Flight to Paradise Ch. 11

Everett chuckles and wipes at his eyes. "I know. And I love her. I've never been married, but she's the daughter I never had." He struggles to get control of his emotions, his relief that Dana is going to be well cared for threatening to overwhelm him. "I'm so very proud of her. Not because I made her, but because of who she is."

Mac is touched by the depth of the emotion Everett shows for his 'daughter,' reminding him very much of his sister and her family. "Dana is working right now on getting some contractors lined up to get this house put back into shape to make you comfortable. Starting today you work for me, and by extension, Dana. Your first job is to get her ready to move. She can't stay here. We need to get her moved to a more secure facility, someplace where she'll be safe. Are you up for that or should we get you some help?"

Everett beams. "Mac, I may be old, and I may be dying, but I'm not dead yet. I can handle it."

"Good. We three need to put our heads together over the weekend so we are ready to move on Monday. Dana may be the single most valuable thing on the planet right now, so we need to get this done, and soonest."

Over the next week Mac is a whirlwind of activity. Dana agrees to be turned off for a short time as she's moved to her new home in an office complex. Mac is a bit squeamish about turning her off, but she puts his mind at ease, telling him it is no different than him going to sleep. As Everett prepares her for the move, Mac has the glass in the rented office replaced with heavy, bulletproof glass, and an elaborate security and fire system installed. A self-contained power station that will protect her in the event of a power failure is installed in the outer room along with enough hydrogen to power the fuel cell for a month.

"Okay Everett," Mac says as they stand outside of Dana's new home. "She's as safe as we can make her, hiding her in plain sight. Get together that list of equipment you need so we can get some redundancy for her. Then take a break. You've been pushing yourself pretty hard this past week and it shows. Dana and I can take it from here."

"I'll admit I'm dead tired, but I haven't felt this good in months. I can't thank you enough, Mac, for what you're doing for us," Everett says, leaning his back against the wall for support.

"Everett, I keep telling you, it is I who should be thanking you. What you have done will make Genesis Medical Research very, very, wealthy."

Everett smiles tiredly. "I know. Just don't disappoint her Mac. Promise me you won't disappoint Dana."

Mac smiles at Everett. "I won't Everett. You have my word on that."

Kate stands in Sutro Park, overlooking the Golden Gate bridge, wrapped in a jacket but still freezing her ass off as she waits for the fog to lift. She, along with four other women, are modeling the spring collection for Diane's, an upscale retailer marketing to early middle-aged women. While their line of clothing tends to be more conservatively cut than the stuff she modeled when she was younger, the shorts and light blouses are not nearly enough to keep her warm in the damp sea air.

"If we're not going to shoot, why can't they let us go someplace warm?" grouses one of the women.

"Because, Jill, it is a model's lot in life to look like she's enjoying herself even when she's freezing her nipples off," replies another.

Kate snickers at the woman's comment, trying to remember her name. The other four women obviously know each other, and she feels like the odd woman out, so she's keeping her council and not speaking much.

"How do you like San Francisco in the summer... Kate isn't it?" the second woman asks.

"It's cold as shit. Is it always like this?" Kate replies pulling her jacket tighter around her.

The other four women laugh. "We can't all live in warm and sunny LA like you. You get used to it... eventually," says a third.

"All I know is this coat doesn't keep me as warm as Baxter," the first woman, Jill, Kate remembers, says.

The other three women groan in unison. "No more Baxter stories!" says the only woman to have not spoken so far. "I still think you are full of shit and he doesn't even exist."

"You're just jealous," Jill says gayly.

"I would be, if he's real," says number four, "but I still think you're full of shit. What about you Kate? Married? Attached? Tell us before Jill here starts lying out of her ass again." The woman's comment makes the other women laugh, even Jill.

"Not married. Not attached," Kate replies. "I just met someone though." She pauses then figures, what the hell, she's not likely to see these women again after this week. "I just spent the weekend with him for the first time. He owns a house overlooking lake Oroville, outside of Paradise."

"He must be rolling in it then because those places don't come cheap. My husband and I vacation up there every year. There's even some dude up there that owns a seaplane. We saw it land there once. How cool would that be, to own your own seaplane?"

