by Phoenix Hays
“—and you never even worked here?” Mary whispered.
“Honey, I was helping them,” Victor said with his arms out to his sides.
“You were putting yourself in danger while we were by ourselves in a forest,” Mary hissed.
Victor leaned toward his wife. “But it was meant to be. You have to understand that.” He motioned at the room they were in. “We’re here now and part of something bigger!”
Mary brought her hand up to cover her face, dropped her shoulders and sighed. “Victor, what am I going to do with you?”
Joe moved back over to watch the TV. The following few hours were spent with Victor and Mary sleeping on their bed while the kids watched the various hi-jinks unfold onscreen.
Eventually Joe’s eyes grew heavy, and he looked around one last time before he nodded off. Orange light from the afternoon sun casted a warm glow on his family. He saw them sleeping on comfortable bedding for the first time he could remembered in forever and smiled. Ayrin watched as his head slowly dropped to the pillow and the world faded into darkness for her too.
CHAPTER 27
Patrick stood outside of Duke Evensen’s office door and knocked. It opened quickly, and Duke’s smiling face greeted him.
“Patrick, come in, my friend.”
He followed Duke into the office and watched Duke walk over to his bonsai. There was a pile of green trimmings in front of the small trees.
“I’m just finishing up the last work these two will have this year.” Duke leaned over and made a few more cuts to undesired limb starts.
Patrick watched him carefully collect the trimmings and put them into the trash basket next to the credenza. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw it showed 7:55.
A knock came from the door.
“Do you think that’s Victor?” He asked as Duke turned around.
“Let’s hope so,” Duke answered. “Based on what he’s done so far, I’m expecting him to be the type that shows up early.”
Duke strode to the door and opened it to reveal Victor standing there.
“Come in, come in, Victor,” he said.
Victor stepped forward, following the man. “Thank you,” he said. “I apologize, but I wasn’t sure what equipment to bring to be fully prepared.”
“To bring?” Duke turned around abruptly. “My dear Victor, we would never ask you to provide your own equipment. Clearly, you have firearms, and I am more than happy for you to carry them, but your new uniform is here.” As he spoke, he walked to a tall metal cabinet with two doors. He opened them and hanging there was the uniform of a high-end security staff member. Black hat and shirt, flak jacket and matching pants.
Patrick walked up to the cabinet and took each piece one by one. He handed the items and a black duffle bag to Victor.
“There is a bathroom to your right,” Duke said. “Please feel free to use that to change.”
Victor smiled and nodded. He walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
A few moments later, the door opened again and Patrick looked up. Victor emerged from the doorway looking like a fully equipped paramilitary security guard.
“Mr. Evensen,” Victor said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am to be able to join your team here. May I make one request?”
“Of course,” Duke said. “You’ve not asked for a single thing until now.”
“Thank you, sir,” Victor said. “Is it OK that I replace this hat with one of my own?”
“I don’t see that as a problem,” Duke said. “Now, let’s get down to your assignment.”
Duke ushered the other two men to sit down and both took a seat.
“I don’t have to tell you two that the pressure is rising on us. We’ve been lucky up to this point, but clearly the attack yesterday shows that the Fatalists are making moves. As of this morning, I am establishing a new anti-Fatalist team that will lead all of our security measures. Victor, I’d like you to be a part of that. Do you accept?”
“Of course, sir,” Victor said, “but I’m not sure that I—“
“Nonsense.” Duke cut him off. “You personally handled one of the protesters yesterday. And you took care of another in hand to hand combat according to Patrick here.” Duke raised his hand, gesturing to the other man.
Victor looked over at Patrick with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.
Patrick smiled at Victor. “Did you really think I wouldn’t tell anyone?”
Victor cleared his throat and looked back to Duke.
“You have clearly managed to live and move among the protests without garnering much attention. And when it counts, you can handle yourself in an intense situation. I can’t think of many other people in this building that would be a better fit.”
Victor sat there, motionless.
“So that’s settled,” Duke said, “and we will begin meetings today to start revamping. We can only assume that Mr. Stalk passed on more to them than just a handgun.”
“Yes, sir,” Victor said and nodded in agreement.
“I figured you would agree,” Duke said as he stood up. “Patrick, will you take Mr. Bayham to the Jupiter room? I’ll have the rest of the team called there immediately.”
“Of course,” Patrick said. “Please come with me.” He ushered Victor to the door.
CHAPTER 28
Patrick’s head swiveled as he attempted to track all the conversations happening at once. The Jupiter room was packed with high-level Space Vision staff trying to convince someone else of their response to Duke’s question regarding changes needed in the security protocols. From his seat inside the fray, Patrick caught bits and pieces of the excited discourse.
He saw Clarence holding a data pad so Victoria could see what was on it. He pointed several times at the screen. “—need more motion sensors and cameras around the building.”
