by Bill Brewer
“Is this your first time in here?” asked the black man in a deep calm tone.
“Fuck you,” came the Dublin accented response.
The Irishman held the knife out in front of him, sure the weapon gave him an advantage. He looked at his adversary as he stepped forward, ready to end this contest and step into the elite service of Cerberus. As the black man circled, the Irishman cut off his path. The dark man doubled back, but his way was cut off again. The Irishman pressed forward, pushing his target into the corner. Standing just two feet from his opponent, the white guy faked a lunge, then thrust forward aiming the blade for the black man’s chest. The forward thrust was fast, but the black man was swift. He moved to the side, grabbing the Irishman’s forearm, pulling it hard while shoving his shoulder with his other hand. The move sent the Irishman hurtling forward into the wall without his arms to slow him. His head striking the tile sounded like a coconut. The Irishman’s neck snapped, and he crumpled to the floor. The black guy stepped closer, and the Irishman struggled to get his feet underneath him to rise. As soon as he could get balance, the Irishman stabbed out again, and again the black guy avoided the attacks. Stepping into the center of the room, the black man drew the Irishman out of the corner. Resuming the circular process, the two men had a measure of each other and the Irishman’s eyes expressed dismay over the calm of his opponent. The black man kicked out with a flash of his right foot striking the Irishman on the elbow. The knife clattered to the floor, as a bolt of pain shot through the Irishman’s forearm and hand. The black guy quickly kicked the weapon into the corner, positioning himself to block the pained Irishman, who rubbed his elbow. As the black man assumed a defensive stance, the Irishman settled his shoulders and lifted his fists.
Locked eyes, focused on one another, rather than the knife. The black guy’s lips curled into a derisive smile. He started the circular dance as the Irishman moved to the center drain where he rotated, keeping his defenses up. The black guy bounced as he accelerated his movements. He looked for advantage and could see that his lack of fear had disillusioned the Irishman. A lightning-fast punch to the jaw twisted the bearded man’s face, his teeth colliding with a sickening crunch. The strike sent the Irishman stumbling, unable to keep his balance. As he wobbled on unsteady feet, he saw a devious smile on his tormentor’s lips. The black man front kicked him in the hip sending him toppling into the far corner of the room. Reaching back to pick up the Gough, the black man approached like a butcher about to dress a fresh carcass. He knelt next to the gasping Irishman, ready to slice his throat.
Springing up like a rabid raccoon, the Irishman grabbed the head and neck of his executioner. He swung his legs, wrapping them around the black man’s torso as he pulled him to the floor. Using his left hand, the Irishman clasped the black man’s right wrist, rendering the knife inert. With his right hand, he gripped the black man’s chin, torquing it as hard as he could.
With both hands occupied, the Irishman opened his mouth and bit down hard on the black man’s ear. Clamping his jaws shut, he tore the top half of the cartilage from the side of the black man’s head. Yowling like an animal, the black man kicked his legs, driving both of them forward. Yanking his right hand free, he drove the Gough into the Irishman’s back. Plunging it in again and again, until he hit an artery which pulsed across the floor. The Irishman clung on trying to snap the African’s neck. The black man’s muscles resisted the weakening force of the Irishman's efforts.
As had been done to him, the black man sunk his teeth into the Irishman’s hand. The bite dislocated the knuckle, as it crushed the first metacarpal bone. The disabled hand lost its grasp on the black man’s chin. Pulling his head free, the black man rolled the Irishman onto his back. Breaking free from the supine man’s grasp, the African positioned the point of the Gough just below the beard in the suprasternal notch. With a hard smack to the butt of the handle, he drove the blade into the Irishman’s windpipe. Twisting hard and thrusting upward, the blade ripped open the airway forcing blood into the deepest recesses of the lungs. Several spasmodic gasps erupted as the final breaths left the Irishman’s dying body.
The black man dropped the knife and pried open the Irishman’s mouth to retrieve his ragged piece of ear. He stood to look in the mirrored window with blood flowing down over his neck and shoulder. Holding the damaged chunk of cartilage, he said, “A little help here.” The door opened and the guards led the man away. As he was escorted to Medical, Avery stopped him in the hall, “Very impressive Tiberius. You remain my number one.”
“That fucker bit me.”
“And I saw you bite him back.”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever done that.”
“Medical will be able to reconstruct you.”
Tiberius Dupre’ looked at Avery with menace and contempt as he followed the lead of his guards.
CHAPTER 13
Trevor Cobb was a tech giant who, at the age of twenty-seven, had established one of the fastest growing and most influential start-up companies to ever come out of Silicon Valley. As the founder of Ambient Solutions, he directed the production and distribution of successful apps that everybody had on their phones and used all the time.
Find Me, was an app which used social media to find and locate missing and abducted children. The app was also used by police to find criminals of all sorts. The public’s enlistment made it practically impossible for a person being sought to escape detection, especially since there was reward money.
APPostle, was an app that organized all the apps on your phone according to an algorithm which quickly learns your use patterns. Phone manufacturers include the app as a feature, thus Ambient Solutions gets paid for every phone manufactured on planet earth.
