“Confessions” Serial, Tech Wars 30
Jauncey filled a bucket with clams that he had scooped out from under the sand on Kommetjie Beach a few miles away from his home in Hout Bay. The South Africans were inclined to call these delicious molluscs white mussels instead of clams but – regardless of their name – steaming them with white wine and adding a variety of different condiments made for a superb meal. Jauncey often cooked them in a pot on a fire on the beach itself. It is one of the country’s most spectacular long stretches of white sands. On this occasion, however, he needed to get back to a meeting at the house.
As he trudged back to his Land Rover, his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, saw it was a number from the U.S. and presumed it was from Andy. He was right.
“Hi Andy, what’s up? How’s the trial going?”
Andy sounded hassled. “Not so good. Sal and I have been arrested by the FBI!”
“You’re kidding! Whatever are you meant to have done?”
“Oscar recanted his confession and says that we bribed him to do it. Someone put five million bucks into each of our accounts.”
“Jeez,” Jauncey exclaimed. “I wonder if his wife got to him.”
“Right now, they’re claiming that we set the whole thing up and we even forged the evidence that shows how they laundered money from their criminal activities.”
Jauncey shook his head in disbelief. Walking on one of the most beautiful beaches of the world, thousands of miles from the intense hustle and bustle of New York, it all seemed unreal, a tale from another world! Nevertheless, he knew that Andy would never have contacted him to play a practical joke. With an effort he clicked into his other persona, that of a problem solver par excellence.
“OK. I’ll be there by tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll get the team to do some research into the whole thing. Do you have any idea where the five million dollars were sent from?”
“Some account in the Cayman Islands … OK, they’re telling me to get off the phone. Hopefully they won’t stop me from speaking to you when you get here.”
“Don’t forget that I’m a lawyer. I’ll be there to represent you soonest.”
“Thanks, old friend.”
• • •
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Jauncey said. After an endless hassle with red tape, he had been allowed to speak with Sally and Andy. Now he had to try to understand the bizarre actions taken by Oscar before having any hope of getting his friends released.
Andy agreed. “I can only think that Oscar’s decided that he doesn’t want to spend any time in jail, so he’s trying to show that we forced him to turn state’s evidence and even bribed him to keep his mouth shut.”
“Why on earth would we do that? Apart from the fact that Oscar knows that both you and I are independently wealthy. Even a five-million-dollar bribe is unlikely to have much influence on your decisions. So that’s completely nuts for a start …”
“… and secondly,” Sally broke in, “how is it gonna benefit him?”
Jauncey shrugged. “The mind boggles.” He sighed. “Let me get to speak with Oscar, if they’ll allow me to do so. I’ll see if he’s willing to explain his actions.”
• • •
More red tape but Jauncey finally persuaded the FBI section chief that Oscar’s actions were so nonsensical, it needed to be probed further. He also referred to previous cases where he had cooperated with the FBI to bring some serious criminals to justice. He vouched for Andy and Sally’s innocence and said that he needed to speak with Oscar in order to prove it. Fortunately, the section chief also felt that Oscar’s assertions had been weird under the circumstances, so he was willing to let Jauncey have a go at getting to the truth.
The following day, as arranged with the FBI, Oscar was taken out of his holding cell and driven to meet Jauncey in an isolated section of Central Park, a location nominated by Jauncey only moments before Oscar’s release. This ensured that no microphones could be set up ahead of time by the FBI. Jauncey also had obtained an electronic interference device which he knew to be illegal but was essential if he were to assure Oscar that no one else could hear their conversation.
Jauncey and a very nervous Oscar sat down on a park bench. A couple of FBI men loitered some sixty yards away in case Oscar ran for it. Jauncey explained the precautions he had taken to ensure that no one other than the two of them would be privy to their discussion. Oscar then insisted that Jauncey open his shirt to verify that he wasn’t carrying a wire. He then ran his hands very expertly over Jauncey’s upper torso (drawing a disgusted look from a passing couple). He then insisted that he inspect the lower torso as well. Jauncey shrugged. He had expected something of the kind. He gritted his teeth as Oscar checked out areas that were reserved exclusively for girlfriends. Finally, the man ran his hands down each leg and insisted that Jauncey take off his shoes while he inspected his feet. Satisfied that Jauncey was not carrying a wire with which to record their conversation, he told Jauncey to zip up his pants and put his shoes back on.
Once again fully clothed, Jauncey looked balefully at the other man who had twice saved Andy and Sally’s lives and was now trying to see them put in prison. “OK. Let’s cut to the chase. What’s your angle? There’s no point in telling me my friends are guilty. You know I won’t believe it.”
Oscar looked around anxiously. “I decided that I didn’t want to spend any time in prison, even with time saved for turning state’s evidence. My story is now that I’m completely innocent of any involvement, but I wasn’t sure I could prove it. I managed to have words with another former member of our organization and he has been able to provide documentation that show that it was only Gloria that ran the … er … dubious side of our business. Your friends saw a way to make money out of the situation. They blackmailed me and said that they would make my original confession stick no matter what I came up with.”
Jauncey shook his head in disbelief. “First of all, I refuse to believe that Sally and Andy would ever try to blackmail you. Secondly, I don’t see how this guy you mention could possibly produce proof which puts everything on Gloria. You must have known about it.”
“Fortunately, it was Gloria’s idea that I should always remain clear from any of the dirty business. I think you’ll agree that even the flash drive you stole from our house never implicates me directly. It only refers to top management and, if you dig deep enough, you’ll find that it’s Gloria who ran the show. I’m simply claiming that she kept me out of the other business entirely and I had no knowledge of it.”
Jauncey was unconvinced. “It’s a hell of a stretch. I’m confident that we can punch holes in it.”
Oscar gave a weak smile. “You can try, my friend, but I think you’ll find that I’ve been a lot smarter than you think!”
Jauncey stood up and looked down at Oscar. “This is your last chance. Come clean now and revert to giving state’s evidence. I’ll tell the FBI that we won’t press additional charges. Continue your fiction and I’ll make sure you go away for a very long time.”
Oscar shook his head. “I don’t think you understand the caliber of the people we’ve employed in our other hidden group. I’ve finally gotten over my obsession with Gloria. She can take all the blame …”
“But what if she decides to take you down with her?”
Oscar shrugged. “We’ve already sent word to her that staying alive in prison depends on her behaving and taking her punishment. She won’t last a week if she decides to mess with me!”
Jauncey turned away, took a couple of paces and looked around again. “You really are a nasty little man. I’ll take great pleasure in crushing you like a bug!” He walked away, not looking back. The FBI quickly moved in and took Oscar to their vehicle.
• • •
“How’re you gonna disprove his story?” Andy asked. Jauncey gave a wide grin. “One of the advantages of wearing my hair long is that it covers a multitude of sins!” He reached up to his head and withdrew a tiny microphone and battery, held in place by a clip on one of his long locks.
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.