“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Olivia looked hurt. “Why keep that a secret?”
“We didn’t want you distracted. You needed to concentrate on the Expo.” Clay told her.
She turned to Cleveland. “You knew too?”
Cleveland wiped his brow and looked guiltily at Alec, then Clay.
“Oh… now I see… you are known as one of the best contract lawyers in the country.” She looked at Clay and Alec. “I wondered why you were hired… when we don’t even have any contracts.”
“It doesn’t really matter much now.” Alec said. He had really kept it a secret from her because he just didn’t trust anyone other than Clay and Eugene.
“Why? We still have a flying car; we’ve got some of the biggest names in the industry coming in next week. So the car flew a little rough… what’s the problem?” Olivia looked confused.
“The blanket has a flaw making it unstable when travelling at speed.” Clay answered.
“You mean your anti-gravity doesn’t work? I saw you flying yesterday… why don’t you just drive a little slower?”
“We could… but with our bad luck… caused by McDonald… I mean unless we show something fantastic… mind blowing fantastic, no one will buy it. Not 50 million dollars worth.” Alec shook his head.
“You can fix it?”
“Yes, the fix is easy, but it’ll take at least a month, then it’ll be too late. McDonald will own everything. We won’t even be able to start a new company with new ideas…” Alec stared at the conference table.
“I can’t believe that.” Olivia barked.
“I also found it hard to believe.” Cleveland agreed. “You are correct to a point. McDonald can’t prevent Alec and Clay from starting a new company, but he could tie them in the courts for a long time.”
“Well, the Expo hasn’t even started yet. We can cry over it once it’s over. Until then we have work to do.” Olivia spread her papers in front of them.
“Are we done?” Alec moaned after six straight hours of pouring over guest lists, presentations, hotel accommodations, travel plans and catering.
“No. But we can take a short break before we finish going over the building preparations.” Olivia told them. Alec was amazed she looked more refreshed then when they started; almost like she had absorbed the energy from everyone else in the room.
Alec leaned back as Clay got up to stretch his legs. He strolled to the corner where Alec’s original anti-gravity box still floated. It changed little other than it no longer had an external power supply now that it generated its own meager power. Clay gave its corner a push to start it spinning before he turned towards the windows. “Hey, what do you think those kids are up to?”
Alec stood next to him. Olivia and Cleveland curiously looked up then joined them. The view was brilliant. The late afternoon sun glistened off the mill pond and the trees beyond hung onto their remaining fall colors. It was one of those perfect fall days. On the grass next to the pond Jessie and Sofie played with a remote control helicopter. It looked innocent enough but Alec had a feeling there was more to it than that.
“Did you give them that gravity inductor?” Clay whispered to Alec, not wanting Olivia to hear.
Alec reached in his pocket. “Nope, I still got it.”
“How do you think they got one?”
Alec shook his head.
Sofie, wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a t-shirt, operated the remote. Jessie, wearing her blue lab coat, stood on the far side of the pond having just released the small helicopter that was now flying high above them.
Alec watched as Sofie brought the helicopter to a hover over the pond. A questioning grunt from Cleveland echoed Alec’s fascination as the smooth surface of the pond began ballooning upwards. The room went silent as they watched the water quickly shoot up to form a long thin column of water. The column stopped rising before touching the bottom of the helicopter. It stayed in place for a few moments before snapping in half with the lower section spilling back into the pond. The upper portion curled upwards, like a snake curling in on itself to form an enormous ball of water suspended just a few feet below the little toy helicopter.
The tension in the room subsided with an appreciative grunt from Cleveland. Alec stepped away from the window giving Clay a grin. “Not bad…” He started saying when Clay motioned him back. He returned in time to see Jessie and Sofie wrestling for control of the remote.