Mr. Chimera spoke up; he was a gruff looking man with two days’ growth of beard and a wrinkled suit.
“Are you kidding us? You’ve read the fact sheet; you should be salivating to sign contracts.”
Talbot furrowed his brow.
“Surely you can understand that with the financial commitment you’re asking, the resources needed, that we would want to—”
Chimera waved a dismissive hand at Talbot while making a pfft sound.
“Talk, talk, talk, I told you we should have contacted Narrisaka Corporation first,”
“Mr. Chimera, sir, we’re not saying no; we’re just asking for a demonstration, and frankly, I find the claims you make about your system, well, let’s call them... optimistic. Mr. Janus to my right here is the head of our R&D department, and his opinion is that the technology you claim to have developed is at least ten years away from being reality.”
Chimera rose up, walked over and smiled down at them.
“The future is now,” and with those words, Chimera blinked out of sight.
Talbot stood up so fast that he knocked his chair over, while the R&D man, Janus searched the walls of the conference room.
Janus pointed up at the matching sculptures hung about the room.
“Those are your projectors, aren’t they?”
He smiled.
“Yes, and Mr. Chimera was our demonstration. I think you’ll agree that realistic 3-D is now a reality.”
Talbot sat back down.
“Good God, that was incredible. I truly thought that man was real. If we integrated that into a game system...well,”
Roman held up a hand and began counting off.
“Game technology, medical applications, pilot training, combat training, education, and any number of other fields, when we said revolutionary, we meant it.”
Janus nodded agreement, but held up a fact sheet.
“It’s remarkable, I grant you that, but so are these power consumption figures.”
“Yes,” he said, “We recognize that our system is power intensive, but that’s why we’re looking for a partner. If you can get those levels down by even two-thirds their current usage we’re looking at a technological revolution.”
Talbot clasped his hands together atop the table.
“Could you give us a few moments to discuss this in private?”
“Yes, we’ll be in the hallway, waiting,”
He walked out with Roman following, but Michael took the time to remove the six 3-D projectors from the walls, as well as the hidden speakers attached to the underside of the conference table.
Janus smiled at him.
“I was hoping you’d leave those projectors in place so that I could get a look at them.”
Michael smiled back. “You can have them... once we have a deal.”
After loading the projectors in a carrying case, Michael joined them in the hallway, and saw Roman grinning.
“They’re salivating, but they’re going to make the power consumption a point of contention.”
“Do you think it’s a deal breaker?” he asked.
“Not at all, and don’t back down on your demands.”
Michael laughed.
“I was so surprised by the offer of twenty-five percent that I forgot to ask, twenty-five percent of what? How much are you asking them for?”
He named a figure and Michael’s eyes grew wide.
“Seriously?”
“It’s scant remuneration for what you’ve help create,” Roman said. “Once your system gains viability, that’s when the real wealth starts, we also demanded twenty-percent of the gross, and twenty-five percent of that will also be yours.”
Michael fell back against the wall.
“Jesus, excuse me, I have to call Carly.”
As Michael stepped away, Roman asked, “Who’s Carly?”
“She’s his girlfriend, and a friend of mine and Jessica’s.”
“This is good of you, bringing him in, in a way it’s making up for all the shit his father went through.”
“And Michael is just beginning his career, think of the things he’ll create.”
Roman chuckled. “It’s almost frightening.”
***
They gathered together again in the conference room, and as Roman predicted, they brought up the issue of power consumption, claiming that it might never be solved, and thus, the system never become viable.
“That problem is your opportunity, and we know that you already have the resources in place to tackle it, thanks to your subsidiary, Cell Systems, which has already extended the life of cell phone batteries. It’s one of the reasons we came to you first.”
“We would still be assuming a great risk.”
“I understand the risk involved, but success would bring tremendous rewards.”
“Can you give us a few days to consider it?”
“No. I’d like your decision now.”
“Why do you need it now?”
“I’m not a man who likes to waste time. If you’re not interested, others will be, such as your competitors.”
“All right, understood, but about this initial compensation, is there room for discussion there?”
“No.”
Talbot sighed.
“You’re a hard man, and you’re about to become an extremely rich one as well, we have a deal, barring any unforeseen discrepancies in your data or devices, of course.”
“Of course, Michael, please hand over the projectors to Mr. Janus.”
Michael complied, letters of intent were signed, and the fruition of the 3-D project had begun.
After their guests left, Michael took out the contract and signed it.
“You don’t have to do that today, Michael.”
“I want to, and Carly agreed. If you meant to cheat me there wouldn’t even be a contract to sign.”
“All right then, Thomas, please hand Michael the check.”
Roman opened his briefcase and removed a check.
“It will take time for the dust to settle and the money to be disbursed, and so I’m fronting you part of it now. It was Jessica’s idea, but I agreed.”
