Chapter 3
"Um…" she started "please come in." she said, oblivious to the fact that he already had. He came in and plopped down on a chair.
"So, can I get you anything?" She asked, she didn't know why the man had just walked in. What did he want?
"Naw, I'm fine, actually, I just came here to tell you that you passed the first test." At first it didn't click, and then she remembered the strange test she took.
"Oh, really? Thanks!" She started to say.
"Whoa, don't start thanking me yet doll face, wait until you start the second test. But don't let that get you down, boss says that you need to be at the Joe's Bar, and wear exercising clothes."
"Oh...kay…"
"Be there, noon on the next Friday." He said. With that, he got up and left the room.
'Ok…' she thought. That had to be the strangest visit she had ever had from anyone.
She sat up and glanced at the clock, it was 7:00 in the morning. She got up and grabbed some clothes and took a quick shower. Today was the day she would take the second test. She sat on the twin-sized bed and grabbed a book and read, until it was time to go.
She made her way through the crowd to Joe's Bar. She thought that had to be the weirdest place to meet someone, especially in this part of the slums.
Joe's Bar was located in Sector 2 slums, the place notorious for thugs to hang around.
She sighed and decided to cut across the crowd by taking a short-cut. She turned and walked briskly down the dark alley. She turned at the end, and saw the sign proclaiming "Joe's" in bold letters. The street was deserted accept for one guy. She slowly made her way down the road, eyeing the guy carefully, unsure if he was a threat.
He caught her eye and smirked and made his way over to her saying "Easy pickings." He pulled out a knife and inched his way over to her. 'What should I do?' She thought, should she fight or flee? She didn't want to get hurt, or hurt anyone else. Subconsciously she began to back away. The man was looming over her, a mask covering his face. She felt the cold brick wall press her back. She had no choice but to fight now. He came closer and thrust the knife forward. She grabbed his arm and pulled him forward and slammed him into the wall. He grunted in pain, surprised by the force she used. The man turned again and swung the knife in a clean arch, she backed up and the knife cut the air inches from her body. She didn't even think; it was like her body reacted while her mind was elsewhere. She used all her force and served him a kick to the stomach. He crumpled and fell on the ground with a groan. Her breathes came out rushed and uneven. She had no idea she had that kind of strength in her. Out of the shadows came two men.
"Stay away from me!" She said, afraid that it was one of the man's friends.
"Whoa, calm down, it's only me." Came a familiar voice.
Reno and another bald-headed man walked down the alleyway. The redhead glanced down at the man on the floor.
"You really gave him a butt-kicking." He said with a smirk "Nice job, wait 'til the boss hears this, right Rude?"
The bald-headed man called Rude simply nodded.
"Talkative as always Rude. Anyway, come with us dollface, you've completed the second test."
"Huh?" She said, confused as ever. 'What test?' but she already felt herself moving with them toward the bar.
"You mean to tell me that that man who attacked me was a test?" She exclaimed.
"Basically yeah." The red-head said.
"I told you not to tell her like that, Reno." Rude said.
"How else was I supposed to do it?" He asked, to which Rude just shrugged.
"You know what? You can keep your job; I don't think I want to work with some guys whose idea of a test is to have someone attack someone else!" She said. With that she stood up to leave the bar, Reno and Rude telling her it wouldn't be a good idea, but she didn't heed it and turned and bumped right into someone else; He had long black hair, tied back in a ponytail and dark grey eyes.
"Sir!" The two men exclaimed.
"It would be a good idea to sit down Ms. Spalinger." The man said, sitting down in the booth, and gesturing Reno and Rude to leave them. She sat down; something about him told her he was a man of importance.
"Now then, Ms. Spalinger, let's get down to business." He said. "You will address me as Tseng, I am the head of The Department of General Affairs, but to those who work for me, I am 'Sir' or 'Boss'."
'What?' She thought. She opened her mouth to ask why she needed to know this, but was interrupted.
"Now then, I'm going to tell you that you have been reviewed for a job under me, a very high paying job. You will receive all government benefits, insurance, health care, all that stuff. But there is a policy that we must strictly follow." He said, waiting for her to respond or ask a question, and when none came, he continued. "This policy, if it is broken, there will be strict punishment. Now there is a way we do things around here. Sure the tests are not the… average tests, but they are necessary to see what skills you can offer us, Ms. Spalinger." He paused, and she took this opportunity to ask a question.
"Um… Mr. Tseng, sir, what kind of job is this?"
"Ah, the whole point of coming here is to ask you a question. Before I can tell you the job, you need to decide if you want to follow this policy of ours. If you say yes, you will complete one more test. Then you will receive training, paid for by Shin-Ra, and you will receive full pay and benefits of a regular worker. If you say no, then you can go about with your normal life."
She didn't know what she wanted, she wanted a nice high paying job, but there was too much mystery surrounding this job that she was offered. A Policy? Secrecy? Tests? Training? What kind of job were they offering here?
"You have one week to decide, Ms. Spalinger. Come to this address-" He held out a card, she took it "- next Friday with your answer." He said with that he got up and left her to think.