2156

by C M Dancha

  Ten minutes later, Klaus Ekstrom looked and smelled like a top-notch executive. His thinking was lucid enough to once again put two or more thoughts together at the same time. The suit and shirt Raul picked out fit perfectly and looked very professional. He would have to compliment Raul about his choice in clothes. He might even thank Raul for what he did this morning providing he was still the CEO after Slice's visit.

  "Mr. Ekstrom, please come over here and let me look at you. Okay, turn around slowly." Mr. Todd examined Ekstrom like he was purchasing a new, ultra-expensive vehicle.

  "You look good, Mr. Ekstrom, and I'm sure you feel a lot better. Couple of things before you leave. Raul wants you to walk directly upstairs to your office. Put a big smile on your face, say hello to a couple of employees and act as though you don't have a worry in the world. Also, don't let anyone know that you're the last person at Phoenvartis to know about Sedgewick Slice's visit. If anyone asks you about Slice, respond with a non-answer. I recommend something like, ’his visit is just routine,’ or ’we're elated to have a member of the World Council take time from his busy schedule to visit us.’ Do you understand these instructions?"

  Klaus didn't like being told what to say and do. But in this case, he was glad someone took the time to think this situation through and put together a game plan which included dialogue.

  "I understand, Todd, I mean, Mr. Todd." Klaus owed this guy enough to be respectful and refer to him as Mister. Besides, Todd looked like he could be one mean son of a bitch if you didn't follow his instructions precisely.

  "Good, let me open the door for you. Two last things. Mr. Hakala will meet you in your office in about thirty minutes, and zip up your fly."

  Klaus didn't have to look down; he could feel the open door in his crotch area. He zipped up and started to his office, following Mr. Todd's instructions to the word. Other than the instructions, only one other thing got his attention. Who was Mr. Todd? Klaus was sure he had never seen this guy around Phoenvartis. Klaus made a mental note to find out about him.

  Smiling and saying hello were difficult for Klaus. Both things were far removed from his normal personality. Somehow, he accomplished both and made it to his office without letting on that he was scared out of his mind by Sedgewick Slice's arrival and probing interest in Phoenvartis. He smiled at his assistant, Helga, which was very unusual and asked her into his office.

  "Helga, do I have any messages this morning?"

  "Just a couple, Mr. Ekstrom." Helga handed over the message chip from Ekstrom's main contact number and sat back to wait for further instructions from her boss. Ekstrom scrolled through the message chip looking for anything from Sedgewick Slice. Finding nothing, he looked closer at the other messages. Most were from executive committee members. He could see that the same committee members had tried to reach him several times this morning. These guys could wait. Right now, he had more important matters to handle.

  "Helga, has anyone by the name of Sedgewick Slice stopped by my office this morning?"

  Helga knew exactly who her boss was asking about. Not only was the name Slice unusual but everyone in the building knew he was the visitor from the World Council.

  "No, sir. The only person who stopped by the office was Mr. Hakala. He asked that I contact him as soon as you came in this morning."

  "Okay. Have you seen or heard of anyone wandering around this morning who might be our visitor?"

  "Absolutely no one, Mr. Ekstrom." Helga intentionally forgot to mention the dozens of contacts she received from employees in her gossip circle. These were a dozen women and two men who were either executive assistants or mid-range executives. All had worked together for years. They were the eyes and ears of the company and nothing happened at Phoenvartis without their first-hand knowledge. With their key positions within the company, they were able at times to manipulate the direction of the company to achieve their own goals. Trivial things, like getting someone fired who they didn't like, were within their sphere of power.

  Being the assistant to the CEO, Helga was the unofficial leader of this group. When the first dribble of news leaked out about Sedgewick Slice, the members of Helga's group went into high gear passing information back and forth. They wanted to be the first employees to figure out what Slice was doing at Phoenvartis. And could they use the information from Slice's visit to better their position or pay?

