Chapter 26

Seated comfortably in McGowan’s office, enjoying the best scotch he’d ever had, Lewis began,

“I lost my girlfriend to a speeding driver and with the backing of a benefactor I tracked him down. I gave the information I have about this guy to the police but they haven’t arrested him yet because they say the evidence is circumstantial and wouldn’t be enough to convict him. Then I saw a news story about a company, Stone’s, which was rumored to have invented a thought-reading device. Stone denied its existence, but it’s real. I have done a lot of research into this, including, as you know, getting confirmation from two of his staff that it exists. I know that if I could use this device on the driver of the car, I could prove he was the killer. That’s why I’m trying to find Stone. As I said, I want to use the device, not own it or share in the wealth it will provide. You have unlimited resources; I have but few. You have much to gain in power and wealth; I have much to gain in personal satisfaction. You have too much power for me to try to steal the invention from you, even if I’m lying. Check out my story, then let’s find the man that is eluding us.”

McGowan hit a key on his cell phone and an aide appeared. McGowan gave her some instructions and she disappeared.

“Mr. Lewis, I’m going to verify your story. In the meantime, let’s discuss how we can, together, find Stone.”

“Mr. McGowan, until we have an agreement, even if it’s only a handshake, let’s wait until my story is verified.”

McGowan couldn’t help but smile. He extended his hand. Lewis shook it.

Lewis called Sharon Chapin and during their brief but information-packed conversation he explained the situation to her. Before hanging up, she told him it was okay if McGowan knew of her involvement with him. She agreed to meet with them as soon as she could get to Milford.

The guards working with Straight and Cueball arrived when McGowan and Lewis were meeting. They had visited a couple of bars and made a few phone calls, but hadn’t located Straight. They quietly entered McGowan’s mansion and stood in the hallway awaiting their fate.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, McGowan had them brought upstairs. One was ready to accept his fate; the other was ready to go at it with McGowan if he was his usual disagreeable self.

“Where’s Straight?”

“Mr. McGowan, we can’t find him,” answered the meek one.

“I’ve got eight others looking, and they haven’t found him either. Consider yourselves lucky that he and Cueball seem to have disappeared or both of you would be permanently disappearing.”

“Mr. Lewis, these two were part of my security team until recently. Now they are errand boys, making half what they used to,” McGowan told Lewis while glaring at his two men.

The meek one was upset that he was losing half his pay as punishment for not keeping track of Straight, but relieved to be alive. He said nothing.

His partner made a contemptuous look, and then got in McGowan’s face and began yelling,

“You son of a bitch! You’re not cutting my pay in half. We did everything we could think of to find Straight. It’s not our fault you don’t know where your super-duper head of security is. Maybe somebody kidnapped him. Did you ever think of that? Huh?”

McGowan was embarrassed that one of his staff acted in such a way, especially in front of a guest, to say nothing of the fact that he was so disrespectfully correct, and was about to choke the man in his powerful hands when Lewis said, “I’ve been thinking that, too, Mr. McGowan. It seems illogical that your trusted security head suddenly disappeared into thin air. Perhaps he is in hiding because he is working now with someone else, but I think it’s more likely that he was kidnapped.”

McGowan stopped his movement towards his employee momentarily to consider that possibility. His employee glowered at him, daring him to strike. When he hit the floor from a McGowan punch, he was unconscious.

“You may be on to something, Mr. Lewis. Straight has worked for me for quite a while and he’s been loyal. I don’t think he sold me out. We have to redouble our efforts and find out what happened to him after he and Stone left the hospital. Some of my men have been working on this, but with no results. Maybe you and Mrs. Chapin will have better luck, but with my unlimited resources, I don’t see how that will happen.”

“Mr. McGowan, where was the last time Stone was seen?”

“At a hospital.”

“What was he doing there?”

“Abducting Straight and another of my guards, a guy named Cueball.”

“What? You know he’s been abducted? Then what are you and I doing? Why aren’t you being up front with me?” Lewis got up to leave.

“Wait, Mr. Lewis. I received a video a few minutes ago. I didn’t know until then what had happened. Here, take a look,” McGowan said as he handed Lewis a cell phone.

Lewis took a look at the video.

