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I awoke the next morning slightly confused. It took me a moment to realize the lump next to me was a boy sleeping, and to remember why he was there. As the realization dawned on me, I turned towards him. He looked so innocent, lying there with the morning sun shining down on him. It glinted off the fine light brown hairs on the back of his neck; highlighted his eyelashes ever so slightly. As I lay there watching him, he rolled towards me a little bit, until he was lying against me facing the window through which the sun was shining. I reached out and hugged him to me for a few moments before deciding it was high time to get up. Carefully, so as not to wake him, I disentangled myself from the sheets and got out of bed. I quickly called my chef and asked him to make us some breakfast, and after a quick shower and a shave, I got dressed for the day. Today is Saturday, and usually I don’t need to go in to work, but my department is currently in the process of negotiating a corporate merger with one of our minor competitors, and I have a meeting with their CEO later in the morning. For that reason, I reached for one of my Armani suits, instead of my usual casual weekend clothes. By this time, I could see that Aaron was beginning to stir in his sleep, so I went over to the bed and softly said his name while I rubbed his back a little bit to wake him up. When he was awake enough to understand what was happening, I spoke. “Hey little buddy. Welcome to the world of the living. Sleep well?” “Yeah… after I came in here I did.” “You said you were having nightmares… want to tell me about them?” “No… I can’t… sorry…” “Don’t be sorry bud. Just know if you change your mind, I’m here.” “Ok… thanks.” “There’s breakfast downstairs when you’re ready. I’m going to go get some things ready for work, I’ll be there when you come down.” “You have to go to work today?” “Yeah… I have this meeting I have to go to this morning.” “Well… what about me?” “I really think it’s time you ought to be going home bud. I’ve enjoyed having you here, but you can’t stay here forever; you do eventually need to go home. I’m sure your parents are worried about you.” “No, they’re not, really, I promise.” “Well, all the same…” “Do I have to?” “Yes… I’ll tell you what. I’ll take you home, and talk to your parents. We’ll see then about what we can do, ok?” “I guess so…” As I turned to leave, he called out to me. “Wait!” I stopped, and turned around, and he ran up to me and hugged me tightly. I returned the hug, somewhat surprised, and I pulled him away from me, and held him at arms’ length. I could see tears in his eyes, and fear. Sensing that this was an important moment, I sat down on the edge of the bed, so as to put my face level with his, and looked straight at him as I asked him what was wrong. It took him several minutes to reply, and I could see that he didn’t want to tell me in the way that he looked all around the room, avoiding my eyes. I continued to hold him away from me as he stood there shuddering occasionally, with tears still slowly rolling down his face. Finally he began to speak, haltingly. “I…” he began, and then stopped. “I don’t want to go home…” he eventually managed to get out, somehow still sounding elusive and edgy even as he answered my question. Not understanding why that was so difficult for him, I asked him, “Why don’t you want to go home bud?” At this, he stopped glancing around, and instead looked down at his feet, as he said “I can’t tell you.” Thoroughly confused at this point, I attempted to get answers to my questions. “Why can’t you tell me what’s going on with you?” I asked him. “I just can’t. I’m not allowed to.” “Who says you’re not allowed to?” “My mom and stepdad. If I tell you, they’ll know. Just, please, don’t make me go back home.” With that last bit, his sobs began to grow slightly, in volume and intensity. I pulled him to me, and held him gently while he cried silently into my shoulder, moved by the emotions I saw in his eyes, and heard in his voice; primarily fear, but also guilt. As I rubbed his back, I spoke softly to him. “I have to kiddo. I can’t legally keep you here without your parents’ permission. But I promise I’ll talk to them. I’ll find out what’s going on, even if you won’t tell me, and if I find that they’ve been doing anything untoward, I’ll see to it that it stops. Until I get things settled, I want you to know that if you need anything, anything at all, give me a call. I’ll have Jennifer give you one of my cell phones to call me from, if you’re worried about leaving a record on your own phone bill, or in case you’re separated from yours for some reason. Also, I’ll ask her to give you a credit card you can use for emergencies.” He didn’t respond; he just continued to sob, albeit significantly quieter and less frequently than before. After a few minutes of this, he calmed down to the point where he was no longer crying, and I stood up, still holding him. He looked up at me sadly, and thanked me for allowing him to stay with me. I bent down slightly and kissed him lightly on the forehead, hoping as I did so that he would understand my intensions, and not be offended or scared. I needn’t have worried though, as I straightened up, he smiled up at me and hugged me again, tightly. After a few moments, we drew apart. “Don’t worry about it at all bud, it was my pleasure. You’re a sweet kid, and it’s a joy having you around. It get’s lonely sometimes, being this rich and powerful. I have this huge house, but the only people I share it with work for me. So yeah, I enjoyed having you here. But you’d better get dressed; breakfast