Michael puffed his cheeks and blew out air as he read the amount.
“Thank you, you don’t know what this means.”
The three of them walked out to the parking lot and Roman departed first, as Michael walked him to his car.
“You’ve changed my life, sir.”
“We’re partners now, how about calling me by my first name?”
Michael did, and laughed.
“I suddenly feel more grown up.”
“I know what that’s like; I started my first company at twenty.”
“I enjoyed this project, but I love robotics, and now I’ll have the time and the resources to explore that field my way.”
He opened his car door and climbed inside.
“I’m glad, Michael, and say hello to Carly for me.”
“I will, and give my love to Dr. White.”
His phone rang as he was pulling out of the parking lot.
It was Lawson.
“Why are you calling? You know that Jessica is about to have the babies any day now.”
“Don’t worry; I’m not asking you to go off on any missions.”
“Then, what is it?”
“It’s Jace; he needs help.”
“Is he in danger?”
“No, he needs a different kind of help,”
***
The following morning, he entered a correctional institution as a visitor.
They stripped him of his watch and phone and then ran a wand over him as they searched for weapons. Normally, he carried a knife hidden in his boot, but he knew that he would be searched and had left it behind in the car.
He had been given permission to visit outside regular hours, and one of the guards glared at him throughout the sign-in procedure. He wondered if it was meant to be intimidating, but when the guard saw that it had no ef
fect on him, he sighed and unlocked the gate.
As he passed through, a second guard approached him. This one was a woman whose small stature surprised him, although he knew that with the proper training and temperament she would be able to disarm or disable most men. Still, to be a woman working around dangerous men twice her size, she had to have a warrior’s heart.
He and the woman were buzzed through more gates and she led him down a corridor and unlocked a room that held a table and two chairs.
The guard pointed to the window in the door.
“I’ll be watching through this window, so please don’t touch the prisoner or pass anything to him. If I observe any physical contact, I will end the visit. The prisoner will be escorted in through the door behind that table. You have ten minutes.”
He thanked her, took a seat, and moments later, Jace was brought into the room by a male guard who shackled one of his wrists to the table.
The guard said, “Ten minutes,” and left through the door he came through.
Jace smiled.
“I hope this ain’t no conjugal visit, ‘cause you ain’t my type.”
“Lawson called; he explained to me why you’re here. It’s a risk, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but dude, if I win my appeal I’ll have to serve a lot less time.”
“And if you lose, you could do the rest of your sentence in here, eighteen more years, isn’t it?”
“I’m game; my lawyer says I got a good chance because I was a juvie when I robbed that bank with my uncle.”
“Who is your lawyer?”
“A public defender, but he’s got a good rep,”
“Have you ever heard of Jeff Roman?”
“Are you kidding? The old dude with all the commercials?”
Jace turned serious and acted as if he was pointing towards a camera.
“I’m Jeff Roman, and I’ll fight for you.”
“That’s him. He’s a friend, and he’s willing to plead your appeal.”
“What? Dude, that guy makes millions; why would he defend me?”
“Because I asked him to, but you have to give the okay.”
“Hell yeah, any judge sees Roman walk in and my chances skyrocket,”
“Good, one of his associates will meet with you tomorrow, and Roman will fly in and show up at your appeal.”
“Thanks man, really, but, why are you doing this? I mean we’re tight and all, but Jeff Roman? Man, that’s above and beyond,”
He said nothing for a moment as he debated what to reveal, and when he spoke, his voice was low and serious.
“You did a very bad thing when you were seventeen, and you were caught. I did something far worse at that age and got away with it.”
“What did you do and how did you get away with it?”
“The person I harmed forgave me and made me believe that I was better than the act I committed.”
Jace looked down at the tabletop.
“I can’t ever be forgiven. That bank guard died during the robbery, and he ain’t coming back no matter what I do.”
The door swung open and the female guard spoke.
“Time’s up.”
He doubted that ten minutes had passed, but he didn’t press the issue with the guard and rose to his feet.
As the other guard entered the room, he called to Jace from the doorway.
“Jace.”
“Yeah?”
“You can always forgive yourself, you know?”
Jace seemed to consider the words, and answered with a nod.
He walked out into the hallway, and as the door closed behind him, he thought about the advice he had offered.
Forgive yourself.
Sage advice, and something that he had never been able to do.
***
As soon as he reached the car, he called Jessica to check on her and fill her in about Jace. She told him that she was fine but that the babies seemed very active and were kicking quite often, he could hear the excitement in her voice, and it made him smile.
As he left the highway and turned down a county road, the sound of a faltering engine came from overhead and he glanced up through the windshield to see a small plane trailing smoke. The noise grew louder and the plane passed over him at an altitude barely above tree level, so low that he could read the registry letters on the tail.
