Trent stretched as the alarm rang. "Seven already?" he groaned, sitting up.
"Yesterday was one crazy day"
"Good morning, Ave"
"Good morning, Trent Ackerman" Ave responded.
"Ugh.. that sounds so formal. Call me Trent as you've always done"
"Updated. Good morning, Trent" Ave answered.
"That's better"
He stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom to take his bath.
After the bath, he arranged the clothes he would wear for the meetup with the contact Anton talked about.
"Is there even anything in the fridge?" He asked himself as he walked towards the kitchen. A small space for a kitchen, but with all the essentials.
He opened the fridge— vegetables, meat, fishes, eggs and a loaf of bread. They looked fresh. They probably stocked up before he entered.
He was grateful to Anton. He'd have had a tougher time if left alone.
He quickly made a toast and started eating.
He got dressed, put his laptop into his bag, and stepped out.
"7:30 already," he muttered. "Twenty-minute walk. Should be fine."
The stroll to the eatery was quiet. He arrived just before eight and slid into a corner seat, out of sight.
As he opened his laptop to check his trading account, a shadow fell across the table.
He looked up—Marie.
"Ah.. I won't be ordering now, I'm waiting for someone" he said to her with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Handler 87," she said, smiling.
Trent blinked. How did she know that?
"You're with Anton?"
"Chief Handler Anton." She corrected, sliding into the seat across from him.
He watched her sit and then he stretched his hand for a handshake
"It was kind of an awkward first time yesterday. It's nice to meet you, I'm Trent Ackerman" he said with a smile.
"Ackerman, huh?"
"And I'm Marie. It's nice to meet you" she shook his hands.
Just Marie? Well, she has her reasons.
"We'll have to go to the City council and get your name updated. There's a Handler there that will get it done quickly across all systems" she continued.
"I thought I had to call them and have them do it. I forgot to tell Anton when we talked" Trent replied, wondering.
"Well, you could. This would be faster as they'll give you the updated papers immediately—"
"Next mission initializing..." Ave cut in , surprising Trent
"Anything wrong" Marie asks.
"N-no.." he replies, composing himself.
"Should we go now?" She asked.
"Location: City Council" Ave adds.
How lucky
"Ah, yes. I need to get a phone" Trent answers. No time limit, though? Nice.
"There's a place close where you can get one, I'll take you there" she replied as she stood up.
"Thank you" he answered, arranging his bag and standing up.
They stepped outside. "Wait here," Marie said, heading around the corner.
Moments later, she pulled up in a sleek, luxury car. Trent blinked, stunned.
"Hop in," she said, rolling down the window.
He slid into the passenger seat, still staring. A waiter… in this?
She glanced at him. "I own the place. And a few others."
Right. Not just a waiter.
She must be very incredible. "When did you leave the program?" He asked.
"Two years ago" she answered as she focused on her driving.
Two years ago, and she has such a nice car and various businesses already? Damn, she must have been so good at the Program.
There was silence throughout the ride.
"We're here" she said, bringing him back from his thoughts as she parked.
"Oh" Trent answered snapping back to reality.
"We're going to buy your phone here, then stroll to the City council, it's up front" She added.
At the store, Marie picked the newest model and paid before he could reach his wallet.
"Just helping a junior," she said with a smirk.
"Now, you can call people and surf the internet unlike the phones in the program that restrict outside access" she said as they walked out.
Trent quickly set up the phone and the email he created. Before he could do any other thing they'd walked to the city council building.
"You shouldn't be pressing a phone while walking" she cautioned as they stepped into the City council.
"Mission completed. Charis Chemicals. June 12, 8am. Buy" Ave said, declaring the mission complete.
June 12? That's tomorrow. Now there's a date? Makes sense, there was a time for the first one.
He looked at the time, it's already 8:37.
They moved to a receptionist and Marie said the phrase, 'loyalty for the state' and they were directed to the back of the place.
There, they met a man, quite advanced in age who Marie introduced as the one doing the work.
