by M. C. Cerny
“Coffee, boss? It seems you never sleep; always up our asses,” Jacob muttered, mocking the title he gave his brother, and went over to the coffee maker.
“Might as well, thank-you.” Eli took a cup and sat at the counter, waiting for Jacob to take the envelope.
“Rebecca is okay?” Jacob asked about his niece.
“Rebecca is fine; however, we both know that’s not why I’m here.” Eli pushed the envelope closer.
“I assumed this wasn’t just a social call.” Jacob gritted his teeth.
“Jacob, we’ve always had our differences growing up, but we’re on the same side. You need to look inside the packet. If you really care for Katie Wilson and this isn’t just some misplaced guilt, you’ll need to end things quickly.”
“What the hell does Katie have to do with any of this? If you’re still pissed because of the shit growing up, you need to take that elsewhere. I don’t work for you exclusively anymore. Someone has to run this company which, if you’ll recall, is the cash cow for your business.” Jacob grabbed the packet from the counter and ripped open the seal. Several photos, some just hours old, fell to the counter; one, in particular, fell to the floor. Jacob picked it up and almost crumpled the image.
“What the fuck is this?” Jacob looked at the photo, barely a half-hour old, and saw Katie as she walked up to her apartment. Since Jacob previously had the street canvased and her neighbors looked into, he recognized the angle right away. It had been taken directly across the street. Both Katie and Jacob could have been killed without any knowledge. He went through the rest of the photos. There were pictures of the mugging, Jacob attending to Katie in the alley, Jacob picking her up at work, and other photos taken within the last 48 hours. “Are you fucking following me?” He could feel his anger ready to erupt, but Eli didn’t answer his question directly. He rarely did.
“I can’t tell you how damaging this is to the operation.” Eli sipped his coffee, emotionless.
Jacob dropped the photos and got into Eli’s face. “Fuck the operation. Who knows about these photos? Where did you get them? Are you having me tailed?” Eli shrugged calmly and took a sip of coffee. Jacob leaned against the counter, his head down and trying to get control of himself.
“That’s just one part of the problem. I can’t tell you where the photos came from because I don’t know.” Eli placed his coffee mug on the counter and looked just as frustrated. “So, no, I’m not having you tailed.”
“What do you mean? You won’t tell me what the fuck is going on, or you can’t tell me?”
“Jacob, this time we’re both in the hot seat because I don’t know who took the photos or where they came from. What I do know is that someone is about to target the two of you publicly and that, in turn, would make all of our lives very difficult, including Rebecca’s.” Eli maintained his calm demeanor, which only fueled Jacob’s anger.
“That’s impossible. The whole team doesn’t even know about Katie; not even the CIA or Cosovo, for that matter.”
“All mostly true; however, now that you’re leading a very successful software company, you’ve become part of the public eye and a bit of a playboy, though I’m assuming that’s part of your cover. While I have no specific problems with it, I’m sure our contacts in the CIA are leery about it. It would be a real shit storm if details made it to the media of exactly what the other half of Reed Software & Securities actually does.”
“So what you’re saying is that my personal life could very well leak onto the page six society feature of the fucking New York Times and be totally unrelated to what we do, and I’m just going to have to suck it up and take it for the team?” Jacob tapped his pants, annoyed.
“There is that. I know you keep a low profile, but any news savvy person could try and take advantage. Your brief military background isn’t exactly top secret, nor is my own. It’s also not secret that we’re related, or that my daughter attends a very prestigious girl’s boarding school upstate.”
“I still don’t get the connection to you and the team, Eli. Obviously, they emailed these photos to you, but why not just send them to me for blackmail? It’s not like I can’t pay them off.”
“Apparently, they came to one of our secure servers and bounced around with no trail back to the original source. Nick was working some updates at our Missionary West location in California and advised me a little bit ago when these came through. Obviously, when they came in, he had to tell me.”
“Why now?”
