Two doors, p.1
Two Doors, page 1
part #1 of Modern Prophets Series
Book One of the Modern Prophet Series
Two Doors
Copyright © 2014 by Karl J. Morgan
Kindle Edition
Cover and text design: Miko Radcliffe
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Author Profile
Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Other Books by Karl J. Morgan
About the Author
Dedication
Dedicated with love to Sadie Audrey
This book is dedicated to the newest member of our family Sadie Audrey, the infant child of my beautiful daughter Annette and her husband Tim. I try to write stories that are life-affirming, with the good guys ending up on top, and a sincere belief that God is watching over us and helping us to attain our dreams. Little Sadie is a constant reminder and even embodiment of those things. Every person was once like her, looking at the world with wonder and joyous for the opportunity to play for a time in this incredible reality we have been given. I would like to think that my heroes, Dave Brewster, Bill Marshall, and now Peter Smith, feel the same way, humbled by their special talents and inspired to go forward and make the most out of life.
Thank you Sadie for reminding me of the incredible gifts we have been given: this world, the human race, and the infinite possibilities awaiting us all. As I like to say in each book, the universe is a much more magical and mysterious place than any of us can imagine. I look forward to growing with you and discovering the magic that lies ahead.
Chapter 1
Peter Smith hated the subway. He never had to deal with crowds back home in Iowa. Now he was here in the Big Apple. His dad told him the big money was here, but so far it was a big headache. He was staying with his cousin in Westchester County. Alice and her husband were nice enough, but the small room they gave him was almost as claustrophobic as this packed subway car. Pete was looking for a room to rent in Manhattan, near the office where he was to start as an accountant in one week. He knew taking the train both ways would wear him out, and he was hoping against hope to find something he could afford. His cousin’s house was only a short-term solution anyway, since Alice was already six months pregnant.
Today was even worse than the previous days when he made this journey into the city. Even though the city tried to keep the cars as clean as possible, there was no way to control the people riding in them. Today someone close by was ripe. He tried to ignore the smell by turning his head away, but the bodies were so tight he couldn’t move. He looked to his right and saw another man grimacing at the smell, which made Pete smile. The man smiled back and waved his hand in front of his face and rolled his eyes. He felt something sharp and looked down to see the blade of a knife poking into his shirt. He looked at the man in front of him who was grinning menacingly at him, motioning Pete to give him his cash. This was the stinky man, he was certain, and now he was being robbed in a car full of disengaged witnesses. He stared at the man’s dark-brown teeth and felt his horrible breath on his face. He slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew a small wad of cash to hand over. When he looked at the man again, he could see he was staring over Pete’s right shoulder with a look of abject terror on his face. The knife dropped out of his hand and the robber clutched at his chest with both hands and fell to the floor. Several women nearby screamed. Another man in a dark suit pushed through the crowd and kneeled near the robber saying, “Back up! I’m a doctor.”
Pete felt a hand on his right shoulder pulling him back. He turned to see the same man smiling at him. “Come on, buddy, give the doctor some room,” he said. The subway car entered the station and slowed to a stop. When the doors opened, one of the riders shouted for the police. The stranger led Pete out of the car onto the platform, away from the action. “That was really something. What happened there?”
“I don’t know. I was just standing there smelling that guy when he put a knife to my ribs,” Pete replied. Several more police officers arrived and removed the robber from the car. The doctor began to give CPR to the crook while the officers pushed back the crowd. “Then he got a strange look on his face and collapsed to the ground. Maybe I should tell the cops about the knife.”
“Did he cut you?” the man asked, looking down at Pete’s body.
“No, I don’t think so,” he replied.
“Well, it’s up to you, but I think that guy has enough problems already,” the man said, pointing at the group of officers. One of the police had removed his jacket and placed it over the dead man’s face. “I’m getting out of here. Was this your stop?”
“I think so,” Pete replied, removing a piece of paper from his pocket and showing it to the other. “I’m looking for this address. I’m trying to rent a room there.”
“That’s funny, pal,” he replied. “That’s my address. You must be Peter Smith.” He offered his hand to Pete, who shook it weakly. “I’m Gabe Prospect. Come with me, and I’ll make us some coffee. You look like you’re going into shock or something.” The men left the subway station and walked along the busy sidewalk for two blocks before Gabe approached a glass-encased high-rise and signaled Pete to follow.
The doorman smiled and opened the door, saying, “Good morning, Mr. Prospect. How are you today, sir?”
“I’m good, Sam. How are Shirley and the kids?” Gabe asked.
“Just fine, sir, and thank you for asking,” the doorman replied and quickly closed the door behind them.
“Hey, Bob!” Gabe shouted to another man behind a large marble desk.
“Gabe, it’s good to see you sir,” Bob replied. “What’s happening with your cousin, Mike? We haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Oh you know, family business stuff,” Gabe answered. “Have a good one.” Gabe pushed a button and the elevator doors opened. When they were inside, he typed a code into a keypad and pushed the button for the penthouse level.”
