by Joe Corso
“Thanks, Sally. It’s good to be back. As for his salary, we’re starting him at $150,000 a year, and if he does as well as I think he will, then his salary will double in increments over the next five years. He’ll also get a car and a company credit card. Any further questions?”
Lucky looked around the room. No one had his hands up. “Okay, then. Let’s have a vote. All in favor of Angelo becoming part of our corporation, raise your hands.”
Everyone in the room raised their hands. There were no dissenters because Angelo would be doing their jobs for them. Now they wouldn’t have to take turns going to the city to check on how the company was progressing. That would be Angelo’s job from now on and that meant more free time for the board who were nothing more than street guys, Lucky’s neighborhood chums, who he had made rich. After the meeting was closed, all of the guys congratulated Angelo by shaking his hand or patting him on the back, until Lucky called for order.
“Angelo. Come on over and say a few words to the members of the board, who also happen to be my buddies.”
Angelo stood and, instead of the flippant air he usually put on, he became serious. “I grew up on the lower east side of Manhattan with a bunch of losers. The army saved me from messing up my life real bad. The army taught me discipline and the value of friendship. In combat, you have to know you can depend on the guys on either side of you, and they with you. After meeting all of you, I feel as though I’m back in France in combat in 1944 and I’m comfortable knowing that you have my back and I can depend on you - and I want you to know that you can always depend on me because I’ll have your back. I love being here - in this time - and in this place among you guys. I never want to go back to where I came from. Here and now, I have a future - a bright future - and I am looking forward to proving myself to all of you. I want you to know one last thing, and that is I’ll always have your backs and I’ll never let you down. Well, that’s all I have to say.”
Angelo wasn’t used to being this exposed or this sincere with anyone. He always hid his feelings behind clever remarks and a rough devil-may-care attitude, but with Lucky and his friends, he could be himself. Deep down, Angelo was an honest, brave soldier who, when Lucky met him, was willing to sell his life dearly. He may have been killed somewhere in France behind enemy lines, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be killed without killing many of the enemy. It seemed to Angelo that he experienced the war centuries ago, when in fact, it was only a few days ago. And now here he was seventy years in the future and, instead of being nervous and scared, afraid of being killed by German soldiers, he was invigorated and pumped up, and excited to be one of Lucky’s friends.
Later, when the gang left, Lucky told Angelo that under no circumstances was he to tell anyone that he came from the past. Lucky looked him in the eye.
“If I ever find that you told anyone where you came from, I promise you that I’ll take you back to that war so fast you won’t believe it. Never tell anyone where you came from, and that’s an order. Do you understand me?”
Angelo knew that Lucky meant every word he said. “Don’t worry, Lucky. I won’t ever tell anyone. I like being here too much to screw it up.”
Lucky relaxed. “Make sure you remember, because if you don’t . . .” Lucky didn’t finish the sentence. He just let his words linger before turning to leave.
Angelo wanted to ask Lucky something before he left.
“Lucky.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s a company credit card?”
CHAPTER 26
PRESENT, THREE DAYS LATER
The day after the meeting, Mickey and Lucky drove Angelo to Valentino Maximus, where he was measured and fitted for a complete wardrobe: five suits, five sports jackets, five pairs of slacks, shirts, shoes, and all the accessories that a successful businessman would purchase, including a $65,000 Patek Philippe Annual Calendar watch. Lucky was a billionaire and, to him, money was meant to be spent. Money was nothing more than a tool to him - even when he was one of the top jewel thieves in the world. He had over a million dollars stashed from his days as a jewel thief, but he became a billionaire by bringing back special items from the 12th Century and auctioning them off at Sotheby’s for millions of dollars.
The following day, Lucky and Mickey took Angelo to their corporate headquarters in New York City to meet their president and CEO, Leonard Flackstein. During the meeting, Flackstein was told by Lucky to set up an office for Angelo near his.
