Vlad sat at the right side of a long table, the last in a row of ten people. He was dressed in a fine black Armani suit, a high-collared grey shirt underneath. As a final touch, he had a red string bow tie and a little red handkerchief in the pocket of his jacket. He hadn't shaved, but he did clean himself up pretty well for this. He couldn't help but feel a bit stiff and uncomfortable, but it was understandable. This was his first major business meeting.
Luchesi's plan couldn't have gone more smoothly. He sent Armando, Fredo, and Phil out into the real world to set everything up. The investments were made, the accounts were established, and the necessary acquisitions were acquired. Vlad quit his job at the restaurant, employees were hired, and within a few weeks, Dalv was born. Vlad had chosen the name himself. It was simple, it was unassuming, it didn't draw attention to itself, and it was his.
Located in a fair-sized building in downtown Milwaukee, Dalv was established a small-sized company specialising in electronics, machinery, and all forms of technological science. At Vlad's insistence, a division was set up to work in paranormalcy and spectral weaponry – and it was this division that Vlad was giving most of his time. It was kept secret to avoid any negative publicity, but the inventions that Vlad really wanted to see done were given over to this section of the company. His employees were about as successful as he had been, but with many of them working, it was hoped that something could turn out right.
The company seemed to come from nowhere, but its legitimacy was never called into question. As far as anyone in the real world could tell, all of its accounts and divisions were valid and legitimate. None of its business transactions or deals had anything crooked about them. About the only thing that seemed strange about the place was that none of the employees ever actually met their boss face to face. Vlad always had them send their ideas along to him through notices, telephone calls, and bulletins, and he always gave his approval through a memo. He never went out to check how things were going and he was always the last to leave at the end of the day. No one ever quit over it, but it made one's work environment seem very alien. Vlad's excuse was that he had a busy schedule, but the truth was that he really didn't care. He didn't want to put up with a lot of meetings with his inferiors, and he didn't care what his employees did, what they made, or how they made it. All he cared about was that it got him the money and power he needed. And it wasn't as though he completely cut himself off from the rest of his company. He spent plenty of time in the lab set up for spectral weaponry, trying to put together prototypes for his own devices. That may have been the one part of the company kept secret from everyone else, but it was something.
Dalv wasn't a large or profitable company yet. That would have to wait. For some strange reason, though his impatience with training had affected how he viewed Katou and his impatience in getting revenge haunted him day and night, for this one thing he was willing to wait. He was willing to follow Luchesi's plan, willing to execute patience, and willing to go through all the necessary steps to insure the company's longevity. It was unexplainable. A split had gone through his mind, sorting plans between those he was willing to execute patience on and those he couldn't wait for any longer.
Dalv had made some money with a few minor devices and inventions that his employees had come up with. Their most successful patent was a special type of microwave that cooked food so close to the selected settings that it had never once gotten any complaint on how well it worked. The success of this microwave and its unique design were what won Vlad his meeting today. He had taken credit for the design himself and had attributed its efficiency to superior technology and engineering, but it had been made by a scientist on the payroll of the Family in The Ghost-Zone – and its spectral nature was the secret to how the microwave worked.
Dalv obviously demanded a great deal of Vlad's time, and the need for secrecy in the paranormal division kept him there well into the wee hours of the night. The story he presented as an alibi to Katou was half-true; he said that he had gotten a new job that offered promising opportunity, but it kept him busy late at night. Katou seemed to accept this excuse, and nothing more was made of it, but Vlad was very careful about what he said and how acted around the old samurai now. What Katou knew about Vlad's life away from him was only to be what Vlad deemed safe for him to know. He had been watching how he behaved, what he said…even what he thought whenever he was in the samurai's presence. If he got any wind of Vlad's new alliance…even thinking about it could send chills along Vlad's spine.
The meeting Vlad now found himself in was being held by a large company called Yensid Corporation. Like Dalv, they specialised in science and electronics, but they had many smaller companies under their control, business dealings across the seas, and a much larger market. The CEO was a bit of an eccentric, absent-minded fellow. He had a high, grating voice, a wild mane of white hair, sunglasses, and a long white coat. His name was Nicolai Technus, and he treated his job as though it was a way of life. He had called Vlad, along with several other leaders of promising companies, to this meeting in the hope of working out a successful deal in which their companies could merge with Yensid and work on several projects they had in development. It was not going well. Technus was a master at long-winded speeches. He could go on and on and on, and he had a knack for always backing up into declarations about himself during the conversation. It was easy to get the point of what he was saying, but he repeated it so many times that interest fled that room like a deer running away from a wolf pack. Vlad was the only person who had been called to the meeting who wasn't asleep or showing his boredom by some dull action. This could be a huge break for him, and he wasn't letting anyone or anything stand in the way.
