by Lynn Ames
“Ah. I see. He was bluffing, Jay. Short of asking me a direct question or accessing my banking records or yours, he would have no way of knowing that.”
“Okay. Well, he would need a subpoena to get to either of our bank accounts, and I’m pretty sure we’d know if he’d done that.”
“I would hope so,” Dara said.
“Dara?”
“Yes?”
“They were trying their best to get me to give them a copy of the manuscript. It wouldn’t surprise me if, having struck out with me, they would try to intimidate you into cooperating or backing away from the project.”
“I told you at the outset. I’m not easily scared and I’m certainly not giving them access to either the manuscript or the screenplay.”
“But if you want to walk away, I could refund you every penny. I would understand.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s never going to happen. We’re going to make this movie, and it’s going to be spectacular.”
Dara didn’t waver. She sounded strong, resolute. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m positive. If the FBI has something to say to me, they can talk to my attorney.”
Jay closed her eyes and thanked Heaven for bringing Dara and Rebecca into her life.
“Jay? Are you still there?”
“I am. If I haven’t said so lately, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For wanting to take a chance on this—on me.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you—for trusting us with something so important and personal. We won’t let you down, Jay.”
Warmth suffused Jay’s body as the sincerity of Dara’s words sunk in, bringing her comfort. “I know.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I know I’ve been a little testy lately,” Vaughn said. She was peering over Sabastien’s shoulder as he parsed some data on one of the companies they’d flagged as a likely Commission target.
Her proximity made Sabastien so nervous his palms were sweating. Unsure what to say, he said nothing and continued to focus on the task at hand.
“Look, I’m trying to apologize here. Can you at least take a second to stop what you’re doing and look at me?”
Tentatively, Sabastien twirled his seat around. “I am seeing you.”
“Thanks.” Vaughn pulled up a chair and sat with her hands clasped between her knees. “I want you to understand that my displeasure isn’t with you, exactly.”
“No?”
Vaughn shook her head. “The truth is, I feel completely responsible for putting you in peril yet again. It seems being around me isn’t good for you.”
“I do not understand.” Sabastien raised his hands and let them fall to his sides. “You are here protecting me. You have stopped your life, again, to look after me. How is this putting me in danger?”
“I wouldn’t be here looking out for you, and you wouldn’t be watching over your shoulder for bad guys, if I hadn’t gotten you involved with the White House in the first place. You said as much yourself.”
Sabastien scrunched up his face. He wanted to understand what Vaughn was saying and why she appeared to be so exasperated, but it made no sense. “I am convoluted.”
Vaughn burst out laughing.
“I made a funny?”
“You are convoluted, my friend. But in this instance, what you mean to say is that you are confused.”
“Oui. C’est ça.”
“I’m listening.”
“I was in need of a job. You spoke with the president of your country on my behalf and he engaged me—me!” Sabastien pointed at his chest. “Sabastien Vaupaul, to watch his behind and ensure the security of your government’s electronic communications. This is unbelievable. I am living my dream. What I said to you I said out of fear. I did not mean anything by it.”
“This is living your dream? Being on the run and holed up in yet another foreign country, with the US government convinced you’re a traitor and the Commission wanting you out of the way?”
“Well, perhaps not exactly this moment, no. But in general, I am happy, Vaughn Elliott. I am doing what I love to do and getting paid a lot of money for it. I live in the most important city in your country. I never imagined such a life before I met you. Such excitement!”
Vaughn growled low in her throat.
“You make this sound and I think that you are frustrated with me,” Sabastien said. “I want to understand. Truly, I do. But I do not.”
“No. You don’t,” Vaughn agreed. “In some ways you are the smartest man I know. Nobody is better when it comes to computers. But as a human being, you are so innocent and naïve. I just want to protect you from the world you don’t see. There are very real threats to you out there, Sabastien.” Vaughn gestured in the direction of the window.
“I am aware. But you did not create the hack that makes this trouble. The Black Knight, or whoever he is, did this. Not you.” Sabastien pointed a finger at Vaughn. “Not you. You remind me of those cowboys I see in your old movies. The ones with John Wayne and Gary Cooper.”
“You watch old westerns?”
“Oui. Bien sûr.”
“Why?”
“It is part of your culture. I am curious.”
“You never cease to amaze me.” Vaughn stood up. “In any event, I’m trying to apologize to you here. I want you to know I’m not angry with you. I’m angry with myself for getting you into this mess in the first place—for making this mess possible.”
“Okay. I accept your apology, Vaughn Elliott. And I am grateful that you will maybe stop being so nasty. But please do not be a cowboy. I understand what is happening and why I am here in Casablanca. We will fix this, and we can all go home soon, yes?”
“Okay.”
“Now, I am on the verge of something important here. If you could get Lorraine for me, I think I have found something meaningful.”