“I really appreciate the offer of coffee, Gabe, but I can already see this place is out of my range,” Pete said. “Maybe I’ll just go to the next place on my list.”
“Nonsense, Pete,” he replied. “I'm not looking to make a lot of money here.” He leaned in and said, “My family owns this whole building and lots more. If you can afford to refill my liquor cabinet, I’m a happy guy. Anyway, after what we’ve been through with the smelly guy dying right in front of us, at least you can have a cup of coffee with me.”
When the doors opened, the skyline of Manhattan stretched out in front of them. The main room was massive, with glass all around. Several sitting areas were spread around the room. There were two fireplaces in the room and one giant flat-screen TV. Gabe led Pete through the room and into the large kitchen. He pointed to a table for Pete to sit and then walked out of the room. Pete had never seen such a place. It was right out of the movies about the rich and their extravagant life styles. The poor bastard in the subway would have had a better payday if he had picked on Gabe. All the appliances were top of the line and copper pans were hung from a large rack on the ceiling. There was even a small fireplace in this room, to offer warmth during a quick kitchen breakfast. Pete was not in Iowa anymore.
Gabe returned with a middle-aged woman who came over and introduced herself as Maria, the housekeeper. She went to make coffee while Gabe sat across from Pete at the small table. “Maria’s the best!” Gabe began. “Are you hungry, Pete? She makes the most amazing chilaquiles. I haven’t eaten yet, how about you?”
“I guess I could eat something, but I don’t want to be any trouble,” he replied.
“Great! I don’t like eating alone. Maria, dos chilaquiles verdes, por favor.” She smiled and nodded. “While we’re waiting, let’s get down to it. How does five hundred dollars a month sound?”
Pete was stunned. “Gabe, you could get five times that amount easily. I mean, look at this place: it’s amazing!”
“Yeah, I know, but you seem to be a down-to-earth kind of guy to me,” Gabe replied. “I already told you I don’t need the money anyway. After the incident on the subway, I can see you’re having some issues and where you live shouldn’t be one of them.”
“I still feel like there has to be a catch in here somewhere,” Pete said. “If you don’t need the money, then why get a roommate anyway? You could probably have parties here all the time.”
“Unfortunately, it’s the family that has the money, Pete,” Gabe noted. “I can live here free, with food and Maria to help out. But, then there’s my cousin.”
“Ah, the catch.”
“No, not at all. Mike is a great guy and I love him like a brother, but he is a bit of a stick in the mud. Anytime I get out of line or have too much fun, he’s on the phone to his dad or my granddad about it,” he answered. “His side of the family is a bit prudish, if you know what I mean.”
“But what has that got to do with me?” Pete replied.
“First of all, Mike doesn’t live here all the time,” Gabe said. “He stays here when he is in town or when Granddad thinks I’m getting out of line. If I have a normal roommate like you, maybe he’ll stay away more. If the family thinks I’ve matured, then they might stop grilling me on everything.”
“What about your father?” Pete asked. “Is he still living?”
“Dad? Of course, but my whole side of the family is the black sheep. Everyone looks down on us because we aren’t the saintly bunch of do-gooders they are. You have no idea how hard it is for a whole family to work together. Everyone is constantly in everyone else’s business, poking around,” Gabe replied.
“What kind of business is your family in?” Pete asked.
“That’s a bit complicated, too,” Gabe replied. “Let’s just call it a conglomerate. Each part of the family is involved in different parts of the business, with Granddad sitting at the top. He is really the only one who can see it as one whole.”
Maria set cups of coffee on the table along with cream and sugar. Then she returned with two plates brimming with food. The chilaquiles were covered with cheese, eggs, and sauce. She patted Gabe on the cheek and left the room with her own plate of food. Gabe immediately began to shovel the food into his face. “Man, that’s good! This is my favorite breakfast. Go on, jump in there, roommate.”
Pete tasted the fried tortilla strips and rich sauce with cheese and sour cream. “Wow! This is fantastic. I’ve never had this before. But I don’t think I’ve decided yet about this place.”
Gabe laughed. “Okay, man. Look around! If I turn out to be some kind of freak, you can leave any time you want. But remember Maria is part of the package. She’ll keep doing the cooking and cleaning. Try it for a month. If you don’t like it, I’m sure you can find some dark, stinky hole nearby for twice the price.”
“You’ve got a point,” Pete replied. “But I should tell you about my one problem.”
Gabe dropped his fork and looked at the other man. “You’re the freak, right?”
Pete laughed. “No, I’m no freak. In fact, I’m probably more like your cousin in that regard. I just have a bit of a sleeping disorder.”
“You’re not going to walk off the balcony and splatter onto the sidewalk, are you?” Gabe asked.
“No, nothing like that.” He looked both ways to make sure they were alone. “It’s just that I tend to have lots of bad dreams. My parents tell me that I talk in my sleep and often wake up screaming. To make things worse, I usually remember each dream for hours afterward.”
