Encompassing

Encompassing

By Richard Lord

© Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 1

“A stone is thrown and the world is changed by the ripples.”  -- from the book of Sara

“Lux erat ansas ora cortinae ut in aeternum” -- from the words of the son who was the father.  – circa - unknown.  Translated from the Latin: “The light of the loops on the edge of the curtain that they would endure.”

“It’s interesting to finally meet you, Mr.?”  He pauses awaiting a response he knows he won’t receive. 
“Well I suppose that doesn’t matter yet.  I’ve heard you talk a lot?”  The detective quietly asked while reading the file in his hand.

“Yup” The subject replies while reading the file in the Detective’s hand.

The Detective notes that the attempt, but was sure to hold the file very far from normal view and purposefully held out of direct view.

“Not what I expected.”  Detective Brady says lightly at the response.

“Uh huh.” Renfield replies.

“You realize why you’re here, right?”  Brady says, checking to be sure his subject is responsive to the conversation at hand.

“Yup.” Replies Renfield, with complete lack of interest

“They tell me, supposedly you’re extremely smart?” Brady inquires.

“I’ve heard rumors.”  Renfield replies

“OK, well this isn’t going far.”  Detective Brady again pauses, but again, only for effect.  “You know why I’m here.  You’re aware of my job, you aren’t going to incriminate yourself and I’m wondering what the hell happened.”, states Brady.

“A lot.”, replies Renfield, dryly.

“So tell me some of it!” Brady shouts at him, but he already knows that won’t have much effect.  He’s seen this type before.  Although it doesn’t match up with some of what is in the records he is holding.

“You could not believe and you don’t really have any charges.  I could walk out of here, but then you’d follow me and I’d have to put up with that and frankly, I’m not in the mood, Detective.”

“Factually that’s all true, but I have a job to do.  They’re right.”  He notes as he taps the file in his hand.  “You’re…perceptive and you can see the endgame already, can’t you?”

For the first time Renfield moves and says, “With true respect, yes.  I can and you won’t be able to until the end game is mine.”

Brady relaxes and sits down in front of Renfield.  “I’ve met others like you.”

Renfield notes, “Yes, I know.  Weren’t you thinking that a moment ago?”

Detective Brady thinks to himself and realizes he had and then cuts to the chase,
“I need to know what’s going on.”

Renfield sits back again into his relaxed state.  “No, you don’t need to know, you want to know.  The others I made.  They had their purpose as you have yours and I have mine.”

“What purpose can you serve from behind bars?” asks Brady

“How would that ever happen?  You have nothing but a hunch and some video tape.  Have you reviewed those tapes?  I have done everything I have done to serve.  I know you cannot understand because unlike me you can’t see the alternates, but I have and I know I am doing what is right.  Scribble down paranoid in your notes while you’re at it.  It doesn’t’ change anything, but it would make it harder for me to help you, which I eventually will do.  I have a job too, Detective.”

Brady combs his chin with his hand and says, “So you do talk!  More than you seem at first.”

“I talk more to the people who should hear me and you are one of them, like it or not.  Something tells me one day you won’t like it, then other days you’ll love it!”

“So, Renfield, is that what you are going by now?  I’ll note that you’re egotistical too.”

“It’s a character flaw brought on by being me.  Also note you don’t lack it either.”  Renfield grins at the Detective.

“Don’t tell me what to put in my notes, Renfield!  I haven’t written them yet.”  Brady recomposes himself.

“I beg to differ with you old friend, you’ve got a stenographer, I’m sorry, junior detective on the other side of that wall furiously typing what we say and you’re typing notes under the table.  Neat upside down keyboard design, must have taken a while to adjust to.”  Renfield puts a foot on the desk between them.

“How the hell…never mind, so what’s up?”  Brady regains his composure awkwardly.

“What’s up is that I’m going to tell you where some really bad shit is about to happen, you’re going to take me there and stay the hell out of my way while I stop it.  We’re going to be really good friends… someday, but right now you’re about to say there is no way anyone would authorize such a thing!”

Brady tilts his head dismissively, and then loosens his neck and coolly says, “On some of those points you are dead on.  But, I wouldn’t even ask for a transport.  Why would I transport you to where YOU want to go?”

“I am going to guess you’ve played cards before.  Especially poker.  You are a Detective, too.  So you know when a person is bluffing.  I think you know right now, at least in my mind, I am bluffing.  You’ll come to realize that, but sir, that takes patience.  I am not a patient man, but this part I know, it’s the rest that concerns me.”  Renfield removes his foot from the table.  “It would be nice if you would un-cuff me so I could shake the hand of an old friend.”

“That’s not going to happen and I am NOT your friend!”

“Ok Brady, but I knew you would say that, which is why I took them off myself.  See?  Now I could have gone bonkers and hurt you, but I’m trying to tell you the same thing I have so many times.  It becomes annoying each time.  You will find a way to get the transport, we will go there.  We will again try to stop it.  On the way, we’ll have pie.  You like pie.”

“You’re insane!”

“But you do like pie, Brady.”

“I’ll come back in…”

“I already know how long it takes you to recheck your intel and come back, Brady.  You’ll find some things and a lot of misinformation that when you look deeper at it will make you realize there is more to me than you thought when you walked in this room.  This is not just a day on the job.  You just met your future, sir.”