is getting cold.” I smiled at him as I left the room. As I made my way down to my office, I spoke to the air, knowing that Moose would understand my intensions. “Jennifer, good morning, this is Mike. Are you awake?” “Yes sir.” “Excellent. I know it hasn’t been very long, but I was curious to know what you’ve found, if anything, about our guest’s parents.” “Actually sir, I found quite a bit, given the short amount of time I’ve been looking. There’s not much on the mother, whose name is Mindy, by the way, except for a few misdemeanors and drug related offenses. I did notice one interesting thing though. Apparently, she was married once already, before she married Aaron’s biological father. According to what I found, she had two children with that man, but I was unable to find out anything about her ex or the kids, not even their names. It looks like the records have been intentionally removed from every database I’ve been able to search. His biological father’s name is Richard Cartwright. He is currently being held in state penitentiary; his term will be up in 2015, but he’s up for parole again in 2 years.” At this I interjected “What do you mean, again?” “According to police records, he was paroled once already, in 1997. He was out for about 3 months before being picked up again on a domestic violence charge. Apparently, he broke into Mindy’s apartment, and they got into an argument. A neighbor called the police after he heard sounds of a struggle. His report stated that he couldn’t quite understand what they were saying, but he heard Aaron’s name several times.” “That’s interesting…” I said, more to myself then to her. “Yes it is sir. And finally, his step father. You’re really going to like this one. His name is Carl Ekburg. He moved to California about fourteen years ago. He’s got a police record as long as my arm, everything from traffic tickets to shoplifting to domestic violence to drug offenses. He was even booked once on twelve misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Apparently he was running a dog fighting ring in his garage. And here’s the kicker… Everything from before he moved to California is perfect. Not so much as a parking ticket since the day he was born. He led a boring average life, immaculate in every way… almost too perfect, or at least that’s what was going through my head at the time. So I decided to dig a bit deeper, and it turns out I was right. The records of his life from before he moved to California were spliced into the system one by one over the two years before he moved. I don’t think he was born Carl Ekburg, sir. I think it’s a new identity that he made for himself, for whatever reason. I have two of your security people tailing him, sir, and I’ve contacted one of your lawyers and filled him in on the situation. He’s on standby now sir, in case we need him.” “Wow Jen, that’s a lot to take in. Thank you for your diligence in this matter. This kid has grown a lot on me since he arrived, and I really want to make sure everything is ok for him… but the more I learn, the more I suspect it to be otherwise. I think I may go down to the penitentiary tomorrow and have a talk with his biological father, please make the arrangements, if you don’t mind. I know it’s a weekend and I usually give the staff the weekends off, but I really need you on this one. I promise I’ll make it up to you though.” Chuckling, she replied “It’s no problem at all sir. I like Aaron too, and I want to help however I can. Besides, I didn’t really have plans this weekend anyway, and your overtime bonus is enough to make it seem more like a reward than a duty.” At this I too began to laugh as I responded. “Well, I’m glad you approve. I try to reward competency, and I’ve been nothing but pleased with your performance these last few years.” “Thank you sir, I try. Oh, and good morning to you too.” By this time, I had arrived in my office, and I set to the task of preparing the things I needed for my meeting. After getting my briefcase packed with my laptop and the documents I would be referencing, I headed towards the kitchen and breakfast. I bid the chef good morning as I entered, and apologized to him for delaying his weekend vacation. “It’s not a problem sir. Working for you is great; the kind of job most people can only dream of. My friends are all jealous.” He said, with a smile in his eyes. “Thanks Earl, I appreciate hearing that. Once you’re finished with breakfast, you’re free to go, with my thanks.” “Great. Let me know if there’s anything else you need this morning sir, I’ll be in the kitchen.” “Sure thing, and thanks again.” As we finished our conversation, a more chipper looking than before Aaron entered the room. His eyes lit up as he saw the spread set out before us; Eggs, omelets, toast, cereal, hash browns, bacon, sausage, and biscuits and gravy were all laid out in front of us. Laughing, I scolded Earl on the rudeness of showing off for guests, to which he replied by saying it wasn’t often he had the opportunity to serve someone who appreciated his work. It took a few moments, but Aaron finally understood that we were joking, and sat down to eat as Earl left the dining room. When he had eaten his fill, we stood up to leave. I retrieved my briefcase from where I left it in the office, and we headed out towards my car. He stopped to say goodbye to Jennifer as we left, but within a few minutes we were on our way to his house. His mood visibly dampened as we neared his house, and by the time we arrived he was downright somber. As I turned off the engine, I began to speak. “Look bud, I know you don’t want to go home, but you really have to. I promise that I’m