Crissy Chance

by Douglas E Roff

  Hecate the Immortal spoke first. “We are here now that you are awake; just the three of us and one more who has long desired Immortality and has finally been allowed to be one of us. She has proven herself to our Lord and our Master has relented.”

  “Is it Hana? I much desire to see her again, to hold her and love her as we once did so long ago.”

  Hana said, “It my love. I am here. Our Lord will only allow me to exist as an Immortal like you for now. One lifetime after another of birth, life, and death. But I am promised many things and, if I behave as the Lord commands, I will join you and my sisters again and soon. I am beside myself with joy.”

  “Our children?”

  “They are with God, their essences preserved. But we shall have more children as we are born again and again. Worry not, it is but a blink of an eye.”

  “I love you Hana, Princess of the Wildmen. I so desire to feel you I my arms again and know the strength of your love. But the Lord our God must be obeyed and his judgments, though at times unfathomable, are never to question.”

  “Except by his incorrigible Immortals,” said Fionna.

  “I will see you then in this lifetime? How long can you stay? A month, a year?”

  “Only a day. Hecate longer, for now. Niona and I have disobeyed our Lord yet again; our Lord punishes us by allowing us only be with you for an hour or two at a time. But it will be enough time with you in this life; I see you have chosen your new mortal mates well. Though they are not our Noki and our Misti, you have found the best your world has to offer. You are given only a few powers; a great mind, great knowledge you may share, and Hecate asked that you be allowed to retain your mind trick. Our Lord will give you some other abilities when you need them, but wishes you to discover them on your own. When we come to you in New York, I will give you hints.

  “Our Lord watches over you and blesses you. Atone for your sins and you will be rewarded. I see you have already begun your path. Niona and I will come together and bring our children if we can; we will spend a lifetime with you in the hours we are given, but we must hurry. You have work to do and our children grow unruly at the absence of their father. I will heal the one called Kalindra and finish what you started with Noki. You shall be happy in this lifetime. I have foreseen it.”

  “About the Ladies Cia and Eene, has the Lord decided?”

  “Not yet, but he will grant our request.”

  “How do you know?”

  “He is a grandfather now and much delights in the company his mischievous and ill-behaved grandchildren, and wants as many as possible around him. Cia and Eene much desire to be with you again, and to mate. One or both may visit you in this lifetime, but I cannot see the future that clearly. I have told our Lord that his playdates will be curtailed unless he is kinder to all our sisters.”

  “What about Hannah and Vera?”

  “He will not relent. They are for another lifetime. Nor anyone else except Kendra. Our Lord wishes her to replace me and Niona as we are mothers and our children need us, but Kendra wishes to remain childless for now. For all others from our source lifetime, our Lord will also not relent.”

  Niona said, “We will be allowed to appear to you in this lifetime and will be allowed to reside in your mind. We are excited and grateful our Lord permits this.”

  “Only hours? I desire so much more time with you.”

  Fionna said, “Just in physical form my love; we will never be far from your mind and we can enjoy lifetimes of pleasure in a world only we inhabit. For now, sleep my love. Oh, and we almost forgot.”

  Niona said, “I have given birth as an Immortal again. From our last life. We have a son. I have caught up and am now ‘even’ with Hecate and Fionna in childbearing.”

  Hecate said, “Not that its’s a competition. Which it is.”

  “I love you and will see you all soon.”

  “Until then, my love, peace be upon you.”

  ***

  As the Jet began its descent into the airport, Adam came awake, Misti on one side of him, Noki on the other. Both had been awake for hours and had been busily chatting away, side by side, before landing.

  Noki excitedly said to a yawning Adam, “We know! We know your secret.”

  “Which ones? I have so many I can’t keep my stories and lies straight.”

  “Niona, Fionna and Hecate. They’re coming here in a few days for a visit. At the five-story.”

  Adam was frozen. “How could you know …?”

