Don't Order Dog (17 page)

Derrick looked at her with wild, dilated eyes for a brief moment, his expression a mixture of surprise and annoyance, before composing his face into a smile.
“Hi babe. No, you’re not… not interrupting anything at all.” He wrapped his arm limply around her waist. “This is… uh, this is–”

“Max Delaney,” the man said as he offered Christina his massive hand. “You must be Christina. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, Max,” she replied, shaking his hand. Standing next to him, she realized that Max was even larger than he looked from across the deck of the boat. As he released her hand, Christina couldn’t help but feel like a miniature person next to his sheer physical presence. “And thank you for not crushing my hand.”

“Of course,” he replied, smiling warmly.

“Max and I got caught up talking and… sorry, didn’t mean to ignore you. Yeah, so anyway, I was… what was I talking about?”

“Derrick and I were just talking business nonsense,” Max said, folding his large arms across his massive chest as he rocked slowly on his feet. Christina noticed that, unlike every other guest on the boat, Max wasn’t drinking. “Nothing that interesting really… wouldn’t you agree, Derrick?”

“Yeah, right, right,” Derrick replied quickly.

“Well then, I’m glad I wasn’t invited to the conversation,” Christina said sarcastically, giving Derrick a harder squeeze as she smiled at him. He forced a strained smile before shooting a quick glance at his large companion.

Max smiled silently at both of them.

Christina was just about to speak when the band abruptly ended its set and the singer handed his microphone to a short, stocky bald man with a large nose and small, hawkish eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention please?”

Christina stood listlessly next to Derrick as the man wasted a few minutes thanking the band and cracking several outdated jokes that were marginally funny the first time around. She noticed that nearly everyone in the audience, including Derrick, laughed on cue
at the short man as he paused after every punch line, and decided he must be someone of importance to command such a communal ass-kissing. Only Christina and the towering pillar of muscle named Max standing next to her watched straight-faced as the man finally got to the point.

“But anyway, we’re not here tonight to listen to my bad jokes,” he continued, his face turning serious as his dark, narrow eyes searched through the crowd. “We’re here to celebrate a momentous milestone for our company, and to honor and celebrate the man whose vision will help lead us into the future.”

Christina jumped in surprise as the people around her erupted in applause. Several faces turned expectantly to Derrick as he glanced around with a smug grin on his face. He took a sip of what appeared to Christina to be a large vodka on the rocks as his eyes flickered quickly over to Max. She then looked over at Max, who met her gaze with a wide, cautious grin as his large hands slowly clapped with a distinctly audible concussion.

“Ladies and gentleman, all of you know Derrick Birch, a man whose genius in alternative energy development is perhaps only matched – as I’ve certainly learned today – by his skills of negotiation.”

The crowd again erupted in laughter.

“Derrick represents the kind of rogue visionary that can radically change the course of even large, multi-conglomerate companies like our own,” the little bald man continued, his baritone voice measured and authoritative. “And as CEO, I’ve learned all-too-
well what can happen when companies fail to recognize the need for change, or fail to cultivate the people who provide the ideas and innovations upon which we all come to depend.”

Christina
listened as loud murmurs of agreement were echoed by the crowd. The importance of the evening once again struck her as the CEO of one of the world’s largest companies suddenly looked over at Derrick with a practiced smile and continued his speech.

“And so tonight, in recognition of this endless pursuit to find the idea-makers and innovators who hold our future, I am honored to announce one very large victory
.”

He paused and dramatically raised his glass in the air.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, shareholders and executive colleagues… it gives me great pleasure to announce that Derrick Birch has officially agreed to head our alternative energy division for the next five years!”

Christina flinched again as the crowd suddenly erupted with shouts and applause. Hands quickly brushed past her to pat Derrick on the back, and she resignedly assumed the role of a loving and loyal girlfriend by smiling and nodding to the men and women around her. Derrick tightened his grip around her waist, and she turned to find him staring at her intensely.

“Are you okay, D?” she whispered, her mouth brushing against his ear.

“Not in the least,” he replied, smiling back at her with unfocused eyes. A pang of fear flashed through Christina as she held Derrick’s unnerving stare, and she wondered again just what the hell those pills were that he’d taken from her purse earlier.

“Do you want to go downstairs?”

“Are you kidding me?” he exclaimed, slurring his words slightly. “I’m a fucking rock star right now. I can’t leave in the middle of the moment these magnanimous-sounding pricks are pretending to like me.”

“Jesus Christ, you are the most stubborn goddamn asshole on the planet,” Christina hissed under her breath. “Do you know that?”

“Yes I do.”

“Now, we’ve spent a long, grueling day ironing out the details of this little agreement,” the CEO continued, rolling his eyes sarcastically. “And, yes, we still have some more documents to sign in the morning, but I wanted each and every one of you to be present tonight to share in the celebration of finally acquiring Petronus Energy’s newest secret weapon,” he paused for effect, then swept his arm towards Derrick. “Mr. Derrick Birch!”

Derrick released his hold on Christina and took an unsteady step forward. “Thank you! Thanks everyone,” he shouted, raising his glass to the CEO before draining his glass empty. Applause once again swept through the crowd as the band immediately erupted into the opening chords of “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones. The crowd toasted and cheered, then immediately refocused their attention on the music and the dance floor. Christina crossed her arms and glowered at her boyfriend as he stumbled back to her.

“Need another drink?” he asked as he stood swaying in front of her, his hands fumbling as he tried to tear the bowtie from his neck.

“Derrick, what the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m securing my future,” he replied, grinning at her with the hint of a sneer. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m wondering if the man I’m here with is going to make a complete ass of himself in front of his new boss this evening.” She grabbed the empty glass from his hand. “Is stumbling around drunk and high on god-knows-what your idea of ‘securing your future’?”

