“Yes.”
“Could we meet there in fifteen minutes?”
Now it was Marty’s turn to pause. What could this possibly be about? He hardly knew this man, and yet, it sounded very important and his former relationship with Tom and Derek augured well as to his credibility.
“…um …Could you give me any more information?”
“I’m afraid not, but you will understand when we meet.”
Marty looked at his watch, “Yes. I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you. That is a good decision.” The line went dead.
Marty called Nancy, “I know we were scheduled to catch up on everything, but I just got a call and have to go to a short meeting before I can get there.”
“No Problem, Mr. Cooper.”
“Thank you, and Nancy, I don’t exactly know how long I will be, but let’s plan on lunch and then we can work through the afternoon. By the way, I can’t tell you how much I have appreciated you ‘manning the shop’ while I have been away. I know I have thrown you into the deep end and I am impressed at how well you can swim.”
Nancy smiled, “Of course, and thank you for your comments. Not necessary, but appreciated.”
***
Pam could not get assimilated to the constant presence of someone watching her. Every time she looked up from her desk, she was aware of someone. Rather than give her a sense of security… au contraire… it just reminded her that she was in danger. She tried to assure herself that the man was not crazy enough to do anything here in the office, but then she remembered he had killed a congressman in front of an entire dining room full of people.
Tom, had not noticed the extra bodies. In fact, Pam had had no contact with Tom since she had come back from her meeting with Clay and Richard.
Just then, the door was ripped open and Tom, still looking disheveled, stormed out of the office and nodded at Pam, “I have to go out for a while. I should be back in about an hour.”
“All right,” responded Pam. As he walked away, she noticed he was carrying what appeared to be the same paper bag he had on the street. How odd, she thought.
Just then, her cell buzzed. She saw it was Clay.
“Hello”
“Pam, this is Clay. I know that Chiles just left his office, so I wanted to quickly talk with you.”
“What can I do for you,” responded Pam.
“We would like to have another meeting with you and Kelly tonight and would like to have Marty Cooper’s assistant join us. Do you think you could arrange that?”
Pam stared at her phone for a moment, then said, “I will try. Where do you want to meet?”
“We would like to meet at the secret service offices in downtown Dallas at 7 o’clock. I will text you the address.”
“Let me check with the other girls and get back to you.”
“Thank you. Let me know as soon as you can.”
Pam held her head. She felt she was being placed unwillingly into further danger for which she was not equipped. Even worse… she had no options because she was dealing with a secret service investigation, and they set the agenda.
She picked up her purse and headed downstairs to Kelly’s desk. The door to Derek’s office was open and she saw Kelly just getting up from the chair in front of Derek’s desk. Derek spotted her and waved her into the office. Kelly stood awkwardly as Pam came into the office.
“Pam, how nice to see you,” he exuded, “please, have a seat and please stay, Kelly.”
They both sat down.
“I have been meaning to talk to you both about the recent events. I understand the secret service in occupying one of our boardrooms. Are either of you involved with them at all?”
They both looked at each other and then Pam spoke, “Only insofar as me having been on the scene when the congressman had his attack. They have interviewed me a couple of times.”
Derek stared at her intently, “So, you know nothing about a suggestion of foul play”
“I only know what I just told you and after my interviews, I was told to not discuss the event to anyone. I am very uncomfortable about this conversation.”
“I understand… I understand,” offered Derek, “I was only curious from the standpoint of you girls being unduly distracted from your work and I wanted to tell you that if there is any problem, you can come to me.”
“Thank you,” they chorused as they got up to leave.
As they exited under Derek’s skeptical gaze, Pam whispered, “I need to talk to you. I’ll meet you in the ladies’ room,” and walked away. Kelly waited for a few moments and then walked down the hall to the bathroom.
“What the hell was ‘that’ all about?” She spouted!
Pam smiled, “I think we have a little paranoia running rampant.”
“No kidding,” responded Kelly.
“Anyway,” said Pam, “we have been asked to come to the secret service office tonight at 7 and they would like Nancy to be able to come as well.”
“Why do they want Nancy?” wondered Kelly.
“I don’t know. I just know they want us there. Why don’t the three of us meet at Romero’s at 6 and drive down together.”
“OK,” replied Kelly, “I am very curious.”
“Me too,” said Pam, “…oh, and would you mind arranging for Nancy. I don’t know her very well.”
“Sure… will do. See you at 6.”
***
Marty walked into I-Hop and immediately spotted Rob in the back-corner booth.
“Marty, thank you for coming. I know this is ‘highly’ unusual, but I assure you, it is important.”
Marty smiled awkwardly, “I don’t know what to say except ‘I am here.’”
The waiter arrived and Marty ordered an ice tea and Rob ordered another coffee. They both were silent for a moment.
Finally, Rob spoke, “Marty, I want to preface this conversation with an apology and a warning. As I unfold the story, I would ask that you hold your anger until I have finished. You may wish to at the least hit me, and possibly, try to kill me.”