“I want you to take him under your wing and teach him the business. Let him start at the bottom and work his way up. I know that you have people working under you and I don’t want to upset the apple cart. I want Angelo to learn this business and I don’t want you thinking that he’s gonna replace you, because that’s not gonna happen. I have a vested interest in you and no one in this corporation is more important to me than you are, so don’t start getting nervous because I’ve added a stranger to the corporate structure. You’ll find that Angelo is a good man - but if you have any problems with him, then I want to know about it as soon as possible. Let me rephrase that. If you have any problems with him, try to get me first and, if I’m away, which I most likely will be, then tell Mickey or one of the board members of your concerns. But do me a favor and find Angelo an office near yours. Okay?”
“No problem. I’ll move someone to a different office and I’ll see to it that he has an office near me.”
“This office move is not going to be a problem, is it?”
“No. Don’t worry about it. I assure you that it’s no problem at all.”
“Good. I don’t want to create any hard feelings among you or the employees.”
“Don’t worry, Lucky; there won’t be any hard feelings - trust me on this.”
Lucky looked at Flackstein for a long moment until he was satisfied that Flackstein meant what he said.
Flackstein knew that Lucky vanished for months and maybe years at a time, and he often wondered where Lucky went during his mysterious absences, but then, he knew enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had known Lucky for decades, yet he never seemed to age, and he had to be the most mysterious person he’d ever met, but that was none of his business, so he never asked Lucky questions. Flackstein remembered the day Lucky walked into his office with a suitcase full of money and dumped the money on his desk. Then he instructed him to order him IBM, Apple, and Microsoft stock with that money. Flackstein tracked the stock for months after their public offerings, and he was amazed at the performance of the stocks Lucky had chosen. Lucky’s predictions were so accurate that Flackstein wondered if he could see into the future, because the stocks performed precisely as he said they would, and the splits occurred on the dates he said they would. Handling Lucky’s account made Flackstein the star of Merrill Lynch, which made him extremely grateful and very loyal to Lucky. A number of years later, Lucky gave him a blank check and told him to start a corporation and run it for him. He made him president and CEO, appointed him to the board of directors, and even gave him a percentage of the company. He became a multi-millionaire because of Lucky. The one thing he would never do was to jeopardize their special friendship, so he smiled and agreed to have young Angelo move into the office next to his and he would teach him the brokerage business. The day Lucky walked into his office was the luckiest day in his life.
Two days later, Mickey pulled Lucky into the safe room and sat him down.
“When are we gonna go after this bum Mueller?”
Mickey was protective of Lucky, so he made sure that Lucky knew he was going to be part of whatever Lucky was planning.
“It’s funny that you should ask. I was just going to ask you to contact the professor. I suspect Mueller has beefed up his security, and I’ll bet you a million to one that he’s beefed it up with titanium. I want the professor to get the saucer ready and have him bring invisibility suits for you, Nicky, Dukie, and me. I think the four of us can handle whatever Mueller can throw at us. Tell the professor that we’ll be ready to leave
as soon as he gives us a time and a date.”
At six fifty a.m., two days later, the cloaked saucer hovered above the grassy area in Astoria Park, waiting for Lucky and the boys to arrive. At seven a.m., a Lincoln Navigator pulled into Astoria Park and cruised slowly under the shadow of the Triborough Bridge. The car pulled to the curb and parked near the end of the large blacktopped parking area, facing the grassy area across from the Olympic-sized Astoria Pool. The professor pushed in the activating lever a little and the ship settled gently onto the manicured grass, not far from the Navigator. The only thing visible was the door opening and the stairs telescoping down to allow entry into the saucer. The men quickly exited the Navigator and Mickey heard the satisfying click as the doors on the Lincoln locked behind him as he bounded up the steps. As soon as everyone was on board the saucer, the professor hit a switch and the steps receded back into the saucer seamlessly. The entire procedure of the steps being lowered and then retracted occurred in a matter of seconds, then the ship rose vertically and settled above the cumulous clouds, before leveling on a horizontal plane and then rocketing forward and disappearing in the distance towards Europe at 1500 miles an hour. Twenty minutes, later the professor nudged the stick forward, increasing the saucer’s speed to 2500 miles per hour, which made Mickey smile.