going to make things better for you; I’ve got people working on it right now. Remember, call me if you need anything, and know that you’re never alone. I, or someone who works for me, will be looking after you at all times, ok?” “I know. Thanks for everything. Can I call you later?” “Sure bud, I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Now, let’s go talk to your parents.” As we approached the house, I took a moment to look it over. It was a small, one story house. It looked rundown, and was in a clear state of disrepair. One window was boarded up, and two others were cracked. The paint was peeling, and if there had ever been grass on the front lawn, you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. There was a car sitting on the barren soil of the lawn, itself as old and beat up as the house. It was sitting on cinder blocks where its wheels should have been, and I doubted that it had been in a working state for many years. There was a wooden fence around the yard, but it too had faded peeling paint, and the hinges to the gate were rusted to the point where the gate stood open at an awkward angle, and wouldn’t move. As we drew closer to the yard, I could see that other things cluttered it besides the car. Broken bottles, empty cans, tires, the occasional shoe, and a fair amount of cigarette butts littered the ground, all of it adding to the desolate atmosphere surrounding the house. Finally we reached the front door, and I knocked on it. The door opened the few inches permitted to it by the chain connecting it to the frame at about eye level, and a mistrustful looking middle aged woman glared out at me through the gap. From what I could see of her, it seemed clear that she matched the house in terms of care and vanity. She wore no makeup, and it wasn’t for lack of need. Her face was weathered, crossed by wrinkles and browned with sun. Her hair was just a little longer than shoulder length, and unkempt, tangled. Her teeth were yellow, and on her breath I could detect the odor of alcohol. I couldn’t understand how someone so unpleasant to the eyes could be the mother of someone so beautiful. Despite my instant dislike of her, I smiled and spoke. “Good morning… Mindy, I presume?” “Yeah, that’s my name. What do you want?” “Your son,” I said, indicating Aaron, who had until this moment been standing behind me, “spent the night at my house last night, after calling me and asking for a ride home from Oxnard. I’m an assistant scoutmaster in his Boy Scout troop; my name is Mike.” I didn’t think it was possible for her demeanor to become any more repulsive, but at the mention of her son, her attitude became even more sullen and angry. “Oh really,” she said. “Well, I hope you’re not looking for a reward, because you’ll not find one here. Get in the house boy.” That last was directed towards Aaron, as she undid the chain and opened the door farther. With a clear look of fear in his eyes, he reluctantly stepped across the threshold and waved goodbye to me before he disappeared into the bowels of the house. Hoping she might give me some answers to the questions I had, I continued. “He wasn’t any trouble at all, and no I’m not looking for a reward. I would, however, like to know what he was doing in Oxnard, if you don’t mind.” “I do mind. It’s none of your damn business. Now why don’t you take your pretty little suit, and your pretty little car, and get the hell off of my property. And I don’t want you anywhere near my son again, you hear?” “Yes ma’am, I believe you’ve made yourself clear. But I promise, we will speak again.” With that, I turned and walked to my car, angry, but determined to find out what was going on, and separate Aaron from this repulsive woman. As I drove to work, I called Jennifer and filled her in on the details of our conversation. “And then she slammed the door.” “You said the father wasn’t home?” “There wasn’t any sign that he was.” “Interesting. I’ll contact the men we have following him and see what he’s been up to.” “I’d like you to put a tail on Aaron, and his mother too, if you don’t mind.” “No problem sir. May I ask why?” “After what I’ve seen this morning, I don’t like the thought of leaving him with her. I can’t legally keep him, but I will be keeping an eye on him, at the very least. As for the mother, it’s just a precaution. Her record doesn’t indicate any likelihood that she’ll do anything underhanded, but we might as well keep her under surveillance as well.” “Understood sir. Is there anything else?” “Yes. I’ll be in a meeting with the corporate head of one of my competitors for the next several hours. Intercept and redirect all of my calls; I don’t want any interruptions. The only exceptions are the agents we have tailing Aaron and his parents, and Aaron himself. If anything happens, I want to be the first to know. Have a helicopter on standby at the office, just in case.” “Yes sir. Oh, your lawyer called this morning. He would like to have lunch with you tomorrow; he indicated that he’d found some information regarding Aaron’s father that you might be interested in.” “Ok. Please get us a reservation someplace nice, if you don’t mind.” “Not at all sir. Will the Claim Jumper do?” “That will be fine, thank you.” “Excellent. If there’s nothing else…” “No. I’ll call you after the meeting, barring anything unforeseen.” “Ok sir. Before I forget, I had a personal favor to ask.” “Anything Jen, I’ll do what I can.” “My sister is coming to town with her son tomorrow for a court appointment. They’ll be here for a few days, and she was going to find a motel to stay in, but with the housing market the way it is, the prices are higher than she expected. I