Ethan heard a phone ringing behind him. A smartly dressed young woman came from behind him and set a cell phone on the table. He knew her name was Dawn. He knew she was his personal assistant. He knew what he was looking at was a cell phone. Immediately he was grateful. Dually was feeding him a backstory.

‘It’s Eldon’, she said, and turned to leave.

Ethan felt inclined to tell her he’d call him back, but he also knew, this was something he could not do. ‘Eldon, what’s up?’ he said as cheerfully as he could muster.

‘Not much. Just one day closer to taking over the world.’

‘Cool. What can I do for you?’

‘I was wondering if you can come up later? I want to talk to you about something’.

‘Yeah, sure. I can do that. What time?’

‘Eight o’clock’, Whitehead answered and hung up.

‘So this is how it’s going to go’, Ethan thought. ‘Servant with benefits’.

He looked around. He was in a very spacious room. It was a dinning room, although there were couches closer to the full length window looking out onto the skyline. Perhaps an area to have drinks before dinner. It wasn’t dark, but the lighting was quiet and comfortable. Dawn was sitting at a little table by the entrance, focused on her laptop.

Instinctively Ethan knew, he was living in Eldon’s home, and it was a very big home. His thoughts immediately took him to the whole story. ‘Fuck me! I’m living in the ‘One World Trade Center’! The Freedom Tower ’.

Not only that, he was living in a very privileged part of the Freedom Tower. He was in the 3 floors just below Eldon’s top 11. No wonder he could see the entire skyline from his window.

‘Hey, I have a lap pool in my gym,’ Ethan noticed, ’Cool.’

Whitehead had begun taking control of the Tower years ago. Buying up any ownership he could get his hands on, usually through graft and intimidation. He bought up enough to legitimately open doors to certain people in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It wasn’t long before Whitehead, with lots of money, had them believing the right thing for them to do was sell him the building.

That wasn’t the icing on the cake though. All along Whitehead was working what he called his ‘percentage’, to see him as symbolic of Freedom, and the fighter of freedom. He steered them towards the idea he should live in the Tower, and through him, the Freedom Tower would become a beacon to the rest of the world, of what the strength of Freedom brings. His percentage were those people he knew he could rally in his support to the extent that the issue must be looked at from their point of view, which of course was Whitehead’s. He had a number on this. It was only about 3.7% of the national population.

He got that 3.7% whipped into a frenzy, which triggered a review of the ownership status, and the Port Authority being down for anything by that point; gave him their ownership of the One World Trade Center for the symbolic sum of one dollar, and a salute from them. Cost to build; $3.9 Billion. Cost to Whitehead mainly in Graft; $47 Million.

Ethan noticed Dawn getting up and organized. He wandered over to her.

‘Well, I’m going home,’ she said. It was about 7:30 PM. Don’t forget. It’s Eldon’s birthday tomorrow’. She noticed a look of confusion on Ethan’s face. ‘Don’t worry you bought him something very special’.

‘What is it?’

‘A Faberge Egg, and not just any Faberge Egg, if there is such a thing. This is the last of the ‘Imperial’ Eggs he needs to complete the total collection of 46. He’s going to like your gift very much.’

‘You do this sort of thing for me a lot, don’t you?’ Ethan asked. This coming to him all of a sudden.

‘Yes I do,’ she replied, and left.

‘Hmph!’, Ethan snorted. ‘I wonder if she likes me’?

Stolen story; please report.

The servant greeted Ethan at Eldon’s door. ‘He’s in the war room’, he said, which was the only place he could be on that floor.

‘Where else?’ Ethan joked. ‘Am I right?’

‘You got that right’.

Ethan strolled over to the entrance of the war room where he passed through a scanner and was sprayed by something; what he knew not.

As mentioned, the room was an entire floor of the One World Trade Center. Anything you would expect in a modern strategy system, you found here. Monitors tracking satellite’s. Monitors of satellites tracking nations. A PR and Propaganda section. A strategic development section. Anything you could need to win a war was in that room, and the only person in the room was Eldon Whitehead; and of course his personally trained AI system, which was kind of human to him. He, and he alone, ruled everything from this room.

Ethan walked up to him. ‘So,’ he said casually, as way of saying hi, but not disturbing things too much.

‘So, just let me finish up with this and we can have a talk’.

‘Sounds good,’ Ethan replied, and started to wander around.

‘Stay beside me Ethan.’

‘Oh right,’ Ethan replied. There was no looking around in the war room.

Eldon finished what he was doing, and lead Ethan into a strategy room.

‘I want you to oversee my most important project to date,’ Eldon said as soon as they got into the room. He grabbed a Diet Dr Pepper and fell into a sofa with a slight groan. It was like he was giving himself a moment of relaxation he would not normally grant himself. Neither he nor Ethan drank alcohol. There was a green smoothie waiting for Ethan in the bar fridge.

‘What, StarForce?’ Ethan exclaimed, knowing StarForce to be Whitehead’s baby. ‘Eldon, If I wanted to get my chain yanked, I’d find someone a lot better looking than you to do it’.

‘I’m serious. I have to remove myself a bit from this one or it’s going to blow up in my face’.

‘Well what do you want me to do?’

‘Finish it. You’re capable. I trained you and you can do this,’ he said, then he looked Ethan in the eyes. ‘I’m going to tell you something now, that I’ve never told anyone. StarForce, which was contracted to the government and sold to them as a satellite defense service, provides a hell of a lot more than asteroid deflection, surveillance and communications. The only thing is, it provides all the rest of the things to me. With this next phase of development, it will become my personal defense system that can defend me from anything the people of earth can throw at me. As for space, I can already take out anything orbiting around up there instantly’.

‘Fuck Me’.

“That’s right, and it’s already a lot more sophisticated than you or anyone else, might think. ‘Do you ever wonder why I would expose myself to the rest of the world by living in New York’s highest skyscraper?’

‘No.’

Whitehead kind of frowned at that. ‘Well, it’s because I already have in place enough surveillance and firepower from above to protect this building from any form of earthly or aerial assault. You’re welcome by the way.’

‘Yeah, seriously, thanks Eldon,’ Ethan said. ‘So what do you want me to do?’

‘’Well I need to get some nuclear reactors up there. There’s really nothing to it. It’s already been cleared by government. I just want you to be the face of things. There shouldn’t be too much resistance, but if it blows up, I want you to handle it. I can’t be that close to things’.

‘I’m your man, Eldon. You know that.’

‘You’ve been a good friend to me Ethan,’ Eldon said.

‘Nothing compared to you buddy. I owe you everything.

Whitehead smiled at that, and slapped Ethan on the knee. Are you coming to my birthday party tomorrow?’ he asked getting up.

‘Wouldn’t miss it’.

‘Did you get me something good?’

‘Oh yeah. Sounds to me like it’s something you stick up your ass.’

Whitehead smiled. ‘Well, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. Now fuck off. I have work to do’.