The Life We Lead: Ascending (23 page)

James stood waiting.

“Don’t be a little bitch and flinch or close
your eyes,” Tariq laughed.

No one else did.

A split second later, Tariq threw his punch.
It was very fast and had power to it and stopped a hair from
James’s nose. James blinked, but that was the extent of his
moving.

“My turn,” James said as Tariq took his prior
position. “Ready?”

“Born ready,” Tariq said.

Amber rolled her eyes. “What a douche.”

James laughed. “Right.”

Instead of punching toward the nose, James
deliberately hit Tariq square in the forehead, and he went
down.

Sharon and Amber roared with laughter as
Tariq lay there, grabbing his forehead with both hands.

“Looks like you win, Tariq,” James said,
attempting to restrain a smile.

Tariq was mad. “What the hell, man? You gotta
hit when a man isn’t ready for it? That is a total bitch move.” He
swung at James, who ducked under it and punched him square in the
armpit. Besides hurting a lot, a punch to that spot makes the arm
nub for a few moments.

Tariq let out a gasp of pain.

James commented with a slightly bitter
undertone, “You can thank my older brother for that trick, and the
armpit punch.”

“Looks like you’re the bitch, now,” Amber
said in a serious tone. “Best stop while you can and while I’m
inclined to let this situation go unreported.”

James nodded and Tariq got up, stomping off
with a “Whatever!”

“Hey, didn’t he sucker punch you a few weeks
ago?” asked Sharon.

“Indeed he did,” James said.

“Nothing like the stove calling the pot
black,” Sharon said.

“Kettle,” James corrected her.

“Huh?” Sharon looked at him.

“Never mind,” James said, as she had the
saying wrong.

The women left, and James worked the bags for
about thirty minutes. He considered Amber’s point about kicking and
decided that once he was in Pittsburgh, he’d learn some taekwondo.
Besides being fun, it would offer a ready made excuse for
bruises.

***

That night, though it was good to be home, he
didn’t sleep well, as his schedule was still slightly off. Morning
came quickly, but his mom had taken the two younger kids over to an
aunt’s, instead of waking him, and then had gone to the doctor for
a check up, so the house was quiet. That is, until his dad got
home.

“James, get up!” his dad barked at him.
“Can’t lie there crushing that bed all day!”

James’s eyes reluctantly opened. He was still
tired and a bit surprised he hadn’t heard his dad’s truck coming up
the lane.

“Yeah, okay,” was all he replied.

His dad ran a salvage yard. He was a simple
man who tended to be hard to read. He could be overly blunt and
short with people, though not on purpose. He saw the world one way
and believed any variation to that was just wrong. Often, he seemed
abrasive and inconsiderate, and his drinking didn’t help.

Though James was a few inches taller than his
dad, his old man was still average sized with a lean build for his
age. He tended to wear his hair on the long side, and because of
that, James had grown up with hair longer than he liked.

James used to joke that when his dad came
back from getting a haircut, it was still longer than James would
ever let his grow.

“That’s because you don’t know how to work.
Out in the sun all day, you want your hair just like mine. Keeps
the sun off your ears and neck and protects you from bug bites,”
his dad once told him.

“What about the winter, when the bugs
are dead and the sun is nowhere to be seen?” James had fired
back.

His mom heard the exchange and promptly
smacked him as his dad answered, “Keeps you warm, dummy. Geez, and
you’re supposed to be smart.”

James had decided to cut his losses and not
reply.

Turned out the help his dad needed wasn’t so
bad; he just needed assistance with the tractor and hooking and
unhooking chains. Small things that just went a lot faster with
help. As they moved along, James walking beside the bucket with one
hand on a tree to stop it from swinging, he got a call from
Carissa.

“Hey Risa, how’s you?”

“Good. What is all that noise?” she said.

“It’s a pay loader. Listen, can I call you
back later?”

