David stood there, staring at the overpriced cheese puffs at the Sinclair convenience store. He had a weak spot for chips and in an attempt to "fix" this unhealthy habit, Annie always made him pay at the pump with a credit card when they were together. However, when he filled up on the way home, he never missed a chance to come inside to buy a few bags of the "Scorchin Hot Sauce Cheese Puffs". David glanced at his watch. 7:32. Wow, he was running later then he had realized. He grabbed a bag and went to the register. The total came $54.73. Months ago, the number would have made him slightly nauseous. Now, knowing the status of his bank account, he smiled at the Sinclair employee and headed to the car. He hung the gas pump back up, crinkled up the receipt that dangled from the printer, and climbed into his Volvo. Knowing the time, he knew he better call Annie and let her know that he was nearly home. He reached for his phone on the front seat and his hand came up empty. He turned on the overhead light and looked around. David was sure he had been tossed his phone onto the passenger seat when he climbed into the car leaving the office. He fumbled around, wedging his hand between the center console and the seat. Nothing. He leaned over the front seat and peered under. Still no sign of his phone. Leaning back in his seat, he let out a big sigh and turned the key. He felt confident that he would have better luck looking when he got back to the house. He pulled out onto Highway 41 and speed toward home.
David thought back on his recent accomplishments. He was overly excited and appreciative in regards to his newfound fortune. Nevertheless, he couldn't shake a bad feeling about Grant Verneer. He and Grant had started the cellular encryption process together 3 years ago. Grant had been the one to pose the idea as well as fund the project. David had simply been the "brains" that made the project move. He was always amazed that whenever he asked Grant for additional funds, he was never denied. As more progress was made, Grant became more lavish with his money and had no intention of hiding it. The peculiar thing was that, although Grant seemed to be getting richer with the day, the project had yet to produce so much as a dime in profit. The funds were originally obtained through an Angel Investor out of Santa Monica California. A guy named Craig Lawrence, one of the few lucky beneficiaries from the dot com bubble. However, paying Grant or David had not been part of the original funding agreement. David had become suspicious that Grant was filtering funds from the project into his personal bank account. His obnoxious way of living, filled with women and alcohol, cars and vacations, was starting to wear on David. This coupled with the secrecy of how Grant was able to maintain such a lifestyle finally caused David to push Grant for answers. It had been on a Thursday morning over coffee. Grant responded with the same response he always gave, "David, you know my grandfather left me in great shape. If you need more money for the project, just let me know. Don't worry about the trivial matters of my personal life" David pried further which resulted in Grant cursing at him, causing a scene in the coffee shop, and taking off. Since that day, Grant had been around very little. Although he wasn't exactly missed, his absence was somewhat alarming to David.
David was approaching White Pine Drive when a large SUV came screeching around the corner. David jerked the steering wheel to the right and was able to avoid a head on collision but slammed into the curb as a result. There was a loud pop sound and it was quickly apparent that the impact caused an explosion in the front right tire. David threw the car in park and cursed repeatedly at the lunatic driver who David could see in his rear view mirror disappearing into the darkness. There were only 5 houses on White Pine Drive and he was determined to find out which of those neighbors was associated with this driver. David reached into his pocket for his phone to ring Annie and only then remembered it was missing. David reached back into the car and turned the engine off. He then locked the car and headed down the street to his house. He knew it was better to get home and let Annie know the situation rather then spending another 20 minutes trying to replace the popped tire. Little did David know that the SUV that nearly killed him moments before was also carrying his unconscious wife in the back seat.