“What!” blurted Marty.
Rob took a deep breath, “I would like to mitigate your response by giving you a short history of my relationship with Tom Chiles.” Rob proceeded to outline their service record together and Tom’s meteoric rise in the pharmaceutical industry as well as Tom financing Rob’s security company.
“Thus, was born a deep bond with Tom and it has lasted for years. From time to time, he would ask me to perform certain functions that, shall we say, were questionable at best and possibly, illegal at worst. I don’t offer this as an excuse, but I was able to assuage my conscience with the financial enticements and many other ‘perks.’”
“I understand that,” said Marty, sadly.
“I know you do, Marty, but we’ll get to that in a moment.”
Marty looked at him oddly.
“All in its own time,” smiled Rob. He continued, “There are some characteristics of Tom that some people never see… thank God. He can be a mean, nasty, and callous person. I have seen him take fine, idealistic, honest people and mold them into materially motivated monsters and I contributed to that on occasion, even with you.”
“What do you mean?” snapped Marty.
"First, let me say that the reason I am here is because I have come to admire you. You may or may not be aware of the fact that Tom and I had a philosophical ‘break up’ some time ago. Never mind the details, suffice to say he was proposing something that was beyond even my rationalizing capacities. The ‘break’ energized me to take a long look at my actions and motives, which I found wanting.
“‘What has this to do with you!’ you ask. Precisely this: When you came aboard, Tom instructed me to ‘bug’ not only all systems in your office, but your home as well.”
Rob waited for the explosion.
After a lengthy silence, Marty spoke, “Are you telling me that everything that has transpired in my home has been ‘bugged.’”
Marty sighed, “This is so horrific I can’t even grasp it. Does anyone else know about this?”
Rob shook his head, “Not that I am aware of, although, strangely enough, I suspect that your assistant knows something.”
Marty held up a finger, “I remember a call from Nancy about an attack on our system…”
"Don’t worry about it, that was me testing if we were secure. It’s because of that I suspect she knows something. She knows computers and something she said once made me suspicious. However, that is not the issue. Me freezing the ‘bugs’ and your reaction to this conversation are the two main issues.
“Before you recover and decide to hit me, I want to say two more things. First, I have had an epiphany concerning my actions and I want to deeply apologize for those actions. Secondly, I want to do anything I can to help you.”
“Well, thank you, but…”
“Marty, you are in over your head with Chiles. He will burn you up and discard you like an old shoe. I may have a plan that could benefit us both if you are willing to trust me.”
They both sat in silence.
Finally, Marty looked at Rob, “I can’t totally grasp the ramifications of all this. The fact that you have come to me certainly goes a long way toward establishing trust.”
Then, he laughed, “Of course, how do I know that I am not just being ‘played’ again. Nevertheless, I am willing to listen. My first reaction is that I am screwed. How do I continue, with the knowledge of what you have told me about Chiles?”
Rob nodded his head, “We are in a new game and I can tell you, Marty, this is the big leagues. The greed and corruption are more than you can imagine. I am just grateful that I am ‘out’ when I am; however, these people do not forget. We are now loose ends and that does not sit well with Big Pharma.”
“So, what I think you are ‘not’ saying is that I should be grateful that you have opened up to me before I became one of the ‘owned participants.’”
Rob smiled again, “Except for the grateful part… Yes. What we really need to do is put together a plan immediately.”
“First things first,” said Marty, “I need to talk with Myra.”
Rob’s head was bobbing, “For two reasons. One, of course, your marriage… but, two, for the time being, you are going to have to live with a ‘bugged’ house and office until we can put together our game plan.”
“My God! I never even thought of that. How do I break that to Myra?”
“I think I can hold off anyone hearing any recordings for a couple of days. In the meantime, let me work out a plan.”
They both rose and as they were heading out the door, Rob turned to Marty, “Thank you for your understanding.”
“You’re welcome… I guess… and thank you.”
Rob paused, “Could I ask you one more thing? Could you please call Nancy and tell her I would like to talk with her?”
“Of course,” said Marty.
While walking to the car, Rob pulled out his cell and dialed a Washington number.
A gruff voice answered, “Yes.”
Rob replied, “Remember the 306.”
“Rob! How are you?”
“I’m good, Larry… And you?”
Larry chuckled, “Well, except for the usual Washington bullshit, I’m great.”
“Larry, I need a favor.”
“Any time, partner.”
“There’s a secret service guy here that I need to meet. His name is Dr. Clay…”
“…Dearsome,” interrupted Larry.
“Wow! Washington really is a small town… anyway, he’s the lead investigator on the Congressman Barnes case.”
“Yes. I know him and I had heard he was heading it up for now. What can I do for you, Rob?”
“I need to be introduced to him immediately. I may have some information and people that could help his work. If you or someone could call him and vouch for me, then we could save a lot of time.”
