Seeing the Company Shrink

So I've been seeing this shrink for the last few months. Let's face it; in our line of work, we see and do some horrible things; things that make you question your faith in humanity, your faith in yourself as a good person, your faith in your place in the world. But I hear even accountants can have some of the same problems, so I don't feel too alone here.

Hyde recommended I see this therapist after a near-death experience I had in Macao. I was shadowing this Taiwanese drug-lord and he got the drop on me in an alley near the Pearl River. He managed to shoot me in the shoulder and make his escape. Fortunately it was only a flesh wound, but on my way back to the safe-house I bought some rice and some fermented heshiko from a rather unhygenic-looking street vendor and I ended up in the hospital with a bad case of botulism.

So I was out of commission for a couple of months, resting up. I had a lot of time to sit and think about some of the bad choices I had perhaps made in life (not the least of which was buying that mackerel from that scabby peasant), and think about how I was a bit disappointed with the way things were going. I hadn't felt this bad since the time I synchronized my watch incorrectly on this mission in North Korea and seven of our guys died as a result.

So I ended up scoring pretty high on a couple of the company's depression tests, and management thought it'd be a good idea for me to see one of their therapists. And I like the guy; he's even got some field experience so he can understand some of those issues. It's just a strange thing to be able to talk with someone about things I've rarely talked to anyone about, and feel that he is there just for you, and that what you say stays with him. Of course all of our sessions are being recorded and transcribed by the company, but at least I know that that stuff will stay classified for at least twenty years, probably longer.