The thunderous sound of the helicopter roared over the sound of Steve's stereo. The tremors felt, even inside the safety of his car, reminded Steve of his current predicament. Homer wrote of such horrible events such as being stuck between a rock and a hard place, or succumbing to the deadly song of the siren, or even coming home to find that the hero's wife has taken on another suitor. The Odyssey was always his favorite piece of literature in high school; however, he never anticipated that he would have to endure his own brand of mythological torture. Steve waited for the helicopter to leave before putting his car in drive. His eyes followed the helicopter until it was no longer in sight, knowing that it carried the remnants of his past twenty years.
The dark skies of the night started to pale and take on color as Steve turned onto the freeway. Once on the road, Steve silenced his radio and returned to his thoughts. He had to regroup and prepare for what awaited him at St. Mary's Medical.
Amber is right. I do need closure. I need to find out why she betrayed me after twenty years. But I'll be damned if I'm going to take it easy on the bitch. A one night stand would be hard to overcome, but we could have done it. A one night stand in our marital bed: it would take a fucking miracle for me to forgive that, but miracles are known to happen from time to time. But a prolonged affair that included giving the asshole a blowjob when she denied such favors to me? Hell no! The bitch can go fuck herself.
A gentle turn in the road affected Steve's thoughts.
Who's going to take care of her, though? If she's left paralyzed from this accident, who's going to be there for her? She is, after all, the mother of your children. The boys are going to need support throughout this, too. You can't just scorch the Earth with her burnt carcass. C'mon, Steve, remember when you left the electronics store fifteen years ago in search of something better? You disrupted your family's life with the move. And for what? In another five years, you wound up coming back home, forcing yet another disruption in their life. But Jill stood by you then. Ok, she raised Caine a couple of times, but she stood by you. She didn't fully understand, but she was there for you.
Feeling the wind gust caused by a semi passing his little car, Steve rebutted his own thoughts.
Yea, but the move was for the betterment of my family. It's not like I chasing tail or did it simply because it's what I wanted to do. I did it because there was more money at the end of that rainbow. I sure as hell didn't cheat on my wife. I definitely had the opportunities, being surrounded by young nurses, but I didn't. I remembered my vows. Ok, I might not have been the best husband during that time. I might have been married to my job more than I was to my wife, but I did it for the money. The boys required braces or needed new equipment for their different sports they played in. Hell, she needed new clothes every year, or she needed a bigger house. I couldn't do that on a salary set in stone based on an Associate's degree. The change not only gave me a salary increase, but the shifting of organizations gave me a new perspective.
And she left me for a fucking forklift operator? How in the hell is that guy going to give her a better life? Ok, he might be twice my size, full of muscle, and apparently, hung like a fucking horse, but how does that matter? There is more to life than what happens between the sheets. Is he going to be there for her now that she can't fucking walk? Or even better yet; is he going to be there for her now that she can't feel a damn thing below the waist? Yea, that asshole is going to move on to the next piece of ass that he can find since she's dead to the world down there. Well, she made her bed so now she has to lie in it. It'll take the parting of the Red Sea for her to convince me otherwise.
The theme song to his favorite 80's time traveling movie interrupted his thoughts. His smart phone was a glow, indicating that someone was calling him. The caller ID did not have a picture associated to it, which meant it was not somebody in his contacts.
"Hello?"
"Heya Rooster!"
Steve rolled his eyes and responded with dread in his voice, "What do you want, Jimmy? I'm kind of busy."
Laughter could be heard in the background as Jimmy managed to maintain some composure, "Well, I just wanted to know if I could be next. I hear that your wife gives great head."
Jimmy and the chorus of male laughter on the other end of the phone did not even realize that Steve hung up on them. Steve pursed his lips together and said resolutely, "Fuck you, you fuck."
Between his thoughts and the humiliation, Steve steeled himself and shielded himself from the pain of his broken heart. A determined look materialized in his eye as he turned off the highway. The medical center was no longer his destination. His little car chugged in protest at the sudden change in direction and the change in speed, but Steve had been pushed past his limits. He forced his car to the envelope as well.
With phone in hand, Steve called Eric. Skipping with formalities, Steve questioned in a no-nonsense tone of voice, "Eric, do you still have those tools from your cyber defense competition?"
Eric's voice was filled with concern and suspicion, though the excitement of using the hacker tools in an unethical manner could not be missed either, "Sure, but why? Or do I want to know?"
"It will be best that you don't. Could you have them ready for me in about ten to fifteen minutes?" Steve paused for a moment as ideas continued to formulate in his head. "Oh, and we never had this conversation. This phone call is nothing more than me telling you that I won't be in today, and that you'll need to rebuild the central switch."
Eric did not hide his glee, "Right, boss. A thumb drive will be waiting for you in my mailbox. Don't do anything that I would do."
During his trek back to his hometown, the sun broke over the horizon and illuminated the countryside. The golden sun hung like a heavenly beacon to his destination, beckoning him to reach his true destination. All of his worries and problems were left behind at the point where he made his U-turn. The only thing that mattered now was the next step. It did not take long for him to acquire the tools necessary for his desired plan of retribution.
With the thumb drive in hand, Steve punched in the address of Christopher Whitman to his smart phone's GPS application. The computerized voice of the phone's application reminded him of one of his favorite sci-fi television series, which brought a smile to his face.
Engage
, he thought to himself as he started driving to the new coordinates.
Though Steve tried to remain stoic as he drove to where the computerized voice directed him, but the egresses of the run down trailer park conjured up hurtful images.
She would rather fuck some guy who can barely afford to live in an aluminum box than be with me? Hell, that fucking mustang of his is probably worth more than this entire park.
He tilted his head to one side as his lips curled with a sinister look.
That asshole was probably too cheap to pay for full coverage. His display of driving skills probably meant the end to his muscle car.
As the computerized voice indicated that he was arriving at his destination, the smart phone flashed the presence of Wi-Fi networks in the area. Not a single wireless network had a padlock symbol by them, which meant that they were not encrypted. Steve shook his head as he pulled into an abandoned trailer's parking area. He looked up to the ceiling of his car as he thought to himself,