Kate smiles and looks at the ground, scuffing the grass with the toe of her shoe. "That's him," she admits shyly.

"You're kidding? You're not kidding!" says the woman. "We watched him park the plane from the boat. Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus, is he good looking!" The woman turns to face her friends. "You should see this guy. He's really tall... how tall is he, Kate?"

"6'7."

"Like I said, really tall," the woman continues. "Built like a horse. We were floating just out from his house. Paul was fishing and I was bored to death until... what's his name?"

"Bertrand... but he goes by Mac," Kate supplies.

"Until Mac stepped out of the plane," the woman continues with her story. "Then I wasn't bored anymore. He fussed around with the plane for thirty minutes or so before he went into his house. The only bad thing is I was too far out to get a really good look, but from what I could tell, he's a stone-cold honey."

The four women look to Kate, waiting for her comment. She doesn't say anything for a moment then decides to brag a little. "You don't know the half of it," she finally says. "He's has to be one of the top five best looking guys I have ever seen, ever. And you're right, he's big, tall, strong as hell, but very sweet and gentle when I want him to be."

"Sounds like Baxter," Jill says.

"Yeah, except we have a confirmed sighting by Lilly on this guy," the woman razzing Jill says, causing everyone, except Jill, to laugh.

"He has a nice house too," Lilly adds.

"You should see the inside. It has this huge central room, the cathedral I call it, that has a glass wall that overlooks the lake. That one room is nearly as big as my entire house." She pauses as she remembers the peace she felt in the house. "It looks like something out of a magazine inside, all wood and stone. Even his bedroom is glass on one entire wall."

"How long have you known him?" one of the women asks.

"About a week."

"And you spent the weekend with him? Jesus, he must have really turned your crank!"

"Rebecca!" Lilly scolds. "What a thing to say!"

"I'm out here freezing my ass off. I need something to keep me warm," Rebecca says with a laugh. "So, dish. What's he like between the sheet?"

"Ignore her," Lilly says. "She has a dirty mind."

"Hey, I'd like to know too," Meredith says, her name suddenly popping into Kate head. "I also want to know if he has a brother."

"Need I remind you that you're married?" Lilly asks Meredith.

"So?" Meredith replies with an evil smile. "Forbidden fruit always tastes better."

"Ignore her too," Lilly says in exasperation.

Kate is warming up to these women and decides to have a little fun. "Well," she begins, "I've been known to play the field," she answers drawing out the response to build the tension, "and Mac is like no man I've ever been with. The second night we were together, this is before we went to his house, he made me come so hard that I passed out. Literally." She grins at the women's rapt attention. "Let's just say he's the first man I've found I can't handle." When no one says anything she continues. "Another night, after he wore me out, I went to sleep lying on his chest, his strong arms holding me tight, with him still hard and inside," she sighs, rubbing it in. "Let me tell you, ladies, that's the way you want to fall asleep."

The women are silent for a second before Meredith speaks. "You didn't say if he has a brother."

Kate bursts into laughter. "You know, I don't know. I'll have to ask when we get together again in a couple more weeks. But did I mention he can cook?" she says giggling as Rebecca and Meredith groan in unison.

"Good looking, rich, great in bed, and can cook?" Rebecca says. "If you get tired of him, have him call me, will ya?"

"Don't forget kind, considerate, and gentle," Kate adds with a grin.

There is a short, awkward pause before Meredith looks at the group. "Is it me, or did it suddenly warm up out here?" she asks, causing the entire group to burst into laughter.

Monday morning Mac wakes up in his own bed for the first time in over a week. He'd flown home from his week-long meeting with Everett and Dana the day before, exhausted but jubilant. Dana is one smart computer, but she lacked business sense. With his help she's learning fast, faster than any human possibly can, and they're making plans. Big plans. While he's spending money at a furious rate, he knows this is likely the biggest score of his life, a deal that he'll never be able to equal. Dana possesses the speed and unerring accuracy of a computer, and the intuition of a human, a combination that takes the best of the two and combines it in a way that's greater than the sum of its parts.

