Money, money, money

[Vive La France]

THE STORY IS BACK!

 

Chapter 11

 

Michael grabbed the back of the subway train, and looked behind. Gunther and his goons chased the train onto the tracks, and Michael fended himself from the bullets. Slowly, the men faded away, and the train turned a corner. Michael pocketed the Desert Eagle and opened the door to enter the train. He walked in and shut the door, gaining stares from fellow passengers. He moved down the car, and waited. He got out his phone and called Fred.

"Fred, they have the stock market down. The mob shut down the security checkpoints. I barley escaped with my life!"

"I heard, damn it. The M4s shot all over the place. Where are you?"

"I'm on a subway, heading into Little Italy. Think you could pick me up again? We need to talk,"

"Damn it, I hate you, but I gotta do this. OK. Meet me at, eh, Fulton street?"

"That isn't Little Italy, but OK. I'll be there."

 

Micheal exited the subway, and saw Fred waiting outside. He waved, and Fred scowled. He walked over.

"We need to work together on this. They got my friend in a warehouse, and they are getting control of the company,"

"I hear that they actually are buying it out. Is that true?"

"Yeah, it is. I'm pretty f*cked."

"YOU'RE screwed? The mob knows by now I'm in league with you. We need to get the hell out of New York, now. I hear that the Denver Springco branch is trying to get away from the company. They might be the only branch that could help us. And if the company is in business for a few more days, I think we have some company credit card spending to do."

"Fred, I'm not going to Denver,"

"Michael, you were a little bitch when you worked for me. Now you're a little bitch fighting for your life. You still want to be the one who always runs? Look, I'm telling ya, I hate your guts, and unless we want to see those guts, we are getting the hell out of New York City, understood?"

"Understood, asshole," Michael replied.

"Great. I have a pass at a garage here, I left my car there. We're taking the subway to LaGuardia. Standby tickets. You have a wallet on ya?"

"Well, I did just come from almost becoming CEO of our company,"

"Great,"

 

An hour later, the pair emerged at LaGuardia airport, and entered the main terminal. They purchased two tickets to Denver, and sat in the concourse, watching CNN when something sparked their attention.

"A man found bound and gagged in a warehouse claims to be a shareholder of a company, Springco, which is going through a new board election. He claims to have been taken by members of the current board, and was tortured to prevent his friend Michael Klaus from getting in the running for CEO,"

"No way Stephen said that," said Michael. Fred looked confused. The view changed to a shot of an ambulance outside the Springco warehouse, with Stephen being wheeled in, saying to the camera "Michael! If you can hear me, I'll be in touch. Keep these sons of ****** out of our company!" The story then changed to some dancing panda in China, and Michael smiled. Stephen was OK. We was going to call. Together, the trio would bring the company down. Just at that moment an announcement went off: "Fred Henderson and Michael Klaus, your standby tickets to Denver have been approved. Please come to the main courtesy counter," and with that, the two stood up, and walked over to the gate.

[Oblivionz]

Really glad to see that you continued this.

 

Great chapter too, and it makes me wonder what's going to happen to Michael and Fred.

[Lochie_old]

sh*t, I remember reading this ages ago. Good story brosef.

[Oxidizer]

This! Was the longest hiatus ever. Glad you and it are back in play.

[Vive La France]

Wow... enthusiasm! Well, guess what. I'm bored, so it's time for:

 

Chapter 12

 

The crowded concourse at Denver International Airport was filled with men jabbering on the phones. Michael and Fred walked aboard the passenger transport train. They stood in silence, as the announcer said they where at the main concourse. The two walked into the fabric-covered concourse, looking at the fountains. They found an Enterprise rent-a-car counter, and walked up.

"We need a car for a week, but we may need to return it sooner, or we might need to extend the time. Is that OK?"

"Sure, just sign some papers. What type of car do you need?" the attendant said.

"Something fuel efficient," said Fred. Michael stared at him. "Hybrids, maybe?"

