How is that possible? She sent invites to everyone from her world history, English, and statistics classes. She can barely recognize most of them by sight let alone by name. They arenât part of the popular crowd, so how did they get on NEED before her?
This is so annoying.
Wait.
Gina reads the message again and lets out a sigh of relief. The Reset Requirement button is new. Good. Because she doesnât have any more email addresses to add.
Smiling, Gina hovers her mouse over the link and clicks. The screen color changes. Now the words are written in blue.
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WRITE THE BELOW MESSAGE ON A NOTE AND SLIP IT UNDER THE FRONT DOOR OF 519 SYCAMORE LANE. TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE NOTE AND THE HOUSE AND POST IT ON THE MESSAGE BOARD TO CONFIRM YOU COMPLETED THE TASK.
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âTHANKS FOR LAST NIGHT. I KNOW WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE RIGHT TIME FOR US TO BE TOGETHER. IâLL PRAY IT COMES SOON.âLâ
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Deliver a note? Ha. Thatâs way easier than sending email invitations. Too bad the system didnât give this assignment sooner. Itâs already getting dark outside. What a waste of a day.
Sycamore Lane. Is that on the other side of town? Gina types the address into the search bar and smiles when the names of the people who live there come up on the screen. Perfect. Pastor Frey and his family are always acting like they are so superior to everyone. Mrs. Frey has even stopped Gina in the store to suggest she not dress less like a harlot or sheâll find herself treated as one. As if. And their son, Luke, is even worse. He makes snide comments all the time about her and even turned her in for cheating on her Spanish final even though she only copied one thing off his paper. He said it was for her own good. God was sending her a sign that he wanted her to do better. Like Luke has a direct pipeline to God because of his father. Well, two can play at that game. And clearly God, through NEED, has sent her a mission.
Standing, Gina scribbles down the message, grabs her purse, and heads for the door. No point in wasting any time getting this task done. And if delivering this note screws with either Luke or his holier-than-thou family, it will be a lot more fun than she expected to have today. Itâs almost righteous. Hell, she might almost be willing to do it without the free concert tickets.
Almost.
Ethan
E THAN CLOSES HIS LAPTOP and picks up the page he printed. He doesnât want to get the instructions wrong. Not if it means not getting the new computer he needs. The graphics on his current one suck. And the processor speed . . . No wonder he keeps getting his butt kicked in Mercenary of War. But the one NEED will give him after this will have him at the top of the mercenary leaderboard in no time. Maybe it isnât the nicest thing to do, but in the grand scheme of things it isnât that big a deal. Essentially, Ethan tells himself, heâs playing a harmless joke.
Okay, maybe not all that harmless, but itâs not like anyoneâs going to be seriously hurt or anything. And the heroes in Mercenary of War often have to participate in quests they donât really believe in. Itâs the only way to gain the experience and fame necessary to move up in the ranks. Heâs just doing what his character would do. And when itâs over heâll be rewarded. No one can find fault with that. And if his mom asks about the computer, well, heâll just say he earned enough money to buy it. Technically, that isnât a lie. Because NEED will be paying for the job it asked Ethan to do. His first real-life mercenary commission.
But first things first. Time to go walk Shadow and scout out the area. A mercenary always does reconnaissance before performing an assignment. Itâs the only way to guarantee success. And if he brings Shadow along, no one will wonder what heâs doing taking a walk in the cold. Itâs a perfect cover. As long as it works.
Bryan
S TANDING ON