  Klaus sat back and considered what to do next. He couldn't think of anything worse than not knowing what to expect from Slice. It would take every ounce of energy he possessed to remain calm and deal with the unknowns of Slice's visit.

  "Helga, Mr. Hakala will be here within a few minutes. Don't make him wait; get him into my office right away. Then contact the executive committee members who have been trying to get ahold of me this morning. Raul and I are going to have a meeting with them. As a matter of fact, contact all the committee members regardless of whether they contacted me or not. Let's get the entire committee in on the meeting. Any questions?"

  "Only one, Mr. Ekstrom. What should I do with the other people trying to contact you? As you can see there were several."

  "Helga, speak to each of them and find out what they want. Use the excuse that I'm in conference and can't be disturbed. If anything sounds important to you, come and get me. Otherwise, I'll contact each of these people later."

  For the next fifteen minutes, Klaus Ekstrom sat in his office thinking about what to do next. It didn't take long for him to realize there wasn't much he could do. The future of Phoenvartis was now in the hands of others, especially Sedgewick Slice. Until Slice showed up and gave him some type of direction, Klaus was nothing more than a defrocked executive. He would sit around, afraid to make any decisions or use the power of his position.

  In the background, he could hear Helga speaking with the people who contacted his office earlier. The gruff and hoarse voice she used as one of the most powerful people at Phoenvartis now had a mellow edge to it. This didn't surprise Klaus one bit. Slice's visit was affecting everyone. He was walking on pins and needles and she was less authoritative. In fact, he could detect a hint of pleasantness in her voice.

  Raul Hakala strolled into Klaus's office. He was the one employee who seemed to thrive in stressful situations. His military background prepared him well for challenging situations like Slice's surprise visit. He was at his best and seemed to enjoy responding to ambiguous and threatening situations. His leadership of men came to the forefront when everyone else was trying to figure out what to do.

  "Klaus, have you heard from Slice yet?"

  "No, not a word. How about you?" At any other time, Ekstrom would have said something to Raul about not addressing him as "Mister". But this didn't seem important now with his career and the future of Phoenvartis in jeopardy.

  "Same here. I've had my contacts scouring the city and the surrounding area, but so far, not a thing. If Slice is still in Zurich, he's doing an excellent job of hiding.

  "Well, what the hell are we going to do? I can't shut down the company just because we don't know where Slice is and we're waiting for him to show up."

  "For now, Mr. Ekstrom, I suggest you sit still and let me try to find out what Slice is up to. If he doesn't show up until tomorrow, then it's back to business as normal. I know today is going to be hard but be calm and don't do anything irrational or abnormal. Remember, Slice may want to see how you respond to his unannounced visit and disappearing act. Don't give him a reason to change things here or replace you. Understand?"

  Klaus shook his head up and down in agreement. Raul's theory that Slice might be testing him hit a raw nerve. Besides being very insightful it was very logical the more he thought about it. Thank God, he had someone like Raul around to consider every possible tactic of the enemy regardless of how absurd or irrational it may seem.

  "Raul, I asked Helga to set up a conference with the executive committee. Several of them have been trying to contact me this morning. I'm sure they want to know what the hell is going on
. I'd like you to be in on that meeting."

  "No problem, Mr. Ekstrom. But let's make sure we keep the meeting short. I've got a lot to do today and can't afford to be chitchatting or trying to answer questions which can't be answered yet. By the way, is there anything you should tell me which might influence Slice's visit? Possibly something which you are keeping under wraps which could be embarrassing to you or the company if it came out?"

  Raul was fishing. He hoped that Ekstrom would say something about the woman from Archives or other compromising situations he might be trying to hide.

