The Ties That Bind (18 page)

This last part was directed back at Zoe.

"Because," I said, "I specifically asked Josh not to say anything. I tried to point out how dangerous things could get for me and everyone close to me if this got out.”

"Ohh," she said looking at me thoughtfully. "I can see that. I'm sorry, I didn't know”

I maneuvered her and Zoe into the living room so we could talk. Now we were at this point there wasn't much to do but bring Amanda inside, or at least as much as we had Josh.

"It's not your fault. It was Josh's responsibility to keep our secrets. Of course, now that you know, it is important for you to keep our secret as well. You can't tell anyone. Not your parents and not your friends. And please don't talk about this with Josh in public places or anywhere someone can hear you.”

"He tried to explain it to me, but it didn't all make sense. What is your thing exactly?  He said something about you being a genetic freak or something and getting super-powers. And then you gave them to Zoe and the other girls.”

"I would prefer not to call myself a freak, and they aren't super-powers, but yes, that is essentially it. We learned … after I was shot, and with the help of Zoe's mother and a doctor friend of ours … that I have some genetic anomalies, which make me stronger and faster than most people, and give me heightened reflexes.”

"That's why you were able to move so fast to get that runner out of the way?”

"Yes.”

"I had wondered. You kept changing the subject, but I knew what I saw. You moved so fast. And you were able to give this to Zoe and Tami and Vicki?”

"Sort of. They were able to get a portion of my abilities.”

"But Josh said you didn't want to give it to other people. I'm cool if that's your decision; I just wasn't clear on why not.”

It's like Josh didn't hear a word I said to him that day!

"I didn't say I didn't
want
to pass my abilities on to others, just that it didn't work that way.”

"But you were able to give them to Zoe and the others.”

Zoe, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up, "But he's sleeping with us.”

"So he only gives abilities to people You are sleeping with?" Amanda asked, still trying to sort it out.

"No," Zoe replied. "He is only
able
to give them to people he is sleeping with.”

"I don't … ohh!”

I was glad Amanda had put that together on her own, so we didn't have to get into the details.

"So you see why I don't want to do what is necessary to give it to everyone.”

"Yeah, I can see that.”

"Also, this is all very new. We have no idea what the downsides might be. We are still doing a lot of tests and stuff to figure it out.”

"I get that.”

"Ok. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It's not like we are trying to hide anything from you specifically. We just have to play this very close, you know?”

"Yeah.”

"I know this will be hard, but please try and keep from discussing this with Josh when you guys are together. I know he resents not being told right away, and not being able to get my genetic thing passed on to him. I tried to explain it, but from what you are saying, he isn't getting it. I don't want him to get so upset by this that he does something rash.”

"I don't want to lie to Josh.”

"I'm not asking you to do that. I am just asking you to please keep it to yourself as much as possible.”

"I know Josh can be difficult at times, but he really means well. He just … he doesn't want to be left out.”

"I know, and I don't want to leave him out. But just the fact that you are here, now; tells me that I, and you, have to be careful with what we say to him.”

"Yeah. I don't know. I'll try I guess.”

"Thanks, Amanda.”

I saw a little head nod from Zoe, and I stood up.

"Well, I need to go take care of some stuff. Say bye before you leave, ok, Amanda?”

"Ok.”

I excused myself so she and Zoe could talk and headed to the upstairs phone. The closer I got to it, the more annoyed I got. I dialed a number and after a few minutes, Josh picked up.

"Josh, what the hell man?”

"Huh?”

"I asked you to not tell
anyone
what I said.”

"I didn't think you meant not to tell Amanda?" he replied, still sounding a bit off balance.

"I asked you specifically not to tell Amanda!"  I was trying not to yell at him, but I was getting pretty pissed.

"Yeah, but … I don't know, dude. I thought it would be ok.”

"What's done is done. But please, do
not
say anything to anyone else. This is really important! You could put all of us in danger.”

"I know man. I guess.  I'm sorry. I won't say anything to anyone else.”

"Please don't," I said and then hung up on him. Yes, it was rude, but I was really pissed off.

Amanda and Zoe talked for over an hour before she left. Zoe had plans with Vicki and Tami that I begged out of. I was still in a foul mood from dealing with Josh. Thankfully, Zoe understood and let me get away with staying home by myself.

Saturday was jam packed with stuff to do, which sucked, since the girls, including Emily, had plans to head out to the lake for the whole day. There was no way I could get out of my obligations, though, and thankfully, they understood.

I was glad they were taking Emily. It had only been a couple of weeks since the confrontation with her father, but things seemed to be looking up. She hadn't showed up with any new bruises and had even started to come out of her shell a little bit.

My first stop was by Charles Green's office. I hadn't been there since Mom and I came by the first time, and she had collapsed. I had spoken with Mr. Green many times on the phone, but until the drone project got out of the design and testing phase, and we actually sold something, there wasn't much for us to do.

