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make mistakes. I hope you re not saying that to make me feel better. Although, I am over it. It was
kind of funny. Except for that weird route I took.
I thought about that. I figure the trapdoor dropped, then recycled faster than normal. It s
spring-loaded with a damper piston. The piston valve might be defective. A little maintenance will
take care of it.
I m glad to hear that it was something normal. But it still doesn t explain how I ended up
outside the theater.
You probably got confused. You just went the wrong way or something.
She was seeing another side of him. He had a light in his eyes when he looked at her. His
voice had a serious tone to it. It didn t take a genius to know that he had more than feelings of
friendship on his mind. He seemed to say all the right things. He could delight her one minute,
amaze her the next. She d had similar feelings toward him from the moment she had met him,
knowing deep down she might return those affections. Her mind said, Danger, but her heart
wanted to race ahead.
The silence grew thick between them until they finished the meal.
I think I m going crazy, Avy blurted. How would you feel if your assistant was a blithering
mental case? What if I told you I have a truckload of skeletons in my closet? I ve been preoccupied
with something I can t shake. I won t lie to you.
50 Gate Walker
He answered while discarding their empty food containers. Then I would say skeletons need
rattling. If you re on a mission of some type, you ought to see it through. Take whatever time you
need. If you have something that doesn t sit right in your guts you should purge it. If you feel like
dumping some trash, just remember my ears work.
It s a complicated story, she warned. I don t even smoke, but I wish I had a cigarette
right now.
Un-complicate it for me.
She told him about her mother, including all the horrid details. She didn t leave anything out
she even explained her visit with Chubby. She admitted ignorance of her birth father, explaining
how she came to be adopted by Drake, outlining all of the personality clashes she d had with him.
The confession spilled like a torrent. After it was over, she felt somehow unburdened. Purged.
Sebastian blew out a whistling sigh. Damn, girl. Makes my life on the road look like a
Sunday in the park playing pitch n catch. I m sorry about what happened to your mother. It must
have been a living hell. Drake sounds like a real scumbag. Enough to raise anybody s hackles. As
for Janus, I think that might be a coincidence. Just my two cents worth.
I m going to the library, Sebastian. Would you like to come along? It won t take long.
Sure. He winked. If you let me drive that little Samurai. I haven t got a thing to do except
feed the doves and bunnies later.
He was lonely too, she realized.
They made it to the library with Sebastian at the wheel. Of course, he had to present the clerk
with a handful of fantasy flowers. Abigail Folger squealed with delight. She mentioned that she
recognized him from a time she d attended one his shows.
Avy found an unoccupied computer. She brought out a piece of paper that contained her
pass code. Drake had allowed her special visiting privileges to tour the plant, giving her access.
In addition, he had given her authorization to inside security features through the main website.
It was a code level two clearance, not the highest, but it would be enough for what she wanted to
find out. The code had never been used.
She brought up the website, entered her code, and found the company history of Cyberflow
after clicking on the icon. She noted when it had been founded the official date of incorporated
status. Tom Labrador was listed as the original CEO, which was no surprise. Transfer of ownership
was initiated by the courts a very short time after Tom s death. The applicant was Drake Labrador,
again no surprise except for the speed at which the company changed hands. Company earnings
indicated that Cyberflow was already in the black and climbing in profits before Drake assumed
ownership. The means of transfer was outlined in the will. The surprise involved the split of the
company: Seventy percent went to Drake the remaining thirty percent had been divided between
Avalon s mother and Drake s parents. Avy did not know that.
Now there s a surprise, she said. According to this my grandmother owns fifteen percent
of Cyberflow.
Chris Stevenson 51
How well do you get along with her?
I don t. She disowned my real mother after the conviction. From what mom tells me, she
never came by to visit me when I was little. I sure don t remember a letter or postcard for any
holiday.
Bad blood, he said. You were guilty by association. That blows.
When she studied the earnings statements from Drake s administration to the present, the
figures did not show a company that was making profitable strides, or at least a decent growth
percentage that would have been anticipated with such a corporation like Cyberflow. She knew
this from her business and accounting classes. Expenditures on advertising seemed high. Those
figures could have been false, buried in unknown or secret accounts, Avy realized. It didn t take
a math major to understand it. Likewise, the general labor force had doubled since the beginning,
showing an unclear understanding of profit and loss. The greatest expense in personnel came with
the addition of an armed security force a chief with about thirty officers.
Avy pointed at the screen. Look at that.
Sebastian, who had been reading along with her, squirmed in his seat. What are they using,
solid gold motherboards? High-tech electronics is a competitive field with lots of patents involved.
Security is always extreme, but that s a small army they have there. That excess alone is eating
into profits.
You have a good head for business.
I had no choice but to learn off the cuff. I m a barebones outfit. I have to watch my books.
Comes from paranoia. But I did pick up a lot from Dad, who owned three computer stores.
I agree. I m no expert, but it doesn t look like he knows what he s doing. There s a big
turnover in the secretary pool. But I knew he was a cad. There s also lots of petty cash for tons
of private purchases. I knew about the limousine service, but I didn t know he had two private
jets. I ll bet Mom s plastic surgery, personal trainers, and salon visits are coming straight out of
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