Crissy Chance

by Douglas E Roff

  Eene said, “I know Alana is on that list somewhere, so let’s deal with her first. I know she’s helpful in both projects but I don’t want her to stay here with us any longer. Not here, not anywhere. She can’t be trusted, she will betray us for a nickel, and any work she does she’ll sell if she can; I would not put it past her to collaborate with Edward as quickly as she can . There I’ve said my piece.”

  Misti and Noki agreed. “It is indisputable that she is the best qualified at what she does, but it is also indisputable that what Eene said is true. She can never be here permanently, and I trust her even less if she’s off site where we can’t monitor her.”

  Adam said, “I’m not defending her at all, but if we don’t do something with her, she may try sell what she already knows.”

  “I have an idea,” said Eene. “I say we hire her off site and disinform her to see if that info turns up somewhere. Especially with Edward and Anna. If it does, we send Hecate to implode a head.”

  Hecate was all in favor of the plan. So were Misti and Noki. Adam would speak to Alana and see where she was at in her head and see what interest if any she had in working with them. He also wanted to warn her not to try to sell information or deal with Edward. That, he would say, would put her in the middle of a war she did not want.

  “I’ll call her now,” said Adam.

  “You have her number?”

  “Her Sat phone? Yes. Gave it to her when she left.”

  Adam dialed the number. “Alana, it’s Adam. How’re things?”

  “Good. What’s up?”

  “What are your plans?”

  “None. Waiting for a phone call from you to be honest; hoping I might get an invite back.”

  “You’re not real popular here at the moment. I think Eene would like to knife you in your sleep.”

  “She has cause, of course. At the end I was horrible. Can’t say I’m sorry; wouldn’t mean anything. And the other ladies, well they never exactly warmed up to me either. Is this a ‘kiss off’ call or do we have something to discuss?”

  “Nope not a kiss off, but a practical call. I still want you on the team and here. Not sure I trust you, so it’s better for me if you’re somewhere close where I can watch you. But at the moment, that’s not realistic. How would you feel about working off site and gaining trust, then coming back when things are more settled?”

  “You mean Edward, Anna and Crissy are dead.”

  “That would improve attitudes and establish baseline trust for everyone concerned.”

  “Yes. Fine. But I can come back if I prove myself?”

  “Yes. Not at the residence to start, but in the City. This will not sit well with my mortals or Hecate.”

  “Well, when someone can do what I do, he or she can take my place.”

  “All right, where do you want to live?”

  “Why don’t you send money to my account, and I’ll decide that for myself. If I’m not trusted, then either are you.”

  “Fair enough.”

  ***

  When the call concluded, Alana made a call of her own. “They contacted me. Won’t let me back in their secret lair, but will hire me to work off site. What do you want me to do?”

  The voice on the other end said, “Take their money, do the work and report back. If there’s any clue about their location, anything, let us know. Otherwise go to Madrid, get an apartment, and use the drop off at the mail center. Get an adjoining box to mine, and leave the duplicate key at the front desk of the Palacio Hotel under the name Radner. Call if there’s something you need or if you have anything important.”

  “Make the deposit.”

  “Swiss francs, US dollars or Euros?”

  “Swiss francs. Send confirmation when you make the deposit.”

  ***

  Adam started again, “As you all know we have two projects in front of us, one that will take all our immediate and future time and resources, and the other which should but cannot. My suggestion, and it is only that, is that you let Hecate and me deal with dear old Mom and Dad along with Crissy and their new nut case, while the rest of you concentrate on Noki’s project. Paraiso is the top priority; I can hire the people we need to chase down Edward. We found them once, we’ll either find them again or we’ll catch them coming back to their London home. They don’t yet know that we know where they’re hiding in London. That gives us the benefit of surprise. Either way, I still believe we have the advantage and that they know less than we do about the Marco Polo Cache and the whereabouts of Laura and Gaea.”

  “Easy to say,” said Noki. “We have no idea where the ladies are either and even less of an idea where the Cache is located. And, even if Edward had the Cache or the ladies, which I doubt, he’d still be after us. Ma and Pa want Adam dead and we’re just toys to torture and play with. I say ‘all hands on deck’ until they’re dead.”

  “All right, what’re the assignments?”

  “Whatever you say they are. Why, did you think I want to be in charge?”

  “No, just the opposite. But, if I may be so indelicate, neither you nor Mistii really want back in the game, and Eene wouldn’t hurt a fly. I’d rather you all be here and safe and protected, and let my men and women who are trained for this, like Ocatavio and the Bentley brothers, do their jobs. Besides, thanks to Fionna, I do know where Laura is. Fionna left something that allows me to track her.”

  “I thought that was Immortal tech?”

  “It is. But she left Hecate with that tech and she installed a backup in my mind.”

  “She can do that?”

  “Apparently, yes.”

  “What else?”

  “Noki is in charge of the overall Paraiso project. Misti is in charge of the day to day operations. Eene is HR and peacemaker with law enforcement authority. The scientists and tech folks are not known for lack of ego; Eene seems to be able to resolve disputes peacefully, even if grumbling is heard afterward. You know I won’t do it like she can, and neither can either of you. Besides I have need of Eene elsewhere.”

