New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 744 Negotiating With Alfred

"Let's start with the basics, kid. Which soldier did you want, and for how long?"

Alex was already getting confused.

"Do you have more than one awakened soldier? I only noticed one last time…"

He heard Alfred chuckling from the other side.

"Things move fast in the world, kid. Knowledge is power, and we have recently acquired such knowledge. But that is beside the point. Which soldier was it you thought you wanted?"

Alex wracked his mind for a moment, trying to remember the name that Talbot woman had told him.

"A certain recruit called Alvares, I think? He was young. Looked almost out of place amongst the veterans in the compound."

Alex heard Alfred hum in his ear.

"Yeah, I know the kid. I'm surprised he caught your attention. He's barely awakened from what we garner."

Alex scoffed.

"Let me ask you this, Alfred. When I went to the compound, were any others awakened there?"

Alfred took a moment to think, and three names popped into his mind.

"Yes. There were two others. Why?"

Another scoff echoed in the phone call.

"Then I don't know by what measure you are gauging your awakened people, but it's wrong. That kid was the only one I sensed was an actual awakened person. It would be best if you double-checked your info.

"In any case, I'll be hiring him. Just name the price."

Alex could hear the shuffling of paper and a few strokes of some keys in his ear.

It sounded like an old-generation calculator, with all the clacking that it did.

"How long do you need him, and will you carry him around, or do we have to handle transport?" Alfred asked, pausing his keystrokes.

Alex thought for a bit. He wasn't sure if they would resolve the issue in a single day or if this would turn into a hunt.

The latter was a high-possibility scenario, so he took no chances.

"I'll need him for about a week. But we will handle transport."

Another few keystrokes later, Alfred asked another question.

"What about weaponry and ammunition? Do you make the arrangements?"

Alex paused. The question was a good one.

"Do you know what class he is in New Eden?" Alex asked tentatively.

It was Alfred's turn to pause.

He had to pull up the kid's file on their internal system, where this info had recently been added.

"It says here he's a berserker, and his weapon is a greataxe. But what does that change?"

"I'll take care of arming him. Guns won't be of much use for what we are fighting unless he was a gunning-type class."

Alfred felt confused momentarily, but didn't care to ask for more details.

He returned to his calculations, factoring in what Alex had just told him, and eventually gave his result.

"With all the things you take care of, the estimated price comes at around fifty thousand. There is an insurance fee since you are only taking one man. If this price suits you, I can have him prepare as soon as the contract is signed and paid in full."

Alex sucked in some cold air.

Given his recent earnings, fifty thousand was a small sum to him, but it was still much more than he had expected.

"Sure… That'll be fine," Alex said softly, thinking about the burning money.

"Perfect. Let me send you the contract by email… and then the invoice… And once those are confirmed, paid, and signed, you'll be all set."

Alex received a notification as Alfred told him this and slipped the phone away from his face to check.

He pressed the screen to put Alfred on speaker. As he checked his emails, there it was.

He quickly reviewed the terms and conditions, as he cared little about this. He felt a sting in his mind, thinking Kary would tear him a new asshole if she saw him skim over this so fast, but he had no time.

At the end of the contract, he had to do a biometric scan on his phone, which grabbed a scan of his thumbprint and retina before a signature appeared on the document.

Then, he read the invoice and confirmed it with his bank info.

Another notification flashed on his screen from his banking app, telling him fifty thousand dollars had been deducted, stinging his heart a little. He may be rich now, but he had grown up poor.

Losing that much money so fast was bound to hurt him, just like when he had bought the pod.

Alfred received confirmation on his side soon after, and Alex could almost hear the smile of victory on his face.

"All is fine on my side. I wish you a good day, kid. I'll go prepare Private Alvares."

Alfred hung up faster than Alex could react, and he stood there, his phone in a dial tone, wondering if he had missed something.

'I hope that was all I needed to ask…' he thought, putting his phone away.

Walking back to the living room, Alex sat down next to Kary, who was still reading the texts from Silent Light. There were a lot of emojis and exclamation marks, so he only assumed the kid was either excited or panicking.

Of course, Alex couldn't see those, as she wasn't holding a phone for him to look at.

"I'm done on my side. How about you?" he asked, leaning on her lap.

Kary started petting his hair, making him close his eyes and smile in pleasure.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I've been done for a while. I'm just checking in on Silent once in a while to see where he is. He's making brisk progress."

Alex looked at her from below.

"Where is he now? It's been what? An hour since he left Syracuse?"

"Forty-five minutes, but yeah. He just stopped in Lansdowne to refuel, and then he'll hit the four-oh-one eastbound towards us. His next stop should be in Saint-Zotique, and then here."

Alex smiled. That was indeed brisk progress.

Hell, that was frightening progress, even. He wouldn't be surprised if the kid got here terrified out of his mind.

"I'll contact the reception, tell them I'll have someone use our parking spot. They can give him access when he arrives," Alex said.

But, for now, he closed his eyes again and enjoyed a few moments of peace and head scratches.