The Rescuer Ch. 02

Ellie smiled, a little, knowing how much a stretch his traditional sensibilities had had to undergo the last few years. His ability to accept other's personal lifestyle choices was still so new to him. The shy assistant standing before him was the largest reason for that change. This was a new age, and sometimes the past just had too strong of a hold on people's futures.

Even with his secret help, indisputable proof of Ellie's own awkward college years with the strange group of friend's she had grown up with, was still too easily found on the web.

Although most of it had been deleted by now, some few co-workers had seen some of the blurrier photos. Ellie had never talked about them, other than the first time the now defunct website had been brought to light by the HR department. So a grateful nod from her was all that was needed to get him to speak again.

"I just try and find truly good people, with the highest level of potential I can, and not judge. Then I try to make a place for them here, if that's possible. Carissa really doesn't need that much help. Other than making sure she doesn't burn her bridges behind her, with too much office politics, on her meteoric and probably unstoppable rise. You are doing well now, and 'most' people accept you for what you cheerfully add to the company. But most of them like you because you do it so honestly. But Lowell? I try my very best for him, you know that I do! But I don't think he will ever change enough! At least not in time! There is just no traditional place that he fits in 'normally'! And there's no job description that I can write, and keep editing fast enough, to just let him be who he is! He refused to sign the security and employee agreements, and I was able to let that slide. He's only given me his word about those, which I cherish. He's promised to stay with us until the Trust is settled. Other than that? I don't know if he'll stay past the end of the year. What do you think? Are we both going to lose him in a few months?"

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Ellie could see how much this one single question was hurting her boss, well and high above the pain of all his other business and physical worries.

He handed her back the borrowed champagne glass so he could reach again into his pocket. The little snuff box was worth more than her first three junker cars combined, and had been Everett's grandfather's. His right hand shook even worse, so Ellie politely opened up the lid, and allowed him to remove another pill.

Once she closed the lid again, he easily let go of the box, and let her slide it back into his tuxedo pants pocket. Offering him the champagne back was her only thanking gesture, before Ellie made herself move backwards towards the steps down to the maddening crowd of the French Market Square.

Her own voice had a level of calm and confidence that she had never heard in it before.

"I think it will all be okay, Everett. Go find Lowell, and calm him back down, if you can. Take as much time as you need. I'll cover for you, even if I have to give your damn speech for you! I've certainly heard enough of yours for this kind of situation by now! Your most important words will come at the museum reception. Everyone knows that. I'll have them hold one of the two extra buses you requested, for you. And maybe even Lowell, too? I've got this. Don't worry!"

Ellie found it so hard to turn her back on the man, who for years had meant more to her than either of her two real grandfather's ever had. But Everett needed some privacy right now, more than she herself needed to run away.

It was odd how easy truly difficult... and even dreaded things could become... when you finally had the right motivation to overcome them.

Walking down the stairs to the main floor, let her merely gesture at two stalled clumps of people, and surprisingly they shooed themselves away from the kiosk's and let their other coworkers check in. She made herself smile, and it was even an honest one, and a few more people scurried to comply.

Just a simple clockwise walk around the huge room, and a few waves in front of the Market Place's busy shops, got the last of them to get in line in front of a kiosk. No yelling. No pushing. No arguing. Just a firm grasp in her mind about what she needed them all to do, and a stern look that said that time was up.

When she had completed the circuit, the stairwell perch before the maintenance door was empty again. One passing tray was loaded with fresh champagne glasses, and the next one had the little French goodie she had denied herself earlier.

But maybe celebration calories didn't count?

Going back up three of the steps was all the extra height she needed. Once up there and in front of the microphone that had been set up for Everett, a quick glance at the huge antique tower clock let her gauge both her audience and the minutes left. Ellie still had plenty of time to panic, before she might have to give the kind of speech she had never even dreamed of being responsible for.

Even in her very worst nightmares.

