Page 26 - Demo

2030-JONE
slowly closed in death. As the snake reached for his head the panel dropped and Tom looked emotionless again at Corin.
After a long pause, Corin rose from his desk like smoke and walked toward the window.
“Tom,” I will tell you why you are still alive. I trust you. From the time I recruited you to help me build this empire you’ve been watched. I loved my daughter and knew she was a bit, shall we say, rambunctious? But I never realized how much. I probably should have kept her out of the family business, but I didn’t. You’ve gotten her out of scrapes before and that is why you still draw breath. Make no mistake about it I think you should have used a firmer hand with her but I know why you didn’t.
“You work directly for me now and I need your services again,” he said walking back and opening a drawer in his desk. “I have two missions for you to start with. Get that leg seen after and take five days off so that leg can heal. Here, take this pager. I will be in touch and when I call you have 15 minutes to respond. Don’t ever use a cell phone. I figure you’ve lost a few points with me, but you will get a chance to make them up. Remember, I am not Tina.”
“Yes Sir,” was Tom’s reply.
“That’s all. And Tom, no more mistakes. Comprendo?” “Clear.” Tom acknowledged.
Tom maintained his focus and tried to act as cool and delib-
erate as he was when he arrived. He turned and walked out of Corin’s office with his limp hardly noticeable. It slowly sunk in; he had been given a reprieve. The man himself had just let him go. Fear slowly subsided as he grasped the weight of his precari- ous position. He moved toward the elevator half expecting to get shot in the back, but he continued steadily. As he got off of the elevator on the fifth floor to see the doctor, he knew immediately where he wanted to be at this moment. Warmth covered him just thinking about her. First things first, he thought opening the door to the doctor’s office.
The Reaction Factor 25