“I see it plain as day, but I don’t understand how Stone and his partner overpowered your men. Your guys are trained in martial arts, boxing, judo, and other disciplines, are they not? Okay, I see ‘Cueball’ is injured, but, well… what does it matter? They did it. What do you know about Stone’s partner? Any idea where he lives?” he asked, knowing the answers to those questions already.

“His name is Danders. He’s Stone’s friend and a co-developer of the neural impulse-receiving software. I have a couple of guys on the way to his house. If he’s there, he’ll tell me what he knows.”

“And if he’s not?”

“Just like I’m doing with Stone, I have police, people in the armed forces, and drones looking for him and his vehicle. It won’t take long to find him.”

“The sheer force of your personality, resources, and connections may not be enough to locate Danders before Stone makes his move; for all you know, he and Stone are still together, watching over your men. Or maybe they’re at an airport or a bus station, meeting someone or preparing to go far away.”

For the first time with Lewis, McGowan lost his temper. He turned and ordered his men to leave the room.

“Listen, Stanley, I know goddamn well I screwed up by not keeping close tabs on Stone after I met with him, but I’ve got a hundred people, drones, and cameras all over the state looking for him. He can’t go far. So I don’t need some snot nose kid reminding me about it and telling me what to do.”

Lewis sat down, pretending to be upset at the turn of events.

“You won’t be needing our help then. I’ll call Mrs. Chapin and tell her to turn around. Will you still let me use the invention when you get it?”

McGowan, feigning concern, said yes, that he would do that. Lacking manners, he turned and began to leave the room. Lewis placed a listening device under the top of a table he was sitting next to when McGowan’s back was turned.

“I’ll let you know when I obtain the invention, Mr. Lewis.”

Lewis knew it was a lie.

McGowan offered his hand. Reluctantly, but without showing emotion, Lewis shook it.

Lewis filled Chapin in on what happened with McGowan. She was disappointed but not surprised. They agreed that she would continue her trip and that they would meet at the library.

Stone’s sleep was over. He checked the cameras for signs of Murphy and Long. He saw nothing. Their car was gone. Concerned that he had not thought enough about the ramifications of the invention, his plan now was to take it out of the state to make further, random, observations. He was ashamed to think that in his haste to create it, he didn’t give proper thought to the negative uses of the invention. To be able to see the thoughts of strangers as they went about their lives was creepy and voyeuristic and it made him sick thinking about this real possibility if someone like McGowan owned the invention. These observations, he hoped, would open up his eyes to other issues he hadn’t yet thought of. The biggest issue he had to deal with now, though, was the conflict he was experiencing.

What would my partners do if they knew my latest thoughts on selling the invention? Let someone else bring this technology to life. We, I, cannot do it. It’s morally wrong. And yet, why forego the wealth we would acquire? Someone else won’t care about morality. What have we done? What have I done?

Never had he thought about those who had learned to split the atom in search of cheap energy who had had their technology hijacked to develop nuclear fission, used to produce the atomic bomb, or joining nucleuses, nuclear fusion, used in hydrogen bombs. Surely they were conflicted. One day man will use this technology, or something else pernicious and destroy all life on this planet, of that he sadly had no doubt.

Stone needed for Danders to release Straight and Cueball; keeping them doped up for another week or more was not advisable. A call to Danders found him heading out of Stone’s hidden second house. He had purchased and installed eight cameras, four on the main floor and four outside. Straight and Cueball hadn’t moved. Stone let him know that he wanted to do more observations, and their prisoners had to be returned to their SUV. First, though, he and Danders had to talk; Stone had to tell him what he was thinking: Can one person, should one person, by choice or otherwise, be allowed to determine the fate of mankind? Is mankind worthy of saving? We are nothing but a continual interaction of chemical processes, producing occasional moments of scientific advances and inspiring actions, but more frequent moments of depravity and horror. Stone was unable to act until he made his thoughts known to someone; he couldn’t think of anyone better than Danders to do that with.

One other reason to get with Danders was to discuss how to avoid getting arrested for two counts of kidnapping. This problem was a Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

Danders agreed to wait for Stone, who had called an on-demand driver to pick him up half a mile from the Stone Building. Stone figured that McGowan was looking for his car—no sense making it easy for him.

