Authors: Terri Blackstock
R
yan went back to the GrapeVyne building, dropped his notes in his office, then headed across the Rumpus Room to Ian. Ian’s eyes were bloodshot and glazed as he stared at the numbers going across his screen.
“How’s it going?” Ryan asked, pulling up a chair.
“Pretty good,” Ian said without looking up. “I’m checking Bridgit’s work to make sure this will work before we run it on the system.”
“Yeah, about that. Henry said we couldn’t have the software. He preferred that we tell them what we need, and they’ll give us the information.”
“It’ll take those morons months to get it done, whereas I’m almost finished.”
“But we’re forbidden to use their software. I only told you to hack it so we could get a jump on it. But now that they’ve said no—”
Ian laughed as he typed in some commands. “I love that word,
forbidden.
Just makes me tremble.” He looked up. “You’re not going to make me stop this, are you?”
Ryan studied the numbers on the screen. Yes, it looked like their work had been successful. The information they got here could make a real difference in the investigation. He couldn’t pull them off it now. It could be a matter of life and death. “No, not after you’ve come this far. All I can tell you is, don’t get caught.”
Ian sighed. “I can’t make that promise. Someone at Willow’s already onto me. I got an instant message from him a few minutes ago.”
Ryan’s heart jolted. “From who?”
“Guy named Jeff Hall. He’s an engineer over there. He asked me who I was and how I’d logged into their server.”
Ryan groaned. “What did you say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t answer him.”
“He’ll figure out it’s you. He’ll tell Henry.” Ryan tried to think. “Well, don’t answer. Maybe it’ll blow over.”
But as he headed back to his desk, he knew that wouldn’t happen. Jeff Hall would surely tell his superiors about the breach of security. Unless Ryan intervened, word would definitely get back to Henry Hearne. He supposed he could get Ian to plead ignorance and say that he misunderstood Ryan’s instructions. That he thought he had gotten clearance to use that software.
He paced his office, thinking through possibilities. Maybe he needed to walk over to Willow, find the engineer who’d IM’d Ian, and try to do some damage control. Maybe he could convince him that Ian wasn’t up to anything sinister. That he’d just overstepped his bounds in the interest of finding the killer.
Yes, that could work.
He ran down the stairs and out, crossed to the Willow building again. The guard at the security desk was on the phone and didn’t see him. Ryan slipped into the stairwell and took the stairs up two at a time. Most of the engineers were on the top two floors, so he bypassed the first four. When he reached the fifth floor, he opened the door to the floor and stepped out of the stairwell. The temperature had changed. The floor was warmer—almost hot. There were no people in sight here, but dozens of huge computer servers that collected and sorted data. Though GrapeVyne was a company that always needed more servers, Willow had at least ten times as many as they had.
How could that be?
Fearful that he’d get caught here before he was able to talk to Jeff Hall, Ryan headed up one more floor. He came out of the stairwell and saw another roomful of computers, then a floor full of offices.
He stepped into the first one. An Asian lady was busy, bent over her desk.
“Excuse me.”
She looked up.
“Could you tell me where I can find Jeff Hall?”
She pointed to her left. “Third office.” She looked him over. “Are you allowed in here?”
“Sure,” he said. “I work here.”
She waved him on, and Ryan headed to Hall’s office. The door was open a crack, so he knocked on the casing and waited.
“Come in.”
He stepped inside the office. “Jeff?”
The engineer looked nothing like the ones who worked at GrapeVyne. He was wearing a tucked-in button-down shirt and tie, khaki pants, and a Willow Entertainment
badge. His hair was moussed and glistened like crude oil under the florescent bulbs. He shot Ryan a surprised look. “How did you get in here?”
“I’m Ryan Adkins, from next door.”
“I know who you are. You don’t have clearance to be on this floor.”
The hostility surprised him. “Look, I just wanted to tell you something. One of my engineers just got an IM from you.”
“Yes. It’s Ian Lombardi, isn’t it?”
Ryan didn’t want to confirm that. “I just wanted to talk to you about what’s going on over there.”
Jeff got up, closed the door, and motioned for Ryan to sit. “I’m listening.”
“Three women have been attacked here in Houston, and their predator apparently found at least two of them through GrapeVyne. Two of them are dead, and one is still living, but she fears for her life. We want to help find him before he strikes again. So I told my engineers that I was going to talk to Henry Hearne about getting clearance to use your Data-Gather software, to modify the search strings so that we could narrow down possible predators.”
“And Mr. Hearne said no.”
“Well, yes. But by the time I could get back and tell my people that, they’d found a way to get the software and had already started working on it.”
“They don’t have clearance!” Jeff said. “They can’t just hack into our system!”
“They jumped the gun, that’s all.”
“They should be in prison.”
