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There was a reason Kevin Blackbook had decided to commit suicide.
Kevin had never been the happiest of guys, but he’d been happier than usual over the last few years, after he’d married a widowed non-exemplar named Susan who was way out of his league. They’d met at one of the coffee shops on 15th Street (not far from Roman’s place, actually, although he and Roman never discussed this), and it hadn’t quite been love at first sight, but it did bloom into something of the sort.
Love at tenth sight? It may have been the eleventh or twelfth time they’d met—Kevin never could get it right—that he’d mustered up the courage to ask her on a date. The rest was history, Kevin’s history, and Mrs. Susan Blackbook had been the love and sole purpose of his life ever since.
This was before Kevin knew Roman—hell, before any of the newer employees had become immigration advisors. And Kevin and Susan had been happy enough, vacationing to the Southern Alliance when given a chance and even purchasing a timeshare in Lower Centralia.
Kevin suspected that Susan was up to something when he came home one night, just a few weeks back, actually, and found the furniture toppled over. At first, he had assumed it was a burglar, but then Susan emerged from the bedroom in the flowing kimono she wore as a house robe with cherry-red cheeks and just about the biggest smile he’d ever seen on her face—a pleasure smile if he’d ever seen one.
“Sorry,” she’d said at the time, “I got carried away cleaning.”
Kevin had believed her, and that had been that.
In fact, if Susan had been more careful, Kevin would never have figured out what she was up to.
But like many non-exemplars who’d had affairs with exemplars, the temptation to experiment was too great, and it was yesterday that Kevin had come home to find a Type III Class D—a fucking Class D!—floating on his back in the living room while Kevin’s wife rode him reverse cowgirl, her feet pressed into his lower back, her hands pinching her nipples as she always did when she was orgasming.
So that was what led Kevin to want to jump.
And before he did, like he had done for years, Kevin Blackbook purchased a single Hero Ticket at the local corner store.
This was mostly out of habit; he knew he didn’t have a chance to win. And besides, he’d be dead before they announced the winner anyway.