Stone packed what he needed and hoofed it to the pick-up spot. Meeting the friendly, attractive driver was a refreshing interlude in his pressure-filled life. Her sparkling eyes and effervescent personality caused him to push his concerns momentarily to the back of his mind as she drove the back roads to meet Danders.

“What else do you do?” he asked the driver, who he guessed was a driver part time and a student full time.

Normally, she had her passengers sit in the back seat; when she saw how good-looking Stone was, she had him sit next to her. He didn’t complain. She told him that she was a singer in a band that kept her busy at night and weekends. They played a variety of types of music; they had played all over New England and were negotiating to play a club in New York City.

He had his contact lens in; she was saying what she thought. He also knew she thought he was handsome. He felt guilty knowing this when she didn’t know what he thought.

“You’re very pretty,” he told her, letting her know what he was thinking. “I bet you have a nice voice.”

“I’ve been told that. You should come see me sometime. Sing, I mean,” she said with a smile.

“I’d like that. What’s your number?”

“Look us up. We’re on the social media,” she said, still smiling.

“Okay. Let me out at the corner up ahead.”

She never told him her band’s name. It didn’t matter. She thought it.

Stone walked a zigzag pattern from the drop off point to his hideaway to better determine if he was being followed; he encountered no foot traffic. Danders was waiting.

“We don’t have much time,” Stone told him, “but I need to talk to you about what I now think we should do with the invention.”

“Sell it like we planned.”

“It doesn’t seem that simple anymore.”

“What does that mean? We’re not giving it away.”

Stone told Danders about the conflicting thoughts he had. The moral issue was paramount, but since some other group was undoubtedly near completion of their version of it, does the moral issue lose its annoying grip on one’s conscience?

“It’s late to be getting a conscience, Jon. We’ve known all along that the invention can be used for evil purposes. I don’t know if people “deserve” things, but if so, we deserve the accolades and wealth that will come with the publicized sale of it. You need to lighten up so we can cash out with the biggest pot in the history of the world. And your complete turnaround on what we should do with the invention makes me think that I’m talking to your anti-matter self.”

Stone did not immediately respond, but acknowledged Danders’ observation. His thoughts on what to do with the invention were now similar to Murphy’s and Summa’s.

Danders added, “We can’t hide from McGowan for long; we have to sell it or we lose the invention, the money, and who knows what else.”

Danders hadn’t changed his thinking on this; nonetheless Stone had to finish talking it out.

“What if we give it, not sell it, to some other group? A group that will use it for good purposes. Let them take the acclaim when they do so, and the blame if they don’t. I think we can do our due diligence quickly before giving it to them.”

Danders never knew Stone to ask a question without having an answer, so he humored him by asking, “Who is the group? China, Russia, Amazon, Google? It’s a short list.”

“I’ve been waiting to talk to you before I contact anyone. Giving it away is the opposite of what we always talked about, but it seems like a lopsided opposite because we will become billionaires if we sell. Do you remember we talked once about keeping all the source code as proprietary and letting other companies use it? Maybe we should do that. We would have more control over what our subscribers could use it for. It would take longer, but we would make as much money. The downside is we’d have to continue to add to the code, plus maintain it.”

“We sell it. We’re first, as in among others, so we sell. Ethics, morality, being a nice guy, whatever the reason not to sell doesn’t matter. Who will give us the most? McGowan. The only things left to talk about are how we do it without getting buried in concrete somewhere, and how do we avoid going to jail for kidnapping,” said Danders.

“Shouldn’t at least some of our time on earth be spent on trying to make things better for those less fortunate than us? I think so. I consider it a secular ethical issue. Seeing reality, in ourselves and in everything, and helping people by reducing suffering, are what we should spend our time on. I don’t think mankind has much time left to save itself from itself and from the algorithms of artificial intelligence. We must do something to save our species before computer programs like ours control us. Aren’t you concerned at least a little that that will happen?” asked Stone.

“Yes, I am, and I’ve read Yuval Noah Harari’s works on this issue as well. But I don’t agree with your timeframe. We’re a long way away from our species extinction. Sell.”

Stone paced the room for many minutes. Finally, resignedly, he agreed.

