As the elevator’s engine whirred, Larry looked at the other two people waiting in the small room.
“Hi, I’m Larry” he said hesitantly.
“My name is Sarah and this is Dan,” said Sarah. Larry shook hands with Dan.
“Anyone know why we’re here?” asked Dan. The other two shrugged their shoulders and shook their head ‘no’.
About that time, they heard the elevator’s motor kick on. They all backed away from the door and waited for it to open. When it did, a tall, well-built man was standing there in a suit and sunglasses. They all wanted to say it, but Dan said it first:
“Hey, I know you”. It was the same man that hand-delivered a message about a week before. He appeared to be Secret Service but said nothing and did not acknowledge their existence.
As he exited the elevator, there was another gentleman behind him, an older man with white hair dressed in a suit. He, too, stepped from the elevator and looked at the two men and one woman that were there waiting for him.
“Hello, young people” he started “I’m Mr. Anton. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I’ll try and answer them as best I can, but first, let us get settled”.
He pointed to the tall, security-type person and said “My friend Jack is here to protect me. As long as you don’t try any funny business, you won’t have a problem with Jack”.
Jack nodded and reached into his pocket for some keys. He walked to the end of the room and unlocked the door. He then helped Mr. Anton through the door and down a long hallway.
Larry looked around the non-descript hallway and pondered “We must be somewhere under the store…”
“Yes,” said Mr. Anton from his lead position “that’s correct. I have a maze of hallways and offices down here”.
“But why under a grocery store?” asked Dan.
“All in due time” said the frail old man “all in due time”.
They finally arrived at their destination. The nameplate on the door read “Mr. Dem Anton, President & CEO”. Jack reached into his pocket and produced a plastic card. He placed it against a small pad next to the door and the door opened with a click. As they entered the office, the lights came on.
“Would you like something to drink?” asked Mr. Anton.
“I’d love some water,” replied Sarah.
“Sparkling or flat?” asked Jack.
“Wow, uh… Sparkling would be great,” said Sarah.
“Gentlemen?” asked Jack “Anything for you?” They both declined.
Mr. Anton took his place behind the desk and waved his arm, motioning for them to take a seat in one of the four chairs facing the desk. Jack made his way to the back of the office to prepare a glass of water. As they got settled, Mr. Anton began his story.
“I propose that I tell you my story” began Mr. Anton “which may answer some of your questions. When I’m done, you can ask me your questions about why you’re here. Agreed?”
They all nodded their heads in agreement. Larry wanted to start asking questions but felt a little guilty at seeing the frailty of the old man. Jack handed Sarah her glass of water and he was given a quiet ‘thank you’. She sipped the water as Mr. Anton told his story. Jack made his way to the back of the office and stood like a sentry in the corner.
“My name is Dem Anton. I have a large stake ownership in a lot of businesses and services that you use on a daily basis. I own several office supply companies, gas stations, fast food chains, hospitals, banks, restaurants…”
“Grocery stores…” Larry chimed in.
“That’s correct” continued Mr. Anton “grocery stores, fitness centers, manufacturing plants… and the list goes on. I usually own less than 50 percent of the business – much less than 50 percent. In a lot of cases the primary owners of the businesses are not even aware that I own a share. They just know that money comes from somewhere. The part that people don’t realize is that a lot of data comes from these businesses: buying and spending habits, medical records, credit card numbers and other security-related information”.
“Holy God…” said Larry under his breath.
“Please,” said Mr. Anton “don’t jump to any conclusions about this data. It is secure and completely out of my hands, I assure you. This is not why I have gathered the three of you here”.
“Then why?” asked Dan.
“I’m getting to that,” replied Mr. Anton.
“Well, then, get to it” said Larry, growing more impatient with every passing minute.
“As you can see” said Mr. Anton quietly “I am an old man. In my advanced years it’s obvious I’m not going to live another 20 or 30 years. I have done a lot of convincing of financial backers that I am the only one capable of meeting their financial goals. They now know this to be true since I’ve done it for most of my life”.
“I don’t understand,” said Dan “you want us to take over the business?”
“Not quite” said Mr. Anton. “In my dealings with the hospital and all the data they record I did my own private search. You three have a special attribute that is of interest to me. Tell me, Mr. Evangelista – what is your blood type?”
Dan chuckled a bit before answering. “I’m type AO – an extremely rare blood type”
Both Sarah and Larry admitted that they were the same blood type.
“Tell me, Mr. Davis” asked Mr. Anton “have you ever given blood, say, to the Red Cross?”
“No” said Larry “I never have”.
“How about you Ms. Goodwin?” asked Mr. Anton.
“No, I guess I haven’t” admitted Sarah.
“I don’t get it” began Dan “if you just wanted our blood you could have just asked. I’m not against helping someone who is sick”. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
Mr. Anton smiled. “It’s clear to me from what you’re saying that you don’t understand the ramifications of giving blood of that type. With other blood types, you give a few pints of blood and you feel a little woozy afterwards. In 60 days you can return to give more…”
Mr. Anton’s demeanor changed slightly to a darker mood as he continued. “… But with blood type AO – it takes two years to recover”.
There was a long silence before Sarah dropped her empty glass and it shattered on the floor.
