“Confessions” Serial, Tech Wars 26
After Sally and Andy finished their meal, they were relaxing over coffees and liqueurs when Jauncey sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“So, what in the hell do we do now?”
Sally and Andy looked at each other. Sally replied. “Much as I feel satisfied that we’ve broken up a major cabal dealing with Internet scams, I don’t for a moment believe that we’ve wiped out what has become a virtual industry.”
Andy nodded. “And I’m not convinced that this Oscar guy is on the level. Sal thinks he is, but there’s something …”
“Is it worth investigating?”
Andy shrugged. “Could be. If I’m right, I imagine he could put together another team and keep going.”
“What d’you suggest?”
“We’ve checked out his core business already. It’s legit but I think we should pay him a visit. See if we can uncover a lead to his nefarious side … if it exists.”
Sally shook her head. “Count me out. If you guys want to go visit him, that’s fine. I’d prefer to visit Peter and his ExoTech team. What I’ve read and seen of it so far makes me believe that they’re really going to change the face of computing forever … and for the better!”
Andy frowned. “I understand that you want to take time out from chasing these Internet criminals. You’ve done an amazing job and without your expertise we would never have nailed these guys. I also understand your fascination with ExoTech. I’m no techie but I could positively drool over the prospect of the final Milestone 5 model. It’s computing without tears!” He paused and drained his coffee.
“But?”
“But to be honest, we need you on this. You could likely pick up a clue that Jauncey and I would miss. Tell you what. Come with us to visit Oscar and then I’ll make sure that you spend some quality time with Peter and his team.”
Sally mulled this over for some moments then gave him a broad smile. “Deal.”
Both Andy and Jauncey smiled back, “Deal,” they said in chorus.
• • •
“OK, guys,” Andy said, “The good news or the bad news?”
Sally and Jauncey looked at each other. Jauncey answered for both of them. “Start with the good news.”
The limo in which they were travelling had arrived at Las Cruces airport. As they walked to Jauncey’s jet, Andy smiled. “OK, the good news is that Oscar is happy to meet with us. Says he never really properly thanked us for rescuing him from the cabal.”
“And the bad?”
Andy shrugged. “It’s not all bad, I guess. He’s invited us to spend the weekend with him at his lodge in Big Bear. We’re to meet there on Saturday morning.”
There was a silence as the other two digested this. Sally replied thoughtfully, “Which means that we’re less likely to pick up any clues at his holiday home.”
“True – but he may be more relaxed in that environment. Maybe we can get him drunk.”
Jauncey had an idea. “Tell you what. Today’s Friday. Why don’t we go straight there now and see if we can get in to have a look around the place before he gets there on Saturday.”
“What if he has staff permanently at the lodge?”
“Then we back off and wait.”
• • •
The jet landed at Big Bear just before lunch. None of them had been there before. As the plane circled around the picturesque city on the edge of Big Bear Lake, surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest and mountains that provided a great winter ski resort, they all agreed that it was also a beautiful place in summertime. It is almost a hundred miles from Los Angeles and is a popular round-the-year resort for wealthy Angelinos.
They took a cab to a restaurant within walking distance of Oscar’s so-called cabin and strolled along the road in search of the place. It was hardly a cabin. It was huge but nevertheless entirely built from wood timbers to blend in with the surrounding dwellings and rustic scenery. They approached it cautiously. Jauncey walked up to the front door and rang the bell. There was no answer. They waited a couple of minutes before deciding that the place was currently unoccupied. Jauncey looked around to ensure that he could not be seen by the occupants of any nearby houses. There was no one in the street. He quickly and efficiently picked the lock, and the trio entered the dwelling.
“We’d better be fast,” Jauncey announced. “The staff will likely arrive later today to prepare the place for the weekend.”
They split up and carefully searched the place from top to bottom. They had no idea what they may find that could link Oscar to anything illegal, but it was worth the effort. Sally finally called out to the others. “Hey guys. Come see this!”
As Andy and Jauncey headed for one of the guest bedrooms where Sally had been looking, two SUVs approached up the road and pulled into the driveway of the house. Andy peeped out of the window. “The help’s arrived,” he announced. Fortunately, they had already planned for this and had unlocked the back door. They dashed across the house, opened the door, peered out to make sure none of the staff were coming around the back and slipped into the yard just as they heard voices coming their way on the far side of the house. Jauncey had already taken the back door key out of the lock on the inside and had placed it into the lock on the outside. A lightning-fast turn of the key, which he then pocketed, and he caught up with the other two who had meanwhile stepped around the back of a tool shed, masking them from the approaching staff. They froze and leaned against the wall of the shed as two men passed on the other side carrying freezer bags and a box of fresh vegetables.
Reaching the door, the one man looked at the other. “Got the key?”
“Nope. José’s going to open it for us.” Moments later there were sounds of José approaching through the kitchen followed by the rattling of the door handle as he tried to open it. He gave a muffled shout, “Hey, the key’s not here!”
Jauncey meanwhile had looked out on the far side of the tool shed which opened up to a beautifully manicured lawn and (with the edge of the forest only about thirty yards away) Jauncey signaled to the other two , after another look to make sure no one else was coming around the house from the SUVs, he sprinted for the trees, closely followed by Andy and Sally. As they reached the cover of the trees, a shout rang out. Once again they froze but it soon became apparent that the shout was from one of the staff to another, berating them for mislaying the back door key.
They booked into the Marina Riviera Hotel, went to their respective rooms, had a shower, changed and met downstairs for a drink before dinner. They discovered that the hotel was being renovated and the dining facilities were not yet available. There were plenty of other options and they chose the Captain’s Anchorage and Bar.
Sally had kept her discovery from Oscar’s house to herself but promised to discuss it over dinner. She had found a flash drive in the furthest corner of a chest of drawers, under a pile of men’s jockey pants and socks.
While upstairs in the hotel room, she had slipped it into her laptop and had a quick look. It asked for a password but she easily managed to work around it. One look at the contents and she realized that she had struck gold.
When they sat down in the restaurant and had chosen their dishes for the night, Sally made an announcement. “You were right, Andy, to be suspicious of Oscar. I’ve found the proof!”
An ExoTech Ltd shareholder, Chris is currently authoring two of the four books to be published the day ExoBrain launches and has helped to create ExoBrain’s introductory video to the Confidential Technical Briefing. Chris has spent his working life in the film and television industry, starting with BBC Television in London, then ATV in Birmingham becoming, at the time, the youngest Studio Manager in Britain.
Later, in South Africa, he wrote and directed film and TV commercials, having four South African entries at the Cannes Advertising Festival. After a number of years of writing and directing or producing documentaries (eight international awards) and corporate videos, he concentrated on writing feature film screenplays (five screened) and television series (seven screened). He has a novel, ”Pursuit of Treachery,” with a literary agent and is currently obtaining finance for an action adventure feature film he has written and is co-producing. He is a published poet and has given many readings.