Page 80 of Just My Luck

Lincoln hid his surprise. He’d intended to offer a deal, but Tanaka was beating him to the punch.

Tanaka leaned forward. “Your CHUM, as you call it, is remarkable. Its full potential is unknown. I want to develop it. You also want to develop it.”

“Which puts us at odds,” Lincoln pointed out. “I know what you want. You want to weaponize and control it, don’t you?”

“You are partly correct,” Tanaka agreed. “In my research to replicate your CHUM, my people created something unexpected. A weapon that could give me power beyond what I’ve dreamed of, beyond anything that exists. This weapon would not cause collateral damage such as radiation. It can be used surgically or expansively. Everyone will come to me wanting to purchase it. Nations, militias, arms dealers. I will become the world’s wealthiest man.”

Lincoln inhaled a slow breath, a technique that always helped his facial muscles stay relaxed. Things were clicking into place now. “But you need the CHUM to amplify its power. That’s why you’ve been after it so hard. Without the CHUM, you’ll never be able to maximize your profits.”

“Yes.” Tanaka nodded. “This is why I brought you here.”

Lincoln showed no reaction. If Tanaka wanted him to hand over the CHUM, he’d be disappointed. His sample was still missing. Higher Ground hadn’t yet produced another. Did Tanaka not know any of that?

“So let’s hear it. What do you have in mind?” Lincoln asked.

“I’ve been watching you amass your fortune. I see myself in you. You’ve invested brilliantly. You think of the future, you find small gems that others overlook. You’re innovative and you’re unique. No AI could replicate what you do.”

“I’ve never invested in AI,” Lincoln pointed out. He wasn’t sure where Tanaka was going with this, but he had a bad feeling about it.

“I am aware. Instead, you’ve focused on energy. When your board voted you out, you negotiated ownership of one company only. Higher Ground. My spies tell me that you have made no further progress after the loss of your sample. But I am certain it will happen. If you accept my offer, I will require access to all of Higher Ground’s research. Files, blueprints, lab results, research notes. Everything.”

He might as well hand over his heart and soul. “And what do I gain from this?”

“What else? Wealth. Incredible wealth. We will share the profits, with terms to be negotiated. The CHUM and my weapon work together, and so will we. As I have said, we are on the same side. I cannot count on my own sons. They are…inadequate. What is that saying, if you can’t beat them, join them? I can’t beat you. You can’t beat me. So we join.”

Lincoln wanted to laugh at the irony. All his life, he’d ached for his father to bring him into the family fold. He never had because it would have alienated his “real” family, his wife and children. He’d always kept Lincoln far away from them, even during Lincoln’s few visits to Korea.

Now, here was his father’s biggest rival inviting Lincoln to join him. “Are you doing this to get back at my father?”

“I have many reasons. The number one reason is that it makes sense.” Tanaka leaned forward and delicately speared a piece of pineapple into his mouth. When he was done chewing, he said, “The world works best when men like you and I maintain control. I will handle the weapon, you the energy. You will have free rein to do whatever you wish with it—as long as we keep it proprietary. We will consolidate control of this technology for both of our benefit. We will prevent it from degenerating into chaos, as is inevitable if it’s available to all.”

Tanaka must have seen the Free Energy For All memes too. Did he know about the Crystal Collective already? Did he consider it a threat? If so, his actions made even more sense. Maybe Tanaka had once considered Lincoln his adversary, but there was an even more threatening enemy out there—the rest of the world. Billionaires would always naturally gravitate toward other billionaires. How else would they stay billionaires except by keeping everyone else out?

And shouldn’t he be saying “we” instead of “they”? Wasn’t he just like Tanaka? Just like his father? They were rivals and enemies, but weren’t they, underneath their mutual hostility, the same?

Visions danced before him—developing the CHUM, the sensational profit margins he’d achieve, the glowing profiles that would be written…

…the devastation that might ensue if Tanaka got his weapon to work…

The answer was clear. Lincoln nodded and got to his feet. “I have some arrangements to make. I’ll be in touch.”

“Do we have a deal? I must hear your answer before I permit you to leave.”

“Yes. I will sign over Higher Ground to you. You will leave Rory Baker and the Morrissey family alone. Forever. We’ll hammer out the details of exactly how we’ll work together at a future point.”

Tanaka stood up, leaning on his cane, and extended his hand. He bowed as they shook. Lincoln returned the gesture. He’d spoken carefully, and intended to live up to every word. Even during a negotiation with a crime lord, it was important to keep your word.

The guards stepped aside so he could leave the balcony. One of them followed him across the spacious suite and out the door. He trotted down the stairs to the ground floor level, catching sight of Nathan Tanaka already drinking at the bar despite it not being even noon yet.

How ironic that Tanaka’s power and money could buy everything except a worthy blood heir. He was hoping to recruit Lincoln to fill that gap—and to stick it to his oldest enemy, perhaps. He probably had a few other agendas in there, too.

Lincoln managed to lose the guard Tanaka had assigned to follow him easily enough. All it took was sunglasses, a swim cap, and a pair of swimming trunks purchased at the resort’s gift shop. After wandering down to the beach, he blended into the crowds of sunbathers and families. When the guard was turned away from him, hand shading his eyes to search the other end of the beach, Lincoln slipped a surfer a hundred dollar bill so he could borrow his surfboard.

He mimicked the other surfers’ movements and paddled out past the breaking waves. He sat astride the board, gripping it with his thighs, while he watched Tanaka’s guard search up and down the beach. Finally he gave in and headed back to the resort.

“Mahalo, Zara,” he murmured. He could feel her vibrant, laughing presence out here on the bobbing waves. Despite all the slings and arrows that had come her way, she still looked at the world and saw a place full of joy and adventure.

That was priceless.