“How fast can this baby go, professor?”
“It can go a lot faster, but I’m taking it easy. I don’t want the ship to fall apart before I test its upper parameters and know how fast it can actually go without weakening the frame. Don’t forget, this is a hand-built prototype, which appears to handle 2500 miles easily, but I’m a little nervous to push it faster.”
“Go ahead. Let’s bring it to 3000 mph and see how she does.”
The professor shook his head slowly, but considered it. “I don’t know about that.”
“Go ahead; bump it up. Just do it. Don’t be a pussy; go ahead and do it.”
The professor looked around nervously at the guys until Lucky gave him a slight nod.
“Oh, all right. But if the ship doesn’t feel right, I’m dropping the speed back to where it is now.”
He pushed the lever forward a little more and the ship lurched ahead at an even greater speed. 2700, 2800, 2900. When the ship reached 3000 mph, the professor locked the lever in place, which prevented it from moving faster. The professor calculated the distance from New York City to Budapest as 4365.9 miles and then he told everyone that they’d be landing in another fifty minutes.
Mickey let out a whoop. “I told you guys that this ship could do 3000 mph. On the way back, we’ll do 4000 mph.”
“Hold on a minute!” the professor shouted. “Not on your life are we going to do 4000 mph on the way back; that’s not going to happen anytime soon. You have to understand that I must test the ship first before attempting to bring the speed to 4000 mph.”
Mickey waved his hand. “If I don’t keep bugging you to increase the speed on this ship, you’ll never do it. But I’m a reasonable man. We’ll split the difference and do 3500 mph on the trip back home.”
The professor started to object, but thought better of it and just shook his head. “Whatever,” was all he said. Fifteen minutes before arriving, the professor told everyone to suit up; they’d be landing in a few minutes.
CHAPTER 27
12TH CENTURY
England
Keisling cut a dashing figure in his new clothes and shiny silver-gilded sword. The sword was secured by silver clips around his waist, by black leather straps from which his sword hung by his side. Up until now, he had been making good time, but if he had a good horse under him, he could make much better time. So today, he would look for two very different items. He walked down the dirt street, checking all the shops as he passed by them. Finally, at the edge of town, he found what he was looking for: a blacksmith-armorer. He opened the door and walked in to the sound of noise. A large man hammering a narrow piece of steel on an anvil with his back to him stopped what he was doing, turned to face Keisling, and as he did, he sized him up.
“Good morning, blacksmith.”
Besides fixing horseshoes, and all of the many mundane items that a town would take to him for fixing, the blacksmith also created armor and weapons. He could tell by the look of Keisling and by the way he carried himself, that he was a fighting man. He studied the man standing before him with the scar that ran across his face, which he thought added character to it. This, he did in a matter of seconds. Smiling, he said, “And what can I do for you, sir?”
“Two things, actually. I’m traveling a great distance, and my sword, while good for leisurely walks or parades, is not suitable for traveling, especially if I need to use it at a moment’s notice.”
“Hmm. I see,” the blacksmith said as he rubbed his beard. “So if I understand you correctly, you would like something like this. Come with me.”
He led Keisling to the back, where he kept his leather items.
“Ah. Here it is. This is a twin-blade shoulder harness that you can wear to keep two swords secured to your back. But I see that you only carry the one sword. Well, I also have a single-blade shoulder harness.”
“No! The two-blade shoulder harness is exactly what I was looking for. Now all I need is to find a second blade. You wouldn’t have one you could sell me, would you?”