Strangely, Ellie found herself actually looking forward to it.

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Even though he was practically sure where Lowell had gone... to sulk and get over whatever else had sparked his anger past it's normally unreachable boiling point... there still was the choice of which way to attempt to get there.

Not really wanting to face the crowds now camped out before the spiral staircase, or all those extra winding steps with shaky legs, the choice of the so called 'Dusk Gate' side of the bridge was the one he went with. More feel than logic, but proving that he could get some simple things right was going to be important, especially to his most talented and difficult to relate to assistant.

The walk across the fifth floor skyway helped him focus again, and the dimness of the polished floors and darkened glass walls was soothing. The sight of both the Fountain and Maze gardens never failed to calm him down. The Architect's designs for those alone had almost sold him on the dramatically risky choice of paths to try to save his entire company.

Something about the strange man's drawings themselves had made up his mind.

The strictly technical blueprints normally would have been enough to get him to consider gambling his life work, but it was those sketches that had nagged at him for days and days after he'd first seen them. Now they had been brought to life, in this world, and both of the gardens had easily exceeded his every hope and wish. Financially, they made money every single year, and more than paid for their own upkeep. Between weddings, events, tours, and corporate goodwill exchanges in kind? And the daily added recreational benefit to his employees? The Board still grumbled in resentment over their dual successes. The English and French hospitality spaces had also gone almost directly into the black too, only a year after completion. The hotel cost savings alone for company visitors had made sure of that. But the accompanying dining and shopping profits had grown steadily, as well.

But the staggering cost of the new 'Twilight Gate' addition had been the straw that had broken the Board's back though.

They had no idea of it's eventual importance, and the extra draw to the other features. Nor did they know that the gates and stones themselves had finally come at no cost, and ended up being a gift. Of sorts. The corporation was only required to protect and maintain them, while allowing them to be seen by the crowds of people that would supposedly soon become so interested in them.

Why he was taking only the word of the Architect about that?

Everett couldn't really begin to explain his sudden and unquestioning faith on the subject. Just something deep down and well buried, behind those strange gray eyes, had convinced him to anger the Board with the original bottom line spreadsheets. The recent revelation that the cost of not having to buy the gates, or the unexpected bonus of not having to pay for the equally ancient stone arches being reassembled? That more than evened out the budgetary black hole the board was expecting. That left only the twenty-eight custom built side rails, and the stone steps for the spiral staircase. The still undisclosed details about the murals along the curving walls?

The Architect's colorful and fantastic design sketches had simply overwhelmed him!

The extra width of the spiral staircase suddenly made sense! An inner wall and guard rail was going to be installed to protect the proposed precious artwork from accidental damage. But Everett still didn't know who would be doing the actual painting, but he was beginning to trust his own unwarranted hunch on that!

His tired legs finally brought him to the metal gate itself. The right side half, had been left partially ajar for him. Lowell clearly hadn't worried about anyone else approaching the top surface of the sky bridge. Not from the mandated and now totally completed emptying out of the 'English' side of the headquarters.

Knowing Lowell as well as he did now, the young man had purposefully chosen to leave open the gate with the gray cat smiling down on him.

The unique and irreplaceable Fall and Winter key? It was on the heavy tarp covering up the new railing example. Grabbing it was easy, but once he stepped thru? It was so hard for him to be underneath the gaze of the more menacing visage of the fatal feline, trapped on the inside of the gate.

He could only make himself look up at it once, as he turned the key in the lock, and moved towards Lowell's little base camp setup on the center of the bridge. The young man's legs were propped up on one of the three chairs normally kept up here these days. But a fourth had been added, along with some makeshift extra padding, and it was sitting in the exact middle of the bridge for him to use.

The traditional point of no return, was marked by the four pointed compass star from the legend. Those stories had spawned this one last recreation attempt, to crown all of the complex's other well hidden artistic triumphs.

