by Dan Kelly
Up until the cognac was served, the conversation had consisted of a light bantering that focused on casinos and the people that visited them, the entertainers that appeared at some of them and some of the other things that people do to have fun. She accepted the offer of another martini and was finding the man delightful company and was enjoying herself.
There was a lull in their conversation as they sipped their drinks and observed the people around them which was broken when Baltzinger initiated a subtle shift in the topic, tone and direction of their conversation and Collette stopped enjoying herself. “It looks like the curtain’s going up and the real Mr. Baltzinger might be stepping out on stage. Watch, listen and applaud.”
“What brings you to Atlantic City, Collette? Business or pleasure?”
“A little of both actually. I was in New York on business and when I finished up there I decided it was time for me to take some time off to recharge my battery. I’ve never been to Atlantic City before and I thought it would be an ideal place to get away for a while.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a researcher and ghost writer. I do work for business people, entertainers, law enforcement, politicians, government agencies and special interest groups.”
“That sounds like interesting work. You mentioned that you do work for politicians. In your association with them, have you developed any opinions about their desires and abilities to do what’s right for the American people? Domestically, our country sure is in a sad state of affairs right now and all the politicians are doing is giving speeches. Internationally, our status and influence have deteriorated drastically. It seems the only foreign policy we can come up with is to go to war somewhere.”
“Wow! If there is such a thing as opportunity knocking on your door, it’s banging on mine right now. If I use the right can opener, who knows what kinds of beans this guy might spill. Think woman, think!”
“I’ve met a few that have impressed me, idealists who really care and are trying to do what they can to steer America back on track, but they are severely outnumbered in my opinion. I’m afraid I’ve become inured to the oppressive political and Scrooge McDuck attitudes that have spread throughout the U. S. I’ve come to believe that they are as inevitable in our lives as death and taxes. Isn’t that sad?”
“Yes it is, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve been hearing about some powerful folks putting their heads together to come up with something to stop all of this nonsense, to restore the values that this country was built on.”
“What have you been hearing?”
“Well, mind you, this is all rumor now, but my sources are way above the normal rumor mill.”
“What is it about your sources that lends credibility to what they’ve told you?”
“Hmm. That’s a very good and appropriate question. I’ll bet you’re a very good researcher.”
“And that’s at least one bet you’d win, but before I remember to look embarrassed for blowing my horn so unashamedly, give with an answer to my question. You’ve awakened my curiosity.”
He laughed and then the lid blew off the can beans, but there were a few worms mixed in as well.
For the next 45 minutes, Ron expounded on a group of people and their plans to incapacitate and take over the country to restore it to its rightful place in the world community. He spoke in general terms, not mentioning any names, personal characteristics or specific tactics to be employed, but he sure had an unusual amount of general details for a story based on rumor. Supposedly, this group called themselves The Last Resort, they were extremely dedicated to their cause, had some frightening things planned for the ‘enemies’ of our way of life and were loaded with extraordinary wealth and power.
The beans were very tasty, but the worms took the edge off the experience. Those slimy, wiggly creatures revealed themselves in Collette’s conviction that these people old Ron has been talking about are fanatics and fanatics are frequently very dangerous, in the fact that apparently The Last Resort has a deadline for their plans and it is quickly approaching and, the biggest one, in the uncertainty of what if any part Baltzinger is playing in the overall scheme of things. Is her visit with this man a waste of time?
“All of that is fascinating, Ron, but you still haven’t answered my question. “What is it about your sources that lends credibility to what they’ve told you?”
“Well, to do that I’ll have to bore you with a little bit about myself.”
“I’m not someone that is easily bored.”
“Okay, you asked for it.”
Fifteen minutes later, he had verified all of the information they had gathered on him and one tidbit really got her attention. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of movers and shakers and when they talk I listen. They don’t lend themselves to idle gossip.”
“Well, Mr. Baltzinger, you are a very impressive man. If I was a suspicious woman, I would wonder about the possibility of you being one of the people planning to take things into his own hands.” She had a big smile on her face when she said this, but as soon as the words passed her lips she knew she had screwed up.
It was like someone new had just sat down. The convivial Mr. Baltzinger was no more. He had been replaced by someone with a serious, cautious and maybe even a little suspicious attitude who suddenly remembered something he had to attend to immediately. “Please excuse me, Collette, but I’ve just remembered an important phone call I have to make. I’m afraid I won’t be able to spend some time with you at the gaming tables to see if you can change my luck for me.”
“Well, perhaps we could get together tomorrow then to find that out.”