(To be continued)
“Hi, I’m Larry” he said hesitantly.
“My name is Sarah and this is Dan,” said Sarah. Larry shook hands with Dan.
“Anyone know why we’re here?” asked Dan. The other two shrugged their shoulders and shook their head ‘no’.
About that time, they heard the elevator’s motor kick on. They all backed away from the door and waited for it to open. When it did, a tall, well-built man was standing there in a suit and sunglasses. They all wanted to say it, but Dan said it first:
“Hey, I know you”. It was the same man that hand-delivered a message about a week before. He appeared to be Secret Service but said nothing and did not acknowledge their existence.
As he exited the elevator, there was another gentleman behind him, an older man with white hair dressed in a suit. He, too, stepped from the elevator and looked at the two men and one woman that were there waiting for him.
“Hello, young people” he started “I’m Mr. Anton. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I’ll try and answer them as best I can, but first, let us get settled”.
He pointed to the tall, security-type person and said “My friend Jack is here to protect me. As long as you don’t try any funny business, you won’t have a problem with Jack”.
Jack nodded and reached into his pocket for some keys. He walked to the end of the room and unlocked the door. He then helped Mr. Anton through the door and down a long hallway.
Larry looked around the non-descript hallway and pondered “We must be somewhere under the store…”
“Yes,” said Mr. Anton from his lead position “that’s correct. I have a maze of hallways and offices down here”.
“But why under a grocery store?” asked Dan.
“All in due time” said the frail old man “all in due time”.
They finally arrived at their destination. The nameplate on the door read “Mr. Dem Anton, President & CEO”. Jack reached into his pocket and produced a plastic card. He placed it against a small pad next to the door and the door opened with a click. As they entered the office, the lights came on.
“Would you like something to drink?” asked Mr. Anton.
“I’d love some water,” replied Sarah.
“Sparkling or flat?” asked Jack.
“Wow, uh… Sparkling would be great,” said Sarah.
“Gentlemen?” asked Jack “Anything for you?” They both declined.
Mr. Anton took his place behind the desk and waved his arm, motioning for them to take a seat in one of the four chairs facing the desk. Jack made his way to the back of the office to prepare a glass of water. As they got settled, Mr. Anton began his story.
“I propose that I tell you my story” began Mr. Anton “which may answer some of your questions. When I’m done, you can ask me your questions about why you’re here. Agreed?”
They all nodded their heads in agreement. Larry wanted to start asking questions but felt a little guilty at seeing the frailty of the old man. Jack handed Sarah her glass of water and he was given a quiet ‘thank you’. She sipped the water as Mr. Anton told his story. Jack made his way to the back of the office and stood like a sentry in the corner.
“My name is Dem Anton. I have a large stake ownership in a lot of businesses and services that you use on a daily basis. I own several office supply companies, gas stations, fast food chains, hospitals, banks, restaurants…”
“Grocery stores…” Larry chimed in.
“That’s correct” continued Mr. Anton “grocery stores, fitness centers, manufacturing plants… and the list goes on. I usually own less than 50 percent of the business – much less than 50 percent. In a lot of cases the primary owners of the businesses are not even aware that I own a share. They just know that money comes from somewhere. The part that people don’t realize is that a lot of data comes from these businesses: buying and spending habits, medical records, credit card numbers and other security-related information”.
“Holy God…” said Larry under his breath.
“Please,” said Mr. Anton “don’t jump to any conclusions about this data. It is secure and completely out of my hands, I assure you. This is not why I have gathered the three of you here”.
“Then why?” asked Dan.
“I’m getting to that,” replied Mr. Anton.
“Well, then, get to it” said Larry, growing more impatient with every passing minute.
“As you can see” said Mr. Anton quietly “I am an old man. In my advanced years it’s obvious I’m not going to live another 20 or 30 years. I have done a lot of convincing of financial backers that I am the only one capable of meeting their financial goals. They now know this to be true since I’ve done it for most of my life”.
“I don’t understand,” said Dan “you want us to take over the business?”
“Not quite” said Mr. Anton. “In my dealings with the hospital and all the data they record I did my own private search. You three have a special attribute that is of interest to me. Tell me, Mr. Evangelista – what is your blood type?”
Dan chuckled a bit before answering. “I’m type AO – an extremely rare blood type”
Both Sarah and Larry admitted that they were the same blood type.
“Tell me, Mr. Davis” asked Mr. Anton “have you ever given blood, say, to the Red Cross?”
“No” said Larry “I never have”.
“How about you Ms. Goodwin?” asked Mr. Anton.
“No, I guess I haven’t” admitted Sarah.
“I don’t get it” began Dan “if you just wanted our blood you could have just asked. I’m not against helping someone who is sick”. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
Mr. Anton smiled. “It’s clear to me from what you’re saying that you don’t understand the ramifications of giving blood of that type. With other blood types, you give a few pints of blood and you feel a little woozy afterwards. In 60 days you can return to give more…”
Mr. Anton’s demeanor changed slightly to a darker mood as he continued. “… But with blood type AO – it takes two years to recover”.
There was a long silence before Sarah dropped her empty glass and it shattered on the floor.
(To be continued)