"Well, a new line in fuel efficient cars just came in... you know the Smart Car?" the attendant replied.

 

"I feel like a complete idiot," said Michael as they exited Pena boulevard in the tiny vehicle. "We have a company credit card. We should have gotten a Lincoln or something. Or hired a limo."

"Sorry for caring about the environment," said Fred. The two argued down through Stapleton, and found themselves in Commerce City, a Denver suburb of corporate offices and postal services.

"If I read the report correctly, it's right off the highway," said Fred as he navigated Michael. "In fact, isn't that the building?"

"Yeah," Michael replied as he looked at a two story building with the Spingco logo on the front. Michael drove the miniature car of the exit, and within a few minutes found himself in the parking lot.

"OK, how are we going to do this?"

"Well, since I'm in upper middle management, then..." Fred began.

"Stop bragging," Michael stopped him.

"Whatever. I know the guy who runs this place, his name is Walter. Walter O'Neill, met him once at a convention. This guy supported the health plan that covered Lightning related incidents, so, be careful around him. He's a bit nuts," Fred finished as they entered the building. They signed in at the main desk, and got in the elevator.

"You might consider changing into something suitable..." Fred said as he looked at Michael's tattered suit. Michael compromised by throwing the suit jacket over his shoulder as he exited the elevator. The two knocked on the door, and entered.

"Isn't this that guy who got drunk and ended up getting into a Segway contest in Georgetown?" O'Neill barked loudly, in a friendly tone. He was a rather fit man, big however, moving on to 50.

"Unfortunately," Fred said.

"And you brought an underdog!" he said.

"Yeah," Fred said, a bit more enthusiastic.

"Is anyone who runs a branch with this company a complete moron?" Michael whispered to Fred, who hit it from O'Neill by speaking loudly.

"Yeah!" he said loudly. O'Neill and him began laughing. Michael rolled his eyes.

"Look, idiot, we need to talk to you. You seem to be the only branch with any sense, so, please, don't be an idiot. We need to talk about urgent matters,"

"Sexual harassment?" O'Neill said jokingly.

"No," Michael said calmly. "I'm talking about all our asses getting filled with lead if we don't stop a corporate takeover by the mob, understood?"

"That's hilarious, this guy is great!" O'Neill said at Fred, who shook his head solemnly.

"It's true. Miller has a mob tie in, which he's using to get the company under his control for another few years,"

"Really? sh*t," said O'Neill.

"My point," Michael interjected. "Listen- they've taken to imprisoning people who tell the truth- they took a man who helped me. We found him, but he was beaten. This is going as far as federal involvement, probably."

"I checked the company stocks at the airport-they've gone down almost 30 dollars,"

"Son of a bitch!" screamed O'Neill.

"That's more like it," said Michael. Now, we need all your employees to try and overthrow this. Enough stockholders with some paid protection could change this," Micheal began to explain. "Fred and I discussed this on the plane; if we get at least 3/5 of the branches to vote against this, and get some protection, we could request an investigation and re-hire the board, with our people. That would have the mob eternally pissed at us though, but if we don't, probably our entire retirement is screwed over, and we'll all get indited, understood?"

"Understood," O'Neill said. "Let's do this."

 

Hours later, the two sat in a hotel outside Denver. Michael had the TV turned to CNN, who was covering the crash of the company. Fred was frantically finding stockholders in the area with Google. The stocks were dropping rapidly- very. This had Michael worried. He was watching his future get flushed down the corporate toilet. The best he could hope for was his hands to get clean from all this. And what about Stephen? Stephen was probably sitting in some upstate New York hospital, watching Springco fail. His phone was gone. Michael couldn't risk contacting him. What if he was already dead? What if the mob found him and killed him? What would happen? Would they hack airline records? Would they find where he was? Michael fretted as he watched an interview with a fat investor behind an obviously fake backdrop of the stock exchange.