“I’ve been able to create a contact lens with its own power source to replace the eyeglasses,” Stone said.

“Say what?”

“I can wear it to meet with McGowan and sell him the outdated glasses. We can’t bring weapons, so we’ll have to improvise an escape plan if he decides to detain us.”

“I take it that we’re the only two who know about the lens?”

“Yes.”

“Some day you can tell me how you created such a sophisticated lens in... what? Four hours?” sighed an incredulous Danders.

“I will.”

Pointing to the floor below where Straight and Cueball lay, Danders sardonically said, “It will be difficult to escape McGowan if he has his goons, say, drug us and hold us hostage.”

“Know what I think about us being arrested? I think Straight and Cueball will be too embarrassed to file kidnapping charges. Let’s get McGowan the invention.”

Stone preferred to get to McGowan before being found, so that he and Danders could avoid being indecorously stopped, frisked, roughed up, and bound. He knew of course that whether or not they were found, they would not control the meeting. The best that they could hope for was to get McGowan to focus exclusively on the invention. Convincing him that it was what he wanted might ensure their safety.

Stone went to the garage and brought a red Ford F-250 around to the side door. Loading their prisoners onto dollies, they brought them up the elevator and dumped them in the truck bed. Although the drugs wouldn’t wear off for another few hours, they bound their hands and feet, secured them in the bed, and covered them with a tarp. Stone then smeared the license plates with mud to make them more difficult to read.

After that he went back inside, put the lens in, grabbed the outdated version of the invention, and they headed to the hospital and Straight’s SUV. Stone intended to put him and Cueball back into it and let them come out of their drug-induced sleep there. They would be ornery; let them be miles away when that happened.

In the meantime, McGowan continued to get discouraging news; the people he was looking for hadn’t been spotted. Typically inpatient, McGowan’s remaining patience was fried; he called his pilot and told her to have his helicopter ready to fly in ten minutes. She laughed and told him for the hundredth time that it would take an hour to get the helicopter ready and, since she was out of town, for her to get to Milford as well. Tuning out his profanity-laced answer, she asked how many people were going to be with him; they occasionally flew alone on his plane to various resorts for overnight stays. He told her goddamn it, he didn’t know yet; this wasn’t a pleasure flight. After calling the hangar to tell them to get the bird ready, she opted for a conservatively styled uniform so that less cleavage and leg would show, unlike what she wore when it was only the two of them. Scurrying to her Jaguar, she wondered what was making him so grumpy lately, but hoped that wherever she was taking him now would change his mood for the better.

Stone pulled the F-250 into the busy hospital parking lot, past Straight’s SUV which was parked in the front row in view of the emergency room entrance. Hoping to avoid being noticed, he pulled to a less busy section and turned the motor off. It was risky to leave the prisoners in such a conspicuous place, but Stone wanted them to be close to medical help when they either came to, or more likely, were spotted. He and Danders sat quietly in the truck, observing. For now, their main concern was if there was anyone in the lot sitting in their car waiting; they’d likely be interested in watching two bound bodies being dumped. They saw no one.

For a few minutes there was a lot of foot traffic. Then it dissipated. Stone took another look around and spotted a car he hadn’t noticed earlier. Unable to tell if anyone was in it, he told Danders, who shrugged and said to keep watching. They had no choice but to continue with their plan.

Stone had parked the Ford behind an even larger truck, parallel to a curbing and a wooded area. The only view of the right side of his truck was from the rear. Having slipped on sunglasses and caps, he and Danders got out of the truck, removed the tarp, untied their prisoners, then lifted Straight out of the bed and laid him on the ground on the right side of the truck.

Danders began feeling antsy and said that they had to move quicker; together they lifted Cueball out and placed him beside Straight. It was then that they heard voices and footsteps. They got back in their truck in time to see several people come into sight, as well as a man in a car looking for a place to park. The people walking stopped beside a late model VW and continued to talk. Stone and Danders were forced to wait for the group to break up and leave; the driver of the car found a spot to park and then jogged towards the emergency room. Stone saw no activity in the parked car.

Five minutes passed and the group of talkers finally said their goodbyes. Danders looked outside his window and saw Straight begin to stir. He told Stone who then started the truck and waited a moment for the talkers to leave. Putting the truck in gear, he pulled away from the curb.