“I’m a blacksmith, sir. But I’m also an armorer who makes weapons. Now what kind of armorer would I be if I didn’t have extra swords and knives to sell a fine customer like you? As a matter of fact, I have what could be the mate to that sword you’re wearing. Come; let me show it to you.”
Keisling was used to fighting with both the long sword and the shorter blade. He had killed many men in battle using his long sword to parry his opponent’s sword while using his training and experience to drive the shorter blade under his adversary’s shield, into his ribcage and up into his heart. Keisling put his arms though the harness and the blacksmith adjusted it for him. “This is three-quarter-inch leather held together with bronze rivets and it’s gilded with silver. This will last longer than you will, so don’t worry about wearing it out.”
They both laughed at his little joke. Keisling looked at the leather sword frog that he had just removed from his waist.
“I hate to get rid of this, but since I don’t have a horse, I guess I’ll have to.”
The blacksmith, not one to let an opportunity slip by, asked his customer to follow him out back. When they stepped through the back door, Keisling was facing a stable.
“Don’t tell me you sell horses too?”
“I found that in my business, a stable is a necessity. The men that purchase my weapons sometimes are in need of a steed. The horses you see here were either bartered, or left as security, and because their time limit has expired and they haven’t returned for their horses, I now am free to sell some of them.”
This is just how I got the sword from the tailor, Keisling thought to himself. It’s the same thing, only a horse instead of a sword this time.
Keisling inspected the six horses in the stable and found the one he preferred.
“How about this one?”
“Yes, that horse became available two days ago. He’s a fine animal and you can have him for ten silver pennies. I’ll even throw in the saddle and saddlebags.”
Keisling smiled. Now he wouldn’t have to walk to King Robert’s castle.
“Done,” he said. “What’s his name?”
“His name is Vortice.”
“Vortice? What sort of name is that?”
“The horse was left here by an Italian nobleman, and vortice in Italian means ‘whirlwind.’”
Keisling grinned. “Whirlwind. I like that. The name fits him. Now what do I owe you for the harness and short sword?”
“Give me fourteen pennies for everything.”
Keisling reached into his purse and counted out fourteen pennies, which he handed to the blacksmith. “Thank you, now where can I find the saddle and saddle bags?”<
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The big blacksmith put up his large calloused hands. “The saddle is on a post in the barn and the saddlebags are stored upstairs over the barn. Wait for me in front, by the alley beside my shop. I’ll go to the barn and get the saddlebags and the saddle, and then I’ll bring the horse around.”
Keisling did as instructed and waited in the front by the alley near the blacksmith’s shop. A few minutes later, the blacksmith, with the horse in tow and the saddle on him, walked up the alley to where Keisling waited. Keisling studied the horse for a long moment, and then he walked around him, patting him on his flank. He kept walking around the animal to the front where he patted and rubbed his neck to put the horse at ease, and then he gave him an apple so the horse would get to know him. Satisfied with the horse, he thanked the blacksmith, and then he mounted Vortice. But before leaving, he leaned over and shook the blacksmith’s hand.
“It was good doing business with you, blacksmith. Now I must be going, for I have a lot of ground to cover today.”
An hour later, another man stopped by the blacksmith’s shop and asked if he had a horse to sell. The blacksmith was about to say yes, but something about this man bothered him. “Horses are hard to come by this close to the border. Most of the good ones are taken. Where is it that you have to go that you need a horse?”
The stranger looked at the blacksmith with an evil eye that sent chills down the big blacksmith’s body. It wouldn’t do to turn your back on this man, he thought.
“That is none of your business,” the stranger barked. “Now tell me. Has a man been here either yesterday or today?”
The blacksmith nodded. There was no sense lying to the man. He would find out sooner or later and he didn’t need to curry another enemy, so he decided to tell him the truth.
“Yes. A man came by today.”
“What did he buy? Was it a horse?”
The blacksmith, a powerful bear of a man looked at the stranger defiantly.