章節 89: Government contract
"I see. Let me take care of the invitations," offered Graves.
"Thank you, sir." With the principal at the helm, Michael had no worries. The event would go smoothly.
"But I have to ask for a favor in return."
That was how Michael found himself at school the next day, with a bunch of his classmates. They were here to activate their powers for the first time, and he had to be their nanny.
"Yo, Mike!" Jack and Jerry were the same as before, wonder twins a foot apart in height.
"Hey, guys. Who will go first?"
"Me!" they exclaimed at the same time.
"No can do. Decide already, I've been here for a few hours, and I'm bored."
Michael knew how useful this opportunity was. Becoming acquaintances with powerful Alters, doing them a favor now in exchange for help later – these were good reasons to fake a smile. Unfortunately, none of the teens had a noteworthy power so far.
Changing skin color? Enlarging nose? Creating rainbows out of thin air? Please.
Jack pushed his hand forward ahead of his brother, "Shorty power!"
Michael grabbed him without letting Jerry say a word and covered it with a thin film of World Tree energy. When Jack pushed his Qi out, Michael saw a subtle change that didn't enter the spectrum visible to humans.
Jack's skin vibrated like a guitar string, blurring at the edge.
"Stop!" the cultivator commanded. "Put your hand on the desk here and push!"
Jack followed the order. He pressed his palm onto the wooden surface and tugged on the feeling of fullness inside of him.
"Woah!" his brother jumped up and down in excitement, "Superpower! Superpower!"
Half of Jack's palm became incorporeal and went through wood.
"Now me! Me!"
After going through the same basic procedure, Jerry's fingers lengthened by half an inch. He brought his hand closer to his face and broke into a creepy smile, "Freddy Krueger! Fear me, mortals! Eeek!"
He leaped up and turned back. There, Jack stood with his half-corporeal hand that he had just scratched Jerry's back with, "How did it feel?!"
"All right, you're done!" Michael chased them away with precise kicks to their butts.
It was a tough day.
Michael didn't meet any of his other friends because they either didn't need help, or their parents had taken them away, like Sofia.
On the other hand, Marco and Donald avoided him as much as they could. Even so, Michael heard that Marco unlocked enhanced strength. Physical-based abilities required less restructuring from the organism, so they started out strong right away.
Later that evening, news broke that Michael North, the first Alter, was going to call for a press-conference in two days. He would make an announcement both as a celebrity and a businessman before answering questions from the audience.
A solid hundred English-speaking journalists rushed to buy plane tickets to Switzerland.
…
When president Myshkin heard this, he stared at the wall for a long time. "The moment is lost. Now my only chance is to get to him through his family…"
After the spies' demise came to light, the Swiss prime minister issued a private warning to Myshkin. The PR blunder wasn't small – the police found eight dead Russian agents very close to the Experimental International School for gifted children. The prime minister didn't blow up the incident, but the Russian president had to back away for a while.
"Bodrov!"
"Sir?"
"Find someone with real journalist credentials and send them to Switzerland. I want them to ask this boy a few questions."
…
On Wednesday, Michael welcomed Buddy Earl and Gregory Almond at EIS. Graves's man drove them onto the grounds where the cultivator was waiting in casual clothes.
Greg was an older man in his fifties. He had a hook for a nose, a clear and open forehead and salt-pepper hair. The sharp facial features contrasted with his amiable smile. Michael got an impression of a two-faced professional – nice to his clients and vicious with opponents.
Buddy was on the taller side, and while Greg wore his suit impeccably, the microbiologist looked out of place in a worn-out T-shirt and jeans. He was thin and pale, even more so than Anna, and had grey bags under his eyes.
He looked the same as in photos Michael had seen in his past life.
After all the small talk and shaking hands, the trio occupied an empty classroom.
"I apologize for meeting you here, gentlemen. I'm very happy we can talk a day before my announcement tomorrow because there's something I need done with your help, Mr. Almond."
"First things first, Mr. North," the lawyer raised his hands, "As you know, I cannot practice in Europe. That means, anything you say now will not be covered by the attorney-client privilege. If that's fine with you, then please continue."
Michael tapped the side of his head as if remembering something, "Right! I asked my associate…"
There was a knock on the door.
"Open!"
Alex entered, carrying a stack of documents, and placed them on the table. He gave a short nod to Michael and left, wondering why the principal himself had asked him to deliver the papers. Principal Graves couldn't be working for Michael too, right?!
"This comes personally from the prime minister," the cultivator explained, "who trusts in your abilities, Mr. Almond. With the documents here, you'll be able to start work in Switzerland without a hitch. The other attorneys at your firm will have to pass an exam first, centered on differences between American and Swiss law."
On the side, Buddy was watching his old friend with interest. The way he squinted his eyes when reading always made Buddy giggle.
"Incredible!" Gregory's hands trembled, and he almost dropped some papers he held on the floor. "A direct contract with the government! If I agree to move, my firm even gets tax cuts!"
"That's right. What do you say?"
The lawyer stilled for a second, then gave Michael a dollar, "Give it back to me."
The teenager received the banknote, then pocketed it and grinned.
"What?" Buddy's eyes jumped from one person to another.
Suddenly, Gregory grabbed his own stomach and laughed, his wide nostrils flaring, "I'm sorry, it's my favorite thing to do! I saw it in a movie once! You're right, I'm already your attorney, there's no need for money. We can talk about your legal matters freely now if you don't mind Buddy overhearing."
"Not at all. Tomorrow I'll announce that I'm opening two new companies. They will be called North Lingua and North Medical. Buddy," he turned to the biologist, "you will temporarily become the president of North Medical. Its first product will be the cancer medication you and your team will develop here at EIS."
"I- Me? A team?" the man shot up. His feet moved in a weird dance, betraying his nerves. "I've never led a team!"
"I'm sure you'll do just fine. Mr. Almond, with the government's help, I've prepared the necessary documents to set up the companies under one corporate umbrella, but I need a good lawyer to go over them again. Also, I have two friends that need to be emancipated in the near future. Perhaps your attorneys could use this as an easy case to gain some confidence?"
The lawyer nodded while still signing the contract Alex had brought, "Will do, sir! And please, call me Greg."
They barely had time to go into detail when somebody knocked on the door again, with more urgency than before.
"Open!" Michael exclaimed.
Mark Jones stumbled inside. Sweat glistened on his dark skin as his eyes locked on the teenager, "Michael! I was hoping I'd find you here! The principal told me you took a week off school!!"
"Woah, don't shout! What's wrong?" Michael took a step back, unused to the soft-spoken history teacher raising his voice.
"It's my… my son. I think he's an Alter. I need your help!"
"Huh, it's this. Sure, but what's the rush?"
The black man stood there, muddle-headed, with his mouth half open. He got so worked up, he had trouble understanding Michael's nonchalance.
"My son is one month old!"
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BlackInk
BlackInk Bam! Youngest Alter ever?
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