Brainstormed Ch. 02

Nate said, "So it was that same company that I looked at and declined to invest in."

The P.I. said, "Apparently, your wife tested so well that a full court press was made to get her back to Memphis, and do follow up testing. Now, Mr. Wells, here's where it starts getting tacky. The folks providing the cash for this had been pouring a large amount of dollars into the 'Virtual Sex' experience, with less than satisfying results. The doctors promised that their equipment and technology would make virtual reality look like caveman drawings by comparison, but they needed the right person.

None of the women or men tested were feasible, until your wife came along. They got her to come back to Memphis, and offered her a nice chunk of cash to have sex with a guy while they recorded her brain activity, so that it could be replayed in someone else's mind. That person literally living the experience. She declined.

That part I have pretty well established by pressing the doctors. I was able to connect a lot of dots. Plus, they revealed a bigger conspiracy that you need to me made aware of.

You had troubles with the law a while back, these sleaze ball porn people were responsible. I doubt you or even the FBI can prove it, but it was hinted to me that they wanted your wife's cooperation so bad, that they set you up in a way that would require a huge amount of capital for your defense. They felt they would get her to submit, in an attempt to save you. Whether you went to jail or not didn't matter, they would have already got what they wanted.

I'm certain that she is unaware of any of this, although she may have suspected by now that TRPB Corp. was involved in your troubles. However, they would figure, 'What could she do now? Confess to her husband? Not likely."

The P.I.'s report shattered Nate, his loving wife had agreed to fuck several people, be recorded, and that recording became an amusement "ride" in a Las Vegas casino. She had done it to save him from prison, but right then he wished he had gone to jail, instead of his love debasing herself with an unknown number of people. He couldn't face her, not now. He needed to get away.

Taking off was easier for Nate than most working men, as 90% of what he did could be done on his lap top from anywhere in the world. He withdrew many thousands of dollars in cash from the bank and headed to his office. With a minimal explanation he gathered what he needed and hit the road, not having a clue where he would end up.

After driving the interstate for several hours, he stopped and bought some clothes, a burner phone, toiletries and a few other items and resumed travel. He had never been to Denver, so that seemed like a good spot for a regroup.

Many thoughts raced in and out of his mind, but curiosity over the question of whether Alex Vanderhorn had known what Becca did. Or did he help her so he could get a big financial infusion?

He called him, Alex answered, "Nate, great to hear from you. What can I do for you today?"

"Can you represent me in a divorce action against Rebecca?"

Alex was stunned, and even this professional mouth piece was finding it very hard to get the right words in place, so he stalled, "Nate what the hell are you talking about, is this some kind of a ruse?"

"No, it's not a joke. Can you represent me?"

"Well, I, er, you know, there's a conflict of interest," he stammered out.

"What conflict? You were my attorney at the trial, now I want you to continue to represent me," Nate said forcing Alex to explain.

"I also represent Becca," offered Alex.

"I know about TRPB Corp. Did you arrange it? Are you the one that took the sheep to the wolves?" asked Nate.

"Nate, I can't say anything. I'm bound by law. I will say that I've never seen a woman so madly in love with anyone the way she loves you. She was willing to walk through hell for you and you better consider that before you do anything stupid. Nate, you'll regret it forever if you turn on her."

"That's all I needed to know, tell Rebecca not to look for me, I don't want to be found, I can't talk to her right now. I found out that all of my trouble last year was because of her getting involved with that TRPB Corp., they set me up to get to her. Now I've got no wife." And with that Nate hung up and turned his phone off.

Alex called Melissa, "Get over to Becca's, let me know when you are there. Nate knows, I don't know how but he knows. He's gone, and doesn't even want to talk to her. She's going to need help."

"My god, that poor girl, as if she hadn't suffered enough. I'm on my way," Melissa ended the call and prepared to head out to help Becca.

When Becca saw who was at her door her first thought was that something was wrong, this wasn't a social call. She asked Melissa, "What's happened? Has something happened to Nate?"

"Let's go in and sit dear, it will be a long talk," answered Melissa.

The two women went inside and seated themselves in the family room. Becca didn't speak, just looked expectant of an explanation, while trembling at the thought that this was her day of reckoning.

