Page 214 - Demo

2030-JONE
“What’s that?”
“How did Matthew fit in all of this?”
“I suspected Matthew to be on the take. He had no kids. He
wasn’t married and kept pretty much to himself. But that doesn’t convict him. I had to be sure. Matthew’s biggest problem was that he was afraid to go against his own son once he discovered him.”
“What?”
“Yeah Corin was Matthew’s son. And they started out legiti- mate, but it got out of hand. I believe Matthew had to react to so many situations at once that either surprised him, overwhelmed him, or he didn’t expect that fear ultimately overtook him. A classic case of being overwhelmed by the reaction factor. Out of his league, he might have just given up. We’ll probably never know. I couldn’t prove any of this, so I did what I had to do. I made Matthew out as the honorable director everyone suspected him to be. Matthew created Talon to do the job he lost control of and it cost him his life. I just didn’t see any reason to drag his name across the dirt in public if no one knew the truth.”
“Is there a reason we let Tom get completely away?
“We didn’t.” Seige reached into his pocket. “It’s because of him we cracked this nut in the first place. I just thought we owed him a break. He’s married and living in Aruba with his wife and a baby on the way. He wants me to be there for the christening.”
“He wants you there?”
“He trusted me, and I trusted him. Sometimes two people actually do that. Besides, I insisted the baby have a proper god- father.”
Brock smiled. “I got one more thing on my mind.” “I’m sure that’s not true. I know you pretty well.” “Will I be able to reach you if I need you?” “Always, my brother, Seige finished, “always.”
The Reaction Factor 213