was wondering if you’d mind if she and her son stayed in one of the guest rooms while they are here.” “No problem at all. We have plenty of rooms, they don’t have to share if they don’t want to.” “I’ll let her know sir. Thank you very much, this will come as quite a relief to her.” “It’s nothing, don’t even worry about it. She is welcome to stay as long as she needs to. I trust you’ll let Earl know he’ll be cooking for more than he’s used to?” “Actually sir, Earl left for Chicago this morning after you left to take Aaron home. He’s going to visit his parents. He’ll be back on Monday, but he was expecting to be able to use his whole weekend.” “Oh, I didn’t realize. Well, that’s ok. Call him and let him know if he wants more time, he’s got it with my blessing. Also, see if you can find another chef to cook for us in his absence.” “Sure thing sir. And thanks again.” “You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you in a few hours.” By this time, I was nearing my office, so I began preparing myself mentally to once again assume the role of a millionaire software engineer. As I pulled into my spot in a special garage that connects directly with my office by way of an express elevator, my secretary was waiting for me at the door. “Mr. Ray, how is it that you are here on time, at exactly nine O’clock, every day? In the entire time I’ve worked for you, you’ve never been late once.” “Good morning to you too Sheila,” I said, with good humor towards her blustering business-like straight-to-the-point attitude. “Just lucky I guess.” “Well sir, lucky or not, I hope you’re prepared to meet with our guest today. Our agents have been trying to negotiate this buyout for months, unsuccessfully. I don’t know how you expect to do in one day, what they have been unable to for all of that time.” Many CEO’s would find her attitude rude and abrasive, but I prefer it to the normal submissive secretary stereotype. Her always-on-the-move upfront way of approaching tasks and relationships has always kept me on my toes. She catches all my mistakes, sometimes before I even make them, and I value that. So, with a chuckle, I said, “Yes I’m prepared, yes I have a plan, and might I add it’s always a joy talking to you when you’re in such a good mood.” Finally cracking a smile, she said “Good morning sir. Can I get you anything?” “No, thank you, but I did want to make you aware of some possible complications. I’m monitoring a situation back home that may require me to leave in the middle of the meeting. I wouldn’t do it unless it were an emergency, and I pray I won’t have to, but I’d like you to be prepared to take over and cover for me if I do need to leave. I trust you’ve been following the details of this negotiation to date?” “Yes sir. If it becomes necessary, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” “Perfect. In that case, I will be in my office. Let me know when our guest arrives.” “Absolutely.” As she left the room, I took a set behind my desk. I turned on my office computers, and activated the tie-in to Moose. I took the opportunity to check in with all of my agents tailing members of Aaron’s family and assess their status. Everything seemed normal, so I set to work going over the details of my negotiating strategy one last time in preparation for this meeting, secure in the knowledge that everything back home was under control. At around 10:30, I received a call from Sheila letting me know that our guest had arrived, and was being led to the conference room. “Thank you Sheila, I’m on my way now.” I gathered up my briefcase and documents, and began walking along the path that would take me to the conference room. I arrived at the entrance just as my guest was, and we entered the room together. As conference rooms go, this one was one of the most opulent I’d ever seen, and that was the effect I was going for when I had it built. It looked less like a conference room, and more like the sitting room in some rich person’s mansion. It was lit overhead by a crystal chandelier, and two walls were made entirely of glass. The room was 60 stories off the ground, so this afforded its occupants with a magnificent view of the Los Angeles skyline. To one side of the room were two doors. One led to a dedicated kitchen, and the other to an equally extravagant bathroom. In the center of the room was a small square coffee table, bordered by two couches, and two of the most comfortable recliners I had ever sat in. On the table sat a vase filled with lilies, and around the room were similar, smaller displays. One wall held a large 52 inch flat screen television which could be hooked up to any number of sources, including the laptop I had brought with me. The glass walls could be made opaque at the touch of a button. It was meant to put its occupants in a relaxed mood while they discussed business, and it worked perfectly. I noted with pleasure the look of surprise and respect with which my guest took in the luxuries around him, and indicated that he should have a seat. He chose a recliner, while I sat down in one of the couches. As soon as we were seated, he began. “Alright, let’s cut to the chase. We have no possible chance of standing against you in the market. It’s a matter of how and when we fold.” Surprised at his forthrightness, I continued to listen. “My name is Don Arrington, and I’ve been given the authority to negotiate on behalf of my company. Our position in all of this is that we have accepted the inevitability of being eaten by your company; now we’re just interested having this happen in the most beneficial way possible.” “I understand completely. For our part, Lockheed Martin is not