The first thing to do was to get his security in the loop. They needed to know that this young man was up there. More importantly, they needed to know that it was ok that he was up there. That would take some doing but Sam held a pretty strong trump card. It was his Tower and he could damn well do whatever he wanted to with it. If that meant allowing hermits to take up residence, then so be it.

Sam chewed on the word ‘hermit’ for a minute and didn’t like it. Not one bit. It made Aeolid sound like some medieval monk. Who was it that lived on top of a column and wouldn’t even brush the lice away? It didn’t really matter. The important thing was to keep this quiet.

That meant limiting the number of people that knew. Security obviously would have to know. He should probably tell engineering so that they could make certain he wasn’t damaging anything. Maybe they could even rig him a better spot to sleep.

What else? Oh, since he’d thought about it, maybe Sam should see about getting a barber up there some night to trim the poor guy. Would it be possible to rig some kind of shower for him, too? Another mental note to talk to engineering.

Let’s see, he should probably give him some staples of some kind. Did the young man need blankets? Clothes? Books?

Sam suddenly remembered that he’d caught him when he was using the internet. He’d have to have a word with the lady who ran the café. They could arrange something where Aeolid could use her products at night. Reimbursement would be a simple matter.

Should he tell the other shop owners? He couldn’t think of a good reason why he would have to, but it was something to keep in mind.

That made at least half a dozen people that would know what was going. More likely ten. Was there any way of keeping this quiet? ‘Wealthy man goes crazy’ is an attractive headline and one he’d like to avoid if possible.

Sam leaned against the elevator wall and sighed. What was he doing taking on this kind of problem. And at this age! Still, he chuckled to himself, when was the last time he felt this alive?

It was a good question but one he knew the answer to immediately. The last time he felt this energetic and young was when they finally finished The Tower and he was able to go to the top. That had been a magical day and this felt like the same brand of magic. Imagine, he’d somehow found a young man who could actually talk to the wind. Life does throw some crazy things at you once in a while.

Sam suddenly remembered his trip up earlier that night. He’d been thinking about primitive man finding magic out of the purely natural. The joke was now on him, he had insisted on nature and almost missed out on the magic.

First things first. He could round up a blanket and some clothes without any problem. The head of security would know how to stay silent. He’d better or he’d be looking for a new job. Keeping their bosses secrets was an ancient role for protectors. That’s where he’d start tomorrow. Sam now had a checklist in his head and he felt much better.