  Eene’s ears perked up. “Oh, where?”

  “I need you to help me with something.”

  “What?”

  “Something important. I’d rather not say right now. It will upset someone here and I’d prefer to talk this over with you first.”

  “You said no secrets.”

  “This is not a secret. This is an HR issue, and you are now in charge. As Chief Tyrant, I’d prefer a consultation with my head of HR first.”

  “What’s HR?”

  “Human Resources; hiring, evaluating, deciding. That sort of thing.”

  “You want to know if you hire a particular someone whether either Noki or Misti, or both, will go ballistic. I’m guessing Misti. Noki wouldn’t go ballistic, she’s just kill whoever it was once he or she arrived.”

  “Correct.”

  “Bigger than a bread box?”

  “Yes.”

  “Male or female?”

  “Female.”

  “Good, now Misti of all the women you and Adam have ever worked with on anything, and given our HR needs, who do you hate the most?”

  “Beata Spellman.”

  “Never heard of her. Noki?”

  “Nope.”

  Adam said, “CEO of the Beata Spellman Group. BSG. Four women, plus many helpers. Computer whiz. I knew her and her partners at CalTech. Misti is not friendly with Beata and Beata is unhappy with me. If she’s the one. I didn’t say whether she was or wasn’t.”

  Eene ignored Adam. “Misti, can you work with this Beata Spellman?”

  “Can I kick her ass first? You know what they say in show biz, ‘break a leg’. May I?”

  “TBD, as we HR professionals always say. Let’s meet these ladies first, then decide.”

  “I hate her.”

  “But you love me, right?”

  “Yes, I suppose. What’s the catch?”

  “Extras. Specialties, goodies and overtime. I promise, since I’m now in charg
e of HR and all the HR rules. And, FYI, I now make the schedule.”

  “I never said …”

  “Too late, Adam. Ladies, am I or am I not in charge of the ‘alone time’ schedule as head of HR?”

  The ladies smiled. “You’re in charge. It was his idea.”

  Eene said, “Give me her number. I’ll call and make the appointment.”

  Chapter 47

  “BTG Associates. How may I direct your call?” The woman answering the phone had to be one of the four partners in BTG; Adam knew the four had fallen on hard times, had trouble competing for the lucrative contracts in the public and private sector, had a rep for delivering the goods, but were almost always behind schedule. The problem was not their work; it was exceptional when equal to their skills and talents. But hard times had landed squarely on their heads; they were forced to take projects beneath them, causing them to be bored and become slow in delivery.

  They had already let almost all of their staff go and hoped some would be available on a contract basis should good work suddenly turn up. They had largely been reduced to doing maintenance contracts on their previous work and the work of others. They were comfortable but had trouble from time to time paying the rent in their midtown Manhattan offices, not far from the big St. James Mindwerks building tower they could see from their offices. Most of their own commercial space was now vacant.

  Eene said, “I’d like to speak to Beata Spellman and her partners if they are available. I can call back if this is inconvenient.”

  “May I ask what you are calling about?”

  “Work. I was referred to you by an old acquaintance who was super impressed with your creativity in problem solving; said you were unique in your thinking and thought the you were the right group for the complex issues my principal faces. It would be full time work for an indefinite period of time, and out-of-country. All expenses paid.”

  The woman on the other end of the call, JoJo Hendrix, was indeed a partner in BTG and was very interested. She did not know who made the referral, but whoever had was an angel. Rent was due; a retainer could solve a lot of problems.

  “Let me see if the partners are available. I think they’re all here, so you called at just the right time.”

  In fact, any time was the right time. The four barely left the building except for a maintenance jobs and spent most of their time on the phone trying to find work. Their break with Adam St. James had been public and hostile; they industry wanted no part of Beata Spellman, but the other women were often offered jobs or other contract work. But the “Witches Four” had been friends since college, close friends with Adam, and had founded and run BTG all the way up the ladder of success and all the way back down.

  The woman came back on the line, “They’re collecting in the conference room. They’ll be available any second.”

  Eene suspected that they were huddling around a cell phone that was about to go on speaker. She had called the number on BTG’s website and found it was no longer in service. Not much of what was on the site was accurate any longer; most of the company was gone, repossessed by suppliers or their bank. They lived together in a two bedroom flat in Brooklyn and rode the subway to their office each day. When the lease was up, or they could get out of it, they would work from home to ease the cash flow pressures. They had even considered moving out of their homes and moving into their offices to save money.

  “Hello again. The partners are all here. Beata Spellman, CEO, JoJo Hendrix, Cia Generro and Cori Sanders. May we ask your name?”

  “Yes, my name is Eene Birkenstock, like the shoes, and I represent a group that is running two important projects simultaneously and is in need of a variety of services related to software engineering, research, development and some security work.”

  “You mean hacking?”

  “More like using available legal digital information to our advantage. We’re looking for someone and something. Can’t find it or him or her so far.”

  “May we ask who this principal is?”

  “I can say it is a group, it is led by a retired computer software engineer and his work is ninety percent philanthropic. The other ten percent is personal.”