“Well, I called tae let you know I won’t have
my phone for a few days, but will be thinking of you and will call
again as soon as I can. It’s for a team thing with the bank. I have
to do it as part of the program and promotion then, you know,” she
said.

“Aye, right, then. Well, we’ll talk soon
then. Looking forward to it,” James said a little louder to make
sure she could hear him over the tractor.

“Brilliant, bye, love,” Carissa said.

“Bye,” James said.

A minute later, when they were unloading the
tree, his dad called out, “Who is Risa?”

James paused. Normally his dad was half deaf
due to all of the loud noises he dealt with day in and day out. He
typically had the TV so loud you could hear it anywhere in the
house.

“I said ‘sister,’” James said without looking
up.

“Oh,” his dad replied. “Why were you talking
like you were British or something?”

James thought, “Don’t let the Scots
or
Brits hear you say that,” but only said, “Just keeping it
interesting.”

James glanced up to see his dad shake his
head. Predictably, his father went into a lecture about how not
being normal was bad if you wanted to be successful because people
wouldn’t relate to you. This wasn’t the first time James had gotten
this lecture and it wouldn’t be the last. It did end differently
this time, though.

“James, your mother and I are worried about
you going to Pittsburgh and all. We’re proud of you graduating from
college. Not many in the family have done that. But working for
others in an office and all, just hard to understand. We want the
best for you.”

“I know, Dad, but you guys need to trust that
I know what I’m doing.” James spoke with the right inflection to
let his dad understand that he was listening and appreciative, but
James had thought this through.

“I sure hope so. I know you got them loans
and stuff. Don’t agree with all that debt, but it’s your problem to
solve. You need to get out of it as fast as you can ...” The
lecture that followed took a solid five minutes.

Recognizing when you are five years old that
you are more intelligent than your parents makes for a difficult
childhood. He also understood the distinction between knowledge and
intelligence. James’s parents simply had difficulty thinking beyond
their everyday lives. It was part of the reason he didn’t care to
spend too much time at home, as life there was way too slow for his
taste. It did, however, teach him patience and how to operate
silently from the shadows.

***

Back at group headquarters very early the
next morning, James managed to get through the file on Anthony
Spara.

It was all there. The family tree, the
structure of the organization up to about five years prior, the
distribution chain, the location of the fields, the cargo ships,
the names of the partners needed for the operation in foreign
countries. It even mentioned Spara’s sister’s late term apparent
miscarriage. This was enough information to not only indict Anthony
Spara, but about fifty other people in multiple countries.

James glanced again at a letter he’d found
in the file. It had been stuck between pages seven and eight, and
he had a feeling it wasn’t supposed to have been there. The note
was from Yan’s father, Qiang, and written in English:

“
My son Yan, I am very proud of you. As I
join my fathers in the eternal life, I know that you will bring my
spirit honor, as I was not able to do before leaving you. You have
been critical in keeping up on what the enemy has been doing these
last few years, and that will be of much use in destroying them.
Remember the lessons from Tzu Sun and do not let them see you
acting. Use another that is equally injured and control them as we
have gone over many times. Below is information for your eyes only
and I trust you will find it most advantageous.

You know, of course, that Joe is the
disgrace of my father’s daughter and a bastard to the family. His
father is Anthony Spara. Spara does not know of the boy’s birth. He
will value this and you can use this as leverage if things become
out of control and linked to the family. Your aunt was very drunk
the night she lay with Spara and does not remember who the father
is. I know, as I caught them. But at the time, he was my business
partner, so I could sacrifice her virginity for the business. I
know your mother always questioned why I would not let the bastard
join the others for training or auction. She thought it weakness
for my sister. It was not. In fact, I could have sold him several
times and refused very good offers, but in business you must make
decisions to guard the future.

