“What?” Chloe said, eyes widening in mock horror. “Crime? I see. This whole $1,000 task was just a setup! You’re gonna use me as some sort of patsy.” She held up her hands dramatically. “Me, a poor, innocent girl, tricked by a skeevy criminal mastermind.”

  Maluck scoffed. “Hey, I’m not skeevy.”

  “So you admit you’re a criminal mastermind?” she teased, smirking.

  “What? No!” Maluck ran a hand through his hair. “All I’m saying is, I just discovered what your hidden talent is.”

  Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “Let me guess,” she deadpanned. “Using coat hangers to break into cars?”

  “That’s right,” Maluck said, grinning. “And I don’t know how you got so good at it, but we’re definitely going to figure out a way for you to get even better.”

  Chloe crossed her arms, giving Maluck a skeptical look. “So, let me get this straight. My hidden talent is breaking into cars?”

  “Well, yeah,” Maluck said with a confident nod. “I mean, you popped that lock like a pro. No hesitation, no fumbling, just—bam—open car. You are a master of breaking into cars”

  Chloe sighed, shaking her head. “Okay, first of all, it’s not breaking in if it’s your own car.”

  “That’s exactly what someone who’s really good at breaking into cars would say.”

  She groaned. “Look, I didn’t just wake up one day and think, ‘Hey, I’d love to develop a felony-adjacent skill set.’ My ex was into, like, legal security bypassing. Y’know, the ethical hacking kind. He was one of those guys who gets hired to test security systems—locks, safes, even digital stuff.”

  Maluck raised an eyebrow. “So, like, a professional thief?”

  Chloe nodded. “More like a professional pain in my ass, but yeah, basically. He was obsessed with it. Used to spend hours practicing lockpicking and bypass techniques. And since I have actual motor skills instead of greasy Dorito fingers, I was always the one testing out the physical locks while he ran his nerdy digital bypasses.”

  Maluck grinned. “So what you’re saying is, you were the one with the real talent.”

  She shrugged. “I mean… yeah. Turns out, I’m kinda good at this kind of thing. Hands-on learning, problem-solving. And working at the pawn shop only made it more so.”

  “How so?”

  Chloe rolled her eyes. “Because every other week someone comes in trying to sell ‘totally legal’ lockpicking kits, skeleton keys, or these cheap bump keys they got from some guy on the internet. We can’t exactly sell them on the shelves, but I’d be lying if I said I never messed around with them.”

  Maluck leaned back against the car, impressed. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You had a security nerd ex-boyfriend, worked in a pawn shop full of questionable merchandise, and in your free time, you practiced with shady lockpicking tools?”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”

  He let out a low whistle. “Chloe, you don’t just have a hidden talent. You’re basically a rogue in a tabletop RPG.”

  Chloe snorted. “Great. I’ll put ‘Pawn Shop Rogue’ on my LinkedOut.”

  Maluck grinned. “Look, I don’t know what the useful applications for this are yet, but I do know one thing.”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  Maluck grinned. “We’ve accomplished our goal. So, you have earned your thousand bucks.”

  Chloe smirked. “Damn right, I did.”

  “But—” Maluck continued, holding up a finger. “You owe me one more day.”

  Chloe frowned. “Wait, I thought the deal was a thousand dollars as soon as I found my hidden talent.”

  “Ah, but when I upgraded it from a bet to a guaranteed job, you agreed to two days,” Maluck said, crossing his arms like a smug lawyer who had just nailed the closing argument of his case.

  Chloe groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Are you seriously gonna lawyer me out of an easy payday?”

  “I mean, yeah,” Maluck said. “I found your hidden talent, and I paid you a full grand upfront. The least you can do is humor me for one more day.”

  Chloe exhaled dramatically. “Fine. But if you make me do something stupid like… I don’t know, trying to juggle chainsaws to see if I’m secretly an adrenaline junkie, I’m keeping the thousand bucks and using it to get a new identity.”

  Maluck laughed. “No chainsaws. Probably.”

  Chloe gave him a look.