Ryan gave a disgusted grunt. “No, they shouldn’t. The predator should be. They did it so we could find him. The girl who survived her attack, she can identify the killer. He’s
going to try to shut her up before she does. We have to find him before that happens.” He noticed a wedding ring on Jeff’s finger and a picture of a bride on his desk. “What if your wife is next? What if he’s stalking her through her GrapeVyne page right now, and he shows up and surprises her? What if he does to her what was done to those girls?”
“I don’t let my wife on GrapeVyne.”
Ryan laughed, but decided to let that ride. “My engineers want to stop this insanity. They were overzealous, but they were trying to do the right thing.”
“Are you asking me not to report this security breach?”
“I’m asking you to think like a human and not like a corporate puppet.” He knew the moment he’d said it, he shouldn’t have.
“You’re a bigger puppet than I am, Mr. CEO. You sold yourself to Willow for a hundred million. But don’t think they have to keep you on if they begin to feel our company is threatened.”
Was that jealousy in his tone? Trying not to provoke him, Ryan softened his voice. “Look, this was not like some breach that threatens Willow’s secrets. We’re all under the same umbrella, right? My guys can be trusted with secrecy. I’ll just tell them to bag the project and not do it again. There’s no need to report this to anyone.”
Jeff just stared at him, a muscle in his jaw popping.
“This dude is going to kill more people,” Ryan tried again. “We feel a real tension over there about that. We’re trying to save lives. That’s all, man.”
Jeff got to his feet, opened the door, dismissing him. “I’ll think about it.”
That was all he was going to get for now. “No harm done, right?” Ryan stepped out of the room.
“And for the future, you’re only allowed on the third
floor, where the conference room is. You’re not allowed on the fourth, fifth, or sixth floors at all. Nobody is. Only those who’ve been carefully screened are allowed up here.”
Ryan couldn’t believe this guy. “You know I’m not a spy. I’m the CEO of one of Willow’s major holdings.”
“I don’t care who you are.” He escorted Ryan to the elevator and watched as he got on.
“I appreciate your giving me a few minutes,” Ryan said, reaching out to shake Jeff’s hand as he got on.
Jeff didn’t shake. He just stood there, giving him a steely-eyed stare, as the doors slowly closed.
K
rista was spent when she left the Willow building and got back to her car. She locked the door and sat there for a moment, seeing the faces of those men again. They’d looked angry when she went in, and she wasn’t sure anything she’d said had gotten through to them.
She felt barren, ineffective.
Fatigue clawed at her spine and the muscles of her neck and back, but she didn’t want to take time to sleep. She needed to go somewhere where she could make a difference.
She drove to the teen center. The street that she’d always breezed past before looked worse today…eerie…evil. She saw a couple of men smoking in front of a mechanic’s shop, watching her as she drove by. At the pawn shop, a man stood at a car, leaned in, talking.
Her heart tripped as she pulled into the parking lot next
to the Eagle’s Wings center. Carla’s van was here, and so was her husband’s. She saw two girls walking toward the place. They lifted their hands in a wave.
She got out, locked her car, and hurried inside. The place was full of activity. Christian music played overhead, and several girls sat at the computers, their GrapeVyne pages up. She tried to smile as she went in and spoke to each of them. But her gaze caught on those pages. For a moment she stood behind them, watching what they typed.
Some of them were on her own page, exchanging comments with other girls who were discussing her Bible studies.
“Krista, look at this!”
She turned and looked through the door into the next room, where they had three sewing machines set up. A girl named Flo was wearing the outfit she’d been working on, modeling it like she walked the runway.
“Flo, did you finish it?”
“All by myself. Miss Carla helped a little…”
“Hardly at all,” Carla said. “She did this whole thing alone. Look at the detail, Krista. Flo, you have a gift. I could see you working in fashion design. It’s so unique, and so you.”
The girl who’d been quiet and shy for the first month she’d come to the center giggled as she regarded her image in the mirror. “I could wear this to my auntie’s wedding.”
“You should,” Krista said. “It really is pretty. I wish I could sew, but about all I can do is hem pants and sew on buttons.”
“This even has a zipper,” Flo bragged.
This was what their work here was all about. Flo saw herself differently now. She was someone with talent, someone who was beautiful…someone with worth.
If only they could keep her here, locked away, and never
let her go back into her drug-infested neighborhood. They couldn’t do that, of course, but maybe they could help her find her own way out of it.
Flo went to change out of her outfit, and Carla turned to Krista and lowered her voice. “Honey, you didn’t have to come in today. Gus is here, helping. You look really tired.”
“I was just up late.”
Carla got tears in her eyes. “Have the police got any leads?”
Krista blew out a deep breath. “No, I don’t think so. If they do, they’re not telling us.”
“How’s your dad?”
Krista wanted to lie and say he was fine, but he needed prayer. “He’s just…horrible. So depressed. I don’t know how much more he can take. It would do him a lot of good if they found the killer.”
