“Hey Jacks, I have a question.”

This was the beginning of the second week of the internship for Seth. Seth was currently in Major Jacks office, having just finish the morning training exercise with Captain Steward. It was a nagging question that had bothered him after Jacks had taught him how to wield various guns.

“I might have an answer. Shoot.”

“How come the stuff you’re teaching me, feels like the stuff they teach for people who become part of the Federation military?”

Jacks put the report he had in his hand down. “That’s because the stuff I'm teaching you right now are lesson that would be taught to someone joining the military.”

“Okay then what’s the point of the internship then? Why not just send me to a training camp?”

“You probably realized already, but we don’t have a training camp here in this city. It was shut down years ago since no one ever shows up and it was a waste of money that could be used elsewhere. What you’re learning would be taught at a Federation military training camp, just at a much more lax pace compared to if you were to learn at the camp. “

“Huh” There wasn’t much Seth could say Jacks confession. “How come no one wants to become a Federation Soldier?”

“If you’re an Awaken, it’s more lucrative to become a mercenary than a Federation Soldier. We have a steady paycheck, but we don’t make big bucks. If you wish to make it big and fast, then becoming a mercenary is the way to go in this city. Anyone can become a mercenary since their enrollment requirements aren’t as stringent compared to the Federation standards. You do know what the other nickname for mercenaries are?”

“Yeah, killers for hire right?”

“Right. Killers for hire. That’s a name that doesn’t need explaining. That mean as long as you pay enough for the job, they’ll do it. You can find various jobs as mercenary. If a specific task doesn’t fit you, then you can try a different field. When compared to the Federation, the Federation has a less roles to fill and a budget for hiring. They alsodemand a certain degree of competence from a person. Mercenaries aren’t demanded for anything except that that they need to complete a taken job.”

“Why are you with the Federation then, Jacks?”

“Like I said before, a stable paycheck. I actually use to be a mercenary. It wasn’t until I got older that the Federation scouted me and I agreed to join them. It’ actually a common story. “

“Really?”

“Yep. If you’re talented in a certain field, the Federation would scout you. Of course, the condition they give aren’t stellar when compared to other mercenary groups, but I wasn’t looking for five star treatment when I joined.”

“What were the other mercenary groups offering? How come you didn’t join a mercenary groups if they gave better conditions?”

“I became tired at a certain point. Tired of watching people I knew dying before me. For a mercenary, the more money you earn the more dangerous it is. If you want to keep earning the big bucks you have to keep accepting dangerous mission. I didn’t want that. The Federation take care of their soldiers. Mercenaries tend to die off at a certain age threshold. I passed it for a few years and decided that the mercenary life where you could die any day wasn’t for me anymore. I decide to go with the Federation which have much more stable career prospects. It’s not the most exciting life, but I no longer need to keep worrying on how to keep food on the table.”

Was Major jacks actually someone great? Seth tried to imagine Jacks as a mercenary and failed. The guy who dumped leftover work on Seth from time to time. This guy who Seth met while he was dozing off for the first time? Seth could tell Jacks was knowledgeable thanks to the way he taught Seth on how to handle guns. There was also a dozen of books in his office. It was a small collection, no more than twenty books, but some of the books seem quite advance in combat theory when Seth had skimmed through the titles. He decided to be honest and hoped Jacks would explain more about his mercenary days. “I really can’t imagine you as a mercenary Jacks.”

Jacks grinned. “ I was quite the impressive one back then. Women use to swoon all over me.”

Urgh. That was a detail I did not need to know. It was as if Seth was listening to his parents about their dates. Come to think about it Jacks was probably older than his parents.

“Hahaha, your face. Alright I won’t bore you with the details about my romances. Let me ask you then; Why are you here in the Federation?”

“I-”

BANG!

Just as Seth was about to answer Jacks’s question, the door flew open forcefully. The familiar sight of Kong rushing in and none too happy.

Jacks grinned. “Well isn’t it the lost child?”

Lost Child? Seth wonder what this was about.