The company also developed the technology which enabled phones to project images. Phones offer this technology as an extra feature, but each time a unit included this capability, Ambient Solutions got paid. Soon all phones would have this technology as standard.
Trevor watched the advent of Digival with curiosity and recognition of the “next-gen” concept. He converted all his personal money and promoted the idea that Ambient Solutions should do the same. The accountant’s hesitations were not enough to stop the young CEO from convincing the other principles of the value and virtue of Digival. Three months after its release, Ambient Solutions converted all cash into Digival and conducted all monetary transactions including purchases, sales, and payroll in the electronic currency. Ambient Solutions wasn’t the first company to do so but it was one of the most notable. Trevor Cobb made the rounds of media interviews and was especially proud of being featured on USPR’s ‘Shooting the Breeze’ with Terry Grover.
Terry: “Trevor, welcome to Shooting the Breeze. You know one of the real pleasures of my job is meeting the young lions of the future. Your Apps are revolutionary and have changed the way people behave.”
Trevor: “Thank you, Terry, it is such a pleasure to be here with you. I don’t think I’ve ever been called a “Lion” before. I might have to let my mane grow out a bit more.”
(Chuckling) Terry: “Using Carbon-Not last year I reduced my carbon footprint by over a third and made over $500 dollars. I helped the environment while getting paid to do so. It’s brilliant.”
Trevor: “Thanks. You and 17 million other users all over the world have reduced carbon emissions by twenty five percent since the inception of the app. That’s the single greatest reduction in environmental pollution that has ever been recorded and it was achieved by many people changing just a little. Did you find the changes difficult?”
Terry: “No, no they weren’t difficult. The app showed me the impact of the choices I was making while providing alternatives which indicated the reduction in my energy consumption. The subtle reminder and the freedom to choose makes the app helpful without being annoying.”
Trevor: “No one wants to be forced to do anything. Carbon-Not was founded on the principle that if people knew the impact of their choices and were
offered easy alternatives, they would choose the more energy-efficient way of doing things.”
Terry: “I don’t like being forced.”
Trevor: “But if allowed to choose, the reduction in carbon emissions become a side benefit of energy efficiency. Especially in America, where people have habits that use a lot of energy. Carbon-Not addresses those behaviors by providing advice and incentive to change, that’s convenient and without judgment.”
Terry: “You mentioned incentive to change and I said earlier that I made $ 515.34 last year by being more energy-efficient. Instead of fining, or penalizing people you found a way to pay people for the benefits they provide to the environment. I find that amazing.”
Trevor: “That money you were paid reinforced your behavior. The monetary reward makes the inconvenience of changing no longer an annoyance, but a benefit. If you had changed more, you could have made more and if you had done less then you’d make less. This is simple economics applied to a huge global problem. My bet is that you’ll find even more ways to be efficient, and next year you will earn even more money.”
Terry: “This year I measured my “earnings” in dollars but now I will be incented with Digival. Why are you and Ambient Solutions going whole hog with this cryptocurrency?”
Trevor: “Terry I’m glad you brought this up because you’re right, there are many cryptocurrencies out there and of course Bitcoin is the granddaddy of them all. The problem with all those currencies is they are worthless. They are based on nothing and promoted by folks who want you to believe in a value that is supported by nothing but faith. Take Bitcoin, which right now is being used as a speculative investment tool. Its worth is vacillating on an hourly basis as people speculate on what’s going to happen to the price in the next few seconds. That’s not a currency you can spend. No one buys anything with Bitcoins. It has become an anomaly investment, that I believe will completely tank when people finally realize that Bitcoins are valueless bytes of computer code.”
Terry: “Yet Digival is only computer code sitting in an online account. It’s not a physical thing.”
Trevor: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that Bitcoins were useless because they are code, they’re worthless because nothing is backing that code. Digival, on the other hand, is backed by the immense wealth of Omnisphere.”
Terry: “Of course, Omnisphere, the world’s largest corporation with a gigantic, diverse, global umbrella of subsidiary companies united under one entity.”
Trevor: “Wow, you really practiced that promo! You can’t go one day without encountering several Omnisphere companies, all of which are seeking to fulfill your daily needs. That kind of reach makes Omnisphere more influential in people’s lives than any government.
Terry: “But for most people money has always been issued by the US Government. The US dollar is valued all over the world.”
Trevor: “I see your point, Terry. I grew up with George Washington and all the other dead presidents, but the truth is money has taken many forms and been issued by many private entities in the past. The US dollar has dominated for the past 150 years, and there was a time when the money was backed by reserves of gold. Way back in the 1970s that plan was abandoned, and the government started printing money backed only by the ‘full faith and credit of the US Government.’ We don’t have to recount all that has put that into doubt.”
Terry: “So if we lose faith in the value of the US dollar, you’re suggesting that we should shift our faith to Omnisphere?”
Trevor: “In a global economy, with a planet that is more closely intertwined than it has ever been, national government’s influencing the economy are much less relevant and are in fact an impediment to growth, prosperity, and peace as they each seek to retain the power of their currency. It is time for us to move into a post-government economy.”
