Covenant: Exodus

Chapter 10

Erich stared at Jim, wondering if there was any way that this could be true, could Paulus have somehow managed to acquire something from the government forcing them to stop business at the museum, and if so, what would the repercussions be if they did not follow the instructions? Erich knew Jim had to be furious right now, although he wasn't saying anything, apparently intent on waiting for Doug, the head of the legal department for the museum to arrive. The silence in the room was becoming oppressive as the parties simply stared at one another, until Paulus finally broke the silence, "Erich, I would like to talk to you in private for a moment if I could."

"I don't know about that right now Paulus, I'm also a part owner of this museum so your lawsuit is going to make it tough for you and me to catch up on old times," Erich stated, "If you have something to say to me you can wait until my attorney arrives. I guarantee that we can make this right to your people, we can give you all that you deserve, you don't have to do it like this Paulus, you don't have to try and take the entire museum from us."

"Erich, please, we need to talk, there are matters of great concern to you that I must bring to your attention..." Paulus began to say, but Erich cut him off, his voice beginning to grow angry.

"Matters of great concern?" Erich said, "This museum, the ark, everything you see around you, this is my life, there are no matters that are more important to me than this place."

Paulus began to look uncomfortable as Erich continued to grow angrier. "E...E...Erich just listen to me, please," Paulus stammered, "You need to hear what I have to say, it's about Gema." The words hit Erich like a punch to the solar plexus. Before he even had time to respond, the doors opened again and Doug Fisk came walking in.

Doug Fisk had worked with Jim since the beginning, starting out as a paralegal as he put himself through law school. He proved to be a tireless worker, quickly gaining Jim's respect, and upon passing the bar at the age of twenty-eight was made the head of the legal department for Jim's entire company. That was twenty-five years ago, although to look at Doug you would assume it was forty. Doug Fisk had aged hard, most likely due to a combination of too much scotch, too many cigarettes, and too little sleep. He was around five-foot-eight and now carried around a decent sized belly with him. He had lost the majority of his hair about twelve years ago, although what was left he was desperately clinging to, spending the better part of an hour each morning applying various chemical regrowth treatments and finally styling it in a sweeping comb-over that managed to cover less than five percent of his bald, shining head.

Doug had perpetual dark circles under his eyes, probably caused by his penchant for working ninety-plus hours each week, and in the last four years or so had developed a nasty ulcer so he commonly carried around a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and an economy size bottle of Tums antacids. As soon as he walked into the room, Erich could see the wheels in Doug's mind begin to turn, for everything that he lacked in looks he made up for in brains and tenacity. He seemed to be sizing Mr. Nagato up as he walked by him and stepped to Jim's right side. "What can I do for you, Jim?" He asked, his voice somehow managing to sound even more exhausted than he looked. Although with the new exhibit opening and all of the dignitaries and celebrities that were staying at the hotels and the museum this weekend, it was expected that he was overworked.

Jim didn't say anything, he simply handed the cease and desist order to Doug and continued to stare at the mounds of paperwork on his desk. Doug looked at the document, unimpressed at first, but concern was mounting on his features as he continued to peruse the court order. "How did you get this?" Doug asked, speaking directly to Mr. Nagato, who gave a tight-lipped smile before answering the question.

"An order like this is not difficult to obtain when the government knows that they sold land that was not theirs to sell," he said smugly, "the government wants to avoid a lawsuit and my client wants this museum," he paused to allow this to sink in, "it's as simple as that really."

Doug looked ashen, even more so than usual, as he turned to Jim and leaned down to whisper in his ear. Erich could not hear what Doug was saying, although after sitting in on countless meetings with Doug and Jim he knew that this was part of the routine. Doug would lean down and quietly tell Jim what the situation really was and advise him on his response, at which time Jim would typically ignore the advice and say something slightly offensive to the other party involved. This was not one of those times. As Doug whispered his advice, Jim's head slowly sank down, his face growing paler with each second. Jim looked at Doug and Nagato, and then to Paulus and Erich, and couldn't find any words, he seemed to be at the edge of tears. Doug took a step back and simply stared at Nagato. Jim tried to swallow the lump in his throat and then quietly spoke, all the bravado that typically accompanied his voice now gone, "And you're sure Doug?" he asked, to which Doug simply shook his head yes, "I don't believe this..." he trailed off.

Jim slowly stood up behind his desk and made his way to the door, opening it. He did not walk through the doors, instead he stood off to one side and addressed Paulus and Mr. Nagato, "Look boys, Doug here is the best in the business, and I trust him with my life," Jim drawled, "but I'm going to have to make a couple of phone calls to the people running this rock before we go any further. I would put you up in a room in one of the hotels while we figure this out, but they're all sold out...in case you didn't know, this was gonna be a pretty big weekend. Anyway, I'll make a couple calls, and we can reconvene here in the morning, 8:00 AM sharp, now get the hell out of my office."

Mr. Nagato smiled, although Erich was not focused on him, he was looking at Paulus, who did not look to be the slightest bit pleased with himself. "So, you will cancel the grand opening of the museum?" Paulus asked quietly, no longer the confident leader of his people that he had seemed just moments before.

"You fellas haven't really given me much of a choice now have ya?" spat Jim, "I'm going to make some calls and see if I can't change some minds to allow me to at least open the place, I mean hell, do you have any idea how much money I've spent on this, how many people are here for it, how excited the world is to see this?"

"None of that is my concern Mr. Cochran," Paulus said, "my only concern is that these doors do not open, period." With that, Paulus and Nagato walked out of the office; although before they left, Paulus walked over to Erich and grasped his arm, pulling him close so that he would be able to hear the whispered words he was about to say. "Meet me in the garden in one hour, come by yourself, I will explain myself to you then," he said in a whisper that was audible to no one but Erich. Erich watched them leave, a sense of disbelief threatening to overwhelm him. His past and his present had come together in a violent collision and left him confused and disoriented.

"That's some nice friend you got there son," Jim said quietly to Erich, "glad I could help bring you two back together."