by Max Barry
“What?”
“There’s a girl,” Buy said, “hiding behind your legs.”
She looked down. “Buy, this is Kate. Kate, meet Buy.”
Buy waved. “Pleased to meet you.” Kate didn’t say anything. She had dark eyes, like her mother. Buy felt a twinge of nervousness. He didn’t have much experience with kids.
Jennifer said, “Kate, why don’t you get changed?”
Kate left wordlessly. There was something going on here, Buy thought. Kate’s face looked like a storm; Jennifer’s was tired and strained. “She’s cute,” Buy said. He stirred a pot.
“Yeah. She is.” Jennifer looked at him. “Look, I have something to ask… a favor. A big one.”
“Sure.”
“I’ve been given an assignment in London. I don’t know how long it will be. Maybe a week.”
“You’re leaving? When?”
“Tonight.”
Buy looked at his casserole. “Do you have time to eat?”
“No.”
“Oh. Lucky I’m hungry.”
“You can say no…but I need someone to look after Kate.” She watched him.
Buy almost laughed. “You want me to take care of your daughter?”
“You’d only have to pick her up after school or aftercare, feed her—”
“Isn’t there anyone else you’d rather do this? Family? Her father?”
“Look,” Jennifer said, “I’m asking you, okay?”
“Okay.” He hesitated. “You don’t know me very well.”
“Sure I do.”
“Well, okay, then,” Buy said. “I’d be honored.”
“Thanks. Thank you.” He could see the relief on her face. “I thought maybe you could stay here, so Kate’s not in a new environment. Is that all right?”
“Sure.”
Kate reappeared in the doorway. Jennifer said, “Honey, Buy will be looking after you while I’m away.”
Kate looked at him.
“All right? He’s cooking a nice meal for you.” She waited.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You don’t have to eat now. It’s not ready yet. You can eat later.”
Kate was silent.
“I’m sorry,” Jennifer said. She pressed her hand against her forehead. “Kate, I’m so sorry. I have to pack.”
She left. Buy and Kate looked at each other.
“Well,” Buy said. “Looks like you and me are in for a fun time.”
Kate looked at the stove. “What are you cooking?”
“A casserole. You like it?”
“What is it?”
“You don’t know what a casserole is?”
Kate shook her head.
“What do you eat?”
“Spaghetti, mostly.”
“Well, then,” Buy said. “You’re in for quite a treat.”
“You speak funny.”
“That’s because I was born in France. I can teach you a few words of my language, if you like. You can impress your friends with your command of français.”
“What?”
“Français,” Buy said, “is French for French.”
“What’s French for Kate?”
“Kate,” Buy said.
“Oh.”
“Most of the other words are different,” he assured her. “You will sound very sophisticated.”
“Okay.” She smiled a little. “I think I am hungry now.”
Kate set the table and over dinner they talked about French cheeses. Kate wouldn’t believe that France had five hundred types and she asked Buy to name them. He struggled to get past ten, and anyway she accused him of making up Roquefort.
“It’s real,” Jennifer said, coming into the room. “I’ve seen it myself.” Kate didn’t say anything. Jennifer looked at Buy, and he noticed again how tired she looked. “Thanks so much for this. I’ll call as soon as I can.”
“Sure.”
She squatted beside Kate. Kate stared at her plate. “You know I don’t want to do this. Right? As soon as I get back, you and me will go down to the dog shelter. The minute I get back.”
“Yes, Mommy.”
“I love you. I love you so much.”
Buy said, “Do you need help with your bags?”
She looked up. “Thanks, no. My shoulder’s a lot better.” She kissed Kate, then him on the cheek. “I’m sorry, I really have to run.”
“Have a good trip.”
“Thanks.” She dragged her suitcase out the front door.
Buy played with his fork. Kate stared at her empty plate. When Jennifer had invited him over, this was not how Buy had envisioned the evening.
“Okay!” he said. “Should we see what’s in the freezer for dessert?”
Kate sniffed. Buy realized she was crying, or about to. He felt panic.
“Hey…” He rose and went over to her, feeling awkward. What did he know about kids? Nothing. “She’ll be back before you know it. I bet.”
Kate’s lip was trembling; her eyes were filling. Buy didn’t know what to do. Then she reached out for him, and he hugged her. Her tiny arms felt strange around his neck. Strange and nice. He stroked her hair.
“You’re a very brave girl.” He held her for a long time, until she stopped trembling. “Some dessert now?” he said, and felt her nod.
49 The Gap
Everyone was very worked up when Hack arrived at the parking lot. “Have you seen the news?” Leisl demanded. Leisl had green hair and heavy makeup; her main beef was with genetically modified food but she was basically willing to stick it to anyone who was making a lot of money.
“What news?” Hack said.
“They shot some people. One company went in and shot some people from another company. It’s like organized crime. It’s like the mob.”
“Oh, wow,” Hack said. “No, I hadn’t heard.” He wondered if Nike was involved.
“That’s why tonight is so important,” Thomas said. Thomas was the youngest, just a kid, really. He hated inequality, like how only rich people got to ride first-class in airplanes. “Right, Hack?”
