hotmtlnovel Chapter 2484: Battle for the Cloak (4)
Chapter 2484: Battle for the Cloak (4)
Chapter 2484: Battle for the Cloak (Forty)
Bruce left Jason his phone number when he left that day, but Jason didn't have time to contact him now because he needed money to rent a house and he was busy looking for a job.
This was a piece of cake for Jason. After all, he grew up on the streets, and he knew exactly where someone like him could find a job. It didn't take long before he found two jobs for himself.
The first job was as a worker in a moving company, but it was not a regular moving company. It was a debt collection company. To put it simply, it was a moving company that would empty your house if you didn’t pay back the money.
This kind of moving company requires their employees to be strong and look scary. Although they can't actually hit each other, they want them to look like they are going to sweep your entire family away just by standing at your door.
Jason is really suitable for this job. He perfectly meets all the requirements of this type of mover. He has a strong physique and a fierce look. Just a glance at him at that station can make people tremble.
This kind of work is usually done at night, because the police station is closed at night, it is difficult for the other party to call the police, and it can also avoid being targeted by certain people.
Jason found himself a daytime job as a postman, not because he was really good at the job, but because there was a shortage of people for this job. The work was high, the pay was low, and the job was far from home, and people without work permits were not allowed to do it. However, local Americans could earn much more by delivering food for the same distance.
Jason mainly relied on the night job to make money. This job was purely for familiarizing himself with the terrain, and he had plenty of time and reasons to wander around various communities. If he did a good job, he would be transferred to the district where Bruce was in a couple of days. He wanted to see what this Batman was all about.
The moving company needed people urgently and had to start work that evening, so even though Jason knew that Peter was still a little sad, he really didn't have the time to comfort him. After all, this job paid a lot of money, and after finishing the work tonight, he could find a motel to stay in the next morning. His body shape was really not suitable for squeezing in Spider-Man's small bedroom.
Jason had done this job before, but he was very young at that time and was mainly a hostage.
Yes, this is actually a very mature industry. Those who can use this debt collection method, whether it is the creditor or the debtor, both parties have a certain status, which means that they still have to take the law and face into consideration. They are not the kind of poor people who are barefoot and are not afraid of those wearing shoes.
This leads to both sides being too cautious in their confrontation, and the other side can use this caution to gain an advantage.
Pregnant women, the elderly and children are very good props. If the other party asks you to move and you don't want to, you can line up pregnant women to block the door. If the other party dares to touch you, he will be so anxious that he will have to pay the bail.
On the one hand, Western law places great emphasis on the opinions of the jury, and the jury tends to favor the disadvantaged. If the victim is a member of a socially recognized disadvantaged group, it is easy to receive a heavy sentence.
On the other hand, perhaps influenced by religious factors, they don't care much about petty thefts. Many thieves are not sentenced after being caught, but are released after a few words of warning. However, if you dare to hurt others, you will be imprisoned for life, and sometimes even bail is useless.
So Jason would occasionally go to two parties to play the role of a hostage. If there were people who didn't want to move, he would act as someone else's son crying and holding someone's thighs to prevent them from entering the house. If there were people who wanted to collect debts, he would act as the creditor's child and cooperate with his "parents" at the door to act out a scene where the landlord had no surplus food, and he would often get a lot of rewards.
He saw clearly what those movers who resorted to violence did, so as soon as he started working, his boss patted him on the shoulder and asked him if he was experienced and how many years he had been in this business.
Jason was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. He leaned against the truck with a stern face waiting to depart. This made the boss even more satisfied. He liked people who didn't talk much but worked hard.
Taking advantage of the night, the convoy set off quickly. This time they went to the villa area on the edge of Queens. Although this place is not as good as Manhattan, it is also considered an old wealthy area.
The car quickly arrived at the door of the target villa. The other party's house was brightly lit, and it was obvious that they had been prepared.
Jason and his companion didn't say anything. They got out of the car and walked into the yard. Two old men immediately rushed out of the house and tried to stop them. Jason didn't even look at them and continued to move forward, but he crossed his arms and didn't touch anyone.
Most of the other people also had the same attitude, just walking in with their heads down, not bumping into the people who tried to stop them. The people behind them carried boxes of furniture in, and they didn't even look at those people even though they were hugging their legs and crying.
The garage door was pried open directly. The towing team had been waiting outside. Jason and his team were responsible for standing at the gate to stop those who wanted to rush out.
After all, a car is a big item and is more valuable than many pieces of furniture. If they rush out to stop you, you will lose money. Or if someone is hit while towing the car, you will have to file a lawsuit.
Everything was going peacefully. When the people in the house saw so many strong men outside, they didn't dare to go out. Although the male owner of the house hid behind the sofa with a gun, he had no intention of coming out.
