Flashback – Three days before Jason’s Arrival

Jason of the old world worked quietly on Rachel’s mask. Items were scattered on the table as he worked with focus and ARGO’s help. This small project had grown since he had first pitched it to John Malone. That project combined with his rapid growth in the skills needed to create superhuman gear landed him a warehouse. Starting out small and with only one client, Dan Keyes, at first he expanded his operations until he landed his client superstar. Rachel Jace, the newly dawned Legacy, brought his small shop working out of a warehouse to the attention of the big players. With the help of John as the manager for his business size, he roped in others the year after until he expanded to his current size. From that point it had not become an issue of profitability or costs but how much time he was required to work. With so many clients he was busy almost every day working on something.

It had taken more time than he expected but in his free time the ARGO moved on from concept and past prototype. As a part of creating the AI, Jason had begun creating large documents and production material for his ARGO device to analyze, understand, and sometime later improve upon. It took in thousands of hours of his procedures and day-to-day work at the warehouse. It was slow at first and had taken hours to redesign older products he had made. Now ARGO worked near-instantly and dropped his failure and mistake rate to near zero. And it now communicated in his ear adjusting his procedures to maximize the creation of the mask.

“Adjust heat down from level 4 to level 3,” said a monotone voice through an earpiece.

Jason followed the instructions quickly and lowered the temperature on his welder as he performed the final touches to one of the side pieces for the helmet. Sparks flew as it was sealed together. More instructions were relayed occasionally as he made minor mistakes while smoothing the helmet and applying the yellow paints across it. As Jason worked he received a different message from ARGO.

“Phone message received. Would you like me to read it?” asked ARGO.

“Who is it from?” asked Jason.

“Mr. Godfrey.”

“I already know what it should say. I’ll read it once I’m done. It doesn’t require an urgent response,” said Jason as he worked on the finishing touches on the helmet.

It didn’t take much longer for Jason to finish and then test the mechanisms and latches on the mask. With the mask done he left the mask at his computer desk before working on cleaning up. The clean-up was done hastily as tools and excess materials were thrown into their areas in storage. Nothing in the storage was labeled but instead relied on his memorization and grouping based on what was most commonly used. He wanted to reorganize the storage area but had not found much time to do so in between projects. Hopefully with the ARGO nearly complete he would have more time to do so.

Jason grabbed his jacket and bag before heading out the door of his warehouse. He checked his phone and read the message from Alexander Godfrey.

AG: Come in with the code phrase ‘Lazy Dog’. The security will let you in and bring you to me directly afterward. I look forward to seeing this ARGO of yours.

Jason jumped in his car after making note of the information. As he drove away from the warehouse he looked to his side where a black metal box rested on the seat strapped down so that it did not move around as the car drove. It only took a few minutes to arrive at the hospital. Jason looked up at the building and the upper floors. The city was busy with cars moving from one destination to the next and a few working superheroes out and about patrolling the well-known streets. Jason stepped inside and the sliding doors opened. Under one arm he held the metal box and his bag. He passed them both to the security guard and he gave the passphrase. The guard nodded and gave back the items to him after Jason walked through a set of metal detectors. From there Jason was brought inside and followed the guard to the second floor where Alexander Godfrey had his office space.

“Welcome, Jason. Come inside. You can set the device to the side for now. Tell me. How have you been?” said Frey. He wore his scrubs but did not have an excess of equipment on him covering his hands or face.

Jason took a seat on the desk across from him after setting his bag and the metal box down next to him.

“Things are going well. Now that the ARGO is all but finished I have had a lot more time to do other things.”

“That’s good to hear. And you have an anniversary to celebrate soon. Is it three months?”

“Three months.”

“I remember when I celebrated taking over this hospital and its fifth and tenth anniversary. I had a great big party. How will you be celebrating?”

“I’m not sure yet. John has been wanting for me to do more projects for him and with this anniversary I can renegotiate my contract.”

“So what? Are you gonna stop the business?”

“I’m not sure. I need to look at my options. You know well that my products are in high demand because of the work I have put in to improve their quality over the years despite the prices. I don’t want to stop especially after doing this for a while, but I have had offers from almost everyone in the industry. It was like everyone knew that I was starting to shop around.”

“And how has John reacted?”

“He finds it amusing. His ability to get clients and build up my profile as a creator has been immensely helpful. He thinks I don’t need to leave but could use an assistant. And I think he is generally right, but I also need to know my options and worth before confirming a new deal with him.”

“Then I assume our dealings won’t change after a new contract is signed regardless of who it is you go with?

