Indefinitely

"But, Jim..."
I whined as my boss turned to exit my small office. He looked back over his shoulder.
"Sorry, Dan, but we don't really have the money to keep you right now. The cuts are hitting us all. My benefits have been suspended, and several of our managers are on unpaid leave. We're really just hemorrhaging money. The stock is in the toilet and we're just treading water right now. We can pay you through the end of the week, but after that, i don't know..."
He really was sorry for having to let me go, i could tell. Jim had always been a good guy, and i knew he wouldn't just be feeding me lies to cover his own ass.
"Okay. Maybe I can figure something out by then. Thanks, Jim."

I found out later that Jim had fought for me, to keep me there. He knew my skills, and if it hadn't been for him i would have been one of the first laid off. A few of my friends had already been put on leave indefinitely. I knew things were bad, but never really got it till i started looking at the numbers. I was always good with the numbers side of things, even though I'd been hired to do IT work. Maybe there was something I could do...

I kissed my wife Alison when i got home, and asked for her help. She wasn't great with the technical stuff, but she was creative and often saw new things I would miss with my clinicallity.
Jim had gotten me copies of the office's financial records, and they were as expected a mess.

I saw a few areas we could cut, a few minor details, but nothing that would really help the company as a whole. Sure, we had a few promising projects that would keep us afloat-if we could get them to the marketplace. I sighed and turned to Ally.
"I have to."
She knew exactly what i meant when i said it, and her eyes started to tear up.
"you swore you wouldn't. We've come so far from that. I know you care about this company and these people, but you ..."
The realization crossed over her face and she nodded.
"Just, let me go to my mother's first, okay? i don't want to be here for it."
I told her okay, and helped her pack. It would take a few days to get prepared, so she needed enough to get through a week. We held each other for a while, and she kissed me, before heading out the door.

I got my things from where I'd hidden them. I never thought I'd have to use them again, but this would be helping so many people, I couldn't stand by and do nothing.
It took a while to get the feel for them again, but soon i was wearing the devices like they were old friends. It wouldn't be long till i got them working again, then a few days to power up. After that, I'd be able to do what I should have done months ago..."