Chapter 106:

"Now, you will be wondering, why do this? What does this teach us? Well, simple, for one, you should not just pay attention to something when told to do so. You should pay attention to everything, always.", he made a small pause, and Ace heard the scribbling of people taking notes, and then, the man continued to speak: "So, if you are here, it is probably because you plan on becoming a detective, or you are at least interested in the topic. So, I am supposed to show you what that is like. To begin with, ghastly, you will be dealing - depending on what type of crime you specialise on, with a variety of criminals. Some will be cruel, others barbaric, but I assure you that they will all be smart, and will, without a shadow of a doubt, try to play you. You must be alert at all times, whenever you are not, you will die.", he spoke with a finality that seemed to scare the other students, Ace just had a small smile on his face, while he considered what exactly this man had experienced, and what various gruesome things he had seen.

He was Harrison Ford, a detective that had worked in the violent crimes division of the NYPD for over 15 years. He was the best of the best, and no one could take that form him.

"So, I have designed an activity for you: take one of the blindfolds and put it on.", he waited for them to do so, "Now, I want you to draw or describe the students in the room to the finest detail you can manage. You will have 20 minutes, and you are free to do a sketch or note it down." , he smiled at the shocked faces of the students, even if they could not see him, they could all feel it in his voice.

"The time begins now. You will be warned once the time gets closer to finishing."

Ace breathed in, and began drawing, he completed a basic sketch for each one, where they could see their distinguishing features. Next to the sketches of their faces, he noted down their names, ages and other information, along with what they were wearing, it was all written down.

He finished a few minutes before the time ran out, and then just sat there quietly, hearing the mutterings and breathing of his classmates.

Once the time ran out, he took his blindfold off, and watched the reactions of the students, along with the teacher's.

He had already sent his work to him, so he just had to wait and see what he would do with it.

"Interesting, a few of you show actual promise, and one of you..." , he looked st Ace, and he just nodded.

"Now that you have seen some of what this job conveys, I will tell you a few stories about the various criminals I have faced over the years..."

***

"How was it sir?", Alfred asked, "Interesting, he certainly had some stories to tell. I would most certainly be interesting in doing some sort of internship - not that I would be allowed. My grandmother would never let me put myself in danger in such a stupid way."

"That is true sir, the chances that a rival would use this as a chance to get rid of you are not exactly low. It would be quite dangerous.", Alfred said, and Ace had to agree.

'Well, regardless, I want to play some games now, probably should start a stream too.'

***

"The dot game? You guys want to see it? OK, let's do it. I will play a few games on my own, and then, I can play against viewers, that should be fun, you guys want to do that?", the overwhelming agreement from chat led to him doing so, and after breaking a few records, he played some versus mode against some viewers.

He played 1v1s, but then created a game where 100 players could join, and only the one that lasted the longest would win.

The game got progressively harder, up to the point where he was the only one left, and was moving his pointer across the screen at breakneck pace. His chat was going wild, emoticons spammed nonstop.

He was at it for a while, and only finished once his finger gave out. "Ahhh, that hurts." , he moaned and complained, and his chat laughed at him, then he with them.

He did a few slower exercises while talking, and then played a few songs. He ended the stream after that, and got ready for bed.

He ate some dinner before that, having cooked a new dish he had found withing a Chinese magazine he had read once when he was first practising his reading of the language. It was an interesting thing, a mix of sour pork with some specially cooked rice, along with a mix of various vegetables, cooked in a sauce that was made of God-knew-what, that had come with the magazine.

It was pretty tasty, but the twang of the sauce was weird enough that most people - of a western origin at least, would probably not get a second taste.

He slept peacefully that night, with no nightmares. It had been a while, and he slept with no interruptions, which definitely helped with his exercise in the morning. He noticed that he exerted a lot more, a noticeable increase in his results, which obviously had a positive impact on his mood.

***

"Good morning Ace, I would like for us to meet today, don't worry about school, it is all taken care off, a car will come pick you up in thirty minutes, change into some appropriate clothes and get ready. Also, if necessary, bring any papers or documents that are needed."

"Ok, Samantha, will do, see you in a while."

"See you later grandson.", her sentence ended, and a beeping form his phone signalled that the call had ended.

He changed into some casual jeans and a shirt with some Vans, then picked up a backpack and put his tablet in it. He had already scanned all needed documentation, and was all set already.

***

Ace walked into the lounge room, entering to a waft of rich and expensive tobacco smoke, along with a hint of luxurious liquor.

He was led by a helper to one of the private room, where he could finally get a breath of fresh air.

"Hello, what a lovely day it is is it not?", his grandmother was sat comfortably in one of the chairs, and greeted him once he came in.

"Hello, let's do this quick, I want to make the most of not going to school, and I kind of want to go skating.", Ace said, wanting to hurry this up.