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He wondered what he would do if some stranger came up to him and started talking, like what happens in every movie where a young person ends up in a strange neighborhood late at night, and the more he thought about it, the more he resolved that there wasn’t much for him to be afraid of. In fact, he almost wanted some creepy drunk person to saunter up and start a conversation, just so he could see what would happen. He figured it would inevitably be something surprising, like them turning out to be really fun and perfectly harmless, if a bit over-friendly from the inebriation. And if they tried to kidnap and murder him, well. That would be surprising for them.

‘Here,’ said Garovel, stirring him from his wonderment. The reaper drifted near a phone booth, and Hector entered. ‘Up there.’

He looked where the reaper pointed and saw a fourth floor balcony of a high-end apartment building. A man stood there, smoking in front of a lamp over a window. Even at this distance, he could see that the man was well-dressed in a dark suit and undone tie.

“That... that’s the guy?”

‘Yeah.’

Hector eyed the phone in front of him. The next step was obvious enough, but he hesitated. “But... what if...”

‘Hmm?’

“What if I call the police... and they come and... what if that guy kills one of them?”

Garovel looked at him heavily. ‘If you’re wondering why I’m not sending you in there instead, it’s because this is your first try. I don’t intend to give you more than you can handle.’

“But... if someone has to risk their life... then it should be me... shouldn’t it?”