Marcus stared at his phone screen, and he couldn't help but feel the numbers in his bank account mocked him: $247.32
Two hundred and forty-seven dollars.
He had slaved away in Meridian Tech for about three years and the reward for that was two hundred bucks. Well that, and a front-row seat to his own humiliation at last night's company gala.
If someone asked him to draw the scene he could, that's how vivid it still was in his mind – Emma in that red dress he'd bought her for their anniversary, while she hung off James Whitmore's arm. His boss, married by the way. The announcement had come during dessert: "We're engaged!"
The applause felt like nails hammered into his eardrums. And Marcus could only sit there, his glass of Champagne frozen halfway to his lips as Emma looked directly at him and smiled.
This morning he had left his apartment to avoid the walls closing in. Now he was sitting on a bench in Central Park, wind cutting through his cheap jacket, unemployment looming after he'd told Whitmore exactly where he could shove his job.
Up his ass, if that was not implied.
The phone buzzed in his hand.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
Marcus tilted his head slightly. The text hovered over his screen, translucent, like it were some kind of augmented reality filter he hadn't activated.
[Welcome, User Marcus Chen]
[You have been selected for THE INTEREST PROTOCOL]
He looked around.
Was this some kind of prank? But the park was nearly empty – looking around all he could see was a jogger disappearing down the path and an old man feeding pigeons.
[TUTORIAL INITIATING]
[Rule 1: Every dollar you spend on SEDUCTION, PLEASURE, or REVENGE will return to you DOUBLED within 24 hours]
[Rule 2: Larger multipliers available for bold actions (max 5x)]
[Rule 3: Cash investments only. No transfers, no bills, no charity]
Marcus laughed – the laugh came bitter, and the sound of it felt hollow. "Right. Sure. And I'm supposed to believe this because...?"
[Current Balance: $247.32]
[Suggested First Investment: $47.32]
[Recommended Action: Purchase beverage for attractive stranger within 100 meters]
[Projected Return: $94.64 in 24 hours]
Marcus was no stranger to bullshit, and this seemed every bit a hot steeming pile of it. The best thing to do was to delete whatever app had hijacked his phone. Except... he hadn't installed anything. And the "system" was showing his exact bank balance, which should have been impossible.
Marcus stood up slow so he didn't go light headed, then his hands found the insides of his pockets. He'd humor this delusion for exactly five more minutes, then find the nearest bar and drink away what little money he had left.
He started walking down the path. That's when he saw her.
She sat alone on a bench about fifty feet away, legs crossed, absorbed in a hardcover book. Late twenties if he guessed, she had long dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail, wearing a charcoal blazer over a white blouse. Professional and Put-together. Completely out of his league even on his best day.
[TARGET FOUND]
[Recommended Investment: $45 - Premium coffee and pastry from café 200m north]
[Projected Return: $90 in 22 hours]
Marcus stopped walking, watching the text hover in the air as if it were waiting on him.
It felt ridiculous, he would walk up to a complete stranger, buy her coffee with money he very desperately needed by the way, all based on instructions from a hallucination?
But then his mind drifted to the vivid memory of Emma's smile alongside the pitying looks from coworkers as he'd walked out of Meridian Tech this morning. And he couldn't even bare to remember the empty apartment and the unemployment that would eat through his savings in weeks.
What did he have to lose?
The café was small, tucked between two brownstones. He ordered a large vanilla latte and a chocolate croissant – the barista rang it up at $44. Close enough.
Walking back to the bench, Marcus felt his heart hammering. The woman hadn't dropped her book, completely unaware of his approach.
"Excuse me," he said.
She looked up, her expression polite but guarded. Up close, she looked even more striking – her cheekbones were sharp, her eyes dark and intelligent, lips that quirked slightly at the interruption.
"Hi. This is going to sound strange, but..." Marcus held out the coffee and pastry. "I just bought these and realized I'm not hungry. Would you like them? Seems a shame to waste."
Her eyebrows lifted. "You're giving me coffee?"
"And a croissant. I hear they're good here."
She studied him for a long moment, Marcus forced himself to hold her gaze, to not look like some creep with an agenda even though he did technically have an agenda he didn't understand.
"That's... actually really sweet," she said finally, taking the coffee. Her fingers brushed his. "Thank you. I'm Sophie."
"Marcus."
"Well, Marcus, you just saved me from having to put down my book and find caffeine myself." She gestured to the other end of the bench. "You want to sit? I feel weird just taking your coffee and dismissing you."
He sat and the system notification appeared immediately:
[INVESTMENT SUCCESSFUL]
[Return processing: 22 hours, 14 minutes]
[Bonus objective available: Extend conversation 10+ minutes for multiplier increase]
Sophie was watching him with amusement. "You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Long day," Marcus said. "Long week, actually."
"Tell me about it." She took a sip of the latte, made an appreciative sound. "I just got out of a meeting with a client who wanted me to redesign his entire website for 'exposure.' As if my landlord accepts Instagram followers as rent."
Marcus laughed – genuine this time. "What do you do?"
"Freelance graphic design. You?"
"Currently unemployed," he said, checking his watch. "Six hours ago, give or take."
"Oh shit. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I told my boss to fuck himself. He's engaged to my ex-girlfriend now, so." Marcus shrugged. "Seemed like the right call."
Sophie's eyes widened. "Okay, that's actually awful. No wonder you're giving away coffee to strangers – you're having a crisis."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Little bit." She broke off a piece of the croissant, offered it to him. "Here. You paid for it, we can share."
They talked for a while and he very quickly realized Sophie was funny, sharp-edged in a way that hinted at burdens deeper than the eyes could see. She freelanced because corporate life had nearly destroyed her creativity. She'd moved to New York three years ago from Portland. She was reading Murakami.
Time went unnoticed.
When Sophie finally checked her phone, she made a small sound of surprise. "I've been here for forty minutes. I was supposed to be home twenty minutes ago."
"Sorry," Marcus said, though he wasn't.
"Don't be." She stood, gathering her things. Then she pulled out her phone. "Give me your number."
Marcus blinked. "What?"
"Your number. Unless you don't want to get coffee again sometime? Coffee that you actually get to drink?"
He gave her his number, watching her fingers type it in. She smiled – it was different from the calculated smile Emma always had on, this one looked warm and real.
"Thanks for this, Marcus. I mean it. Today was shit until about forty-five minutes ago."
She walked away, and Marcus sat back on the bench, slightly stunned.
[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE]
[Extended conversation bonus: ACHIEVED]
[Multiplier upgraded: 2.5x]
[Projected return: $111 in 21 hours]
[Additional reward detected: target interest up by roughly 68%.]
Marcus stared at the notification. If this was real – if he actually woke up tomorrow with an extra hundred dollars in his account – then everything changed.
The system blinked once more:
[Tutorial complete. Welcome to The Interest Protocol.]
[Your revenge begins now.]
Marcus looked at his phone's reflection in the screen, seeing something in his expression he hadn't seen in months.
Possibility.
He stood up and started walking home. Tomorrow, he'd find out if he was crazy.
Or if he'd just found the way to destroy everyone who'd ever looked down on him.