Author’s note: If you need a refresher on what’s happening in this universe, a short description of each previous story may be found on the Reminder Page. However, this particular story mostly deals with Dan.
July, 1998
“Man.”
Dan looked up at the sound of his work nickname. It had started as Dan The Man, but the abbreviation had followed in only a few days. Now, after working at the same company for years, many people here didn’t even know his actual name.
“I need you to do this for me.” The speaker, a man known as Boffo, dropped a print-out onto Dan’s keyboard and turned to go. “End of the day.”
Dan glanced at it. “No,” he said to the retreating back. “I can’t.”
Boffo turned and glared at him. “You’ll do what I say, or… let’s just say, you’ll pay for it.”
Dan shook his head. “One, I have my own deadlines to work with and I’m already lined up to stay late. Two, this is what you’re supposed to be working on. Three, the boss-man told me only this morning not to pick up your excess work.”
“You’ll do it for me or you’ll regret it,” Boffo insisted. “That girlfriend of yours – I saw her across town from here, at a book store.”
Dan’s hands stilled on his keyboard for a moment, wondering if Honey’s secret was finally out among his colleagues, if their carefully-tended privacy would soon come to an end. Then he deliberately brushed the paper off onto the floor, his eyes remaining focussed on his screen. “No. Now get out of here.”
“You’ll be sorry.”
“You’ll be sorry if you don’t get that done. Get working on it and stop interrupting me. If you don’t know how, there’s a manual on the second shelf over there. It’s green.”
Boffo swore under his breath and stalked away, failing to take either his print-out or the manual with him.
“You might be sorry, you know,” a colleague known as Sting commented from the next cubicle over, but without looking at Dan. “He… collects things. You don’t have any secrets, do you?”
Dan laughed, without much humour. “He won’t get far with me. I don’t deal with bullies.”
“One day soon, the bully’s going to be dealing with you,” Sting replied. “Watch out.”
Dan grunted a reply. He had no intention of falling victim to Boffo.
A couple of weeks passed and Dan forgot all about the encounter. Not working closely with Boffo, he never knew whether the other man had finished the work himself, found another victim, or just missed the deadline. He didn’t care enough to bother finding out.
August, 1998
“What’s this?” Dan asked, as he returned to his workstation after a quick break one day. He plucked the note from where it was stuck in his keyboard. “See who?”
Sting hooked a thumb in the direction of the boss, without taking his eyes from the screen. “Boffo’s been in there sucking up again. I don’t know what he’s gotten you into, but as soon as he came out, the boss-man left you that.”
Dan swore at the mention of the least-competent member of the staff, whose nickname was not given in affection. Without another word, he strode over and tapped on the door with the shiny brass plaque: Larrimore P. Hinkworth, III, Company President.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked, after gaining permission to enter the tiny, cluttered office.
“Sit down,” his boss answered, waving him to a chair. “I need to discuss your next project with you. I know we agreed that you’d fill in some time and then take some leave, but I need you to take over the project that Bryce was about to start so that he can take those two weeks off.”
For a moment, Dan just stared at him. It took a small mental adjustment to connect the name Bryce with the more commonly used nickname of Boffo. It took no effort at all to recall that his leave was for the sole purpose of travelling to Mart’s wedding.
“That’s not possible,” he answered, after a short pause.
“Of course it’s possible,” the boss replied. “It’s all arranged.”
“I’m taking my leave.” With an effort, Dan pushed down the rising tide of his temper. “I applied in plenty of time and you approved it. This is very important to me.”
The boss shook his head. “But Bryce has something important in his personal life, too. I’m sorry, Dan, but your leave is cancelled.”
For several long moments, Dan thought about his options. For the most part, he liked this job. If he threw it in, there was a considerable chance that he would not be able to find something else as good. On the other hand, this was his best friend’s wedding they were talking about, not to mention the money they had already spent on the trip, and he and Honey could certainly afford for him to be out of work for a while.
“Is there any way I can change your mind?” he asked. “I’ve made a commitment to be at this wedding–”
“You don’t need time off to go to a wedding,” the other man scoffed. “How long can it take to travel to it?”
“It’s in Australia,” Dan explained. “I thought I’d mentioned that.”
“Even so, you could take a direct flight… arrive there the morning of the wedding.”