“Again, part of the mystery. Maybe there’s a concern that Katie might remember details from that night a year ago. I don’t know fucking know. We have to find out why and find out if this is going to sour the rest of the team’s safety during covert missions. We don’t even entirely know why we were given that warehouse location only to produce nothing for the CIA. I don’t run fucking test missions for fucking Rick Chambers to see if we’re good enough.”
“But why are there photos of the mugging? It suggests that the whole thing was staged and, if so, what the fuck were they going to do to her?”
“Well, someone pried very deeply into that evening and caught on real quickly about the two of you. I warned you away from her to begin with. Damn it, Jacob. Whoever this is has us by the balls.”
“But how would they know of my ‘professional’ connection to you? I handle computer security, have a legitimate business. I own this fucking building! By choice, you don’t even live here so an empty penthouse sits across the hall.” As Jacob got loud and slammed his hand down on the counter, Hauk barked and jumped up.
Eli took out another photo from his jacket and placed it on the counter. “Who’s the kid?” Jacob looked at the photo and recognized the punk ass kid who pissed himself when confronted.
“Ah, shit, that’s the gang kid I scared the piss out of the other night for mugging Katie.”
“Well, he’s dead. Shot and dumped. Doesn’t appear gang related and the trajectory suggests it was a professional,” Eli stated.
“I told the kid to get the fuck out of the city. I didn’t think to even question him because I never publicly approached Katie before today. Fucking shit, this is my fault.” Jacob leaned over the counter feeling dejected. “I need to get a protection detail on Katie, something, maybe go back and watch her apartment myself.”
“I am very concerned about this. We slipped up somewhere. We fucked up. Katie could be a casualty if you’re not careful and someone is toying with us. I have to think about Rebecca, too.” Jacob shut his eyes and tried to refocus his anger. Of course, Eli was worried because many of the team members had families, including Eli.
“What are you suggesting?” Jacob was getting ready to dig his heels in if he didn’t like Eli’s suggestion, but his brother waited a moment too long to respond. “Eli, I’m not giving her up this time.”
Pouring himself another cup of coffee, Eli smiled. “Actually, I was going to suggest you take her to the farm until this all blows over.”
“What? Wait a second. First, I’m not supposed to go anywhere near her; now I’m supposed to get her to run off with me? We barely know each other, Eli, and I don’t think kidnapping her is a good idea right now. She’s kind of a big deal in this city, or don’t you watch television at all?” Jacob collected the photos and slipped them back inside the envelope.
“So I guess you haven’t told her you’re kind of a big deal billionaire software developer, either?” Eli chuckled as he finished his coffee. Jacob glared at his brother.
“Gee, we never got to that part tonight. If you’ll recall, our relationship is kind of fucked up. Thanks to you, she doesn’t remember our first meeting and I haven’t really been able to tell her the other, less important details,” Jacob growled.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. However, I can’t give you more than a week before our pesky CIA fucker finds out. Chambers is dying to crawl up my ass, and I’m just not in the mood to deal with him right now, especially if this shit was caused by him to m
anipulate us.”
“Ah, yes. Rick Chambers is a pain in the ass. I’m seeing Katie on Thursday. Next weekend is a long holiday so I’ll try…and by ‘try’ I mean that I will attempt to get around to inviting her to the house, but I can’t force her to go unless it’s for her own safety.” Jacob started tapping his leg, thinking of the logistics, which were similar to one of his programming algorithms. Katie would not be an easy sell on a long weekend away so soon.
“I think you know how this is going to pan out.” Eli, as calm and efficient as ever, dumped out his remaining coffee and placed the cup in the sink.
“Which is exactly what I’m afraid of.” Jacob kept thinking and mulling over the photos.
“If you need guys while you’re working,” Eli smirked, “I can have some of the guys watch her place for you. She should be safe at her office. I feel like these assholes want to draw us out more than anything.”
“No, I’ll take care of it.” Jacob muttered, pissed off and annoyed.
“Good night, Jacob. We’ll talk as soon as I have some more forensics on the original photos. You can destroy those if you like. We have copies.”
