Tunnel Rat Chapter 368 (Patreon)

Clawmaster headquarters was a busy place on the morning that John Sabbatino, Eric Kresthammer, the head of security for Rhebus, three lawyers, a PR person, four very nervous accountants, and six bodyguards arrived for their meeting with Belinda Seimovich. John was a mess, trying to project confidence and failing.

John had never been good at multitasking. His method of dealing with the world was to focus on one problem and make the others wait for their turn. Today, he had several issues all vying for attention. He wanted to get back his daughter so he could protect her. That was confused with the loans coming due. As long as he was the guardian of the heir to the Seimovich fortune getting loans was easy. Without Belinda, his Manpower operation looked shaky. Profits should have been up, but Manpower was bleeding money from the costs of expanding and the ever-expanding set of problems that came with repairing a section of a habitat. Along with that, John was hiring people he didn't need yet, bloating the payroll with the extra salaries of high-priced contract lawyers, Public Relations gurus, and HR specialists.

As the group rolled into Section E, the contrast with the Manpower section was readily apparent. The corridors were well-lit and murals were painted on the walls to soften the harsh look of the metal and concrete corridors. The groups passed through residential areas where abandoned parks and hydroponic projects were being rebuilt. The accountants knew that Manpower couldn't afford similar improvements, and winced as John got excited and said, "Eric, we need to hire people to do this in Section H! Think of the PR coup when we have visitors." Eric nodded, made a note on his datapad, and went back to talking with Marisa, not bothering to point out reality to John anymore.

The Claw Master offices had been built in a refurbished factory with high ceilings that took up two levels. The airy and open floorplan was a vast improvement over the more cramped offices at Manpower. Wally and Milo had worked together, studying decades of data on the psychological effects of living in the habitats. As each area in Section E was rebuilt, the new design philosophy was clear. It was expensive, but Milo wasn't worried about money.

Money from his inventions and video games was pouring in. Ladders and Lattes, the newest expansion of Run, Run, Ramona had just come out and the next one, Pipeworks and Pit Vipers, was only a few weeks away. He had money to spend and was determined to make Section E a better place for the people living here. He'd learned that while he loved the enclosed tunnels of the habitats, it was another difference between him and normal humans. He couldn't bring everyone to live in Downtown, but he could take specific parts from there and replicate them in Section E. Many of these projects mirrored the broken promises made when the habitats were first conceptualized as vibrant living spaces close to shopping and work.

The security for Claw Master met them at the door, making sure that the people coming in matched their lists. John's security guards were politely and firmly asked to leave their tasers and batons at the front counter, sealed away in a safe. They hesitated but at a firm nod from Eric, they complied. Marisa began to do the same thing but was stopped.

"No need for that ma'am. We've been instructed to ask you to keep your defensive weaponry on you. You're permits and training certificates were sent over from Rhebus. As for the rest of you, we have a selection of coffee and donuts for those who missed breakfast. We'll be serving lunch to you if the meetings go as long as expected." The accountants and lawyers headed for the coffee. The security guards grumbled a bit but did the same. Myra was upset about being separated from John, but Belinda wanted to talk alone with her father.

A moment later, standing next to Eric, Marisa whispered, "Since when is a Glock 19 a defensive weapon?"

"Is that what you have on you?"

"My Glock, my baton, and two heavy tasers. One wasn't enough last time and I wanted more voltage."

"Hopefully, no killer cyborgs at this meeting."

"If there is, get behind me. The bosses were very intrigued by the armor you were wearing when Roger attacked us. I'm wearing a similar set today that they acquired for me."

Eric looked down at her, looking for any sign of it showing, and couldn't tell. "Good. I'm wearing mine, even with the dents. I wonder when Claw Master will start selling the technology. This stuff could be standard gear for all security forces. And elite gamers." The similarities in look between his armor, and Belinda's 'Gaming Gloves' had been noticed by Eric. Add in the armor worn by the person who'd saved them from Roger and all clues pointed to Claw Master being more than a game design studio. He was anxious to find out more.

Belinda was waiting for him when John came into the conference room. She was dressed in a long-sleeved blouse and paints, her gloves covering her hands. She looked older to John, more mature. He smiled broadly and moved to give her a hug. She stiffened for a moment, then hugged him back and broke away. "Sit down, please, we need to talk about a lot of things."

"I know. I've been thinking a lot. You're 18 now, and you need to have your freedom. Once you get home, I think you should redecorate your rooms any way that you like. And I want us to go on vacation as a family, just you, me, and Myra. But you get to pick where we go in Europe. It will be six weeks of fun, doing whatever you like."

