The Family Business

<snip>
John Smith sat bolt upright in his bed, a cold sweat running down his
face. This was the fourth time now, the same dream, the same goggled
faces...
Those voices, so familiar...
</snip>
Who: Ex-Radio Shack Dweeb John Smith
Where: Earth, 2104
When: Right where we left him
Smith pulled himself out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed.
He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he had to get out of
this place before he went crazy. Reaching forward to twist open the
door, Smith stepped on a pile of mail in front of it and slipped
headfirst into the door.
Two blessedly peaceful hours later, Smith awoke.
Feeling there was no real point in getting angry, he calmly got to his
feet and picked up the scattered envelopes.
"Bills, bills, bills, Conspiracy Monthly...", Smith muttered to himself.
Then something got his attention.
"This one's from something called Superior Defence Laboratories in the
warehouse district..."
Ripping open the envelope, Smith read the letter.
MR. JOHN SMITH
If you are reading this message, it has become necessary for you come
to the following adress on THURSDAY, THE 10TH OF FEBRUARY 2104 at 6:15
PM, wearing nondescript clothing in an unmarked vehicle. It is
imperative that you follow these instructions EXACTLY.
Superior Defence Laboratories
Taking his eyes off the fancy company letterhead, Smith wondered if he
should respond to this rather dodgy sounding invitation. Nondescript
clothing? Glancing down at his white t-shirt and brown pants, Smith
found he fit the bill. Why did he need to use an 'unmarked' vehicle?
Was this some sort of mob hit? Did mob bosses think it was funny to
send out invitations to get whacked just to see if some poor sod
responded?
"Well you might as well face it John, you ARE a poor sod. You've got
no job, no money, no friends, and you won't even have this shitty
apartment for very long the way you're headed...what's there to
lose??"
Unable to come up with a good answer, John Smith strode out the door,
flagged down a cab, and headed to his new destination.