"Nate knows, we don't know how, but he does. He called Alex today and asked him to represent him in a divorce action against you," Melissa began.

"Oh my god... He'll hate me... Please help me. I need to see him, to tell him, please help me," Becca said as thoughts of her world shattering around her filled her mind.

"He told Alex that he didn't want to talk to you, that he couldn't face you. That he needed to be alone, and that you were not to look for him."

Becca sobbed, "I knew he would hate me, god I hate myself, but I couldn't just let him go to prison."

"Becca, Nate said that he found out that TRPB Corp. was behind his troubles last year, do you know anything about that?"

"No, but I'm going to find out. If they are behind me losing my Nate, I'll kill them."

Nate continued hiding out in Denver, working enough by lap top to keep the income stream coming. He was as miserable as a human being could be, lost a wife, lost his love, lost himself. He began to spend more time in bars trying to drink away the pain. The technique was only mildly successful, every time he sobered up the hurt returned with vengeance.

There was one old coot that hung out in "Dusty's Bar" which was near Nate's apartment. Sarge and Nate became sort of drinking buddies, sharing the need to displace the memory of a woman by alcohol. Sarge had been at this longer, being senior to Nate in age by 25 years, and senior to him at being destroyed by a female by ten.

Sarge, the handle given because of his army service in his youth, was formerly a very successful business man until a cheating wife cleaned him and his business out. "Bone headed stupidity, my own fault, should have thought things out before I went ape shit," he would tell Nate every night after both men had accumulated a snoot full.

Nate mostly went on and on about Becca, how he just couldn't accept what she had done, no matter what the reason was. Sarge would listen, try to console his new friend with another drink, but noticed that Nate's despair was getting worse. At times he said things that made the old man sure that his companion was headed down the dark path toward suicide.

The next evening, Sarge, much to the bartender's amazement was going slow on the booze. When Nate came in, and called for his usual double of Jack, Sarge confronted him, "Boy, we need to stay on the north side of sober tonight."

"Why? What's special about tonight? Santa coming with a new life for me?" asked Nate as he downed the Jack and waved for the bartender to bring another round.

"You might say that, in a way, I guess. Son, you need help, and if you don't get it soon your gonna end up just like me, or worse. There's someone I want you to meet, she's coming down here tonight and I want you to talk to her. She helped me some, if I had listened to her, she could have helped a lot."

"Sarge, I know you are trying to help, but I don't want to talk to anybody."

"Listen to me, I'm an old, over the hill lost cause, but you are young and could have a beautiful life if you could find your way through this abyss, talk to her. What have you got to lose? Could things be any worse?"

Before Nate could summon a counter argument, a mature, well dressed woman walked up to Sarge and said, "Well, Pete Simmons, how long has it been? This the fella you called me about?"

"Nate, this beautiful lady is Veronica Talbert. Ronnie, this is Nate."

Nate was cordial, extended a hand, but showed no sign he was pleased at Sarge's plan. Even so, he ordered a round of drinks for all. The three spent some time, small talk, avoiding the main subject, even getting another round. It was time to get to the point.

Veronica was first to break the ice, "Nate, Pete here, has been telling me about this nice young guy who's had a load of shit thrown his way and thinks that I may be able to help. Nate, that's what I do, help people. Think you might be willing to give me a shot?"

"Look, I know you and he mean well, but I just can't ..." and Nate's voice trailed off as his mind returned to his torment.

"Nate, I don't push myself on anyone. But if you want to break out of this rut that you are in, contact me. I think I can help you." And with that she placed a business card in Nate's shirt pocket, kissed Sarge on the cheek, and said, "Call me," and then left.

"Where do you know her from?" asked Nate.

"She was our court appointed councilor, for the divorce. Even she couldn't save my marriage, I was too head strong to forgive my wife. She asked for me to try to get past what she had done, Veronica tried to get me to just consider it. When I wouldn't, things between my wife and I went south quickly. Lawyers, demands, all reason went out the door and vengeance walked in. After, I made a couple of appointments to see Ronnie to make sense of it, but my business was being sold and I was losing everything I'd ever worked for and did not have any money left over for shrinks, she hates when I use that term." Sarge laughed at his last remark.

