The Gig

My Contributor Score dropped three points last Tuesday because I turned down a food delivery at 11 PM. I had the flu. Didn't matter.

That's how it works now.

The app assigns you gigs based on some algorithm nobody really understands. You accept them or your score tanks. Your score tanks and suddenly your car insurance goes up forty percent. Your kid gets waitlisted at the decent public school. Your credit card interest rate adjusts.

So you take the gigs.

I've done everything. Driven people to airports at 4 AM. Assembled furniture for rich people who couldn't be bothered to read instructions. Stood in line for concert tickets. Picked up prescriptions. Delivered birthday cakes. Worn a chicken costume and handed out flyers in August heat.

Last month I spent six hours moving boxes in a warehouse for a "urgent inventory assistance" gig that paid $127. Before taxes. Before the app's cut.

The thing is, you can't just get a normal job anymore. I mean, you can, but employers check your Contributor Score now. They want to see that you're "flexible" and "adaptable" and "committed to the community ecosystem." Which is corporate speak for "desperate enough to do anything."

I've got a score of 847. That's pretty good. Not great, but good enough.

My neighbor Rick has a 923. Guy's a machine. Takes every gig. Sleeps maybe four hours a night. His wife left him six months ago. His score went up after that. More availability.

Anyway.

Yesterday morning I got a notification that made me stare at my phone for a solid minute.

NEW OPPORTUNITY ASSIGNED

Gig Type: Special Task
Pay: $2,400
Time Commitment: 3 hours
Location: 1847 Riverside Industrial Park, Unit 7B
Start Time: Tonight, 2:00 AM
Equipment Needed: None
Dress Code: Dark, comfortable clothing
Special Instructions: Be on time. Come alone. Bring your ID.

That's it.

No description of what I'd actually be doing. No client name. No category tag like "delivery" or "assembly" or "pet care."

Just an address and a time and $2,400.

The decline button was grayed out.

I tried calling support. Got transferred four times. Finally reached someone who sounded like she was reading from a script. She told me Special Tasks are mandatory for contributors in my tier. Declining would mean immediate score reduction and potential account suspension.

I asked what the task was.

"That information will be provided on-site."

I called my buddy Xavier. He's been doing gig work longer than me. Asked if he'd ever gotten a Special Task.

He got quiet.

"Yeah. Once. About four months ago."

"What was it?"

"Can't talk about it. Just go. Do what they tell you. Take the money. Don't ask questions."

Then he hung up.

So here's what happened.

I showed up at 1:55 AM. The industrial park was dead. Nothing but empty parking lots and dark warehouses. Unit 7B was at the end of a side road. Concrete building. One metal door. Single light above it.

There were three other people standing outside when I pulled up.

A woman in her fifties wearing yoga pants and a fleece jacket. A younger guy in a hoodie who kept checking his phone. And an older man in work boots and a reflective vest like he'd just come from a construction site.

Nobody made eye contact.

At exactly 2:00 AM, the door opened.

A man in a gray suit stepped out. Thirties maybe. Clean cut. Holding a tablet.

"IDs please."

We handed them over. He scanned each one with his tablet. Handed them back.

"Follow me. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not touch anything unless instructed. Do not take photos or video. Your phones will not work inside. Stay together as a group."

He turned and walked through the door.

We followed.

Inside was just a concrete hallway. Fluorescent lights. Unmarked doors on both sides. We walked maybe fifty feet. Then he stopped at a door and opened it.

The room was empty except for four metal folding chairs arranged in a line facing a large mirror on the far wall.

"Sit."

We sat.

The guy in the suit stood behind us. I could see him in the mirror. He tapped something on his tablet.

"You've each been selected based on your activity patterns, reliability metrics, and psychological profile assessments. What you're about to participate in is a standard evaluation task. You will observe. You will not interfere. You will answer questions honestly when asked. Compensation will be processed upon completion."

He tapped his tablet again.

The mirror turned transparent.

It wasn't a mirror. It was a window.

On the other side was another room. Smaller. White walls. No furniture except a single chair in the center.

Someone was sitting in it.

Then they looked up.

It was Xavier.

My buddy Xavier. The guy I'd called yesterday. The guy who'd told me to go and not ask questions.

He looked directly at the window. Directly at me. His mouth moved like he was trying to say something.

The woman in the yoga pants next to me made a small sound. Almost a gasp.

"Do you know this person?" the suited man asked her.

She shook her head quickly. Too quickly.

He made a note on his tablet.

"Anyone else?"

I kept my mouth shut. So did the other two.

"Good. Now. You're going to watch. In approximately ninety seconds, someone will enter the room. They will ask this person a series of questions. Your task is to observe their responses and determine whether they are being truthful. You'll provide your assessment afterward. That's all."

I stared at Xavier through the glass. He was looking right at me. I could see his lips moving again.

He was saying my name.

The suited man checked his watch. "Sixty seconds."

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Impossible. He'd said our phones wouldn't work.

I slowly pulled it out. Kept it low.

One notification.

From Xavier.

Sent right now. 2:07 AM.

It said: Whatever you see in there isn't me. I'm in Unit 9C. They have us watching each other.

I looked up at the Xavier in the room.

He was staring at the window. Tears running down his face.

A door opened on the other side of the glass.

Someone walked in.

It was me.