Lowell's dark eyes gave him no clue as he stood there waiting... until a short curt nod towards the chair shook the nightmarishly black locks his youngest assistant was so famous for... and only then did Everett decide to speak before taking up the offer to sit down.

"Where neither moon nor sun hold sway - One by one Nature's true rulers will come out and play."

"When the colors fade and all the world turns gray - Then even the worst tyrant's will learn to obey."

"While the humble seek the lost Forest Hall to pray - Too proud kings and queens we will always unmask and slay."

"Walls of altar stone and chains of iron forged with dark magic bar freedom's way - But time itself must soon submit and finally release us to rejoin the fray."

The last of the unexpected tension between them faded, as Lowell laughed at his rather over-the-top dramatic recitation of the oldest known version of the poem. Especially his extra flourishes during the part about the too proud King being slain.

"You just told it almost as well as Keeley did earlier. Never seen anything so intense as when she did that for us. It wasn't just acting, or being so used to being up on stage. It was actually as if she was personally reliving every single moment of the tragedy. I know now why you refused to tell me who tipped you off, and even that she was coming here tonight, at least until the very last second! Much less who she really is, in this extremely complicated but wonderfully dangerous game that you've dragged me into!"

Everett felt every single one of his long years, and the strain of his medical condition growing worse, as he sank down onto the folded up tablecloth. The extra padding on the chair was going to be a real help, if this conversation turned out to be a long one.

The leather pads for the new seats hadn't come in yet. The eventual discomfort of the metal surface was usually a bonus, to make people want to leave sooner, whenever he had private meetings planned for up here with either staff or guests.

"So you think you know who called me? I sort of doubt even you could have figured that little mystery out!"

But the moment he said those words, that amazing dark little spark lit up those unfathomable eyes.

"That's just because more than ONE person told you that information. At least two called you, unaware of the other doing so, and YOU called a third to confirm what they knew about Keeley. Am I right? I don't want to say their names, even up here, where we both hope its finally safe to do so. At least now."

His own tiredness let his shock show on his face, but it wasn't worth the effort anymore to pretend around Lowell.

"No. You got that right. That you have, sort of makes my next question unnecessary. I was going to ask you about how sure you are of your sources about the Lakefront mess. Could you at least tell me how you did that? The Board's report, and yours, are coming out on Monday anyway. Please? I usually don't press you on your sources and methods, but it's important this time. I have a speech to give in a few hours about our company's short and long term prospects. I'd like to know how you did it, before I make a fool of myself, if we really don't have all that much of a future left!"

The groan as Lowell swung his own legs off of the extra chair, that he was using as a footstool, belonged to a much older and more tired man. One of the two champagne glasses that were equally full, got passed over to him. They seemed so at odds with the college student's untouched choices of Scottish Eggs, Shepard's Pie, dark beer, two souffles, and the plate of red cinnamon cookies from the unique bakery down at street level.

"Do you remember when I asked you for an advance on my next two bonuses? I wanted to loan the money to one of my old high school friends. He was setting up one of those fancy lunch trucks, but was using a vintage bus instead. He'd run into some serious and unexpected rust problems with the frame and suspension. It took all of the money he had saved up for the brand new cooking equipment, to get just the bus painted and finally road worthy."

The champagne was still cool, and made it easier to talk back with just a few words, so he could enjoy the drink and only listen.

"So the little business investment, that you've already paid us back for and returned to your account, paid full and unexpected dividends?"

Lowell laughed, even more warmly this time.

"It got me into agreeing to work mornings and afternoons the first three weeks of this month on the bus, cooking and plating. I've been filling in at odd times all spring, but one of my friend's employees wanted off work for a few weeks, for his wife's maternity leave. Guess where that very food truck now has a permanent standing gig for the next few months?"

