Chương 155: CDM 3, Chapter 31: Company Car

I met Beth and Kwame for dinner the night after I got back. My little sister had a knack for wooing beautiful men, it seemed. Kwame was tall, dark, and handsome. His teeth glimmered like a cheesy mouthwash commercial, and he was sharply dressed in dark jeans, a button-down, and a jacket. He stood to shake my hand over the checkerboard tablecloth the moment I stepped inside.

"Dorion. Nice to meet you," I said.

"Kwame. Beth has told me a lot about you."

"Likewise."

"Beth mentioned that you picked the restaurant," I added as we all sat. Kwame nodded.

"This is one of the best Italian places in the city. Solid choice."

"Thank you, and I agree. I would request their ravioli for my last meal." Inwardly, I winced at that turn of phrase. I didn't know how much Beth had told him about Jonathan. Even if Kwame knew the story, an unfortunate turn of phrase could bite anyone. I once said, "No skin off my back" at the viewing for a guy who died in a motorcycle accident. He was wearing a T-shirt at the time of the crash. I thought about that moment at least once a week.

"What's the crawler management world like?" I asked.

"More spreadsheets than I imagined." I laughed.

"It's interesting, though," he continued.

"A guild can be a crazy big operation. It's amazing how they get all the pieces to sync up." I agreed with that. I still caught myself staring at some harvest sites with wonder. Mobilizing such massive workforces with all the necessary equipment and support, all within the time constraints of a gate? The process was incredible.

"How did the Homestead Strikers internship come about?" He shrugged.

"I applied and got lucky. And then I got lucky again and met Beth." Was that turn of phrase intentional? Jesus, dude. That's my sister.

"The Strikers put in a big bow order," Beth said.

"Well, big for Frank." Kwame nodded.

"A bunch of guys were due for promotions. They get upgrades when that happens. That was the first time they sent me on an errand like that too." Beth smiled. She was sweet.

"Are you from Pittsburgh?" I asked.

"Penn Hills. What was it like trading West Virginia for Pittsburgh? Is the cliché about how hard it is to adjust true?"

"It was scary," I answered.

"It was a lot to learn, but I think I adjusted alright."

"And you're climbing the ranks at the CDM. Sorry, Beth told me a little bit."

"Sort of. I got put on a new team, but it's not full-time. My regular job hasn't changed."

"He's being modest," Beth interjected.

"He got the job and did it with kindness too." I cocked my head at Beth.

"Megan told me the story. I was really proud of you for how you backed her right away. I know that must have been disappointing to not be chosen for leader."

"People keep acting like that was something special," I replied.

"I'm happy for her, and she was the right pick. That's not a job that I want or would be good at."

"That's ridiculous. I mean, I love Megan. I'm saying you could have done the job, is all."

"She is way better at working with a bunch of different people like that. Here's an example: One of our new team members gave her a hard time because he wanted the spot and wasn't convinced she deserved it. That would have ruined me on day 1. Megan rolled with it, let him punch himself out, and then won him over. Now he looks like he's going to be an asset."

"How would you have handled it?" Beth asked.

"I'd hate him for being mean to me, and then I'd keep hating him, probably. She handled it like a real leader." Beth studied me.

"You really think he would have gotten to you so quickly?" I laughed.

"Absolutely."

"I'd like to imagine I could have been a crawler," Kwame added to keep the conversation going.

"I watch dungeon streams all day, every day when I can, and it looks cool, but I don't think I could actually run into a gate like you do."

"I think you could if you had to. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to do it, though." And I was quietly thrilled that dungeon crawling wasn't one of Kwame's interests. I didn't know what the chances of dating two people in a row who died in gates really were, but if Kwame wasn't going into gates, his chance of dying in one was zero.

"We saw a preview for The Wilds: Race Asia, and Beth dropped the bomb on me that she had gone to Asia once to train," Kwame continued, filling the silence.

"Does that make you more or less interested in a show like that?" I wobbled my head, thinking.

"Neither. My interest in watching it would be strong regardless. We saw a little sliver of the continent, so it's not like I'll have seen any of the places they're going." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I'd like to travel like that again someday," Beth mused.

"Doesn't have to be the wilds either. Hawaii and Taiwan both looked amazing. There's too much out there to see." Kwame smiled warmly at Beth as she spoke. He didn't say it, but I could tell he already hoped to be the one who went with her on those adventures. They had only been talking for 2 weeks or so now, and he wasn't good at hiding how he felt. The boy was smitten, and I liked that I couldn't immediately discern if Beth felt the same way.

Mom and Dad would have wanted her to fall in line behind a good Christian man, playing the background character who lived purely to support and serve her husband. Instead, I saw Beth growing more independent, more sure of her own ability to choose what was best for herself. Kwame seemed to like that about her too. I didn't know how likely this was to work out, but that seemed like a good sign.

Everyone in our six-person team–me, Megan, Nathan, de Saint, Hornby, and Giago–met Enforcers Chapman and McDouglas in a first-floor conference room. His polo was cherry red today. As a civilian contractor, Nathan didn't have clearance to venture to other floors, and getting his credentials cleared for this much had been a bit arduous. But we got it done.

"You are now all officially Rapid Dungeon Surge Response Agents," Chapman said, standing in front of a projector.

"That acronym is awful, so we'll be referring to you as 'hunters.' That language has become popular in other offices, so we'll do the same thing to keep things easy. You are one of two teams serving our region, and you may collaborate with the other, but we don't foresee that happening any time soon. They are team 'Blast Furnace,' and you are team 'Cold Rollers.'" Of the two, Blast Furnace sounded way fucking cooler, but Cold Rollers wasn't terrible.

