Live from the Game Ch. 01

So if Adriana told me I looked like shit, then I must look like shit. I sat at my desk for about ten minutes, staring at nothing, then asked Adriana to fit me into Paul's busy schedule. She told me he was free at eleven, which gave me time to type in my notes from the job the day before. Again though, I don't even remember doing it. I was in a daze. The only thing I could think about was Deanna. Was she with him now? What was she doing? How do I get more information?

Time to get my shit together and concentrate on the problem in hand. And this meeting was the first step forward.

"Hey Paul," I said, on entering his room.

Paul's office was like our R&D Lab. He was constantly having us try out new ideas in there. Right now it was laid out like a psychiatrist's office, all muted wood hues and comfort furniture. Last week it looked like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. More power to him for being willing to experiment, I guess. It would drive me up the wall.

"How's my main man?" said Paul, rising from his chair and thrusting out his hand. "You look like shit, by the way."

"Well thanks Boss. You look like crap too! Always nice to be appreciated. Look, I need a couple of favors. I need a bit of time off..." I broke off, disconcerted by his look of approval and joy at that bit of news.

"Good idea son. You've been working it hard recently. How did the job go in, where was it? Milwaukee?" That was Paul, no attention span at all.

"Fine. Look, I just need to go do some personal things. It won't take long, but I won't be here or available."

"Not a problem son. You know I can handle everything while you are gone. Trust in the man, son." I had an involuntary shiver at that one. By the time I'd get back, I wouldn't be surprised if North Korea was a blackened hole in the ground and Iran vanished entirely from the face of the earth, such was Paul's delusion of his ability. Hell, he'd probably take out most of Africa at the same time.

"You take the time you need. It's good for you to get out of the office and spend time with that awesome family of yours. Spending time with Danni would be good for both of you."

"Deanna. OK, so second thing."

"Name it."

"I need to talk to Solomon."

Silence greeted that request, then Paul said, "Why?"

"I have some...things he can help with."

"You know what he is. Are you going to enable him Ryan? I don't want that."

"Paul, with respect, he may be antisocial, but he's damn good at what he does and I need the help right now."

"Is it anything to do with work? I can't afford to have this company associated with his...activities."

"No, this is personal."

There was more silence while Paul considered.

"Alright. This once. Since you've been my right hand man, I guess I can allow it."

Solomon Dresdin was the original black sheep of the family. Quite literally. He was half cast and it was his appearance that had led to Paul's mother being disowned by his father. Solomon himself had grown up with his mother and it had been quite a ride. Solomon suffered from social problems, borderline autism, poor impulse control and unfortunately, on top of all that, he was a genius.

Once he saw a computer for the first time, that was it. He'd been inside it, hacking things within a month. He'd taken down his first bank, in Hong Kong, inside of six months, he'd been arrested by the NSA, who had tried to turn his talents to their advantage and found that a socially maladjusted genius was not the kind of person you really wanted to give access to. There was a disaster with him stalking some Hollywood starlet and eventually he was put away for four years, and then released after a campaign by Justice Now because, as they put it, he was set up by the NSA. Now he was banned from doing anything more than facebook, and after his father died, Paul took him under his wing.

In this one area, Paul was quite astute. He knew that Solomon's skills would be wanted and required by all and sundry -- particularly those who were less than totally legal. He moved Solomon around regularly, doing what he called his 'domestic witness protection act'. He hired a baby sitter for Solomon, who was with him constantly. It was one of the smartest things he'd ever done for his baby brother, in fact. Another reason we loved him.

"OK, so where is he?" I asked, expecting to be sent on some wild goose chase to find him -- visions of having to go to exotic airports and get a bag out of a locker somewhere, while dodging enemy agents filled my mind.

"At home," replied Paul, with a smile.

"He's WHAT?" I said. Paul shrugged.

"He wanted to come home for a while. I thought 'why not'? We gave the baby sitter some time off, since he was home."

I didn't even know where to start with that, but time was passing, so I let it go.

"Thanks Paul. I'm taking off now. Call me if you need me, but..."

Paul reached out his hand again and took mine. "It's ok Ryan. Whatever the issue is, we can all work it out."

I just shook his hand, looked at him and almost disintegrated right there. But I held my shit together and left.