Dan took a deep breath, swallowing the rude response he wanted to make. “There’s no such thing as a direct flight, and due to the International Date Line and the travel time involved I’d need to leave at least a couple of days beforehand. Besides, I’m the best man and have to have a suit fitting a week before.”
“Take your own suit.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. My answer is final.”
Dan left the office, only barely restraining himself from slamming the door, and returned to his desk, where he swore some more.
“That bad?” his colleague muttered.
“He’s cancelled my leave because of that little bastard.” He vented his feelings in some more bad language, then stood up. “I’m gonna go see Boffo and find out what it is that he needs leave for.”
The other man grunted. “Don’t bother. I know that.”
“What?”
“He’s getting a wall of mirrors installed in his apartment and he wants to stay home and watch it being done.”
For several moments, Dan stared, open-mouthed. “For two weeks?”
“No, that’s just the first day. After that, he thinks he’s going to get his girlfriend to perform indecent acts in front of them so he can watch.” He made another grunt. “My money’s on the girlfriend dumping him before the glue’s dry.”
“You’re serious. I put in my leave months ahead and it gets cancelled for that.”
“Uh-huh.” He turned to face Dan for the first time in the conversation and spoke in a lowered voice. “Look for something else. I know I am. This company isn’t going anywhere while Boffo’s calling the shots. Whatever he’s holding over the boss-man is big and it means trouble.”
Dan nodded and went back to his work.
That evening when he got home, Dan poured out his work woes to Honey.
“What are you going to do about it?” she asked him, when he had finished.
He sank back against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m kind of tempted to ask your father if he can put every mirrored-wall installer in the city out of business, but I doubt that would fix my problem.”
Honey laughed and snuggled in. “No, probably not. You got anything else?”
“I could quit.” He sighed. “It feels wrong to just leave a good job without something else to go to.”
“We have more than enough to live on,” she pointed out. “Maybe we could take a break together. That would be fun.”
He turned to look at her. “I don’t think I’m cut out for the rich-boy lifestyle. I need something constructive to do.”
She considered this for a moment. “I did hear of something that you might like to do, only I didn’t say anything because I thought you were happy where you were.”
“I am, usually. Provided Boffo doesn’t interfere with my life.” He shut his eyes. “I’m going to that wedding whether Boffo wants me to or not. This is important.”
“Yes, it is.” Her voice was soft as she agreed with him. “The other job that I heard about would be a bit of a change for you. You might need to develop some different skills.”
“I’m listening.”
“Di was telling me about a company that her father has taken over. He’s apparently thinking of expanding it and there’ll be job opportunities there in a couple of months.” She ran a hand over his arm. “How would you feel about moving out of games and into some other area?”
“Something dull, you mean.”
“I think it’s security software,” she answered. “I don’t know whether that’s dull or not.”
He was silent for a time, thinking it through. “I might look into it. And I think I’d better start checking out who else is hiring.”
“It’ll be okay, even if it takes a while for you to find something else you like. You can afford to be picky.”
He smiled and shook his head. “I can’t bring myself to think that way.”
“Then you’d better get looking,” she answered, with a laugh. “If you won’t let me help you, you’d better help yourself.”
He nodded and let the matter drop. But underneath, he still felt uneasy. No matter what choice he made, it was bound to cause trouble.
Over the next week or two, the decision solidified in Dan’s mind, but he didn’t discuss it with Honey any further. He got in touch with a few people he knew, and with the contact in Mr. Lynch’s company. The latter offered him a lunchtime interview one day.
Dan returned to his desk afterwards with a queasy feeling in his stomach. He had no idea of whether he was doing the right thing, whether it was safer to stay in the part of the industry he knew or to take a chance on something different. In a way, it was all moving too fast.
But then, he remembered what had caused this – how important it was to him to be there when Mart got married. He glimpsed Boffo’s smug expression as he wandered through the workspace and anger flared, though he kept it hidden. Dan would not allow himself to be manipulated that way – he was not going to sacrifice what was important to him for the benefit of a lazy co-worker.
He set himself the task of reviewing what he would need to do before he left this job – and making a plan for how to get it all done.
