He doesn't really know why he stole the cards. He didn't necessarily need them, they were cards after all. Frankly, he didn't even want them in the first place. The brand was a shitty company and the cards themselves were ugly and static. Hell, he didn't even want them for the resale value, since the packs had nothing good in them almost all the time. Actually, that first statement was a lie. He does know. He loves the thrill of stealing something, anything, regardless of his actual need or want for the item in question. Just the puzzle of trying to hide something discretely, the thrill of walking away with nobody being the wiser, that was what really drew him in. The feeling was addicting.
A female voice resounded from the intercom, "Next, Tyson Wilson. Please pick up your placard and enter the room down the hall to have your mugshot taken."
Obviously like most addictions, especially his since it was illegal, it ended with him being caught and sent to jail for stealing over ten-thousand dollars' worth of miscellaneous store goods over the past two years. Apparently, someone called a "secret shopper" caught him in the act, and video tapes from stores he frequented were all pulled and analyzed to discover his deeds.
He turned his attention to the placard in his hand, noting the cheap feeling metal, presumably aluminum, around the slate information card. It read:
[ Name: Tyson Wilson
Rank: Undubbed
Profession: Not yet obtained
Number: 61906-074]
Frankly, it was a pretty lame placard all things considered. Maybe if he had the Ral to go to the fields and go through Adoubement, he may have gotten away- or at least had a slightly more impressive looking card.
"Stand on the x in the middle of the room please. Keep your face as neutral as possible and especially do not smile."
The woman sounded a lot closer now, presumably because she was probably just behind the wall in front of him, looking at him through a one-way window. More likely than not with a look of disgust- or maybe just disappointment considering his age. He was just 16 after all, and it was nowhere near his birthday in March.
His mugshots sped by quickly, and he was led to a room down an alloy lined hallway. Inside was a sparsely decorated room including a table with handcuffs attached to it, and two chairs. On the chair opposite the handcuffs sat a young-looking lady, presumably in her late twenties, or possibly very early thirties. Her hair and lips were both a bright red. This was more likely due to her profession rather than genetics like his own dark blue colored hair. She had a sharp look in her eye, like she had met may like him before and would meet many like him after.
"Please take a seat. My friend by the door will put you in those cuffs, and then we can talk properly."
Quickly looking to his left, Ty found himself looking at the chest of a gorilla of a man. He had to crane his neck to see the guy's face. By the Kings this guy was huge… He quickly sat himself in the seat and got cuffed by the gorilla man, as to not cause problems. The red-haired lady spoke once more.
"Much better. Now that we can speak properly and got those smaller cuffs off you, Tyson, how about we discuss your… more than interesting circumstances."
"Alright, my name is Kelly. I am an Apprentice, so please don't get any funny ideas."
He'd gone and done it now. An Apprentice of all people! How important was his case that they had to assign her to him? He now knew he held no chance, especially as someone who hasn't gone through their first Adoubement to become a Serf, while she had gone through her third and became an Apprentice.
"Oh, I had no 'funny' ideas in the first place ma'am. I'm sure anybody in this enforcer office could catch me just as easily and quickly as you. However, is there any reason I'm here? My case seems pretty cut and dry, especially considering what I said in court."
"Yes, it is an extremely simple case after your social suicide in the court room. You truly made anybody willing to vote you innocent change their mind with just a few sentences. But we aren't here to talk about that. Instead, since you are under the legal age to go to prison, even though you're being tried as an adult, we are going to extend you an offer to not only shake off your prison time, but to even gain free access to the fields and undergo Adoubement."
"I'll stop you there ma'am, I know something like this wouldn't come without a hefty price on my part, especially considering I'm a convict. I'd appreciate it if you told me outright rather than beating around the bush."
"Straightforward huh, we see a lot of people like that these days… But sure, I'll just get on with it. The government sees some type of 'potential' in you, something I personally don't see. They said that your technique for stealing was the work of a master, and not just some rookie kleptomaniac- something like that. So, they want you to work in a special unit they're creating. Of course, that all depends on what profession you're dubbed."
"Pardon me if I'm being rude for saying this, but what's in it for them? This sounds like a whole lot of benefit for me, but absolutely nothing for them. What do they hope to gain?"
"Well, it should be obvious. For starters, you'll have to teach others how to take things like you do. They also want to keep you there for upwards of six years, things of that nature."
"Ah. That does sound more like the government. They want to work me to death in the six years they have me if I had to guess."
With a flat tone, Kelly retorted, "Good job, you figured it out. Now here comes the decision making. You can either do that or serve fifteen years in prison. It should be an easy one considering the timeframes of both, but you can decide which one is more worth it to you."
"I see what you're trying to do there and it won't work… because my answer was going to be that from the very beginning. It's a no-brainer really. Adoubement is something I've been trying to get to forever, not that my tendency to spend and then steal when I had no more money to spend helped that goal very much, and I would be a fool to refuse this offer."
Really though, Ty would have to be a complete dunderhead to refuse. Everyone was already used by the government, and even more so by the great clans. The difference between being used then and being used now was like the difference between to grains of sand. And as long as he obtained a properly powerful profession from his Adoubement, he could quickly rise from the position of being used, and even become the one that used others for his own gains!
"Great! Just sign these sheets, and my partner here will lead you to a holding cell where you can have those cuffs off- at least until the government sends an envoy to get you."
He really wanted to get out of that room quickly, so he signed the sheets without reading them too hard. For a split second, he felt that Apprentice Kelly's wide smile was a bit more… predatory than before. Surely it was nothing to worry about.
"Jarrod, take him to the room if you will."
The gorilla man apparently named 'Jarrod" put Ty back in his cuffs, put a bag over his head, and held him upside down for a long while until he eventually was laid down on a bed. He couldn't really tell which way he was going, nor where he had come from due to the blood that rushed to his head. Jarrod eventually took the cuffs and bag off him, and then wordlessly turned to leave.
'Not a man of many words huh.'
Ty tried to stand up but quickly fell almost face first next to Jarrod. The man turned to the prisoner for a second with a look that was almost mocking in his eyes (although you really couldn't tell with the way his face was almost emotionless), and walked away, locking the cell door behind him. Not long after, a sly grin spread along Ty's face, as he pulled… a pen from his pants.
'I can't believe I managed to swipe a pen from that guy! Maybe he's just a big blockhead after all, nothing to be afraid of- other than his immense strength. Maybe it's one of those fancy enchanted ones made by the Enchanters that have infinite ink! There's an easy way to check too, since if the pen ink stays full even after writing with it, it would most definitely be enchanted.'
He looked in the cartridge, potentially saving himself the time of writing and to his immense disappointment, the ink well was only three-quarters of the way full, meaning it was in fact not enchanted. He couldn't expect a mere grunt guard to carry such an expensive item, but maybe that Kelly woman had one…