  Misti said, “We snuggled against your shoulders and rested against your head before falling asleep. Then we just started seeing things. When we pulled away, the visions stopped. We watched for a long time, but then decided it was better to get your permission before snooping. Noki’s idea. I wanted to see everything. I wanted to snoop and watch all the good stuff.”

  Adam smiled. “I’m glad you know now. No secrets, remember? No matter, I was going to explain everything to you when they arrived at the five-story. I wanted you to see my wives, otherwise I don’t think you’d have believed me. Looney toons; ravings.”

  Misti said, “Probably best. You’re a weird dude, and I love you, but alternate realities, Immortals and kids? Straight to seventy-two-hour psych watch.”

  “That’s my girl. Tough love.” He turned to Noki, “And you, thanks for protecting me and my privacy. You’re my angel; she’s my demon.”

  “Demoness.”

  “Right. That too.”

  Chapter 9

  They taxied up to the Executive Terminal at a large New York City International Airport. Waiting at the foot of the stairs from the forward cabin was a tall attractive Black woman, elegantly dressed, holding a metal briefcase, and smiling at Adam as if she had known him for years.

  In fact, she had.

  Now at age thirty, Kalindra Wright began working for Adam St. James at age twenty-two right out of New York University. She had planned to go on to an MBA program and concentrate on Quant, quantitative analysis, then go back to New York City and Wall Street to achieve fame and fortune.

  Kismet stepped in; on a whim, she decided to attend a lecture on “Financing for Computer Software Start-Ups and Beyond”; one of the panelists was a young computer genius named Adam St. James. She had heard of him; he had started his company at age twenty, just after receiving his Ph.D. from CalTech. Rumor had it he did not work well with others, so while his first job was a bust, his second, with DARPA started out well; the nerds loved him. He was rude and irreverent and took no lip from senior managers with broomsticks up their asses. If he knew more, he stated fact. If he didn’t, he listened patiently.

  The men admired him, and the ladies dropped their panties for him. DARPA was a vacation in heaven.

  He left at twenty because of a dispute about the work he did for the military. He was patriotic, but some of his work assignments were not exactly harmless. So, reluctantly, he left. With little money, and fewer prospects to capitalize a company, he looked around, worked out of his apartment and made enough cash to hire some help and rent a ratty old space in an old warehouse in the industrial district. Adam and his fellow software rats thought the place was a palace.

  It certainly was home. Literally. They worked and slept there, ate there and invented things that made the world stand up. But, they charged for services like teenage techs at a big box computer store. They were brilliant, but not at running a business.

  During the Q & A after the talk, Kalindra asked the nerds questions about business, pricing, patenting, copyrighting and a host of regulatory and compliance issues. None could answer her questions. She waited for the lecture to end then confronted Adam. Two others on the panel, Ian Miller and Fenton Mills, worked for Adam and were just as ignorant as he was about business.

  “You sold the Quintex software copyright to Xertex Technologies. What did you get for it?”

  “Twenty-five thousand dollars and a 10% royalty. Good stuff, right?”

  “Wrong. You guys are geniuses at what you do and moron
s at what you don’t do.”

  Adam smiled, not sure whether the woman’s tone was bang on, or just plain rude. “OK, then, what should we have done?”

  “Keep 100% of the copyright and license the technology to fifty companies. Xertex is raking in millions every month and is very likely cooking the books to screw you with dicey accounting. You got took. Royally, in the you-know-what. You need help. I can give it to you.”

  The guys looked at each other. Adam said, “She’s probably right. Our royalty was a couple thousand last month. I expected a lot more, if sales results are accurate.”

  Then he turned to Kalindra. “We can’t pay you much. We barely make rent.”

  “Here’s the deal. You build me a nice office, work space, kitchen and bedroom, fully furnished from Ikea. I move in next week, and you’ll each be making $100,000 in six months.”

  “A year.”

  “No, a month.”

  “Got a card? We’ll call.”

  “No need. I’ll see you in a week. Rob a liquor store if you have to. Get the money and get me fixed up. I need phones and computers. One week.”