“It would do you a lot of good too. And the rest of us.” Carla walked to the window, looked up the street. “I sometimes wonder if it’s someone around here. But Ella didn’t come here that much.”
“No, Dad would have had a fit.”
“But it still could be, you know. Somebody who’s hot because we don’t let men in the club. Or someone who watches. There are always men standing outside…”
“Megan described him. She said he was white and clean-cut, in his forties, with brown hair.” She looked over Carla’s shoulder toward the mechanic’s shop across the street. The men were of all races, but the white ones she saw didn’t fit the killer’s description.
“What are you ladies lookin’ at?” Gus’s deep voice shook the room.
Carla looked over her shoulder. “Nothing. Just looking to see who’s watching us.”
Gus came over and gave Krista a hug. “You okay, darlin’?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Gus.”
The burly man looked at his wife. “I switched out that light fixture. It’s workin’ good now.”
“What would we do without you?” She kissed his scruffy cheek and ruffled his hair.
“Listen, ladies. We got that shotgun in the office. I want you to use it if you need to. And Krista, if I were you, I’d get a gun to keep with you.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking that myself. How do you do it? Don’t you have to apply for a license or something?”
“No, you just walk into a gun store and they’ll give you the paperwork.”
“Isn’t there a waiting period?”
“Not in this state. You buy it and walk out with it the same day, after you register it. The clerk at the store will call the registration in.”
She swallowed. “So I could literally have one today? Would I be able to carry it in my car, or do I have to have some special permit?”
“You have to have a concealed weapon permit if you carry it in your purse,” Carla said. “But that takes months to get. If you just carry it in your car, you don’t need anything extra.”
It was a good idea.
She hung around the place for a little longer, then slipped out and headed for Bass Pro Shop. If she was going to bait Ella’s killer, she was going to need a weapon.
W
hen the board of directors called another meeting that afternoon, Ryan knew he’d have some explaining to do. As he arrived at the meeting, he realized it had been going on for some time without him. The men who drove his company looked somber and angry as he took his place at the end of the table. “What’s this meeting about?”
Marvin Bainbridge leaned on the table. “Ryan, we’ve been discussing the things that have gone on in the company the last few days, and as you know, we’re very concerned.”
Ryan nodded. “As I am.”
Henry Hearne’s lips had stiffened into thin, hard lines. “Ryan, we understand that you violated Willow’s security in at least three ways.”
“I can explain,” he said. “I’d told my staff that I was going to ask for permission to run your Data-Gather program—”
“We told you no. Ian Lombardi hacked into our system and stole our software.”
“Come on, guys. It wasn’t stealing.”
“And then you violated security again, by going onto the upper floors without an escort.”
“That was no big deal. I just wanted to talk to Jeff Hall to tell him why my staff—”
“Ryan, we’ve been told you let the FBI into the building without a warrant.”
Ryan froze. “Okay, look…”
“We’re not really interested in any more of your explanations,” John Stanley cut in sharply. He looked at his colleagues. “Why don’t we just cut to the chase, gentlemen?”
Marvin drew in a deep breath and folded his hands. “Ryan, we made some decisions today. First, we are terminating Ian Lombardi’s employment.”
Ryan sprang up. “Come on, guys. He’s my most valuable asset. I can’t do half of what I do without him. He’s impossible to replace.”
“Oh, we’ll replace him, all right.”
Ryan couldn’t stand for this. “Don’t I get any say in this?”
“No, you don’t.”
He couldn’t believe this. He looked around the room, searching for one pair of eyes that still had some reason left. When he saw only glaring accusation, he decided to play his trump card.
“Look, guys. If he goes, I go.”
“That brings us to our next decision,” Henry said.
“What? You’re firing me?”
“Ryan, your contract with us states that you have the job unless or until we make the decision that it’s no longer in Willow’s best interest to keep you.”
“But I built this company! I’m the driving force behind it! Not you. Ian and I are the heart of GrapeVyne…the brains. You’ll be killing it without us.”
“There are plenty of employees who still know how to keep GrapeVyne running, and we have access to many well-qualified design and computer engineers. We’ll have you both replaced within the next few days.”
Ryan’s mouth hung open. “You’re serious?”
“We no longer need your services.”
Stunned, Ryan gaped at them. “I wouldn’t have sold GrapeVyne to you if you hadn’t agreed to keep me and my staff on board! That was the deal!”
“We feel that your latest decisions are costing this company its reputation, and you’ve behaved more like a rival than a coworker. We own the company and we can do with it as we please. We’ve decided that you are no longer needed here,” Henry said.
John’s voice was lower. “We’ve called security to come and escort you off the premises. You’ll have an hour to pack up your personal items. They’ll help you. We’ll expect you to turn in your laptop and phone and your appropriate keys.”
