A disclaimer for a person’s a death?

That was the most ominous line Seth has come across on signing a contract, not that he had sign a lot of contracts in his life.

The only contracts that Seth had signed in his life was the ones they hand out to you in school. The ones that a teacher hands out to you at the beginning of the year to explain the grading system and expectations. Seth never thought much about it and just signed it. It was a class requirement, and most students never question why it was necessary. It became a routine at some point and Seth just went with it.

However, when there is a line about death, especially about your own death, then that will cause for concern.

“Why is there a line about not taking responsibility for death here?” Seth asks.

“That is just in case. The Federation is the largest collaborative military organization on the planet, and a lot of sensitive information is handled. It does not happen often, but sometimes employees become targets for attack. It could be for several reasons such as research, information theft or terrorism. It is a rare occurrence, but it has happened before.”

“There has not ever been a case in this city where this building has been attacked, but there was an attack on a Federation building in other cities 30 years ago. There are also cases where an experiment has gone wrong and killed several researchers. That is why a lot of dangerous research is done in facilities outside the city. As an intern, you would not be encountering such dangers, but it is there in the contract notifying you as a precaution.”

“I see...”

Sheila noticed Seth’s hesitation and said “ You don’t have to worry about it too much. Most of your duties will take place here in this building. If there is ever an attack, security personnel will be ones responsible for handling the attack. There is no way the Federation will leave it to interns to handle danger. I advise you to finish reading the rest of the documents, it will explain your responsibilities amongst other things.”

Seth quickly skimmed the rest of the documents he was given. A lot of the information that they asked for looked normal. There one a security disclaimer and punishment once found guilty. One document asks for address and emergency contacts. There was another asking about Seth’s prior experience and travel history. Seth answered all the questions truthfully. It was one the last document that cause Seth to pause once again, but only this time in a good way.

“Is this true about the stipend?” he asked.

“Yes, a weekly stipend will be given to you based on your performance. It’s not much when compared to the wage of an employee, but we do offer stipends to interns. Reports will be handed in on a weekly basis of course.”

This caused Seth to pause and think. His thoughts about this internship with the Federation being a trap of some sorts still lingered in his mind. The likelihood of it being a trap decreased as time passed, but he still remain cautious. When he read the line about death, that bought those thoughts back to the forefront. Seth thought that the line was there if the Federation planned to kill him legally.

If they were giving him money, then this whole thing may actual be legit? Even if the stipend was bait, Seth was already here. There wasn’t much else he could do, so he might as well go all the way. He was almost done signing all the documents anyways.

BBZZZZTTTT.

“Excuse me,” Sheila said as she picked up her phone. “Yes...he’s here? Has Jenny arrived yet? If she has, have her bring him over to conference room B10.” She hung up and told Seth. “There was a... complication during the review process. There was another person that needed to be interviewed for the internship. The paperwork could not be pushed through until both candidates were located and the second person was much harder to convince when compared to you. That is why it took so long to give you an answer about the interview. Most of the time was spent trying to find him and having him agree to come.”

Another candidate? Seth wonder who it was. Then he remembered who was with him that night.

There could only be one possibility.

Oh no, if he’s here-

Seth didn’t have time to finish the thought when the door open and a familiar face entered. A rough looking male with a buzz cut. Unlike Seth, he was wearing a simple white t-shirt and shorts. He was in mid yawn when he noticed Seth.

“YYYOOUUU!!!” The young man charged forward with a fist raised.

Seth’s body tensed in preparation for defending himself, but it turned out pointless in the end because-

Sheila had moved in and disabled the assailant easily.

“That would be enough of that Mr. Kong.”

Seth decided then and there to never anger Sheila in the future.