"And so," Technus finally seemed to be winding down, "in conclusion, I, Nicolai Technus, CEO and leading expert at all forms of electrical technology, am offering you and your smaller-scale companies a chance to merge with Yensid and develop my many secret devices, including the Ultra-Computer, a machine so vast and intelligent, it would have the power to control and program every machine in the world! Not that I have an agenda or anything," their host finally finished, the businessmen began to wake up. Quiet discussion began to take over as they debated the pros and cons of the proposition before them. The groups of conversation never held more than three people, but all were engaged…except Vlad Masters. He sat back and waited as the others went on with their little talks. He kept his eyes on Technus. The eccentric CEO was going from group to group, putting in words encouraging the merger and occasionally trying to sound "with it" by bringing up topics of conversation that "the kids" apparently discussed. Vlad watched him go around the room, waiting patiently and gently drumming his fingers along the table. After a few minutes, Technus finally sat back down at his chair at the head of the table – and Vlad's chair was at his right.
"Interesting idea for an Ultra-Computer you have there," Vlad said smoothly, getting the conversation going.
"Oh, yes," Technus always seemed eager to talk, "And there's more to it than that. For I, Technus, have an ultimate dream to use this Ultra-Computer that I have designed as a means by which to download my entire mind into my technology and spread my intellect to every machine in the world!" he had said that rather loudly, and thus, everyone else in the room was now eyeing him with either bewilderment or suspicion.
"Eh…" the CEO seemed unable to find an alibi. Vlad decided to give him one so that they could get on with it.
"A most amusing performance," he laughed, "I can see you are a great fan of science fiction. Tell me, did you ever consider a career in theatre before settling with technology?" Technus seemed confused for a moment, but he soon caught on.
"Oh…oh yes! Yes indeed! I, Technus, did in fact consider a stage career at one point!" he leaned over towards Vlad and dropped his voice to a whisper, "That was a close one. Whew, I need some water!" there was water jug on the table in the upper left corner of the room, just a few steps away from where they were sitting. Vlad let a small smile come to his lips. His initial uncomfortable feeling had gone from his mind. This was the type of moment he had been hoping to get. He had brought along something special to show off at a time like this.
"Allow me," he pushed back the sleeve of his jacket, revealing a silver watch with a glowing green face. He moved his hand to be on a line with the water jug, hit a small button on the side, and a green light came out from the face. It expanded toward the water jug, stopping once it reached the paper cup dispenser attached to the jug. The light seemed to focus in on the paper cup hanging out at the bottom of the dispenser. The cup jiggled around a bit and then smoothly slipped off, hovering in mid-air and basking in the glow of the light. Vlad gracefully moved his arm along. The light from the watch moved along with his arm, and the cup did the same. Soon, the cup was perfectly positioned by the lever that released the water. Vlad hit another button on his watch, and a thin green laser shot out and hit the lever. Water began flowing down into the cup, and not a drop fell to the floor. As soon as the glass was full, Vlad began to turn the piece on his watch that surrounded the face counter-clockwise. As he turned it, the light slowly retracted back towards the watch, and the cup came back with it. Within moments, the cup was hovering right in front of an astonished Technus, whose eyes were bulging out so far it looked as though he would knock his sunglasses off his face.
"Your water," Vlad said slyly. Technus, his eyes still as big as dinner plates, looked from the water to Vlad and back to the water. His jaw dropped and then closed again. As the seconds went by and Technus said and did nothing, Vlad noticed that there was more than one member of his audience. All eyes in the room were on him, and everyone looked just as astonished as their host.
"Oh, baby!" Technus finally screamed after what seemed like an eternity, "That watch is groovy, far out, and totally modern! And the technology…how did you make that thing!?"
"Oh, this?" Vlad innocently said, "It's nothing, really. Just our latest product. We used the same technology from our microwave to put this together," he sighed dramatically, "It's a shame that we'll have to give that up."
"What?" Technus went from ecstatic to confused in no time at all. Making sure that the businessmen had returned to their conversation, Vlad leaned in towards the CEO and dropped his voice down to a whisper.
"I've decided to go ahead with the merger," he said, "It's in the best interests of Dalv and myself. However, our supplier that gets us the technology in my watch and our microwave isn't owned by me, and our deal with them and the conditions of the merger will terminate that area of Dalv, I'm afraid. Ah well, that's business for you."