Gabe smiled and said, “No worries. Our sound proofing is excellent here and the rooms are quite separate, so I don’t think it’s a problem. I guess we’ll both try it for a month and see if we can still stand one another after that, okay?”
Pete extended his arm to shake the other’s hand. “That’s a deal, roomy.”
“Great! Welcome to my humble abode,” Gabe replied. “I guess you’ll have to go get your stuff. After we eat, I’ll go down to the lobby with you and get you set up with Bob. He can get you a key and pass-code for the elevator. You can’t get to this level without one. Do you have a lot of stuff?”
“No, not really. I’ve been living with my cousin and her family. Back in Iowa, I was still at my folks’ house. I just have a bunch of clothes, some books, and my laptop. It might take a couple trips, but it’s no problem,” Pete replied.
“Well, you might consider a cab for the return trip. Sam and Bob can help with your stuff. That way you can get it done in one trip if you like.”
“Thanks. That’s a great idea. When do I get to see the room?” Pete asked.
“Just eat your breakfast, Pete. We’ll check that out before we head downstairs,” Gabe answered.
Chapter 2
Gabe Prospect sat hunched over his laptop. He was reviewing the latest quarterly results from the family business. Every few minutes he took a sip of soda and stretched to relieve the tension in his shoulders. Pete had been impressed by the room, which was quite large and included its own bathroom and view of the city. He had left two hours ago to collect his personal effects, and so Gabe was doing his bit to earn the allowance the family provided. He was a magician at seeing patterns in the numbers so the family could discover trends in time to adjust their strategies. His phone rang and he picked up the receiver, saying, “It’s Gabe.”
“Hello, Gabriel, it’s your father,” said the voice on the phone.
“Hey Dad, what’s up?” he replied.
“Your grandfather has been giving me crap all day about the subway incident. What did you do?” his father asked.
“I swear I didn’t do anything, Dad. The scumbag just had a heart attack. I can’t be held responsible for that. People die all the time!” Gabe replied.
His father sighed. “Yes, I know you’re right. But as you know, your granddad is always suspicious when one of us is around when it happens. It did seem oddly coincidental though. That piece of shit jeopardized our plans. If it had been me, I might have encouraged him to have an arrest.”
“I already said I didn’t do anything like that,” Gabe protested. “I’m not you, remember?”
“I keep telling your grandfather that, but you know how he is, son. Don’t worry about it, Gabriel. I believe you. Unfortunately, it probably means Michael will come by for a while to keep an eye on you,” he said.
“Great, just what I need,” Gabe sighed. “That’s okay. Now that we have a new roommate, it’s probably best that Mike gets to know him too. This whole situation is very strange. If Mike can help me figure it out, that’s a good thing. Hey, I’ve got an idea that will shake everyone up. After this call, I’m going to call Mike and ask him to come here for a while. What do you think about that?”
His father laughed. “That’s my boy, throwing a curve they’d never expect. I’ve got your granddad on the other line, so I’ll have to let you go. I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Dad,” Gabe said as the line was cut off. He dialed another number and said, “Mike, what’s happening?”
“Gabriel, this is a surprise,” his cousin said.
“I got that new roommate today and was wondering if you’d like to stay here a few days and help me with him,” he replied.
“Wow! I’m surprised. You’re asking me for help? This is a first of some kind, isn’t it?” his cousin laughed.
“Maybe,” Gabe laughed. “But seriously, I could use your help on this.”
“Say no more, cousin,” Mike replied. “I’ll be there later this evening. I’ve got a ton of stuff to do with the uncles, as you can imagine. When I’m finished, I’ll head over there.”
“Perfect!” Gabe replied. “I look forward to seeing you tonight.”
“I’ll see you then. And Gabriel, thanks for the invitation,” Mike said and then hung up the phone.
Gabe laughed and said, “Well, I guess my stock just went up in this family!” He turned back to his computer. There was a new trend in the Middle East data that no one else had seen yet.
§
Pete was able to squeeze all of his belongings into the taxi cab. He hugged Alice and promised to call her soon. She had been surprised by the address of the new room in Manhattan. Somehow, it seemed too good to be true. She had written down the phone number and promised herself to check out this Gabriel Prospect on the internet as soon as her cousin left. Pete kissed her on the cheek and climbed into the front seat of the cab, as the trunk and rear seat were chocked full of his stuff. The car pulled away and headed for the nearest expressway into the city.
After the car turned the first corner, Alice turned and walked back into her small home and went to her computer. First she searched for Gabriel Prospect and found almost nothing. There was an article mentioning a Gabe Prospect as a member of the family running The Prospect Enterprise, a massive, but shadowy business that seemed to reach into many different industries and global markets. As a private company, there were no financial statements, but she did find a listing of properties owned by the company, which included the address her cousin had given her. It also mentioned another member of the family named Michael. He was all over the net. She found images of him at dozens of charitable events, where his family was a major contributor. At least the family did not seem to be a criminal enterprise from the first look.
