by Joe Corso
“Before we depart,” Lucky asked, “would you like to see the view of the city from high above the building?”
“Indeed yes, if that is possible,” Richard answered and in the very next instant they were standing on the Empire State Building’s Observatory level, looking down. Richard found it frightening and exhilarating all at once. He marveled at the lights below and the vast bodies of water so visible from up high. And then, in the blink of an eye, they were back inside Richard of Wallingford’s office.
Chapter Seventeen
Shan paced the floor of his office , stopping only to point his finger at his terrified Deputy, Quon Zhixin, who sat rigid in front of his boss’s desk, listening as Shan kept repeating himself as he ranted.
“How could this happen to me in my office, in my jail and in my building? These people entered without anyone seeing them. They took my prisoner from me. No one has ever taken a prisoner of mine. Never.”
Quon Zhixin spoke, “Director, these people were invisible. I could not see anyone when they subdued me. You are not to blame. I am not to blame. One cannot defend one’s self against a force unseen. These men, they are different from all others. You have angered him, the Campo man, and his friends; you caused him great bodily harm. You could not foresee this so you are not to blame for the prisoner being taken.”
Quiang Shan stopped pacing and turned to face his deputy. And then suddenly it dawned on him. What if all of these men have the same powers, not just the power of becoming invisible but the power of time travel? What if there was this secret governmental group that watched over their own, each one equipped with these supernatural abilities or each one equipped with a singular supernatural ability, outside of being invisible. What if they all could vanish at will?
“Yes, you are correct, Quon Zhixin,” Director Quiang Shan responded. “How could I stop them when I could not see them? And it was not just the one they call Lucky. It was also the others. They had the same abilities. They became invisible whenever they wanted. One of them must have decided to become visible so he could fight me as an equal. I must admit – the man was tenacious. He was a fierce fighter with good technique, that of a street fighter but . . . I would have eventually defeated him had he not used something on me. We must never underestimate them ever again.”
Deputy Zhixin relaxed a bit now that Shan had quieted down.
“You know, Director, they will return. You have hurt one of their own. I must assume they will want retaliation. I caution you to take bodyguards with you wherever you go from now until we find these men.”
“Yes. Yes, that is good advice. Advice I will heed. Thank you Quon. And now, it is imperative that we find out more about the weapons they used. We were exposed to one of their weapons – we could not see them. How did they do that? What type of technology was used? What else do they have that we do not know? I must have proof before I can take it to my superiors. In the meantime, see to it that the roof is secured with proper safeguards to alert us of any further intrusions. Bring in specialists. Secure the building. Not so much as a field mouse should enter this building without us knowing it. Get right on it Quon. I want the safety precautions and modifications completed immediately. Understand?”
Quon bowed and left, greatly relieved to be out of the room. He was having second thoughts about pushing his agenda, advancing to his boss’s position. He felt that Shan had lost his edge with the American wonderboy. Moreover, he knew, in his gut, that the American and his gang would be back for revenge. Being the politician he was, and truth be told, Quon Zhixin was a very good politician, he would remain silent and be extremely servile for a while. All he had to do was wait . . . and he could do that. He came from a long line of patient politicians. By being patient, he would simply walk into his superior’s office and take his rightful seat behind his desk, without a fight, with little effort on his part. The position would fall into his patient lap. Quon smiled. The anxiety he had felt earlier had now left, replaced by a warm, calm, comforting reassurance. He would do as Shan requested and modify the alarms on the building, but afterward, he would put in for a long, overdue vacation. He wanted to be far, far away when the American returned.
Chapter Eighteen
The boys pushed the button. They looked spiffy in their custom-made Italian suits. The elevator opened and they walked out onto the tenth floor looking as if they had just stepped out of a men’s fashion magazine. Directly facing them was a beautiful receptionist sitting behind a semi–contemporary, semi-curved mahogany wood desk. She greeted them with a smile.
“Can I help you gentleman?” Her diction was perfect, her softly spoken words melted in Duke’s ears. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Yes, we’re here to see Leonard Flackstein,” Nicky said.
“Do you have an appointment?” the pretty woman asked.
“No, but we’re members of the board of directors, so I’m sure he’ll see us.”
“I see,” she said, with a bit of hesitation, mixed with a little bit of surprise. Immediately, she rose from behind her desk and said matter of factly, “Please follow me.”
The men followed the receptionist down a long, greenish tile hall with a brown design flowing tastefully through it. Large, tasteful prints adorned the walls from almost ceiling to floor and looked as if they were painted by Toulouse Loutrec himself. They passed a conference room on their left. It held a large oval table with too many chairs to count. When they arrived at Flackstein’s office, the boys thanked their beautiful guide and told her she could return to her desk. Without knocking, they opened the door and entered. Flackstein was surprised. Duce and Casey looked like movie stars. He was expecting someone from the board, just not these two.
“Heeeyyy,” Flackstein said in a happy, songlike way. “Well, boys, lookin’ good,” he added as he made his way over to them and offered up the plush sofas lining his walls. He couldn’t wait to show them what he had accomplished in such a short time. The boys looked around the room, nodded while admiring the opulence. “What can I do for you gentleman? How come Lucky and Mickey aren’t with you?”