“I knew it was you bastards!” Kong pointed his finger at Jacks and yelled. “You know how annoying it is to be walking around and have everyone staring at you? That and the announcements every time I enter a building!”

Jacks smirked. “No I do not know how annoying that is. You wouldn’t either if you showed up. It stated on the contract you signed.”

“What contract? I don’t remember signing any paper that said you guys can annoy me.”

“The paper that you signed the day you came in.” Jacks took a piece of paper from one of the drawers and read the words written on it. “Individual shall fulfill their duties to the Federation to the best of their abilities. If individual fails to do so, then Federation may punish the individual as they see fit. Take a look. It’s all written on there with your signature.”

Kong grabbed the paper offered to him and did a quick glance over the content of the contract. He then ripped it to hundreds of tiny pieces and yelled “HAH! There! The contract gone now. You bastards can stop harassing me now!” Kong began to head towards the door, believing he was finally free of the annoyance.

“AHEM, not so fast,” Jacks said. He took out his phone and began tapping away. “ You might want to check your phone.”

Hearing Jacks words, Kong immediately whipped out his phone. His face became one of shock and frustration. Curious, Seth looked over to see what made Kong go silent. On the phone screen was a digital copy of the contract Kong had just ripped to pieces.

“The one you ripped was just a physical copy. The original is already scanned and filed away. We wouldn’t want you leaving the Federation so early would we?”

“ARRGGHHH! You bastards!” Kong grabbed his heard and yelled in frustration.

“If you really want to leave, you can go talk to Ms. Nadeem. Her office is on the second floor,” Jacks said, apparently deciding to grant pity for Kong’s current state.

“I’ll do just that! Don't expect me to be back!” Kong yelled and slammed the office door as he left.

Seth stared and could only wonder what that was about. He somewhat understood that the Federation had once again found some new way to harass Kong, but he was not totally clear on the details. Jacks shoulders were shaking and then he broke into loud laughter. Seth decided it was best to ask to make clear of the situation. “What was that all about?”

Jacks was still shaking mirth. “Hahaha. Sorry just give me a moment. That was a bit of fun the people at the IT department did. The way he stormed in? That was a great reaction. It worked out even better than I thought.”

“What exactly did they do?”

“Did you know the Federation sent a lot of people and message to Kong before he decided to come to the Federation building?”

Seth nodded remembering Kong had told him on the first day before disappearing our witnessing the mountain of reports given to them to view.

“The boys at IT decided to track and send out a message to everyone within Kongs vicinity. The message would be Please send this lost child to the Federation Building if found. There would also be a picture attached. They also had the message announced every time there was a speaker in the building he enters. I only wish I could have seen his face when he first heard the message”

It was a frightening abuse of power as far as Seth could tell, but also quite the effective harassment. Didn’t the people in the IT department have better things to do than to stalk and harass someone all day?

Seeing Seth’s face, Jacks said “ I know what you’re thinking. It looked like a horrible waste of time for the boys up there to find and annoy Kong. Don’t worry, permission was granted before Kong even signed on. This isn’t the first time something like this happened. If someone refuse to come in without a good reason, the boys would find ways to bring them in. It makes for a impeccable attendance record for the Federation and great training for the tech boys.”

That was a terrifying statement. A bunch of guys ready to find new ways to harass you if you decided to skip out for a day? Seth thought they really did have too much time on their hands. At least they found it fun. The guy skipping out on the other hand? Probably not so much.

Seth understood why Jacks was laughing, the ‘prank’ that they have been working on all day finally worked. Some reactions were priceless, but to Seth this seem evil. Kong’s reaction was extremely entertaining to Jacks, if not sadistic and cruel. It worked as a prank since it was successful enough to make Kong return to the office.

“I pity him though. He can try to get Ms. Nadeem to kick him out, but she’s a tough one. She’s probably assign him some assignments that’s going to take him a while to finish. Speaking of assignments, here’s yours. Eve says she need your help at the R&D department. After that there still aa bunch of experiments for you to help with.

This time it was Seth’s turn to groan in frustration.