*5*

"I'm going to need your help," Bob said to Denise. Denise, an enlightened beauty, always wore just slightly revealing dresses, luminous earrings with a subtle statement, occasionally a brooch. Bob and Denise had been to lunch twice. "I have to walk around the building, seal up its soul. It's time to move the company's soul."

Denise answered nonchalant. "What do you need me to do?"
"Well," Bob continued, "I'm not sure yet, but I think I need to make the walk backwards. Walking backwards. I mainly need you to walk next to me to clear the way, to make sure I don't walk into a pole or get run over by a car."
"Okay," Denise said, "when do you want to go?"
"Maybe after lunch today."

Bob just wanted to get the whole thing over with already. He tried to sink himself into his work. His mind drifted. Lord, help me collect the spirituality of Aurora, Bob prayed. And help me be patient.

Denise met Bob's eyes. She telepathed to him - is it time? Bob got up from his chair and went over to Denise.
"It's time," Bob said.

Bob waited for Denise to finish her reconciliations, making checkmarks on a greenbar report, scrolling through mainframe screens, Bob leaning over the cubicle. Denise grabbed her pocketbook from the floor and stood up. They walked over to the elevator, Denise with a curiosity hook in the back of Bob's brain.

Outdoors, they were greeted with bright sun and haze. Reaching into his pocket, Bob pulled out the talisman and clipped it to his pants, on the lip of his pocket. It sparkled with the sun. Bob turned toward Denise.

"I read a quotation last night that I thought was pretty enlightening," Bob said. "God made the world out of the void, but the void shows through."
"Hmm," said Denise.
"Well," Bob continued, "today we're moving the void."
Denise shrugged her shoulders, "Okay."

Bob said, "for some reason, I felt like I had to make this walk backwards around the building. Now I'm not so sure. But I still need your psychic protection. Don't let any cars run over me."

Bob started to walk, with Denise by his side. He pulled the soul, sucked it off from the outside of the building. With full psychic force, he ripped apart its glue, its edges, feeding the talisman. Denise watched for cars as they crossed the parking entrance. They walked down to the corner of the block and followed the turn of the sidewalk. The back of the building, just a parking garage, had vines trailing down its side. Bob pulled the soul off from the parking garage, into the talisman. It felt like stripping hundreds of layers of old paint from relic furniture. They walked up to the next corner and turned again. The Tower Building held the seat of investment power. Bob sucked out the soul, twisty, convoluted, pseudo-powerful and self-deceived with false importance. Into the talisman.

Then past the fountain, swoosh, suck. They were now traversing the street facade and the signage. Bob grabbed ahold of all four corners of the lot and wrestled them to a distant point, a focus, a heart. They were approaching the front entry again. Bob slowed down his pace. The void became gummy: taffy, resistant, a baby sucking back on the nipple of the bottle and clamping tightly down. Denise slowed beside him. Bob felt strife-ridden with the closure. The spiritual field-lines jumped and twirled; Bob clenched his grip, slowing more. Up ahead, the VP of Annuities exited the building, looked up to see Denise and Bob, and smiled. He headed toward them, silent, effecting the last fifteen yards of closure. He metaphysically handed Bob the last segment.

The talisman vibrated inside Bob's pocket. He drove with the utmost care. This strange, awesome responsibility distracted him - Bob would be glad when the whole thing was over and done with. Lord, please guide me safely to the talisman destination. He drove more or less completely on faith. He knew that Aurora was moving to the MGM campus, somewhere off of Colorado street. That was about it. He found Colorado on a map before he left, so he knew that he was generally heading in the right direction.

Up ahead he saw the sign: MGM. Well, clearly then, this is the place. He parked on the street, exited his car and patted the talisman in his pocket. He recognized risk: the intangible threatening of obscure powers that might take advantage of his vulnerable distraction. Lord, please protect me and guide me in the execution of your tasks. He walked onto the campus.

Wearing his work clothes, he blended right in, indistinguishable from the other professionals. Accountants, editors and marketing folks were wandering around, on their way home from work, talking on cell phones or sitting on benches savoring coffee. Bob wasn't sure what building would be theirs, so he strolled the campus. One of the buildings looked vacant - yes, this must be the place. Once around the building should be enough to unload the talisman.

Bob reached in for the talisman and clipped it back onto his pants pocket. He began to walk around the building, offloading spirituality and power as fast as he could. He raised imaginary projected arms, throwing and expulsing the Aurora void. He wrestled it into the crevices, the walls, the ceiling of the new building. He encountered some resistance, vestiges from previous residents that he would have to tackle later. Lord, help me send all of this soul into this building. The rush of spirit from the talisman temporarily deluged him. Thank you, God.

When he finished, he returned the plastic pin to his pocket. On Monday, when they would actually occupy the building, he would bring the pin along and affix it to a partition as a token reminder.