Derrick threw back his head in laughter, stumbling back and nearly falling in the process.

“Jesus Christ,” Christina hissed, keeping her expression neutral as she grabbed his arm
. “Is this honestly funny to you, D?”

Derrick took a moment to compose himself before smiling at Christina with large, drug-glazed eyes. “It’s hard to say really. Yes… and, um, no.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her roughly into his chest. “But I know you’d be acting the same way as I am if you knew even half of what’s happening right now. So do me a favor and wipe that judgmental fucking expression off your face.”

Christina stared at her boyfriend silently. Even though he stood only inches away from her, she felt like he was miles away, and growing more distant with each second.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, D.”

“I know,” he said quietly, releasing her from his grip. “And you’re never going to.”

Christina sensed the presence of Max’s huge figure looming next to her even before she looked over to see him. He nodded curtly at her before fixing his stare onto Derrick.

“Sorry to interrupt. Derrick, can I speak to you for a second?”

Derrick stared up at his massive colleague for a moment before nodding. Christina saw a flicker of something in Derrick’s stare that looked eerily close to terror, but as quickly as it appeared it was gone. He turned and met her stare.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, looking at her for a brief moment before staring off into the dark night. “And I’ll bring some more champagne with me.”

“Great. Have fun,” she said, waving dismissively as she turned to watch the band. She felt Derrick linger for a moment before walking off with Max. A few minutes later, Christina glanced over her shoulder to see the two men talking at the front of the ship. She noticed with alarm that Derrick was sitting on the bow rail, perched precariously over the water as he laughed at something Max was saying. She started walking towards them, but then stopped herself. If Derrick had made anything clear in his actions and words tonight, it was that she was bec
oming an intrusion in his life. She knew the last thing he’d want is his annoying girlfriend looking out for his safety. “Whatever,” she said under her breath, forcing herself to turn back and stare sullenly at the dancing crowd.

And then suddenly the sky exploded above her.

Christina immediately kneeled down in fright as the intense flash of light erased the darkness of the Caribbean night, shrieking in terror as the shockwave of the concussion washed over her. She looked up to see fiery embers streaking overhead, trailing long fingers of ruby-red sparks that burned into nothingness as they fell towards the ship’s deck. A moment later, as the outer embers of red began to fade, a second explosion followed, filling the sky with a brilliant display of arching blue showers.

Christina quickly stood and straightened her dress, glancing around with an embarrassed smile as the rest of the party-goers stared transfixed at the unexpected fireworks show. She looked behind her to see Derrick still slumped awkwardly on the bow rail, ga
zing upwards with a silly, childlike grin on his face. Next to him, Max caught her stare and waved back politely.

A quickening tempo of explosions signaled the coming crescendo, and Christina hastily grabbed another flute of champagne from a passing server as the volume of the band rose with anticipation. She emptied the glass in a single swallow, feeling the effervescent cascade of bubbles tease her throat as they flowed over her tongue. Then, with a climactic display of exploding color and perfectly timed music, the show suddenly ended and the lights of the ship went dark. Christina and everyone around her immediately raised their glasses and roared with excitement under the beautiful starry night, clapping and cheering as the lights were slowly brought back to life. She turned to see Max standing at the bow of the boat, staring up at the smoke-filled sky as his massive hands clapped with the crowd.

Next to him, the bow rail was empty.

Christina’s mind seemed to process the moment in slow-motion as the color drained from her face. She took a half-step towards the bow of the ship as her eyes darted quickly across the faces around her.
Derrick could have gone to get another drink
she thought to herself, but instinctively knew this wasn’t the truth. From halfway across the ship, Max’s eyes dropped from the sky and locked onto hers. His wide smile suddenly faded as he read the terror in Christina’s expression. In an instant he turned his huge frame and seized the railing where Derrick had been sitting a moment before. At that same moment, beneath the vacuous silence
that had settled over the crowd in the wake of the fireworks, the sound of the
Achilles II
’s engines suddenly rose in protest as their props tore through an object beneath the boat.

Christina
turned and walked calmly to the stern of the boat, moving quietly past the rest of the party-goers as they glanced around in confusion. She dimly registered the trembling of the ship as the engines were stopped and the anxious shouting of the crew as they frantically pulled ropes and rescue equipment from marked stations and ran past her. She seemed to float above her Ferragamo stilettos on legs that weren’t her own until her hands reached out and wrapped tightly around the railing at the back of the ship. There, Christina felt her body lean dangerously over the rail, and the scream that was lodged in the pit of her stomach erupted in a spray of champagne-colored vomit just as the ship’s spotlights illuminated the water below.

Thirty feet beneath her, the mangled torso of a man bobbed lifelessly in the wake of the ship, centered in a wide slick of black-red blood. Christina stared at the torn fabric that covered the floating remains and absently noted that it was Armani before strong hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her from the railing. The screams of the passengers around her faded quickly as she surrendered to the bliss of unconsciousness.

“Like an apex predator introduced to a new, prey-rich environment, the Corporate State will rapidly expand its presence across the global economic landscape; commanding a dominant share of both its core markets, while at the same time cultivating a new generation of corollary sub-markets.  Ironically, it will be at this advanced stage of development that normal regulatory barriers such as domestic and international antitrust laws will have little real effect or meaning. The inherent legal and organizational complexities of the Corporate State, combined with its nearly limitless financial resources, shall thwart any normal means of governmental intervention.  

This is the Corporate State in its mature form of existence – a massive and massively complex global business organism that possesses the financial, political and human resources necessary to control and consume at will.”     

James H. Stone
“Predictions in the New Business Ecology”