Verron_Birth of a Nation

by Douglas Varnell

  Leona was a stockbroker. It was without a doubt the love and obsession of her life. It was what she got her BS Degree in, all she thought about, talked about and with her long hours spent in the office and on the computer, it was pretty much all she did. Her new husband worked in a brokerage firm that specialized in commodities, so they shared a lot of common interests. Today Paul had an appointment under an assumed name to meet with Leona to discuss her handling his stock portfolio. He intentionally scheduled it for just before lunch, hoping that he could continue what he had to discuss over lunch with both husband and wife. Lucy had done an exceptional job of locating his ex-wives and children, as well as gathering helpful information about them. She had also, with Paul’s help and guidance, put together an excellent investment portfolio for Paul, which included numerous companies around the world, and some very substantial dollars, divided between investments and several different bank accounts. It was amazing what the smartest A.I. in the universe could do. Paul took a deep breath as he entered the posh offices on the 20th floor of the office tower in Buckhead. He introduced himself as Paul Mahala, the name the appointment had been made under. After a few minutes Leona came out to get her future client and as they walked back to her office asked him if he’d like anything to drink. He declined and followed her into a very respectable office with her diploma hanging on the wall along with her credentials, and pictures of his grandchildren on the credenza behind her desk. He couldn’t believe how much they’d grown.

  After she sat down behind her desk, she took a long hard look at a man she hadn’t seen in over ten years, and had never seen at 30 years old, as she studied his face, she asked, “Do I know you from somewhere, you look very familiar?” Paul grinned and before he could speak, she sat back in her chair and demanded, “What, what have you done? - why your five years older than me and look 40 years younger.” For the first time Paul spoke, “It’s a pretty involved story and if you and your husband will join me for lunch, I’d love to explain it to both of you. But before you get upset and throw me out, I really do have some investments I’d like for you to manage and in spite of the fact that I was a lousy husband, I do trust you more than any other investment analyst I know and I have a job offer to present to you and your husband that comes with some pretty remarkable benefits.”

  Paul handed her the hardbound portfolio he carried under his arm. She hesitantly took it and sat back in her chair to look it over. He could see by the expressions on her face she was impressed, but thought it was all a sham. She laid it on her desk and said, “You’ve been out of prison a little over three years and walked out homeless, with $35.00 in your pocket. Do you expect me to believe that you are now worth more than Donald Trump? Get real, this is lower than anything you’ve pulled before, thinking you could get into my good graces by handing me some faked up investment portfolio. I ought to call security and have you thrown out, but if you’ll get up and leave now, I’ll save you the embarrassment” Paul held his ground and reached into the inside pocket of his P-Coat, saying, “I thought you might think that, so I brought this.” He handed her the confidential access codes for all of his bank and investment accounts; also included was the name of the broker in New York who had arranged for his $14 billion purchase of Certified Grocers. He had authorized the broker to reveal, only to Leona, the name of the sole owner of that company. Leona recognized immediately the name of this extremely high profile investment broker.

  She picked up her own phone and pushed a speed dial for his office in New York. While waiting for the other party to answer, she put her hand over the receiver and said, “You really screwed up randomly picking a name to impress me, I’ve known this man for years.” Just as she uncovered the receiver to speak to the man on the other end, Paul smiled and said, “I know, that’s why I picked him.” Her call continued, “Alex, how are you doing? How’s Ellen? Donald and I owe you dinner on your next trip to Atlanta. There’s nothing here that can compare to Manhattan, but we have some pretty nice places. Alex, the reason I called is to verify some investments a potential client of mine claims to possess. He thought he’d pull one on me but he had no clue I knew you personally. Yes, his name in Paul Verron. In fact he handed me a security code to give you in order to access the information.” She read the code. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this some kind of a joke? He actually purchased Certified Grocers for $14 billion, in a lump sum wire transfer from a Swiss bank account? Then I guess it’s safe to assume the other items in the portfolio are legit? I understand. Yes, I’d say I’m pretty lucky he has chosen me to handle his investments. Listen, Alex, if this works out, I’ll fly to New York and buy you dinner there. Thanks. Tell Ellen hello.” As Leona sat back in her chair with a sigh, she thought a moment and said, “I have no idea how the hell you did this, but it’s pretty obvious your telling me the truth. This has got to be the greatest rags to riches, comeback story in history. I think Donald would enjoy hearing it as much as I would; but your buying” Paul smiled a smile over at least his initial victory and replied, “I’ll buy, but you drive; I came here in a limo from the airport. Make the reservation wherever you like, but make it private. I have some pretty unbelievable stuff to tell you.” As Leona picked up the phone to call her husband, she said, “I bet you have.”

