Awakened: The Story of Maxwell Cain

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

A Withdrawal

The remainder of the trip took about half a day, and they arrived on the outskirts of Houston early the next morning.  They hadn’t thought this next part of the plan through completely.  They had been thinking of how to get to Houston, but hadn’t thought about what they were going to do once they got there.

The driver dropped them off at one of the gas stations along the interstate, right inside the city limits.  The spell on the driver broke after a few miles, and he heard an earful from his boss when he called to check in.

They walked inside and asked the attendant for a phone book.  The employee begrudgingly handed them the book as if he never expected to see it again, and the three sat down in the small diner inside.  It wasn’t exactly your average diner, but just one fry cook standing next to a fryer grill ready to take anyone’s orders.  It wasn’t as good as the food they had back at their hideout seeing as everything on the menu was guaranteed to make you regret eating it as it was digesting.

The plan was to look through the phone book for The Tinkerer, until they realized they didn’t even know the man’s real name.  Just to satisfy their curiosity, they even looked through the T’s, but found no ‘Tinkerer’.  They sat back in their chairs and, after an evil look from the cook, they ordered a meal of chicken nuggets so they could continue to use the table.

Max was the first to begin brainstorming.  “So, Malachi said he was rich.  Should we look in the more exclusive neighborhoods?”

Chloe replied as if the answer should be obvious.  “Houston is big…really big, Max.  There are wealthy neighborhoods all over the place.  Besides, I don’t even think he would be in a neighborhood.  I think he will be in a solitary home with plenty of space around for his privacy.”

Max blushed.  “Oh, yeah.  Sorry.  You have a better idea?”

Chloe slumped in her chair.  “Not really.  We know he likes to spend his money for his own benefit.  Malachi said he wants people to love him, so he uses his money to create an image to which people would gravitate.  Where would he go to do that?  We need someone who thinks like him.”

Will, who was quiet, stared at the nugget in his hand and said, “I would hit the clubs.  Think about it; all the women, all over you.  I’d be the biggest thing around.”  He popped the chicken into his mouth and when he saw the stares from Chloe and Max, he said with a mouthful, “What?”

Max slapped his friend on the back, making him choke a little.  “You are a genius, man.  So where do we find the hottest club around?”  They searched through the phone book and found the dance club with the biggest ad, and figured that was their best bet.  They looked for confirmation from Will, and he nodded.

Chloe spoke up.  “You know we are going to need money.  Right, Max?”

Max sighed.  “Yeah, I thought about that.  We are going to have to go to a bank so I can make a withdrawal.”

They sat for another ten minutes formulating a plan as to how they were going to get the money.  Max had never actually been inside a bank, but he knew his account held plenty of money.  Well, at least it did before the Corporation knew he was not a compliant employee.  They were just hoping his accounts hadn’t been drained, or frozen.  Max checked to make sure he had his ID and his account number in his wallet.

After they had a plan in mind, they called a cab to direct them to the nearest bank where Max’s accounts could be accessed.  They had to assume the Corporation was watching all the account activity, but hopefully, they could get in and out of the bank before the Corporation responded.