That evening when he returned home, Dan tried to keep his mixed feelings hidden. The mask was just as flawless as ever, he was certain, but it wasn’t enough to fool Honey.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, as soon as she saw his face.
He shook his head. “Nothing. I had an interview today and they offered me a job on the spot. Starts later in the year.”
Honey smiled and kissed him. “That’s great. But why do you look so… unhappy?”
Dan lifted one shoulder a fraction. “I don’t think I’m unhappy – I said I’d take it. I just don’t know if this is the right thing.”
“Tell me about it.”
They sat down together and Dan took a few moments to gather his thoughts.
“It’s at the place you told me about – Di’s father’s new acquisition. The work sounds interesting enough. Some of it will be a bit of a stretch, and I’ve got a whole list of things I need to brush up on before then, but I’m sure I can do what they’re asking of me.” He frowned. “The pay is just a little higher than what I’m getting now. They’re even paying me a small retainer in the time between now and when I start.”
“So, what’s the problem?” she wondered. “It sounds great.”
“My start date isn’t until the beginning of December.” He turned to her. “I need to leave where I am early- to mid-September to make it to the wedding. What am I going to do in between?”
“We could extend our trip.” Her eyes shone at the idea. “I was thinking I’d like to travel a bit while we’re over there. We could ask Mart for some suggestions. And maybe we could find somewhere quiet to stay for a while, so that I can get some work done without the distractions we have here.”
His expression shifted from worried to bemused. “You want me to stay with you while you’re working, where I know no one and have nothing to do, and you think I’ll enjoy this?”
“I wouldn’t be working all the time. The rest of the time could be kind of like a honeymoon, if you want to think of it that way.”
He shook his head. “You refuse to marry me and yet you want a honeymoon? I don’t think so.”
“Then don’t think of it that way,” she countered. “Think of it as a well-earned break, which we just happen to be taking together, alone, in an exotic location.”
“And where you suddenly go off and work feverishly for every waking hour for a few days at random intervals.” He felt distinctly unimpressed and was sure that it showed.
“Can’t you take any of those things you need to brush up on? They do have computers in Australia. It’s not in another century, just a long way from here.”
He considered for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I could do that.”
“And we could coordinate our working hours,” she suggested. “Maybe we could travel a bit and work a bit. Or maybe we could set up a base for ourselves somewhere and take day trips when we felt like it.”
Dan nodded. “I guess so. That could be fun.”
“Then let’s do that.” She smiled. “It will be good to have some time alone. I feel like we’ve been rushing everywhere for months. Maybe it’ll help us reconnect.”
He looked away, uncertain of how to respond.
“You do want us to reconnect, don’t you?” she asked, in a small voice.
Dan snapped his gaze back to her face and saw hints of hurt and fear. He nodded. “Yeah. Of course I do.”
“You don’t sound so sure.”
He stopped and considered what to say. “I love you, Honey. I know that. It’s everything else I’m not sure about.”
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I love you, too.”
Their plans came together as if predestined, but at work Dan kept quiet about everything. Just over two weeks before their departure date, in accordance with the terms of his contract, he set about changing that. He looked in at the open door of his boss’s office.
“Can I see you for a moment?” he asked.
“Sure,” his boss answered, waving him inside.
Dan sat down in front of the desk and handed over an envelope. “It’s my notice.”
“Your what?”
“Notice. I’m leaving the company.” Dan watched as the slightly pudgy face of Larrimore P. Hinkworth the third turned white, then red.
“Don’t do this, please, Dan. You’re going to put me in a difficult situation.”
Dan hesitated for a moment, unsure how much to say. “I asked you to reconsider cancelling my leave. I explained to you how important it was to me.”
“But I can’t afford for you to not be here then.” The redness was increasing, as was the volume of his voice. “There are other things to consider here. If you don’t withdraw this, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. I’ll make sure you never work in this industry again!”
“I already have a job lined up.” Dan rose from his seat. “My decision is final.”
“Then get out!” the man yelled, stumbling around the end of his desk and across the small expanse of floor. “Get out right now. Don’t touch a thing. Don’t take anything with you. Just get out!”
By this time, they were both out of the office and had attracted the attention of every other person within earshot.
“What are you all looking at?” the boss yelled. “Get back to your work.”
Dan stooped to pick up a few personal belongings, only to find a hand gripping his arm.