He parked on the side of the road, got out, and tried to spot the plane, but the trees that lined the road blocked his view.
When a muffled CHRUNCH reached his ears, he feared the worst and began running through the trees, and when he reached a wide field, he saw it. The plane had crashed and was on fire.
He ran towards it hoping to rescue any survivors, but the terrain was tough to maneuver. He was running on dormant farmland, but whatever had grown on it the summer before had been planted in long rows of mounded dirt, and it made for tough footing.
In time, he found the best method of traversing the field was to jump from mound to mound. It cut into his speed, but prevented him from twisting an ankle or tripping.
The explosion occurred when he was still a ways off, but he felt the blast of heat nonetheless, and quickened his pace.
Even before he reached the plane, he saw the man thrashing in the dirt, rolling across the uneven ground with smoke rising from his clothing.
As he grew closer, he smelled the charred flesh and saw that the man’s legs had been burned.
He took out his phone to call for help, as he opened his mouth to offer words of solace, but before he could utter a syllable, the man on the ground extended an arm and aimed a gun at his face.
CHAPTER 2
He kicked the gun from the man’s feeble grip, bent down, and spoke to him.
“Relax; I’m here to help you.”
The man squinted up at him.
“You’re not with them? Who are you?”
“I was driving by when you crashed. Now save your strength and I’ll call for help.”
The man yelled, “No!” and let out a cry of pain that ended with him gasping for air. When the pain subsided, he reached under his shirt and removed a silver chain that had something dangling from it. It was an object about the size of a cigarette lighter, black, and marked with white lettering that read, EYES ONLY.
The man thrust it at him, and he reached over and took it.
“What is this?”
“You don’t need to know that... but... but you have to get that to the FBI, not the police, their computers are sieves.”
He studied the small container and realized what he was holding.
“There’s a data stick of some kind in here, isn’t there?”
“That and much more, now go before they come,”
“I have to call for help first or you won’t make it.”
As if to prove his words true, the man on the ground vomited blood, doubtless the result of internal injuries suffered during the crash.
The man gazed up at him.
“Run, it’s your only chan—”
The words ended abruptly, the eyes closed, and the man lay still.
He checked for a pulse and found none. Afterwards, he placed the chain around his neck while gazing at the burning plane, and that’s when he noticed the bullet holes, and reasoned that they were the cause of the crash.
He made a call and Lawson answered, sounding harried.
“White, if this is about Jace it will have to wait. I’m in the middle of a crisis.”
“This crisis wouldn’t have anything to do with a missing data drive, would it?”
There was silence, and then the words, “How did you know that?”
He told Lawson about the crashed plane and the dead man, and also that he was in possession of the drive.
“The dead man, was he blond, and did he have an English accent?”
“No, he had dark hair and the accent was more southern.”
He heard Lawson sigh.
“That sounds like Jim Underwood, damn it.”
“Why did you think he was English?”
“I can’t say exactly, but know this, there are rouge agents from both sides of the pond tracking that drive, and there are also some English agents working with us. The devil of it is, White, we’re not sure which ones to trust.”
He studied the object again.
“When you say that they’re tracking it, do you mean that literally?”
“Yes, and there’s no way to disable it, so let me have your exact location and I’ll send a car for you.”
He gave Lawson his location and agreed to meet the car back at the road.
“Got it, now get going before someone tracks you down.”
There was a loud thumping noise and when he turned his head to the right, he saw a car come galloping across the uneven ground. It was moving so fast that he thought the driver might eventually flip it.
“Lawson, there’s someone coming, I’ll make contact when it’s safe.”
And with those words, he scooped up the dead man’s gun and ran for his life.
CHAPTER 3
At the house, Jessica and Amanda were watching a movie. When the film ended, Jessica grabbed the remote and cut off the TV.
“I liked that.”
Amanda smiled. “Me too, but I was always a sucker for a love story.”
“Speaking of that, were you ever in love with Billy Gant?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You’re living in my house, and now you’re seeing my father. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Amanda stared at her for a few moments, and then, the tears began.
Jessica reached over and patted her hand.
“There’s a lot of pain in your past, isn’t there?”
“Yes.”
“I understand, and my questions can wait until you’re ready to answer them.”
“Thank you.”
A tune began playing somewhere in the house.
“I think that’s Maggie’s ring tone,” Jessica said, and moments later, they heard Maggie speaking to someone on her phone. When the call ended, Maggie came downstairs looking upset.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“That was Mom, she said, she said that the doctors told her she needs an operation on her heart. Oh Jessica, it sounds so serious.”
Jessica extended her arms. “Come here.”
The TAKEN! Series - Books 9-12 (Taken! Box Set Book 3) Page 24
