II

It was rather late on January the 18th when I pulled up to my new house in Montgomery. I got out of the car and went to the door and entered. I flipped the light switch and a large group of people suddenly yelled, “Surprise!” I jumped back a foot and smiled. It seemed that someone was in on my return to Montgomery. The first person to come up to me was Thomas LaPointe.

“You devil, you,” I said to him with a large grin on my face.

“I guess you already figured out that I told everyone about your new job for Aaron.”

“How many people are here?”

“I don’t know, quite a bit. This worked out perfectly, didn’t it? It’s a cross between a welcome home and a birthday party. How old are you anyway?”

“28”

From the crowd came forth a birthday cake with candles spelling out “29”. A chorus of “Happy Birthday” ensued, and at the end of it I blew out the candles while wishing for a new life with old friends. Maybe I could make it work. We would see.

“You know, it’s kind of strange having just come from my grandmother’s funeral. I certainly did not expect this.”

“We expected your parents to come too.”

“They’re staying in Ohio to tie up loose ends. How’s Michael?”

“Why don’t you come and see.” I followed Thomas to the other side of the living room where I saw his brother in a wheelchair. Both of his legs were missing and he was badly scarred.

“Hi,” he said.

“No, no, don’t get up.”

He pursed his lips and said, “Funny, very funny, and I appreciate your compassion. I am surer now than I ever was that someone in Aaronco is behind this. Thomas is more reclusive than ever and never, ever talks about his work.”

“Well,” I said, “Thomas always has been rather strange, but who am I to judge strangeness.”

“True, but have you heard about what Aaronco has been doing lately?”

“No, actually I have not. Enlighten me, please.”

“Well, they are in the process of building two major structures in Montgomery. A convention center is under construction on the west side of town, but take a look at this.” Michael pulled a newspaper out of his wheelchair. He showed me the front cover. The headline read, “Aaronco plans Montgomery Opera House downtown.” I laughed.

“They aren’t just going to perform opera, either. They are going to put together the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. It is supposed to be even better than the Philharmonic.”

“My goodness, tell me, how did he get the land for a convention center in West Montgomery?”

“Aaronco paid all of the residents quite a large sum for their property. It should be done this fall. I assume that you have heard about what people are talking about in Congress these days.”

“Yes, actually, I have. They are saying that the southerners didn’t have the right to vote because they were under the influence of the Spam and whoever produced it. Based on what they did to you, it might be a legitimate claim, but the result would be that Al Gore would have won and that a third of our senatorial positions would be empty and we would have no representatives in the House. That would be very bad.”

“True and no one would be more upset than Kate Zimmermann. She is such a political freak when it comes to this time and anything might upset her. She could launch a rebellion.”

“I’d be more concerned with the Spam causing a rebellion. This situation could poison us until they have control, or it could tear us apart instantaneously. Where’s Jason.”

“Oh, Jason is I believe a Captain in the Air Force. I think he might be stationed in Ohio.”

“Wright-Patterson?”

“Maybe, but he couldn’t come anyway.”

The party went on for a few hours. I organized several board games such as “Risk” and “Monopoly”. Everybody had a great time, and I had to force them out that morning.

I was half asleep on my easy-chair when I heard someone pounding on the front door. I groggily got up and shuffled to the door. I was rather disheveled, but I opened the door anyhow.

“Who’s there?” I asked. I then saw that it was Aaron; it was nearly noon and his limousine was sitting on the side of my nice little street.

“Nice to see you, Tom. I have a job for you.”

“Now?” I groaned.

“I want you to go to Washington and lobby before the Senate on my behalf. We need to keep this situation from getting out of control. A plane is waiting for you at Dannely. My man is there with all the information you will need to get legislation through that will nullify any votes of those under the influence of New Spam.”

I thought a while about that. It took me a while to realize what he had just said. “You must be kidding! We’d have no say anymore. And what of those who haven’t had any spam?”

“You must remember that these Senators and Representatives have had access to New Spam as well as the people. My board is growing beyond my control. We need government help to keep them in check. As far as Republican versus Democrat, this is much bigger than that.”

I could see that he was serious about it; and as his personal attorney, it was my duty to help him. “Everything I need?”

“Most people couldn’t do it with what I’m giving you, but I know you can sway people with the way you speak. You can do this. I’ll be in contact with you. Can I come in? I told my chauffeur to wait for you to get packed; he’s going to take you to the airport.”

“Sure. You know, you missed my birthday party.”

“I thought the 19th was your birthday. That’s today.”

“True, but I didn’t organize it. Thomas did.”

“Really, I wonder why he didn’t tell me.”

I closed the door and flipped the wall switch. I asked Aaron to sit on the couch, which was toward the back of the front room. I talked to him as I went back and forth between my room and the front; this was somewhat distracting, but the proximity of my room, being only one door down the short hall, prevented unnecessary confusion.

“Aaron, I must ask, what possible end could you want here?”

“As far as I can see, my board of directors has not yet been able to access all of my financial resources, but it is only a matter of time before I no longer control my company.”

“Why don’t you pursue them in the courts?” I asked as I put one of my business suits into my suit bag.

“I can’t find them. And when I do see them, they have body guards and won’t allow me to bring my body guards lest they kill me.”

“How could this possibly happen?” At this point I was returning to my closet.

“At first I thought they were being honest. I still trust them to an extent: they did help me build my empire.”

“For their own benefit! You have to nip it in the bud if you can. Still, I will try some legal action against them, but be aware that it is going to hurt you, too.” I stood behind the coffee table waiting for his answer.

“I expected as much, but as I said, this is more important than anything else.”