Pangea

Failure

Richard stepped into Evangeline's new hotel room a few hours later. Immediately, he began to yank on his red tie, freeing his throat from the constraints of his top button.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Evangeline shouted, stepping out of the bedroom.

"I did that to save you, Eva." He mumbled, walking towards the mini-fridge.

"I was in the middle of one of the biggest presentations Pangea has ever launched!"

"You didn't see their faces, Eva." He argued back. "You were so absorbed in your own ideas and your little pet project! You're lucky they're not out there erecting a pyre in your honor! You just suggested implanting a chip into the brains of their children."

"That was the pitch!" She cried back at him.

"No, it wasn't." He poured cheap whiskey over ice.

"What do you mean?" She grew pale. "The pitch was for Human Repair and the Sentry project."

"Have you ever looked at the past pitches of Pangea? Human beings hate this company."

"I don't understand."

"People hate this company. Pangea has never made any advancements that were targeted towards the emotions. We make advancements that people need, whether they like it or not."

"People need Sentries, people need post-humans. People need to be able to fight and survive." She raised her voice, fighting against the confusing flooding her brain. "How would you have made the pitch?"

"I'd have offered up a small amount of the facts, and suddenly in a few years Post-Humans would be a reality and there would be no turning back."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Well, because, I hate this company." He poured a second drink. "I set you up, ready to watch you pitch this the same way I would have 10 years ago, while knowing that you couldn't manage it."

"You set me up to get burned at the stake?"

"No. You came up with the idea of the Sentry project all on your own. You pushed the Board for approval. You supervised the entire project."

"You backed me the whole time!"

"In person," He shrugged. "Of course as soon as I walked away from you, I quit talking about the project. This idea didn't come out of my mouth to anyone but you."

"I figured you were letting me have my moment-- letting me take the lead."

"I was. In the last few years I've given you the opportunity to step into the spotlight of this company."

"You announced your retirement."

" I'm going to go back to my penthouse and watch the International Network report on how Evangeline Brent led Pangea Technologies into some Frankenstein project."

"You can't ruin this company. We are the Grid, we run all of the shields."

"For now. This business still needs public approval in order to succeed. You just cost this company the approval of the public."

"You set me up!"

Richard looked at her, "This company needed to fail."

"This company has been your life for 20 years!"

"And now it's yours." He set the glass down. "I didn't have a life because of this company, and now neither do you."

"You can't just walk away!"

He reached into his coat pocket, and drew out a folded piece of paper. "This is my letter of resignation. Signed by every member of the board. Rushing out onto that stage, was the last thing I'm obligated to do for this company."

"You quit? You just quit right after that? You can't leave me to handle this disaster!" She was back on her feet now.

"Now see, the Board of Directors only signed my resignation because I agreed to see you through the presentation at Congress." He pulled the tie from his collar and tossed it onto the couch.

Evangeline straightened herself. "The Board of Directors won't stand for this. They'll have something to say about this - this betrayal."

"I'm sure they will, but I doubt they'll succeed while they try to repair the damage you just inflicted." He buttoned his jacket back into place, going over to the door. "I'm sure it doesn't count for anything, but I did enjoy working with you, Eva, while it lasted."