A Clean Slate

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
"Ugh... Damn, why do I stay up so late when I know I'll regret it later?" Mike said as he shut off the alarm and rolled off his futon.

Seven in the morning, not a time when he would usually wake up, but this day was different. He was offered at job a technology company, Future Tools, a company that had hopes of building the tools of tomorrow, today. He wanted to be there bright and early to meet and greet his new bosses. Going about his morning ritual of coffee and shuffling around his apartment he began to get ready. Mike was by no means a scientist, but and expert when it came to building anything. Which is why was offered the job at all. He finished his routine and went downstairs to his car, a pristine 1987 Buick Grand National. It wasn't built up to a ridiculous amount of power or any silly body mods, it was simply the turbo six cylinder. He loved it.

"You know baby, every time I see you I can't help but think that things are only gonna get better as long as I have you." Mike said.

And it was true, things were finally looking up for him. He got a new, great paying job and was nearly caught up on his bills. As he made his way down I-95 towards Vero Beach he hummed along to his Poets of The Fall playlist on his radio via his auxiliary cable to his phone. He made it there by quarter after eight. He was lucky there were no accidents this morning and made it there in a decent amount of time. He parked and got out and proceeded to walk up to the 40 story tall building. It never looked this intimidating from the highway but once you plant a five foot eight inch guy next to it, it gets a little intimidating. He was told to ask for a Mrs. Blanco at the lobby desk. The receptionist gave him the info he needed and sent him on his way. As he walked towards the elevator he noticed caution tape.

"...fuck me in the ass with a rusty wrench...", he muttered to no one.

He would need to use the stairs. Now that wouldn't be a problem if his destination wasn't on the 40th floor.

"Well, here I go... shiiiit."

This was gonna suck. To his surprise the flights were relatively shot and it only took him 10 minutes to get to the top.

He looked at the note he was given, it said room 40-25. As he approached the door to the room he heard two voices. One male the other female.

"Listen, Kristine, we haven't done enough testing or research or data gathering to attempt this!" The man who Mike would later find out to be Dr. Cord, snapped at who he assumed Mrs. Blanco was.

"No, you listen Eric! I'm giving you a new project to work on and you have 15 million dollars and less than two months to give me something to present! Now, I can always get someone new who can listen well." Mrs. Blanco retorted.

Eric had no reply and simply agreed and gave Mrs. Blanco a less than pleasant farewell. As he opened the door he was greeted by Mike's face.

"Uhh, hello. Is this Mrs. Blanco's office?" Mike questioned.

All he got back was a scoff and a nod as Eric shoved his way past Mike.

"Well someones got a stick in their ass." Mike thought as he watched Eric rush away.

His attention was the caught by a loud cough.

"Ahem, may I help you Mr...." Mrs. Blanco said.

"Lewis, Michael Lewis, but please, Mike is just fine." Mike finished. "I'm here to meet with you and talk about what I'll be doing with the rest of the build team."

"Oh yes, you're our new replacement, you have quite some skill I've heard" Blanco replied happily. "You'll be building whatever the higher up pay us to build. I don't have very much info past that."

"Okay? Well, that's not a problem, I'll build it if you pay me to. would I be able to get a tour of the work area to sort of get a feel for things?" Mike asked with not so well hidden enthusiasm.

The two made the way to basement level F where upon entering you could see rooms filled with unique equipment and plans for improvement. There was on room that didn't have a window and only a solid titanium door as it's entrance. The interior of the room was huge. This is where he would work with five other men. Upon looking t]at the racks on the wall he was like a kid in a candy shop with his dad's paycheck. Giddy with excitement he examined all the expertly crafted tools that would be at his disposal.

"I take it you like what you see?" Blanco asked

"Ohhhhhh yeeaahhhh. I could only dream of having these. I think were gonna get long just fine." Mike answered with an unwavering smile.

They continued to talk about what would be expected of him and how certain procedures were to be performed. After everything was said and done Mike was left to continue his day as he pleased. He walked out to his car and check his phone it was now one in the afternoon. Then he got an email from his bank saying there had been a deposit made to his account. Confused by this he check his account and noticed that $450 had been deposited by his new company.

"Holy shit, I make a hundred bucks an hour? Untaxted? Hell yeah!" Mike cheered. This was going be great.

This was only the start of things to come.