Blur

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The iron gates of the mansion stood closed before him.  It had taken him a full day of travelling to get to this point.  Several bus rides followed by three separate cab rides had brought him to the home of the stars, Beverly Hill California.  The cab behind him honked once as it pulled away but Mac didn’t even give it a friendly wave.  The house before him had every ounce of his attention.  The wall that separated him from the estate rose up out of the hillside was twenty feet high and made of solid concrete.  The iron barred gate before him gave him a glimpse of the grounds and a tree lined driveway leading up to the ginormous house. 

Mac surveyed the house and the wall with interest as he strolled up to the gate’s intercom.  Even the intercom looked expensive.  The phone in his pocket chirped. 

“Put your thumb on the scanner,” Ghost told him.  “You will only need to do this once.  Biometrics will be taken once you are inside.  The estate is entirely automated and will be keyed to specifically to you.

“Who lives here?”  Mac asked slightly awed by the house.

“You do.”

“Just me?” Mac said in disbelief.

“For now,” Ghost added with a quick text.

Mac put his hand on the intercom box and a scanner lit up briefly before the gates opened up.  As the gates parted, a strange white golf cart pulled up.  It seemed to be an ordinary golf cart with one big glaring difference.  No one was driving it.

The phone in Mac’s hand buzzed with a new message.  “As I said, this property is entirely automated.  Everything is accomplished via drone or autonomous robots.  With this phone you can activate numerous household devices, cameras and equipment.  I will instruct you on everything after your tour.”

“Who owns all of this?”  Mac said, thinking of how much it would cost him just in property taxes alone.

“You do, the transaction was completed this morning.   Once we made our agreement.”  Ghost told him.

“How the hell can I afford this?  Won’t somebody figure out this whole sham?” 

“No one will ever question your finances.  Your eBooks have been selling extremely well on Amazon as of late.  I would dare to say they will continue to do so as your writing craft improves.”

“EBooks?  Amazon?”  Questioned Mac.

“You are now a highly successful author, I have arranged it all including several more books due out in regular monthly instalments.”

Mac looked down at his phone and then up at the mansion.  It was all his.  There was more money in this place then he or his entire family had ever seen.  It was ashamed that there was no one left to share in the fortune.  Such extravagance was wasted on him.

Mac walked through the gate with a sense of awe and stepped into the cart.  It started off as soon as his butt hit the seat.

“Cool,” Mac said as the cart deftly maneuverer through the trees before getting back onto the driveway.  “Showing off a bit?”

“Just a demonstration to set your mind at rest on these vehicles capabilities.” Ghost told him.

“Sure, sure,” Mac laughed.  “I know a showboat when I see one.”

The grounds surrounding the house have automated security functions that I monitor personally, your safety while you are here will never be in doubt.  Beside the house you see before you, the grounds have several other important amenities.  There is a manmade lake on the west side of the estate, a horticulture green house to the south and an underground garage complex to the east.”

The golf cart pulled up to the front doors of the house and came to a stop.  Before his feet touched the paved drive, the pair of twin front doors opened wide, inviting him in.

“Welcome to your new home Mac.   Feel free to explore the grounds and make yourself comfortable.  I will not call on you tonight.  Tomorrow, however, will be a very long day.  I suggest you sleep well.”

“Okay Ghost and thank you.”  Mac said graciously.

“You may not want to thank me just yet.  TTYL.”