“Roger that.” Vaughn left the room in search of Lorraine.
Sabastien smiled to himself. He would have to give Lorraine a big thank you when next they were alone. Vaughn Elliott apologizing to him. Who would have figured that?
“I’ve already apologized twenty times for not telling you Lorraine was going to stay behind,” Peter said. “How many more times will I have to say mea culpa before I’m off the hook?”
“It’s not like you forgot to mention that you bought a new television,” Kate answered.
“Definitely not,” Jay agreed. “Have you spoken to her?”
“I have not. We agreed that we would only make contact when we had something significant or actionable to share.”
“How romantic.”
“Did you invite me over here to browbeat me, or are we going to get down to business and figure out who John Robie is so we can clear Sabastien and bring our friends home?”
“Yes to both,” Kate said.
“Fantastic.” Peter opened his laptop, booted it up, and inserted the USB drive Vaughn gave him. “By the way, your FBI buddies are parked around the corner.”
“I am painfully aware,” Jay said.
“Honestly, I’m surprised they’d expend the manpower to tail you. That’s unusual.”
“I feel so honored.”
“I’m sure you do.” He put a hand on top of Jay’s hand. “The scramblers I put in place will prevent them from being able to eavesdrop on anything that is said in this house. Your privacy is assured.”
“That’s something,” Jay said morosely.
Peter withdrew his hand. “Let’s catch the bad guys and get you your lives back.” He clicked on the spreadsheet containing all of the companies and government entities John Robie had hacked within the past five years.
Kate and Jay maneuvered their chairs so that they could see the screen. “What are we looking for?” Kate asked.
“Patterns. We need to know more about this guy. We have to get inside his head. Then we can build out a more detailed profile on him.”
“Even if we can do that, trying
to ID him is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Jay said.
“You’re unusually pessimistic today.”
“Being grilled by the FBI will do that,” Jay said.
“Point taken. But here’s the thing.” Peter opened a new spreadsheet and set up a series of columns. “This guy is prolific and arrogant. He has to have been on somebody’s radar before now. If so, it’s likely there’s a paper trail on him—possibly a criminal record or at least an investigation. If so, we’ll find it. We just need to organize what information we have into a cogent format so we can see what’s right in front of us.”
“That’s it,” Dara said. “We’ve got the last of the major parts cast and the contracts and confidentiality agreements signed.” She turned the laptop screen so that George could see it.
“It’s a good cast. One I can work with. Are you pleased?”
“I am. These are all seasoned actors with significant film credits and reputations for being dedicated to craft. There’s not a diva or difficult personality in the mix. These are all actors with integrity.”
“I agree. I’m sure you explained to them the unusual circumstances of the project?”
“I did. I wanted to make sure no one would back out if the going gets tough.”
“You told them they would have to sign out their scripts and pages everyday? And that the scripts and pages would be tracked electronically?”
“Yes. They were mostly intrigued by the prospect of working on something this tightly controlled. Very James Bond-ish.”
“I’ve been blocking the scenes with an eye toward ensuring that we can be nimble and versatile if we have to change shoot locations.”
“Any word from the location scouts?” Dara asked.
“We’ve narrowed it down to several possibilities. I’m awaiting cost estimates for each to present to you and the other investors.”
Dara’s phone buzzed and she picked it up from the table so that she could read the display. “Huh.”
“Huh?”
“My attorney.” She rose and took the phone with her. “Sorry, George. Give me a second?”
“Sure.”
“Hello? This is Dara.”
“Dara? Ross Takada here.”
“What can I do for you, Ross?”
“I got a call from an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He would like to sit down with you and discuss a project he alleges you’re working on. You know, the one you had me draft the confidentiality agreements for.”
Dara’s heart rate accelerated. That didn’t take long. She was glad Jay told her about her earlier visit; it lessened the shock. At least the FBI didn’t knock on your door like they did with Jay. They went through your lawyer. Even so, the fact that the FBI wanted to chat with her was unnerving. “What did you tell the agent?”
“I told him I would talk to you. Want to tell me what’s going on? Confidentiality agreements are one thing. This is something completely different.”
Did she want to give Ross the details? “Are you better off not knowing?”
“Not if you’re in trouble.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong, Ross. The FBI would prefer that the film the agent referenced not be made. I intend to go ahead with it.”
“I see. What can you tell me about the film? Why are the Feds interested? And why all the extra secrecy and security protocols for the principals involved?”
“Everything I tell you falls under attorney-client privilege, right?”
“It does.”
“Okay. I bought the rights to Jamison Parker’s unpublished novel.”
Ross whistled. “The one I keep reading about in the papers?”
“Yes.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Ross? Did I lose you?”
“No. That’s the project the confidentiality agreements were for?”
“Yes.”