“Yeah, you are clear to hold onto this thing for a while. Just don’t take anything out and keep it turned on. I might still need ARGO if John throws me another curveball project. Not to mention I have been relying on it a lot lately so I should give myself a break to train without it. Did you need the files as well or was it just the machine itself?”

“I only need the machine. If I need anything else for its operation I will contact you again about it. I have already read over enough of the documentation to install a duplicate for my hospital services.”

“Good. I am glad I could help.”

“No, it is I who is happy you shared the ARGO with me. I know how important it is to you. I will keep it safe until you are in need of its return. If you need anything from me just ask as usual.”

“Of course. Oh, I do have one more thing to drop off with you,” said Jason remembering something in his pocket.

In his back pocket was a small gray rectangular case a few inches in area. He handed it over to Frey.

“This is the final step for ARGO. Its machinery will require surgery, but I won’t require the earpiece that covers my ear anymore.”

“How safe is this?” asked Frey.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Should be very safe. I have already tested all of the parts but haven’t been able to complete the final steps because they require your assistance.”

“As long as you are responsible for it I shall see no problem with it as well. Is this device something you wish to input now or…?”

“We can do it later after you have familiarized yourself with the ARGO system. I have places to go and meetings to attend so if you will excuse me I will get going.”

Jason grabbed his bag while leaving the rest of the stuff with Frey. He showed Jason the door and was walked out of the hospital to his waiting car. With the meeting with Frey finished he moved on to his next calendar item, a meeting with Wesley Rodriguez.

<-0-0-0-0-0->

The flashback start as told by Wesley.

Jason arrived at the offices in Rodriguez Labs at noon. Once there he was greeted by Wesley and brought inside.

“Thanks for taking a meeting with me. I’m sure there have been other offers recently and I am glad that you have been willing to listen to mine.”

“Well, you were the first from your family and the other groups to reach out to me. I guess my secrets weren’t very well kept when I had you and then others reaching out six months before my contract end date.”

“What can I say. You have shaken things up with a fresh perspective throughout our industry. My family and I have grown complacent when improving things. It has ultimately been to our benefit to have you as our competitor but now there is an opportunity for you to be something more.”

“An employee,” Jason said plainly.

“Yes, an employee but so much more at the same time. You have a great natural genius and have trained yourself well in the skills of this industry. I wish you offer you more than just a job but a new way to show off your talents with the introduction of your personal projects into the mainstream. We could capture a new market and improve production together all while making money. So, what do you say? Will you take your artificial intelligence technology to the next level with me?” said Wesley before sliding over a set of contract documents.

Jason looked over the first page of the document and then eyed Wesley who was sitting patiently in his seat.

“Not well kept indeed. I am a bit annoyed there was a leak somewhere. No matter. I will level with you Wesley. The amount of money you are offering me is clear that you understand the value of me as a creator and that of my creations. What I don’t fully understand is why I am not talking to your older brothers right now or father. You shouldn’t be able to offer that amount of money without his approval. I think you are doing this behind their back. The question is why are you doing this and what do I gain for choosing you over them?”

Wesley tapped his armrest and smirked.

“I probably should have been more honest with you from the beginning. You are a smart man and did pick out that which was unsaid. You may indeed be able to get a better deal from them, but they don’t have what I do. I have the willpower to see this through to ensure that you sign a version of this contract before your contract end. I do want your ARGO technology and will pay greatly for it if need be. I am the third child of the family. I will never be the one to inherit the fullness of the company. I have had time to build my own little piece of the business, but it will end soon once my father retires, and my older brother takes over. In the meantime, I need you while I still have access to my family’s resources to start up my own business separate from them. The contract would be for the same five years and then after that, you would own shares of my new company and could do whatever you want. What do you think?”

“I think your idea sounds promising, but I need some more time to think about it. Switching to this job would mean I would follow the same structure as my current job, but I doubt you can get the same big names on board as my sponsor has been able to. Still, I will consider your offer and would like to read it over more thoroughly. For now, I have other people to meet about job offers but because you were the first to reach out I will keep your offer close in mind,” said Jason politely.

“Of course. I would expect you to visit with others about your future career. Please take care and I do hope to see you soon,” said Wesley.

The two of them stood up and shook hands. Jason gathered the contract papers and started putting them in his backpack.

“You can leave the papers here. It will be easier to send you the contract digitally. I just thought it would be nice to have the papers physically for the sake of signing if it were to come to that today,” said Wesley.

“Very well,” said Jason. He took the papers out of his bag and put them back on the table.