“Lucky and Mickey are out of town,” Duce said, “and Lucky asked us to pay you a visit while he’s away so you could bring us up to date on what’s happening. That should answer both of your questions.”
“Glad you came.”
The boys were silent. He got the hint.
“Well, then,” Flackstein began, “let me explain where we are and how we’re positioning Timeless Securities or TSI, as it will be called from now on. First, let’s take a tour of the building and see what we’ve done and why. I noticed you looking at my office.”
Duce nodded his head. “Pretty fancy place and not just your office. This whole place smells of money. Don’t get me wrong, I like what I see and I’m sure Lucky will too.”
Flackstein smiled at Duce’s comment.
“In every successful company, there must be at least one room that I’d like to call the closing room. When a client walks into the closing room, he should feel special. The room should make them feel comfortable. It should impart the feeling of opulence and should scream success – a company in which he or she can place their trust. We impress with success. We stamp it right on everything that he sees or touches the moment he enters right through the closing room, where all the magic happens. Look around. Take a moment. Allow your senses to absorb what this room is giving off. What colors dominate in this room?”
“Purple,” Casey said.
“Okay, I’ll play,” Duce said. “Blue, my favorite color.”
“That’s right,” Flackstein agreed, “purples, mauves, blues and green. Do you know why we chose those particular colors?” The guys just shrugged.
“Well, I wouldn’t have known either until our designer told me. We chose them because this room is designed like a Vegas casino with the same color scheme. These are cool colors because they make you want to stay. They relax you. The next time you go to a busy restaurant, take no
te of the color scheme and you’ll see hot colors – reds and yellows and oranges. Hot colors subconsciously make you want to eat and leave quickly. You won’t see too many of those colors in a casino, that’s for sure. And that’s why these colors predominate in our closing room. I had an interior decorator design it. I liked it so much that I had her design the business areas, the receptionist area, the conference room, and the hallways. You saw the posters when you walked down the hall. Those are original prints from the late 1800’s, bought at auction. She designed an ultra modern office and sprinkled it with a little bit of the past. It works.”
Duce looked around the room, studied the view from the window and said, “Now tell me where our money is being spent . . . besides here in this room.”
“Good question,” Flackstein shot back, not missing a beat. Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
The three men walked down the hallway all the way to the end. There, they made a right and walked down the corridor to the work area. There was buzzing chatter everywhere, with at least two dozen cubicles filled with men and women talking to clients. Flackstein walked over to the first booth in the line.
“Do you have a minute, Harvey?” Flackstein asked. Harvey looked up at the three men and motioned with his hand to give him a minute or two. When he hung up, Harvey stood and was introduced to the two board members.
“Give us an update on what’s happening Harvey. These gentlemen would like to hear what you’re doing.”
“Well,” Harvey said, “to start with, we’ve invested twenty million into TFCB and they’re positioned for a public offering in three months. The SEC is doing their due diligence on them, but there should be no problems. I have a prospectus that just arrived by courier that will give you an idea of what the company is all about.”
Casey chimed in. “What the hell is TFCB?”
Harvey looked at Casey and apologized. “Sorry, I’ve been working this deal for so long I figured everyone knew what TFCB is. It stands for Twenty First Century Batteries.”
Duce asked, “What the hell are we doing with a battery company?” Harvey displayed this mischievous grin.
“Gentlemen, this is not your ordinary battery company. These boys have come up with a lithium ion battery that lasts much, much longer that your average lithium battery which means that they can be used in electric cars which will allow them to drive a minimum of six hundred miles before needing a charge. They are in the process of designing a dual battery pack and if they are successful, a car installed with their batteries will be able to travel a minimum of twelve hundred miles without stopping for a charge. Tests indicate that even that figure may be conservative, but they prefer to keep a low profile on these figures. I was told by the president of the company, Steve Richter, that the six hundred mile range, with a careful driver, is more likely to be eight to nine hundred miles. Picture these batteries placed in a Tesler sports car and you could most likely double the distance because of the lightness of the car. So to answer your question, we are involved with TFCB because they will revolutionize the electric car industry with their batteries and we own them. When their stock breaks, we’ll double our investment.”
“Thank you Harvey,” Flackstein said. He turned to Casey and Duce and said, “Come on. I have something else to show you.”
They walked around the first row of desks and stopped by a young woman who was also busy on the phone.
“Can you spare a minute Doris?” Flackstein inquired.
“Sure. What’s up?” she asked as she glanced at the two nicely dressed men with Flackstein.
“Doris, these men are on the board of TCI. I’d like you to bring them up to date on what you’re working on please.”
“Sure, Mr. Flackstein. I’m working on a public offering for Keyboards Unlimited, LTD. They hold patents on a keyboard that is projected onto a plane in space. In other words, we plug a small device into a USB port. When you turn on your computer, it projects an image of a keyboard, in front of your computer, which then becomes a functional keyboard in every way. The company has a number of other patents that make it a viable entity for an initial stock offering. They also have a roll-up screen which you simply unroll, plug into a USB port and use exactly as you would a stationary monitor.”
