One of the stories in the Friday the 13th Series…
Fun Fact:
Kompromat is a corporate horror story.
Corporate horror takes one of the most familiar parts of modern life—the workplace—and asks a disturbing question: What if the system itself is the monster? Instead of haunted houses or supernatural creatures, the horror comes from bureaucracy, corporate culture, exploitation, and institutions that can consume the people trapped inside them.
That’s exactly the territory Kompromat explores. Quietus Risk Management looks like a legitimate company, complete with employees, procedures, and corporate structure. Its business model is just a little more sinister: it finds people’s secrets and sells them back their silence.
Some of my favorite corporate horror books include The Corporation by J.F. Gonzalez, The Store by Bentley Little, and Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti.
Sometimes the scariest monster isn’t hiding under your bed.
Sometimes it has an employee ID.
About the Story:
Brad never meant to lie to his family.
When the layoffs hit, he told himself it would only be temporary. A few weeks, maybe a month. But the silence stretched, the bills piled up, and desperation has a way of bending principles. So when Quietus Risk Management offers him a position, he takes it—no questions asked.
Excerpt:
“What do you want?”
“I want you to pull out slowly and turn right.” Safira pushed the .45 into the back of his head.
Sweat dampened his collar. “Please don’t do this. I’ll give you anything you want.”
“I want my life back, and you better believe you’re going to give it to me.”
“Wait. Are you a client?”
She caught his eyes widening in the rearview mirror.
“Eyes on the road.”
A client? How many more were out there?
He reached down for the gearshift.
“Slowly.” She watched him put it into drive, her finger resting on the trigger. “Once you get to Lydell, turn left and take it all the way to the interstate.”
They sat in silence until he hit the on-ramp and merged into the busy evening traffic.
“I can’t help you.” He kept glancing in the mirror to look at her. “You know that, right?”
“Shut up.” She didn’t want to hear any of his salesman bullshit. “Shut up. We’ve got sixty miles and then you’re going to get off at exit one-oh-seven. In the meantime, fish your phone out of your pocket and hand it back here.”
He complied, and she swiped the screen to unlock it. “What’s your pin?”
“Eleven-thirteen.”
She chuckled. “Tomorrow’s date?”
“Yeah.” His chin quivered, and tears spilled down his cheeks. “My daughter’s birthday.”
“Knock that shit off. You know what kind of monster you are. Don’t give me your ‘I’m a father’ sob story now.” She shut the phone down, removed the battery, and tossed all the pieces out the window.
“I can’t help you.”
“You better find a way, because if it’s true, I’m better off killing you.”
About the Author:
Jon Minton is an American speculative fiction writer based in Oklahoma City. He is a software developer but has always been passionate about a great story.
He reads and writes everything from horror to historical, but his primary genres are science fiction and fantasy. A few of his favorite authors include Stephen King, Anne Rice, James S.A. Correy, N. K. Jemisin, and George R.R. Martin. Find out more at jonmintonbooks.com
