Storyteller's Universe // Two Percent
Extracurricular Activities
“Mr. Damon, are you alone? May I come in?”
“Yeah, Jacobs is on a mission. Please, Agent Rudy.”
The samoyed enters Damon’s dorm and chooses to stand in a spot currently not occupied by piles of clothes. They wait till Damon closes the door, before allowing themselves to let out a tired sigh.
“The Headmaster didn’t buy it.”
The lemming sits down on his bed, defeated.
“Just like you said. Nobody gets to leave.”
“Not anymore, no.”
Silence falls while Damon considers his current situation.
“So that assignment you made me read last week, am I still going on that hunt?”
“No, it lost confidence in you and you’re back to classes and training for a while before you’re assigned another mission. There’s a bright side though, I’ve poked around and negotiated a spot for you on Project Bloodhound, if you play your cards right you will become too important to be sent on dangerous missions.”
“What do you mean?”
“From what I’ve seen Headmaster isn’t keen on risking assets that can net it more assets.”
“More recruitment? Great… Please don’t tell me I’ll be working with Agent Sybil.”
Rudy grins.
“Not with, for.”
Damon lays down on the bed with a groan.
“Wear your best jeans. She’s hard on newbies, give her something predictable to pick on.”
“Wait.”
Rudy was about to leave, they turned around with their paw still around the door handle.
“Can you arrange my death?”
The samoyed tilts their head at Damon. They consider his words before slowly nodding their head.
“Maybe I can. But you’ll have to owe me another favor.”
“Sure.”
“No, you’re not ‘sure’ Mr. Damon, you’re very eager to owe favors but I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into. Your freedom will be temporary, and the more people you owe, the faster your escape will be cut short.”
“But everyone will think I’m dead.”
“You won’t pull this off alone, and everyone who will help you disappear will be a potential liability. Even I could one day become desperate enough to collect favors and compromise your safety.”
The lemming sits up on the bed, he’s mulling over Rudy’s words.
“...I need to get out of here. I want to do this.”
Rudy shakes their head, they’re happy to let Damon escape, but if he doesn’t realize how much of an effort it will be to maintain that freedom, it will be short lived.
“Talk to Sybil about project work and continue your training. I will start arranging things once you become an agent.”
“That’s fucking years away!”
“Not if you prove yourself as a Bloodhound.”
Rudy pulls on the handle of the door, but then remembers one more thing. They keep the door closed for a moment longer.
“I’m cashing in a favor right now. Keep pretending you can’t read. Remember you still owe me one more.”
They finally leave Damon’s dorm room and can’t help but smile. Not only they might give this kid a chance at freedom, rubbing the two percent threshold in Axel’s face will be the cherry on top.