“Of course you do,” Jacob muttered.
Eli walked himself out and Jacob took the photos to his office. He dumped them out again and looked them over. Disgust churned in his stomach. Just the thought of someone spying on him and Katie made him sick and hyper-alert. He tried to check the angles of the photos, but some were more grainy than others, suggesting placed cameras which would probably be long gone by now.
WEDNESDAY MORNING CAME QUICKLY FOR Katie and she woke with a happy bug jumping in her stomach. Unfortunately, it meant that she had to get through a day-and-a-half until she saw Jacob Thursday night. Katie practically tossed her closet and drawers apart looking for something to wear for the next two days. After coming up empty, she called Trevor.
“Hello?” he said, sleepy. However, when he recognized the caller, he got excited and sat up in his king-sized bed, tossing his monochromatic sheets over his legs and ignoring the grumbles of his bed partner.
“Trev? It’s Katie.”
“Good morning, love. I hope you’re calling from Mr. Reed’s apartment, very naked and thoroughly sated.”
“What? No! Geez. I’m at home. I need a favor, though.” Katie’s voice was low, as if her mother over a thousand miles away might hear her.
“Anything for the next Mrs. Gazillionaire. Remember all us little people when you move on, darling. Why are you whispering? Is he at your place? What’s going on over there? Do you have a man sleeping in those 400 thread count sheets I picked out for you?”
“What? No! What are you talking about?” Katie heard Trevor giggle and the sound grated her tense, empty closet nerves. She swore Trevor got off on being ridiculously flamboyant since his family turned out to be biased jerks who couldn’t accept one of the greatest people she knew and loved like another brother.
“I’ll explain when I see you. Seriously, Katie, sometimes the best info is on page six. So, what’s the favor?”
“I’m calling in a shopping favor. I need you to meet me extra, extra early.” Katie curled an errant hair behind her ear.
“You called the right BFF, darling. I’ll meet you at the office in an hour and I want those details. We’ll take a long lunch. Wear your good panties so we can make sure everything fits right.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Great! Love you!” and hung up. She grabbed a sleeveless blouse and tan skirt. She could pair it with her nude heels and a brightly-colored chunky necklace. She threw her stuff in a teal Coach purse and practically ran out the door. Her long hair was curly and waving in the breeze as she made her way to the subway stop. She even called her therapist while waiting and left a message letting her know that she could meet with her on Friday during the lunch hour, if she was available. Katie was finally going to terminate that useless relationship so she could focus on Jacob and, maybe, a happier future.
Her free spirit was exactly how Jacob saw her through his scope. He had broken into the empty apartment across the street to try and garner more information about the pictures and who might have taken them. Unfortunately, he found nothing. It had been swept clean, probably just hours prior to his arrival, and Hauk picked up no scents. Jacob was beginning to think this was some kind of inside job, a way for Big Brother to control the team. From the beginning, he knew that Rick Chambers was a pain in the ass. They might be unorthodox in their methods at doing a job that the government wouldn’t get its hands dirty with, but how they got the job done wasn’t anyone’s business. Sure, they used their own guys for the big jobs, but all the dirty work fell to contractors like Reed Software & Securities, who were willing to do what had to be done.
Hauk saw Katie through the window and whined loudly, thumping his big tail on the dusty floor of the apartment, drawing Jacob’s attention back to the moment. “Easy, boy. Katie should be okay on the subway. She’s gotta go to work.”
Jacob watched her make her way to the subway station. He hoped she was smiling because she was thinking of him. The day couldn’t end soon enough for him. He packed up his equipment and led Hauk out of the apartment. Disguised as a plumber, he nodded to a young couple passing by as he got into his van and drove out of the neighborhood.
Katie got to the office early and saw Trevor waiting for her at her cubicle. A steaming coffee from Starbucks was waiting for her, as well as a photocopy of the New York Times.