"Hold on there, booby! If it means obtaining such brilliant technology as that, then I, Technus, am willing to offer you a special deal! Would a partnership allow for your suppliers to stay with you?" Vlad couldn't help but grin. Hook, line, and sinker.
"We'll have to iron out the details, but under those conditions, I think we can work something out."
"Excellent! Now, if you will excuse me," Technus rose out of his chair, "Attention everyone! Have you all decided what course of action you will take regarding the deal proposed by me? Technus!" Nods began going around the room, "Groovy! Then those of you who plan to join with me are invited to come! For I, Technus, have something I would like you all to see!" with the exception of two older-looking men, everyone in the room stood up and followed Technus out the door (for the two that stayed behind, he said that his secretary would show them out). They all headed towards the nearest elevator. It was rather elaborate for an elevator, with finely polished mirrors on the three doorless walls and rich carpeting. Once they were all in, Technus hit a button that Vlad had never seen on an elevator before – UGL. The doors slid shut, and down they went.
There was nothing unusual about the way the elevator worked, but they took a strangely long time to get down to where they were going – and the elevator wasn't really slow. It took them a full two minutes before the thing finally stopped and they walked out. Immediately it became apparent that they were underground. There were no windows, it was significantly colder, and it was very dark. A row of loosely hung, flickering lights down the centre of the ceiling were the only true light source. This room was enormous, seeming to cover the entire area of the foundation of the building. Meeting with the elevator's exit and running down the centre of the room was a catwalk, seven feet above the bottom of the room. Down below the catwalk, giant cubicles, three on each side and divided by concrete walls, held computers, radios, monitor screens, cables, wires…any kind of technology one could think of. Employees in lab-coats and sunglasses went from cubicle to cubicle, checking on various things and taking notes. At the other end of the catwalk there was a large metal door with a large, rotating door handle like that of a bank vault. Technus led his audience towards that door. Vlad occasionally looked over the railing to eye what was going on below, but directed most of his focus forward. He had more important matters to think about.
The walk down the catwalk went quickly enough, and once they reached the door, Technus spun the handle around until the lock clicked.
"Prepare yourselves, friends," he whirled around dramatically, a nutty grin on his face, "For within this vault, you will behold a small sample of the amazing, far out devices that you will be working on for me! Technus!" and with that, he thrust the door open. The door slammed into the steel walls and sent out a loud boom like a kettledrum, and at that sound, Technus dashed into the pitch blackness that had been waiting behind the door. The businessmen stayed behind, looking in towards the uninviting room with a bit of anxiety. Vlad was the only exception. He calmly stepped forward and slipped into the darkness, leaning up against the inside wall. The other businessmen followed soon enough, albeit reluctantly. The sound of a switch being thrown could be made out amidst the darkness. Suddenly, the ceiling seemed to explode with blue lights, casting eerie shadows along all the walls. They were in a small, circular room, with huge black machines with beeping red lights covering most of the walls. In the centre of the room there was a raised platform that held up a red velvet pillow. Resting on that pillow was a small silver orb no bigger than a pea. Technus hovered over it. The eccentric CEO was often unintentionally comical, but now, with the lighting of the room and the insane grin that was plastered on his face, he looked maniacal, unstable, and menacing.
"A mere sphere of metal to the untrained eye," he said dramatically, casting his gaze around the room, "But behold!" he picked it up and pressed the sides. Metal seemed to shoot out in coils from both ends, and it gained mass and diameter. Within three seconds, he held in his hand a coiled metal staff, topped off by a sparking silver ball at the end. He struck a pose as though he were wielding a samurai sword (Vlad couldn't help but smile at how completely off the pose was).
"The Electro-Staff!" Technus declared proudly, "It can serve as a magnet," he rotated one of the coils, and some loose metal lying around the room instantly flew towards the ball and clung on tight, "It can serve as a charging device," he twisted another coil. The metal dropped to the floor, but a long, blazing bolt of electricity leapt from the staff, exploded off into separate currents, and collided with every machine in the room. Instantly all the little red lights grew into blazing green lights, and the luminescence of the light bulbs greatly increased.
"It can even serve as an ordinary flashlight!" Technus yelled over the sizzle of electricity. He turned another coil, and the electricity flew back into the staff as the room calmed down. A simple light shone out of the ball now, and Technus playfully moved it around the room.