interested in making this a win/lose situation. I don’t see any reason this can’t be a mutually beneficial interaction. We are interested less in owning you, and more in eliminating the threat represented by your competition. Obviously, the way to do this is by either purchasing your company, or putting you out of business. We are capable of either, but we’d prefer a solution in which everyone goes home happy. Let me start by offering you this possibility. We will allow you to keep your current structure and hierarchy. You can keep your company name and business relations. In essence, nothing changes for you. You become a division of Lockheed Martin, and your products are branded both with your name, and ours. For this concession, you will be paid a sum to be determined later. Your finances remain yours, that is to say within your division, but will be recorded and represented as part of the larger Lockheed Martin finances. As far as benefits go, your employees will all be paid according to the Lockheed Martin scale, unless they already receive higher than they would then. If this means that they are to be paid more, you will receive the difference as subsidization from Lockheed Martin. In addition, they will receive benefits according to Lockheed Martin’s regulations, and from our sources. Your products will be required to meet or exceed our standards, and in return our marketing department will represent your products in future marketing campaigns. Those are the basics. How does that sound to you?” “Well, I must admit, it is a better offer than your negotiators have made so far.” “My negotiators have a less optimistic view of the possible benefits of this acquisition then I do. As a software engineer myself, I understand what our products stand to gain by being marketed together, rather than against each other.” “Well, initially, I can’t think of any arguments. I do have a few questions regarding the details though. There’s a lot you left out.” “My secretary will be supplying you with an information package containing the complete details of the transaction.” “Well, until I’ve had an opportunity to discuss this with my superiors then, I don’t think we have anything more to talk about. When I arrived here, I was expecting to have to fight hard to get the concessions on your part that my superiors are unwilling to make a deal without. You met them and then some.” “Well, it’s only been about twenty minutes. We can’t leave yet, or my staff will think I’m good at this, and demand that I do it from now on,” I said, with a slight look of distaste. “What say we see what we can find to watch on T.V.?” “I had heard about you. Word through the grapevine was that even though you’re the head of the most prestigious department of one of the most advanced corporations in the world, you’re still a laid back person who knows how to relax, and treat guests and employees. I can see that they were correct.” He said, with a smile. “Excellent. I’ll call in someone to take orders for food; my chefs can make pretty much anything you would want to eat.” As we turned to the screen, and began to watch a football game on T.V., I felt my pocket vibrate. Suddenly worried, I took out my phone, and looked to see what was going on. It was a call from Jennifer. “If you’ll excuse me for one moment, I need to take a call,” I almost forgot to say to Don, in my rush to leave the room. “No problem.” I heard him say, barely, as the door closed. In the hall now, I answered the call. “What is it Jennifer?” Sounding slightly out of breath, she answered. “A moment ago, I received a call from our agents tailing Carl. They reported that they believed he knew he was being followed, and were taking additional precautions to avoid detection. They reported that he had been driving around in circles in a residential neighborhood in Oxnard. Towards the end of the call I heard one of the exclaim quickly, then I heard gunshots, and screams, before the call ended. Almost immediately after that, I received a call from the agents tailing Aaron, reporting that they had lost track of him due to an obviously planned attempt to elude them on the part of the people he was travelling with, also in Oxnard.” “Ok Jen, thank you for your diligence in this matter. I want you to send the on duty security at my mansion out to the last known location of the agents tailing Carl. Tell them to be prepared for anything. Have one of the staff members drive my Escalade out to Oxnard. I’ll meet it in the helicopter in twenty minutes. Make contact with the agent tailing Mindy, and make sure everything is ok on that end. Recall all off duty mansion staff, tell them it’s an emergency.” “Why the escalade sir?” “Because I keep weapons in it. I’m heading for the helicopter now, keep me up to date please.” “Absolutely sir.” I went back in the room for a moment, to tell Don that I needed to leave, there was an emergency at home, then ran out to the helipad, where the chopper was already on and ready to go. I entered the copilot’s seat, and put on the headphones as the helicopter lifted off, and I gave the pilot the location of the place I had told Jennifer I would meet the Escalade. On the way, I called Sheila, and let her know where I was going, and that she would need to take care of Don. She wished me luck, and assured me things were in good hands. About 15 minutes later, we arrived in Oxnard, and set down in a field next to a black escalade with tinted windows. I approached it, and the driver got out. I thanked him, and asked the pilot of my helicopter to take him back to the mansion. As they left, I opened back of the escalade. I use this vehicle for transportation