“Morning, Kent,” she returned, beaming. If he wasn't mistaken there was some interest in her eyes. He swallowed and stepped past.
“Oh, Kent. They're meeting in the conference room down the hall. They're waiting for you.”
He spun around. “There's a meeting this morning? Since when?”
“Since Markus got back from San Jose yesterday with new marching orders, he says. I don't know. Something about taking more responsibility.”
Kent retraced his steps and entered the hall, trying to calm himself. This was out of the ordinary, and anything out of the ordinary was bad. His plan would work under existing circumstances, not necessarily under ones altered to meet some new marching orders.
Settle down, Buckwheat. It's just a meeting. No need to go in there and sweat all over the table.
Kent took a breath and walked into the conference room as casually as possible.
The others rocked their chairs around the long table, wasting time, in good spirits. Borst had taken the head of the table and leaned back. His navy vest strained against its buttons. If one of those popped it might just poke Mary in the eye. She sat adjacent to Borst, leaning admiringly toward him. You'd think the two were best friends by their body language.
Todd sat opposite Mary, his head thrown back midhowl at some brilliant comment Borst had evidently graced them with. It was Todd's hoot that covered the sound of the door opening and closing, Kent guessed. Cliff sat two chairs down from Mary, facing Borst, grinning his usual pineapple-eater smile.
“Kent! It's about time,” Borst boomed. The others thought that funny and lengthened their laugh. He had to admit, the jovial atmosphere was almost contagious. Kent smiled and pulled out a seat opposite Cliff.
“Sorry. I didn't know we were meeting,” he said.
They gathered themselves and dug in. Borst started by fishing for a few compliments, which the others readily served up. Kent even tossed him one. Some ridiculous comment about how perceptive the supervisor had been to bring in Cliff.
Mostly the discussion centered on preserving control of AFPS. Evidently the main Information Systems division at the administration branch in California was talking about flexing its muscles. Or, as Borst put it,
going for a power grab.
“That's all it is, and we know it,” he said. “They have a dozen greedy engineers up there who feel left out, so now they want the whole thing. And I have no intention of giving her up.”
Kent had no doubt that the words were not original with Borst. They were Bentley's. He pictured Porky and Porkier yapping up a frenzy on the flight home.
“Which means we have to run a tight ship; that's all there is to it. They're looking for weaknesses in our operation as we speak. In fact, three of them are flying down next Friday to survey the territory, so to speak.”
“That's crazy!” Todd blurted out. “They can't just waltz in here and take over.”
“Oh, yes they can, Todd. That's a fact. But we're not going to let them.”
“How?” Mary asked, wide eyed.
“Exactly. How? That's what we're going to figure out.”
“Security,” Cliff said.
It was only then that the meaning of this little discussion came home to Kent. Like a flash grenade tossed into his skull. Whether the delay had been caused by tequila residue or his fascination at watching Borst's fat lips move was a tossup. But when understanding did come, Kent twitched in his chair.
“You have something to say about that, Kent?” Borst asked, and Kent knew they had all seen his little blunder. To exasperate the matter, he asked the one question only a complete fool would ask in the situation.
“What?”
Borst glanced at Cliff. “Cliff said security, and you looked like you wanted to add to that.”
Security? Good grief !
Kent scrambled for recovery. “Actually, I don't think they stand a chance, sir.”
That got a smile from them.
That's our boy, Kent.
All of them except Cliff. Cliff scrunched his eyebrows. “How's that?” he asked.
“How's what?”
“How is it that the guys from California don't have a snowball's chance in hell of taking control of AFPS?”
Kent leaned back. “How are they going to maintain a system they know nothing about?” Of course the whole notion was ridiculous. Any good department could work its way through the program. In fact, Cliff was well on his way to doing just that. He said so.
“Really? I've been here three weeks, and I've found my way around the program well enough. The code's not even under active security measures.”
The room fell to dead silence. This was not going well. Tightened security could very well bring his entire plan to its knees. Kent felt a trickle of sweat break from his hairline and snake past his temple. He casually reached up and scratched the area as if a tickle annoyed him there.
“I thought you were going to take care of restricted security,” Borst said, staring directly at Kent.
“We have restricted codes at every branch. No one can enter the system without a password,” he returned. “What else do you want?”
“That covers financial security, but what about security from hackers or other programmers?” Cliff asked evenly. The newcomer was becoming a real problem here.
All eyes were on Kent. They were asking about ROOSTER without knowing it, and his heart was starting to overreact. He had programmed ROOSTER precisely for this purpose.
Then Cliff threw even the
not knowing
part into question. “Actually it looks like someone started to put a system into place but never finished. I don't know; I'm still looking into it.”
The kid was on to ROOSTER! He'd found something that led to the link. It was all Kent could do to stay seated. This was it, then. If he didn't stop them now, it was over!
“Yes, we did start a few things awhile back. But if I recall correctly, we discarded the code long ago. It was barely a framework.”
Cliff held Kent in a steady gaze. “I'm not so sure it's gone, Kent. I may have found it.”
Kent's heart felt like it might explode. He forced a nonchalant look. “Either way, it was far too clumsy to accomplish anything under the current structure.” Kent shifted his gaze to Borst. “Frankly, I think you're approaching this all wrong, Markus. Sure, we can look at tightening security, but that's not going to stop a power grab, as you put it. What you need is some political clout.”
Borst lifted his eyebrow, and his forehead rode up under his toupee a fraction. “Yes? And?”
“Well, you have some power now. Probably more than you know. You insist on maintaining control under the fairness doctrine. You were responsible for the program's creation as a dedicated employee. It's simply unfair for the big giant to come sweeping in and take your baby away, thereby minimizing any additional advances you might have realized had it remained under your control. I think you could get a lot of ordinary employees to back you on a position like that, don't you?”