Suddenly, several cars headed to the area; with Stone having committed to leaving his spot, his parking place became sought after. A man appeared in the parked car Stone had spotted; maybe he’d been lying asleep. He got out of the car, stretched, and began walking towards Straight and Cueball. No one was in front of Stone. He eased the truck ahead. The man soon spotted Straight and Cueball.

The parking lot got busy again. Some people saw the two men lying on the ground and began hollering, “Are you all right?”

Others, including the man from the parked car, were rushing towards the men on the ground.

Straight and Cueball were slowly coming out of their drug-induced sleep. The man got to them and took their pulses; they were getting stronger, and the men were beginning to focus their eyesight on the stranger.

Several people in the crowd approached the three men, asking if everything was all right. Without looking up, the man answered that he saw the two men on the ground and came over to see why they were lying there.

“Can someone help me get these two men to the emergency room to get checked out? I can’t do it alone,” he said.

Several people stepped forward and helped the two groggy men to their feet; then placing them between two people, with an arm around each person, Straight and Cueball were walked to the emergency room, the man trailing the group.

The police interviewed those people over the course of the next two hours and none were able to add anything to the facts that they saw two men lying on the ground and didn’t know how they got there.

“How can we find Stone?” Lewis asked Sharon Chapin, meeting her as agreed at the library.

She smiled.

“One of my associates was researching his property holdings and found a secluded building that’s owned by a dummy corporation of his and is, I think, someplace he could stay indefinitely without anyone noticing. I have a feeling about this place; let’s go take a look. Come on, we’ll take my car,” Chapin said.

The normally unflappable Lewis was beginning to show some excitement.

“I think Stone is a good person who will let me use the invention if I get the chance to explain why I need it,” he gushed.

“On what basis do you think he’s ‘good’? It’s possible that he and Danders have taken two men prisoner, perhaps harmed them, according to what you told me on the phone.”

“Yes, but I saw the anger in McGowan’s eyes and I think Stone has run afoul of McGowan because he has altruistic aims for the invention rather than what I think is McGowan’s selfish desire for power if he owns it. If I’m right, and I admit it’s a guess, then Stone has no use for Straight or Cueball either. If he’s holding them, he’ll have to decide what to do with them; if he’s not, then Straight and Cueball have gone rogue, making them a threat to both McGowan and Stone.”

“As well as anyone else who gets in their way. Are you ready?” she asked as she got up and headed to the library door.

It took them ten minutes to get to Stone’s hideaway. Disregarding the ‘No Trespassing’ sign, they drove up the quarter-mile long driveway to the building. All was quiet. The building had a four-car attached garage; all the doors were closed. Lewis jumped out of the car and rang the doorbell. He began pounding the door when no one answered. He tried the door. It was unlocked; the alarms were not set. Signaling Chapin to join him, he went in. Lewis yelled, “Anybody here?” There was no answer.

Chapin joined him. They saw some drinking glasses and plates in the sink. A wet dishrag was on the counter. Today’s newspaper was on the table.

Checking the remaining rooms on the main floor, they found nothing of interest. Still they heard nothing. Quietly they headed downstairs, hearts beating fast. Halfway down the landing, they heard voices. Lewis remained confident that Stone and Danders wouldn’t harm them, but what if the voices weren’t theirs?

Lewis looked at Chapin and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say what have we got to lose? He continued down the stairs. She followed. As they worked their way down, the voices changed to annoying music. At the bottom of the stairs, a large room encompassing the entire basement opened up before them.

Two beds were placed in a corner of the room. Both looked like someone had been lying in them. The covers were askew; one was half on the floor and half on the bed. Lewis headed toward the beds and found the source of the talking and music they heard: a radio on a table next to one of them. Shutting it off, he noticed some plastic ties that evidently were used to bind people’s limbs. He picked them up and showed them to a nodding Chapin, who was standing next to a large table in the middle of the room. She was admiring the sophisticated computers and other electronics placed on it.

