"Damn it! Damn it!" screamed Chase at his computer desk, his composure completely lost. "I know I left it right here!" He tore through the printouts, cds, and manuals that now littered the hardwood in his small apartment. The hard drive that contained the source code of his father's company software, Augury, was missing. He had slept the day in his coffin undisturbed. There was no sign of entry or burglary save for the single piece of hardware.

He ran his hands tightly across his scalp, digging fingers between the blonde locks of hair as he sat in his chair racking his brain. "The Web Storage Server..." voiced Chase with concern as he booted up his laptop, logged in, and accessed the web. The data was all still there, all the documents from his father's laptop. He checked the reverse connection and attempted to access the laptop remotely but nothing pinged back. Hmm, either I messed up or someone figured out what I had done. He walked back through his memory of the events. Had the programmer remembered something of Chase's visit? Or the security guard? Was there some sort of survaillence or extra security in the office that left a trail to follow? Whatever the case this was not good. But if someone had bothered to enter his Haven why didn't they search for him or take his laptop?

With his trump card snatched from him he was back to square one. As he dwelled on what to do next, a system tone from his computer indicated he had received an e-mail. Curious, he checked the subject heading. "From Your Father," Chase read forebodingly. It was too late, the old man had figured everything out and had sent a message of warning no doubt. Hesitantly he opened the message.

It read:

To My Beloved Son,

It was quite foolharty to come to my office without contacting me first. For that matter I'm surprised you've avoided any and all contact with myself or your mother since your return to Sacramento. In any case I'm sure you have your reasons which is why I've allowed this to continue thus far. But this nonsense has to end, my boy. Your employment at this DataSync and squandering your resources on that meager residence. I'll tell you this now, return home at once so that we might talk about your future. Your mother is worried about you as well.

Your Loving Father,

Marcel Ankers


As Chase read through the letter he was surprised at the unusual calm that took him. Perhaps he was in shock. That his father had read through him so easily was surprising certainly. But the game was up and there was only so many options left to choose from. It would have been nice to have had some sort of trump card in his pocket, but now all he had was his wits. He dressed in a suit and called a taxi. He would go tonight. No doubt they were expecting him.


When he arrived at the estate, however, there was only his father there to meet him. He had greeted Chase over the intercom at the gate, "Hello, Chase. Come inside, please." Chase obediently entered the large house as the vitae in his system brought out the Blush of Life in his skin, giving him the semblence of mortality. He wasn't sure what to expect, or what his father had discerned already. This was an information game and Chase was at the disadvantage. His rush to get dirt on his father's business operations exposed him for that moment.

His father was in the living room seated in a large leather chair. At the sound of Chase entering his father stood up from the chair. At his back was a small fire in the fireplace. Chase flinched and instictively took a step back, his discomfort apparant despite him being a safe distance away. His father did not show signs of noticing this as he walked towards him. He wore his ash-grey suit, his face resembling Chase's quite similarly save for the gray that permeated his hair and the glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. They looked at each other, him stern and unreadable and Chase grimacing, eyes squinting as he attempted to match him in composure.

Finally he put a hand on Chase's shoulder and said, "Welcome back, Chase. I heard you did quite well at school. Two Masters Degrees, following along in both your mother and my footsteps. Very impressive. Though it concerned me that you had avoided continuing towards an executive career. Your disappearance, the secrecy, my my." He released Chase and stepped away, looking through the large windows at the river that flowed just outside their estate, a black churning snake that slithered at the edge of darkness.

Chase didn't respond, he stood waiting. He would never tell him the truth of the matter and would avoid admitting to the attempt at blackmail. In the absence of conversation his father continued, "You know I knew about your return for about a month now. I would have known earlier if my investigators had been more persistent. I'm still not sure what motivates you anymore, son. What were you hoping to achieve by stealing from me? If you wanted money you'd have gotten far more by just cooperating with me."

Chase sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "It's about control, father," he stressed the word father as if in disgust by the term. "You should already know that." It wasn't an admission or a denial for the theft but there was no reason to play dumb. "I don't want you to dominate the structure of my...life." His voice cracked on the edge of anger. It was always like this with his father, he couldn't stand being in his presence, the cloud of apathy and disappointment that seemed to ooze from the man was overbearing.

"Control?" asked his father, as if considering this as a factor. "What you see as control is actually careful and attentive guidance. Without my instruction where would you be, hmm? You don't understand the industry, the subtlties of running a business. You're just an inexperienced boy. If I wasn't there to motivate you you'd still be stuck at a dead-end job with no 'control', as you say, in the direction of your future."

"You're wrong! Since I left I've had more influence over my own fate then I've ever known. You've been training me to be your puppet since I could form coherant sentences. And you never even had the decency to do it yourself. Even if I never make as much money as you at least what I do make will be from my own merit and not as a puppet." The words he always wanted to say left his lips like the unsheathing of a blade lashing to strike.