Ryan just stared. This was really happening. “Couldn’t you have given me a warning?”
“We did. We told you to stop getting entangled with Krista Carmichael, to stop apologizing for our company, to stop all of this, but you wouldn’t listen. We see this as our only option.”
Ryan looked from one board member to the next, and his eyes settled on Henry Hearne, the man he’d trusted. “Henry? Did you vote for this?”
Henry’s eyes were cold. “We have a responsibility to our employees and to our stockholders, Kid.”
Ryan picked up his laptop, shoved it into his briefcase.
Threats raced through his mind. “Fine. Then I’ll have time to do more interviews. I’ll be free to go on every talk show.”
“Are you threatening us?” Henry asked.
Ryan dropped his hands. “No, I’m just telling you, the changes I wanted to make in this company were for the good of it, and doing the right thing is still important to me, even if I’m unemployed.”
“Then you need to consult an attorney to review your contract commitments—namely, the noncompete agreement, the nondisclosure clauses, and the industrial secrecy clauses regarding anything having to do with Willow or GrapeVyne. If you talk to the press, we will sue you for every penny you’ve ever made with us, and then some.”
Ryan clicked his briefcase shut, then stormed to the door. When he opened it, two bulky GrapeVyne security guys he’d hired himself were waiting there for him.
Ryan looked up at them. “Jose…Andy…”
They both looked apologetic, and under his breath, Jose whispered, “Sorry, boss.”
They walked him across to the GrapeVyne building. Silently, they rode the elevator up to the top floor. When they got off, he saw the crowd around Ian’s desk. His staff looked stunned, and some of the women were crying.
He crossed the Rumpus Room floor. “Ian, I’m so sorry.”
Ian gave him a doleful look. “It’s not your fault, man. They’re lunatics, is what they are. Without us, this business wouldn’t even exist.”
Ryan looked down at his feet. “They’re deluded into believing they can run it better.”
“They’ll run it, that’s for sure. Right into the ground.”
As Jose and Andy stood by and watched, Ryan filled three small boxes with his personal items. He didn’t have the heart to get anything else out of his office. He supposed whoever occupied it next could have his things if they wanted them. Otherwise, they could pack them up and send them to him.
“We’ll need your laptop,” Jose said.
Ryan thought of trying to talk them out of taking it, since it had all of his code for GrapeVyne, as well as other startup ideas he’d had. But he knew better. Instead, he said, “Give me a minute to delete some personal files.”
Since he’d always been good to the security guys, they gave him the time. He quickly typed in the command to erase all the computer’s data. He waited as the computer deleted everything.
Andy checked his watch. “Time’s almost up, Ryan. We’ve got to walk you out.”
“Just a few more minutes.” He glanced out his glass wall, saw Ian at his desk doing the same thing. They’d always thought alike.
Jose came around his desk, saw what he was doing. “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that.”
“I’m not doing anything to hurt the company,” Ryan said, “but I have a lot of coding on there that isn’t owned by GrapeVyne. They were ideas I was playing with, and I don’t want GrapeVyne to have them if I’m not on staff, so I’m deleting them.”
“But the GrapeVyne files—”
“Bridgit has everything that belongs to GrapeVyne.”
Jose sighed, but he didn’t push it any farther.
Ryan handed a box to each guard and started for the door, but then thought better of it. Going back to his desk,
he picked up his phone and dialed the number that would give him intercom access across the offices. “Hi everybody, this is Ryan,” he said, and through the glass wall he could see everybody on his floor turning to look at him. “Willow has just given Ian and me pink slips. I just wanted to tell you what an honor and privilege it’s been to work with all of you. You’re the greatest team anybody could ever have, and you guys are responsible for making this company a success.” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry my part in it has to end this way, but that’s how it goes. But I wanted to say good-bye. I consider you all friends. Stay in touch.”
His mouth was shaking as he retrieved the remaining box and backed out of the office.
“One more thing,” Andy said.
Ryan turned back.
“Your Blackberry.”
Great. He’d forgotten they’d want that. He reached into his pocket, pulled it out and quickly did a hard reset, erasing everything on it. Then he tossed it to Andy. Now what would he do? His Blackberry was like a third arm. He didn’t even have a land-line at home. He’d have to go directly to the phone company and buy another one.
Unbelievable.
Ian was headed his way as he pressed the elevator button. Suddenly, applause erupted from those in the Rumpus Room. He turned and saw that all the employees were standing and clapping from their desks. Many of them were crying.
He and Ian offered sad waves, then shifting his box, Ryan got on the elevator. Ian stepped on behind him, and their four security guards squeezed on with them.
“Ain’t over, man,” Ian said.
Ryan didn’t want to hear Ian’s bluster. It
felt
over. He leaned back against the wall as he took his last elevator ride down. Then he stepped out to the parking garage…an unemployed man. The brainchild he’d developed was no longer his.