"How would you like to become an underboss?" Her uncle told her.
"So you want me to be your right-hand who is basically going to have half your work done for you? Wow, as if my help wasn't enough, now you want me to be a permanent employee. Well, I would like to see how far this goes, uncle." Aefia replied while crossing her hands.
"Look, I didn't mean it like that. Well you will help me a bit more with the work but you are getting a one month holiday right? Besides, this holiday was intended for you to recover your mental and physical state for the upcoming missions."
"So it was all planned to deceive me into taking the position whether I liked it or not. I can't believe my biological father would do that!"
"You need to be happy about it since I wanted to hand over the position to you at an even younger age. I think you are overreacting right now. A lot of my past employees really wanted to be my right-hand man. So I think it is a good way for you to grow your reputation in this industry."
Aefia signed. "I think you remember very well. I just wanted to live a normal life and save my brother from the trauma I have faced from a young age. I came to you for help at an age of eight and now my brother is turning eight this year. I think it's time to consider some outside opportunities into my life first. Kids my age are focusing on big projects like creating a vlog channel, writing stories, learning coding to create games and some are already entrepreneurs. I am the only one who hasn't started anything in particular."
Her uncle leaned his chin on the back of his hands and thought for a while. "Very well, I think you are right that kids your age are doing things meaningful and you are the only one who has a secret life which traps you in a cage. But what made you think that?"
"Well...I guess I did a few research while researching for a school project about requirements needed for a simple college application. They say that there is a high chance of getting into better schools if you have an extra-curricular activity outside your school projects, logged under your name and you have done at least one thing to contribute into your society." Aefia scratched the back of her head. "Actually, I think it was supposed to be the other way round. I kinda forgot."
"Nevermind, I get it. You did a good thing with the research. But what are you thinking about doing?"
Aefia stayed silent for a while with her fist in front of her mouth. "I haven't thought about it yet, but I heard the local police department is recruiting interns who are willing to stay a short hour to help solve some cases. They are saying that whatever case we help in, it will be put under our names in our school certificates."
Her uncle was taken aback. "Do you want to be an investigator?"
"I guess that is what my skills are telling me. I am pretty good at problem solving, right? No wait, if they realize about my problem solving skills, they will find out about my real identity as the well-known child-spy for a Mafia business. Why don't you choose? You are my biological father after all." Aefia looked at her uncle with a serious gaze.
"I suggest you take coding or accounting. It fits your status more. Or you could try for any medium in the engineering field, you know, someone needs to fix the building infrastructure of our country. Maybe that's not fitting for your age, time and skills. Did you ever consider being a writer or a business owner?"
"I guess not. But if you ask it that way, those are very remote jobs and don't really need much attention. In other words, I have the freedom to choose when to manage them. Although, I don't think business operates that way. If you are thinking about hiring employees, you may need to be available in a certain amount of time to access whatever sort of problems that might occur. Or maybe not?"
"You idea about how some jobs may work is adequate engouh for your age. What matters now is the flexibility, am I right? Now if you are creative enough, you might as well go for writing. You can write mystery novels since you are into solving problems from a young age."
"But won't that reveal the way I work in cases? If I keep it a confidential matter from my colleagues but to the outer world, I expose of those tricks, won't it sound unfair to them? Besides, that makes it more clear that I am a spy or at least a former one." The truth is, I am not creative enough for that sort of stuff.
Her uncle leaned back on his chair. "I suppose that surpressed my list of options. I have to say, you are on your own now. The only other thing you are good at is gaming. Not studying not teaching, just doing some useless stuff online."
"What do you mean games are useless! They can be proven worthy enough to exist if someone uses their mind and that game properly! It can be used to solve real-life cases if you have a brain and know how to use it!" Aefia said angrily.
"And that's another thing that you are exceptionally good at, rage-baiting. I think you have developed the high-temper the father you are staying with has."
"Of course, you should expect me to become one of them if you leave me in that mad house long enough."
"Anyway, back to what we were discussing about. What exactly comes to your mind when you think of what you can specialize in within a short time?"
"I don't know...Data analysist? It is an easy job and doesn't need much learning to be done. It is something almost everyone can do, so there is no doubt I can't too."
"Now that it has been settled, finish up this work and you can go on your break." Her uncle snapped his finger twice while saying.
"I have a lot of other things to ask, but I will finish this case before doing so." Aefia walked away to her new office room. She had just gotten it a month ago, after the second floor renovation had been completed.
Her uncle decided to build a better and more stable infrastructure with a simple interior design unlike the weak and exquisite, old building. At least now, he has a bigger space for the safety bunker and more equipments' rooms.
Without further ado, she opened the case file and took out the documents. She didn't need to test for whether the papers were faux anymore, since every members were tested themselves before they entered her uncle's company.
She got straight into the first page and read the following content.
***
You have been tricked!
