*ring* *ring* — “So, what’s your answer, Alistar Eden?” 

“I already signed.”

There was a long pause before he responded.  

“It’s been awhile since we first spoke of your employment. Almost ten years since then. Do you think you’re ready for this? ” 

“I believe I’ve garnered enough experience since. I’ve also accomplished more than I set out to. I don’t believe you’ll be disappointed with my work. I can promise you that.”

After a bit of back and forth, the conversation was nearing it’s end. 

“Come in Monday morning and I’ll tell you all you need to know.” 

Just like that we hung up. 

With the amount of time that had passed, naturally I assumed he’d be a bit more thrilled at the idea. Maybe it was just me. The weekend passed by quickly and soon it was already Monday. I found myself in the wee hours of the morning standing in front of the giant headquarters of Bond&Park. In just a few hours the streets would be bustling and every light would be illuminated for another day. As I stood there, a light from the fifth floor flickered on. It seemed as though I was being summoned in by that one light.

Taking it as a sign, I entered the lobby to see a single older gentleman who seemed to be waiting just for me. We shared pleasantries and he had me follow him straight to the elevator. Just as I had thought, we headed for the fifth floor. I exited and found myself alone with only a single light in the distance to guide me to him. As I drew closer I heard papers rustling, by the time I got close enough to the door the noise had ceased. I could only see a tall figure looking out the window. Before I could even knock, he acknowledged my presence. 

“You’re here.” 

His voice was low. He turned around with a worrying look. In that moment he looked much older to me. His emotions towards this situation had seemingly worsened since we spoke on Friday. 

I tried to ignore the tension that was in the room. He gestured for me to take a seat. 

“I’ll explain everything not mentioned in the contract now.”

Before he started, he handed me a thick clear file. It read, 

KARMA POLICE

For an hour he explained to me in great length about a business I knew nothing about. For years,  he had secretly found ways to give proper punishments to people who had evaded the law. It had all started around the time he had earned wealth as a billionaire. At the time of its creation only three people, including himself were involved. As time passed, he added more people.

However, it wasn’t until seven years ago that they were officially given this name and a proper team was put together. It was that year that they made their first proper move as a true organization. As he told me about their first case, I saw the files that went with it. It was a notorious case of Alexander Nelson. He frequented the news over the course of many years for redeveloping areas. It was that year that he was exposed for his mishandling of proper safety precautions on construction sites. This was just the tip of the iceberg though. He also embezzled funds and verbally and physically abused his employees. The once highly regarded business man had fallen in a matter of seconds all from one scheme. 

Being the money hungry man that he was and a gambler at that, they initiated a game to lure him in. He was approached by a “wealthy heiress” with a briefcase holding identical seven of spades cards. Each had a number written on them. Read all together showed the sum of a million dollars. He would receive this down payment for giving her any information regarding x person. For every additional piece of information he would be rewarded with bonuses. He found the bonuses incredibly enticing and focused solely on seeing a digital wallet that was prepared for him be filled with funds. Even with the catch of not being able to use the money for a certain period of time, he continued giving information. 

This plan allowed them to kill two birds with one stone. They received information on another person of interest and behind his back gained two informants in the company to secure evidence to be whistleblowers to his crimes. Once he fell to ruin, all the money that laid dormant in the digital wallet was donated to the foundation, Hope Grew Here. All the money was then given to the victims of his crimes. In addition, the whistleblower’s quietly found jobs within one of his companies. 

This was how Karma Police operated. Though this kind of elaborate scheme wasn’t a constant, it was the beginning of a grander plan. 

“We live in a world where these kinds of “things” get away with murder. Their manipulation reaches far and wide and we all suffer for it. The whole point of what we do is to manipulate that manipulation.”

He gave me many more instances where they had sped up karma to people across varying industries. I was incredibly overwhelmed with this new information. It was too much to take in. This wasn’t at all what I had expected when receiving this offer. I wondered if it had something to do with a highly classified potential investment, but this?

This made me question everything. Even in receiving this information, he didn’t seem the least bit thrilled to share this with me. 

“I don’t understand how I fit into all this. The first part of the contract’s employment as an investment manager, yes, but this? You can’t be serious.” 

“Quite frankly, I’d have to agree, but this is what everyone else wants.”

His voice was cruel, a side I wasn’t the slightest bit familiar with. The side he bared to me neither matched the rumors or the person I was most accustomed to. He was a man that wasn’t very serious or all that soft spoken. He was also a man that joked around and would do anything to spend another minute not a work. He wasn’t Asher Park to me, he was just dad. The man in front of me shattered the very image I thought I’d known all my life.

“Then why am I here? I’m sure you get the last call. Who advocated so heavily for my employment that you are being this way?”

His anger seemed to heighten at that moment, but he remained silent. I flipped further into the file to find the names of the team members. At this point he completely turned away from me. Their names were listed one by one. The further I went down the list, the more it hurt. I was left with one word to describe this moment and it was betrayal.