"And," he said, his goofy, eccentric air returning, "I, Technus, master of all things electronic and beeping, designed and built this magnificent creation all on my own! But my time is taken up, so many of my dreams are forced to remain blueprints. But with you all at my right hand, all of my brilliant technology shall be realised!" The businessmen looked astounded. Eyes wide and mouths agape, they drifted over towards Technus as if in a trance, chattering mindlessly about the Electro-Staff and reaching out to touch and examine it. Technus just stood by proudly. Vlad remained in his position against the wall. He was as impressed as everyone else over the staff, but for the moment, he had more important things he had to focus on. His mind was busy piecing together a mental map of the building. He was figuring out where this room was in relation to what part of the building was here above ground. And he was going over the mental pictures he had made of how Technus had activated the staff and its many functions. He closed his eyes, tuned out the conversation in front of him, and honed in on his tasks. He remained in this state for several minutes, going over everything multiple times to be sure he had everything right. He became so absorbed in his thought process that he didn't realise that it was time to go until someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Quite a staff, eh Masters?" the man asked him.
"Oh yes," Vlad smiled as he headed out of the room, "Very impressive," he cast one last look back before Technus shut off the lights and headed out himself.
----
Midnight in Wisconsin might not have been the ideal time to be up and about, but it was far less eerie than in some other parts of the globe. It was a calm, peaceful night, with a half-moon, a gentle northern breeze, and a mild temperature. With the exception of the few stores that remained open around the clock and the night owls who drove around at that hour, every business, home, and vehicle had been shut down hours ago. Yensid was no exception. The only soul left in the building was a night guard at the front desk. The lights were off, the employees had gone home, the doors had been locked, and, save for the security monitors, the technology was off. What remained for the guard to use was state-of-the-art. The monitors could detect things on visual basis. They could run an infrared scan. They could switch over to night vision. They could detect just about anything – except ghosts.
There were five spirits about that night in Yensid, all of them invisible and intangible. Four of the ghosts held back, serving as followers. The fifth was the one who seemed to know where he was going. He led his companions in through the front door and flew only a few feet inside before plunging straight down into the floor. They emerged in a small, circular, pitch-black room. The leading ghost soon touched down, and Vlad Masters looked around the room. He was still dressed in his suit from the day's meeting, but he had added gloves, a long black trench coat, and a grey fedora with a black band and a red flower to his suit. His ghost-powers allowed him to see in the dark, and he remained invisible to avoid setting off the cameras. His four companions drifted in behind them. Two were the ghosts who had taken him to Luchesi – the other two were faceless spirits under the Family's payroll. After a bit of searching, Vlad found what he was looking for.
"Ah," he smiled, "There it is. The Electro-Staff," he reached out and picked up the small metal orb. His mental map had been perfect, they'd gotten in fine, and now he had what he came for.
"Well, mustn't keep Luchesi waiting," he said. He tucked the orb into his coat and headed out, his four men behind him.
----
"Impressive, Vlad. Very impressive," Luchesi gave his approval. They were back in his office. Vlad had just finished recounting the meeting and demonstrated what the Electro-Staff could do to the don and his seven advisors, and it had gone over very well. A call had already been put out to one of the Family's scientists to build more of them.
"I thought you'd like it," Vlad smiled, retracting the staff and setting it on Luchesi's desk, "And while retrieving this little toy, I made a little deal on my own."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked in his usual worried tone.
"Yensid is about to gain a partner," Vlad said simply, "And with enough time, I think I can see to it that the Dalv Company will eventually become the Dalv Corporation."
"Excellent," Luchesi clapped, "Keep thinking forward like that, Vlad. You might be in for a better deal in the future. Your check will be waiting for you outside," Vlad's grin just grew wider.
"Well, I must be heading back home now. Ta," he gracefully stepped back, opened the door, and whirled out of the room. Luchesi picked up the Electro-Staff and began to examine it. Six of his advisors remained where they were; Tony eyed where Vlad had been standing suspiciously.
"Pensate che dovremmo lasciarli rendere a programmi quel grande sui suoi propri?" he pondered out loud.
"Amperora, vi preoccupate troppo," Luchesi brushed the comment off, "Pensate che ottenga abbastanza alimentazione fuori là proteggersi da me? Non accadrà mai," Tony just kept eyeing where Vlad had stood, suspicious and afraid.
Italian translation:
"You think we should let him make plans that big on his own?" he pondered out loud.
"Ah, you worry too much," Luchesi brushed the comment off, "You think he'll get enough power out there to protect himself from me? It'll never happen," Tony just kept eyeing where Vlad had stood, suspicious and afraid.