The Manifest

Chapter 48

     It had been a very satisfying day for Norsberg. Despite his protests, his broker was able to complete the task of liquidating every asset he had on the market that wasn't associated with his own company by the end of the bell today. The shares to his company were another matter all together. Because he was a senior shareholder and founder of the company, he had to sell them off through legal means to prevent people from panicking and assuming something was wrong with the company. It was all right to him, the money would still be available and ready to go in time for his big announcement. He had made so many plans, and regardless of how Edgar's day went he would have something to work with and would do whatever it took to get his daughter back. He wanted to hold her at least one last time, apologize for being a bitter old fart and return her to the family that blamed him for the longest time for her disappearance. It was time for him to make up to his family the years he neglected them, working too hard to make money and not enough time to build the bond that most families share and enjoy with one another. It was his obsession with work that caused his family to break apart. While many people claim that they'd be willing to give it all up to get their family back, he was willing to prove it. By selling everything off, he was ready to start the largest manhunt on the planet with the largest reward that not even the most loyal worker would think about before turning down. With so many people working for this secret organization, there had to be one greedy prick who'd like to retire and take the money and run. He knew greed was a great motivator. Even if by some miracle the workers were able to resist, bounty hunters so vicious that they make Devon look like a boy scout would come out of the wood works and make life a living hell for whoever was holding these people. It was however something that was going to expose him to the enemy. No one can liquidate this many assets and not raise any red flags.

     Odds are those who intended to keep Edgar from knowing the truth will likely put two and two together and figure out who was financing all this from the very beginning. He knew this, and made plans in case he didn't make it to the end of the journey. He wanted to make sure that Edgar and his friends had the means to carry out the full plan he had set out from the start. Even from his grave, he had ever intention of making Edgar earn every penny he had given and planned to give him. He contacted his lawyers and made the necessary transfers and what not to prepare for the worst. He had never met the young man Edgar had hired, but Jerome was beginning to have an effect on him as well as paranoia began to creep into his mind like an unwanted visitor. Still he worked and made calls to set things up. Since he was in Washington personally, it didn't take much arm twisting to get them to agree to meet up with him. Regardless of what happened to Edgar that night, he was going to go ahead with his plan just in case he himself was captured and never seen again. He trusted Edgar to take the correct precautions but again was beginning to worry a lot ever since the fire that caused Mr. Tucker and his men to perish. He felt bad about that. As the person who hired him and his people to put them on the front line, Norsberg took it upon himself to take care of the families who lost ones they loved in his quest to find the truth. He made sure Edgar gave Mr. Tucker's cut of the money to the families to get by, and through Dryden Industries a massive college trust fund was made for each child who lost a parent. They were well taken care of and while it would not make everything better, it was an effort to minimize suffering. Nothing was ever going to make it all go away, not all the money in the world could do that. He knew that all too well.

     It was getting late, and he knew that regardless of what happened with the exchange, he was going to need his sleep and get the rest he needed to carry out what he had planned. Rest was important, especially to a man his age and in his condition. The doctors had been worried about his health over the last few months, so it was one of many reasons why parting with his wealth was so easily. It's not like he was going to be able to take it with him wherever he was going to after this life. He picked up the phone and tapped a few numbers.

     "This is Nigel Norsberg," he said into the receiver, "Wake me up around six am for breakfast. Then we'll need a car around seven."

     "Understood, Sir Norsberg." the servant responded from the other room, "Good night and sleep well."

     "Thank you." Norsberg replied as he hung up the phone. He wheeled his way over to the bed and slowly heaved himself in with a decent huff.

     He was tempted to read something, but resisted and laid down his head and turned off the lights a few moments later. There was so much racing through his mind that it was hard for him to get to sleep. He was aware this might be a problem and he took something to help him nod off. There was so much to think about and so much to do, but it was time to rest. And rest he did. Hours after falling asleep, Sir Norsberg's quest for the truth came to an end. The health concerns his doctor's had been warning him about had finally caught up with the passionate old fart as his heart had finally tossed in the towel. He passed away in his sleep very peacefully and wasn't discovered until his early morning wake up call.