The Retired

"S-spare change!" I shouted over and over again as I watch people pass me by with pity in their eyes, while some in disgust but I cannot fault them, I was exactly horrible to look at right now.

I sighed as I lean back on the wall while trying to fight back the tears that was slowly building up on my eyes.

I think back to the events that led me into this situation and I couldn't help but grimace, I was but a small child back then when I was sold to the syndicate by my own parents for a few wads of cash just so they could funnel money into their drug addiction. I'm sure I wasn't the first they've sold and I'm guessing I wouldn't be the last.

The syndicate devided children they bought into three potentials, a potential laborer, a potential p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e and lastly a Cattle. The laborer and p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e are pretty self explanatory one sells labor and the other sells s.e.x, the Cattle was ...a word... I would detest to no ends and uttered with extreme disgust, basically the childrens put in this category are to be harvested for organs and sometimes of their skins.

I was put into the category p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e so I was fed well and being groomed well. While it was a horrible situation to be in but atleast they granted me till 12 which was the age of consent in France before being sold.

I was fed, clothe and taught. When it was time for my so called 'first debut', I was sold off to a man twice my age and was brought back to the man's house, I didn't know what I was going into, child's innocence in all that but when the man ordered me to strip, I became horrified and cried.

The man became angry at me and forcefully tried to take my clothes off which causes me to lash out, grabbing the first thing I could grab a hold on which in my favor was a scissor and I quickly stab it to the man's head.

I was very distraught at killing the man and cried throughout the night till I fall unconscious. The next day I ran away knowing that I did a bad thing and the cops were going to kill/capture me, so I ran and ran as far as my tiny feet go.

Two years pass since then and now I'm here begging for money covered in grime. I was all but skin and bones not being able to properly eat for quite some time.

My heart tightened in pain, I wanted to rage at everything, at how unfair it was, at how her parents betrayed her and at how it hurts so much to be look at with pity knowing that they know what will become of me a few more days.

I unknowingly tightened my fist drawing blood as confusing emotion circled through me, as fear, sadness, anger and despair envelop me.

I grab a hold of my pocket knife and hold it tightly, my mess up mind have already decided that there is no hope for me in this unfair world, pushing me to death by the minute so I decided to atleast try and kill myself, denying the world of satisfaction by going out by my own means...

I put the blade on my wrist as I clench my teeth hard and close my eyes, unknowingly hoping for something or someon to dissuade me from killing myself but when nothing happened, a tear trickled down my cheek.

"Well now little lady, that's hardly a good way to go though If I were you I would really go out with a bang and not in some grim corner by slitting my wrist also it'll take about one to two minutes for someone to die via that way and that's only if! You accurately slitted the right vein, which means it's a very painful way to die if you did not."

A voice startled me from my sadness and I snap my eyes open just to see myself face to face with the most handsomest man, I've ever seen.

"Oh you flatter me little lady but this is not what I actually look like and the face underneath it is much more scarier." The man said with humor.

Completely forgetting about what I was to do due to the sudden appearance of the man while also trying to process his words, I gaped.

"Now, now..close your mouth little lady or a fly might just get in and I know for a fact that hungry you may be but I'm pretty sure that a fly won't feed you enough." Said again by the man, again with humor which is starting to irritate.

"W-who...are..you?" I stammer out a question.

"Well I'm Alex and as for how I came here....I just got out frrom the train, I saw you about to slit your wrist and decided to intervine." Again with humor..

"What do you want!?" I unknowingly snap at the man as the humor in his tone feels like mocking me.

"Well then straight to the point...I will adopt you" he said though it was too straightforward to my liking leaving behind the reasons so I was only respond with "I'm.. confuse..." slowly regaining a bit of my mental faculty.

"Oh okay first off I'm no pedo, second I'm adopting you because I want to, third it's not because of pity but more of me being guided by the force which I'm pretty sure a reference you don't get, fourth No, I'm not part of the syndicate and lastly yes I can read your mind." He said.

As shocking as the last part was but the only thing I got out of those flurry of words were adopt, no pity and not syndicate although it still does not answer everything but he got his point across.

"No" I flat out declined as I don't even know if I can trust any a.d.u.l.t to take a parental role in my life not the least a man just barely above my own age.

The man's smile widened as clearly he was expecting such reply so he said. "Well then time for my next offer, you see that tall building over there? Yes the one with Asgard word in it, I own that, its for my business and I needed someone to run my business for me. Now I'm going to invest in you by clothing you, housing you, feeding you and granting you a chance for an education so long as when you graduate you will work for my company and make it successful so what do say?"

"Huh" that was my response to his confusing offer. I mean I got the gist of it but is he crazy? An offer like that can only come from a crazy person so I was about to decline deciding that I was desperate but not that desperate when suddenly a thought hit me....what if his genuine in his offer? It's a gamble I could afford since there was nothing for me to lose and if it's not what it was supposed to be then there's still the other option so after a moment of silence, I look the man in the eye and search for deceit but found nothing and said "I accept but! I'm not your kid and I am an employee!"

The man laughed hard before calming himself as he replied "Okay, Okay, you're my employee not my kid so come on then let's get you cleaned up and fed...don't worry about being a freeloader, I will deduct it on your salary."

"Good" I replied feeling proud that I manage myself well through the negotiations but as we walk out of the grimy corner of the station, I couldn't help hear a tiny voice at the back of my head who keeps insisting that I was being tricked but I was still too befuddled to realize due to how fast everything was going so I ignore it.

*******

"Madame, I need your signature for a bunch of this paperwo-" "F.U.C.K!" The secretary was cut mid talk by Skye when she cursed after seeing a new load of paperworks, there's atleast five stacks of paper on her table and she needed to sign them all today!

"I should have listened to that damn voice!" She shouted not noticing a few new stacks of paper that was added by the secretary.

In France, Alex suddenly had the urge to cackle loudly before he was sidetracked by Skadi to focus on their current project.