I sat quietly in the waiting room for Charles to finish up his previous appointment when the original CPA I had come by to meet on our first trip made an appearance, apparently not rolling into the office until ten. He did a double take when he saw me, and his face hardened; but otherwise, he ignored me. I wasn't even sure he would remember me, since I had only stepped into his office for a moment. Then again, I guess he didn't get shot down by almost sixteen year olds, very often.

While talking to his secretary he glared at me several more times, and it seemed like a confrontation was inevitable. Thankfully, Charles appeared before that could happen.

"It looks like things are looking up for you guys," he said once we were back in his office.

"Yep. We have an influx of cash, now, thanks to the initial test order. Things will really be looking up for us, once the first full order comes through.”

"Yes, well you have recouped your original investment to the company and made a small amount of profit on top of that. I have to say I am surprised. Pleasantly so, but surprised all the same. I wasn't sure your plan to put all your eggs in one basket would pay off.”

"Honestly, neither was I. I was also against the company giving me such a large payout after the payment for the test order came in. We only had five million left for capital, since most of the profit from the first payment was needed to set up the production line.”

"True, and I don't know your internal numbers, but you guys are still really small, and don't need much. The four million left after paying you should be enough to cover your expenses for the next year. And that's not counting the bigger contract that's just around the corner.”

"Three million, actually, if I was getting the payout Ted and Marcus were so adamant about. I wasn't letting them or the rest of the team go without getting their share. Sure I was the bankroll, but they did all the work!”

"Well, I still think you should be ok.”

"Actually, that's something I wanted to talk about. I already broached this with my partners, and they are on board if you are. Ted is a great businessman, but even he has someone that he goes to for the money side of things, and I think we need that, too. I would like to bring you onboard with us, to handle the company finances, and make sure we aren't screwing up too badly.”

"I don't know. Besides the conflict with my managing your personal finances, I have my clients to worry about.”

"I know, and I know those will be concerns. I am not worried about the conflict, and my partners agree to sign a waiver on the conflict on behalf of the company if it comes to that. As for your clients, that's a harder question. I know you are loyal to the people you represent, so it's something you need to consider. My compromise is that at least until our full contract with the DOD has cleared, you just come in to consult. That way you can see how things operate before you make your decision. Besides the drone projects, we have a few other things our guys are working on, too. I would love your input on those projects as well.”

He sat silently for a few minutes, leaning back in his chair, thinking.

"I can live with that. It would be nice to not have to fight and scratch so hard to go on my own every year, and I do like what I have seen from you so far. So, yeah, I will consult for you and consider your offer.”

"Great," I said sliding a card with some numbers written on it. "You can reach my partners here. Talk to them and to Jonathan; I think you have his number. I look forward to working with you.”

"Me too, Caspian, me too," he said as we shook hands.

The rest of the day was taken up with meetings with my partners and Jonathan, who had also come on to consult with us on legal matters. The company was growing, and I can't say I wasn't excited. Petrified, but excited.

Besides telling them Charles was on board, we still had a lot of work to do. The production line was almost completed, and we were set to have the test order out the door in a few weeks. At that point, hopefully, the first contract would be done and we could really get to business. In addition, there was Ronald's project. Apparently, he was getting close to being able to show us a first test of his smaller prototype.

All in all, things were looking up both at the company and at home. Naturally,
that
wasn't going to last very long.

While it would still be some time before we would hear back from the private eye, everything else was looking up. Tami was even coming out of her funk. Between the other girls and myself, we had convinced her to trust us to protect Judy. Thankfully, she finally accepted that. While she was still very angry at her family, she at least wasn't taking it out on the rest of the world.

There was also a lot to keep her distracted. Besides our school workload increasing as the second semester picked up steam, we were also working on Tina's birthday party. We had a spy inside Tina's life thanks to Judy, and she confirmed that Margaret was going to be working. I was already planning on throwing a party for Tina, but knowing Margaret wasn't doing anything special for Tina, I was determined to make it a blowout.

If anything, the girls were even more excited. They picked up all kinds of decorations for the inside of the house. Vicki contacted a baker that her mother really liked, and ordered a raspberry-chocolate mousse cake.

Zoe had pointed out that it was the same weekend that the traveling carnival was going to be in town. So, we arranged for all of use to go there, after cake and presents at home.

I'd only been to one of these carnivals, but I remember it being pretty exciting. It was one of those traveling groups that set up shop in an area for a few weeks, then pick up and move on to the next town. It has rides, mostly smaller rides aimed at inducing vertigo, and a midway full of games that are designed to make you spend thirty dollars to win a five dollar stuffed animal. And junk food. Mounds of junk food!