Richard was leaning across the table and spoke loudly to Miyako. “What we need is more armed guards at weak points and blind spots.” He hit the table with his fist as if to make the statement final.
Sanjeed and another security team member were talking over each other. “—plain clothes security team members in forward positions.”
“Everyone, stop!” A booming voice silenced the room. Patrick looked to his right and saw a frustrated Duke Evensen standing with his fists pressed down against the head of the table. Duke scanned the room and stopped at Victor.
“Mr. Bayham, I noticed you weren’t speaking. What thoughts do you have?”
“They are all right, sir,” Victor said.
“What do you mean?”
“They are ALL correct. Every angle of our security needs a new look and an upgrade. I would suggest that we start making changes to the accessibility to the building, communication, staffing and tactics. We need to show one thing and do something else.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Richard Carter said. He leaned forward with a scowl on his face. “You’ve been here all of five minutes and want to completely overhaul a system you know nothing about?”
“Easy, Richard,” Duke said. “Without Victor’s intervention, that Fatalist could have done a lot of damage. There’s no telling how many people would have been hurt. Or worse.”
Richard, clearly unhappy with the rebuke, sat back in his chair, crossed his arms and held onto his scowl.
Duke sat down. “Go on, Victor. What would you suggest to meet all those goals?”
“Based on the opinions of the people here, I think we already have the project leaders based on their choice of what’s most important. Divide and conquer would be my thought.”
Duke leaned back in his chair and smiled. His hand held his square chin.
“I can’t do anything but agree,” Duke said.
One by one, the topics were announced and project leaders were selected. People filed out of the room in groups. Finally, Duke and Patrick were the only two still sitting at the table. The CEO looked at his friend as the last group left the conference room.
“Well, Patrick, we are definitely on a new journey. Let’s hope we have the right people in place. We have a lot of work to do and we are running out of time.”
With that, the two men got up and walked toward the door. Just before he exited, Duke reached for the motion sensor, turned the lights off and darkness overtook the room.
CHAPTER 29
“Mom, can I go downstairs?”
Mary looked back at Joe. “Downstairs where?”
“I wanna see the changes they’ve made!”
“Yeah, it sounds like they updated a lot.” Ayrin nodded in agreement.
“See if Patrick can go with you. If he can, I’m OK with it,” she said. “But you go to the second-floor balcony. You don’t go down to the lobby. Understand?”
“Yes,” the kids said in unison.
A short walk down the hall and an elevator ride later, the two children walked up to Patrick’s door. Joe waved his hand over the wall sensor, and he heard the bell ring inside the apartment. The door opened, and Patrick’s familiar face appeared at the door.
“Hello! I wasn’t expecting anyone,” Patrick said. “What can I do for you?”
“Mom said it was OK to see the changes to the front of the building, but I had to ask you to come too.” Joe’s face was aglow with excitement.
“I don’t know.” Patrick took a step back and rubbed his chin with mock disinterest. “I’m really busy this morning...”
“Please!” The kids pleaded together. “Please!”
“OK, OK,” Patrick said as he laughed. “Give me a moment and we’ll head down.”
***
“It’s so different,” Joe said.
Ayrin stepped forward and took a spot next to Joe and Patrick along the railing at the edge of the second-floor balcony. She looked down to see a labyrinth of partial walls now standing in the lobby.
“What’s all that for?” She asked.
“The security team installed those walls as a way to slow down anyone trying to enter the building,” Patrick said. “It’s just one of a number of updates they’ve made to the building.”
Thunk!
The three looked to the right where the sound came from, just in time to see a rock bounce away from one of the lobby windows.
“What was that about?” Joe asked.
“There’s a lot of angry people out there,” Patrick said. “Unfortunately, many of them want to stop what we are working on here. Don’t worry, those windows are another upgrade we made recently. They’re made of a special type of material that’s much stronger than regular glass.”
“Freeze!” A voice behind them yelled. “You are in a locked down area. Stay right where you are!”
The kids’ eyes sprang wide. The tension built as they waited for the next command.
“What are y’all doing down here?” Victor said chuckling from behind them.
Patrick and the kids turned around.
“Dad!” Joe yelled. The boy ran forward and gave Victor a hug.
“Hey, buddy,” Victor said. He looked up and nodded in the direction of Patrick. “How are you?”
Patrick smiled at Victor. “Aside from a slightly elevated blood pressure, I’m good.”
“I couldn’t help myself, Patrick. You guys looked pretty intense there.”
“Somebody threw a rock at the window, dad,” Joe said.
“No damage, though, right?”
The boy shook his head, confirming the assumption.
“Good. Patrick, there’s been some developments. Duke is planning to go public with his announcement in spite of the incident a few weeks ago. He’s scheduled for an appearance on the Carol Wilcox show this evening. He asked me to bring you to a lunch meeting to discuss details.”
Patrick nodded. “Of course.”