"... let me guess... the Lakefront project?... "

"I've been filling in for some odd extra shifts there, ever since they broke ground. A bit ahead of you telling me to begin gathering research, but no one looks twice at a broke college student trying to get by. I got to hear all sorts of things, from behind the screened in windows of the bus. About three weeks in, they got the crews, designers, inspectors and even the residents by the north side of the dam, to vote. They picked my friend's food truck to be the only one allowed in down there. No other competition is going to be let thru the security gates. Even though its hard to get that huge bus to it's assigned parking space sometimes! They actually have to drive back out, to restock for dinner after the lunch rush, because of the crowds of customers! But it can serve enough people that they only need one vendor. The food is just that good, too! So as far as your trusting my overheard information and conclusions that I put into my report? I independently verified all of it, each day, once I got back here to my desk. It's all rock solid. Do, or say, whatever you feel you want to, in your speeches tonight. Or say nothing at all about the investigation. I think your continued silence, on the obvious controversy, would put the correct culprits even MORE off balance. Leave them guessing, what you DO, and more importantly DO NOT know. That's my personal suggestion for your speeches. I'm so sorry I am going to m-miss both of them."

This time it was his turn to chuckle.

"No your not! You hate crowds! But I've decided to give only one speech tonight. Ellie is going to handle the one I planned to give down at the food court for me!"

It took a lot to surprise Lowell, especially when he was on his best game like this. But whether his rare lapse was due to being too tired, or worried about something even more disturbing, was going to have to be left for another time to discover.

"I might have to nip down the spiral stairs and see that in person! I bet that she's terrified! However did you get her to agree to suddenly overcome that particular phobia of hers?"

"... I didn't have to... she offered to do it herself... to give me more time to find out what had upset you so much... a little earlier... are you still mad at me about surprising you with Shelly?..."

"No. I saw Ellie's face clear enough, even from all the way across the room. If you had really known that her old boyfriend and her were BOTH going to be out on the town? On the same night? In the same places? You'd have been desperate to keep me well out of it! My extra value to you has always been in keeping me off the radar as much as possible. That extra bit of protection that's left, is going to fade fast though, once my report becomes public. As it is? I'm over the shock of meeting Shelly in person, but not what I've just learned from her. It's just too much! With knowing now that the Architect is the one who's really interested in Keeley? I need some time to sort it all out, and revise some of our major plans. Lot's of little details are going to have to be altered. Worse, I think I'm practically going to have to start from scratch on some of our more complicated schemes!"

Both Lowell's little government rated secure tablet and phone were out on table, but the screens were dark. Another nod towards them got the young man to begin, explaining the dozens of questions they didn't have time to actually articulate, but needed to at least try and briefly discuss.

"I don't need those to think. They just get in the way. I still make the mistake of looking at them for solutions, when I think that I actually already have all the information I need. You won't find the answers you are looking for on the web, either, just more questions to lead you off the main point. May I?"

With a little sip of the dark beer to wet his lips, when he got his nod, Lowell just dove right in as precisely and succinctly as only he and this building's designer seemed to be able to do.

"We haven't made an enemy of the Architect. Or at least not yet? I think he was helping you with your stock purchases and market timing more than you know. The Trust pulled out almost all their discretionary funds a little while ago, twice, and then returned it all. In full, only a few days later. They have never done that before! Not using practically every single penny! It takes all three of the Trustees agreeing to do that. I checked the dates against your stock price shifts, and it matches up. No paper trail. No insider information. Just sure bets based on the public actions of the Lakefront group itself, down to the exact second. They could have waited, and made more money for the Trust, but then adding to THEIR bottom line would have made YOUR own position here almost untenable. No. It's our Board that has a new enemy, not you. I just don't know the Architect's real target among the dozen members, and I probably never will. After you give your speech tonight, and have the full meeting of the Board on Monday, maybe then we'll get to see if one of the people he's really after gets removed. Or maybe not. I've learned not to second guess him! Finally! It's too dangerous! I just do my best to prepare us, for every possible outcome, and then wait to make the correct move before anyone else can even begin reacting. It's worked well, so far. Don't you think?"