This is also the main reason why this job pays so well. When people who don't know much about it hear about breaking into someone else's house, they will shake their heads. After all, the homeowner may have a gun, and you'll be dead if you're hit by a bullet.
People who understand the intricacies know that there is no need to open fire in this situation. People who can own a villa will not have only one villa. They are guarding it here more to express that this villa is very important to me. If you take the house away, we have to have a good talk about the amount of debt owed.
But at this time, the hostess of the house seemed to think that their resistance was not fierce enough, and suddenly rushed out from behind the sofa and rushed to the door.
It would have been fine if she had come here alone, but she was holding a baby in her arms, who was crying loudly.
Jason couldn't help but look over there, and he found that the child must be having a fever. His little face was flushed red and his eyes could hardly open.
It is obvious that this child is not this woman's child, and this woman may not even be the mistress of this house. They are basically tools called in to act.
But there was no way a baby in a cradle would be paid to cooperate in acting. He might just be a prop of this woman, and it seemed that he might not survive the night.
Jason suddenly felt angry. What on earth was this woman doing? Didn't the owner of the house tell her that this was just a formality and no one would get hurt? Why did she have to sacrifice a child's life? Just to get more money? !
When this thought came to his mind, Jason was stunned again because he remembered a scene from his childhood.
He was unlucky that day. He was running errands for someone on the street when it suddenly rained heavily. Although he immediately found a place to hide under the eaves, he was still soaked. After the rain stopped, he felt his throat was a little sore, his nose was a little blocked, and his body was a little hot.
But that night he happened to take such a job, which was to play the role of a man's son to plead with his creditor. When he arrived in front of the creditor, he had a high fever, his face was pale, his legs were weak, and he could not even stand.
The creditor was probably afraid that he would die there, so he gave in without saying a word and quickly sent the two of them away. After the matter was over, the boss was very happy and praised Jason for being smart. He gave him 10 dollars more than the agreed price.
When Jason was a kid, 10 dollars was a lot of money, so he felt relieved for a few days. Even when he did this job again, he would think that if he made himself look a little messy, he might be able to finish the job faster and earn more money.
Compared to a sick teenager, a dying and crying child is more likely to arouse people's sympathy, and people are more afraid to speak or touch him.
After all, teenagers have their own independent consciousness, and if anything happens, they can say it is their own fault. However, there is no way a jury can blame a baby in swaddling clothes, so if something happens, someone must take the blame.
The boss who led the fleet today thought the same. He looked at the woman with a gloomy expression, and finally waved at the members of the moving company as if he had eaten a fly, indicating that they should not go through the main door, but move through the side door.
After all, the size of the side door was limited, so many large pieces of furniture could not be moved out. In the end, we only moved some valuable electrical appliances and small sculptures and then hastily packed up.
Jason stood at the door and saw the smug look on the woman's face. He knew that his guess was correct. This woman was also a hired actor, and the baby was just an included prop.
The anger in his heart was almost uncontrollable, and his disgust was growing stronger and stronger. He almost wanted to rush up and punch this woman.
But his teammates got on the car as quickly as possible and the car started immediately. Jason was pulled into the car by the people next to him. After getting in, he heard his colleagues in the car sighing that today's work was really easy.
But then again, no matter how heavy those electrical appliances are, they are not as heavy as the solid wood furniture made of precious wood, nor are they as troublesome as those expensive and fragile large sculptures. Moving only the electrical appliances is tantamount to getting paid for nothing.
Everyone's face was filled with smiles, and some even had time to joke with the newcomer Jason. Jason was becoming more and more annoyed and just kept a straight face and said nothing.
The car took Jason directly to his so-called residence. Jason got out of the car and originally wanted to find a motel to stay in, but he was now upset, so after thinking about it, he went to the Hudson River to get some fresh air.
It's almost Christmas now. It just snowed in New York. The biting cold wind at night made Jason much more sober.
He suddenly realized that he had changed so much over the years. If he were his younger self, he would probably be happy with his colleagues, doing easy work and getting paid enough. What on earth was there to make him feel bad?
Jason lay on the railing by the river and leaned his head out to look at his reflection in the river. Under the dim light of the street lamp, the face gradually changed in front of his eyes, becoming more green and then tender.
"Come on." Jason heard little Jason on the lake say, "You feel sorry for the baby? Why don't you feel sorry for yourself? So what if his mother treats him badly? Do you have a mother?"
"What? You said his mom almost killed him? But what's the difference between your mom dumping you in an alley in Gotham and killing you? I think both are more dangerous!"
"Jason Todd, isn't our original goal to survive? As long as we can stay alive, we will do anything. It's already very difficult for us to stay alive. When do you have the time to sympathize with others?"
Yes, Jason thought, since when did he have the time to sympathize with others?
(End of this chapter)