  Ekstrom put a solemn look on his face. He stared into space as though he was seriously considering Raul's question and wanted to answer it with total honesty. This gave him time to wonder what exactly Raul knew about his personal life. Did he know about his drug use and what many people would consider sexual deviancy? And could his big mouth be another knife in his back? He always did have the problem of saying too much to the wrong person at the wrong time. One day he may learn that boasting about his position and power created unnecessary risk. Also, prematurely broadcasting the successful future of the ReLife program had already got him in hot water with the executive committee and World Council. He could only hope that he had passed out the previous night before divulging confidential information.

  "No, I don't think so, Raul. What you see is pretty much what I am."

  It was difficult for Raul to sit facing this man without either laughing or calling him a damn liar. Ekstrom's denial of any prohibited, unsavory and possibly illegal activities was a giant pile of bullshit. Raul knew it and Ekstrom knew that his security director didn't believe him.

  "By the way, Mr. Hakala. I wanted to ask you about Mr. Todd. Who is he and what is room 3Z?"

  "Klaus, I would describe Mr. Todd as a professional fixer. There are only a couple of people in the world with his talents. He takes bad situations which have gotten out of control and fixes them. He either puts them back together so they seem normal or neutralizes them so there is no evidence they existed in the first place."

  "I'm not sure I understand what you are saying, Raul."

  "Very well, let me be perfectly blunt and to the point. I stopped by your apartment the other night and found you passed out and in bad shape. This was after I spent five or six hours with Sedgewick Slice. I was going to fill you in on Slice's visit, but you weren't in any condition to hear what I had to say. I turned the music down, closed your door and left." Raul's small lie about why he stopped at Klaus's apartment fit perfectly with what he was about to say.

  "It didn't take me long to realize things were spiraling out of control and headed toward a major catastrophe. I needed help and needed it fast. I used Todd once before, so I knew he could be an asset in straightening out this mess. After describing the situation, he instructed me on setting up the 3Z clean room, and what to do until he arrived in Zurich. I've asked him to stay in Zurich for a while until we know for certain what Slice is going to do."

  "Interesting, very interesting, Mr. Hakala. I'm impressed with how you responded even if it sounds like a very expensive solution. By the way, I hope you weren't too offended by my appearance last night."

  "I've seen a lot worse, Mr. Ekstrom. And, yes, Mr. Todd's services are expensive, but he's worth it. You might also be interested to know that Mr. Todd may have been a former World Council member. It's just a rumor but could explain why he can move freely around the world and is so knowledgeable and talented. If Slice doesn't show up soon, I'm going to ask Mr. Todd for his evaluation of what Slice is up to. I'm sure his worse guess will be better than anything we can come up with."

  As Klaus processed everything Raul had to say, Helga stepped into his office. "Gentlemen, I'm sorry to interrupt but there's a man on the communication network from the Beobachter. I think it's the same guy who wrote the recent article about our company's cloning project. He wants to talk with you, Mr. Ekstrom, about our visitor from the World Council."

  "Mr. Ekstrom, let me talk with him." Seeing no reluctance from Klaus, Raul instructed Helga what to do next. "Helga put him on Mr. Ekstrom's receiver; voice only, no visual."

  Klaus nodded his approval to Helga to follow Raul's instructions.

  "Mr. Ekstrom here. What a pleasure to have a member of the Beobachter contact me. What can I do for you sir, and with whom am I speaking?"

  "Hello, Mr. Ekstrom. Thank you for speaking with me. I'm Boris Turrick and I'd like to ask you about the World Council member who is at Phoenvartis. I was wondering why he is at your company and what repercussions his visit will have on the cloning project? Can I get your..."

  Raul, pretending to be Klaus Ekstrom started laughing, so hard that Boris stopped asking his question.

  "Mr. Ekstrom, did I say something funny? If I did, don't keep me in the dark. Let me know...."

  Raul cut off Boris again. "Mr. Turrick, I think you have some erroneous information. You need to get better contacts at Phoenvartis." Before Boris could challenge his last comment, Raul went on.

  "The reason I'm laughing, Boris, is that we're trying to figure out the same things you're asking about. I was hoping you could give me the answer to why the World Council member is in Zurich and what he wants to know about Phoenvartis."