"John, why didn't you give me the messages from my mother?"

"I...messages? Honey, that was a long time ago. I told you everything she said, especially at the end right before she died. She was so brave, but I could tell she was scared and worried about you. I did everything I could to reassure her, and that helped a lot."

The screen behind Belinda came on, showing the gaunt face of her mother.

"I'm leaving this message, and others, in the hopes that John follows my instructions and keeps you informed. But I also know there is a chance that doesn't happen. I've been disappointed by so many people in my life. I fear he may be swayed by others. Money and power can warp the best of people, and John is not a strong person. A good man, down deep, but not strong. I chose him because I have limited options and limited time...

John choked and found it hard to breathe as her voice continued. Belinda had trimmed the message, leaving only the parts she wanted John to hear.

"Where are the other messages from my mother? And why didn't you do as she asked? I've seen the records of my treatments, and know the drugs I was being given. They don't match what my mother prescribed for me. I spent years confined to that damned bed and wheelchair, John. Years!"

"I'm sorry, I did my best."

"NO! You didn't! She married you to make you happy and so you could take care of me. She made you rich! You had an outline of what to do. You ignored her orders and hid things from me. I want to know why?"

"I had to! Victor insisted I get rid of two of the doctors your Mother had picked. He only trusted three of them. They told me that the treatments wouldn't work and we had to do something else. Victor accused me of trying to kill you if we didn't do as the doctors said. He threatened me. His people were always here and always following me."

"You could have gone to the authorities. Victor didn't have a sterling reputation."

"I started to do that. But the doctors were worried that they'd take you away from me. Then you'd be in some hospital with no one knowing what was wrong with you! We knew that you'd die if we didn't keep the treatments going. Your Mother was adamant about that. Your doctors just...well, I didn't understand. Changed things a little? It was different drugs, but they kept you alive, and they said it was working. Victor said it was working."

"So you just quit fighting. Let them do what he said. And then hid my Mother's messages because they would have had clues you were doing something different. My only contact with my mother, and you hid them! Do they even exist?"

John was openly crying now, and shaking. "Yes. I think. I have an old thumb drive that I put all my pictures of her on. The messages are there. It's in a safe in my office. I'll get it for you. When you come home, it's the first thing we'll do. It's a start. I'll make up for everything I did wrong."

"I'm not going home, John. Not that those rooms were a home. Just the latest place you moved us to. I'll be getting some of my stuff, and coming with enough people that you won't be able to stop me. I have a new home now, with people that care about me. We're done."

John reached out to her and she knocked away his hand. Then she stood and left. John didn't follow. Belinda walked into the reception area and looked at Myra. "John's upset, go put him back together. He's not going to like the next part, either."

Myra ran to the room, and Belinda walked down a long hallway to where Milo was waiting at a door. He was trying in vain to be comfortable in a suit and tie. The suit was padded in places to make him look slightly bigger, and his shoes had one-inch lifts. He still looked far too young. His tinted, wraparound glasses helped.

"You're sure this is what people wear to do business? I've moved billions of dollars around wearing only ragged pants and a dirty t-shirt."

She glared at him, "I'm sure you did, but we aren't going to say things like that. Remember that you're my financial advisor today. Stare at people, smile a little, and give facts and figures."

Milo thought about how he had acted when he was playing Mako in poker. "I can do that."

Within the conference room were a dozen executives from The Mueller Bank of Geneva, Steven and Samantha Durand, and Sidney. Milo had done his research on them, as he liked to do on everything. The bank was founded by twin brothers Franz and Hanz Mueller over 87 years ago. In their youth, the brothers were close and made plans to go into business together. Franz spent seven years abroad earning three degrees in business. Hanz studied mathematics and monetary policies. Reunited at the age of 25 on the day they could claim an inheritance from their grandfather, the two made plans to build a bank based on two principles: Gold is better than paper or pixels, and customer confidentiality. These weren't novel ideas, but they had fallen out of style over the years. They presented their plans to elderly relatives and friends of the family. Impressed with their sincerity, youthful vigor, and conservative banking principles many of these people chose to invest their money with the brothers.

The Mueller Bank was a private entity, listed on no stock exchange. They were picky with their customers, both those who put money in their vaults and those they loaned money to. While the main office was in Geneva, the vaults were high in the Swiss Alps in an unpublished location. While other banks conducted transactions online, the Mueller Bank used paper. The few computers in their offices or the vaults were not online, and couldn't be hacked. Their stuffy attitude and insistence on paper records and impeccable handwriting endeared them to many of the old-money crowd. Their tight-lipped staff and disdain for government auditors and requests for customer banking records endeared them to people who liked to keep their business dealings secret.