Chapin tried to access the computers’ information, but was unable to figure out the password. It mattered little; the sight of the bedding and the plastic ties were sufficient confirmation for them to get back on the road quickly. Stone and Danders were heading to Milford to meet with McGowan. Stone was uncharacteristically sloppy; the building had been left unlocked, the truck was registered in the same name as the real estate, and Chapin had the plate number. Sloppiness was a manifestation of the stress Stone was experiencing.

McGowan groused, “You couldn’t wear something sexier? I don’t pay you only for your pilot’s license. I’m up to my eyeballs in crap. The least you could do was show me something nice.”

“Pants are appropriate attire to fly a helicopter in,” answered the pilot, who got to Milford and McGowan’s heliport faster than she thought she would.

“Never mind, I gotta keep my eyes out for a black Lincoln Navigator,” growled McGowan into his headset. “Get this thing up and head it to Brassville, will you?”

“Which roads do you want to fly over? There is more than one way to get there from here.”

McGowan was considered to be fearless and one of the most powerful people in the world. Yet he continued to display uncharacteristic nervousness and irritability. He put binoculars up to his eyes, leaned forward on the edge of his seat, and began scanning the ground below.

“Get me to route 8. My people are already on all the possible routes but I gotta be involved.”

The subtle scent of the pilot’s perfume ‘Mente’ filled the cabin. McGowan bought it for her when they took a trip to Italy. It was a pleasing smell, one that brought McGowan back to fond memories of an active time of water sports, fine dining, and great sex. It was all he could do to maintain his concentration on the road. Somehow he managed, but he was confused, and not for the first time by this lady pilot, who was wearing conservative clothing and provocative perfume at the same time. Did she want to be screwed or not?

McGowan saw a cluster of black vehicles on the road below him.

“Slow down! I can’t make out the details. Look, see all those?”

She saw them before he did. She explained that if she went slower, the engine would stall and they would crash. He was too impatient to care. He told her again to slow down. She ignored him, but made a looping circle so he could have an extended look. None of the vehicles were Stone’s. She continued heading north.

At the same time, Stone and Danders were traveling south on a state road. It was slower going than the highway because of the stoplights and mostly one lane traffic each way, but Stone thought there was less chance of being spotted.

Lewis and Chapin, on route 8 heading south, were moving fast. The freeway was known for its lack of police presence and Lewis knew it; traffic was light. No sign of Stone yet but that was okay. If he was on the same road, they would catch up to him before getting to McGowan’s. If not, then he was traveling a slower road and they might get to McGowan’s before him.

Also on the roadways were thirty-six people in eighteen cars working for McGowan, looking for Stone, as well as thirty police officers in different municipalities looking for him.

Murphy and Long were in a funk. They needed to get a drink; they needed to get back in the game; Murphy needed to make amends with Summa. She called him.

“What do you want? Have you come to your senses? Stone won’t be found hiding in some nonexistent room. We should be trying to find him—or we could be realistic about our chances, say the hell with everything and screw our brains out.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Your place or in the car?”

“Find him.”

“Oh. Won’t be as much fun.”

“But far more rewarding if we’re successful.”

“When are we not successful? You’re deferring physical gratification now for a long-shot emotional gratification later. Let’s live for the moment.”

“I agree. Let’s find Stone now. Your memories of us ever having had sex are delusions. You need help.

Summa let out a big sigh. “Dump Jerry and pick me up at my place.”

Too bad for Summa that he doesn’t have the invention. He would know how sick I am of his one-track mind.

Murphy did pick Summa up, but she had Long with her. She knew Summa would be angry, but if there was even a small chance that Long could contribute ideas on how to find Stone, she wanted him involved. As soon as Summa got in the car, she put him on the spot and told him to tell Summa about his idea for finding Stone.

Long hadn’t expressed any ideas to her; he quickly figured out what she was up to. Not trusting them, he told them a lie.

“I once saw Stone driving a blue Ford pickup truck. Maybe he’s using that now instead of his Navigator.” It was the red Ford truck he saw Stone in.

For once, Summa held his tongue, resisting the urge to ask Long if he was colorblind and if he could tell one pickup brand from another. He acknowledged that Long might have given them another chance at the prize, assuming that Stone was still intent on selling the invention to McGowan. If so, then they might track him down by looking for the Ford; but if Stone was doing anything else, anything, the end had come for Summa and Murphy sharing the wealth.

