RESTORATION (a science fiction novel) (RESTORATION (the science fiction trilogy))

by Utley, Todd

  “We owe it all to you and your team Dodge. Some of the other teams were instrumental in providing some supporting peripherals but what you guys accomplished was the core. Congrats buddy, you’re gonna be splashed across the cover of Time Magazine someday as the man that made immortality possible!”

  Tim smacked him on the back firmly and walked out of his office whistling his way up the hall. Dodge just sat there staring at the check, then it dawned on him. “The stock!” He went back to his PC and opened up his stock options app. He couldn’t believe it, he was a millionaire, not just once, but many times over. He had a check in his hands for an enormous amount of money and he had a stock portfolio worth more than eighteen million dollars!

  At that moment he had a realization. He was rich because of an announcement, nothing more than some silly reports that made everyone believe in LifeTech and the Lifecorder system. What would happen when they found out it had been breached and the so called “perfect” system was in shambles and riddled with security issues? If he sold the stock now, he could lock in his family fortune and be set for life. If it came out later that he knew of the impending stock fall, then he would be indicted for inside trading and stripped of his wealth. He thought for a moment. “I’ll just sell half.” He put in the order and sold half the stock and then he transferred the nine million into his personal accounts dividing it equally between his savings and two checking accounts.

  “Wow that’s a lot of money!” Linsey was really gonna enjoy a nice shopping spree. “Not even Linsey could spend all that money!”

  Dodge had always earned a good salary but they had always lived on most of it. What was left went into the company stock as a retirement plan. That smart choice had finally paid off and it was a larger return than he could have ever imagined. Now they could do pretty much anything they wanted to.

  Hell he could quit his job! But then he thought that he probably wouldn’t, he just wasn’t that type of guy. He might not be at this particular job but he would be doing something to stay busy. He shut off his PC, pocketed the check, and headed out for the day. Before he even got out of his office his phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but he answered it anyway because it appeared to be local.

  “Hello, this is Dodge,” he said.

  “Is this Mr. Dodge Kerrington?” A female voice came through on the phone.

  “Yes, speaking.”

  “Mr. Kerrington, this is Sally Macintale from the Central Bank of Noblesville. We just noticed some very unusual activity on your accounts and we’re wondering if you had made any deposits today?”

  “Oh, yes, I did actually and they were rather large, is that okay?”

  “Oh, well, yes sir it’s marvelous, but we need for you to come into the bank just as soon as you can.”

  “Well sure, is there a problem?”

  “Well Sir, we need to upgrade the type of account you have.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes Sir, there is a limit of 500K on your current accounts, so the deposits you made today just disqualified your current free accounts. Please come in to the main office just as soon as possible, preferably in the next 24 hours.”

  “Oh, okay,” said Dodge, and then he hung up without saying goodbye. He was still in shock, but he understood that this big money and the activity on his account was flagged right away. “Oh well no more free checking.”

  As he walked down the hall, he saw his fellow team members in the corridors. Everyone was smiling. Several people high fived him. He wasn’t the only one that got a huge check but because of his rank he knew he got the largest one by far. What a wonderful day for everyone there, not only did they get bonus checks but several other people had invested a large percentage of their salaries over the years into the stock program just as Dodge had and now they were reaping the rewards.

  He felt kind of bad for them. They were oblivious to the impending disaster that was likely to strike. Most of them would probably use their new stock buying power to purchase even more stock on margin, anticipating that it would go even higher. Some of those people would likely lose it all very soon. He knew all this was probable but it was still a good day seeing all those people so happy that they were literally dancing in the hallways.

  People he hadn’t seen crack a smile in years were suddenly grinning and laughing and gathering around the water coolers and break rooms in undaunted delight. As he made his way out to the parking lot reality began to set in. He had a problem to solve, he might be a rich man but it wouldn’t do him any good unless he and John could thwart the attack on the system.

  He drove home in the usual manner and just as he predicted in his mind, about half way home he noticed the blue car. The tail was creative if nothing else, this time he was sitting in the second level of a parking garage near the shopping mall adjacent to the main road. Just a few days ago Dodge wouldn’t have noticed something like that. Now that he was aware of the tail he had become an expert at locating him, in fact he was actually starting to think like him.

  Every time he noticed a convenient nook somewhere he would think, “Now there’s a good place to hide and wait for me.” The whole thing had become almost like a game, sort of a “Where’s Waldo” of cars.

  Dodge decided not to care, it was going to be a great night and they were going to have fun. There was the big check in his pocket to show Linsey and then when he told her about the stock she was going to flip for sure. On top of that they were going to a dinner party at a rich friend’s house and they were going to eat, drink, and dance.

  As he pulled in the driveway he was trying to imagine how he would show Linsey the check and he was also pondering if he should share the news with the whole family or just her. He decided to only tell Linsey for now. They could share it with the kids together at a later time.