“Right,” Hack said. “Hi, Claire.”
“Hi.” She smiled. Her breath fogged in the night air. “You still want to go ahead with this?”
“Hell, yes,” Hack said. “Bring it on.” He wondered if he should make a little speech.
“Yeah!” Thomas said. Thomas was pretty excited. Hack guessed they all were.
“Well, we’re all set,” Leisl said. “I’ve secured the guy ropes. Any time you’re ready.”
“Okay.” He wasn’t totally confident about Leisl, so he checked the ropes himself. It was six stories to the ground. Hack didn’t want to find out halfway down that Leisl had used hemp rope or something. “Then let’s do it.”
On the side of the parking lot was an enormous billboard, on which a model advertised stretch pants for The Gap. The model was four stories tall but her arms were like sticks. He and Claire were going to go down and spray-paint a speech bubble that said FEED ME.
They got trussed up and stood together on the ledge. Claire’s cheeks were red; from the excitement or the cold, Hack didn’t know. She took his hand. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Bombs away,” Hack said, and stepped over the edge. The street, sixty feet down, swung out before him. His head spun. His body screamed out for him to get vertical. What are you doing? Hack, you don’t do things like this! But Hack was doing it. He started to get the knack of it and pushed off from the side, then swung back. It was kind of fun. Soon he was rappelling down the billboard in great leaps. He stopped when he reached the model’s neck and looked up. Claire was still edging down. “You okay?”
“Yes!”
He blew on his hands to keep them warm. Hack was getting a pretty good view of the Punt Road shopping strip from here. The traffic looked like a metal river. He wondered what the drivers made of him and Claire.
Claire slowly made her way down. “What are you, some kind of stunt man
? Jumping and leaping like an idiot.”
He grinned. “It’s fun.”
She smiled, studying him. “You know, I’m proud of you.”
“What?”
“I thought you’d be moping around, feeling bad about Violet… I’m impressed. You’re doing great.”
“Violet and me were never such a great couple.” But Claire was right, of course. The old Hack would be inconsolable about being dumped; bitter about being left behind while Violet enjoyed her new success overseas. But this wasn’t the old Hack. This was the New and Improved Hack.
“Good for you.” Claire popped the lid from a spray can and started on the speech bubble. She was concentrating hard, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth. Hack smiled. He opened his mouth and what popped out was, “I loved you first, you know.”
Claire looked at him, startled. “What?”
“Urn…”
“What?” She lowered the spray can. “Tell me.”
“I was in love with you,” Hack confessed. “Before Violet.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“But I was sweet on you. I kept waiting for you to ask me out. But you never did.”
“I didn’t know you were…”He felt embarrassed. “I didn’t know you liked me.”
“How could you not know? I made it so obvious. You met my parents.”
“Yeah…” That was when he’d met Violet, Hack remembered: the dinner with Claire’s family. “I guess I just couldn’t believe it.”
Claire smiled and turned back to her spray-painting. “What’s so hard to believe?”
“Well, you know…you’re so…so…” He hesitated.
She looked at him. “I’m so what?”
“Curious,” Hack said.
Claire laughed, and the sound bounced around the parking lot. Hack felt happy. “You’re an idiot.”
“Was an idiot.”
“And what does that mean?”
“It means I wished I’d asked you out,” he said. He gave Claire’s arm a playful push, but of course she was hanging from a rope and she gasped in surprise and grabbed at him. Hack lost his footing and swung into the wall. He hit it awkwardly and his breath escaped in a gasp. Then Claire crashed into his back and they were both hanging against the freezing concrete. He twisted around and got hold of Claire. “Oh shit, shit, are you okay?”
“Are you trying to kill us?” Claire said, but she was starting to laugh.
“No, I swear.” Her lips were inches from his, and it was too close, really. There was nothing he could do about that. He kissed her and she kissed him back. It felt like something bursting free. He heard someone whimper and didn’t know if it was him or her.
“Hey!” Leisl shouted. “You guys all right down there?”
He broke the kiss. He and Claire were breathing fast, fogging the air between them. “Yes!” Hack called. “Everything’s fine!”
50 Team Advantage
Violet wanted two things very much: to go home, and three million dollars. She wasn’t sure which of these things she wanted more, but that was a moot point anyway, because there were a lot of ExxonMobil people intent on preventing either one. They were very insistent: at one point they used needles to quieten her down. Now she was locked in an office sick bay with no windows and she was having trouble remembering her own name.
She stared at a pair of brown shoes for a while before she realized they implied a presence. She started. Her arms flailed.
“Shhh. Calm down.”
“Who—”
“Don’t start screaming again. Don’t make me get the doctor.”
“I wasn’t screaming,” Violet said, but maybe she had been.
“You want to get out of here?”
“Yes. Home. Please.”
“You think you can answer some questions?”
She bit her lip hard to help concentrate. She nodded.
“Okay. Don’t do anything stupid.” Then some other people filed into the room. One was a woman with green eyes and a light brown bob. A man pulled up a chair for her to sit in.
“Hello, Violet. Do you know who I am?”
Violet shook her head.
“I’m Holly T.A. The CEO of Team Advantage.”