This case is simply a test to know how far you have grown during your time in this company. Now you can call this a humanity test, but I prefer you think of it as a normal test. (Though I don't know why I had to add this line.)
Anyway, this is an oral test and it is best if you come back to the boss's office to take the test. I don't think it should be a burden, is it? It could be annoying but I have a list of questions to ask. If you want, you can practice the questions but I know you are going to ignore that prompt.
The next few pages are the questions. Good luck!
***
Seriously uncle? You kept me hyped up for this last case but this is what you present me with? And if you knew I wasn't going to practice the questions, why didn't you tell me to stay at the office and answer all this nonsense. It is really irritating when to walk up and down continuously, you know.
She hesitantly stood up and angrily shoved all the papers back into the file before stomping out of her office room. She knocked on her uncle's door and went inside without order. She was already too mad to listen to anything.
All this for a one month break!
"Come on uncle. Do you really think I have time for this?" Aefia asked.
"I knew you would be mad about it. But sometimes, you just need to be a normal human. And that is figured out by this humanity test." Her uncle took out the papers with the questions printed on it.
"So I am supposed to learn how to be patient? Then is that minus one point from the overall test score?"
"You got that right. You have grown now and in a few years, if you really want to live a normal life, I assume you will have to adapt to a few things. The thing I have done to you today, is very common outside in various different industries. If you get mad over small matters like this, just how are you going to survive?"
"Sometimes, I don't understand your concerns. Anyway, let's carry on with this 'last mission'. I want to go back home and take a rest. My muscles are already sore from today's training."
"Alright. Now the first question...Actually, skip that. I think you are human enough to survive this world." Her uncle put away the papers.
"Wait, so am I getting a real mission now? One that involves solving crimes? Cause that's what it seems like to me."
"That's the correct answer. How did you know?"
"Code language? The one which we used to use during an enemy threat?"
"Alright, second question. Oh wait, did I forget to tell you? Mr. Robert too wanted to take a test like this once. But his employees failed miserably. Funny right?" Her uncle laughed.
"What is there to brag about? His employees could be people of different mentalities. And I don't think it's right to make fun of something you aren't certain about. It is not stated how many of them failed. If so, it could be considered as a potential quote to be told."
"That's a correct and accepted way." He picked up the papers once again and told Aefia, "I think at your current pace, I can tell you will pass this test. Well you deserve that break. Now go along and have a good rest time."
"Wait, really? So that's it?" Aefia asked.
"Yes, it's not a question. And you had a question to ask me? You might want to ask it fast because your driver is on the way." Her uncle threw the folder aside.
"Before that, you do know that I have just gotten my driver's license, right?"
"Wait, really? That's interesting. So what are you planning to do with it?"
"I didn't mean it that way. My father bought his third car just two weeks ago."
"What brand and model? I don't think it is an old one?"
"No one said old cars are bad or run down, they just need an upgrade and a check-up. And that's also not what I meant."
"Wait. So you drove here?"
"...Nevermind. But I wanted to drive my way home. I can't bring a car into this garage, can I?"
"Oh..But you don't know the way back home. No, you can't ask your driver to lend you the car."
"I knew you would say that." Aefia rocked back and forth on her feet. "So my question was...I have stayed in this company for so long that being separated from it kind of makes me feel lonely and being tied to it feels like I am missing out on the real world, being a normal kid.
"Its like you said that day, being in the Mafia is like being with a different non-blood related family who actually listen to you and are the real fun. So I was thinking, if there is a way for me to be in the position you wanted to offer while also take a longer break.
"I am not saying one month isn't engouh. But it isn't enough in terms of all the fun I have missed out on but want to cover up within the time I have to be like the people my age."
Her uncle thought for a while. "Well then. I assume you are officially the Underboss of this Mafia organization. And about the break time, you are free to come back whenever you want. I too wished for you to enjoy some time being like the people your age."
"Thank you, uncle. Hope you have fun time in this office!" Aefia sprinted out of the boss's room. And ran though the corridor. The setting sun caused the sky to turn an orange-pinkish colour with the clouds bordering it here and there while the stars were starting to become more visible.
She went back to her office room and took out the album which contained all the pictures over the years with the members of the Mafia organization. She stuffed it inside her bag and took out her gun from the drawer and a few extra bullets. She stuffed them into her coat's inner pocket and packed her charger and phone into her bag.
She left through the main gate of the newly built main department, which was supposed to be the gate though which she had entered through the first time, seven years ago.
She waited at the end of the stairs for her ride to arrive while she saw members go in and out of the office.
Back at home, she asked her maid to hide the photo album between her belongings and it was the first day she insisted that she, Nada and her brother go downstairs to the park.
"You seem pretty happy today, I guess it is a rare occasion seeing you do this." Nada told her.
"I was going to ask her the same thing." Her brother told.
Aefia smiled back but didn't reply. But shortly after, she said, "Sometimes, when one family seems boring or irritating, another family comes to help."
"Expensive coming from you." Nada and her brother laughed.