Severance

The call finally came. Ned was casual about it. "Can you cruise by for a sec? We need to talk about this whole merger thing."

Morgan already knew that being part of the acquired company meant that his department would be decimated. Morgan's department was the current poster child for redundancy. As an ace analyst Morgan felt confident the new company would want to keep him around. Yet he longed for the possibility of receiving a lucrative severance package about which he had heard many of his colleagues in similar situations rave.

"How's it going, Morgan?"

"Um. Not totally sure yet. It could go either way I guess."

"Well, to get right into it, you're actually in a really good spot right now. I've been given the authority to hand-pick the people I want to stay. And, of course, you're number one on my keeper list."

"Well, I guess I'm doing all right then."

"You'd ultimately have to prove yourself to the new regime, but I don't think that will problem for you. You got my vote."

"Excellent."

"I also wanted to throw something out there for you if you're interested. I hate to do this, but I'm required by the new regime to make this offer to all of our people. You see, a lot of what we do, they already do. And it's kind of pointless to have two people performing the same job. They bought us, and they want to keep their people. With the expanded market, of course, they're going to need some bodies-- but only a few. And that's why I want you to stick around. But I'm required to give you the opportunity to take their deal if you decide to leave voluntarily."

"So what's the deal?"

"Six month's salary. If you decide to stick around, and they let you go, it's only three month's."

"Fuck yeah! I'll take the deal."

"Damn it. I knew you'd take the deal. I begged those guys, 'Just let me keep a few. Do I have to tell them all about the deal?' They're stupid for letting good people go."

"Well, tell 'em thanks for me. What about you?"

"I don't know. They haven't offered me a deal yet. Well, we're going to get a big going-away party together in couple weeks, so don't run off too quick."

The remainder of the conversation between Ned and Morgan consisted of small talk. Ned excelled at small talk. Morgan couldn't wait to get on with the rest of his life.

Morgan had big ideas. And they came cascading in giant waves to him as he drove home. He always toyed with the idea of starting his own consulting firm, and now he could actually do something about it. He just had to get home. And then the bomb went off.

If felt like an earthquake or a giant gust of wind blowing from behind him. Morgan heard a thunder strike without a cloud in the sky. No, it was bigger than thunder. The bowel-jiggling rumble was unmistakable. When Morgan looked in his rear-view mirror, the horror overwhelmed him. From the downtown area he left minutes ago arose the largest and blackest plume of smoke he had seen that wasn't computer-generated or from an old newsreel. This was real. And his dreams that seemed so real a few seconds ago were just dreams.

Was it Al-Qaeda or some homegrown McVeigh-like motherfucker? Was it one of our own godfathers terrorizing his own people to force them into his "protective" arms? The blood spilled on September 11 and all the previous and subsequent wars were never enough to quench the thirst of those wanting or wanting to hold on to power. It didn't matter. Morgan just had to get home.