail idly swishing behind her in typical feline fashion.
"Er… that's a very tempting offer, but I'm still not entirely sure about it. I'd probably have to know more to decide…"
"An odd thing to say for someone with supposedly no other options regarding employment. Still, its alright. If you do change your mind and wish to hear the details, come visit me at my office Downtown. Look for 'The Fang'. Here's my card. I do implore you to consider this opportunity though. Mr. Khan does not extend such privileges to just anyone. Good day, Mr. Hopps."
She placed her business card in front of Eli, then stood up to leave. Eli watched her through the window until she was out of sight. He picked up and examined the card before him. It was hers alright. Had her name, office phone number and address on it. Strangely though, it was somewhat thicker than a business card would normally be.
After finishing his coffee, Eli made his way straight to the supermarket, although throughout his trip he couldn't help but think about what happened earlier. Something seemed off about the whole thing. Why would they specifically seek him out? How did she and this Mr. Khan know so much about him? She said they apparently had informants around? If so, how long were they observing him? Was he being watched even right now? Eli did a quick survey of his surroundings just to check. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just fellow shoppers everywhere. Then again it would be impossible to find a skilled spy blended somewhere in this crowd. He tried to do away with his paranoia and finished up his shopping. The sun had started setting by the time he reached home and stowed the groceries. Just in time too, as his parents would be home soon.
Later…
"Thanks for getting the groceries. You saved us a lot of time and trouble." Judy smiled as the family ate their supper together at the table.
"Anytime, mom. Always happy to help out."
"So, what did you do for the rest of the day?"
"Well, I got to meet up with Mike and Isaac. We spent some time chatting at Snarlbucks."
"That sounds wonderful sweetie! It reminds me though, its been a while since I spoke to Isabella. I should call her up sometime."
"That's all well and good buddy, but didn't you do any job hunting? I'm sure you could've found some time for that." Nick interjected.
"Er… yeah, about that. A job kind of… hunted me." This seemed to catch both his parents' interests as their ears immediately perked up.
"Oh yeah? How so?" Nick asked as he sipped his drink.
"While I was alone at Snarlbucks, this snow leopard lady came up to me. She claimed to be Mr. Khan's secretary and said that he wanted to hire me for his company."
Hearing that name, Nick almost choked on his drink and immediately spat it out all over the dinner table, much to Judy's displeasure. "Did… Did you say Mr. Khan? As in THE Mr. Shere Khan? Owner of Khan Industries?"
"Y-Yeah. You know of him?" Eli asked, with Judy just as interested in Nick's reply as she hadn't heard the name before either. There was an ominous pause before Nick spoke again.
"Eli, I… I don't think you should take this job." He advised with a serious tone and expression, contrary to his usual careless demeanor.
"What?! Nick, are you crazy? Eli finally gets a job offer and you want him to refuse it?"
"Judy, you don't understand! This isn't some ordinary job offer. This one's coming from The Big Cat himself!"
"And just what, pray tell, is so bad about this Mr. Khan?"
"Well first off, from what I've heard, its almost impossible to get employed in Khan Industries the usual way, so for him to send an employment offer specifically to Eli, whom he supposedly shouldn't even know in the first place, is suspicious enough to begin with. Secondly, even though Mr. Khan seems clean at first glance, word on the street is that he may be engaged in some… 'questionable' activities. I've heard rumors of drug trafficking, dealing with criminals, illegal technological research, having shady characters in his employ, and the fact that any business rivals often tend to 'disappear'." Nick finished, making air quotes with his paws.
"If what you're saying is true, then how come I've never heard of him?"
"A lot of mammals don't know much about him. The guy tends to keep away from the public spotlight. That means no press conferences, interviews, pictures or public meetings. In the event his voice is needed somewhere, he sends his spokesmammals and representatives to do the talking. Pretty much the same thing that happened with Eli."
"So how do you know so much about him?"
"All information I've received from my very special secret contacts, Carrots."
"You mean the thugs, hooligans and con artists on the streets that you've known since your hustling days?" Judy crossed her arms, wearing an unimpressed look.
"Hey, these are the guys who know the real juicy stuff!"
"Or they're just delusional from being hyped up on drugs. Nick, these are just rumors, meaning theres no evidence of them being true, otherwise the police would have been all over this guy."
"Maybe he's just really good at covering his tracks."
"Nick, you are not going to deny Eli this opportunity just because of your baseless paranoia."
"Why don't you let Eli decide that for himself, hmm? I think he's old enough to do that." Nick suggested. Both pairs of eyes then turned to Eli, the young man taken aback by the sudden attention. He thought about it for a moment, before sifting through his pocket and pulling out the card that Anya handed him, staring at it.
"Well… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least check it out. I'm sure I could refuse them if I really wanted to."
"That sounds like a good idea. Don't you agree Nick?" she turned to the fox. Nick frowned at her, then turned to Eli with a sigh.
"Alright… Just be careful out there. If anything looks off, just say no and get out of there, okay?"
"I will, dad."
