Page 8 of Harbinger of Destiny

Joshua looked at the vehicle. It was red with a black roof made of a thick cloth-like material.

“Ah, I can see how you’re looking at it. Love at first sight, right?” Rick chuckled. “Let me show you how it looks with the roof down.” Moments later, the car salesman sat in the car, switched on the engine, and then made the roof lift up and slide into a compartment in the trunk.

“Wow,” Joshua said. This was exactly what he was looking for.

“Nice, right? Wanna sit in it?”

Joshua nodded and changed places with the salesman. The seat was low for his tall frame, but he liked the feel of the leather cradling his back. He put his hands on the steering wheel and looked out through the windshield, where the price was written.

Rick removed the cardboard with the price. “It’s a steal.”

Joshua stared at the price. It was still too high. He motioned to it. “I’m afraid I don’t have that much.”

“You seem like a really nice young man. Why don’t I make you a deal? How about I knock off a thousand?”

Stunned, Joshua stared at Rick. “Are you sure? I mean…”

Nobody in 2085 would simply give somebody a discount. A price was a price. There was no haggling, no back-and-forth. Prices were set to the fair value of goods, no matter in which country or city they were offered. Price gouging was unheard of, though there was one area where prices could go sky-high and were subject to negotiation: adoptions.

Whenever a young woman found herself pregnant and didn’t want to keep the child—or couldn’t—, instead of getting an abortion, an adoption agency would step in to find the right parents for the child. The pregnant woman would be richly compensated and cared for in every way. It was a win-win for all parties involved.

Rick patted him on the shoulder. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

Before the salesman could withdraw his offer, Joshua gripped his hand and shook it. “I’ll take it.”

A half hour later, Joshua was the proud owner of a red Mini Cooper convertible. He jumped into the car and inserted the key into the ignition. When he turned the key, the engine came to life. He pressed the gas pedal down, the engine revved, but the car didn’t move.

“You’re in park,” Rick, who stood next to the car, said.

Not wanting to look stupid, Joshua nodded. “Yeah, I know.” Of course, he was parked. What the hell was the guy talking about? “Drive.” But the verbal command didn’t produce any movement either.

Joshua felt the salesman’s gaze on him, which made him even more nervous. He felt heat rise up his torso into his head. Fuck, why didn’t this car move?

“The gear shift,” Rick said, pointing to the black stick between the two front seats that looked similar to a dildo.

Joshua looked closer and noticed the letters that were etched on the metal base around the gear shift. P, R, D, N they said.

“You’ve gotta put it in drive,” Rick now added, his voice carrying a good deal of doubt.

Figuring that D stood for drive, Joshua followed the instruction. Still, the car didn’t move.

“And take the foot off the brake and put it on the gas pedal…”

The moment Joshua took his foot off the brake pedal and pressed down on the gas pedal instead, the car shot forward. He slammed on the brakes again, preventing the car from hitting another one by a hair’s breadth.

“Shit!” Rick cursed. “Are you drunk?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Then what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Joshua glared at the salesman. “I’m not used to driving a manual car.” There! He’d admitted it.

“It’s an automatic!” Rick said in a raised voice.

The guy was clearly lying. “What’s automatic about having to operate it yourself?”

Rick shook his head. “I think you’d better get outta here before you damage any of my cars. And I’d advise you to take driving lessons.”