Story code: ST-001465
Part 3: Employee Infraction
Marcus shoved his bare hands under his armpits, his phone tucked into his waistband to preserve the dying battery. Nine percent. The cold November wind whipped across the exposed concrete of the breezeway, biting through his thin cotton t-shirt. If his phone died, he lost his only lifeline to the bank, the school, and whatever faceless entity was currently holding his apartment hostage.
He jogged down the stairs and rounded the corner of Building 4, stopping dead in his tracks. A pristine white golf cart sat parked on the paved path, the green and gray Axial Living logo stamped across its front bumper. A man in a branded fleece pullover was wrestling a plastic “Open for Tour” sign into the frozen grass in front of a vacant ground-floor unit.
Marcus didn’t think; he just moved. He closed the distance in a dead sprint.
“Hey!” Marcus shouted, his voice raw.
The man jumped, dropping the wire frame of the sign. He was young, maybe twenty-two, with a silver name badge pinned crookedly to his chest that read *Julian – Leasing Specialist*. Julian took a quick step backward, his eyes darting from Marcus’s sweatpants to his agitated face.
“Good morning,” Julian said, his voice carrying the forced, brittle cheer of a customer service script. “Can I help you with a future home today?”
“I already have a home. Unit 412,” Marcus said, stepping closer. “Your new app completely glitched. It drained twelve grand from my checking account, overdrew my bank, and locked me out. My wallet and ID are inside. I need you to unlock my door right now.”
Julian’s polite smile froze. He took another step back, bumping into the front bumper of the golf cart. “Sir, I… I just do tours. I don’t handle billing. You need to call the resident support number.”
“I did. It’s a robot that hangs up on me because my account is ‘delinquent’ from the glitch,” Marcus said, pulling his phone from his waistband. He shoved the cracked screen toward Julian. “Look at it. Negative eleven thousand dollars. Your smart lock won’t let me in. I need you to use your master key and open 412. I’m freezing out here.”
Julian wouldn’t look at the phone. He reached into the deep pocket of his fleece and pulled out a company-issued tablet encased in thick black rubber. “We don’t have physical master keys anymore, sir. It’s all centralized on the Axial Admin network. Let me… let me just check the ledger.”
Julian tapped the screen, his fingers trembling slightly in the cold air. Marcus watched the young man’s eyes scan the text. The color rapidly drained from Julian’s face, leaving him a sickly, pale white.
“Sir,” Julian stammered, swallowing hard. “The system says you are in Tier 3 Collections. It says… it says I’m not allowed to engage with you.”
“Engage with me? I’m your tenant! Unlock the door so I can get my ID and fix this!”
“I can’t,” Julian whispered, his voice cracking. “The admin app restricts my access permissions if a unit is locked down. I literally don’t have the digital clearance.”
“Try it,” Marcus demanded, taking another step forward, using his size to box Julian in against the golf cart. “Walk up to my door with me and try your tablet. Now.”
Julian swallowed again, looking wildly around the empty parking lot. He nodded mechanically. He walked stiffly beside Marcus, giving him a wide berth, clutching the tablet to his chest like a shield. They marched in silence up the exterior stairs to the second floor, the metal grates rattling under their feet.
When they reached unit 412, Marcus gestured to the smart lock. The LED ring was currently dark.
“Do it,” Marcus said.
Julian tapped his tablet, opening a menu with a digital keyring. He selected unit 412. A loading circle spun on his screen, identical to the one that had ruined Marcus’s morning. Julian held the tablet close to the lock, initiating a Bluetooth handshake.
The lock emitted a flat, discordant buzz. The LED ring flared that same angry, violent red.
Simultaneously, a harsh, metallic chime erupted from Julian’s tablet.
Julian gasped, nearly dropping the device. Marcus leaned over his shoulder, his eyes locking onto the bright yellow notification banner dominating the tablet’s screen.
*WARNING: Unauthorized attempt to bypass Tier 3 Collections Lock. Employee infraction logged.*
“No, no, no,” Julian muttered, his thumbs flying across the glass as he tried to clear the alert. A second notification instantly replaced it.
*PENALTY APPLIED: 200 Axial Performance Credits deducted. Current Housing Subsidy Status: AT RISK.*
Julian leaned heavily against the stucco wall, his breathing shallow and rapid. He stared at the screen with absolute terror.
“What does that mean?” Marcus asked, the anger in his chest suddenly colliding with a deep, unsettling confusion. “What is a housing subsidy status?”
Julian looked up at him. His eyes were wide, wet, and completely hollow.
“I live in Building 8,” Julian whispered, his voice trembling so violently he could barely form the words. “It’s a condition of employment. I get a discount on rent if my performance metrics stay above ninety percent. If they drop, they pull the subsidy. I barely make enough to buy groceries as it is. They just took two hundred points from me for pinging your door.”
“Who took it?” Marcus pressed. “Call your manager. Explain the glitch.”
“There is no manager!” Julian cried out, his voice echoing off the concrete breezeway. He spun the tablet around, shoving it toward Marcus’s chest. “Look at it! There’s no HR department. There’s no regional director anymore. It’s all the algorithm! The same system that locked you out manages my payroll and my lease!”
Marcus stared at the yellow warning screen. A tiny countdown timer had appeared at the bottom of the penalty notice, giving Julian sixty seconds to acknowledge the deduction or face further point loss.
“If I help you again, my score drops into the eviction tier,” Julian said, a tear spilling over his lower lash line and tracking down his pale cheek. “The system will lock me out of my apartment, too. Just like you. I’ll lose my job and my home on the exact same day.”
Julian pulled the tablet back, his finger hovering over the glowing *Acknowledge* button. He looked at Marcus, shivering in his thin t-shirt, completely locked out of his own life.
“I’m sorry,” Julian whispered. He pressed the button. “I can’t help you.”