Chapter 50: No.50: Stage One {1}; Balls deep In Debt
Watching as her figure soon left the room, Bruce finally heaved a sigh of relief.
’Phew! That ended up being a lot more difficult than I initially anticipated.’
Recalling upon making up his mind on the path he intended to follow in order to complete the Main Task, he became aware that should he decide to inform Naomi of his intentions to leave the City, he’d eventually have to prove that he was capable of at least protecting himself out there.
As based on what he knew about her from the brief time they spent training together, he was aware that she was unlikely to simply allow him to go.
With that, he’d come up with multiple scenarios that could make him win in a battle against Naomi.
’Yet, luck still ended up being my greatest advantage against her.’
Despite trying his best, he hadn’t expected her to be able to easily dodge all of his surprise attacks.
Instead, it wasn’t until he realized that she was standing a few feet from the stool he’d initially used to catch her off guard, after she’d dodged his booty distracting attack, that he decided to use it as a last resort.
’I guess I got lucky this time.’
Sighing at the realization, Bruce glanced at the time on his OmniBand.
Noticing it was already getting late, he did a few stretches before leaving the gym.
...
A while later...
Jogging down an eerily quiet street, a young man could be seen making his way towards a certain direction.
These parts contrasted completely with the more affluent parts of the City he was currently residing in, as there were barely any people roaming around the streets at this time of the day.
The warm orange light filled the area as the sun began setting, resulting in the streetlights flickering to life automatically at the approach of darkness.
Reaching his destination, the young man paused briefly before steeling his mind as he entered the building.
Upon entering, he passed through a tight corridor before coming across two hefty figures standing before a steel door.
Enquiring upon noticing the young man’s presence, one of the bulky figures spat, his voice laced with irritation and his breath carrying the lingering scent of... liquor?
"What’s a pretty boy like you looking for around these parts?"
The young man, being none other than Bruce, cringed a bit on hearing the man’s words before sighing inwardly upon sizing up the duo before him.
’This prolly would’ve been a bit intimidating if they were taller.’
Though the figures before him weren’t necessarily short, being about 5 feet 9 or so, compared to Bruce, practically everyone was short, as his height was on a league of its own.
Looking down at the bulky dwarfs once more, as he easily towered over them with his absurd height of about 6 feet 7, Bruce casually replied with an easygoing smile.
"Greetings! I’m here to apply for a loan."
Glancing at one another on hearing this, the tiny duo frowned slightly as the one on the left probed with a cautious but subtly threatening tone.
"And what could possibly make someone like you come to a place like this for a loan? Don’t people like you often have a rich sugar mummy or two to leech off of?"
A wry smile spread across the dwarfs’ faces as they snickered to themselves at the question.
Unperturbed by this, Bruce maintained his smile as he responded, appearing lost in thought as he did.
"Though resorting to that might be true for most in this case. But, let’s just say I’m not at liberty to do that... Anymore. Also, I’m in a bit of a bind and in need of a large sum of money, fast. So, this was the fastest way for me to get money without the hassles of a Bank. I heard that you guys could help with things like these... Right?"
Appearing somewhat uncertain as he said this, Bruce tried to make himself as defenceless or helpless as he possibly could.
Despite secretly just making most of what he said up, as he neither needed the money nor had he ever fed off an elder lady he wasn’t related to, he wasn’t necessarily lying either.
As he’d indeed gotten word from the street to help locate this place after searching for likely spots to find loansharks, and indeed needed a place to back up his reasons for how he attained a certain amount of money.
With this, it made it easier for him to make his words believable, while phrasing it in a way that let the duo come up with their own assumptions as to why he came here.
Smirking on hearing this, as they’d likely assumed he was in a bind and couldn’t resort to the Bank for money, or he’d had a fallout with one of his sugar mummies and was now likely on the run from them or their lover, the buffy duo’s smirk widened as they replied in unison.
"Of course!"
"Please, come in. It’s just a standard routine to make sure you aren’t someone trying to hassle some money from us and make a run for it. Otherwise, we might be forced to deal with you. But since that’s clearly not the case... Go on!"
Saying this, the duo gently bowed as they opened the steel door for him to enter, while secretly smirking to themselves.
Sensing the subtle threat in their words, Bruce simply acted oblivious to it as he briefly bowed in return before entering the room behind the steel doors.
Upon entering, Bruce was met with a rancid smell of tobacco and what he could only assume was vinegar.
Managing to bear with the intense smell, he made his way towards a figure that was sitting at the centre of the room.
Wearing a flashy hat while keeping most of his face veiled in the dim lighting of the room, with a large cigar resting on his lips, the figure simply uttered as he pointed towards a triangular device next to him.
"Means of identification. Just put the arm with your OmniBand here and we’ll get down to business."
Hesitant a bit on hearing this, Bruce briefly glanced once more at the triangular device, with a gaping space at the centre wide enough to fit a grown man’s head, before complying.
Recalling that one was unable to access another’s Bank information without the user’s DNA or permission, Bruce inwardly reassured himself as he placed his hand within the device.
Thin lines briefly streamed across his hand as it passed within the device, scanning the OmniBand for a moment before a notification appeared on the tablet the figure was apparently holding.
A brief surprise flashed across the figure’s face, which was now mildly illuminated by the tablet’s screen.
"Bruce Wade, right? You sure you’re the same guy?"
Somewhat doubtful as his gaze shifted between Bruce and the image of a fat, depressed figure on the screen, the figure enquired with a suspicious tone.
Hearing this, Bruce simply shrugged as he replied.
"Yeah. That picture was taken a long time ago."
"But you look so... Different."
"People change!"
"..."
Unable to respond to Bruce’s blunt reply, the figure didn’t press much further as he proceeded to the matter at hand.
"Anyways. Before we proceed, I’ll have to ask you once more. Are you sure you want to continue with this? Any deal made between us now is irreversible and will only be settled once all the debt is paid in full."
Thinking for a bit on hearing this, Bruce replied with a ’yes’, nodding as he did.
A sinister smirk appeared on the figure’s face on hearing this as he brought out a briefcase from next to him while taking a puff from the cigar in his mouth.
"Excellent! With that outta the way, that just leaves the negotiation. I can provide you with a sum of three hundred Kepto, should you agree, and you’ll be required to pay back, with interest, before the end of the month."
Saying this as he rummaged through the briefcase, the shady-hatted man brought out a piece of paper as he added.
"All you’ll have to do is sign here, and the deal is yours."
Hearing this, Bruce briefly skimmed through the terms of the contract, which roughly stated that by the end of the month, the signee would be required to pay the amount in full.
But should even a day pass after the agreed time, the signee would be required to pay an interest of 40% of the amount given.
The terms were ridiculous, to say the least.
Not to mention, the contract was filled with a lot of loopholes which favoured the loansharks.
One of which was that there was no stipulated date of signing.
Meaning, it wouldn’t be up to thirty days before he’d have to pay up, and the month’s ending was roughly two weeks away.
Reading through this, Bruce maintained a controlled expression as he gazed back at the shady smoker.
"I don’t mind the terms. But I’d like to ask, can the amount lent be increased?"
The smirk on the figure’s face widened upon hearing this as he enquired.
"How much would you like to borrow?"
To which Bruce smiled in return as well.
"How much can you offer?"