when I believe my own safety, or that of a passenger, might be at risk. In the back I keep a collection of my favorite weapons. Two semi-automatic 12 gauge shotguns, 2 MP5 sub-machine guns, and 2 M4A1 automatic rifles. For the times when concealing is an issue, I keep a Glock 9mm, a Glock 45mm, and a .357 Magnum. For the times when subtlety is called for, I keep several throwing knives, butterfly knives, switchblades, etc. And Finally, I have several bulletproof vests made of a brand new material patented by Lockheed Martin. The Kevlar is electronically supplemented, giving it the capability of, rather than merely distributing the force of an impact, it completely redirects it laterally, so the wearer feels almost nothing. I put on the vest, and chose the .45 and the .357 Magnum. I also stuck several throwing knives in holsters which I secured in various places on my body. I made sure my trench coat concealed everything, then I closed the back of the escalade, and got in the driver’s seat. I called the agents I had tailing Aaron, and told them to meet me. After that, I spoke to Moose, and asked him to triangulate on the GPS signal that the cell phone I had given Aaron was putting off. While he was doing that, my agents pulled up. Two great guys; I’d known them from before I worked for the company to be ‘hard’ men, the type of people you wouldn’t mess with. They had been friends of mine at school, and when I needed security people, they were who I thought of. I hired them, and paid for them to train in mixed martial arts, as well as the ability to correctly handle almost any type of firearm. I took that training as well, though not to the extent these two had, but I was capable of handling myself in a confrontation. Shortly after they arrived, Moose displayed Aaron’s location on the screen in the escalade, along with a small caption, that read “The building the signal is coming from is a warehouse located in downtown Oxnard. The area is known for gang related violence, and lower class families. The warehouse in question is currently supposed to be unoccupied, but I’m finding evidence that it has been in use for at least 4 months now.” “Thanks Moose, I said.” Turning to my agents, whose names are Sam and Cole, I told them where we were going. Locking their previous vehicle, they got in the Escalade, and we headed over to the area. As we arrived at the location, we could see why the building was supposed to be abandoned. The whole wall was covered in a display of artistic abilities on the parts of local gangs. The windows were all boarded up, and whole place had the grimy appearance of something that had been used, then forgotten. We left the escalade and walked quickly and quietly up to the door. Sam pulled out a lock picking set, and set to work picking the locks on the door. Cole waited patiently and calmly, watching Sam’s back while he worked, and so did I, but in my mind I kept wondering if Aaron was ok, and what we would find inside the warehouse. Sam finished unlocking the door, and Cole took position at the entrance, ready to fire on anyone inside the building if necessary. Sam opened the door, then quickly got out of the way so Cole could see what was inside. Cole motioned that he didn’t see anyone, so Sam and I entered the building, carefully checking every direction for people, but we didn’t see anyone. “Clear” Sam called out, while I took in the surroundings. The building wasn’t well lit, but enough light came in through windows in the ceiling that we could see everything there was to see. It wasn’t much. The building was maybe 4000 square feet, and it was virtually empty. The floor was solid concrete, and the ceiling was meshed in duct-work and fans. The only object in the room was a wooden chair, placed directly in the center of the room, and bolted to the floor. Attached to the arm rests and front to legs of the chair were leather straps, whose purpose seemed clear. They were meant to restrain someone within the chair. As we drew closer to the chair, I could see blood stains on it, especially around the straps. Some of the stains were long dry, and had seeped into the wood, but there were some that were obviously more recent. Someone had done a decent job of cleaning up the area around the chair, but I could still see the faint stains indicating that at one point there had been a rather significant puddle of blood around the chair. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I noticed a small, slightly rounded, rectangular object on the seat of the chair. As I reached the front of the chair, I could see that it was a cell phone. In fact, it was the very cell phone that Jennifer had given Aaron earlier that morning. Underneath it was scrawled a note. It read simply, “He’s next.” As the meaning of the words diffused through my brain, I sunk to me knees in despair. Sam asked me what the problem was, and I showed him the note. Realization dawned on him, and he grunted softly, the only indication that he understood what I was feeling. From the other side of the room, I heard Cole’s voice. “Sir, we’d better get out of here. There’s nothing for us to find, and I’m not comfortable being here without backup. We can send a team in to search the area more thoroughly, but until then I’d prefer that we head back to the mansion and see what we can find out there.” I merely nodded, and let Sam drag me to me feet, then shuffled my way out to the car. Sam drove us back to the mansion, and I slowly walked to my office. I felt as though my heart had been ripped out of my body. Here was this boy, who came to me for help, and I had willfully returned him to a situation I knew