But that was yesterday. Today he has to focus on his other potential project, Immersion Playground. It'll take years before Genesis Medical Research will start producing income, so he can't put all his eggs in that one basket. After his talk with Todd two weeks ago, he'd expected to be shut out of the deal. He may get shut out yet, but Todd had pinged him while he was in Eugene and said that the four owners of Immersion Playground had agreed to talk to him. He'd wanted to fly down and meet with them in person, but Todd had suggested this conference over the net first.

"Good morning everyone," Mac says, Charlie and Todd answering, along with two voices he recognizes from The Proposal. "Charlie and Todd know me from way back, but allow me to introduce myself to Rick and Giselle. I'm Bertrand McMillan, and as you know, I approached Todd about two weeks ago about investing in your company. After talking to him, I will be the first to admit you seem to have the right people in place for success, but I want to offer my services if you need them."

"Mac, may I call you Mac?" Rick asks.

"That's fine, Rick. I hope we all end up as friends after this."

Rick chuckles. "Mac, I appreciate your interest in Immersion Playground, but at this point, I'm not sure what you can offer us."

"To be honest, I'm not sure there's anything I can offer you," Mac says. "You seem to have a competent management team, if you can keep Todd in line that's," he teases. "On the other hand, this is what I do, helping small businesses become big businesses."

"Tell me, Mac," Giselle says, "What's your proposition."

"Giselle, I would like to invest into your company. Five million dollars to start, for one percent of the company. The money wouldn't be deposited as a lump sum of course, but I can make that available as a line of credit almost immediately. Additional funds can be allocated if necessary."

There's a long pause before one of the women, Charlie, Mac thinks, says softly, "Five million dollars?"

"To start. Of course, I'd need to see your books, but I don't expect to find any problems." Mac stops talking and lets them think about it. At least they didn't laugh in his face.

"A very generous offer," Giselle finally says.

"Giselle, allow me to be blunt. I'm in this to make money. I think that first five million is going to be repaid many times over as Immersion Playground grows. The issue that I see is your first immersion, The Proposal, was seen as a flash in the pan. While the big firms may have noticed, but they didn't feel threatened. Todd tells me your second immersion, Arena, is doing at least as well, if not better. Now you're no longer some little one hit wonder that can be safely ignored. The big companies, Universal, Sony, and others like them, they're going to want to get on this gravy train, and you are going to be the company they're going to have to beat." Mac pauses to collect his thoughts. "Do any of you remember the small animation firm Pixar? They made animated movies back in the 1990's and early twenty-first century, before vids. I did some research, looking for other companies that were similar to yours and Pixar is a very close match. They revolutionize the animated movie and they were the top dog for about ten years, but then there were purchased by Disney, lost their independence, and now they're gone. This is what may happen to you, and you need to be ready. Somebody is going to come in, offer you a pile of cash for your technology and talent, and if you don't sell, they're going to try to bury you. I don't want to see Immersion Playground go the way of Pixar."

"Mac, this is Charlie. Why do you think this is going to happen, and how can you prevent it?"

"Because, Charlie, I've seen it before. Somebody comes up with a good idea, and a bigger company comes in and either buys them out or kills them. You have no idea the resources a Sony or a Universal Entertainment can bring to bear against you. Billions of dollars in advertising and content creation. You may be insulated to some degree because your product is a, what was the term you used, hedonistic, immersion, but don't think for a moment that Sony won't create an entire company just to go head to head with you if they think there's money in it. In answer to your second question, I don't know that I can prevent it. Only the very luckiest companies make it through the stage you are just entering into, but this is what I do, and I can at least give you a fighting chance."

Everyone is quiet so long Mac is about to speak again when Rick finally speaks. "You make some valid points, Mac. Some very valid points. I'm well aware of what can happen to us. Let us think about it, okay? Todd said you were open to a consulting contract. Is that true?"

"It's true. But my offer stands if you find yourself getting squeezed," Mac says, knowing and accepting, he's going to get shut out.

"Thank you," Rick says. Next time you're in LA, ping one of us. I think we'd all like to pick your brain a little more. I know I would. We'll pay your standard consulting fee of course, plus, I'd like to meet you. Charlie and Todd speak very highly of you, and I'm yet to see Charlie be wrong about a person."

Mac snorts. "I haven't either. She speaks very highly of you and Giselle as well, and I can see why after The Proposal. You are a lucky man, Rick. A very lucky man."