  As he went in through the garage, he didn’t even bother putting the door down. He was tired of locking every door and sneaking to make sure all the windows were locked and looking over his shoulder in a way that no one would notice. Not tonight, tonight he was just going to be Dodge Kerrington with a wife and two kids and a life and now a whole lot of success.

  He felt good as he opened the door between the garage and the house. He walked into the kitchen where he was greeted by Sarah and Bobby who were at the table. They had a very old cookbook and their Mother’s digital recipe file out looking through them. Dodge was curious.

  “What’s going on guys?”

  “Hi Dad, we’re doing something special tonight,” said Sarah.

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

  “Bobby and I are going to prepare a meal for just the two of us. I’ve been doing really well in home economics these last two years and I’ve cooked with Mom on many occasions. She said since you guys are going to John’s, that Bobby and I could make a meal all on our own. We took an inventory of the fridge and pantry and now we’re seeing what kind of dinner we want to attempt.”

  Dodge was impressed. “Okay good, I like the initiative you’re taking. I hope it turns out good, just don’t burn the house down, okay?”

  “What?” Bobby was dismayed, “that’s the exact same thing Mom said. Can you believe that Sarah? No one believes we can cook a meal by ourselves without starting a fire.”

  Sarah smiled at her Father. Don’t worry Dad, we won’t burn anything down. Besides, I know where the fire extinguisher is.

  “I was just kidding sweetheart, I trust you and your brother to do a great job. AND to do a NICE job cleaning up so that when your Mother and I come in late, the kitchen will be clean and we can go to bed, okay?”

  “Yes Dad, I promise.”

  “Yeah,” Bobby chimed in, “It’ll be spotless!”

  “All right,” said Dodge, “I’ll hold you to it.”

  He made his way upstairs to see what Linsey was doing. When he walked into the bedroom, he noticed the entire bed was covered with clothes. Linsey was standing in front of the mirror looking at the dress that she had just put on. It w
as a pink sun dress with a small flower pattern around the neck and around the hem at the bottom. He had not seen that dress in a while. She was so beautiful wearing it. He just stood there looking at her for a moment.

  It seemed like a long time before she noticed him there. She was turning slightly to the left and right while smoothing the dress down over her stomach as if unhappy with her own shape. Suddenly she noticed him there and looked at him in the mirror and smiled.

  “Hey you, how long have you been standing there?”

  “Just long enough,” he said. He came up behind her as they both continued to look into the mirror as if they were watching themselves through a window. He wrapped his arms around her as he watched it happen in the mirror.

  “Wow, you’re in a romantic mood mister is that something large in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?” She always was a humorous flirt when they were alone.

  “Well,” Dodge replied, “I do have something large in my pants and I promise you that you’ve never seen one this big! Why don’t you just reach in there and grab it!”

  “Whoa, big stud, settle down, we still have dinner and dancing before we get to all that!”

  Dodge laughed but didn’t let go of her.

  “No seriously reach into my pocket. I have some spending money in there for you and it’s all yours. I want you to go on a shopping spree tomorrow. Linsey let out a little yelp and with a huge grin on her face she began digging through his pockets violently.

  “Jeeze! I should’ve tried this a long time ago!” He said jokingly.

  Her hand found the check and she pulled it out. Her smile melted away as she looked at it intently. She sat down slowly on the edge of the bed just staring at it for a moment with a blank look on her face.

  Dodge was glued to her every move and to every expression on her face. He was enjoying the dramatic reaction. This must have been what Tim felt like every time he handed out a big bonus at work.

  Linsey looked up at him.

  “Can I really spend this?” She asked in disbelief.

  “Yes absolutely, it’s yours, do whatever you like.”

  Linsey’s mouth dropped open while she still held the check up in front of her face and looked it over intently. With a more serious look she began questioning.

  “Are you kidding me? What’s going on? Why do I have this huge check and why are you giving it to me to spend?”

  “Because my dear, our ship just came in, and there’s a lot more where that came from.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute. Where’s this ship and what’s it got on it?”

  She was up again now and backing him up against the dresser.

  “Well, it seems that our stock went nuts and it split, uh, a few times. My auto buy triggers kicked in and the stock went even higher and that caused my bonus to go up like twenty times more than normal. Anyway were rich!”

  Linsey’s eyes were huge, not because she was a money hungry person or anything, but mostly because she hated it when Dodge kept secrets from her. Now she smelled a rat.

  “All right, out with it, how much?” She demanded.

  Dodge had that look of a school boy caught in a lie. “Well, um, you know, it’s up to eighteen million but don’t get excited.”

  “Eighteen million! Oh my god! Eighteen million! Don’t get excited! Are you nuts? Who wouldn’t be excited? A few days ago I was sacrificing my little savings to buy everyone a lifetime membership to the Medic-Star backup service. You walk in here tonight and tell me we have eighteen million dollars plus this huge check and I’m not supposed to get excited!”

  Linsey threw her arms up and let out a “woo hoo” as she leaped onto Dodge, knocking him down onto the bed. She leaned over on him and began kissing all over his face.

  “Dodge Kerrington, you’re the smartest, most handsome man, I’ve ever known.”

