Changer's Blood (Balancer's Soul cycle) (82 page)

Connor turned the wheel and
pulled the
truck into the parking lot and J
ack told him
to park in his executive parking spot.
The snow covered ground crunched underfoot as Connor
stepped ou
t. He became dumbfounded when he
saw
the size of
Jack
’
s shop.

It was a three story tall gr
ey concrete building. N
ineteen
lit
windows
showed
that
they
were as tall
and wide
as
a man
on this side of the building; per floor.
Connor
walked with Jack around the side of the building and saw twel
ve more windows per level. In his
head
Connor
automatically calculated that there were one hundred and eighty six window pa
n
e
s. The sign for his shop said
Jack
’
s Custom Automobiles
;
the letters were all written in
bright
red
neon lights
with a
flashing
white background.

As
they
walked towards
the
automatic double doors
made of glass
,
that
large vehicles
could easily fit through
,
Jack spoke. “What do you think, Connor?”

The doors slid open with a rolling hiss.
He
answered as
they
stepped into the building. “I didn’t expect something this
big
.” Jack simply smiled
. “So this is where you built my truck.”

“It sure is. I own this entire building and all of these employees are some of the best that I’ve ever seen.
Each one of them are experts in their field. I also had some of them transferred here from Washington, from the last garage I owned.
”
Behind
them,
the door’s hiss shut.

The inside of the building
looked
exquisite
and felt like walking into some future science lab
. The floor, ceiling and walls were all pure white and glossy.
Not even a spec
k
of dirt could be seen.
All of the employees we
re all wearing white suits and Connor
knew this place would be
one of
the cleanest
establishments he’s
ever seen
before
. The desks and work stations were all made of either stainless steel or
polished
aluminum.
A fresh fragrance of pine gave the air a calm atmosphere.
There was a
very
large
and open
path that came from the elevators in the back, all the way
to the automatic doors.
There weren’t any ceiling fans, but there was a gentle and warm breeze coming
in
from the vents. Off to
the
left
sat
a waiting room that was enclosed by glass. In there were fifteen
plush
chairs that looked quite comfortable. Also inside was a television along with a vending machine for both drinks and snacks. There was a man and a woman in their early fifties and they looked like they could afford
just about
anything.

Jack led the way
to the front
desk. He whispered “I just hired her about three weeks ago. Let
’
s see if she can remember my name this time?” He smiled.

The young lady looked up after setting the phone back on the hook. “Good morning
,
Mr. Branderson.” Connor
recognized
that face from school. She wore a long sleeved red shirt and her hair was tied back in a bun.
She wore the look of a seductive
librari
a
n to be sure.

“Good morning
,
Caliegh. It good
to know
that you’v
e finally remembered my name.” H
e silently chuckled.

Her face flushed in embarrassment and it looked like she w
i
shed she could disappear. “I’m sorry about that…” She finally saw
his companion
standing right beside
her boss
. She arose out of her chair saying “Connor
,
is that you?”
She batted her eyelashes seductively, but she didn’t have a speck of attraction that Sarah has.
Connor
saw that she also wore a brown miniskirt which
i
s
a
ridiculous
choice
in this weather.

“It’s good to see you too
,
Caliegh.” He
extended
a
hand and she shook it cautiously.

As
he
pulled
his
hand back she sat back down. Jack said “Caliegh, where do you know my son-in-law from?”
Connor
saw that his expression said that he already knew.
He was anything but subtle.

Her jaw dropped slightly at hearing Jack ca
lling
Connor
his
son-in-law
.
Caliegh pulled herself back together rather quickly
, but the damage had been done
. “We went to
high
school together.”

Connor
remembered looking into Sarah’s memory on day that Caliegh was working at the spa.
He
told Sarah
that he
found out by accident
, but she didn’t believe it
.
“What happened to your last job?”
he
asked.

“They hired a prettier woman than me for the
position
.” She shrugged. She changed the subject. “What can I do for you
today,
Mr. Branderson?”