The smile came slowly, but when Borst got it, his mouth spread from ear to ear. “My, you are not so dumb, are you, Kent?” He glanced at the others. “By golly, that's brilliant! I think you are absolutely right. The little man against the big corporation and all that.”
Kent nodded. He spoke again, wanting to nail this door shut while the hammer was in his hand. “If the boys in California want AFPS, no security is going to slow them down. They'll just take the whole thing and stomp the living daylights out of anyone who stands in their way. You have to put a political obstacle in their way, Markus. It's the only way.” Cliff had lost his plastic grin, and Kent wondered about that. What difference did it make to the newcomer how this went down? Unless he knew more than he was letting on.
“I'm surprised Bentley didn't think of that,” Borst wondered aloud. He blinked and addressed the group. “Anyway, I think I should take this to him immediately.” He was already on his feet. Like the young eager student off to find his professor. Cliff held Kent's gaze for a moment without smiling. He turned to Borst.
“May I suggest we at least handle the security issue since it has been raised?” Cliff asked.
“Yes, of course. Why don't you take the lead on that, Cliff ?” he said. But his mind was already in Bentley's office. “I've got to go.”
Borst left, wearing a smirk.
Cliff had found his grin again.
Kent blinked. That last exchange had effectively dropped a bucket of heat on his head. It was still leaking down his spine when the others stood and wordlessly followed Borst's lead, exiting the room.
That was it. Cliff knew something. Kent lowered his head and began to rub his temples. It was unraveling. It was coming apart. In the space of ten minutes his link to sanity had been casually snipped free by some snowboarder from Dallas who knew more than he had any business knowing.
Think! Think, think, think, boy!
Okay, this is not the end. This is just another little bump. A challenge. Nobody is better at challenges than you, boy.
Kent suddenly wanted out of the building. The thought of going back to his office and having Cliff walk in with his grin scared him silly. He wanted to see Lacy.
He wanted a drink.
KENT SPENT most of the afternoon walking through the office trying to hide the pallor of death he knew grayed his face.
He took a late lunch by himself and was about to enter Antonio's when he saw Cliff. At least he thought it looked like Cliff. The junior programmer walked toward the corner across the street, and Kent's heart began to palpitate madly. It was not the sight of the snowboarder that had him suddenly fixed to the concrete; it was the sight of the pinhead walking beside Cliff, yapping with the traitor as if they were old buddies. The cop! It was the pinhead cop with slicked-back hair and wire-frame glasses!
Or was it? And then they were gone.
Kent ordered a salad for lunch and left after eating only the two black olives that came perched on top. Imagine the cop showing up here, of all places. And talking to Cliff ! Unless that hadn't been the cop
or
Cliff up there. It was for this conclusion that Kent finally angled, and he angled for it hard. He was seeing things in his anxiety. Boulders were beginning to fall from the sky; only they weren't boulders at all. They were sparrows, and they weren't falling from the sky. They were flying happily about.
Get a grip, Kent.
When he got home that night he made straight for the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of tequila. Three shots and a shower later, he still had not managed to shake the sickness in his chest. His head hurt from the day's brain twisting. Thing of it was, this particular challenge was not his challenge at all. It was Cliff 's challenge. If Cliff found ROOSTER, the game was over. And there was nothing Kent could do to change that. Nothing at all.
He had just poured his fourth shot when the doorbell rang for the first time in a week. Kent jerked. The shot splashed over his hand, and he cursed. Fortunately he was near the kitchen sink, and a quick run of water washed the liquor down the drain. Who could possibly be ringing his doorbell at eight in the evening?
The answer should not have surprised him. He swung the door open to a frowning Helen. A large travel bag hung from her shoulder.
“Helen! Come in,” he said.
Helen, take a hike,
he thought.
She came in without answering and set her bag on the floor. Kent looked at the black duffel bag, thinking at first that she had lost her interest in running after all and was returning the shoes. But he could see already that there was more than footwear in that bag.
“Kent,” Helen said, and she smiled. He thought the smile might have been forced.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Kent,” She took a deep breath, and suddenly Kent knew this was not just a courtesy visit. “I need to ask you a favor, Kent.”
He nodded.
“If I needed you for somethingâreally neededâwould you help me?”
“Sure, Helen. Depending on what it was you needed me for, of course. I mean, I'm not exactly the wealthiest man on the earth.” He chuckled, all the while scrambling to guess her next move. She was setting him up; that much was clear. She was going to ask him to help clear out her garage or some other horrendous task he could do without.
“No, it won't cost you a penny. In fact, I don't mind paying rent. And I'll buy half the groceries. That should save you some money.”
He smiled wide, wondering where this could possibly be leading. Surely she didn't expect to move in with him. She hated his guts. In a mother-in-law sort of way. No, she was angling for something else, but his mind was drawing a blank.
“What's the matter, Kent? Cat got your tongue? Oh, come on now.” She walked past him into the living room, and he followed her. “It wouldn't be so bad. You and me living together.”
Kent pulled up, flabbergasted. “What!”
She turned to him and looked him square in the eye. “I'm asking you if I can move in, young man. I have just lost a grandson and a daughter, and I've decided that I simply cannot live on my own in that great big house.” She shifted her stare. “I need company,” she said.
“You need company?” Heat washed down Kent's back. “I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm not exactly good company these days. I'm the devil, remember?”
“Yes. I do remember. Nonetheless, I would be so grateful if you would let me use one of your spare bedrooms downstairs here. The sewing room across from Spencer's room, perhaps.”
“Helen, you can't be serious!” Kent rounded the couch and walked away from her. This was absurd! What could she possibly be thinking? She would ruin everything! An image of him sneaking to the kitchen for a drink winked through his mind. She would give him hell. “There's no way it would work.”