  Her husband Donald worked in the same building, but on the 14th floor. After a short explanation of who they were going to lunch with, she convinced him to make a reservation for lunch at Veni Vidi Vici, their favorite Italian restaurant that happened to have private dining rooms. They often took clients there for private lunches and dinners, and Donald had a standing reservation. They took the elevator to the basement parking garage and right by the elevator in the Handicapped parking space was Leona’s and Donald’s custom wheelchair van. Donald recently had a leg amputated because of his diabetes; there was an issue in trying to fit him with prosthesis since the wound just would not heal right. Leona introduced her husband and Paul was impressed at how courteous and professional he was under the circumstances. He also couldn’t help but think, “There but by the grace of God go I.” Donald was the same age as Paul and his diabetes had made them hard years. Leona was just over sixty, and although she was still in good health, was beginning have problems with scoliosis and her knees. Paul really hoped they would give him a chance to improve their physical condition. He knew Donald was wondering how they could look so different at the same age.

  After a few pleasantries were exchanged Donald drove them to the restaurant. Conversation was difficult in the van with Paul in the rear captain chair and Donald trying to concentrate on lunch-time traffic in Buckhead. The hostess greeted Leona and Donald like old friends. As they were being escorted to the private dining room, Donald explained, “We only live about five blocks from here. The commute to and from Gainesville was brutal, so since we both worked in Buckhead, we decided to live here as well.” Patting his stomach, he added, “I’m afraid the restaurants in the area know us all too well.” Once they were seated and the food orders placed, Paul didn’t waste any time explaining what had happened to him. Of course the two of them were thinking how crazy people talk about Alien Abductions, so needless to say, they were skeptical. Paul tried a different approach, as he began, “Leona, you met me the year I turned 40. All you’ve ever seen are pictures of me in my 30s, but I have a picture of what I looked like two years ago.” He took out his Mississippi Driver’s license. It showed a slightly overweight 65 year old man, with thinning hair. He handed it to Donald first and Leona looked at it with him. He continued, “Donald, I know you will think I’m insane, but I promise you that if you will give me a chance, in under two weeks you and Leona can both have your lives back. You’ll be free of diabetes and have both legs; she will be free of scoliosis. You both will be in better health than you were at 30 and you’ll look it too. I have a slightly selfish motive for my kindness; I want the two of you to handle my investments on Earth. As you have seen from my small portfolio, I have begun to purchase vario
us companies so that I can supply the population of Verron with all they will need until we can get our own industry up and going. At that point, I will need someone to handle investors who will be fighting over trading with Verron and investing in our unique industries. I intend for you two to breakaway and open your own office anywhere you choose. It will give you the privacy you will need to trade with a planet thousands of light years away.”

  Leona took a breath to say something but Paul cut her short, saying, “Before you say anything, let me finish. If you two can call in and take the afternoon off, I will show you Verron and the clinic where we will do the treatment, including the Doctor who will be in charge. If you decide you don’t want anything to do with me, fine, I’ll find someone else. I am even willing to do the treatment anyway, even if you two decide go your own way after it’s all over. But I promise you both, I’m here to offer you and hopefully my entire family, a chance to be healthy, prosperous and free from all the crazy stuff going on here in Earth. Donald, be sure, I am not in any way trying to interfere in yours and Leona’s relationship. You will never even see me once we get established; I’ll be way too busy to be involved in the finances on a day-to-day basis. I intend to have Michael Verron, you remember Michael? He stayed with us one summer.” She nodded. “He is a CPA and I plan to place him in charge of everything that has to do with money on Verron. You’ll work with him; he’ll work with me. So what do you say, will you let me prove to you that I’m not crazy. All you have to lose is a couple of hours of your day.”

