Chapter 17: Gloria and David

After Roland finished with Ascension, he sent the Ascension body home to stand by and ran an authentication on it—just so the house security wouldn’t mistake it for an intruder and open fire.
Next on his list was finding Gloria and her son. He didn’t plan to do much—just nudge their fates. It was simple enough that he didn’t need to appear in person: have Lissandra send an employment contract, plus a Trauma Support Group insurance policy, and that should avert Gloria’s fatal ending. In the original timeline she didn’t die from her wounds so much as from being taken to a shoddy hospital that worked with Scavengers.
As for what happened to the family afterward... Roland wasn’t going to meddle—unless David turned out to be compatible with some template in the PROJECT system. If that happened, he’d be very interested.

“Sir, the task you assigned is underway. The contract has already been sent to Gloria’s email.”
...

“Huff...”
Gloria wearily shrugged off her coat and opened the door.

“Mom, you’re back.”
Hearing that familiar voice, a smile spread across Gloria’s face. If anything kept her going in this city, it was the boy in front of her—David.

“How was school today?”
She ruffled his hair with a tired smile.

“You don’t even have to ask—your son is obviously the best.”
David flashed a big grin and gave a thumbs-up. He wasn’t lying; his grades really were excellent.

“Oh, Mom, you’ve got a new email. Looks like an employment contract from some company. Did you change jobs?”
David suddenly remembered the message on the computer and looked at Gloria curiously.

Gloria paused, then shook her head. “No, I haven’t changed jobs. Go take a shower first—I’ll check it out.”
She nudged him toward the bathroom. David hummed and carried his clothes off.

She opened her inbox and clicked the first message.
“Dear Ms. Martinez, we sincerely invite you to join PROJECT Corporation...”

“PROJECT Corporation...”
The name sounded oddly familiar. Gloria muttered, then remembered—the company was an up-and-coming firearms manufacturer; she’d seen their ads on TV. She’d even planned to buy one of their guns for David’s tenth birthday.

She read the contract and the address carefully, then froze for a moment. After a long exhale, she leaned back in her chair. “Of course... it’s a scam.”
Once she saw how it was set up, she stopped worrying about the email. Why would a company offer such generous terms to an ordinary nurse? She didn’t believe in free lunches—everything in this city had a price. She imagined being knocked out by Scavengers at some meeting, then waking up in a dark place with her cyberware and organs stripped for resale.

Gloria kept those thoughts simmering as she prepared dinner.

Meanwhile, in Charter Hill, Roland frowned. His Orange Essence still hadn’t registered—had he not changed Gloria and David’s fate after all?
“No—maybe it just hasn’t been noticed yet. Lissandra, tell the staff: if a woman named Gloria shows up to take a position, notify me at once.”
“Understood.”

...

“Mr. Kova, I trust you’re a smart man. You know what to do, right?”
Bosewei smiled as he slid a photograph across the table. The picture showed Roland in his Ascension state.

Kova glanced at it, swallowed, and asked, “I understand... what task would you assign him?”
“Our company lost some cargo—Maelstrom hijacked it. We need someone to get it back. Reward: five hundred thousand euros.”
“Five hundred thousand?!”
Kova was stunned. He knew the company was flush with cash, but he hadn’t expected such a sum.

Bosewei nodded. Only he knew this money wasn’t just for recovering goods—it was bait. If they could lure that person into taking the Gig, then their people could move in at the right moment.

Beep—beep—
The familiar ringtone made Jhin pause. Few people had his contact; who could be calling?

“Hello, this is Kova. Remember me?”
A tattooed, burly man’s face filled Jhin’s view. The fixer.

“I remember. What do you need?”
“I’ve got a Gig. Interested?”
“Job? Tell me.”
Jhin gave a small nod.

“It’s a Gig from Militech. They need someone to recover stolen cargo. Pay is five hundred thousand euros.”
“Five hundred thousand? And Militech? Don’t they care that I killed their people?”
Jhin immediately smelled something off and asked warily.

“They won’t know whom I’ll assign. After the last job, I trust your skills. Interested?”
Jhin ended the comms without expression. They thought he was a fool—plain as day. It was obvious they were trying to lure him into a trap: such a huge payout for a newcomer? No way was it clean. Still, it confirmed something: Kova was a classic turncoat—time to deal with him later. Militech had noticed him; with that level of cyberware and combat ability, any military tech company would be curious. Arasaka probably had intel too, but they’d put their chips on Adam Smasher and didn’t need another specimen as badly as Militech did.

“We can take this Gig too... let’s teach the Militech Science Division a lesson.”
Jhin narrowed his eyes and dialed back.

Kova’s face fell when the call dropped, but when Jhin rang back, Kova forced a smile. “I’ll take the Gig. Send the details.”

...