The words didn’t mean anything. Violet stared at Holly’s eyes. They were very green.
“You’ve been through quite an experience. How are you feeling?”
“Someone stuck a needle in me.”
“That was to help you relax, honey. We’re all on the same side. We just want to help.”
Violet said nothing.
“I want to ask you about last Thursday. In the board room of ExxonMobil. You know what I’m talking about?”
“Yes.”
“There was a man. This is very important. The man seemed to recognize you. Do you know who he is?”
“What man?”
“The—” Holly stopped. “Honey, two days ago you were in the ExxonMobil board room and a man with a gun came in. Do you remember that?”
“A gun?”
“He shot Nathaniel ExxonMobil. Do you know who that man is?”
“He came in…” Violet said, and then there were men holding her down. Holly was on her feet, her eyes wide.
“Violet!” one of the men shouted in her face. “Violet!”
She snapped her mouth closed. Shapes swam in front of her eyes, so she shut them, too.
“Maybe this is a bad time,” someone said. “What’s she on?”
“Ativan. I didn’t know anyone wanted to interview her. You said you wanted her quiet.”
“Enough,” Holly said. Violet felt a hand on her forehead. She opened her eyes. Holly was sitting beside her, her green eyes filled with concern. Violet felt a rush of affection for Holly. “Do your best, honey. Just do your best.”
“Help me.”
“I will. Just tell me who the man is.”
The fog cleared a little. Violet remembered him standing in her living room, his face dark. Violet, is that your name? If you do this, you’ll regret it. I guarantee it.
She said, “His name is John Nike.”
“Ah,” Holly said. She nodded, pleased. “Good girl.”
They took her off the drugs, and then it was better. By the next morning Violet’s mind was almost clear, and when they brought her luggage from the hotel, she could shower and change clothes. The downside was that her memories got bigger and brighter; sometimes she couldn’t stop thinking about John Nike. She wanted to get away from London.
She was stuffing her old clothes into her bag when Holly appeared. “Well, you’re looking one hundred percent better.”
“That would be because no one’s injecting me anymore.”
Holly smiled. “I’m sorry. They tell me you were uncontrollable.” She sat on the bunk. “Violet, I need you to do something for me.”
“Well, I need you to give me three million bucks,” Violet said. “And a ride to the airport would be nice, too.”
Holly blinked. “Pardon me?”
“Nathaniel ExxonMobil bought my software for two point eight million dollars. I did everything he wanted. Now I want to get paid.”
“Hmm,” Holly said. “That’s really something you have to take up with ExMo. It’s not a T.A. matter.”
“I don’t care whose matter it is. I have a contract.”
“Well, I’ll see what I can do. And in return, you can do a little job for me.”
“No. I’m not doing any little jobs, especially for people who think it’s fun to stick me with needles. I’m getting my money and going home.”
“Don’t you even want to hear me out?”
Violet zipped her bag. “No.”
“There’s an important meeting today, between T.A., US Alliance, and the Government. I want you to come and tell me if you see this John Nike there.”
She felt the air go out of her. “No way am I going to do that. No way.”
“You have a lot of money at stake.”
<
br /> “You—you owe me that money whether I help you or not.”
“Be realistic,” Holly said.
“No!” Violet heard her voice tremble. “I’m not going anywhere near John Nike! You get that?” She slung her bag over her shoulder. A man stepped into the doorway, blocking it. He was wearing a Police soldier uniform. His nametag said: ONE.
“Maybe I made this sound too much like a request,” Holly said, and Violet started to cry.
51 US Alliance
John had twenty minutes to review a bunch of advertising campaigns and get his ass down to Parliament House. The agency had set up a room full of mock-ups for him to consider: there were posters on the walls, TVs blaring, radios chattering. They’d gone to a lot of effort because John was here to decide whether they’d get a piece of US Alliance’s global advertising budget. John’s career had taken off like a rocket in the last week. It had taken off the moment he put a car through the front window of ExxonMobil.
“What the hell is that meant to be?” he asked, pointing at a TV. To his cellphone: “No, not you, Georgia.”
“We’re very pleased with this one,” the agency man said. “You see, there are elements of George Orwell’s 1984, which of course already has an established advertising mindset thanks to the Apple—”
“You gotta be kidding me,” John said. “The Government as all-powerful?”
“Ah, well—”
“Keep going,” he said to Georgia. “You were explaining to me how Gregory Nike found out I have a Government problem.”
“The Government is asking everyone questions.” Georgia sounded tired: it must be late in Melbourne. “Ever since the ExxonMobil… incident. They want to know where our top executives are.”
“Has Jennifer contacted you?” The agency man stopped in front of a poster. It said: LOOSE LIPS SINK SPONSORSHIPS—OBEY YOUR NDA. John looked at him in disgust.
“No, John.”
He sighed. He really needed John to wake up out of that goddamn coma; John would be able to take care of problems like Jennifer Government. He looked at his watch. “When I next speak to you, you’re going to tell me exactly where she is. All right? I’ll take care of the rest.” He was about to end the call, then a thought struck him. “Georgia, is Hack still working for Nike?”