9th Street had a bad fame in the entire city. It was rumoured that people who find themselves there often disappear, never to be found again, like there was some kind of demon living there, capturing unsuspecting passerby's. The press called this urban legend as the Wraith from 9th Street. Of course, the police and city authorities completely denied that anything like that exists, all the investigations never led anywhere. The official culprit responsible for occasional disappearances was a nearby river, or to be more specific, people drowning in it.

There was only one store on the 9th Street. It belonged to Oda Tanaka, an elderly Asian man, selling groceries from nine in the morning till seven in the afternoon. There were people that dared setting up their own shops from time to time, but sooner or later they were driven out by the terrible reputation this place had. Reputation didn't end on the Wraith. There were few local gangs harassing business owners, bikers, and few illegal businesses that everyone knew about, and yet noone ever said a word out. People were scared, and kept to themselves. Nobody wanted to become a snitch with broken thumbs and legs.

Oda Tanaka however didn't care about every day bickering and fighting. Nobody harassed him, nobody even dared looking at him in a wrong way. It was said that he had a powerful protector, that once got rid of a few crime bosses before settling down in this city. It was said that the Wraith from 9th Street personally watches over this store and his owner.

Jerome Johnson, for his friends JJ, a local ganster wanna-be was about to test it. The store owner just closed, but was still inside, alone, counting the money. JJ had a loaded gun, a mask on his head and was about kick open the doors, when he noticed a blue flash. And then the world got a lot bigger for him...

***

"You ready, Dan?" Around fifty years old woman with a worried expression asked her son.

"Yes, mom. I have everything in the bag, my breakfast and clothes to change into just in case."

A young adult, dressed up in Metallica t-shirt, jeans and running shoes waved his mom goodbye and left their apartment. He was excited. Today was the first day of his new job, and he really wanted it to work. He got fired few months earlier from the courier company for alleged stealing. Dan's story was different than what his co workers told their superiors, but it was his word against several other people that had seniority over him. After that everyone sane enough to do a background check didn't want to hire him which put him in a troublesome spot. His dad left years ago, leaving no contact data or anything, sending only one post card from Mexico. Mom, however, stayed with him, worked hard every day. After finishing high school with mediocre grades Dan knew he was becoming a burden for her. That's why he wanted to started earning his own money and at least pay for some of the bills.

The job that accepted him wasn't the greatest. In fact, it barely payed anything above the minimal wage, but he didn't complain. The owner said yes to him over the phone, not even asking for a face to face interview, which was odd, but Dan decided not to question it, taking in the opportunity.

Today was the day to sign the paperwork and officially start working. His shift would start at ten, and end at around eight in the evening. Dan knew that the store he was going to work in was placed in a 'bad' neighborhood, but he didn't really believe the rumours or urban legends fueled by wild imagination of newspapers and their reporters.

***

Bus took Dan a couple of streets away from his final destination, so he had to walk the remaining mile. It was a warm morning, and the streets were filled with cars speeding to work.

He saw the store from afar. It was a two floor high building, first floor clearly served as a shop area. Dan couldn't see through the tightly curtained windows what was above, but he suspected that it was some kind of apartment. Without much hesitation, he pushed the doors.

The inside of the store looked typical for this type of establishment. The merchandise was on shelves separated from each other by the walking alleys. After a second Dan noticed that the wares were sorted by the type of food, drinks, and refrigeration, with visible prices next of the items. Right next to the entrance was a counter with cash register and the owner behind it.

"Welcome at Oda Tanaka's store."

Older Asian man, supposedly Tanaka, said. Curiously, there was no signs of an Asian accent in his speech. Store owner was half hunched over and it was clear to Dan why he needed to hire anyone to help him.

"Hello. I'm Dan Hargreaves. I was supposed to start working here today."

"Ahh, Dan. Hello, hello." Older man, making small steps, strolled around the counter to shake younger man's hand.

"Let me just close the store and then we can talk."

Tanaka moved closer to the doors and locked them. He also flipped a sign on them to show people that the store is temporarily closed.

"Let's go to the office."

They moved through the alleys to the back of the store. Then, a corridor filled with several doors led them to the small office area which contained a desk with computer on it, two chairs and a file cabinet.

"Okay, here is my résumé."

Dan said before they sat down, handing over the papers to Tanaka, but he just raised his hands.

"No, no need. I know all about you. You are hired. Here are the papers. Read them and then sign."

Dan looked over the contract and it was fairly standard. Nothing special there, except for the signature that was placed right next to Mr Tanaka's name. Young man deciphered it as Sterling, and wanted to ask who that person was, but decided against it. He was sure that if this knowledge is necessary for him, Tanaka will tell all about that person.

After signing the contract and sending a text message to his mom that the job is indeed real, Dan found a spot for his things, put on a work t-shirt with stores logo, and began to work. His first tasks were simple and didn't require much from him. Just cleaning the floors, stocking shelves and familiarizing himself with the store. Mr Tanaka was at the counter, serving clients. In the afternoon Dan started to learn how to work with cash register, scanning bar codes, printing bills, and efficiently counting the change. It went slow for him and he did a few mistakes that Asian man had to correct, but he was told that in a few days he will get used to it and be a fast and efficient worker. Dan hoped it was true.

Few minutes after seven they closed the store and it was time for cleanup. Dan first polished the counter and then moved on to working with the mop while Tanaka was counting in today's income and checking the stock.

Being done in like twenty minutes with main store area, he moved on to the corridor leading to the office. Dan noticed that one of the doors earlier closed was slightly open now and he could see it was connected to a staircase leading above. He didn't know whether he should clean there or not, but decided against interrupting his boss and went to do it. Who knows, maybe he could score some bonus points for the initiative?

He pushed through the door and he heard a crunching noise, like he stepped on something. The lamp barely provided any light, so after initial inspection he thought it's just some kind of bug. Dan cleaned his shoe with a mop and proceeded to make sure that this part of the floor is spotless as well.

***

Victoria Sterling was watching from above, well hidden in the shadows. She was initially infuriated by the fact that her most recent toy almost escaped, but seeing what happened left her in a state of confusion. It was the first time she saw another human being kill a shrunken person, aware or not. She initially wanted to shrink this new guy and punish him for what he did, but she decided against it. It wasn't really his fault. And Oda Tanaka would not approve losing an employee for no reason...