  She smothered him with more kisses and then paused to smile at him. Dodge looked into her eyes.

  “Hey there hot mama, settle down! We still got dinner and dancing to do before all that!”

  “Touché, but just wait till I get you in this bed tonight!”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” said Dodge.

  He playfully smacked her on the butt as they got up off the bed.

  “I’m going to finish getting ready now. How about you, you gonna change?” asked Linsey.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll take a long hot shower and change into some casual clothes.”

  While he showered, he couldn’t help but think about Linsey’s reaction to the check and the fun night that was ahead. He hadn’t seen Linsey that excited for a long time. He hated that he would soon have to tell her about the hackers and the potential danger they were facing.

  People don’t usually want to hear that they are in a dangerous world of cyber-crime, where they could easily be the next targets. LifeTech and potential restoration gave them an edge but somehow someone murdered Ron Simpson and his parents with no hope of being restored. He and John would have to formulate a plan to guard against the same thing happening to them.

  They would need a method of avoiding permanent death no matter what the hackers did to them, they had to outsmart them at their own game. As he stood there in the shower relaxing in the hot water he began to formulate a plan, one that he would share with John and the ladies very soon but tonight it was all about having a good time. It was about to get very dangerous and he wanted to be ready but he doubted himself, did he really have the balls to face down a killer? He was just an engineer; he really wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. He would have to use his brain more than brawn. He couldn’t beat them at their own game the way they played it. He wasn’t normally prone to violence yet he felt an internal conflict beginning to brew and he knew deep down inside there was a welling rage. A wildfire of contempt for these ass holes was burning ever hotter and he knew that if push came to shove he would fight hard for everything that he believed in.

  Chapter 13 It was party time. Dodge and John knew that it was more than a party, it was in fact an act. But to Linsey and Amanda it was just a party, just four friends having a great time. Dodge knew that the ladies would be acting completely natural simply because they didn’t know anything was going on. Dodge and John agreed that this was for the best and would be very believable for the watchers because it was real.

  They were hoping to bring down the hackers and get to the root of their diabolical plan. Of course they were assuming that there was a ring of them but maybe there was just one or two people behind it. Hopefully that would be the case.

  As he and Linsey headed out to the garage Linsey turned toward the Volvo while Dodge was heading toward the GTO. They both hesitated then Linsey looked at Dodge and smiled before heading in his direction.

  “You sure do love this old hot rod don’t you?”

  Dodge grinned. “She’s my mistress!”

  “You’re right,” said Linsey. “Now that I have some major spending money I’m gonna get me a sexy little sports car. Maybe even a convertible, something pretty to zip around in.”

  “That’s a great Idea, you should. You’ve been driving that practical Mom taxi for way too long. You should get whatever you want.”

  “All right Mr., I will, I might even start on that tomorrow?” At first Dodge thought that would be a bad idea because they needed to focus but then he realized that would be a great thing to do. It should throw off the watchers even more. First they have a party out in the open and then they’re out buying a new car the next day.

  “Yes, let’s do it!” Dodge said.

  He figured the hackers already had knowledge of his new found wealth. It was public in the office and it would be in the stockholder’s report soon so it couldn’t be hidden anyway. If the hackers were even halfway decent at what they were doing then they already knew. Not spending any money would be considered unusual behavior and might even throw up flags.

  It was settled, they would buy Linsey a new car right away. As they sped along the f
reeway toward John’s house, Linsey went on about the colors she liked and the different models that she found appealing. Dodge tried to make suggestions where he could but she was so excited he couldn’t get a word in edge wise. She was leaning toward dark metallic red and it had to have polished wheels and a sunroof, unless of course she got the rag top. She also said that it had to have the latest entertainment system. “Why not? We can afford it.”

  They arrived at John’s house about five minutes early because Dodge couldn’t keep his foot out of the big block and pretty much sped all the way there. If he kept it up, he was going to be getting a speeding ticket soon. “Who cares,” I can afford an occasional ticket!

  As they pulled up to the gate, it began opening.

  “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Kerrington,” Said Jeeves through the intercom. “Mr. Calhoun is expecting you. Please drive up to the front entrance and we will valet your auto.”

  They could see his face on the monitor.

  “Thanks Jeeves, you look dashing tonight,” said Dodge.

  “You as well Sir and I see you’ve brought your lovely wife. How refreshing to see such a pretty face.”

  Dodge knew Jeeves was insinuating that Linsey was well out of his league. “The clever old dog. Jeeves? Really? I gotta find out this guys real name and then give him a hard time, what an act, especially the slicked back hair and starched shirt.”

  When he got the time, he would pry out of John how much extra he had to pay that old fart to act like a 1950s butler.

  When they pulled up in front of the house John and Amanda were standing there with champagne glasses in hand and a young server was standing alongside with two more glasses of bubbly on a tray awaiting them.

  Linsey looked at Dodge with the tips of her fingers over her mouth and let out a little laugh before Jeeves got her door open.