When things fall for Spara, stay out of the
way. Do not get involved directly or indirectly. The fallout will
be very large and widespread. It could take three to four years to
settle, as the world will have a vacuum of power. I have made
preparations to safeguard the family, so keep things as they are
for the external world, but vigorously maintain internal
protections. I know that you will, as you designed many of them,
and for the greatest one’s surrounding protection. I am very proud
of your genius. When it is clear that dominance has been
established, you will still be able to reenter the market. Your
mother remembers all the details from the fields. You must sit with
her and map it out in case she passes too. You have the key with X
marking the spots.”

The letter was simply signed
“
Father.
”

James was curious about the steps Qiang had
taken to maintain internal protections. Once the fortress was gone,
no one would actually miss the Tans or be alerted that anything was
wrong until their clients could no longer reach them. But did the
internal protections mean the cameras, or the very high tech
computer system? He needed to learn more about Yan Tan to see what
that was all about. The system, though impressive, wasn’t genius.
It just required the right set up, as all the material was
available on the market.

The question was, how had he gotten it all
in? Nothing could pass without a battery removal. Unless, maybe,
that was the genius part, getting past that force field, or
whatever it was, with everything still working.

He made a note to dig deeper and hopefully
find a connection to Yan.

He was trying to understand the reference to
the X key, as no map or the like was included, when there was a
knock on the door. “Come in,” James called.

Korey, the administrative assistant, poked
her head in the room. “Can you come with me, please? There’s
something you should see.” She had an astonished look on her
face.

“I’m about to leave—have to get to work,”
James said, which was true. “How long will this take?”

“Trust me, you want to see this.” She turned
and left.

James closed the file and grabbed his bag. As
they walked, he stuffed the file inside. She led him into the
largest gathering room, and when he looked around, his mouth hit
the floor.

Tim was standing in the center of the room.
Covering the bulk of the light green walls were drawings.
Incredibly detailed drawings. It was as though Tim had literally
begun snapping a camera when they’d arrived at the fortress and had
simply printed his pictures in blue and black ink.

The drawings contained details James had
forgotten, like the two standing plants on either side of the bar,
but the level of detail went far beyond that. Tim had even put in
the hanging glasses over the bar, and James suspected he had the
number correct.

James understood Korey’s expression now.
Gaping in amazement, he found the main corridors and layout. This
was better than any simple floor plan. It even had rooms James had
not seen that Tim had written “guess” on. James recalled their
conversation in the hotel on the first stage of their trip.

“I think this is okay. Is it okay?” Tim
asked. “I mean, I know I didn’t draw each brick for each room. It
would have taken me much longer to do so. Obviously, I can if you
want. The detail is the easy part …” Tim was speaking very fast and
starting to get nervous.

“Tim, no. This is just freaking awesome. My
God.” James was still looking at the drawings when Tom and Andy
walked in. Tom apparently had already seen them, but Andy was
speechless. He looked around while James continued talking to
Tim.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how impressed
I am. That isn’t even a strong enough word. This is just
incredible. You did this in just three days? How?”

Tim smiled so big you could see the
bridgework to his back molars. “Obviously, yes, I did all this. But
I also finished the office building and car lot like you said.” He
pointed at a large stack of sheets on a table. “I would have done
more, but that is all you said to do. And my hand started to hurt,
too.” Tim cradled his right hand in his left.

“Can I see you in my office, please, James?”
Andy asked.

James nodded and turned back to Tim. “This is
great,” he repeated fervently. “Thank you so much, Tim. I owe you
big time for all this. We’ll have a pizza party soon! I’ll organize
it with Scott and get it on the calendar.”

“Oh, can I pick the toppings?” Tim asked
excitedly.

“Of course! Whatever you want, buddy,” James
said, matching Tim’s tone.

“Well, obviously pepperoni, but we will have
to try a lot of different ones. Can I invite anyone I want?” Tim
asked.

“Yes, we just have to organize it with Scott.
I have to run now. Andy needs me, and I’m going to be late for
work. But we’ll do it soon,” James said.