“I can see why the FBI wants to speak with you.”
“I’m assuming I’m under no obligation to do so.”
“Correct.”
“And I’m also assuming you’d advise me not to.”
“Correct. But you and I ought to sit down and talk this through.”
“The FBI already tried to lean on Jay.”
“Jay?”
“I’m sorry. Ms. Parker.”
“Well, she’d be the likely place to start. Without her, you’d have nothing to work with and they wouldn’t be calling me. I would guess she was less than cooperative?”
“I don’t know what exact words she used, but I can tell you the gist of the message was for them to go pound salt.”
“Dara, I’m obliged to advise you that if there is anything top secret that will be revealed in the film—if national security could be compromised as the FBI intimated—you could be in legal jeopardy.”
Dara pursed her lips in thought. “In order for me to be in trouble, would I have to know specifically that I was revealing classified information? I mean, if it was classified, how would I know?”
“I wouldn’t want to have to cut it that fine, if I were you. Do you believe the manuscript to which you purchased the rights and/or the subsequent screenplay contain anything top secret?”
“No.” Dara thought about it. “Jay’s work is a fictional account based on true events. But it is fiction.”
“You trust her?”
“I do.” Dara didn’t hesitate. She truly did trust Jay. Jay would not intentionally put her or Rebecca in harm’s way, of that she was certain.
“Okay then. I’ll let the FBI know that you have declined a sit-down and that if they have any additional business with you, they’ll have to go through me.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Ross.”
“Don’t thank me yet. And we really should get together and have a more in-depth conversation about this.”
“Soon,” Dara promised. “Soon. Goodbye, Ross.”
“Bye, Dara.”
Kate finished brushing her teeth and flossing. In the reflection of the mirror, she could see Jay sitting up in bed, reading. Although judging by the faraway look in her eyes, Kate doubted Jay was retaining much of what was on the page.
“Good book?” Kate asked as she came to bed.
“Hmm?”
“The book in your hands. You know, the one you’re pretending to read. Is it any good?”
Jay sighed, closed the book, and placed it on the night table next to the bed. “I have no idea.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“The main protagonist…”
“Very funny.”
“It’s the best I can muster at the moment.”
Kate wrapped her arm around Jay’s shoulder and pulled her in close. “I’ll give you points for trying. But don’t quit your day job.”
“Excellent advice.” Jay rested her head on Kate’s shoulder. “Does it surprise you at all that the FBI is being this aggressive? Trying to intimidate me is one thing, but Dara is one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world.”
“That’s probably why they used the softer approach of going through her lawyer instead of contacting her directly. You don’t just knock on Dara Thomas’s front door and not expect it to make a splash.”
Kate ran her fingers through Jay’s hair. “How did Dara sound when you spoke with her?”
“Remarkably calm. She was more worried about me.” Jay gazed up at Kate. “I really, really like her. I hate that she’s coming under scrutiny because of me.”
“This is only the beginning. If the Feds are as serious as we think they are about keeping this story from seeing the light of day, they’ll find other ways to make your lives hell.”
“That’s a comforting thought.”
Kate could feel the tension in Jay’s body. “Just the truth.”
“What do you think they’ll do?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.” Kate kissed the top of Jay’s head. “I guess it depends on how scared of you they really
are.”
“They were frightened enough to cost Jeremy his job and to blackball me in the publishing industry. A movie has so much wider reach, I can just imagine how they’d feel about the prospects of that going forward.”
“You still have time to change your mind and pull back if you want to.”
Jay sat up. “What do you mean?”
“Apart from a gossipy item in Variety, nothing is public yet. You could cancel the contract and take back the rights to the manuscript.”
“No. I always honor my commitments. Dara has the producers on board, the cast in place, and the screenplay is finished. She’s already invested significant capital and put her reputation on the line. It would be incredibly unprofessional of me to back out now.”
Kate nodded. “Then that’s your answer.”
“But I’m putting innocent people at risk.”
“You’re an innocent person,” Kate pointed out.
“I’m the one who chose to write the story. I knew what I was doing.”
“And all of these folks are willingly attaching themselves to the project.”
“They don’t know everything we know.”
“They know enough to make informed choices. Dara is a big girl. She knows what she’s doing. You were clear and honest with her, and she opted to move forward. Not only that, but making the movie was her idea. She knew when she approached you that the Feds were applying pressure on you and others to drop this.”
“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”
“Because you’re one of the most empathetic, kind, compassionate human beings on the planet.” Kate turned out the light. “But if we don’t get some shuteye, you’re also going to be one of the crabbiest people on the planet.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. We’ll get through this together.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Fortunately, you’ll never have to find out.”
Dara stretched her legs under the coffee table. Her laptop was open, but she hadn’t looked at it in so long it had gone to sleep.