With the discussion finishing, everyone slowly got up and started to leave. As Alex was leaving, he was stopped by Beth,
"You said you were an orphan?"
"Yea, Alex's life before I took over was pretty dismal."
"Stay behind for a bit, Alex."
When it was just the two of them, Beth called Louise back in and informed her of her decision to get Alex a penthouse apartment.
"Alright Miss Morrigan, but I will only be able to give him something that is on your assigned portfolio."
"That's fine as long as it has at least three bedrooms and is centrally located. Also, please make sure that no mention of this meeting and of Alex and his new flat ever gets out or you will find out how vindictive I can be."
Shivering as cold sweat covered her, Louise quickly nodded and scampered away like a startled deer.
"That should tide you over until you get enough to get your own place."
"The original Alex was a pretty decent hacker, not top tier, but good enough to be employed twice. I plan on working on that skill since it is extremely helpful. Do you know anyone who could provide me with some reference materials?"
"I think my father once used a hacker association called BlackNet, I could ask them whether they have some stuff they would suggest you look at."
"That would be great!"
"Alright, I am going to go have a look at possible locations."
"Great. Let me know when you have a location, I will clear out the trash."
Leaving the conference room, Alex was handed a pair of keys by Louise, along with a note with the address. Thanking her, he left the building and proceeded to hail down a cab and take him to his new apartment. It was quite a tall building, well situated in the affluent part of the town.
Taking the elevator to the 5th floor, he unlocked the only flat on the floor and walked into the spacious, modern three-bedroom flat. Going through the hallway into the spacious living room, a huge corner sofa was facing a large TV on the wall. The sofa partitioned the living area in half, the living room with its huge sofa, and large sideboard, along with two armchairs made up the living room. A very spacious kitchen together with a breakfast bar completed the kitchen. What surprised Alex was that a third of the kitchen was a mini bar, fully furnished with a wide range of alcohol.
Checking the bedrooms, there was a very spacious master bedroom situated in the corner of the flat, with two walls of floor to ceiling windows. There was a nice modern en-suite bathroom along with a huge made to measure wardrobe on the last wall. He gave the other two rooms a cursory glance, they were the same with large double beds, and fitted wardrobes. They also sported large floor to ceiling windows. These rooms shared a communal bathroom that had a big bath and huge skylight.
"She really knows how to enjoy herself, huh!" Alex was taken aback by the sheer luxury this apartment boasted, coupled with the location it was sporting its huge price tag on its sleeve like a badge of honour.
Going to the bar and pouring himself a drink, Alex settled on the sofa and once again looked at the recruit options. Checking his phone and seeing that he was $5 million richer, he did not hesitate for a second before telling the system to summon all three recruits.
[Recruitment confirmed]
[Summoning successful]
The space in front of the sofa shimmered and three people slowly appeared in front of Alex. Alex was extremely curious about how the system managed to teleport three people from other worlds right in front of him. The whole process looked fantastical, like a very blurry picture slowly sharpening into a higher quality. Finally coming back to his senses, he took in the three people that appeared in front of him.
Firstly, a tall black man with a sharp jawline and an amicable look in his dark eyes. He was dressed in black trousers and a black shirt coupled with a pair of black loafers. He accented this by wearing a bright silver low hanging necklace. His whole posture and aura screamed of mystery, however, a faint trace of friendliness poured out of him. Almost as if he was begging you to tell him your darkest deepest secrets.
The second person was also a tall man, wearing combat trousers, heavy duty boots and black t-shirt. He was bald, with a pair of bright green eyes, which seemed to see through everything. His stance along with the way he was looking around screamed of wariness, almost as if hew as prepared to pounce on anyone in the next second.
The trio was finished off by a gorgeous tall woman, long black hair framed her pale face. A pair of black eyes peeked from under her fringe sizing Alex up. Wearing a blue dress and pumps, she looked like she was about to go on a night out. Her gaze was the one that Alex found most uncomfortable, however, he also found it the most interesting.
"Alright introduce yourselves."
"Hello sir, I am Jerome Schiegel, otherwise known as the Devil's Barkeep. I am a very good barman if I do say so myself." Smirking, he looked at the other two recruits.
"My skills include mixology, coercion, and thought theft."
"I am Jack Wilder, known in the past as the Wolf of the Plains. I am a former mercenary; my skills are close combat, bodyguard and battlefield analysis."
"Nice to meet you mister …"
"Night, you can call me Mr Night."
"Mr Night. I am Scarlet Anderson, I served as the strategist and advisor in the criminal underworld. I had the nickname of the Black Widow, once someone was in my web all that awaited was death. I have the skills of deception, intrigue and strategist."
Thinking that this was a perfect time to try out his new skill Aura of Fear, he activated and replied to his new subordinates.
"Nice to meet you all, what do you know of your predicaments?"
"I believe we are all in the same position, where we had died and were offered a second chance in exchange for providing you with our loyalty and skills."
"Scarlet summed it up pretty well."
"Same situation here."
Feeling a cold chill up their spine, they all started in fear at the monster sitting in front of them.
"Do you agree to serve me unconditionally?"
Scared of the beast in human skin sitting in front of them, the three little rabbits nodded one after another.
"Good, choose yes."
Seeing the weird floating screen in front of them they all clicked yes, putting a smile on Alex's face as three new people appeared in his subordinates tab.