  Paul waited for a reaction, it came after a short pause, when Leona began to tear-up and sob, saying, “Renee has cancer. It’s spreading fast. Do you think you could do something about that? I’d rather see her well than us.” Paul choked and his eyes began to water, as the thought of his 37 year-old daughter dying of cancer hit him hard. He replied, “I swear with all my heart that if she will join you, she will be a cancer free 20-something again. Do you think she could go with us today to see for herself? You’ll have to make the arrangement, she never wanted to hear from me again, and I can’t blame her, but I’d sure hate for her hatred of me to keep her from being well.” Leona picked-up her cell phone and before she dialed said, “If you’re full of crap and lying to us, I swear I’ll make you regret it.” Paul thought that now would be a good time to show some of his other changes. While she waited for her phone to connect, Paul held out his hand and the water from all three glasses lifted up to form a ball of water over the middle of the table. He then turned it to solid ice. As it hovered there, it suddenly vanished into a flash of flames. “I’m telling you Leona, I’m not the man you used to know.”

  While Leona was speaking to Renee, Donald called into both offices and told them they had a family emergency and would be out for the afternoon. Leona told Renee, at Paul’s instruction that they would be by to get her, very soon. They left the excellent meal unfinished and drove to Leona’s and Donald’s luxurious condo in the heart of Buckhead. They parked the van and took the elevator to their home. Paul was not surprised that it was very well decorated and furnished with some pretty expensive items. He noticed that Donald had once been a tennis player, a golfer and even had a few photos of him hunting big game in Africa. Once inside, Leona turned and asked, “What do we need to pack?” Paul smiled and said, “This is ‘come as you are’.” He stepped behind Donald’s wheelchair and said to Leona, “Follow me.” They stepped through the gateway into the living room of Renee’s home in Nashville. She almost jumped out of her skin, but calmed quickly when she saw her Mom. She told them, “I won’t have to worry about cancer killing me if you do that again, I’ll die of a heart attack.” It was then that she figured out who the man pushing the wheelchair was. She said, “We need to go and get back before Joshua gets home with the kids. He’ll have fit if he sees you here. You better not be playing some kind of cruel joke on us.” Paul smiled, “Let me ask you something Renee. How long ago where you on the phone with your mother; Twenty minutes; thirty minutes? We were sitting in a restaurant in Atlanta 200 miles away when she called and 30 minutes later stepped right into your living room. How can you even think I’m playing a game?” She began to cry, “I’m sorry, but when Mom told me what you said you could do, it sounded too good to be true.” He knew better than to reach out to her. He stood back as Leona comforted her. He gave them a minute and told them, “Times a wasting, let’s go.”

  Tlase, Zimuel and 99 were walking off the elevator into the foyer of the Mansion when the four of them stepped out of the gateway. Leona, Donald and Renee gasped in surprise. Tlase, Zimuel and 99 simply smiled a welcoming smile, then being her usual matter-of-fact self, the first words out of Tlase’s mouth were, “Paul, the new formula is performing even better than we expected, your family is already showing drastic signs of reversed aging; no doubt the rest will take a little longer, but maybe not as long as we had planned.” Paul simply nodded, and replied, “I’d like to introduce you to Leona Williamsson, her husband Donald and my oldest daughter Renee.” Turning, he continued, “This is Dr. Tlase; she is the developer of the improvements in the rejuvenation procedure, her husband, Ambassador Zimuel and last but not least, Verron’s first fighter pilot and my good friend 99.” You could see 99s gums he smiled so big after that intro. Tlase asked, “Are you here to go through the treatment. Paul said he probably wouldn’t bring anyone back today, I am always prepared take care of more.” Paul looked at those he had brought along and they still looked very uncomfortable. He told them, “Today we’ll just take a short tour to ease their minds. They will have to make arrangements to come back later.” Looking at Leona, Donald and Renee, he asked, “Let me show you around.”