“I can handle that. Should I have him call on this number?”
“That would be great, Larry. I owe you big time.”
“Don’t worry… I’ll collect. Talk to you soon.”
Rob arrived downtown and entered the Chiles building through the back entrance, taking the freight elevator to the 14th floor and easing in the back door, he walked to Nancy’s desk.
He watched her for a moment until she looked up.
“Hi, Nancy. I’m Rob Schafers. I think Marty may have called you.”
“Yes, he did, Mr. Schafers.”
“I know this is very unusual. Did Marty say anything to you regarding what this is about?”
Nancy shook her head, “No. He just said that I was to meet you and to give you a listen.”
Rob nodded, “Good. I understand that you have some computer knowledge.”
Nancy shrugged, “A little.”
Rob smiled, “Let me explain something before we go any further. I own a security company and I pretty much know everything about you.”
Nancy looked visibly rattled.
“…and I am very impressed with your resume. You are very talented, but more importantly, you have integrity. I am not here on a combative mission. On the contrary, I need your help. I would like to establish some ground rules about this meeting. First, it needs to be absolutely confidential. Are you comfortable with that?”
Nancy nodded.
“Second, I will not ask you to do anything outside of the law. OK?”
Nancy nodded again. Just then, her cell beeped. She saw it was Kelly.
“Sorry. Please, excuse me.” She got up and walked to the back of the room. “Hey, Kelly.” She listened for a minute or so and then answered, “Ok. I’ll see you guys there.” As she walked back to Rob, she was frowning.
“Nothing bad, I hope?” Rob offered.
“No… just confusing. Now, where were we?”
Rob smiled, “What I am about to say will shock you, but I can assure you it is factual and I have just informed Mr. Cooper. We, and I include myself, are in a situation that none of us want to be in and I think we can work our way out of it with your help.”
Rob went on for a few minutes divulging again his work with Tom Chiles, the separation, the nature of the industry, and finished with his knowledge of Nancy’s previous employer.
Nancy was reeling, “How do you know my former employer?”
“Let’s just say that there isn’t much that I don’t know about this industry, and, I must say, I thought your decision to come with Marty was a wise one. However, job security is what we are addressing right now. Cooper Consulting is about to either take a drastic turn or be out of business. It’s that simple and we need your help.”
“Of course. I have no idea what is going on, but if I can help Mr. Cooper and he trusts you, then I am in.”
Just then, his phone beeped.
“Rob Schafers.”
“Rob, this is Clay Dearsome. Larry Neal suggested I call you.”
Rob was shocked, “Yes, Clay, I just spoke with him. Thank you for the prompt callback.”
“My pleasure. You don’t know this, but I have followed your career for many years. I am an admirer. What can I do for you?”
“Thank you. Until recently, I was a consultant for Tom Chiles. We terminated our relationship a couple of weeks ago, and I have accidentally become peripherally involved with some of his personnel and I think I may be able to contribute to your investigation.”
“That’s excellent, Rob. When could we meet?�
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“Well… that’s the purpose of the timing of this call. I have some time constraints that are developing and I would like to apprise you of my information ASAP and then from our discussions, we could outline a possible game plan.”
“Well, your timing couldn’t be better. I am having a meeting about that very thing at 7 tonight. Why don’t you come to the secret service office and we can get together for a few minutes?”
“Great. I’ll be there and thanks… Oh, by the way. I’m bringing a girl by the name of Nancy Stone and Marty Cooper with me.”
There was silence Finally, Clay spoke, “She is already coming to my meeting at 7.”
Rob looked across the table at Nancy who had a shocked look on her face. “I’ll notify security at the front door. Look forward to seeing all of you.”
Rob clicked off his cell and locked eyes with Nancy, who had no idea what to say. Rob spoke first, “Well, this is interesting.” He looked away and paused, “I think you have just demonstrated your trustworthiness. You have been sworn to secrecy. Right?”
Nancy nodded.
“Good,” offered Rob, “…well, it appears we are all on the same page. Just so you understand, that was Dr. Clay Dearsome of the secret service who is heading up an investigation into the death of Congressman Barnes. We are meeting him at 7 o’clock at their offices. I suspect there will be other people attending.”
Nancy just stared at him.
“Nancy, as an investigator, I have a high security clearance, so you can tell me if you choose.”
She blinked a couple of times and finally responded, “Yes, there will be other people there. I am meeting Pam and Kelly at 6 to travel together.”
***
Tom Chiles could not point to what it was, but he could not shake the feeling that things were happening and they weren’t good. Pam had been away from her desk a few times and although she never showed her feelings, he was certain she was avoiding eye contact.
Derek had been a mess since the break-in and Kelly seemed to be avoiding any opportunity to be in contact with the 16th floor. He decided it was time to call a meeting and get a reading on everyone. He picked up the phone and paged Pam. When she didn’t answer, he walked out of his office as she was coming up the stairs.
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