Besides me and the girls, we had asked Judy to invite a bunch of Tina's friends from school to the party. Emily and Megan both agreed to show up and I figured having a bunch of high school kids who genuinely liked Tina, would really make her look good for her junior high school friends.

Presents were another matter altogether. The girls seemed to have their act together and all focused on clothes and accessories, which was great since they knew what they were doing in that area, and Tina would be thrilled. I, however, was at a loss. Zoe had offered to go pick something out for me to give to Tina, but I didn't want to go that route. I wanted to get something that she would really appreciate.

For Christmas, I had given each of my girls a silver necklace with a different colored stone at the end, although they corrected me and told me they were actually pendants. Zoe had gotten a deep blue sapphire stone, Vicki a fiery red ruby, and Tami an emerald green … well, emerald. I had originally decided not to get Tina the same thing, since she had made it clear she was still gunning for a different relationship than we currently had and I wasn't on board with that plan.

But, in the end, even though we didn't have the same kind of relationship I had with the rest of my girls; she still clearly fit into that group, after a fashion. While it may backfire and create more boundary issues between us, I knew she would be thrilled so I said 'what the hell'. I got her the same pendant as the other girls but with a pale yellow sapphire.

Since Zoe was busy getting the party ready, Megan took me over to the mall to pick up the present. I went and picked up the necklace and was happy when they wrapped it for me. Otherwise, she would get her nice piece of jewelry presented to her in a ball of newspaper and Scotch tape. By the time we returned to the house, we were two of the last people to arrive, aside from the birthday girl. It wasn't a surprise party, but Tina had to wait until Margaret left for work. Tina knew that if her mother found out what was happening she would hit the roof. For that same reason, we only decorated the inside of the house, on the off chance Margaret might suss out what we were doing.

While we waited, everyone stood around chatting. The girls were all nice enough to spend some time talking to Tina's friends, who were ecstatic about the attention. It wasn't every day sixth grade girls got to hang out with high school cheerleaders. Eventually the birthday girl arrived.

As soon as she came in the door we all yelled, “Happy Birthday!”

She made a beeline for me and tried to crush me in a hug.

"Thanks, Big Brother.”

"No problem. We have a lot of fun stuff planned, and I think you're gonna have a great day.”

"I already am," she said and tiptoed up to kiss me on the cheek.

She pushed past me and joined her friends. Thankfully, I got to sit back and watch since Zoe was taking the lead. We didn't want to miss too much of the carnival and planned on getting an early start. It wasn't even quite lunch yet but we went ahead and did the birthday cake first, with everyone getting a very small piece. We figured anyone who wanted more could have a second piece once we got back. Given that it was standard practice to stuff your face at a carnival however, I figured this wasn't likely.

Next were the presents. There was a big stack of them, and we had already made plans to sneak them into Tina's room while her mom was still at work. There were books and make up products from her friends that she really appreciated. Mom got her a gift voucher for a full hair, manicure, and pedicure treatment. She was excited about the clothes that the girls gave her. I knew they had all dipped into my now replenished bank account to buy much nicer stuff than Tina would normally see, and was a little afraid to see the receipts. Not that I couldn't afford it. It was the principle of spending a hundred and fifty dollars on a shirt that I just couldn't get around.

I knew Tina was saving my present for last. It made me cringe a little, since I was hoping to give it to her with as little fanfare as possible. She removed the wrapping and her face lit up when she saw the jewelry box. Opening it, she looked at the delicate silver pendant and then let her eyes drift over the similar accessories currently being worn by each of my girls. Her face broke into a giant grin as she carefully set it on the table, then made a running jump onto me.

I was very glad she was so happy, but felt I needed to give her a caveat.

While she applied her death grip, otherwise known as a hug, around my neck, I whispered in her ear.

"This isn't a message or a promise of anything, so please don't take this to mean more that what it is. But I do want you to know how special you are, and how much I care for you.”

"I love you, too, Caspian," she whispered back.

I was certain she hadn't listened to a word I had just said, but I wasn't going to try and do any more damage control. At least not today. I didn't want to put a damper on her happy mood.

Once she let go, she retrieved the box and went to Zoe to have the older girl help her put it on. Zoe passed me a look while she did so, both saying 'good job' and 'you're in trouble now'. There were times when Zoe could say more with a look that I could with a speech.

Presents and cake out of the way, we all piled into vehicles and headed over to the carnival. Even with Megan's big suburban, we could only fit so many between her and Zoe's car. Thankfully, Mom agreed to play chauffeur, even though she wasn't staying for the carnival itself.

The Carnival was already in full swing by the time we got there. Since it was a limited engagement, people drove in from across the county to experience it. I bought tickets for the fourteen people in our group and picked up a bunch of ride tickets, which I handed out. There was no way we could make it through in such a large group, so it was decided we would split up. Tina went with all her friends while my girls, including Emily, Megan and myself headed off another direction. Before we headed out, I handed some money to Tina so they could get food or play the midway games.