“Unfortunately, I’m taking an early flight out of Newark in the morning. Thank you so much for spending time with me this evening. You made it a very pleasant one. Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
With that, he got up and walked away. “I can’t believe I let that guy get away. I really had him hooked. Damn it! Oh well. I’ve learned enough to warrant a tail being put on the man and I can still roam around the casino and maybe pick up some juicy morsels from some of the bartenders and dealers. I’ll pass on what I’ve learned to Joel in the morning.”
Chapter 16
-Summit-
At nine o’clock the next morning, Tania is standing behind the tee off area on the fourth hole at the Mayfair Country Club waiting for Palmer to hit off the tee of the second hole. The fairways of the two holes lie almost perpendicular to each other and it will be an easy task for Tania to slice her ball onto the second hole fairway. She’s brought a set of binoculars with her so she will know when and where to hit her ball.
Her plan would have worked to perfection if some bad luck hadn’t got in the way. She hit a slice that any first time golfer would have been thrilled with just because he managed to hit the ball, but things went downhill from there. A strong wind caught the ball at the apex of its trajectory and carried the ball smack dab into the middle of Palmer’s foursome and it beaned the man himself, knocking him unconscious.
“Oh I don’t believe this! Damn, damn, damn! Decision time. Do I go over there and apologize and hope that they will be understanding and forgiving about what happened or do I head for the hills? Dumb question. There’s no way this guy is going to want or even be able to talk with you now. Get out of here!”
Before the other members of Palmer’s foursome had the presence of mind to look around to see where the ball might have come from, Tania was out of sight and heading for her rental car.
Driving back to the hotel, she began to have second thoughts about taking off the way she did. “What if I killed the guy? Even though it wasn’t a deliberate act, could I be arrested for leaving the scene of an accident like I would be subject to if I hit someone with my car and then took off?
Damn it all! I might be in a lot of trouble.”
The first thing she did when she got back to the hotel was to call Joel and tell him what happened. When she finished clueing him in on her visit to Palmer’s
office and her little escapade on the golf course, she waited with hands clenched and breath bated for the tongue lashing she was sure was coming her way for screwing up. Five seconds, ten, twenty, not a peep was coming from the other end. Then Joel broke the silence with, “Turn on Channel 2 News. I’ll wait.”
When she did, she heard the news anchor say, “A bizarre incident occurred at the Mayfair Country Club today. Mr. George Palmer, CEO of Pinnacle Pharmaceuticals, was enjoying a morning of golf with three of his friends when out of the blue, the blue sky that is, came hurtling a golf ball that smacked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The ball seemingly came out of nowhere as no one heard any screams of “Fore!” or saw anyone playing anywhere near them.
“The only explanation that’s been offered so far for what happened is that strong gusts of wind were challenging the golfers all morning and one of those gusts must have captured a ball lying on the ground and carried it high up in the air and when the wind died down the ball dropped out of the sky and struck Mr. Palmer. A little farfetched I know, but that’s the only explanation that’s being passed around.
“Mr. Palmer was rushed to the emergency room of the local hospital and was found to be none the worse for wear, but he’ll be sporting quite a lump on his forehead for a couple of weeks. What makes the incident even more bizarre and somewhat ironic is that one of the foursome was the CFO of Wilson Sporting Goods and it was a Wilson ball that hit Mr. Palmer.
“Moving on to the international scene …….”
When Tania returned to the phone she let out a leery sigh of relief for having dodged one catastrophe, but was still nervously waiting for the scathing reprimand that she was certain was just seconds away. Joel responded with a chuckle and a “You did good, Tania. I’ll pass what you’ve learned about Palmer on to Hank and ask him to get a tail on the man as soon as possible.
“I just spoke with Collette and she’s uncovered some interesting things as well. So far, our trip to New Jersey has been worth the time, effort and expense.” Joel passed on to her the gist of what he, Barbara and Collette had learned and ended the conversation with, “Barbara and I are heading out to pay a visit to Halkias’ office and then we’re flying down to Tampa to talk with Hollingsworth’s ex. We’ll pick up Collette on our way back and should be touching down in Newark late tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, get together with Collette and start working on the other names on our list.”
Joel hung up and Tania collapsed on the bed, grateful for the way things turned out. “I should call Collette and ask her to put a C note on my age for me. This has got to be one of my luckiest days.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Joel called Hank, brought him up to date on their progress and requested the additional tails. “How’s Ashok making out with the distribution of his security procedures and virus software?”
