Following the directions from the flyer, Hubert soon arrived at a small building not too far from their apartment with his daughter. It was an inconspicuous building, and the name of the company was not present outside either, making it very hard to assume that the place was currently hiring and was a company that offered jobs. But since the flyer has the precise direction where to find the building itself, perhaps they don't have the need to put their name upfront for everyone to see?
"Stop thinking of those useless thoughts, Hubert. An offer for a job is something you really need right now; you shouldn't think about anything else," Hubert whispered to himself, trying to hype himself up.
Entering the building, he saw a few people looking at him with weird looks at first. The majority of the people there wear uniforms that make them look like some handyman or plumber. They wear cargo pants, and their belts have tool belts with various tools ranging from hammers, wrenches, and even some screwdrivers. However, the difference is that they also looked like they were geared for combat. Some of them wear shoulder pads and knee pads, and some even have gloves that are used on military and combat attire. He knows, since he once had soldier training in the past before he graduated from college, due to a mandatory curriculum back then.
It was a brief training, but enough for him to know the basics about it so that he can easily tell regular gear and tactical gear.
Just as he was a bit lost in his thought, a young woman, around the age of 20 to 25 years old, approached him with a professional look.
"Sir, are you perhaps lost? Civilians are not allowed here, and I doubt you are part of any teams here."
Hubert quickly recovered and started explaining the part. "Ah! No! Actually, I heard your company was hiring people and said that they needed workers who are paid well. I needed the job, so I received this flyer and followed the directions stated on the flyer. Am I in the wrong building?"
The young woman looked confused at first, but she quickly composed herself. "Can I see the flyer first?"
"Ah, here it is!" Hubert hands over the flyer to the young woman, and the young woman makes a light glance at it. Her eyes went wide for a bit before she pulled up a walkie-talkie from her tool belt and radioed someone.
"Hello, we have a new applicant who received THAT flyer waiting here in the main entrance. What should we do about this, over?"
A few seconds later, a buzzing noise can be heard on the walkie-talkie, and a man's voice responds.
"[Bzzt] Another one, huh? Bring him to the usual place, Miss Mendez. Escort him if you are free so that he does not stumble on the other rooms and disturb things. We will be waiting, over."
"Copy that, over and out."
The young woman, whom Hubert heard to be Miss Mendez, looks at him and folds the flyer and puts it in her pocket, and turns her back. "Follow me, Mr. Applicant."
Hubert nodded and followed Miss Mendez. While he was following her, the surrounding people started whispering,g and he overheard a few of them.
"Looks like the flyer snagged another person again!"
"Damn, and here I thought that flyer would not appear again, but it was another person who had no idea what he was doing who was lured in again?"
"Poor guy, perhaps he was lured here due to the wage? He will surely regret doing so."
Hubert does not understand what is happening at all and why these people are whispering those words to one another. It sounds worrisome, but he can't really understand what they meant by those cryptic words either. However, he decided to ignore those and focus on the upcoming interview or whatever. He needed to land this job no matter what.
Miss Mendez led him to various turns and doors for a while, and he saw various people in business suits and those usual tactical outfits combined with the handyman attire. He also heard a few shouts deep in the hallway, and when he asked Miss Mendez about it, she always had the same answer.
"Don't worry about it."
After a while, they soon arrived in a room with a few tables inside, with a single chair in the middle of the room. What makes the room more peculiar is that the place is so dark that darkness envelops the whole room, except for a few spots. The chair in the middle is currently illuminated with a bright light, while the tables have a faint red light, enough to allow him to see the silhouettes of the table and whoever is sitting behind it, but not bright enough to see their faces. It seems he has arrived at the interview venue. He started to fix his clothes and check his hair and face for anything that would make him look pathetic in front of the interviewers, after all, that would be minus points for them, which means less chances to get hired.
"Don't worry about that, the interviewers don't care whether you wear formal attire or you wear rags. Just answer their questions and answer them truthfully, and perhaps you will land the job. Now get inside."
Miss Mendez pushes him inside before the door closes. Hubert wanted to ask more things to her, but since he was left inside the room, he had no choice but to head over to the chair and sit down like some kind of criminal currently on trial.
Hubert looks at the people at the tables. He can tell there are people there, but all of them are just silhouettes, and it doesn't help that the light on their table is just red light, enough to fully obscure his vision of their identities. He counts three of the five of them there. As he was still trying to understand what was happening, someone from the five started speaking with a commanding and domineering tone.
"What brings you here?" he asked.
Realizing that the interview is starting, Hubert immediately responds, even when he is already so nervous.
"I am looking for a job. Something that pays me a hefty amount in exchange for my skills."
Another voice from the five silhouettes started asking as well, this time, a female voice, but it sounded much older. "Are you aware of what kind of job you are entering?"
"Not at all. But I don't really care what job it is as long as I can work. I don't mind if it is hard or demanding. I will endure as long as I am paid well."
The first voice that spoke earlier speaks again. "Tell me, Mister. Why are you seemingly in a rush to earn money? Do you not suspect us of something illegal workers do?"
Hubert steeled himself and answered truthfully. "It doesn't matter if you are legal or not. This is for my dying daughter, and I needed the money to pay for her operation. I know I may sound like I am begging, but please, if you are hiring, you won't be disappointed! I am versatile and can do many things as long as it pays me. Whether this is legal or illegal!"
The five people remain silent at first. Hubert felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest due to how hard it was beating from nervousness just now. It seems that the people before him are not satisfied with his answers.
He is prepared to hear the painful words of rejection, but instead of what he was expecting, a piece of paper flies through his lap, and then one of the voices talks. This time, it sounded like someone who seems to sounds like a 16-year-old adolescent boy.
"Read it carefully and sign it if you want to take the job."
Hearing this, Hubert did not bother to read the paper or sign his name and signature to the paper.
The five seem not to agree on what he did, and he can see in their silhouettes that they hooked their heads, but they took the paper again.
"Since you are now signed up with us, welcome to the company. Your work will begin tonight. Don't be late and don't tell anyone what transpired here in this room. Congratulations for receiving the job."