Wesley had buzzed for someone from his desk and a secretary had arrived. Jason followed the secretary to the doors while Wesley stayed behind in his office. Wesley pressed the buzzer again and frowned.

“Damn it! I overdid it. I messed up. The look in his eye was greedy when he saw the dollar amount. But I revealed too much. If only I had bumped the dollar amount a bit more Or had written a better overview on the first page. Ugh! If only I had known. He didn’t even look at the other pages. I need the ARGO. I need him. My drug trading and weapons are only going to get me so far. I need the legitimate business he can bring. I have done well to avoid scrutiny while my finances are tied up with the family, but it will all come crashing down when I have to do it on my own. I need this to come through for me. What to do? If I…”

In between his ramblings, a voice spoke up.

“You called for me sir,” said the Bull-man.

“Yes. I have decided what to do about Jason. Take him quietly and make sure no one notices. I will meet you once you have him and I am done with my business here. Take him to the Hoffman Apartments. It is currently closed for renovations and should be mostly cleared out. Take what you need and go now.”

“As you wish,” said the Bull-man before leaving.

Jason drove through the streets of the midtown area when his car lurched. It slowed and the hum of the engine died before coming to a dead stop while going 40 miles an hour. Jason’s seat belt protected him but none of the airbags deployed so both hands hit the steering wheel shortly before his head did.

A car pulled up behind Jason’s and the Bull-man stepped out of the car. He was careful with Jason’s car door as he forced it open with a tool. No one was on the street at the moment, and he would rather keep it that way. He had chosen this spot because it had less traffic than other areas. As the Bull-man unbuckled the seat belt the passenger in his guard got out and approached the pair.

“Get this car out of here. Dump it in the area I marked for you. It has few cameras and a bus stop for you to get on once you are done,” said Bull-man.

The accomplice nodded and got in Jason’s car. Jason had a big hand over his mouth and was held in place by Bull-man as he was dragged away and thrown into the back of Bull-man’s car and placed in the trunk unconscious. The two cars drove away shortly after. The next car to arrive in the area came through a few minutes later none the wiser.

<-0-0-0-0-0->

Jason woke up tied down. He had been searched and removed of all his things except for his clothes and shoes. Even his earpiece that usually rested in his ear had been removed indicating a very thorough search had been performed. The ear that used to house the device was filled with dried blood now. Jason shook his head and rustled with his bindings.

“Where am I? Let me out of here!” said Jason.

He looked around to see plain concrete walls. Wesley stood in front of him watching. The Bull-man was behind and to his side.

“I think you know Jason. You see my situation has been a bit more dire than you know and I could already tell that you weren’t very inclined to assist me. If brute force is needed then I will do that instead. This thing has shut off, so I need some answers from you. They are the only thing keeping you alive right now.”

“What do you want to know?” said Jason weakly. His wrists hurt and he had a migraine from impacting the steering wheel.

“Where is the ARGO core. The server. Whatever you want to call it. This thing is just a communication device,” said Wesley as he held out the earpiece. “It is useless right now. Why did you shut it off?”

“Because I don’t have it. I don’t need it right now?” said Jason in a daze.

Wesley slapped his face which made the headache and dizziness worse.

“Are you MAD? Where is it now? Where did you move it? And don’t bullshit me. I have already searched your most commonly visited areas. I will know if you are lying.”

“Why would I tell you? Maybe I am mad for not mass-producing it, but I only need the one. I already deleted the files on its creation weeks ago. Fact check that.”

“Jason,” Wesley said raising his voice before pausing. “Where. Is. The. Goddamn. ARGO. If you didn’t need it then where did you put it? This is simple. You tell me where it is, and I don’t kill you slowly.”

“You seem pretty set on killing me and I am guessing that if you are willing to stoop down to killing me then some of your future businesses will also be less than legal. So, you wanted me to funnel and wash money through more legal channels while profiting off the production and use of my creation. That is not fucking happening. I want no part in this. Your father will find out about this soon enough. Your siblings will…”

“I see that you cannot be reasoned with, and I am out of time,” said Wesley cutting him off, “This is your last chance to talk, or I will leave you here to be picked up from under rubble when the construction crews arrive in about an hour.”

“Go to hell. My friends will find out what you did. They will find some flaw in your cover-up. Just kill me already. I can read you too and I know you want to pull the trigger on that pistol on your belt. Go ahead and do it.”

“Goodbye, Jason.”

Wesley took out his gun and fired once. An hour later the building collapsed after one of the concrete structural pillars formed a few new cracks.