Chapter 4
I hunched over my phone, the screen cracked but still glowing. I started searching for junk recycling, electronic waste, and precious metal extraction.
This was my turf. I knew this stuff inside out.
I knew that old phone boards and computer chips were packed with gold, silver, and even palladium.
These were the city's secret gold mines, just waiting to be discovered.
But extracting those metals takes real skills, the right gear, a proper place to work, and most importantly, some cash to get started.
With just a thousand bucks to my name, I couldn't even afford a decent protective suit.
One comment read: [Going big right off the bat is just not realistic. You need to start small.]
Another comment read: [There's a big demolition site just around the corner. It's probably loaded with old cables.]
A comment read: [Copper fetches a good price. This could really work.]
The comments sparked an idea in me.
Demolition sites were gold mines for scrap.
I started searching for all the demolition sites in town, checking their size and how far along they were.
Finally, I locked onto one target: the industrial area in the east of the city.
It used to be the biggest textile factory in the city, spanning hundreds of acres. Now, the whole place was being torn down to make room for a shiny new commercial center.
The company handling the project was a subsidiary of the Sherman Group. Just my luck.
I spent the whole night at the diner, mapping out a detailed plan.
By the time dawn broke, I'd spent my last few bucks on a secondhand work uniform, a hard hat, and a sturdy pair of wire cutters.
Then I hopped on the first bus heading to the industrial area.
The site was under strict security, with guards stationed at the gate.
I made my way around to the back, found a gap in a collapsed section of the wall, and slipped in unnoticed.
The massive demolition site looked like the wreckage of a giant steel beast.
Chunks of rebar, shattered concrete, and piles of broken bricks littered the ground.
Following the route I'd mapped out last night, I slipped past the rumbling excavators and crept toward the old power workshop.
That place had been the nerve center for the factory's electricity. No doubt there'd be a mountain of abandoned cables waiting for me.
One comment popped up, reading: [Careful, Sylvia. If you get caught, you're totally screwed!]
Another comment read: [Dude, this is nuts. What if the whole place comes crashing down?]
One comment read: [Fortune favors the bold! Go get 'em, Sylvia.]
I ducked behind a pile of scrap, keeping a close eye on my surroundings.
Not far away, a few workers were using blowtorches to cut apart a huge metal tank. Sparks flew everywhere, and the noise was deafening.
With all their attention on the tank, I kept low and slipped into the shattered remains of the power workshop.
It was just like I'd pictured. Cables of all sizes snaked across the walls and floors, tangled together like a nest of giant serpents.
My heart raced with excitement as I pulled out my wire cutters and got to work.
I only went for the cables that were already dead and abandoned.
These cables were thick, and the insulation was as hard as rock. It took all my strength just to cut through them.
My hands were soon covered in blisters.
Sweat poured down my forehead, burning my eyes, but I kept going.
All I could think about was money. I wanted money. Nothing else mattered.
I wanted to survive, and someday I would make them pay me back a hundredfold, a thousandfold for everything they owed me. My resolve burned.
I lost track of time, but when I finally looked up, my canvas sack was packed full.
These copper wires should fetch me at least two grand.
This was my first pot of gold.
I hauled the heavy sack, hoping to make it out the same way I came in.
Just as I was about to leave the workshop, a group of men in hard hats walked right into my path.
Leading the group was a heavyset guy with a face full of menace and a chunky gold chain hanging from his neck.
That was the site boss, Frank Smith.
Behind him were a couple of his guys, each gripping a steel pipe.
No doubt about it, they were here for me.
Frank barked, "Hold it right there!"
He blocked my path, his beady eyes darted over me, sizing me up from head to toe.
He demanded, "What are you sneaking around for, huh? What's in the bag?"
My heart sank hard.
One of the workers marched up and yanked open my woven sack.
Bright copper wires tumbled out onto the ground, shining for everyone to see.
Frank's face twisted with anger.
He roared, "Look what we have here, a thief! You've got guts stealing from my turf."
He gestured to his men and ordered, "Grab her! Before we hand her over to the cops, let the boys show her how things work around here."
The workers started closing in, nasty grins plastered all over their faces.
One comment read: [She's screwed! They caught her!]
Another read: [Run, Sylvia.]
I had nowhere left to run, with a cold wall looming behind me.
I clenched my wire cutters in my fist, bracing myself.