Once they were gone, I turned to the group of girls around me.

"So, what do we want to do?”

"Let's head to the midway," Zoe said. "You need to win all of us some stuffed animals.”

The chorus of agreement from the other girls told me I was outnumbered, so off we headed to the midway to see what kind of games they had. It was mostly the normal fare you would find at this kind of event. From stuff I had read, they were all slightly rigged. Not in an overt way, but just enough so that people lost more than they won.

There was the balloon popping, where you got three darts to throw at the balloons. How many you popped determined your prize. The trick here was that the darts were pretty dull, the balloons were under inflated, and the darts themselves were much lighter than you would find with actual darts. Because the balloons were under inflated, they were under less pressure, so it took more force for them to pop. Coupled with the lighter darts that limited the force of the throw, it wasn't uncommon to see a dart bounce off the balloon rather than pop it.

There was the ring toss, where they put up a small array of bottles and you had five rings to throw at them and try and land around the neck of the bottle. The trick here was that the rings were barely larger than the bottles themselves, and are made of a very hard plastic, making them more likely to bounce. They even had the guy running the booth showing people it could be done, but, from what I had read, the ring the worker used was slightly larger, and he was much closer allowing him to drop it down from above, which was hard at the angle the player had to use.

The two most popular games were the basketball shoot and the milk bottle toss. These were the games most kids gravitated to, mainly because while they might not have tossed a ring at a target, thrown a dart, or tried to pull ducks out of a tub; they
had
thrown a baseball or basketball before. This gave the players a false sense of ability that was more than counteracted by the changes made to the games by the carnival.

In the basketball shoot, they use smaller than average rims and make them oval shaped, not round. It is hard to see the shape and size difference from where the player stands, but the changes mean you have to make a perfect high-arcing swish or the ball just bounces off. It's not possible to have the ball bounce off the rim and into the net. The balls themselves are also over-inflated so they have extra bounce, increasing the likelihood that the ball will ricochet off rather than go in.

And then there was the milk bottle pyramid, where they stacked a bunch of metal or plastic milk bottles together and you had to knock them all down with a softball. I always wondered why we still called them milk bottles, since they were made of metal or hard plastic but made to resemble glass milk bottles that are no longer seen in stores. My only guess is the carnival games back in the times when milk bottles were common must have used the glass variety, although then it seems you would end up with a bunch of broken glass.

Either way, they way this game usually went was the bottom bottles were filled with sand or lead making them weigh almost 10 pounds. Unless you aimed for the bottom bottles themselves, you would just knock down the top two rows while the bottom row only wobbles. The ball is also rigged. They fill the center of the ball with cork making it much lighter than normal softballs, and keeping the thrower from getting the kind of velocity they would otherwise achieve. Lastly, they almost always stack the bottles in front of a very heavy curtain. While it doesn't touch the bottles, it does allow a bottle that's leaning to be propped back in place.

Not that all these tricks bothered me. Most people who come out to a carnival midway come expecting the games to be rigged, and don't really expect to win all that much. Between the people around you cheering and the person working the booth doing his or her spiel, it was still pretty exciting.

The only one I was interested in was the milk bottle toss, but there was already a line at it, so I chose balloon pop. Seeing me looking at the booth the attendant came to life.

"Step right up young man and try your luck. Pop just one balloon and win one of your ladies a prize. Don't be shy, come play the game and take home a prize.”

I stepped up to the booth and, after taking an opportunity to leer at the girls behind, he continued with his script.

"For one dollar you get three darts. Pop one balloon and get a small prize, pop two and get the medium, and pop all three and win big Dumbo up there.”

I handed him a dollar and he set three darts on the counter in front of me.

"Care for a demonstration of how the game is played?”

"Sure.”

He picked up a dart that was separated off to its side, aimed and nailed the balloon in the middle, popping it. I had noticed that balloon seemed more full than it's friends, and if that dart was the same as mine I would be shocked. I decided I should bobble my first go through. I figured that if I played enough games to win each girl with me a prize, and I did them all on the first try, it might get me a few more looks than I was comfortable with.

I threw each dart just a little bit away from a balloon, trying to make them wobble but not pop. My first dart actually hit a balloon since I wasn't used to the strange lightweight feel of it, but I had seriously underpowered the throw, so it bounced off harmlessly. My two follow up throws were just as ineffectual.

"Good try, but no luck. I can see your friends still want the prize though. How about another round?”

"Sure," I said, handing over another dollar.

The good thing was that I had time in my first round to adjust to the feel of the darts. This time I put power behind each throw, driving each dart through the under-inflated balloon. I took time in between each, to make it seem like I was really aiming, and one by one my three darts found their mark.