“Everything’s been distributed to everyone we could think of, but it’s taking more time than we’d like to get everybody up and running. We should start to see some improvement within the next 48 hours. However, Joel, we’re not playing with dummies here. Our countermeasures will be effective for a while and then they’ll come up with counter-countermeasures and then it will be our turn again, etc. Are you getting the picture? We’ve got to nail these bastards, Joel. That’s the only solution to this mess. We’re dangling over a cauldron of boiling water and the rope holding us up is unraveling at a scary pace.” The line went dead and Joel turned to Barbara with a heightened awareness of just how serious the situation was.
One look at Joel’s face told her things hadn’t improved any back in Chicago. “I gather things on the home front haven’t changed.”
“You got that right. Ashok’s countermeasures haven’t been implemented yet. It’s taking a lot more time than we thought it would to get implementation by everybody and Hank feels we are quickly running out of that precious commodity. Let’s get out butts over to Halkias’s office and see what we can learn there.”
Chapter 17
-Elizabeth-
The offices of Ubiquitous Argosies, Inc. aren’t quite what they expected. Although they occupy an entire 30 story office building covered entirely in imported Italian marble and the landscaping is beautiful, the interior is quite blah in comparison. Although the furnishings are obviously of high quality, the overall décor is far from lavish. It projects a cool, professional image with the confidence of a company that’s at the top of the heap and doesn’t feel compelled to flaunt its success in extravagance.
On the way over, the two of them fleshed out the cover story they were going to use. Joel was going to portray an importer/exporter of aircraft parts for corporate jets and helicopters looking for ways to make his operation more efficient and cost effective and, therefore, more competitive. Since shipping schedules and related costs play a vital role in his operation, he is looking for input from this sector. Barbara will assume the role of an outside consultant brought in to assist in locating new resources for his operation. He will give her credit for steering him to Ubiquitous Argosies. This will explain her inability to respond to technical questions about his company if the situation should come up yet help to establish some initial rapport. The name of his company will be Clear Sky Enterprises.
Approaching the receptionist Joel said, “Good afternoon. My name is Joel Jergensen. I am the founder and CEO of Clear Sky Enterprises. I would like to speak to someone in your sales department please.”
“One moment, sir. Let me see if anyone is available.” She rang someone from her switchboard and after a brief conversation announced that a Mr. Cavanaugh would be out shortly.
Five minutes later a small unusual looking man of indeterminate age walked into the lobby and approached them. He looked and walked like a shrew. His very small eyes, long pointed nose, a somewhat pinched countenance, and his short, quick, jerky movements all combined to create a very disconcerting image and when he said, “I’m Ted Cavanaugh. How may I help you, Mr. Jergensen?”, the squeaking sound of his voice put the finishing touches on the illusion. Barbara can’t help thinking, “Oh this is going to be an interesting experience. How did this guy ever get into sales?”
After Joel introduced Barbara and spouted his cover story, Barbara was quite surprised to see a new Ted Cavanaugh put in an appearance and got her answer. The guy was a real chameleon. His face relaxed, a smile broke out, his voice lowered and softened and charm oozed from every pore. “I welcome the opportunity to explore the possibility of our two companies developing a relationship, Mr. Jergensen. Please join me in our conference room. I hope that lab is friendly.”
Barbara said, “If you’re friendly, he’s friendly.”
An hour and a half later, Barbara’s opinion of the man has undergone some major revision. It turns out Ted Cavanaugh is the EVP of marketing and knows just about every facet of the company’s operations. The man is very smooth, extremely articulate and is definitely no dummy.
He knows how to vet a potential customer and is not shy about asking questions. He’s also very adept at avoiding questions he doesn’t want to answer, but he’s never had to deal with the likes of Joel and Barbara before. They know how to probe for information without appearing to be doing so and frequently have answers without having to ask specific questions.
“Mr. Jergensen, the scope of our operation allows us to reap the benefits of the economies of scale and we find it in our best interests from a competitive of view to pass some of these on to our customers. I believe you will find Ubiquitous Argosies a valuable resource in your bid to become more competitive.”
“You may be right, but I still have some reservations. The current state of the global economy and political scene has brought about some major changes in the structure and capabilities of some of the biggest companies and I’d like to know Mr. Halkias’s strategy for avoiding the calamities other large companies have suffered in the past few years. As a small company looking for every advantage in the struggle for survival, it’s d
efinitely in my best interests to hook up with companies that have the savvy along with the economic muscle and political clout to get me through these trying times.”
“Way to go Joel!”
“Mr. Jergensen, Mr. Halkias is a veteran under fire and has survived and even prospered during a vast variety of turbulent episodes of economic and political upheaval. His ability to anticipate future probabilities appearing on the international horizon is uncanny and I might add on record, especially in the London Financial Times.”