Zam the Hybrid

17. The Monetary Policy Committee

"So you're Zam? It's so good to finally meet you." The man extended his hand and Zam shook. "The name's Duncan Jones, head of the Monetary Policy Committee."

"Yes, I think I recall seeing you on the news when Johto's economy wasn't doing particularly well," Zam replied as he eyed up the man.

"A minor miscalculation in the setting of interest rates that caused a much over exaggerated response in the press. The problem was quickly and easily resolved."

Duncan gestured for Zam to step forwards and thus, his tour began. After winning The Apprentice with absolute ease by simply picking off the completely idiotic contestants one by one, Lord Salt had sent Zam to the headquarters of the Monetary Policy Committee, led by Duncan Jones to start their business ventures together. Of course, Zam had no interest in starting a business with Lord Salt; all he needed was money and information and this was the perfect way to gain access to it.

They walked briskly towards the tallest skyscraper in all of Goldenrod which was apparently the only building large enough to contain the MPC's egos. The tower was at least twice the size of any neighbouring building and so it dominated the scenery, looming over all other structures as if it were looking down upon them. The blazing sun reflected off of its glass walls, intensifying the unseasonal heat even further, so much so that even Zam, in his white suit began to sweat. When the pair were close enough, the automatic doors slid open and Zam was in the foyer. Thankfully, the air conditioning was on full blast and so he was quickly able to cool down. He took a brief glance at the large open space but was bored by its cleanliness and order. There were some bored looking security guards who weren't really checking who was coming in and some even more bored looking receptionists who Zam felt quite certain were sleeping on the job.

He then turned his attention to his tour guide. Duncan looked like a proud man. As he entered the building he took a deep breath and smiled an incredibly smug smile, showing his extraordinarily white teeth. Clearly, the man was rich and proud of it. His blue tailored suit was top of the range, at least five times more expensive than Zam's signature white suit and he spent half the time checking his real Rolex purely just to show off his wealth. His well-kept goatee and well-groomed blond hair showed no signs of greying, possibly due to the enormous amount of product he used, judging by the odd scent of strawberries that emanated from him. Still, Zam could see a hint of hunger and a hint of greed in those devilish blue eyes. He had a feeling that Duncan Jones wasn't quite content with his money and wanted something more.

"The lifts are just through here," Duncan pointed and Zam followed. "You'll need to get used to using these, you'll be working on the thirtieth floor." Despite the number of floors they needed to travel, the lift got them to their location in mere seconds.

They stepped out of the lift walked a few feet to a set of large glass doors which they pushed open and then Zam was very disappointed. It was an office block. A regular old, boring, nothing special about it whatsoever office block. The lifts were in the middle in a large square and then rows of computers, desks, chairs and workers were stationed around the square. The people tapped away at their keyboards mindlessly, doing absolutely nothing productive. Zam wondered if they realised their existence was completely meaningless.

"And this would be your desk here." Duncan showed Zam a space in between a brain-dead adolescent and an actually dead old woman.

"No, sorry, I have an IQ of roughly five thousand but not even I can think properly when confronted with the smell of a rotting corpse."

"I'm not dead!" the woman protested, jumping to life.

"Ah! Zombie!" Zam cried, literally jumping several feet in the air. It suddenly occurred to Zam that she had never really been dead, just resting her eyes. And maybe that was just what she smelt like normally. In any case, he couldn't work here. He couldn't even pretend to work here. "Um, what I meant to say is I feel like I can offer my services better... a little higher up."