His father turned his head back to Chase, arching his eyebrows in surprise. The first sign of interest he had shown yet. He remained silent for a moment that dragged on. Chase felt in a panic, more exposed now than he was when he entered. What would his father say to that, to his true feelings.

"Makes sense..." he began. "I haven't exactly been...very involved in your upbringing. You know that my work is important to me, that hundreds of jobs depend on my careful direction in a very competitive field of technology. The reason this family continues to be successful is because of me and my work. Your mother too, of course," he added, though more as an afterthought. "Sit for a moment, Chase. Let me tell you a little story. Perhaps it'll put things in a better perspective for you." He beckoned to Chase with a hand as he returned to his own chair by the fire.

Chase was hesitant. Finally he chose a seat much farther away from the fire. His father didn't seem to mind this and began speaking as he got comfortable. "Your mother had you when I turned thirty. At the time I was in the midst of pushing my software company over a large hurdle in order to compete with others in the industry. My biggest challenge was against the startup company Apple. You may have heard of them," he smirked wryly at this. "Their Appletalk networking protocol was set to work in tandum with a network card they produced for improved performance. I was pushed out of the market with my own proprietary protocol, you see this was all before TCP/IP was standardized. I tried again with IRC communications, developing a functional communication network for businesses. Unfortunately I had no patents on the technology necessary to fulfill the investors' expectations. Then one day I was approached by a brilliant young software engineer that had developed a program that would save the company." He looked pained at the mention of this. "Unfortunately once he was employed and the software released on the market he revealed to me that he had installed a backdoor security override. Quite similar to the trick you tried to employ on my update. He was using it to conduct corporate espionage on the businesses that used it to predict the rise and fall of stocks of the market based on the intercepted communications. It wasn't earning him enough, however, so he decided instead to cut his losses and blackmail the company. If he wasn't given a steady advancement in pay that he'd go to the media with the story and say that the company was the one who told him to install the backdoor. Back then issues of privacy over networks weren't properly understood so the backlash would surely destroy the company's reputation and we would never develop into a proper IPO."

He stopped, looking to Chase for some sort of reaction. Chase listened, though was mostly confused where this was leading. These were events that were gone and past before he could even remember.

"I had the man killed," continued his father, rather non-challantly. "My company was my life and I was already embarressed enough, being at the mercy of an extortionist. It wasn't difficult to find a hitman and hardly anyone followed up on his disappearance. It seemed as though he had acquired some debt and the police assumed he was fleeing responsibility for it. The company flourished after that. The networking software was discarded in the next update and far better products replaced that in time. I formed Augury as our first IPO and our fortune came from that."

Chase marvelled at his father. His ruthlessness was just as he had suspected, but the fact that he was so ready to admit it was cold even for Chase.

He went on, "Still, I suppose the stress of the whole ordeal had begun to wear me down. That man had taught me an important lesson on the competitive nature of the business. My pride was on the line and I had to carry that burden alone. My family was a distraction. And soon it began to become a choice between my work and my family. Like a fool I thought I could do both but it was clear when Ethelyn was born that such a thing was impossible."

"And your affairs?" Chase shot in accusingly.

His father stiffened, "So you know about that, eh?" and then laughed in a short huff, "I've got to hand it to you, you're resourceful. I wish you would put that talent to use at my company. With your sister studying business I would think you two would make a great team. Once she graduates, of course."

He was dodging the question it seemed. Chase folded his hands, silent.

"One day I caught your mother fooling around with one of her 'talent'. After that there's been an unspoken agreement concerning the company we keep," he explained, sounding unsatisfied with the excuse. He changed the subject with a wave of his hand, "But that doesn't concern you, or at least it shouldn't. You say you want control then? You think you're ready for the responsibilities of managing a company? Fine then. How about this, if you can prove to me that you can manage your own technology business, software, hardware, communication, whichever you like, then I'll bring you in as CTO with stock options, a six figure paycheck, and even allow you to work those ungodly hours you seem to enjoy. I'll even provide you initial funding as a sign of good faith."

Chase was again flabbergasted. What was this proposal? Was this what he was planning all along? Of course, it must have been. Chase was his legacy, an investment that had yet to pay off. The funding he promised, it was all a lure to get Chase as a part of his company. There he could have his work and the family that he lost all those years ago. Whatever crimes or patterns of neglect he had committed in the past it was all in order to satisfy this ambition. It angered Chase to no end. Another level of control, a jewel encrusted collar and leash was still a leash. He closed his eyes and turned his back to the old man. What should he do?

The moment lingered. Finally he turned around again, his reply, "Alright. I accept."

His father had not discovered his true nature. Now that his presence was known he would have to play by these new rules. To avoid suspicion he would stay close to his father's operation and assume the role of dutiful son. He would take the money and create a business that would impress the old man. But all the while he would work for his own purposes and spread his influence amongst the kindred society. He would have to be careful that his father's investigators didn't uncover the truth. The stakes were much higher now, in more ways than one.

His father smiled approvingly. "You're a smart boy, Chase. I expect great things from you, so don't disappoint me."