“Mmm, for the coffee alone I am indebted to you, Trev.” She bussed him lightly on the cheek and took the cup that he offered her.
“Good. I like to hear that because, obviously, you don’t Google your dates like I do. Here, read this.” Trevor handed her the photocopy as she sipped her coffee. She almost spit it out when she read the article about Jacob. The headline itself, “Billionaire Tycoon”, made her read it over twice.
“Seriously, Trevor? He vaguely mentioned a software security company.” Trevor nudged her to read on.
The article went on to introduce Jacob Reed as a new software security developer and company CEO, having become quite the entrepreneur after a brief stint in the Army Ranger Special Forces, then taking over his father’s company during much of the tech boom. The article alluded to his recently buying the building he lives in, leasing the other swanky apartments, and a very private life. It said that he doesn’t appear to attend many social functions or host any of his own, much to the society pages despair. A yacht was photographed by the dockyard, and the entrance of his apartment building was shown. The article went on to describe Jacob Reed as the most fashionable new addition to the New York scene, and a dream catch for the right woman.
“Think of what this could do for your career,” Trevor jokingly whispered in her ear, and she swatted him with the article.
“Trevor! I just met him and this article is close to a year old. God, I feel a headache coming on.” Katie pinched the bridge of her nose. A perfect morning was slowly becoming not so perfect.
“Drink your coffee, the caffeine will help, and grab your purse. We’re going shopping. I promise to behave.” Trevor rubbed Katie’s back affectionately, like a brother would a sister.
“Okay, but no more talk about Jacob. I have to think about this. I’m seeing him tomorrow, but this all feels awkward now. Is he expecting me to know this stuff about him?”
“I’m sure he would have told you, but I’m sure that telling any woman you’re a gazillionaire is difficult. I mean, think of the expectations. My yacht or yours, darling?” Trevor smiled and cocked his head to the side. Katie had to laugh, thinking that it probably was hard to find someone interested in you for yourself and not your monetary value.
“I’m sure that’s an exaggeration of his net worth, but that’s not why I like him, Trevor.” Katie eyed her friend, shaking her head.
“Oh, sweetheart. I know that’s not why. He carried you over twenty blocks to his hero lair and nursed you back to health. I’m sure he’s absolutely
ripped under his clothes.” Trevor batted his eyelashes and Katie swatted at him, again feeling flustered.
“Okay, Romeo. Let’s go shopping. Sheesh. And I’m picking out my own underwear.” Katie poked Trevor in the chest and grabbed her purse, leaving the photocopy on her desk. Scowling, he rubbed the tender spot on his chest.
“You, my dear, are no fun at all.” Trevor followed Katie from her cubicle.
As soon as the two were out of sight, Lindsey poked her head up from her own cubicle and looked around. She went over to Katie’s desk and grabbed the photocopy that she had left there. Lindsey went back to her own desk and read the article, before neatly folding it and putting it into her purse. It just wasn’t fair. Katie Wilson got the six o’clock desk job, the news award, and now the rich boyfriend. Lindsey wasn’t going to crawl around trying to make ends meet for the rest of her life, sleeping with every small prick television executive. It was time to start getting what she wanted, and she’d start by getting rid of the pesky JCrew All-American apple pie, Katie Wilson. Lindsey picked up her phone and decided to make a few calls.
Trevor dragged Katie down Fifth Avenue and into some of his favorite stores. While she wasn’t an outrageous shopper, she did like nice things now and then. With Jacob in her life, it seemed appropriate to splurge a little. As summer was approaching, she did need a few items for work and the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Her station manager might even put her on a few special assignments. Trevor held up several sundresses and Katie shook her head at most of them. Once Trevor matched some of them with cardigans or a bolo jacket, she conceded defeat and consented. He was right. She would need more flirty items than her usual conservative clothes that she wore on camera. While she wasn’t looking, Trevor sneaked in a white bathing suit and turquoise cover-up. Before anyone noticed their absence, they made it back to the news station. Katie stowed her purchases under her desk.