King of War Tech novel · Chapter 24 of 24

Chapter 24: Six Names

Sunday morning, the Admiral's conference room on the base had one long table and six families sitting at it.

Marjorie sat at one end in her pearls, with Imogen beside her.

I sat at the other with a Navy contract in front of me and a pen.

It had my real name on the first page, in print.

Wesley Tarrant, designer, Ridgeback targeting system.

"Navy pays the full licensing fee into a trust," the Admiral said. "The six families hold it in equal shares."

"Mr. Tarrant takes no royalty."

The woman in the church cardigan frowned at me.

"Why not?" she asked. "You built it."

"Clyde said get it to the families," I said. "I'd like to do what he said."

"You're stubborn."

"So I've been told."

The mother in the navy blazer laughed, a short, wet bark, and the widower beside her wiped his eyes.

I signed.

The Admiral slid a second paper to each family, and they signed in turn.

The old man with his son's cap on his knee took the longest, and his pen shook.

When it was done, Imogen stood up.

She laid a folder on the table.

"The rest of what Stellan stopped, with interest, comes out of his company's accounts," she said. "The Navy lawyers froze them this morning."

"And the thirty percent that used to be mine pays you dividends from now on."

The widower said, "Mrs. Merrick."

Keep reading free with an account. Start King of War Tech from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.