"I think that what we need is support now. If employees didn't worry so much, and didn't pull out their shares, we may have a chance of saving this company,"

Poor fat man. He had no idea that his life was probably at stake here. Just when the interview concluded, Fred shouted.

"I FOUND SOMETHING!"

"Why are you screaming?" Michael said as he walked over. He looked at the screen. "Holy sh*t," said Michael.

"That's right, he didn't even vote yet. And he's here, in Colorado," Fred said. The screen read:

 

Name: Isaac, John

Percentage of Stock Owned: 6%

Location: Vail, Colorado

[Vive La France]

Aw, f*ck it. I have the opposite of writers block today.

 

Chapter 13

 

The next morning, the two awoke in the hotel room. Michael got dressed in a spare change of clothes we bought from the gift shop at the hotel, and the two got in the Smart Car, ready to drive up to Vail. With some work, Fred got the address of the guy. The ride up was eventful. I-70 winded through the mountains like a snake, and the argument over the music choice was incredible. It ranged from deciding between rap and classical to rock vs. pop. Michael almost disconnected the radio when Fred's iPod started playing "Never Gonna Give You Up". The ride ended outside a large estate in the city of Vail. The two exited the car and rang a dorbell the size of Michaels hand. A man wearing a suit answered.

"What do you need?" the penguin asked.

"We need to talk to Mr. Isaac, please," said Michael.

"We understand he..." Fred began, but Michael stopped him with a stomp of the foot.

"What is the nature of your visit?"

"Erm, it is a private matter, involving the crash of a company he has stock in,"

"Very well, follow me," said the penguin. The two men entered the beautifully landscaped estate. They walked past a grand, magnificent fountain, and entered mahogany doors. Sure enough, inside was a man who had long blond hair, stubble, and was wearing a red bathrobe with slippers, who was reading a newspaper.

"Oi, Atticus, we gotta get the new 5 series, this year's is getting old..." said the man.

"Indeed, sir. Sir, these men wanted to see you about a stock," said the penguin, or 'Attictus'. The man stood up.

"You the guys from Springco?"

"Yes," Said both in unison.

"Great. So, what about the millions I lost in your little scandal?"

"Actually, we are here to talk to you on how to fix that. Sir, the reason our company has been dying lately is, well, it appears that CEO Miller's mob ties are getting the way. He wants to get the money for himself, and the Mafia is on his side. He's letting a guy called Gunther Pleasant buy out the company and become CEO, whence he would get all the money out of the bank and the two would leave the country," Michael explained frantically.

"Yeah, I know that crap. What are we going to do NOW?" Isaac said, in a pretentious tone.

"What?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, hold on. STEPHEN!" Isaac yelled. Michael stared as, in the doorway, the man he had thought to be lying in a hospital bed rolled into the room in a wheelchair.

"Michael!" Stephen exclaimed.

"How did you get here?"

"Personal plane, as usual. What are you doing in VAIL? I couldn't get ahold of you, and I thought the mob got you! Jesus Michael," he said. "I got out of the hospital, took a flight here, because John here is the only guy I can trust in this time, plus he owns a fair bit of the company," Stephen said. "So, basically, we are trying to formulate a way to get through this sh*t, buy out the company, expose Miller, and get this over with so I can get my money," Stephen finished.

"Stephen, I though you were dying. I'm glad you're alive. How did they get you out of there?" Michael asked.

"The captors just kinda left. A worker found me. And of course, the official police report claims that someone broke into the warehouse, so something tells me that the mob might have police ties as well,"

"sh*t," Fred and Michael said in unison.

"Who's this asshole?" asked Stephen.

"This is my old boss, Fred. Remember, I told you about him on the plane." Michael told Stephen whilst Fred tried to hide his being embarrassed.

"The fridge guy?" Stephen said, remarking upon a story that Michael told him on the plane involving a locksmith, a large refrigerator, and Fred. Fred began to turn red.

"Whoever he is, it looks like we all should work on this takeover. Mr. Isaac, pleasure to meet you. Michael Klaus. Let's get to work."