Casey stopped her. “How do you keep the unrolled monitor screen stationary?”
“Good question. The screen is cleverly designed so that when it is completely unwrapped, the ends snap together like a grid. The problem is the size of the screen. As of now, they have successfully designed a 19” screen, but the larger sizes are creating some problems. I’m told they will have a 23” screen ready by the time we apply for the public offering. Within the year, they expect to have bug–free 40” screens available, so I’m pretty excited about it. There are other projects we’re working on, but they’re all too premature to discuss.”
Flackstein took them to other cubicles where other projects were the focus. Each time, they were given the complete rundown on a particular company and why it was important to TSI. They returned to Flackstein’s office where Casey asked him to prepare a report for Lucky, explaining everything the company is either working on or investigating as a potential investment opportunity. Flackstein assured the boys he’d have it done within the next day or two.
Chapter Nineteen
12th Century England
The Queen, and her sister, Princess Krystina, fussed all over Lucky as if he were still an invalid. Lucky had to admit – it was not only special having the Queen of the kingdom and a Princess hovering over him, but it was also fun. Truth was stranger than fiction. No one would ever believe it even if he swore to it. He was eating it up and at the same time getting stronger each day. He could walk and he could travel, but his broken ribs still needed more time to mend. He couldn’t push himself too much because a broken rib could always lead to a punctured lung and he would really be in a world of hurt, in more ways than one. So Lucky let the ladies fuss as he allowed mother nature to work through the healing process. Besides, it was all-good for his tan. He got a lot of sun lying outside on a plush blanket in the King’s gardens. He walked a lot, even jogged a little. But when he overdid it, his body protested and he began to hurt.
Even King Robert checked on Lucky daily. He adored the great wizard and considered him a close confidante. While he was happy to see Lucky recovering, selfishly, he wanted Lucky to prolong his stay as much as possible. The King was a lonely man. Just like the famous movie star, with a multitude of handlers, the King had an entire staff who told him everything he needed to hear in order to maintain order, but also told him everything they thought he would like to hear. The truth didn’t matter. His royal staff was always looking to find favor in order to move up the ladder. Lucky neither wanted nor needed anything from him. King Robert felt a kinship to Lucky. He loved visiting and chatting with him about everything from electronics to medicine to women. Yes, women. They went there. They lightly circled the whole sex thing. The King’s mouth would fly open on occasion as he patted Lucky on the back, telling him that if what he said was true, then Lucky was indeed the great wizard, in more ways than one, and how Lucky was now his idol. Odd, it was, to have a King say that to a plain man, a commoner, that he idolized him. So it went, each day the King would enter Lucky’s room and ask him if he was feeling any stronger. And after the formalities were exchanged, they would then tell a few jokes back and forth, and the King would ask Lucky, once again, if Lucky really did that in bed with a woman. When Lucky said yes, the King would giggle like a little school girl. It was a side of the royal that no one else would ever see, except perhaps the Queen, on occasion.
On one of King Robert’s visits, the King asked Lucky a simple question. “Lucky, how did men do this to you? For what reason did men do you harm? What motive inspired them?”
“A fair question, Your Highness,” Lucky answered. “The simple explanation is I was taken by surprise and put to sleep, unconscious. When I awoke, I was bound by chains and tor
tured by a man who wants my secrets, the wizard’s secrets.”
“What man does to fellow man, I shall never comprehend,” the King remarked in an almost philosophical way.
“Oh, don’t worry dear King,” Lucky interjected, “I will seek vengeance. He cannot walk freely without the wizard on his mind, for as certain as the day darkens, I pledge that he will one day rue the moment he decided to challenge me. But enough talk about what happened to me. Let’s talk about something a little more pleasant. If you agree, I am going to take you, the Queen and Krystina on another trip. I would like to discuss this with the three of you. How about we all meet in the Throne Room?”
The King sent the Queen’s guard to summon her and the Princess. The King summarily dismissed his staff and postponed his affairs of state until later in the day. Lucky and King Robert were already deep in conversation as the women rushed into the room, anxious to hear why they were summoned. Lucky looked at each of the royals and felt a little silly having them sit there, staring at him, waiting patiently to hear what he had to say. There was something not quite right about it.
“Sorry to take you from your duties,” Lucky began,“but I just wanted each of you to know how thankful I am for your kind deeds and care.” The Princess stirred uncomfortably. The King and the Queen sat emotionless, unsure of what was so important.
Lucky smiled and said, “You have been so kind to me and it is my desire to say a proper thank you. Might I take you on a trip – one where we will see mammoth sized creatures? We will drink coconut milk and swim in the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and picnic on its beaches.”
“Peek neek?” the King repeated.
Lucky laughed. “Yes, Your Highness, that means to eat while sitting on the beach, or on the ground in the woods. We take food, we sit down, and we eat.”