Murphy headed south.

Of all the people looking for Stone, only Lewis and Chapin were talking about the red F-250; Long was keeping his eyes open and his mouth shut.

The frenzied atmosphere in McGowan’s camp was contrasted by the calm that Stone and Danders felt. Murphy and Summa were frazzled, Long was accepting; Lewis and Chapin were curiously optimistic. Only Long knew that no group was certain of what any of the others were doing, yet he believed that what was going on was of vital importance to the future of mankind.

Stone’s reservations about selling the invention had been temporarily pushed to the back of his mind; his thoughts now were on McGowan. Danders thoughts were on survival. He was wrestling with ideas on how to defend themselves, unarmed, against McGowan and an unknown number of his goons. He knew that Stone was reading his thoughts; Stone said nothing.

At the three-mile mark, Stone asked Danders if he wanted to continue, saying he’d understand if he didn’t, and that if he was successful, Danders would get the money he was due. Danders demurred, saying that they needed each other more than ever. Stone nodded and offered his hand. They shook. Then they laughed, knowing that they were in over their heads; neither had a clue about what they would do when they reached McGowan’s. Striving to make the invention was based on reason. Going into the lion’s den armed only with their wits was based on insanity.

Five minutes later they drove up to the gate at McGowan’s property. Only one guard was on duty there and two were in the house, as most had been pulled to help in the search for the two of them. The sight of an unfamiliar red F-250 put a frown on the guard’s face; the recognition of Stone’s and Danders’ smiling faces changed the frown to a look of shock and surprise.

Stone saw the guard’s thoughts. I’m gonna get a bonus for this! He drew his revolver and picked up the phone to the guards’ office in the house. Motioning for the car to stop, he excitedly told the guard at the other end of the line that he had captured Stone and Danders. If not for the image on the screen in front of him, the guard would have yelled to his friend to stop joking around and stay alert. Instead, he picked up a phone that contacted McGowan in the helicopter.

“Yeah, what do you want?” he snarled.

“We got ‘em, Mr. McGowan,” the guard said excitedly.

Disgusted with the recent performance of his guards, McGowan sarcastically responded,

“Who’s that, the worthless senate and house?”

“Don’t know who they are, Mr. McGowan. Who we have here are Stone and Danders. Yes we do.”

“And I’m flying with Amelia Earhart.”

“Don’t know him either, Mr. McGowan.”

“It’s a her, you numbskull. Why are you calling me?”

“Like I said, we got them here, Stone and Danders. For real. I’m sending you the camera view.”

McGowan was stunned. The sons of bitches had ‘em. For real.

“Ask Stone where Straight and Cueball are. Never mind, I’ll ask them myself. Tell them to pull up to the house and all three of you stand watch over them until I get there. Think you can handle that?”

Not grasping the sarcasm, the guard answered,

“Sure, I know we can do that easy. See you soon, Mr. McGowan. You know all our names, right? Don’t want any of the other guys getting a share of the reward for capturing these guys. You understand, don’t you?”

“They drove up to the guard house all by themselves and you think you captured them?”

“Truth be told, it was Jerry at the gate, but don’t forget, me and Irv will be watching over them, too, just like you want.”

“What is your name, I seem to have forgotten.”

“Stop kidding around, Mr. McGowan. It’s me, Jonas.”

“I wasn’t kidding, Jonas, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget your skill, cunning, and bravery.”

“Thank you, Mr. McGowan. You’re the best!”

McGowan couldn’t take it anymore. Something seemed to pop in his head. It might have been an eardrum, a blood vessel in his brain, or his sanity. He wasn’t sure. He was becoming rabid. Luckily for him, the pilot heard the conversation on her headset and changed course to return to Milford before McGowan jumped out of the helicopter.

McGowan’s men had Stone’s truck surrounded in a triangular pattern, pistols drawn, talking to each other on their headsets. Stone wasn’t worried about them shooting Danders and him on purpose, but he knew that shots might be fired accidentally. Then again, distinguishing between the two was impossible with these men. He and Danders kept their hands where they were seen. They had been searched and returned to the truck, and told to shut up and not to move.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Danders shouted.

