Chapter 148: Errand Boy

Chapter 148: Errand Boy

Thorne - Halls Corporation

During a normal morning, before Rollo had left for NLA, Thorne had suddenly shot up from his seat with a serious expression.

“Listen to me, guys. Can you both please just hire an errand boy or something?”

“Why?” Claire replied. “I don’t see a need for it.”

Thorne then glanced over at Rollo, who slowly finished chewing before responding.

“What she said,”

“...You guys—”

Before Thorne could continue, Rollo cut him off.

“Anyway, I’ll be going off to NLA once we have the business with Sensorial settled. I’ll be counting on you again, Claire.”

“Yeah, yeah. It figures.”

Thorne could only helplessly watch as his two friends progressed the conversation without him. He didn’t even get a chance to bring up his topic again as they left immediately after their breakfast.

Thorne clicked his tongue as he walked into his office and slammed his door shut.

His sudden action startled the employees of the security department, as it wasn’t often he lost his cool.

However, no one dared to go question him about it and they all went back to their work. Thorne also paid them no heed and began reviewing the documents for the day.

There were many things he had to sign off on for the security department. Ranging from procurement orders to personnel shifts, they all made their way to his desk for approval.

While he wanted to delegate as much as possible, these tedious responsibilities weren’t something he dared hand off to someone else. He only reaffirmed this belief as he read over the procurement order before him.

He quickly summoned the officer responsible for the matter into his office after reading through the preliminary report.

“James, I’ve just read the report. I see that you have outlined three potential VTOLs we should procure. I see that you have included all the manufacturers’ information and specifications, but where is the recording of your test flights?”

“Sir, they refused to allow any recording of it, so I only included my report of my experience.”

“...In that case, schedule another test flight for me for...later today, if possible. I’ll go see if a few others who have experience flying these things are available. We’ll need as many people’s input as possible.”

“...Yes, sir. I’ll see if the seller can accommodate us immediately. If you’ll excuse me.”

Watching his subordinate off, Thorne was about to place a call to the people he needed to reach out to when an incoming call disrupted him. Claire’s voice was easily discerned.

“Thorne, can you come with me to the mall? I wanted to get Lucy a gift since her birthday is coming up.”Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

“...Sure, just give me a second.”

With the new event popping up in his schedule, Thorne could only work faster to make up for it.

He was used to his friends calling him up on short notice, so he wasn’t surprised by their sudden requests.

The two Halls Corporation executives soon exited the compound under the heavy escort of a dozen Wraiths. The number of corpos in the city was one of the highest in the world, but at the same time, the huge population of Elevate City meant that the ratio wasn’t that impressive.

That was why plenty of onlookers still gawked at the scene of a corporate caravan driving down the city as if they owned the roads. The number of spectators lessened as they reached districts with higher economic conditions, but many curious gazes were still drawn to the high-profile motorcade.

Despite being surrounded by dozens of guards, Thorne still never let his guard down as he accompanied Claire into the mall. He knew from experience danger could strike at any time, and he had enough of losing in one lifetime after the incident with his mom.

It made him feel how much room they had to grow, especially when he saw one of the nearby VTOLs take off and exit through the barrier as if it wasn’t there.

It can select what can pass through it, which means it can select which bullets can pass through too...

The woman soon brought his team toward one of the aircraft off in the corner, among a dozen others.

“This is our company’s latest work in the Overseer product line, the AeroDynamic Overseer Sentinel IV. Our test pilots are already inside, so please feel free to enter.”

The woman quickly left after that, leaving the men to eye the rear hatch of the aircraft. After getting a good look at the bird, they boarded.

The aircraft’s rear cabin could seat fourteen people or six power armors. As soon as they boarded the aircraft, the PA system rang out.

“Get in the seats and put on the headsets, boys. We’re taking off.”

The men did as instructed when they felt the aircraft’s vibration that warned them the vehicle was starting up. They were able to hear the same voice with more clarity this time as soon as they wore the headsets attached to the seats.

“Welcome aboard the test flight for the Overseer Sentinel IV. This bad girl has only been in service for a year and a half, and I’m here to introduce to you all about her. Do any of you have any questions?”

“No...not yet. Can you give us the basic rundown?”

“Of course! If you’re looking to purchase this bad girl, then I guess you found her weapon systems attractive, so I’ll start there. She’s equipped with twin railgun turrets that can fire rounds that can easily penetrate most power armors without even using the micro missiles on board. For smaller arms, we’ve got plasma turrets that can quickly spew out projectiles to intercept any oncoming missiles.”

“How easy is it to change the default setup?” One of Thorne’s companions asked.

“Not too easy, not too hard. I’ll say the mechanics will need half a day. What you need to consider is the balance of this beauty. She has twin engines and an ionic one as a backup, but they’ll need to be fine-tuned, which is what delays any refitting the most.”

The pilots and Thorne’s group went into more detailed specifications about the usage and maintenance of the aircraft as they took off from the hangar. Thorne stared carefully at the moment they passed by the energy shield, but he couldn’t feel a thing when it happened.

They flew a quick circle around the city before they returned to the Oceanic Palace. Elevate City didn’t have enough empty land for them to test their destructive weapon systems, so they could only make do with hearing about the technicals.

As they finished up the tour and made for the exit, Thorne couldn’t help but glance over at the models meant for corpo executives instead of the combat-oriented ones they experienced.

Rollo should’ve gotten one of those first instead. It is much safer for him and it’s not like it isn’t armed. The military ones have a distinct lack of comfort, that it wouldn’t be appropriate to give our guests a ride in...

He shook his head as he shelved his thoughts. He had run the same conversation with Rollo before and the decision has already been made despite his differing opinion. Rollo had been too stubborn about practicality and cost efficiency.

The Halls Corporation employees soon made their way to test the next potential candidate with a different brand, but just before they arrived, another call from Rollo came in.

“Hey Thorne, can we head out and start our hunt a little early today? I have to meet with Luford tomorrow morning.”

“...How early?”

“No rush, maybe in an hour or two?”

“...Sure.”

As soon as he hung up, he turned to his subordinates.

“Reschedule the remaining flight we had today to tomorrow morning instead.”

Another mundane but eventful day soon ended for Thorne. He had finished all his obligations and fulfilled his friends’ requests.

However, during breakfast the next day, he steeled up his resolve and declared his intention once more.

“You two! You are to hire an errand boy as soon as possible! I won’t be taking care of your little requests anymore!”