[Oxidizer]

Good, I'm glad! Keep at it.

[Vive La France]

Wow... I am bored.

 

Chapter 14

 

"Pleasure to meet you, Michael. Let's sit down," Isaac said. They all moved into a well decorated room filled with paintings, and a coffee table which probably cost Isaac a fortune. "Sit down, please," said Isaac. "I'll get Atticus to bring us something to drink, just order! He'll bring it to ya," Isaac explained, and the penguin walked over to them.

"I'll have a black tea," Stephen said.

"Any chance of some Vodka?" Fred began, but when Michael looked at him and frowned, he changed to some Cola. Michael took a Shirley Temple and Isaac ordered a seltzer water. Then it was down to business. Michael and Fred explained what happened to them, whilst Stephen was refreshing the stocks page on his computer. Isaac simply sat there, not saying much.

"Well, this situation clearly means that we are all f*cked if they find us," Isaac finally spoke.

"Agreed, Mr. Isaac, but I think there may be a way to get out of this. If we can prove to the G-men in Washington that this whole thing is being done by force, then the company would be up for sale. It looks like the mafia got the NYPD officers outside the stock exchange- possibly even a whole squad. This could get big, Mr. Isaac. If we all ignore it' we're pretty screwed." Michael interjected.

"Absolutely, Michael, and please, call me John. It's all first name terms here. Anyway, I think the best choice for us would to be go back to Washington and present our case to the FBI. I also have a plane at Eagle airport- we could get to DC within 3 hours,"

"Sounds good to me," Stephen said. Fred shrugged, and Michael smiled.

"Lets do this," he said.

 

Minutes later, they sat aboard a plane leaving Eagle County Regional Airport. The learjet was on the runway, ready to go. Stephen sat down to Michael. "Mike, I'm really happy about this. We may have only met two days ago, but it was a wild two days. I think this could effectively end it," Stephen told him.

"I hope so," Michael replied, and turned on the television. The sight he saw was incredible. It was a CNN report.

"As many Americans fear recession, the AmeriMetro bank filed for bankruptcy in a bizzare situation similar to Sprinco. Inc.'s bankruptcy claim 10 minutes ago. Both electronics and banking markets are falling at almost 50 points per hour, and the DOW lost 700 points since midnight," the reporter was saying.

"What the f*ck! Springco went bankrupt?" Fred shouted.

"The company's new board of directors, who intended to elect a certain junior branch manager of Springco for the position of CEO, announced that ex-CEO was buying out the company along with Gunther K. Pleasant, a Parisian based entrepreneur. A similar case of circumstances occured a couple hours later, when AmeriMetro announced that Pleasant was buying it out as well," the television continued, but it was just repeating the same news.

"You son of a bitch, Miller!" Stephen said. Michael leaned back.

"We had the company. The Mob wasn't there to keep us from proving that we did win, they convinced us that the board fixed the election, while they slowly bought out the company over the course of yesterday. Now they legally own the company, and the only charges could go against the few tough guys who scared me outside the stock exchange and the kidnapping charges."

Michael said.

"I'm telling you, these assholes are smart. Stocks are still falling. f*ck!" Isaac said. They all sat in silence for the rest of the flight- Michael and Fred debating over their pensions, and Stephen and Issac wondering what happened to their shares. As company by company fell on the market, each was bought out by Gunther Pleasant. At least three small time banks were bought out on the flight alone.

 

The plane touched down, and the men got out of the plane, and into a limo waiting on the tarmac. They still sat in silence, as the limo drove them over the Arlington Bridge again, leaving Michael and Stephen looking at the spot where they were taken. The limo drove down Constitution Avenue, until it reached Pennsylvania Avenue. They drove down until the limo reached the Hoover building, and the four exited. This was it. This could end it, if the government was nice enough. It was now or never.

 

 

[GTArv]

I thought you discontinued writing this. Great job, keep up the good work!