  ***

  The super, Ed Calinari, met the four outside the five-story. “I let them in, just like you asked. I put them on four.”

  “Who? Who did you let in?”

  “Your Mom and Dad, and that hot little number they were with. Says she’s a lawyer. Christy, or Cammy or Katty, something like that. Got her card here somewhere. I called; she’s for real. And another lady too. Funny name; sounded Greek.”

  “What exactly did they say?”

  “Your Dad said they were staying with you, and they got here a little early. The lawyer backed them up, and said she had power of attorney to be let in. Flashed a paper, so I let them in. A problem?”

  “No, Ed. You did fine. But in the future, no one, and I mean no one without an access card, except these three women here, ever get into my building. Ever, ever, ever without talking to me in person first. Understand? These women will have an access card and credentials by morning. The four you let in were lying to you. Now they’ve had access to my all private my private files and my Lab. The FBI may come to investigate and I’m calling the NYPD. Come in and wait. But, and I mean it, never let anyone in from now on.”

  “Am I fired?”

  “No, but if it happens again, you’ll wish I had fired you.”

  Adam turned to Misti. “Thoughts?”

  “I’m sorry. They promised not to pull any shit if I could get you to come to New York. I’m sorry. I am displeased.”

  “They’re consummate liars.”

  “I know. Keep calm. Don’t make things worse, and let us help.”

  “I’m calm and they’ll be spending the night in jail. Crissy will be working as a temp somewhere. I’m going after her license.”

  ***

  The three women plus Adam arrived on the fifth floor to see Crissy Chance, Dr. Edward St. James, Dr. Anna St. James, and another woman, mid-twenties relaxed and watching the news, sitting on the sofas and chairs drinking wine not reserved for them.

  Adam said, “I see you are all comfortable in my home, without permission. Ed, the super, said he put y’all down on four. What are you doing up here?”

  Crissy said, “Well, we got here ahead of time, and you weren’t here yet, so we let ourselves in to wait. The good stuff is up here; we thought you wouldn’t mind. After all, we’re family. What’s the harm? Not like we snooped around.”

  “You’re a liar Crissy, and I do mind.”

  Adam pulled out his cell phone a hit 9-1-1. “Operator this is Adam St. James, I am at 454 E. 45th. I have four intruders in my home; a home invasion. I don’t think they’re armed, but please send a squad car. Yes, four. Thank you.”

  Edward said, “What the fuck are you doing, son?”

  “What any homeowner has a right to do: protect his home. You have no right to be in this home and you and your daughter either falsified a POA or you just plain lied. You’re going to jail. The super is downstairs waiting for the police.”

  He started to turn away.

  “And for the record, my Mom and Dad and brother and other sis are back in Barrows Bay. You are nothing to me. Whatever thanks you deserve for bringing me into this world has been paid in full. You are not my father, that snake over there is not my mother, and the crafty liar here is neither family or friend. The other one I don’t know.”

  He turned to the woman, “I won’t press charges against you for being duped by these vipers.”

  The sirens could be heard from the fifth floor; the cops knew who Adam was, and they knew who his mother and father were. Crissy had become a fixture on the social scene, so her face was recognized right away not only by the first patrolman on the scene, but by the first detective to arrive too.

  “Dr. St James, good to see you again,” said the Detective to Edward. “What seems to be the problem here. These people bothering you?”

  Adam said, “I’m Dr. Adam St. James, and this is my home. These four are intruders, so arrest them and move them out of my residence and building, which I own.”

  “Now, now sunny boy, no need for such hostility.”

  He turned to Edward.

  “You know this kid, Doctor?”

  “Yes. He’s my son; the three women are his friends. He is the owner of the building and I’m not here legally with his permission. I deceived the super into letting us in. This is Crissy Chance our lawyer, and this is our friend Gaea Crane. She a friend of my daugh… lawyer, Ms. Chance.”

  Adam said, “Now that that’s resolved, arrest them and clear them out.”

