Bad Bosses

How do you deal with a bad boss?

Dear Leo,

How do you deal with a bad boss?

I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that saying so often. “People leave bad bosses, not bad jobs.” (Although yes, technically, after the Labour Law amendments people cannot leave jobs they’ve been assigned.) But, if you pay off the indenture, you could theoretically quit your job of your own volition, right? But why would you? You got the job you were destined to do. You’re paid enough to keep you above the line of sorrow. Would you actually quit, just because you don’t get along with the person in charge of you? 

Anyway, I only got to thinking about this recently. I got paid last week. Betaal wired the amount into my OGeePay account and it’s been laundered appropriately and it’s all above board AND it’s tax-free. So that’s when I start to wonder how exactly the Protector and Betaal are funding this whole operation. I was okay when I thought it was just me they were paying. But after a few conversations with Betaal, I know better. I am convinced there’s a whole network of Vikrams working to keep Amba safe. 

That’s a lot of money.

Then there’s the conversation I had with Aarti. I haven’t heard from her after we met. She didn’t call back, she didn’t try to make contact. But her words wormed their way into my head. And now I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve gotten in deep.

Today, Betaal asked me to travel to Bundergah. There’s actually a small extension of the Green Corridor between Karka and Bundergah, where everything is business as usual. A lane there, after dark, that’s where I had to be. I was pacing the breadth of the lane, even more worried than usual. It was well after dark and I was far from our home district. Not exactly a safe situation. Don’t worry though, these days I always travel with the horn in my pocket, ready to defend myself. I had it shrunk and clenched in my fist.

I felt the now familiar frisson of Betaal settling around my shoulders, and his voice spoke in my ear. “Hello, Vikram.

“Your god is late.”

Vikram didn’t say anything, so I pressed the issue.

“How does the Protector pay for everything?”

Betaal replied, his voice cagey, “That is not for us to know. We just do the job.”

I did not know why but I kept up this line of questioning, “We do his bidding. We fight these Outsiders, kill them even. You’ve never once thought what his motivation is? You’ve never stopped to consider what his sources are?”

Betaal’s voice grew louder, “I’m not… These are not answers you need to know, right now. I trust him. You should too.”

Trust. That was a thing in short supply. And I did not like the blind faith that Betaal put in the Protector. By this time, I was also very sure that Betaal was not just your run-of-the-military combat assistant. There was flesh and blood behind that voice. I just didn’t know if there was also a brain that could tell duty apart from conviction.

A dull roar entered my ears. Somewhere nearby, a q-chopper had entered the Green Corridor. I still can’t help myself, I always look to the skies when I hear the counterrotating four-rotor chug-chug-chug-chug around me. I saw it to the south of us, advancing on the lane we were in.

A complement of iCleaner drones whizzed into the lane from both ends. Banding together, they seemed to project the bright light that I had first seen when I met the Protector, the day he hired me. 

A blaring voice, “Vikram, Betaal informs me that you are ready for your first mission.”

I answered, “Yes. What do I have to do?” 

The Protector continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “You will have your horn. I will send you the coordinates. Betaal will give you the rest of the details.”

I was more than a little angry. “If Betaal was going to tell me, everything, why did you even ask to meet here?”

“One final test.” The Protector boomed. “You compromised this location. You must make it right.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I replied.

The voice in my ear. “You led a SATARC agent here. You have to take them out.”

Before I could say anything, a loud voice was shouting behind me. “Stay where you are. Put your hands where I can see them.” 

I raised my hands instinctively and very slowly turned around. After the Protector’s bright light, my eyes could barely adjust to the relative darkness of the lane. I could just about make out a shadowy figure holding a gun pointed at me. The iCleaner drones behind me sputtered and fell out of formation. The light went out and it was dark. 

Betaal said, “Kill her.” A chill went down my spine.

The figure moved closer. At this distance I could see it was Aarti. She was still comfortably far away but edging closer, the gun trained on my centre of mass. My mask was on, so I didn’t know if she could see my face. But I was certain she knew who I was. 