"I think she likes you," Nate said, smiling for the first time in months.

"Go see her, you've got the money and nothing to lose. Who knows? Maybe she can help," Sarge reiterated.

"I'll think about it, but right now, I'm ready for another, you with me?"

"I'm gettin' this one," said Sarge, "Set us up Barkeep."

The next day, Nate awoke to the same awful recalled memories as he had been doing for months. He stared at Veronica's card and thought, "Ah, what the hell," and dialed the number. Veronica answered on the third ring and when Nate started babbling about maybe seeing her the next week she said, "I got an opening right after lunch, be here at 1pm."

Veronica then had her receptionist call her 1pm appointment and reschedule for 6. That client was a rich spoiled brat, that could go on and on about how tough life was, Veronica could do that one later.

"Dr. Talbet, thank you for seeing me," Nate said as he was greeted entering her office.

"Nate, my name is Veronica, and as soon as you are comfortable with me, Ronnie is what friends call me."

She could see a young man in tremendous pain, and felt she needed to go very slowly with him and let him confide in her at his pace.

"Nate, begin anywhere you'd like. Don't worry about the order, in fact don't worry about anything. We'll sort through this together, I'll ask questions when I don't understand, Ok?"

So, Nate started telling about when he first met Becca, and skimmed through the trial, and the outcome. Veronica had many questions, but decided to keep him talking so she could get a handle on the big picture. The questions could wait until next time.

Money was not a problem, Nate took an appointment for the next day. This time Veronica probed more at the center of the issue, Becca. Several times Nate would fall apart and had to be given several moments to recover before he could finish answering the question: "Do you still love her?" It took him the longest time just to say, "Yes," but concerned Veronica when he immediately included, "I also hate her."

When Nate wanted to book again the next day, she resisted and said next Monday would fit her schedule better. Nate agreed and left. Veronica got busy investigating some of Nate's story to try and determine how much of it was fact. She called the law offices of Alex Vanderhorn.

"Mr. Vanderhorn, my name is Dr. Talbert, in Denver. I have a patient that I think you know, and I'm trying to gather the facts in his case. Are you familiar with Nathan Wells?"

"Nate, oh my god. Is he alright? Where is he? We have been so worried here. Dr. Talbert, I will do anything within my power to help, what do you need?"

The conversation went on for over an hour, Vanderhorn describing the extreme trouble that Nate had been set up to be the fall guy for. He also cautiously told of Becca's fund raising saving the day, that it was paramount in securing the needed proof of Nate's innocence.

Vanderhorn's next call was to Rebecca, "Becca, we've found him. Nate is in Denver. He's been seeing a Doctor and she called me."

"I need to talk to him, it's been months. I need him."

"Becca, let's allow the Doc to work with him for a bit. This is good news, he's talking, talking to a professional. He hasn't pursued any divorce action. The Doc's going to keep in touch with me. This is a good sign Becca."

Becca was yearning to rush to Denver, to convince Nate that she loved him, but decided to let the doctor work with him.

Although Veronica had learned a lot, and realized that the bizarre circumstances of Nate's legal trouble was true, the problem with Becca was not fully explained by Vanderhorn, and she would have to draw that out of Nate, it was the key to everything.

At his next meeting, Veronica pressed him about Becca. Nate resisted, saying, "My defense needed money, more money than any normal situation. Gaining access to the proof, required bribes and payoffs. Huge payoffs, not the give the doorman $50 and he tells you who walked in earlier type. $50,000 to a company employee to get his access card for a night, more thousands to get the night guards to take a long lunch and accidentally turn off the alarm long enough. Thousands to the hackers that got into the company computers and got the proof that someone else actually stole the money.

Without a huge amount of cash, I wouldn't have had a defense team with resources to prove my innocence. I'd have gone to prison."

"Nate, the money, where did the money come from? Who got the money for your defense?"

"Becca, Becca got it. Oh Jesus, she did it for me."

"Did what Nate? What did Becca do?"

"Damn, Ronnie, don't make me say it."

"You need to get it out Nate."

