“And best case scenario is?” Ken asked.

“Alexander does not press the button, you are able to speak to him for as long as you like, and I will make modifications to the underside of Alexander’s bedroom. Once the trap door is completed, you will be able to deliver whatever necessary supplies to Alexander for his use and concealment. I will also leave behind a non-activated Smartphone that I’ve already connected to the lodge’s WiFi, using a masked IP address. I doubt that Straus would ever notice the device on his network, but, as a precaution, it won’t be registered as an active device.”

“Will it receive and send text messages?” Ken asked, pleased with how well the final steps of the plan were falling together.

“No. No text messages and no phone calls.  Only email and only when it’s connected to WiFi.  I’ve created a Gmail account for Alexander and have already pushed that email address to your contact list. He is listed as ‘AB Lodge.’”

“Assuming Alexander is willing to cooperate, how long do you suggest we wait until execution?” Ken said.

“No less than five weeks. I need that long to set up dummy bank accounts and off-shore accounts to quietly transfer whatever money you are able to secure from Straus and the others.”

“Five weeks will give me enough time to get to know my heartless son as well as giving you enough time to calculate the net worth of all the players.”

“Initial investigations estimate the total money in play to be over ten million.”

“Half of that sounds like a fair amount for my silence.”

“As long as Alexander plays nicely, and the doctors agree to pay you off rather than face public exposure, I think five million is a very fair amount.”

“What have you found out about Straus and his access to, how should I say, ‘nefarious people?’”

“Straus is not an idiot. Seems like he’s been planning something similar to our plan for the last few years. He has access to some muscle in Chicago through his contact here in Upstate New York. Not sure what his plans are exactly, but the files I pulled from his computer show an interest in extortion. I should also tell you, Mr. O’Connell, that part of Straus’s notes did include how to dispose of Alexander’s body.”

“And we need to have the same idea in place. What was Straus’s plan?”

“Sketchy at best. Seems Alexander is highly sensitive to electricity. Straus wrote about subduing Alexander with a stun gun, then dropping his body into Piseco Lake with enough weight so that he never floats to the surface.”

“Good enough of a plan for me,” Ken said. “I always believed that the best business plans are either stolen or borrowed from someone else. Make sure we have whatever we need when the time comes to dispose of Alexander.”

“Can I assume that you have decided that killing him is really your best option?”

“If you are thinking that killing my son is a horrible idea,” Ken replied, “then either I made a poor choice in hiring you or you have underestimated my resolve.”

The following Tuesday, Ken and his team of two hired “specialists” made easy entry into the lodge. As planned, the locking mechanism securing the door leading to a hallway was picked open, and the code stolen from the network breach released the latch. Once in the hallway, Ken turned to one member of his team and instructed them to “standby.”

“I want to have this conversation alone. You stay here just outside this door. If I need help, I’ll call for you. If Alexander is agreeable, I’ll give you a sign to proceed. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Ken, usually confident in his approaches to all things, found his steps measured and deliberate as he approached to heavy steel door on the right hand side of the hallway. The hallway was dimly lit and ran the thirty foot length of Alexander’s suite of rooms.

When he reached the door, Ken saw a winch and pulley system next to the door. He then noticed a small, thick glass window pane was cut into the steel door. A filtered light radiated through the window pane.

Ken paused before positioning himself where he could see through the window and into the suite. He drew a deep breath, checked over his shoulder to be certain his per diem employee was where he was instructed to be, then took two steps and faced the steel door.

“An unexpected and unknown visitor,” Alexander said. “How very unusual.”

“Alexander,” Ken said, his voice shaky with nerves, “my name is Kenneth O’Connell. I believe that I am your father.”

Alexander was standing in his reading room, as if he fully expected someone to grace his doorstep. Though the room was dimly lit, his pale, gray skin and pale blue eyes were easy for Ken to see.

Ken could see a change in Alexander’s eyes. A longing mixed with anger and fear. Alexander stepped closer to the door, his smooth, unblemished skin now no more than six inches from the window pane.

“I don’t see the resemblance,” he said, his body held perfectly still, and then he smiled.

It was the smile that charged Ken’s soul with terror. Toothless and vacant of any color. There was no laugh to accompany Alexander’s smile, but somehow, Ken felt that the smile was genuine.

“A joke,” Alexander said, sensing his father’s discomfort. “I am well aware of my appearance and how unsettling I make others. I must say, however, that I do see that we share a common hairline.”

Ken breathed deeply and ran his hand over his balding head.

“Looks like I haven’t given you any good genes,” he said.

“But I have to believe,” Alexander said, moving even closer to the window pane, “that your visit is a gift and that I am to expect additional benefits.”

“Alexander,” Ken continued, “I know what they’ve done to you, and I am going to make them pay. I came here to see if you would be willing to participate in a little plan I’ve been working on for the last several weeks.”

“Does this plan of yours involve me remaining in this comfortable prison?”

“No. It includes you being free and, hopefully, becoming part of my family.”

“You plan on making me a part of a family that I was born into?”

“Alexander, you have to understand that my wife and I had no idea what those doctors in Chicago did.”

“I do understand. And I know that you and Mom had absolutely no involvement or knowledge. My question was more geared to the fact that despite you wanting to include me in your family, you’ve yet to unlock this door.”

“I’ve read plenty of Straus’s reports about you, Alexander. They suggest that you may be very dangerous. I’m taking precautions which, if the roles were reversed, I’m certain you would take as well.”