"Starting tomorrow, you will be on call for wild monster response missions. Later, we'll show you the garage where your transportation and equipment will be stored. That will also serve as your rendezvous point. You will all meet there and leave together as a unit when you're called in. For the indefinite future, you will be accompanied by a superior officer who will observe and coach you on tactics." McDouglas waved.

"Eventually, you will deploy independent of field oversight. You will interface with a RAID dispatcher who will assign you a RAID drone and be your point of contact for emergencies or mission inquiries. Enforcer de Saint will have control of the RAID drone for the duration of the operation, but the feed will still transmit to the RAID room at the same time. Meehan will pilot a smaller scouting drone included in your basic loadout.

"For the rest of your loadouts, a quartermaster and IT specialist are assigned to the garage to help you keep equipment in peak operating condition and to ensure you have all the supplies you need for an op. You are permitted to use your own gear when you prefer, but you are responsible for ensuring that it is properly maintained and packed with the rest of your kit. No one will chase you down to make sure your personal armor is cleaned and oiled.

"I've emailed all of you a tutorial on post-op documentation. Those reports are important for several reasons, so take them seriously and be detailed. Unsatisfactory mission reports are grounds for being removed from the project. Additionally, we will check these reports against RAID logs to make sure you are properly compensated for your time in the field. We can't issue the payment without the reports completed.

"Any questions so far? Everything else I have is all policy and protocol for engagements around civilians." Megan raised her hand.

"If we're on call during harvest inspections, does the plan change? Some of those sites are way out there."

"We are concerned about dispatch challenges," Chapman admitted.

"If there is a change to the usual process for an op, we would let you know as part of the call-in. To that point, however, you are all being removed from the call list for unclaimed gates. Your leveling will occur at scheduled times from now on. We can't have you being stuck in an E gate when something more pressing needs your attention.

"Also, you should all have your kits within easy access at all times, so take them with you when you're in the field instead of the generic CDM loadout, and if you're in the office, keep your kits in your trunks. By the end of the week, you will all have assigned parking so we can ensure your vehicles and the items inside are secure throughout the day."

"Do we get a meal allowance when we're on the road?" Giago asked. Everyone else laughed softly.

"What? You all were thinking it. I was brave enough to ask." Chapman repressed a smile.

"Yes. There's also a lodging allowance after a certain amount of travel. What else?" De Saint went next.

"There was talk about ongoing training of some kind. How does that work?" Turning to McDouglas, Chapman said, "That's all you." McDouglas didn't stand, only swiveled in his chair.

"Field guidance is part of that training. Everyone will be wearing cameras, so we will do detailed mission debriefs as well, where we review footage and movement logs to look for areas to improve. Given the people in this room, I should emphasize that none of that content or information is cleared for personal or commercial use." Megan frowned and nodded, and that was about how I felt too.

We knew from the start that we wouldn't get to use our hunting missions for Dungeon Divas videos, but we both kept a flicker of hope because damn if that wouldn't have been nice. McDouglas continued, "Lastly, we will spend the first two Saturdays of every month with a wilderness survival instructor. You will have a wilderness escort for any off-the-grid hunts until that training is complete." That was welcome news.

I had tried to find someone to teach me those skills, but instructors either didn't return my calls or weren't available. The CDM making that education mandatory was a blessing. Not only would I actually learn something, but I would get paid to do it. That sure as shit beat spending my own money.

"You will each get a pin code for the garage, and you should stop by after work to get a feel for where it is. For now, let's step outside and take a look at your new mobile field office." A brief walk later, we stood in the front driveway of the CDM office, looking at a sprinter van with ladders on either side. Nathan tried to repress his excitement, so he ended up with wide eyes and a closed-mouth smile that he tried, and failed, to hide. McDouglas led us around the back, opened the doors, and started pointing.

"Two workstations for your ops people, a comms closet, drone storage, an expanded first aid kit, a server closet, and passenger seats." The fact that they fit four seats in there was impressive. They had their backs to the walls of the van and looked like they had storage beneath them. When the van was parked, fold-down displays and desk extensions took advantage of that space. McDouglas climbed one of the side ladders and popped a latch. The top portion of the van opened up.

"All of your kit goes in here. Should be plenty of space, and I know getting it in and out of here is a pain in the ass. As a team of 6, we can move all of you in one vehicle. Blast Furnace has a second SUV for gear storage, but you guys only have the van. Osheski has a good strength stat. Ask her to get your stuff up here if you can't do it." He climbed down and started shutting all the doors.

"Where are you going to sit?" I asked. McDouglas chuckled.

"I'm good with following in my own car. Thanks, though." To the rest of the group, he said, "That's all for today. You can head back to your usual work. Meehan, that means you're clear to cut out." We lingered for a moment outside the CDM office when Chapman and McDouglas returned inside.

"Did you two get assigned to enforcement?" Megan asked Hornby and Giago. They shook their heads.

"Senior Quartermaster for me," Hornby answered.

"Did some of that in the Army, and no offense, but it beats talking to crawlers all day." None of us was offended. We didn't like talking to crawlers all that much either.

"Municipal Logistics Manager and Liaison," Giago said.

"I'm supposed to make sure that the CDMs' work with local governments, like police and fire departments, goes smoothly."

"Dude," Nathan coughed.

"That sounds awful." Giago laughed.

"I deserve it for calling you guys 'desk jockeys.' Give me a few weeks, and I'll let you know if it's as awful as it sounds."