  “Okay, definitely no chainsaws,” he conceded. “But I do have some ideas.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes. “Oh god. Alright, what next?”

  Maluck thought for a moment. “Well, we figured out what you’re good at. Now, we figure out what to do with it.”

  Chloe blinked. “What, like, my dream job?”

  “Sure,” Maluck said. “I mean, look at you. You’re good with your hands, you pick up skills quickly, and you have a very interesting résumé of totally legal activities.”

  “Yeah,” Chloe snorted, “and yet, I’m working at a pawn shop where people try to trade in half-used candles and stolen microwaves.”

  “That’s what I’m saying! We gotta upgrade you,” Maluck said. “Maybe security consulting? Or maybe you start a ViewTube channel teaching people how to legally break into their own cars when they’re dumbasses like me.”

  Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Legally?”

  “Yes,” Maluck said, nodding quickly. “Because ethics.”

  Chloe sighed. “Fine. I’ll humor you. But if this next day involves motivational speeches or making a vision board, I’m breaking into your house and stealing your wallet.”

  Maluck grinned. “See? You’re a natural.”

  [System Response] “System task accomplished. Hidden talent successfully identified. Intelligence +0.01, Wisdom +0.01.”

  Maluck grinned at the notification. ‘Hell yeah, free stat points.’

  Chloe, of course, had no idea what just happened. “Why do you look so smug?”

  Maluck shook his head. “Oh, no reason. Just feeling extra wise all of a sudden.”

  Chloe gave him a flat look. “Right. So what’s the actual plan for tomorrow? Because if this involves me picking more locks, I’m charging overtime.”

  Maluck smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. Tomorrow’s about career advancement.”

  Chloe crossed her arms. “Maluck, if you try to make me go to a job fair, I swear to god—”

  “No job fairs, no boring networking events,” Maluck interrupted. “But we are going to see just how far we can push your skills. If you’re gonna be a badass, you might as well train like one.”

  Chloe tilted her head, intrigued despite herself. “Go on…”

  ***

  Maluck grinned. “Alright, well, it’s only midday. You belong to me for the rest of the day too, so let’s go back to your apartment and grab your gym stuff.”

  Chloe blinked. “Gym stuff?” She gestured at herself, specifically her pale, skinny arms. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t really do gym stuff.”

  Maluck gave her a once-over. “Yeah, no kidding. But do you own gym stuff? Like, a pair of running shoes and something you can work out in?”

  She frowned, clearly suspicious. “I guess I have something.”

  “Great. Let’s go get it.”

  They drove back to her apartment, where Chloe begrudgingly grabbed a pair of old sneakers, some black leggings, and a tank top that looked like it had been bought out of obligation rather than actual intent to exercise.

  “All right, I’ve got my gym stuff. Where are we heading?”

  “Back to my hotel gym.”

  “What?” she said, narrowing her eyes.

  “Hey,” Maluck said, holding up his hands. “I said hotel gym, with an emphasis on gym. First of all, it’s a great gym, and second of all, it’s free.”

  And third—” He grinned. “I’ve got a plan for your training.”

  Chloe crossed her arms. “I don’t like how ominous that sounds.”

  Maluck checked his System screen as they got into the car and looked at the new System Task. It had appeared in his vision when she had originally unlocked his car.

  [System Task] : Help Chloe develop her skills as a master thief.

  System Bonus: To be determined based on success.

  Maluck mentally fist-pumped. ‘Hell yes. Chain quests are the best.’ The first part of the mission—discovering Chloe’s hidden talent—had already given him some solid stat boosts. If this next part was anything like the last one, he was about to rack up even more.

  Which meant there was only one thing to do:

  Push this goth girl way out of her comfort zone.

  Chloe, completely unaware of the intense training montage Maluck was mentally preparing, looked at him skeptically. “So what exactly are we doing at this gym?”

  Maluck smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s nothing you can’t handle.”

  She narrowed her eyes. That statement is suspicious as hell. I hate you already.”

  “Perfect,” Maluck said, pulling into the hotel parking lot. “That means we’re off to a great start.”

  ***