RESTORATION (a science fiction novel) (RESTORATION (the science fiction trilogy)) (23 page)

Dodge already knew the numbers looked good.  He figured if Tim was there for any other reason, bringing up a good quarterly report might distract him. 

“Oh, yeah the numbers, they look great, so I take it you read the report and you know why I’m here right?” 

             
Tim got a big smile on his face and reached into his pocket.
                      “I’m here to deliver your quarterly bonus.” 

             
Dodge had completely forgotten about the bonus.  He was so wrapped up in the cloak and dagger events over the past several weeks that he completely lost track of the time.  Tim was pulling what Dodge thought would be a check from his pocket but instead presented him with a crisp one dollar bill. 

They both started laughing and then Tim quickly whipped the bonus check out of the breast pocket of his jacket.

“Here ya go my friend, you deserve this,” he said as he slapped it into Dodges hand and patted him on the shoulder.

“Best quarter ever and I do mean EVER!  Our stock is up, the shareholders are happy, and the board is elated with our financial position.  Things are good pal, we’re all gonna be rich by the time we retire.” 

Dodge couldn’t help but smile, and it felt good.  In spite of everything that was going on in the background, right now he was living in the moment and it felt great.  He looked at Tim and then the envelope. 
         “Hey man, you gonna open it?  I’d kinda like to see the look on your face!”  Dodge ripped into the envelope like a kid on Christmas morning.  He stared at it in disbelief.  The check was made out for $365,000!
         “Wow!  Why is it so large?”  Dodge said while still looking shocked. 

Tim was nearly dancing he was so happy.
         “Well Buddy, it seems we made it through our three-year probationary period for the Lifecorder without a single documented malfunction.  This was a huge milestone for the company and our investors poured in billions in cash the day after the release of the report.  The combination of the huge influx of capital and the press release about the perfect record and the end of the probationary period caused the stock to go through the roof.”

“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 was 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?”