Chapter 24: More Than Rebates
Theo was in his cell by the time Nathan got back from Veronica’s office. He could hear his cell mate complaining about stolen items.
"Can you imagine, Mate?" Theo called out the moment Nathan’s cell door was locked. "Someone stole my tooth brush."
Nathan smiled. "I don’t need to imagine. Mine is missing too."
"Fucking Bollocks." Theo yelled. "I’ll have to go to the commissary. Moe can get me the specific type I use but he might not show up anytime soon."
Nathan chuckled. "It is what it is."
Theo settled down on his bed. "So how did it go?"
The question prompted a frown from Nathan as he laid on his bed. "How did what go?"
"Come on, your meeting with the doctor. I assume it’s her you met?"
"Yes. It went okay I guess." Nathan answered. "She said both of you talked... About me?"
"Yeah, she thanked me for helping out with guards and stuff. Then when she found out I was your cellmate, she asked about you."
Nathan kept his tone flat. "What did she ask?"
"Normal stuff. What kind of person you were, your interests and stuff. I told her what I knew. I might also have exaggerated a bit"
Nathan frowned. "Why would you do that?"
"To get you in her good graces? The Warden’s daughter would be a great help to your plan, right?" Theo said before adding. "Plus, I think she’s into you."
Nathan wasn’t entirely surprised. The doctor had been acting differently around him. Whether it was curiosity, guilt, or something else, he couldn’t tell.
"Why do you say so?" he asked.
"A hunch, I have an eye for these things." Theo replied.
Nathan chuckled. "Was your previous occupation a match maker?"
Theo laughed. "Nah, I was a bodyguard for a hitman’s daughter."
Nathan frowned. "I didn’t expect that. How did that work out?"
"A bit alright. I married her and had a son and well you know the rest."
"Oh," Nathan was almost sorry he asked.
"It’s alright, I hope she’s happy wherever she is." Theo went silent for a second before he resumed speaking. "That is why I said trust me, I have an eye for these things. I’m wingman material."
Nathan smiled. "I’m in prison, I don’t have time to think about women."
Theo laughed heartily. "What are you thinking about?"
"Getting out of here." His eyes sparked. "Which reminds me. Your payment details so I can give them to my sponsor. Crypto works right?"
Theo frowned. "Yeah but I haven’t helped you yet."
"Yes, but the sponsor wants to make a partial payment." Nathan grinned. "As a way to motivate you to help."
"Not bad," Theo replied.
They exchanged their Critter handles and Theo sent his address. Nathan told Theo he’d let his sponsor know.
He waited for several minutes. Then, he entered Theo’s wallet address and transferred fifteen thousand dollars.
A second later, Theo’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, then looked at Nathan’s cell.
"Bloody hell... you weren’t kidding."
Nathan shrugged. "Now you know I wasn’t bluffing."
Theo chuckled. "Guess I’d better earn the rest."
Then he went silent.
Nathan allowed thoughts of the doctor to pass his mind briefly before shaking them away. He opened his phone and scrolled to TiikTuk and sent the image of his fake ID to Catherine’s DM.
He blurred it just enough she couldn’t see his face fully or last name.
Satisfied he decided to check the system.
’Status’
[Host: Nathan D. Ledger]
[System Balance : $25,008,000]
[Items Received: System Card]
[Rebate Tickets: None.]
[The rest of the System’s features have not been unlocked by the host.]
Nathan narrowed his eyes at the screen.
’Rebate Tickets? What’s that’
[The Solus Rebate System has a default multiplier of 2x and is only applied to purchases the host makes on himself.]
[Rebate Tickets bypass this and allow the host to trigger a rebate for any purchase he makes.]
[They are one time use only.]
’I see and I’m assuming these tickets offer more than 2x multipliers?’
[Correct.]
’Sweet. So how do I get one?’
[The system gives it to the host at random.]
Nathan sighed. He had intended to farm them but apparently, the system had other plans.
’Is this the extra feature you were referring to earlier?’
[This is one of them. The other will be unlocked when the host reaches a certain milestone.]
’Which is?’
[Information on this feature–]
"–is not available to the host at this time." Nathan finished.
[...]
But Nathan wasn’t done yet. If the system had extra features beyond rebates, he wanted to know.
’Come on, give me a little something. How about a hint?’
[...]
[The system notes the Host is close to reaching a Milestone.]
The screen faded after displaying the message but not before Nathan had finished reading everything.
What does that mean?
He decided to sleep it off. Minutes later the speaker sounded for dinner.
For the first time since arriving at Stone River, Nathan actually looked forward to dinner.
The guard who delivered it was the same familiar guard who he had given money to.
He had a couple of band aids on his face. Nathan asked how he was doing and why he was working despite the injuries he had gotten.
The guard replied they were a bit short staffed and he wanted to thank him for his help. Both for his life and his repeated ’donations’.
Nathan shrugged. "You’re welcome. Try to get some rest."
The statement prompted a nod from the guard before he left.
Nathan smiled. His reasons for saving the guard wasn’t exactly noble but seeing the man being happy about it was enough to lift his spirits.
He set the food down and ate as he scrolled the internet.
He checked Catherine’s DMs on Tiiktuk. She had responded, satisfied with the ID and asked him to make a request as a token of appreciation.
Nathan smiled and told her she could do whatever she wanted, then closed the chat.
Knowing Catherine, she’d probably sing or draw something for him. She had always been better at both than he was.
He let his shoulders drop and gave a blank stare at a random part of the concrete walls.
He couldn’t tell her he was escaping. She’d worry herself sick. But she’d be devastated when she heard the news especially if the doctor agreed to help him die.
He shook his head.
I’m sorry, but I have to do this.
He recalled the amount of money he had given her on stream. Half a million would cover most of their bills, but Nathan wanted to leave them with enough that they wouldn’t have to struggle.
He considered transferring money into his prison account. When an inmate died, whatever remained was passed on to the family.
Unfortunately, the prison deducted legal fees and other state charges first, so he quietly abandoned the idea.
The system card materialized in his hand. He wanted to trigger a few more rebates.
His online persona, Sir Platinum, was still a hot topic but he wasn’t ready to make an appearance yet.
Nathan still wasn’t sure what the milestone referred to. Total spending? His current balance? There was only one way to find out.
He opened TiikTuk and bought one million dollars’ worth of coins.
[Spent: $1,000,000]
[Rebate (2x): $2,000,000]
[System Balance: $26,008,000]
He waited for a moment but nothing happened. Then he repeated the purchase.
[System Balance: $27,008,000]
[System Balance: $28,008,000]
[System Balance: $29,008,000]
[System Balance: $30,008,000]
Nathan had expected a message or something when the balance hit thirty but nothing happened.
What was I expecting?
He was about to dismiss it when the air before him shimmered with a familiar golden glow.
[Ding! You have reached a Milestone.]
[Milestone Reached: Accumulate a System Balance of $30,000,000]
Nathan grinned and pumped his fist in triumph. But before he was finished doing the victory gesture, another screen appeared.
[Feature Unlocked: Skills]
[Skills are permanent traits provided to the host. Each skill requires a cost of activation]
Nathan furrowed his brow at the screen, trying to make sense of it. But before he could ask anything else, another screen appeared.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill.]
[Skill Acquired: Fortitude]
Nathan stared at the screen in confusion.
’...Fortitude?’