Two days after the interrogation, Jude returned to work at the Red Dragon. This time, following Philip's recommendation, he'd bought a second modified wheelchair for the commute.
When he rolled into the restaurant, the visible relief on his coworkers' faces was almost comical. Santos actually exhaled like he'd been holding his breath.
The Death Car stayed parked at Drake's building. Everyone was happier that way.
"Jude!" Santos waved him over, newspaper in hand. "Have you seen the news?"
Jude glanced at the headline. "What happened? Something about the Richard Daniel thing?"
Santos's enthusiastic expression deflated instantly. "Huh? You already know?"
"I was on my way home from shooting practice when I ran into that unlucky bastard getting ventilated." Jude shrugged off his jacket. "Got dragged to the GCPD in the middle of the night for a statement. Didn't get home until 2 AM. That's how I learned his name. President of Gotham Bank, apparently."
"No shit?" Santos perked up again, always interested in a good story. "You actually saw it happen? What did you see?"
"I'd rather have not seen it at all." Jude shook his head. "Half a submachine gun barrel sticking out a car window, unlicensed black sedan with tinted windows. That's it. Anyone bold enough to assassinate someone in broad daylight isn't someone I want to get curious about. Curiosity killed the cat, and I don't have nine lives."
"Fair point."
Castro jumped into the conversation, clearly bored with talk of murder. "Instead of dwelling on that, how about thinking about something more fun? Like Halloween?"
"Oh, speaking of which." Rick's face lit up. "Anyone want to come to my Halloween party? The kind without Philip or Donald breathing down our necks?"
Castro's hand shot up. "Hell yeah!"
Jude had never been to an American-style party, but he knew enough about gang member parties to guess the guest list wouldn't include model citizens. The refreshments would probably extend beyond beer and pizza into territory involving significantly fewer clothes and significantly more controlled substances.
"I'll pass," he said. "As you can see, I'm broke. I have to work Halloween."
"Oh come on!" Rick groaned. "We finally get time off and you're volunteering for extra shifts? That's depressing, man."
"I have to make a living." Jude sighed with practiced weariness. "As you all know, I just bought a car."
"Right. Yeah. Okay." Castro surrendered immediately.
All three of them shuddered slightly when he mentioned the car.
Hilarious. They'd just been hyping up a Halloween party, but the moment he referenced the Death Car, they looked like they'd seen a ghost. Classic case of admiring dragons from a distance but running when one showed up at your door.
Still, working Halloween wasn't a lie. The system had actually given him three side jobs. Three separate opportunities to earn on what should have been a night off.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Halloween Pumpkin Lantern
Task Description: Don't overthink it. A customer needs a jack-o'-lantern. Do a good job and receive a reward. Do a bad job and receive nothing.
Note: Low risk, high reward. This job is reserved for you.
Status: Incomplete (0/1)
Reward: Small portable pumpkin lantern (never goes out). Effective at repelling minor demons and general supernatural nuisances. Don't worry—it's not a magical item from this world, so there's no price to pay.
Halloween Heart Arsonist
Task Description: Mr. Harvey has some unplanned work tonight, which means he won't be spending Halloween with his family. Perhaps you can handle this job for him?
Note: In Gotham City, some jobs require guts to make money. Do you want to be a nobody? Or do you want to make a name for yourself?
Status: Incomplete (0%)
Reward: Based on task completion. Each 20% completion converts to $2,000 in asset points. Maximum reward: $20,000.
Halloween Takeaway Service
Task Description: You may not believe it, but in Gotham City, there are people who have it worse than Gordon, Harvey, or even Batman. For such unfortunate souls, an extra-large Burger King takeout is like Christmas morning.
Note: Born on Monday, baptized on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, fell ill on Thursday, critically ill on Friday, passed away on Saturday, buried on Sunday—this will be their whole life. Remember to wear a gas mask.
Status: Incomplete (0/1)
Reward: Intermediate Culinary Mastery + one client's eternal friendship.
Three jobs in one night. Even the God of Hell would respect that work ethic.
But the rewards were genuinely excellent. A demon-repelling lantern that never went out. Asset points worth up to twenty thousand dollars. Intermediate Culinary Mastery, which cost a full three thousand in the system shop.
"One food delivery is worth half a month of waiting tables," Jude muttered, staring at the notifications. "God, the pay gap between jobs is depressing."
But he was going to do it anyway. Anyone who could resist these rewards was either rich or stupid.
During his lunch break, Jude's coworkers noticed him sitting in the corner of the staff cafeteria with a pumpkin and a carving knife, making careful incisions.
"Hey, Jude." Santos sat down with an apple. "Where'd you get that pumpkin? Kitchen?"
"Bought it myself." Jude didn't look up, focused on his work. "You know we're not allowed to take ingredients from the kitchen."
The carving knife flashed in the fluorescent light, peeling away orange skin and pale flesh in smooth, practiced strokes.
"You making a jack-o'-lantern?"
"Yeah. It's Halloween. Figure I'll carve some lanterns, sell them on the street. Maybe someone will buy one."
"Huh."
Rick passed by and paused to examine Jude's handiwork. As the knife continued its work, a face emerged from the pumpkin—twisted, grinning, wrong somehow.
"Is this your first time carving one?"
"You don't think it's good?" Jude held up the pumpkin, studying it critically. "I think it looks pretty decent."
The expression carved into the gourd was distinctly pained, twisted into something that evoked emotions art students might describe as "challenging" and normal people would describe as "deeply unsettling." It had elements of classical composition, impressionistic distortion, expressionist anguish, surrealist nightmare logic, all compressed into one small, deformed face.
"That," Rick said without mercy, "is the ugliest jack-o'-lantern I've ever seen in my entire life."
Jude shrugged. "It's just a pumpkin lantern. If I carve it weird, maybe more people will buy it. There are thousands of pretty jack-o'-lanterns out there. Not many as gloriously ugly as this one. Standing out from the crowd requires a unique approach."
"Well." Rick considered this. "There's no shortage of weirdos in Gotham, that's for sure. Maybe there actually are people who like this kind of thing. You ever consider carving a full-size one? Like a wearable pumpkin head? With a face that ugly, it'd be legitimately terrifying."
"Good idea!" Jude grinned. "I could wear it and steal candy from children."
"That's the spirit."