“I said, don’t take anything. Didn’t you understand that?”
Hinkworth was still red in the face and so close that Dan could see the small beads of perspiration on his forehead. With a sharp movement, Dan broke the hold and moved the older man back a pace.
“Don’t touch me.”
The other man looked ready to try restraining Dan once more, when another person intervened.
“What’s going on here?” he asked.
Dan turned to see his project manager. “I’m quitting. I wasn’t going to be leaving for another two weeks, but apparently I’ve broken some unwritten law.”
The project manager turned to the boss. “I need him. Unless you want this project even more over time and over budget. Two weeks is better than nothing.”
“He can’t do this!” the boss complained. “I cancelled that leave. He has to be here.”
“Driving him out of the building isn’t going to help that.” The project manager turned to Dan. “If you’re willing to stay, I’d like you to keep on what you were doing. I’ll sort this out.”
After a moment, Dan nodded. The other two disappeared into the office and closed the door.
“What do you think he’s done?” Sting asked. “Boffo must be threatening something. It must be pretty bad for him to react that way.”
Dan shrugged. “Dunno. I was kind of thinking of just keeping my head down until I leave.”
“Well, I think it’s time to put some other skills to use.” He sniggered. “If Boffo can hack into the boss’s computer….”
“You’re not.” Dan’s voice carried a clear warning.
The other man shook his head. “Course not. I’m going to hack Boffo’s computer. He’ll never know.”
“And what if he’s there now?”
“Nah. He’s taking a long lunch with Sophia.”
Dan frowned. “I thought his girlfriend’s name was Tania.”
“It is.” Sting grunted. “This might be a little harder than I thought. He’s added some extra measures.”
Dan decided to pretend that events next to him weren’t happening and concentrated on his own task. After an interval, his colleague made a small sound of triumph, but did not speak further. Minutes later, Dan’s concentration was broken.
“Cha-ching!” The other man gave a cackle. “Oh, this is good. Just wait until everyone sees this.”
“Do I want to know?” Dan wondered, keeping his eyes on his own screen.
“You’re going to, whether you want to or not. I’m uploading the photos to the company intranet – under Boffo’s username, of course.” Sting laughed maliciously. “Let’s just say, I now know who stole that $150 in petty cash – and it wasn’t the girl who got sacked for it. When everyone knows what the boss-man’s done, Boffo will have no more power than anyone else, which suits me just fine.”
Dan grunted a reply, but kept at his work. The next interruption came a few minutes later.
“Hello, what’s this?” The other man’s tone of voice had altered considerably. “Isn’t this your girlfriend, Man?”
With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Dan looked over and saw Honey pictured outside a bookshop. She was standing next to her publicist, with a poster behind her that proclaimed Magnolia Robertson would be doing a book signing there on a given day and time.
“All this time we’ve been working together and you never told me she’s actually a well-known writer.” He tsked a couple of times. “And Boffo’s had this photo for ages and I bet he never made the connection.”
“You don’t need to tell him.”
Sting laughed. “Me? Tell him? No way.” He was silent for a moment. “But I think that you should be telling me some things.”
Angered, Dan kept silent and focussed with determination on his screen. All of a sudden, he had no regrets about leaving this place. In fact, two weeks now seemed far too long. He almost wished he had been thrown out of the building.
“Has she ever written you into a book?” Sting asked, a short time later. “Let me guess: you were the guy with the limp in the one before last.”
The wildness of the accusation startled him enough that he laughed. “Are you kidding me? He was about a hundred.” Another thought flitted across his mind. “You’ve actually read her books?”
“I like reading.” A note of defensiveness sounded in Sting’s voice, to Dan’s satisfaction.
“Well, I like a quiet life,” Dan answered. “And I don’t deal with bullies – or blackmailers.”
“I never said anything like that!” Sting lashed back. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Then leave Honey alone,” Dan retorted.
Sting made a disgruntled sound and turned back to his work – or, perhaps, his perusal of Boffo’s computer. Either way, he was quiet, which suited Dan just fine. Somewhere in this block of code, an error lurked. His eyes on the screen and all his concentration bent on finding it, Dan almost missed the next question.
“How do I get her to write me into a book?”
