THE MOMENT
"Libby said you needed help with something?" Tyler walked into the open workshop to see his father-in-law, William, carrying a stack of shoe boxes. William was a tall man, and he managed to fit half a dozen boxes under his chin. Tyler rushed forward to help, but the bald man wiggled his head on the boxes.
"I got this," except, the motion of talking pushed the boxes down and he lost the bottom one. "Eh, I'll come back for that one," William chuckled and nodded at the stool next to the table saw. "Have a seat, I want to talk to you about something," he said.
"Oh..okay..," Tyler nodded. William had more serious tone than Tyler expected or was used to. He thought highly of the man, but, he also considered William to be a full-on dork. He tried not to judge the man for his hobbies, but at the same time, he had a difficult time seeing what interest anyone had in comics. It wasn't just the comics, or the baking, or any individual thing. The man just exuded an aura of comfortable, almost proud awkwardness. He was secure in himself and Tyler was very thankful that his new wife Liberty inherited those qualities. "..is something wrong?" The man's voice was off enough to warrant the question.
"Wrong? No, no," William said. "But, now that Libby had her fun and you're back from the honeymoon we need to address the matter of the family business. Anyway, I'll be right back."
"Okay." Tyler nodded, then sat on the stool to wait as William walked out with the boxes. "Family business..?" He wondered aloud. William and his wife were retired, each from a separate career, and now they bought and sold accessories online; but, Tyler wouldn't have considered that a family business. As he thought about it, he spotted the dropped shoe box and hopped off the stool to pick it up. The box had bounced and flipped over and Tyler discovered a blood-red envelope with the shoes. The front had 'Your Next Target' written on it in familiar handwriting. The envelope was already torn open and curiosity got the better of him. He paused for a moment to listen for footsteps and did not hear any.
He opened it and found his own picture inside. It was a surprise; but, he heard the back door to the house slam shut and footsteps. He acted quickly to try and put everything back the way it was. He shoved the photo back into the envelope; the motion revealed writing on the back. Familiar scribbles took up most of the back and he didn't have time to read any of it; but, he caught a couple of words as he fumbled to get everything back together.
"You do it, I can't do that to him," was the one fragment he comprehended. And, he wished he didn't.
"Now, I thought I told you to take your seat," William pointed to the stool by the saw again; but, he chuckled. Tyler laughed nervously, he was on edge now. It was a perfect example of William's humor, and 'I thought I told you,' was one of his favorite phrases. The man liked to playfully talk down to his juniors, but he always made it clear it was a joke. This time though, Tyler was left wondering if it was always a joke.
"Thanks for this, though," William laughed as he accepted the closed shoe box.
"Dinner'll be ready here in a while, and, I'm going to have a mess to clean up," the man smiled as he walked over to stand next to Tyler on the stool. "So, let's talk about your options for the future. There are some things that our family has kept hidden from you," William said. "At my request, please don't hold anything against Libby."
"What things...?" Tyler adjusted himself on the seat and subtly turned himself to face the open garage door.
"Libby told you we sell accessories online, that's true; but, misleading. We sell cosmetic skins on the AlterNet."
"Alternate what?" Tyler asked.
"Oh wow," William grinned and shook his head. "I didn't mean she couldn't tell you anything. You haven't been to the AlterNet yet?" he asked. Tyler shook his head.
"Well, have a look," he set the shoe box down, opened it, then immediately spotted the red envelope.
"That's where I left that," William mumbled under his breath and set the envelope aside, text face down, without saying anything else. Then, he pulled out the shoes and set them down. They were a pair of bright pink high heels that Tyler didn't bother paying attention to before.
"This is our most popular item right now; you can see why," he chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess. It's a nice color..," Tyler nodded.
"What?" William gave Tyler a confused look for a moment, then he smacked his palm against his head. "She didn't tell you anything, so you don't have a node, do you?" Tyler shook his head and shrugged. It was all he could do, he had no idea what William was talking about; but, in a way that helped keep him calm. If he wasn't so confused he might have fled the garage for his life already.
"Here, look through this," William handed Tyler a clear glass card. Tyler did, and he was amazed. He lowered the makeshift lens, then brought it up again several times to compare the sights. Without the glass, the pink heels were pink heels. Peering through the rectangle, the heels glowed with clean neon accents and they were surrounded by a subtle ethereal shimmer. The effect somehow gave them a permanent bokeh effect.
"What the hell...?" it was the only thought he could process.
"Yeah, it's gonna take you a bit to wrap your head around it," William chuckled. "Constance and I weren't planning on you and Libby joining us for dinner, but now I think it would be a good idea so we can finish this conversation. Technically, it hasn't really started yet," he added with a smile. "It'll help us clear out everything we need to discuss. I didn't intend for Libby to hide so much, this is my fault," he said.
"What's that envelope?" Tyler heard the question after it escaped his lips. He'd been fighting the urge to ask about it since William set it aside. He hoped that he could ignore the situation by not showing any interest in it. But the bright red color was too distracting. William laughed and reached for it.
"This is how Libby told me she wants me to have this talk with you," he grinned. "You're 'my next target'," he handed the envelope to Tyler with the text facing up, not that he needed to read it. With the man looking at him, Tyler dug out his picture and made a show of acting surprised. Then, he nonchalantly checked the back.
"Dad, if you want Tyler to join your microtransaction MLM, talk to him yourself. I love you, that's not for me. Tyler has to decide if he wants to join himself without me pressuring him. You do it, I can't do that to him."
"MLM?" Tyler thought the knew that acronym but couldn't make sense of it there.
"Yeah!" William held up the shoes. "We buy them in bulk up front and sell them at a premium."
"Oh thank god..," Tyler was genuinely relieved and somewhat amused. Luckily, the circumstances gave him enough time with the envelope to have a reasonable explanation. "For a second there, it looked like you were assigned to kill me," he said.
"Haha, yeah, that's Libby," William shrugged. "She's big on that whole assassin schtick. I'm glad she enjoys it though," he said. He patted Tyler on the shoulder and gestured toward the house as he moved forward.
"Really? I never noticed...," Tyler commented as he followed the man. But, he stopped and turned around.
"Wait. She also left out the fact that she's an Assassin, didn't she?"