“I needed proof. I have it. You need to come to the local shakha with me.” She said. 

Betaal spoke up. “Let her get close enough to try to cuff you. That’s when you strike.” 

“I don’t want to hurt you, Aarti.” I really didn’t. That was the moment at which I realised that I wasn’t sure if I was up to the task of hurting people. Destroying drones is okay. That came easy. People are flesh and blood and dreams. Bad time to suddenly realise this, huh?

Aarti didn’t say anything. She kept moving closer. “Hold your hands together and out in front of you.”

I moved my hands forward and held them together, like she said. 

She stepped a few inches towards me, moving one hand back to slip out a foam cuff from her back pocket. But she was momentarily distracted. That was enough. 

Betaal said, “Now.”

I pressed on the horn I had been holding on to in my fist the entire time, and it extended to its full length. I swung it in a wide arc while lunging forward. The tip of the horn connected with the gun in her hand, knocking it to the side of the road. She jumped back, the foam cuff now hanging uselessly in her other hand. I moved the stick back in front of me and pointed it at her. 

“What do you mean, proof?” I found myself asking.

Betaal replied in her place, “She must have footage of the Protector. Blast her now.” 

I felt my finger slide along the power control of the horn. The tip of it lit up and begun to thrum. Her eyes widened, and she dove out of the way of the horn. 

“Turn right and low.” Betaal directed. I hesitated only a bit. The power beam narrowly went over her as she scrambled towards the gun a few feet away. I stepped closer and shot the gun instead. It was a cheap 3D printed polymer piece of shit, that slagged away as soon as my power beam hit it. Aarti moved back and held her place. “What… what is that? Who are you?” 

Did she not know? I didn’t want to make it worse, if she didn’t. My voice was decently muffled by the facemask I had on, but I couldn’t make assumptions.

“What proof?” I asked insistently, our positions exchanged, the horn pointed at her now. 

“Proof of your whole operation. Vigilante justice, undermining SATARC control of our borders.”

Betaal spoke in my ear. “Kill her now.” 

I said aloud, “No.” 

Aarti looked at me oddly. “What do you mean, no?”

“Hand over your Devi.” I said. 

Aarti laughed. “It’s too late for that now. I have it on direct upload to a server. Even if you kill me, someone at SATARC will see it.”

“But you would like to live, yes?” I continued. 

I felt a powerful electrical impulse travel down the length of my arm. 

“What the fuck are you doing, Vikram?” Betaal was trying to take control of my hand and fire the horn, but I was prepared for it this time. My grip wavered slightly but held. 

“Hand over the Devi. If you make it back, you’ll live but no one will believe you, right? But you will get to try again.” 

Betaal tried to wrest my hand again but I was faster again. I said, under my breath, “Find the server and delete the stream.” 

Aarti could see me speak but couldn’t quite hear what I said. She had a curious look on her face. She slipped out the Devi and threw it at my feet. I placed a foot over the device and smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. 

“Get out of here. I imagine we will meet again, but I would rather that we didn’t.” Aarti got to her feet, dusted off her kurti and walked backwards away from me. 

“See you around then.” I couldn’t tell if she smiled, but I could hear it in her voice.

“A dead SATARC agent would have raised far more questions, Betaal. I was thinking ahead.” I said quietly out loud.

“Do you have any idea what you have done?!” Betaal shouted at me, but I didn’t respond. The nape of my neck shivered and I was alone in the alley again. 

Pretty sure a boss that tells you to kill people is a bad boss, but I don’t think I can quit just yet. The pay is good, for one. For the other, I need to figure out what is going on here. And I have to hold on for as long as I can before I absolutely have to do everything he tells me. And if they fire me for what happens today, that’s alright by me.

I still haven’t quite made up my mind about the Outsiders but I’m hoping we will find out when, if I go on this mission.

Of course, if you have other ideas, write to me. Just write to me, Leo. I miss you.

Love

N     

PS: I didn’t destroy the Devi that Aarti gave me. I kept it. Now I have the proof that she had. I just need to figure out what to do with it.