And the old-fashioned insistence on gold impressed everyone. When a customer deposited money to their bank account or trust fund, it was used to purchase gold. That gold was stored in their well-guarded vault. During the Wildfire crisis, The Mueller Bank and a few others like it were the only banks unaffected. Llama couldn't steel bars of gold, and there was nothing for him to connect to. The popularity of such banks skyrocketed in the years after Wildfire was purged. Ekaterina had wanted Belinda's trust funds held in the safest place she could find. Mueller bank was selected.

Belinda entered the room, trailed by Milo, and everyone stood. They shook hands all around, they visited Sidney at a large table of her own where she was serving coffee and guarding the large cheese trays. Belinda had requested the cheese and coffee assortments, and Sidney had volunteered her expertise, mainly so she could be in the room. Milo had promised to be good, having only two pieces of cheese and no coffee before the meeting officially started.

The preliminaries consisted of retinal scans, blood samples, and handwriting samples from Belinda. She'd convinced Milo to do the same, based on their upcoming plans. Because of the complex nature of Belinda's DNA, Steven Duran testified in the absence of Wally, attesting to a match between that of the infant Belinda, and the record Wally had recently made. The Mueller bank was satisfied, and the actual meeting could now take place.

The original Hans Mueller was far too frail to travel, and the bank was now run by his son of the same name. "We are happy to assist you in any way we can, Miss Seimovich. Forgive the intricacies of confirming your identity. We have had over 200 young women show up at the Geneva offices, claiming to be you. As of today, the current value of assets you have in our vaults comes to 3,236,198,554,000 dollars. This will fluctuate daily, with the value of gold, but as I'm sure you know, the average annual increase has been over 12% and we expect that to continue, based on instability in the global marketplace."

All of the bankers nodded solemnly at this pronouncement. "Your wealth constitutes one of the single largest collections of wealth in our vaults. May I inquire as to what you plan to do with it?"

Milo spoke. "Leave it where it is at, of course. I am quite aware of the dangers of traditional banking and have no wish to see Miss Seimovich become a victim of the constant attacks on the monetary system."

More solemn nods. Then Milo continued. "Instead, we will be taking loans against the value of the gold on deposit, as we have a need for financing. I'm sure this process is a simple one for you gentlemen. May I suggest that instead of transferring funds to other, less secure banks, we set up encrypted messaging for myself and Miss Seimovich so we can instruct our business partners to submit requests for money from you, verified each time by her or me? I prefer direct datanet connections. These have been approved by Mr. Duran on behalf of the World Computer. Much of the work we do will have a direct effect on the Genesis project."

Hanz nodded to him, "Of course, and may I say that I am happy to see that you appreciate the seriousness of the situation. One cannot be too careful when such sums of money are involved. Do you have an amount in mind to set aside for loans? And if I may be so bold, the broad strokes of your business plans? Our bank includes many fine financial advisors."

Milo agreed, "You do. I've read articles from your bank. Very good background on monetary policy, banking, and global economies."

"Excellent, it is always good to begin early in life to acquire an understanding of banking. Which articles have you read recently? I was particularly proud of our breakdown of the growing profits available from increased potato production in Poland."

"All of them."

"Excuse me? All?"

Milo nodded, wondering if Mr. Hanz was hard of hearing. "Yes, I needed the background, so I read every article your bank has published and is available on the datanet. They filled in some questions I had." There was a moment of odd silence after that, which Belinda broke.

Belinda said, "To start with, I need to borrow one hundred billion dollars. I plan on purchasing the entirety of this habitat, rebuilding it, and making space available to Genesis, Rhebus, and Manpower, along with several interested corporate parties. I will also need an additional one hundred billion that I will be loaning to the Claw Master corporation, owned by Mr. Babbage.

All eyes turned to Milo. The bankers had been aware of his ownership of Claw Master and intended to open discussions with him about the wisdom of opening accounts with them. That had just become a much larger priority for them.

"As to my business plan, I will be assisting Belinda in the reconstruction of the habitat with special attention to developing techniques that can be applied to any habitat in need of repair. And because people are annoying me, I'll be taking over 37 electrical supply corporations that provide power to the habitat and entering the global energy market as a buyer and supplier. While gold is in demand because of its stability, I find that energy is an exciting commodity for the opposite reasons, and plan to take advantage of that."