He smiled softly. “Call the boys in the fabrication room
and tell them
that I’m on my way up.” Caliegh nodded and picked up the phone and started dialing.

A
s she spoke into the telephone J
ack and Connor
walked ar
ound the front desk and made their
way to the back.
He
asked Jack telepathically
“Why did you really hire her?”
His raised
left eyebrow
emphasize
d
the question
.

Jack
peered at
him
from the corner
with his
right
azure
eye.
“She needed the money
for school and living expenses
and when I looked into her mind, I knew she would work hard for me.
Her resume was short
and her work experience was shorter
, but her
personality
is perfect for being at the front desk. Since I hired her three weeks ago my
clientele
have ordered twelve percent more merchandise.”
He cracked a smile.
Connor
knew
that the
customers
weren’t interested in the merchandise
exactly
.

Jack
pushed the black
up
button for the elevator. The doors of the elevator were as massive as the automatic
front doors
.
Connor
knew if they were that big
,
the elevator itself would be as well.
T
his was how they got
his green
truck out.

The large elevator doors o
pened vertically and together they
stepped into the elevator.
Connor
’
s
assumption
prove
d
right.
His
truck could fit in here, but only just. Jack pressed the b
utton for the third floor and they
began ascen
ding
after the doors closed. It took a
while to reach the top floor because Jack said that to support the weight of a vehicle the elevator must be slow and strong enough to lift or drop a vehicle that coul
d weigh up to six tons. H
e wasn’t
bluffing because the elevator wa
s built solid.

The doors finally opened and Connor
found himself
temporarily blinded by the
intense
ly
bright
lights. When
he
could finally see
clearly again
he
was stunned by the amount of technology
held
with
in that room
.
C
ranes
moved across the ceiling
, automated
robot arms
moved heavy equipment
, welding systems
sparked heated metal everywhere
, and even people
moved safely around
who were designing
custom
computer chips which would run the systems of the vehicles.

Connor
stepped forward and ran into a clear and plastic wall. Jack laughed. “Son, this entire
floor
is a clean room.
I cannot have any dust or debris corrupt the work being done inside
or problems will arise
. There is only one way to get in.
Als
o it’s sound proof. Follow me.” Connor
rubbed
his
nose
in embarrassment
and followed him into a locker room.

The room was also pure white. Jack tossed
over
a white clean suit,
a face mask,
goggles and a pair of new orange earplugs that were still in the package.
Connor
stripped down to
his
boxers and jumped into the white sui
t. It barely managed to cover his
bulk
as
he
put
his
clothing into the metal locker
. Jack did the same as
Connor
put the goggles on and
inserted
one of the earplugs. As Jack almost mirrored
his
look he walked up with a dry erase board and black marker. “Take this.”
Jack
handed over the items. “It will be too loud to talk so tap my right shoulder to get my attention. Then write down anything you need to ask.”
He wai
ved off
Connor’s
questioning
expression
. “I know we can use our abilities, but
I can guarantee that someone will b
e watching.”

“Gotcha.”
Connor
put in
the
other earplug and followed
Jack
to the back of
the locker room. There was a back door that led to a small room with a skinny man sitting
behind a
desk.
He suddenly placed the phone on the receiver.

He stood up and smiled genuinely. “So good to see you again Mr. Branderson.” They shook hands with their clothed hands. He turned
.
“And who might you be?”

“This is my son-in-law
,
Connor.” J
ack introduced and turned to Connor
with a pleasant expression
. “Connor
,
this is my second in command, Beau.”

They
shook hands a
nd he asked “How’s the truck?” Connor
told him how wonderful it was. “Glad to hear it. Jack here put all orders on hold and had everyone specifically work
ing
on your truck. It took three weeks of planning to achieve the battery and hydrogen
synchronization
system
s
alone
. It was
truly
a remarkable piece of equipment
that anyone would enjoy
.
If only it could be mass produced the gas companies will run out of business
and we’d finally no longer be dependent on oil companies
.
We’re trying to find a way…
”