Brady looks at Renfield very suspiciously but something tugs at him.  A knowing, a feeling.  But he goes back into mode and replies, “I strongly doubt that.  I’ve seen a lot of your kind.   As for the cuffs, just hand them over so the cop who bought those out of her own pocket.  She is dedicated and deserves to have her own investment, to her job, back.  I can see they are useless.  I won’t argue that fact.  I also get the feeling that if you wanted to you could kill me pretty quickly.  So I will give you the benefit of the doubt and I won’t play hardball.  I will be calling psychiatrists, but you already knew that.”

“Yes, sir.  SOP.  I know how it goes, remember, I already explained this.”

“Whatever, Mr.” Brady pauses as if it pains him to say the name, yet he wonders why. “Renfield.”

Brady stands and leaves the room, but he is completely taken by a foreboding feeling.  It’s not about Renfield he thinks, it’s what Renfield will show him.  He begins planning transport while simultaneously thinking through proper procedure.  “Damnit!” he thinks, “He didn’t even finish his coffee this morning and it’s going to be a long day.”  Of that, he is sure!

CHAPTER 2

“Things seem to be so because we want our world to be simple.  Things are never what they seem.  We know, however but we ignore that to deal with one thing at a time.  He once taught me, there is a difference between what is and what seems to be.  He said the difference is, what is, is always less drastic than what seems to be.  That’s why the flash of lightning or the boom of the air it compressed did not bother me, much.”  - from the book of Jessica

“Okay, so what am I looking at?”  Behind the desk uttering those words is a man who is clearly overweight and has been blessed by the billions of dollars that have flowed in his direction thanks to the hard work of those around him and his willingness to invest in people he believes in.  He is being clear that he does not believe in the man in front of him.  He looks at his partner with the silent question on his face of, “Why is this guy in front of me?”

The man to his right responded quickly, “Because what you see in front of you is the future.  It is the it will change everything!”  Looking up at the man in presenting the idea in awe, he notices the look of skepticism from his partner.  Then he looks up to the figure in front of them for help to explain.

“I think he’s right.  I’ve seen others try at it horridly.  Our team is different.  We do pay attention to detail and we are not just on the cutting edge, we are the pioneers.  Pass this up and wipe it away, but in a decade you’ll remember the day I stood here.”  The representative straightens his tie and looks down at his not so fancy suit.

“The billionaire looks at his partner, “I don’t know what the fuck I’m seeing.  I don’t know why it matters.  Do you see anything worth continuing this?”

His partner leans across  and replies, “He’s right.  This is the future.  I don’t know why you can’t see it.  S.I.R. labs is doing things that people want.  In this case, I would call this amazing.”

The billionaire looks at his partner with a face full of skepticism.  Then over a mountain of paperwork he looks at the man in front of him and says, “You don’t have the look.  Your hair’s too short for a genius.  Plus, you try to come off polished but it’s clear you don’t have shit.  $10 million and I own it and I’ll put my people on it.  Take it or leave it.”

The man with the impassioned plea turns harder than either the billionaire or the partner has ever seen.  “No.  Pay me to run it.  I can always deal with some other ass who doesn’t  know their ass from a hole in the ground.”

Both of the heads of the company look at him oddly.  The billionaire speaks first, “Do you know what you are giving up?  Leave.  You’re an idiot.”

The partner leans over and grabs the arm of the billionaire, “He’s the founder.  I don’t think he’s an idiot.”

The billionaire thinks for a moment and then says to the founder, “Deal with my internal issues.  If you can do that, I’ll consider your offer.  I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t take the $10 million offer and run.”

“To quote Lewis Carrol, ‘Fuck you, I don’t have time for your bullshit.’”  The founder exclaims.

“I haven’t read that since I was a boy, but I’m fairly certain that wasn’t a quote.”  The billionaire says.

The founder responds, “True, but ‘Here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.’  I’m pretty sure that was Lewis Carrol. And accurate.”

The partners stare at each other and the deciding vote is unanimous.  “What will you do with the funds, as they are trickled in, instead of poured in a swoop so that you can invest?”

The founder laughs.  “I’m entirely too irresponsible to take on too much money.  I’ll be ripped off by crookery, thieves, liars and whores.  I have ex’s, ya know?  Plus, the kids need new shoes.  Not to mention my own requirement of fun and amusement to…”, he pauses then finishes, “Make the time pass, as they say.”  I just want to be sure it never runs out.  Ever.”

The partners look at each other, not sure what to think.  Then they silently agree and the lead partner stands for the first time since the meeting began.  He holds out a hand, but Renfield waits where he stands.  The billionaire moves towards him, clearly irritated, but shakes Renfield’s hand as he exclaims, “Deal.”

Months later as Renfield enters the building the senior partner a.k.a. the billionaire is exiting and looks at his watch.  Then he looks at the young Renfield and despite the mass of people following him who are clearly dignitaries of one sort or another, he comments, “Better late than never.”  Then he laughs and all of the dignitaries laugh and then he closes the distance between himself and Renfield as he whispers in Adam’s ear, “At least you don’t lie, like these fuckers!”  The billionaire, a.k.a. John Paulson laughs and adds, “You don’t have exes.  You’re not the type and I seriously doubt you’ve ever had to resort to a whore.  But, I get it was meant to amuse and not to be taken seriously.”  Then John pats Renfield on the back as he turns back to his Entourage and exclaims, “Pardon.  This kid’s my right hand man.”  Then he turns a steely eye at Renfield.

Renfield hears John think, “You’d better be!  I just sold you as a brand to the biggest of the big!”

Renfield nods and looks away as they all follow John out of the door.  Renfield thinks to himself while watching John exit the building, “Thanks for not doing introductions today!”