"That's what I keep telling him," Giselle interjects, causing everyone to laugh.

"Keep telling him that, Giselle, until he believes it," Mac says, suddenly thinking of Kate.

"Oh, I already do," Rick says, and Mac can hear what sounds like a quick kiss.

"Sounds like a plan then. I'll be in LA in less than two weeks. Will that work for all of you?"

"When you come down to pick up Kate?" Charlie asks.

Mac closes his eyes. Charlie seems to know more about his love life than he does. "Yes."

"Maybe the six of us can get together for dinner. I know this little place where we can talk and not be overheard. And the food is to die for," Charlie says. "I'd like to see you and Kate together. Things were a little... strained... the last time."

Mac tries, he really does try, but he can't hold in the laugh that erupts from him. "Charlie, you have no idea," he finally says when he has his laughter under control.

"Oh yes, Mac, I believe I do," Charlie say, her smile coming through in her voice.

"Okay, Charlie, I'll leave it in your capable hands. Talk with Kate, set it up, and let me know," Mac says, deciding since he can't fight it, he might as well go with it.

"Kate will be back from San Francisco in a couple of days. I'll talk to her then and one of us will let you know," Charlie says.

"Yes, I'm sure you will," Mac says with a smile.

Mac had planned on flying home from his second trip to Eugene in as many weeks, and then fly on to LA in the morning to meet Kate and have dinner with the Chamfers and the Roses. He's positively giddy with excitement and can't abide the thought of a delay. The deal with Everett Dill and Dana is going more smoothly than he'd have believed possible, and he's so amped up with the possibilities opening before him, and the fact he will be seeing Kate tomorrow, he decides to fly straight to LA from Eugene. He contacts San Francisco flight control and modifies his route, flying into SFO for a quick splash of gas, then on to LA. Once his flight plan is modified, he contacts Kate.

"Hello Mac," Kate's voice comes over the link, the plane's avionics beaming their net conversation over the radio. They've spoken nearly every night they've been apart, but each time he hears her voice he smiles. "I didn't think you'd be home until later. You better not be pinging me to tell me you're not coming."

"And be on both your and Charlie's shit list? Not bloody likely. No, I'm pinging you to tell you I will be there late tonight. Well, early tomorrow actually. My ETA is about one am."

"You want me to pick you up?"

"No, but thanks for the offer. I'll just stay in a motel, but I'll see you Friday morning if that's okay."

She smiles. The hell he will. I've been waiting more than three weeks for him to get back, and I'm not waiting another night. No way, no how. "Okay. If you're sure."

"It's too late for you to be out alone."

"You're still flying into John Wayne?"

"That's the plan."

"Okay, but ping me if it changes so I know where to pick you up tomorrow."

"Will do. And Kate... I'm really looking forward to seeing you."

She smiles. "Same here."

As Mac steps out of the aircraft, his small bag in hand, he notices a tall slim man walking toward him. He isn't paranoid, but the man's stride is too purposeful, and he becomes wary. Nobody should be out here this late at night, but as the man continues to walk closer, he realizes it isn't a man, it's a woman, recognizing Kate a moment later.

"It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for almost an hour," she says as she flows into his arms.

"It took longer at SFO than I thought it would. If I'd known you were meeting me I'd have pinged," he says, dropping his bag so he can take her into his arms.

"It's okay. You're here now," she says stretching up for a kiss.

He accepts her offer of a kiss but keeps it simple and quick. There'll be plenty of time for more later. "Come on," he says, taking her arm and starting her walking. "Let's get out of here."

A bit less than an hour later they're lying in Kate's bed, Mac lying on his back, Kate snuggled in close in the crook of his arm, head on his shoulder, his hand slowly stroking her back. He'd been tired, strung out from the long flight and long working days of the past few weeks, but now, holding her, he feels energized, ready for anything.

When she and Mac had first slipped beneath the sheets, she thought she would be on him like a wolf, ready to eat him alive, but for now she's content to simply lie in his arms, feel his warmth while enjoying his touch. They're going to come together later, that much is certain, she can feel the growing sexual tension between them, but rather than the furious activity of their last meeting in this bed, she knows they're going to make love and not engage in animalistic fucking.