  “You realize that it would be difficult for us to pick up and leave New York City. We have obligations here; we have offices and apartment rentals. Plus, we have our work here which pays the bills. Can you tell us a little more about the project? Funding? Compensation. It would be a big move.”

  “We agree. My principal is willing to pay off your building lease, all apartment leases, pay for moving to our headquarters and an advance up front. We would need to meet first to discuss whether you want the work, and to meet our team, but the offer is genuine.”

  “Meet here in New York?”

  “No. Onsite in a rather remote area where our main project is situated. No worries, we’ll fly you here, all-expense paid as I said. Take very good care of you. We are willing to go to great lengths to persuade you to join us.”

  “As employees? That’s not really our thing.”

  “Nope. Consultants, independent contractors, whatever you like. That’s form; you are each substance. We want you, however the package is structured.”

  “When do we meet?”

  “We’ll send a jet to pick you up tomorrow. As far as your work goes, bring whatever you need and let us know if you are doing service work. We can temp that out for you. I cannot stress the urgency of this proposal.”

  “You said you’d pay off our leases and provide some up-front cash; a signing bonus? May I ask how much?”

  “One million dollars.”

  “That’s two hundred fifty thousand dollars each. That’s a lot of cabbage. Do we know your principal?”

  “Yes. You’ve met. And the million dollars. That’s each. I have been authorized to transfer the money today to your account if it would provide assurances of our intentions. But I must be honest, where we are located is remote and there are certain dangers associated with what we do. Even if you decide not to proceed with us, we’ll still pay your leases and you keep the cash. Like I said, we wish to make the best impression possible.”

  “If we say yes, is any of this illegal?”

  “No, though the personal stuff may at times cross the line. As I said, this is mostly philanthropic.”

  “May we ask generally what the work is?”

  “Sure. We’re building a City. We call it the City of Light. Bring your Passports”

  ***

  The ladies agreed; some were excited, some were apprehensive, some were both. It sounded too good to be true but when the money hit their accounts and the leases were confirmed paid in full, they had no recourse but to take the bait and at least meet this guy, whoever he was. They were packed, and on the jet the next morning. They would arrive in Amman, change planes, then arrive in Paraiso later that evening.

  ***

  Eene and Noki asked Adam and Misti, “What exactly is the problem here? They seemed fine on the phone. I know that Hecate knows but she’s not talking. So why do you two seem to hate the Witches Four?”

  Adam answered first. “I don’t; in fact, quite the opposite. I love them all. Beata hates me, but her reasons are way off the mark; the other ladies are still, I think, my good friends. What Beata is so angry about is a fight between her and Kalindra. But she blames me; thinks it was my idea to fuck with them over and destroy their business. Not true. But Beata has a mouth like mine and she said some things to Kalindra that were personal and insensitive; things that should never have been said. Kalindra retaliated, and since it was the business side, she never mentioned it to me until one day she did. I wasn’t very happy about it, but by then the damage was already done and my relationship turned frosty with Beata and her partners after that. None of the ladies believed me; they all thought if I had my name on the Mindwerks, I would have to know everything that went on. I did not. They were hurt. I tried to help but was told to stay away; they would fight their own way back. I think the anon
ymous approach, getting them here not knowing I’m involved, is the best route. Then I’m going to get Kalindra on the phone with them to explain. That should end the feud. Misti is a different story.”

  Misti said, “I have no problem with JoJo, Cia or Cori. I adore them all. Beata is an entirely different story. When Adam and I were doing the OT List in college, Beata refused to help. Told us, me, that this was none of her business, that it was quite possibly illegal and she wanted no part of it. She was not going to jail for me, Adam or someone she didn’t know or care about.”

  “How many have you helped?”

  “Counting you, one hundred eighteen, and the bad situations we prevented, double that. All on our own. We just needed some help on one case. Beata said to get lost. To a sister in need. We haven’t spoken since. The woman was raped and murdered before we could intervene. Beata could have saved her life. I understand why Adam wants to hire BTG but Beata needs to steer clear of me. I’ll fuck her up big time if she says one word to me.”

  Adam said, “I doubt it. You’re not that kind of woman anymore. I was disappointed in Beata too but she was right. What we do is illegal and is a crime. All felonies. She had every right to say no, as disappointing as it was at the time. I agree with Misti that the woman, Clara Wright, would still be alive today if Beata had helped. It was unforgivable. But she made her decision. I accept it. But after that I came to believe that Beata was out for Beata. She was not the reliable and caring resource we believed her to be. That’s it. Now you know.”

  Hecate said, “That’s hardly all. That’s the surface stuff. The Witches Four and Adam were close, and by close, I mean c-l-o-s-e. They were friends, lovers, confidants and colleagues. Adam was finishing his Ph.D. when they all met, he hanging around with no idea what to do with his life, and the Four Freshman at Cal Tech who knew exactly what they wanted to do. Then they met Adam, the legend. It was love, lust and chemistry between the ladies and Adam right away. He was at their house, which the four shared, almost every day. He cooked, cleaned, tidied up and talked computers, software, the future and saving the planet. Adam was truly happy for the first time in his life. It was a dream. When he left, it was hard on them all.”