was not safe for him. I closed the door my office, and collapsed into my chair. My computer screens remained off, and the contents of my desk untouched as I tried to reign in my emotions and gain control of myself. It was a battle I was doomed to lose from the start, and finally I broke down into tears, grief caused at the thought of what might be happening to Aaron, even at that moment. After a few minutes, I stopped crying, and cleaned myself up a bit. When I was satisfied that I was once again every inch the young corporate conqueror everyone believed me to be, I called a meeting with my most trusted staff members. Once everyone had arrived, I began. “Jennifer, I wanted you here just because you need to know what’s going on to help me manage everything. Eric, you’re here because you’re the head of my security department, and I want you to know what my ultimate goals are for this situation. Alex, I need you to coordinate with the local law enforcement. I don’t want them bumbling into this; they have a nasty habit of adhering to regulations. I’ll also want you to keep in close contact with my lawyers. You’re all here because I trust you, and I couldn’t run my company or my life without you. I expect this meeting to be very short, and I don’t want its contents to leave this room.” As they each nodded, I continued. What have you found out about Aaron’s kidnappers?” As I asked this, it seemed that three separate places around the room suddenly became absolutely fascinating. They each stared a different place, and none would meet my eyes. Growing impatient, I added, “Well?” Finally, one of them spoke. “Actually sir, we haven’t been able to find anything. It’s as if they all just disappeared. After the skirmish with your agents and the people that came to extract the boy’s step-father, I checked on the agents watching the mother. They reported everything normal, but I told them to check anyway, just to be sure. Turns out, the house was empty. The entire family has just dropped off the radar. In addition, all the records that had previously pointed to that warehouse being in use, contrary to popular belief, are also missing, as if they were never there to begin with. I believe the warehouse was a setup, meant to show us that they could predict what we’d look for, and could lead us around by the nose if they wanted to.” I turned to Jennifer, seeking confirmation. With a nod, she spoke. “Beyond that sir, I received word about a half hour ago that Aaron’s biological father is missing from the penitentiary where he was being held. The officials there have no idea how he got out, and they assure me that they are doing everything in their power to find out, but I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t related to today’s events.” “Well,” I said… letting out a deep breath slowly. “I’m sure you’ve all been working very hard on this, and I appreciate it. Aaron is a very special boy to me. He came to me for help because he trusted me, and he knows I care about him. His safety is the foremost goal here. Get him back people. I don’t care how you do it; I don’t need to know the details. Eric, if you have to make a mess of things, I’ll understand, and don’t worry about it. My lawyers can clean up any untidiness after the fact. Additionally, I want the people responsible to be brought to justice. And I don’t mean courtroom, everybody gets a fair hearing and chance to talk their way out of punishment justice. I mean simple, quick, take you out back and remove the problem justice, got that? Leave the parents though, I want to talk to them before I decide what to do with them.” I got the nod from him, with a smile indicating that he had been hoping to hear me say that, as I continued to speak. “Alex, I don’t want any part of this reaching the press. I don’t care how you do it, who you have to bribe, who you have to threaten, but this never makes it to the attention of the public.” “Understood sir. Mum’s the word.” “Finally, Jennifer, I want you to coordinate the efforts. Keep me informed, but keep everything running smoothly. If I’m not available, and we’re at a pivotal decision point, I want you to make the call. I trust you to represent my wishes accurately in my absence.” “Yes sir.” “Alright people, make it happen. Report back here in twenty four hours and give me a report on your status. You’re dismissed.” As they left the room, I indicated to Jennifer that I wanted her to stay. “Jennifer, you remember a few months ago I allocated some funds towards a research project to be contracted out to one of my satellite companies?” “I remember that you wouldn’t tell me what it was for, yes.” “I need you to contact that company for me, regarding that project, and pass along the message to them that I am activating it now. Let them know I’ll be on a jet to their location within the next two hours.” “Yes sir. Do I get to know what it is yet?” “Oh absolutely. You’re coming with me. I’ll need your help. Take what you need to stay on top of things, but I’ll need you with me.” “Excellent sir.” She said, with a look of anticipation on her face. As she left the room, I sealed the doors, and soundproofed the walls. I indicated to Moose that I wanted him to sweep the room for listening devices (Just a precaution, I don’t ever really expect to find any, but it’s better to be safe than sorry), and when he gave me the all clear signal, I activated my computers. As ashamed as I am to admit it, my corporate success has not always been a result of entirely legal ventures. Some of the acquisitions I’ve made, and advances I’ve put forth have required me to do some things I’m not proud of in the interest of the