The guards laughed. “Tie it in a knot.”

“Can’t do that. Gotta take a dump.”

“Shit,” said Irv.

“What I’m talking about,” answered Danders.

“What are we gonna do?” Irv wanted to know.

Stone saw the confusion in their minds. They figured that Danders was likely to pull his pants down and take a dump in the driveway. Then they’d have to tell him clean it up. He’d refuse. They’d fight. McGowan would come home while they were fighting. He’d go berserk. He’d make them clean it up. They decided to let him use a bathroom in the house. Irv was chosen to watch Stone.

With Danders under armed escort, Stone asked Irv if he could get out of the truck and stretch his legs. Stone saw Irv thinking about what might happen if he let him do it. McGowan could land at any time, see both men out of the truck, and fire the guards on the spot. But if he found the situation under control and the prisoners happy, maybe he’d give an even larger reward.

Waving his pistol, Irv ordered Stone out of the truck and told him he could walk in the courtyard for three minutes or until Danders returned. Irv decided to follow Stone. Pointing the pistol at his back, Irv mistakenly followed Stone too closely, and the nozzle of the pistol put pressure on his back. Stone reacted by asking Irv how much of a reward he thought McGowan would give them for capturing them.

Irv blurted out,

“A million. Easy.”

Stone looked over his shoulder and said,

“Maybe two, a million each!”

The thought of that excited Irv. He momentarily lost his concentration, giving Stone an opportunity to spin around and knock the pistol out of Irv’s hand. Two punches later, Irv was out cold.

Stone dragged Irv behind the truck and threw him into the bed so that he wasn’t visible from the house, turned on the headlights, then worked his way to the entrance. Arriving at the door, he heard the voices of the other guards telling Danders to be quiet. He pressed against the building.

Danders was the first one out. He saw the headlights and fell to the ground, causing Jerry to stumble over him and Jonas to hit his head on the door. Stone grabbed Jonas by the neck and threw him to the ground, grabbing his pistol. Danders quickly disarmed Jerry and both guards were soon bound guests in the bed of Stone’s truck, joining Irv.

Straight called McGowan from the emergency room and told him what happened. He impressed upon McGowan that Stone’s and Danders’ fighting skills were not to be underrated. If McGowan needed further confirmation, he got it. When the helicopter neared his house, McGowan saw his three guards tied up in the back of Stone’s truck. Stone and Danders were seated on the front steps of the house, watching.

McGowan knew then that his attitude about everything was wrong. There was no sense lamenting the performance of his people. A superior specimen outclassed them. Stone was not someone he was going to run roughshod over. Stone was his equal. An excitement and anticipation, unlike he had felt before, began building in him.

Lewis and Chapin were six miles from McGowan’s estate. Lewis’ friend saw Stone’s red truck pass her business forty minutes earlier. Ninety minutes prior to that Lewis texted her and asked her to do nothing but watch the traffic for two hours in the event that Stone passed by.

Chapin and Lewis were certain now that the sale of the invention was happening soon. They sat in the car for a few minutes before deciding on a plan where Lewis would confirm the presence of Stone’s truck on McGowan’s property and would barge in on any meeting taking place while Chapin waited across the street in the car. Lewis was wearing a device that allowed Chapin to communicate with him. The manufacturer claimed it was undetectable. Lewis didn’t believe it but decided to wear it.

Murphy, Summa, and Long were only three miles behind Lewis and Chapin. Unbeknownst to them, they were about to join the party. Murphy and Summa were feeling less frazzled, more resigned to failure. Long remained sanguine about their prospects. They rode in silence, each dreaming their continuing dreams of what a share of the profits from the sale of the invention would mean to them.

It didn’t take them long to arrive at McGowan’s. They were unaware that Lewis and Chapin were across the street. Murphy and Summa were disappointed to see a red Ford truck in the driveway, believing Stone owned a blue one. Long was pleased; he knew they were in the game. The game for him now was to see that no one gets what they want; McGowan gets an invention that doesn’t work; Murphy and Summa get nothing (they were young and intelligent and would do well without making money from the invention); Stone and Danders version of the invention is already outmatched by some other company’s; and Lewis has to rely on evidence developed by the police to catch the killer of his girlfriend.