"She fucked them, oh my god, she fucked them for the money to keep me out of jail."

With that, Nate broke down and was unable to go on. Veronica felt so bad that she'd pushed it out of him that she did something she rarely does, make physical contact with a patient. She rushed to him and held him as he fell apart. After several minutes she managed to calm him enough to call her receptionist and clear her schedule, knowing that it would be dangerous to not get him past this.

"I don't understand Nate, even the best call girl in the world can't make that kind of money."

Nate, speaking in short sentences, between moments of being to overwhelmed to talk, managed to get out the whole story. TRPB Corp., Becca's ability, the porn connection, Vegas, them wanting her so badly that they were the ones behind setting him up, his arrest, coercing her to do their bidding in order to raise enough money for his defense.

"What made the Vegas people believe that they won't be arrested now that you are cleared?" Veronica said.

"They covered their tracks well enough. They figured that we might be able to show that I was not guilty, but not be able to prove that they were behind the theft. We still can't prove that, it was handed over to the FBI, so who knows. They used professionals with fake names and IDs, right now they are gone in the wind. Anyway, their plan to get Becca to do the recordings worked either way, whether I was found guilty or not guilty, they had already succeeded, Becca made the recordings."

"Did Becca admit to this?"

"Not to me."

"Then how do you know? I mean know for sure?"

"I hired a P.I. out of Vegas, many thousands of dollars later, I had the proof."

"What prompted you to hire a P.I.?"

Nate went on to tell about the bachelor party and his taking a "ride" instead of having sex with a stripper. As he got to the end of that story, the part where he is coming out of a fog caused by having another person's memories, and remembering seeing Becca's wedding ring as she was lapping up the cum off of her tits, he rushed to Veronica's bathroom and heaved in the sink. Veronica ran in after him, but he fought off her attempts to console him.

She thought, "Could this be true? Is there such a devise? This fucking job, sometimes the things I make people face, I hope to hell I've made the right move here."

Nate said, "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Didn't say that. I've just never heard of such a thing."

"Alright Ronnie, I could just have you google it, but that's not enough. To really believe you need to "take the ride" as they call it. Right now, you and me, let's fly down to Vegas and you do it. Then you'll know what I'm feeling and telling you is the truth."

"Alright Nate, I accept your challenge."

They booked a flight and before midnight they were at the Big Dream Casino. The line for the ride, was about an hour wait. The casino had put in more "ride stations", to shorten the wait time, but this experience was becoming so popular that even doubling the cost did not seem to slow the public's desire. Money was pouring in.

Ronnie recovered slowly following her experience, not really wanting to talk until there had been many hours of reflection. Nate got them each a room, they would fly back to Denver in the morning, then talk.

That discussion began with Ronnie expressing awe that such a thing could be done. She was thinking that the sex was mind blowing, she never had such an experience of her own. Of course, she kept that to herself.

Nate asked Ronnie about the ring, and she acknowledged that she saw it. That it was unique, but there was more. She told Nate, "After you finished 'the ride', you focused on the memory of the ring because it meant something different to you than Becca. Her mind would pay less attention to it because she's seen it thousands of times without any connection to betrayal. I remember the event differently because I am a trained Psychologist. Nate, I need to go and meet with Becca. If she'll allow me, I need to understand her better, so I can help you."

"I don't know what good that will do," said a skeptical Nate, "I think you now know the worst part, don't you?" he asked.

"What do you consider the worst part?" Veronica used the technique of reversing a question so that she didn't have to answer. She feared that if she divulged an observation that Nate had not seen, it would make things worse. The better way to proceed was to have him express what the "worst part" was.

Nate let the last shoe drop, "You won't say it first, probably not certain if I caught it but ... The worst part is ... SHE LIKED IT."

"Nate, there's more to this. I am certain that there's another factor. It would help if I interviewed Rebecca. Do I have your permission to go see her, talk with her?"

"I don't think that will help, I can't get it out of my mind. I've only been able to say that out loud just now. SHE LIKED IT! Fuck, it hurts like hell to say it."

"Please Nate, give me permission."

"Alright, go ahead, It's not like my life could be any worse," replied a despondent Nate.