greater good. Sometimes it’s been a situation where I’ve seen advanced technology put in the hands of criminals and terrorists and I decided to stop it. Other times it has been a matter of a rival company having some groundbreaking and revolutionary technology that would greatly increase the quality of our own products, thereby protecting American soldiers and pilots to a more complete extent. When that rival was unwilling to sell their product, or be bought out, and it was too difficult to drive them out of business, I made the decision to ‘motivate’ them to see things from our point of view. I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve had to do… but they were never once motivated by personal gain. I am known in many circles as a rich and powerful businessman who will stop at nothing to achieve success in my endeavors… but as a result of the things I’ve had to do to attain that status, my name is also whispered in the darkest and dingiest of holes, populated by petty criminals and crime lords alike. My reputation there is similar to the one most know… the only real difference is the definition of nothing. ‘Will stop at nothing.’ To some, that means, will maneuver companies into a position where their only option is meet my demands. It means, I’ll buy anyone, fire anyone, spend any amount of money, all to maintain my position at the top. To others, however, it means will extort, will bribe, will threaten, will blackmail, will torture, even kill, to obtain the secrets I need, or to remove the threats I can’t continue to ignore. Through my interactions on this level, I have built relationships with many people I consider to be allies in the criminal underworld. It’s one of these contacts I am calling now. “Hello, Dave, this is Mike. How are you?” “Oh, hey Mike. I’m going great, how about yourself?” “I’m ok. How are the kids?” “Oh, they’re about as good as to be expected. The usual problems, grades, friends, etc. My youngest will be starting middle school here in a few weeks. I asked him the other day what he wanted to be when he grew up; he told me he wanted to be a scientist. Can you believe that? A scientist. Why a scientist? I have no idea, but I’m proud, nonetheless. I could talk about my kids all day, but I suspect that’s not the reason you’re calling. Why don’t we cut to the chase? What do you need?” Chuckling, I replied. “You know me so well. That’s great about your kid… maybe one day he can work for me,” I said, with a smile. More seriously, I continued. “I’m having a problem right now, and it appears that I’ve exhausted all official options here. There’s a kid I’ve kind of taken under my wing. He’s got a crappy home life, abusive parents, you know the type. His asshole step-father has kidnapped him, and given my agents the run-around. I’ve hit a wall trying to locate him, and I need you to help me find him. His name is Aaron, and his step-father’s name is Carl Ekburg. I believe it’s a fake identity, and I need to know where he is. Can you track down his real identity, and get me a list of the people he hangs out with? If there are any I might have some pull with, I’d really appreciate knowing. You owe me, if you’ll recall. Remember that mess I cleaned up for you, with the delivery boy and the customs agents? It would have been pretty embarrassing for the contents of his truck to have found their way onto a news broadcast.” “Ack… alright, alright, say no more. I’ll take care of it. How long have we known each other Mike? What is it, a year now? Two? How many times are we going to do this before you figure out you really don’t need to maneuver me into helping you. I’d do it as a favor. For a friend.” “It’s been two years Dave, and by now I’d think you know that I don’t take favors, I don’t have friends. I have contacts, and you’re one of them. Oh, and how did your wife like the Chardonnay I had sent to her?” That last I spoke with a wink, letting him know I wasn’t serious about what I’d said before. I really did regard him as a friend, but it wouldn’t do to have people thinking that’s how my business relationships worked, at least not in the underground. I closed the connection to him, and erased the records of its existence. I release the soundproofing in my walls, and unlocked the doors to my office. I called Jennifer and let her know I was heading out to the jet, and to meet me there, then I turned off and secured my computers. As I walked towards the jet, I reflected upon the path I was heading down. This project was meant as a weapon for the military, one that they decided was not cost effective, and they could not mass produce. When they turned down the contract, I decided to continue to fund the project for my own personal use. I never thought I would need to activate it so soon, and never under these circumstances. The truth is, I don’t believe my security forces are capable of handling this problem on their own. That the entire family, and all of their supporters could just disappear, in the space of a few hours, indicates to me that they have the support of some very powerful people. Powerful people tend to have powerful protection. I’m going to find Aaron, and when I do, I need to be prepared to deal with that protection. Sure, I could bring in a few guards with me… I could bring in a hundred guards if I had to, a thousand. But part of me has always liked handling things myself… and I really don’t want more people to be put in harm’s way than necessary. As I sat down in one of the lush seats in my jet, I turned towards Jennifer, who had been waiting for me in the seat next to the one I was now occupying. “Let me tell you about Project Talos,” I began… |