It had been about two weeks since Calvin's miraculous accident. He had fully become used to his new eyes, but he was still finding new uses for them every day. He had used his bathroom mirror to observe himself on every level. His eyes didn't look any different that he could tell. Any changes to his retinas or brain, he could not detect, because he would not have been able to see them this way before the accident. But, he found there was no indication when he was using his powers, nor any indication of his ridiculously wide field of view. Though, while using his bathroom mirror, he was particularly pleased with how clean he was able to get his teeth now, and how close a shave he could achieve. It seemed that his hand-eye coordination had improved alongside his vision.
Once Calvin was done grooming, it was time for breakfast. He tried not to look too hard at his food, except to judge its temperature. After he found out about cheese mites, he thought it best that some things stay unknown, lest they ruin his appetite. On this particular morning, Calvin ate a bagel and egg sandwich (sans cheese) with his coffee before work.
When he arrived at his cubicle, he found another man sitting in his chair. His contract had been cancelled, and he had been replaced. He called the contractors, and they claimed it was due to "performance issues", but he knew that wasn't true. Despite how much time he had taken to relax and explore his new sight, he had closed all the tickets he had been asked to, he had taken care of each duty assigned on time. He was somewhat anti-social with his coworkers and rarely spoke up in meetings, so he wondered if maybe they didn't notice him enough. They simply chose not to assign him very much. Calvin wondered if they had found out about the accident.
Calvin changed his mind about his original plans. Working for someone else would only lead him to more subservience and getting bent over by more faceless corporations. Using his powers for a job would be the same as not doing so, aside from netting him slightly more money. As he exited the pharmaceutical company's building for the last time, he tore off the "Visitor" sticker and stomped it into grout of the front steps, dragging his sneaker back and forth over it in anger. He scowled as a tear welled up in his eye. He wiped it away - there was no reason to cry - this closed door was just opening another.
"No more bullshit jobs. I've won a lottery and it's time to cash in," he growled through gritted teeth, strutting with vigor to his car.
A week later, he was strutting with the same vigor, into the largest casinos in Las Vegas. Using his super-sight, Calvin had become the world's most prolific cheater in high-stakes Hold 'Em poker, practically overnight. His photographic memory had reached new heights, as had his bank account.
On his first night, he made over $200,000. On his second, twice that. On his third, he was pulled aside by the house staff and asked to hand over his "cheating device". Calvin did not have anything to hand to them. The gangster-like security guards forcibly strip-searched him, but found no camera or earpiece or anything of the like. The management apologized and offered Calvin a small sum not to sue them, which he gladly took. He moved onto the next casino and kept it up.
Each night, he would call Patty to check in. He had not told her he'd been fired, he had concocted a lie about being sent on a business trip to help set up a branch office. He was mostly calling because he missed her, and perhaps he was looking for reassurance that he had a reason to do this. He had began to run out of steam after the security guards had harassed him.
Calvin continued on cheating at cards. It was easy, even when playing with six decks. Each hand, he would look through his cards, at the hands of the other players, and also at the order of the deck. Now, he would lose a hand on purpose occasionally, as to not draw suspicion, but he never let himself lose too much money. A few times, he had to avoid angry players. He was usually able to see them coming. One man managed to corner him, and attempted to mug him, but Calvin saw that the man had a hairline fracture in his foot, so Calvin stomped on it and ran, successfully escaping. He allowed himself to smile as the man yowled in pain in the distance.
By the time he made his five-millionth dollar, he was beginning to get bored. Calvin knew this would likely be enough money to get him by for the next twenty years and then some. But Calvin didn't want for much. Despite the smallish size of his apartment back home, he was fairly satisfied with it, and Patty had floated the idea of moving in full-time before. He and Patty didn't want children. The only purchase he thought about was replacing his aging car, and even then, he wasn't considering a luxury model. He decided it was time to return home, and tell Patty what he had done. He would ask her to marry him. Then, they could begin their new life together, and neither would have to do anything they didn't want to do. And if Patty wanted for something, he would make it happen.
Upon arriving at home, Calvin took a long hot shower and thought hard about what he was going to say to Patty. But when he finally did see her, he realized there was nothing to say.
During their first meal together in weeks, while he was trying to figure out when to tell her about everything that had transpired, he noticed something off about her. He wasn't sure exactly what it was until he used his powers. Inside Patty was a small embryo. Only, it could not have been Calvin's child, because he had gotten his vasectomy done last year. Calvin was heartbroken. Patty sensed the change in mood immediately, and tried to ask Calvin what was wrong.
Calvin's personality had changed since the accident. He could see through everything now; people, their weaknesses, their secrets. He didn't care for anybody's bullshit anymore. He wasn't even going to entertain the conversation. In a stern voice, he simply stated that he knew Patty had cheated on him, then he stormed out of the restaurant. She sat there in shock, reeling still, as Calvin's car peeled out of the parking lot. When he got home, he blocked her number. Calvin cried himself to sleep that night, and then he changed his locks the next day. This new life would be his alone.
He spent the next few days curled up with his computer, like the old days at his stepfather's house, coming up with all sorts of fantastic ways to use his new fortune. Calvin didn't want for much in the practical sense, but he realized his inner child still wanted a treehouse in the mountains, and his own single-engine airplane, and to go see the World Series every year. If he was going to be alone, he was going to enjoy himself.
Just when Calvin was starting to feel that things might be looking up anyways, his cell phone rang. There was no number on the caller ID. The signal beam coming from the tower looked unusual compared to normal. He answered.
"Is this Calvin Kilpatrick?"
"Yes?"
"Mr. Kilpatrick, we know. And we will be coming. Expect us."
The phone disconnected. Calvin could feel his pupils shrinking and his palms sweating. He glanced around, frantically looking through every wall, through the floor, and add all the streets below. Who were they, and what did they know? Was this about the accident, or about the cheating at cards? He considered both likely.
Calvin paced his apartment, repacking his bags again, but tighter this time, as if he didn't plan to come back. He had a bad feeling he would not be safe here anymore. He wasn't sure that his special eyes would be enough to save him now.