“I’m assuming you can make it back to mom without our help?” Victor asked.
The two children nodded and headed to the closest elevator.
CHAPTER 30
Patrick followed Victor into the Jupiter conference room and saw Duke already sitting at the head of the table accompanied by a handful of staff. Discussions about the television appearance had already started.
“Patrick!” Duke stood up. “Victor! Welcome! Please join us.”
As Patrick sat down, Duke attempted to corral the conversations.
“OK, OK, everyone,” he said. “Let’s get organized here. First things first.” He looked over at one of the members of his marketing team. “Have you had a chance to go through my talking points and make any edits or suggestions?”
“Yes, sir,” the woman said. “You should be receiving the file any moment now.”
“Great. Thank you.” Duke turned to one of the IT staffers. “Are the new computer models ready for the interview?”
“Yes, sir,” the man said. “We have proofed and tested them to make sure they will upload and run correctly on the equipment the news stations utilize.”
“Fantastic.” He turned to Richard. “How are the new building security measures coming along?”
The security chief looked over at Victor and waved his hand in a “why don’t you tell him” motion.
Victor, caught off guard, chewed a bite of his sandwich, and took a drink from the glass in front of him. “Things are going well,” he said. “Most of the main lobby projects are either complete or nearing completion. Many of the staff security initiatives have been carried out. Additional transportation has been secured and the vehicles are being overhauled with safety measures.”
“Perfect. Thank you,” Duke said. He then turned to the monitor on the wall.
Patrick followed Duke’s movement and turned to see Director Victoria Clark’s face on screen.
“How are preparations going at Site B?” he asked her.
Victor shot Patrick a sideways glance, but Patrick didn’t return his look.
“Things are going well here,” she said. “We had a minor power setback in the lodging. We thought we were going to have problems with the additional staff that had been stationed here ahead of schedule. Initially, the grid was not ready to handle the draw, but the engineering team came up with some creative ideas to meet the challenge.”
“And what were the results?” Duke asked.
“Not only were they able to upgrade the network to handle the current population—“
This time Victor caught Patrick’s eyes. He frowned, mouthed the word “population” to Patrick and received a reassuring nod in return.
“—believe that with only minor upgrades we will be able to handle the next phases. The grid will also have reliable redundancies for unforeseen failures,” Victoria said.
“Excellent,” Duke said. “Efficient backup systems will be a must to ensure our success. Thank you.”
Duke stood up and the room got quiet. Patrick and Victor shot each other a glance. Duke’s jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrow – clear signs the CEO planned to make a big announcement. The blank look they saw on each other’s faces confirmed that neither was in the know.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Duke said. “We have seen the lengths the protesters will go, and the Oppenheimer String is only getting closer. We are now working toward a new goal. In order to protect our staff and move our mission forward, we will be relocating Space Vision — in its entirety — to Site B.”
Murmurs came from his audience as they reacted to the news.
“Everyone and their families will be relocated within the next month. When you get to your work stations, you will be able to download a packet explaining the process and what to do. I ask that you all keep the information to only yourself and your family. These packets contain only preliminary info and additional releases will be on the way. Be sure to keep checking your data pads frequently. Thank you for all your hard work. We have more ahead of us, but each one of you have been instrumental in our progress this far.”
Duke paused, smiled and looked around at the team gathered in front of him. He then looked over to Patrick.<
br />
“Patrick, will you start the meeting off with an update on your systems programming?”
“Of course,” Patrick said and began recounting the progress he had made since the last meeting.
CHAPTER 31
Patrick opened the door of the media room and let Victor walk in ahead of him. Victor stopped just inside and looked around. Sound insulator boards lined the walls. Their dark blue fabric complemented the tan carpet. Between the walls was a makeshift studio anchored by a contemporary black table in the far corner of the room. A black high-backed steel stool with leather cushions sat behind the table, waiting for its occupant. Behind the furniture was a drop cloth that showed the image of an empty office. A television camera with two monitors mounted below the lens faced the setup. A couple of tall lights with white umbrella covers flanked the camera on either side.
“I can’t believe I’m standing here,” Victor said.
Patrick looked over at Victor and saw the awe in his face.
“I’ve been here multiple times,” he said. “And it never gets old.”
“What are the screens on the camera for?” Victor asked.
“One is there so that Duke can see the other person in the conversation. The other is used to show him any graphics that we are using as part of the discussion,” Patrick said.
“Makes sense.”
To the right of the men and the interview station was another high-backed stool in front of a vanity. Patrick pointed in that direction.
“Over there is where they do some light makeup for Duke,” he said.
“Makeup?” Victor asked. “You’d never get me to wear makeup.”
“You might change your mind after seeing how those lights make you look,” Patrick said. “Your skin looks pale and sickly. The heat from the lamps makes you sweat. You end up looking pretty bad without any preparation.”