  "I don't understand Mr. Ekstrom. Are you saying that the World Council member …"?

  For the third time, Raul cut him off and said, "Boris, let me do this for you. I'm very busy today but I'm going to send over my personal assistant to see you and answer all your questions to the best of our ability. He's sitting here with me now and heard everything we said to each other. His name is Mr. Todd and I am now instructing him to be honest and forthwith when you interview him. Where and when can he meet you, Boris?"

  Raul could tell Boris was caught off guard. He never expected an offer to interview an emissary from Ekstrom's office. Before he could think clearly about the offer, Boris gave Raul a time and location to meet Mr. Todd.

  After the communication ended, Boris wondered if he had done the right thing. The conversation with Ekstrom went too easy. Phoenvartis had never been this open about their internal affairs. Why would they change their public relations policy now? Maybe his interview with Mr. Todd would answer this question in addition to the many others he already prepared for Ekstrom.

  "Why did you do that, Raul?"

  "Klaus, it's time to take care of Boris what's his name. We don't have the time now to figure out who from Phoenvartis is leaking information. So if you can't eliminate the informant then the next best thing is to eliminate the person who wants the information. Mr. Todd is exactly the guy to take care of this."

  "Good God, Raul, you make this sound like the overthrow of a government by assassination."

  "Klaus, Mr. Todd will do whatever he thinks is best to end Beobachter sticking their nose into our business. Forget that you and I discussed this. Believe me, you have more important things to worry about."

  Klaus knew Raul was right, but his plan sounded a little too evil. All he could hope for was that Mr. Todd handled Beobachter effectively without killing anyone.

  "Okay, Raul. Let's do it your way."

  "Good. Klaus, tell Helga to get the executive committee on your communication network and let's get this over with."

  It took only forty-five minutes to brief the executive committee on Slice's visit and speculate on what he wanted from Phoenvartis. Having Raul involved in the meeting was an unexpected benefit for Klaus. Raul's detailed report on what Slice did during his visit and what transpired since was good enough to calm the committee members. They wanted to know more but Raul convinced them that there was nothing more to report. He assured them that they would be updated on any new developments. Klaus couldn't remember the last time the executive committee was so agreeable and kept their arguments and opinions to a minimum.

  "Okay, Klaus, I've got to go and take care of things. Remember what I said about staying calm and don't do anything irrational. You know how to reach me. I'll be back at
the end of the day."

  Chapter Twenty

  Headaches for Everyone

  The next two days were littered with unexpected events.

  The follow-up article by Boris Turrick about the World Council member visiting Phoenvartis was never published. Sophia couldn't understand what happened. She gave Boris all the inside information on Sedgewick Slice. All he had to do was some investigative reporting and then write the article.

  She was very surprised to find out that Boris no longer worked at the Beobachter. When she tried to find out what happened to him, her questions hit a stone wall. The public relations person at the newspaper would only say, "our company policy is not to release any information about current or former associates."

  She struggled to think of something she could do to find out about Boris. Not because she cared about his welfare. Rather, she wanted to know if his leaving Beobachter had anything to do with her leaks about Phoenvartis? Did someone find out how he was getting inside information? And most important, was that someone trying to figure out who she was and how she could be so well versed in Phoenvartis business?

  Sophia racked her brain to remember every detail about interacting with Boris. She hadn't given him her name or position at Phoenvartis. But she dropped enough clues about herself so that some clever investigator could backtrack to her identity. She had to assume the worst. Someone not only stymied Boris's reporting about Phoenvartis but also was trying to identify her. God forbid Boris was subjected to a memory brain scan. If he had, there was a good chance he was a babbling idiot now and her days at Phoenvartis were numbered. She would never get the opportunity to earn a huge bonus for making the CR47 available to the Black Cross. In fact, her days as an undercover operative were over unless she could dramatically change her appearance before the next undercover job.