Dan glanced across at Sting, whose focus appeared to be fixed upon his screen. “I can’t say.”
“Why not? I might want to see myself in print.”
“As the villain? Or the victim? Excessively nosy hacker found dead with a keyboard inserted where no keyboard should go.” He sniggered at the expression on his co-worker’s face. “She doesn’t take suggestions.”
“But she might need expert advice. You could tell her that I’m available.”
Dan shook his head. “When she can pick my brains any time? No, that’s not going to work either.”
“I know a lot of things that you don’t,” Sting replied.
“If you know why this module is returning the wrong values, you can tell me. Otherwise, shut the hell up.”
Sting held up a conciliatory hand and Dan’s anger subsided – for a moment.
“Does she ever base her books on things that happen in real life? I saw this really interesting –”
“I’m not answering anything to do with her,” Dan snapped, losing his temper at last. “And if you ask me again, you’re not going to like what happens next.”
This time, Sting held up both hands in surrender. “Fine, Man. Don’t get upset.”
Dan eyed him for a long moment and then tried to return his concentration to his work. The thought that he would soon leave and never come back – but only if he finished this work – sustained him for the rest of the day.
When next Dan was called into the boss’ office, only a few days later, he had no idea what to expect. The scandal had broken within fifteen minutes of Sting hacking Boffo’s computer and still raged. Hinkworth greeted him with a determinedly cheerful expression as he took the seat offered.
“On consideration, I have decided to reinstate your leave if you will withdraw your resignation,” the man told him. “There will also be a small bonus paid to you, in acknowledgement of the trouble you have gone through. I would ask you to not discuss this matter with the other members of staff.”
Dan hesitated for a moment, measuring his words. “I’m sorry, but my resignation stands. I actually do have another job lined up, as well as some plans for a break before I start there.”
The boss’s face reddened. “I don’t think I need to tell you that if you leave, you won’t get the bonus.”
Dan nodded. “I guessed as much, and I don’t feel influenced by that, in any way.”
“You are putting me in a difficult position.”
The thought flitted through his head that the boss’s position was one entirely of his own making, and that if he had either controlled himself or faced the consequences none of this would have happened.
At Dan’s lack of answer, he continued, “Could I at least ask you to take some time to train your replacement? How does the week after when your leave was supposed to be sound?”
Dan shook his head. “Sorry. My plans have changed and I’ll still be in Australia then. We’re staying a couple of months. Almost as soon as I get back, I’ll start my new job. Sting’s a good trainer. Maybe you could ask him to help.”
“After he hacked into another staff member’s computer and stole sensitive files?” The outrage was clear on his face and in his voice. “He’s lucky I didn’t show him the door – and I still might, before the day’s out.”
Considering that Sting had never hidden the fact that he was an accomplished hacker, and that Hinkworth had made use of this skill on more than one occasion, this seemed like hypocrisy to Dan, but he did not say so.
Dan shifted in his seat. “Is that all you wanted from me? I really want to get this project put to bed before I leave and I don’t have a lot of time.”
“If you’re sure I can’t convince you….”
“I’m sure. I’m sorry it’s ending this way. I really have enjoyed working here.”
The man nodded and Dan left the room.
Dan’s last day arrived. Most of his work had been tidied up the day before. He had handed over the tasks that he couldn’t finish to other people. He spent most of the day picking up small jobs and cleaning up his work area. The work day ended. If it hadn’t been his last day, Dan would have stayed late tonight. He would be right in the middle of something right now. It felt strange to have nothing to do.
Picking up his coffee cup, he tucked it into the box of his personal belongings and wriggled it until it couldn’t move. “Well, I guess that’s it.”
He looked around for anything else of his which he had forgotten, but found nothing.
“You’re sure you can’t get her to put me in a novel?” Sting asked suddenly.
Dan’s eyes turned to the ceiling. “For the very last time, no!”
“Fine. I just wondered.” He looked away. “Been nice working with you, Dan. Maybe I’ll see you around some time.”
“Yeah. Same.” Dan hefted the box and nodded.
As he left the room, Sting sat back down at his terminal. Through a doorway, Dan noticed Boffo trying to chat up the new office girl, while she tried to fend him off. Everything was going on here without him and this familiar world would soon be closed off.
He stepped outside into the unknown.
The End