Terry: “A post-government economy?”
Trevor: “Yes. Business is business and should be able to operate as a true economy unencumbered by governmental politics.”
Terry: “Whoa, that sounds like it’s going back to the 1800s with the robber barons.”
Trevor: “I’m aware of the history, and I see the risks, but I also see the impact of technology and accountability of companies to their customers on a first-hand basis. Ambient Solutions is constantly addressing customer service issues, so we remain a highly regarded, well-reviewed and recommended company. If we fail to satisfy our customers, our reputation can be torpedoed, and our success undermined through social media. The robber barons never had to deal with the blogosphere.”
Terry: “Earlier you mentioned government currency as an impediment to peace. Care to expand on that?”
Trevor: “Sure, companies compete all the time. They are constantly battling to take customers away from one another. It’s competition, but it’s not war. Governments conduct war. They fight using violence as a way of competing for dominance. Governments will go to war to protect their currency and maintain its dominance in the world market. Companies can’t do that, so they compete instead.”
Terry: “Do you think there will be many corporate currencies and will there be a market for exchanging them?”
Trevor: “Great question. Right now Digival is the clear choice for actual currency use, and its success will surely spawn many competitors, but Omnisphere is a huge player. It remains to be seen how the world responds to a currency that needs no exchange since it holds a common value all over the globe.”
Terry: “Amazing times. One last question, Trevor. You have been exclusively Digival for three months now, do you have any regrets about switching?”
Trevor: “When I was getting ready to make the switch, I was fine with it. From a logical point of view, I could see what they were doing, and I was totally there. When I was about to push the button and abandon all the money I have always known, I panicked and had a moment of hesitation that left me cold and unsure, but I dove in anyway, and I have not regretted it one bit once the switch was made. My net worth is now higher than when I had only dollars. I wish I had the wealth and vision to have invented Digival.”
Terry: “Trevor, I know your R&D department is very active, what can we look forward to from Ambient Solutions?”
Trevor: “We’re always looking to make life better, so soon you’ll be able to download our newest app, Digiwallet. It’s an App that helps you organize your Digival account and easily track all your purchases. For those who’ve gone totally digital, it’s an essential tool for living in the new economy.”
Terry: “Is this app authorized by Omnisphere?”
Trevor: “The app is open market, but we believe Omnisphere will embrace what we’ve done and encourage people to use the App since it simplifies the process of living with a digital currency.”
Terry: “Well Trevor, I want to thank you for coming on the show, and I wish you all the best in the new digital economy.”
Trevor: “Thank you, Terry, what an honor it is to be on your show. I really appreciate the opportunity to shoot the breeze with you.”
CHAPTER 14
The Gulfstream G650 is as good as it gets for private jet aircraft. Diegert recalled his previous flights on the Crepusculous owned airplane. His first was when he was escaping America and flying into the unknown world of covert operations. By the time he had his second flight he had completed his ‘training’ in Romania and was assigned to protect Fatima Hussain as she carried out an assignment in Frankfurt, Germany. Diegert foiled a double-crossing counter strike designed to kill Fatima after she assassinated her target.
The G650 provided luxury, speed and most importantly, no questions asked when you boarded or exited the craft. Private jet flight made missions possible, convenient and while in the air, the plane provided a place of comfort and safety. Diegert sat in his broad soft leather seat reviewing the dossier on Jarod Masoni. The flight was destined for Italy, to the “Eternal City” of Rome.
From the dossier, Diegert had learned that Mr. Masoni had joined Crepuscu
lous five years ago. Previously he had been an independent hitman picking up work through criminal enterprises operating on the boot-shaped peninsula. One of his jobs went sideways, and he was arrested. Hope that his Mafioso connections would free him faded as his incarceration dragged on. Searching for recruits Aaron Blevinsky, whom Diegert knew well from his training in Romania, bought Masoni’s release and sent him to London to be trained under Avery Forsythe. At first, the Italian killer was grateful to have been released from prison. He completed Avery’s training, successfully fulfilled seven lethal sanctions and seemed content with his role. Last winter he grew tired of the dreary weather of London. An argument erupted between him and Avery when Masoni insisted he be allowed to vacation in a tropical climate. The dossier, which was put together by Avery, described how he had denied the request for mission and security reasons. There was no clear indication of how the argument was resolved, but Avery listed dissatisfaction with the weather in England as the main reason for Masoni’s defection. Diegert found this difficult to believe. He hoped Jarod would enlighten him as to why he left and rejected his membership in Cerberus.
Leonardo Da Vinci never got to fly. He was of course, ahead of his time in imagining and calculating ways in which humans would one day leave the ground and safely return. Now pilots and passengers the world over enjoy the boundless freedom of flight. So it was entirely fitting that the International Airport serving Rome would be named in his honor. The actual terminals were divided into the Fiumicino and Ciampino locations. Private jets used the Ciampino location, and it was here that Diegert exited the G650 and picked up the car that was reserved for him, a Fiat 500. The 500 was an extremely small car, but it surprised Diegert how comfortably it accommodated his 6-foot 2-inch frame.