  Paul gave them a short tour of the parlor, the library and formal dining room then escorted them to the East Terrace. He was glad that Zeus had moved his feeding area and was taking a dragon nap when they walked out of the terrace doors. Like most people who see a dragon for the first time, they froze. Zeus opened one eye and began to communicate with Paul. Paul introduced those with him and Zeus commented to Paul, “I did not know you had a female offspring.” Paul simply said to Zeus, only, “I’ll explain later.” He introduced Zeus and asked if anyone would like to pet a dragon. Donald and Leona quickly declined, but Renee, who used to work in a pet store and played with snakes as a teen, just had to go for it. The moment she touched him her eyes lit up. She left the hand there a moment and backed away as if trembling in disbelief. Paul asked with a knowing smile, “What’d he say?” Renee began to cry and answered, “He said, ‘You will be OK. King Paul can fix you; he fixed me.’ Dad, how did he know I was sick?” For the first time in almost 15 years, Paul put his hand around her shoulder and answered, “This is a special place.”

  He turned to the others and said, “Let me show you more.” He showed them the mountains to the north, showed them the bay and waterfall to the south. He decided to quickly show them the hanger bay so that they could get the full impact of where they were. When they exited the elevator, Donald mumbled, “My God. Are those what I think they are?” Paul showed them the Light Destroyer, 99s fighter and his Speeder, he couldn’t understand why he needed to keep both, and took them inside the Executive Star Ship for a quick look. As they were headed for the elevator, Dalhia hovered through the hanger door in a ship Paul had seen at the ship factory. He waited for her to exit the craft and asked, “What’s that?” She replied, “It’s a special stealth transport. Watch this.” She pushed a little control in her hand and the ship disappeared. She continued, “It’s designed to land troops in hazardous environments and hostile zones. It will actually operate under water for landings on water planets and or even some of the gas giants with liquid atmospheres. It’s not real fast, only 20 LS, but it’s very narrow and is great for flying through the narrow passes in the mountains.” He did a quick introduction to those with him and as he departed Dalhia said, “99 landed on our red moon today. I’m sure he can’t wait to tell you all about it. His re-entry was a little
rough but he is turning out to be a very good pilot.” They were walking toward the elevator when Donald asked, “Will you take me up in one when I get better?” “No doubt about it!” Paul answered.

  He then took them to the medical center so they could see just what to expect. Tlase was there to explain what would be done, then showed them a picture of what Paul’s mother and two brothers looked like less than two days before. The results were staggering. All three looked 20 years younger. Tlase explained that the muscle and bone regeneration would take a little longer and healing would take place as the muscles and organs regenerated. She looked at Donald and said, “We have been regenerating severed limbs for thousands of years. You don’t need to worry or doubt about your own.” Renee looked at Tlase with watery eyes and asked, “Dr. Tlase, can this thing cure cancer?” She looked at the young woman before her and answered, “Sweetheart, no one has died of cancer where I come from for as long as we’ve been regenerating limbs. I promise you, when you come out of the tank you’ll be cancer free and feel 20 again.” Renee almost fell down and Leona supported her a moment. She turned to Tlase and asked the question of a desperate woman, “Can you get started right now?” Tlase looked at Paul and then at the others and answered, “Of course.” Renee turned to her mother and told her while tears ran down her face, “Mom, please explain to Josh and the kids what I’m doing and where I am. I’d much rather give this a chance than to go next week for a radical mastectomy. Please make him understand.” A tearful Leona turned to Donald and told him, “I think you should stay too. I’ll give them some kind of explanation at your office and join you both after I’ve explained this to Joshua.” She kissed her daughter and husband goodbye and asked Paul to get her back to Nashville so she could face Renee’s worried and angry husband. They agreed to meet at her condo in Buckhead at noon the next day. She thought a moment and said, “It might be best if you dropped me at the Nashville airport instead of Renee’s living room. I can call Hunter or Josh for a ride.” She gave Donald one last hug and followed Paul through a gateway into a quiet corner of the Nashville Airport Terminal. “See you at noon; you won’t regret this.” Said Paul, then vanished.