"Hey Marie, it's been a while" The man said, laughing.
"It's been a year—"
"How are you doing, Mr. Fern?" She asked.
"I've been doing great. Not everyone gets to work in the City council"
"I assume you're here for a name update... So, which name will you go by?" He turned to Trent and asked with a smile.
"Trent Ackerman. It's nice to meet you" Trent answered, stretching his hand forward for a handshake.
"Such a polite lad" Mr Fern said as he shook Trent's hand.
"Ackerman, huh? Like the kids show... My kids love Ackerman" he laughed.
Mr. Fern tapped away at his laptop. "I'll update your records. The old ones were just temporary until you picked a name—feel free to burn them."
"What?" Trent asked, surprised.
"Relax," he chuckled
"Takes a few minutes. You and the rude gal can wait over there."
"Who's rude?" Marie asked, already heading for the seat.
"The rude gal knows herself" he said, grinning.
Trent sat down, pulled out his phone, and quickly downloaded his broker's app.
"Woah!!!" He blurted, surprising Marie and Mr. Fern.
"What's the matter?" Marie asked as she leaned in to see what the issue was.
"No-nothing" Trent answered, "sorry about the outburst" he added turning to Mr Fern too.
"You have a thing for acting startled?" Marie asked, looking at him sharply.
Trent smiled at her awkwardly, then looked at his phone again
+3876% — spiked to 4300 and was already dipping.
"Holy shit." He closed the position fast.
$387,600 in profits, totaling $397,000 in a single position. He stared at his new balance, over $400,000 in disbelief.
He could pay off more than 100 handlers from the program and still have a lot.
This was a personal account. He looked through the broker account and saw a part where he had the option to convert into a holding account.
He could do that? They'd help him set up a holding company account but he had to visit their office for it.
He searched for Slumbr Inc., the name of the broker and found that they was a branch office close to the City council.
"We will have stop at a place before I go home" he said to Marie, excited.
"I'm not your driver" she replied, "but you look excited so I guess it'll be interesting"
"Thank you" he responded.
He walked up to Mr. Fern as Marie watched with interest.
"Mr. Fern" he said
"Yes, Trent" Mr. Fern answered, shifting his gaze from the laptop.
"Can I set up a Trust?" He asked.
"A trust? Isn't that a bit early?" Mr. Fern asked, surprised.
"Why do you want a Trust fund set up?" Marie asked as she moved closer. "That costs money" she added.
"Yes, 100,000 dollars to set one up based on recent changes. If I had it, can I set one up right now?" Trent asked
"Yes, you can. I can help you set it up and fund it if you have it right now" Mr Fern answered.
"Alright. I'll come back someday" Trent answered, smiling.
"Yeah, someday. You'll get there, kid. I hope it's soon" Mr. Fern answered, moving to the printer to print some things.
"Here" he handed Trent fresh copies of all the documents he had,
"That's everything. It was nice meeting you, Ackerman" He added, smiling.
"Yeah, It was. Have a nice day, Mr. Fern" Trent replied and Marie waved at Mr. Fern as they stepped out.
_______
"So, where do you want us to go?" Marie asked as they came out of the city council.
"It's nearby. Slumbr Inc." Trent replied
"Slumbr Inc.? That stocks broker company?" Marie asked, surprised.
"You've started trading stocks? Don't lose your money and come crying to me" She added as they walked towards the car.
"Haha. I won't" Trent responded.
They got into the car and drove to the company's office.
_______
"Welcome. How may I help you?" A receptionist welcomed them as they stepped in.
"I'm here to update my account's clearance and switch into a holding account" Trent replied.
"What? A holding account? Did you make money playing stocks?" Marie asked with surprise.
They were moved to a private section.
Trent gave the staff his details and they sort everything out, confirming his identity with the identity card he had and sorting the account.
"Your holding account is active. Current balance: $417,215." the staff, said after everything
"Four hundred grand?!" Marie turned her head sharply to Trent in surprise.