  “I would be a little more careful with my tone, sunny.”

  “Really? I could disable you and your two uniforms in minutes and not work up a sweat. You have no idea who you’re fucking with, asshole.”

  “Care to step outside?”

  “Let’s go right here.”

  Two other men suddenly appeared, Jim Westervelt, FBI, and the Assistant Chief of Police, Allen “Big Boy” Frederickson.

  “Detective, I’d leave quick if I were you,” said Frederickson. “I may have just saved your life. Take the uniforms and go. He might have hurt you and was well within his rights. This is his home, and you’re not doing your job.”

  “Yes sir.” The cop looked at Adam. “This isn’t over.”

  “Let’s go now and settle it.”

  “No.” said the NYPD Chief. “Settle it somewhere else. Maybe New Jersey.”

  Westervelt was quiet and asked everyone to take a seat. “What’s this all about?”

  Adam said, “I like you Jim, I really do. I always help out the FBI when called upon and have helped you out personally. Never charged a dime for services rendered, and I never take credit. But this thing is none of your business, so stay out of it. These four were here in my home without permission and gained entrance by false pretenses. It’s a home invasion. I wanted them arrested and jailed.”

  “They’re family. Charges will never stick.”

  “I don’t care. Arrest them.”

  “They’ll be out quick as a cat.”

  “Again, I don’t care.”

  “The Mayor will intervene. The City and State won’t prosecute. What’s the point?”

  “Do your job, or I’ll direct my obscenely high-priced lawyers to file a Motion to Compel you to do your job.”

  “Your word against theirs.”

  “Hardly. I have a witness. But if you want to falsify records, go ahead. But, my super downstairs has a record.

  “Sure,” said Frederickson. “But he’s old and his eyesight might not be tip-top”

  “My home, four more witnesses and you are witnesses too. You heard Edward’s confession. So, what are you going to do?”

  “Nothing, Adam. Dr. St. James the Elder trumps Dr. St. James the Younger.”

  “I have two registered firearms in this home and a concealed carry permit. If I see you or any of them again, anywhere near my home, I wil
l shoot on sight. This entire conversation has been recorded. I will press charges and file a Bar Complaint. Now all of you, get out.”

  Westervelt, the FBI guy, started to get up.

  Adam, now red-hot, said, “Jim, call DOD and DARPA and the NSA. All contracts with me are cancelled. All other federal contracts with other agencies are likewise cancelled. Explain that to your bosses.”

  ***

  “OK, we’re home!” Adam tried to change the mood he had just created in anger.

  Misti said to Adam, “I know you’re boiling, and I wish you could have gone a round with that Detective, but please let your parents and their friend Gaea stay. Crissy can burn in hell.”

  “Kalindra, if you will, can you please ask them back. They can stay on four until tomorrow. Then they go.”

  Kalindra said, “I’m going to ask Crissy to come back too. She can leave after she explains this situation to you. I think I’ll stay here too, tonight, so you don’t go all bat shit crazy. At least not with a gun.

  Misti said, “And I want both those guns. Now, Adam. Please”

  “I don’t own a gun. Never have.”

  Kalindra looked at Misti, “As I suspected; he’s tellin’ the truth.”

  Noki said, “Yeah. He’s not the gun type. Likes up-close, personal and bloody. It’s why I love him.”

  Kalindra said, “Settle in. I’ll be back, then we talk.”

  ***

  Kalindra said, “We talk business, then you four visitors leave. You three are downstairs on four for tonight. Crissy, you can go home.”

  Gaea, the stranger, said, “I’m going with Crissy. This place isn’t safe.”

  Adam said, “Wise decision. That only leaves two. Check-out time is noon.”

  Gaea said, “I’m not talking to him or his friends. Crissy, you’re my lawyer, and Edward and Anna are part of that confidentiality agreement as is Ms. Suarez. I get to decide who’s in this, and he’s never going to be involved.”

  Crissy asked, “Misti, did you say anything to him?”