Hot Dogs and Lemon Bars
“No cell phone, right?” Griff asked when Lance sat down across from him at the only table in the Dog Walk.
”Man, you do not wear paranoia well,” Lance said shaking his head. “In the car. Power off. Sheesh.”
“So, do I have to give you another dollar, or is my retainer still good?”
Lance adjusted the knot in his bright red tie. “Who’s buying lunch? You? Me? Or…”
“Helena?”
“I don’t want any conflicts of interest.”
“I’ll buy.”
“Fair enough. Besides, I’d just have to expense it back to your ledger if I paid.” Lance waved to catch Kim’s attention behind the counter. He held up two fingers. “Two usuals, por favor.”
“Besides, it’s not paranoid if they’re really after you.”
“For Christ’s sake, don’t tell me you’ve been reading Infowars.”
“What’s that?”
“Never mind. Be blissful in your ignorance.”
“Well, what do you know about the Highlands Forum?”
Lance pointed at his own face with both index fingers. “Me? Happy guy. Don’t spoil it for me.”
“Seems to be an alphabet soup of Pentagon and Langley minions swapping spit with the corporate world.”
“Ah, the vaunted Military-Industrial Complex. People complain, but the bottom line is they get shit done.”
Griff and Lance sat back as Kim came over and served two chili cheese dogs.
“And if people get in the way?” Griff asked, after Kim left.
“What people?”
“Cliff Nickolson, for one.”
Lance scowled and took a bite of hot dog. “What?”
“Sometimes accidents aren’t accidents, when the spooks are involved.”
“Langley?”
Griff shrugged a shoulder.
“Please don’t go all Alex Jones on me. The world doesn’t need more conspiracy theories. We’re still not even done with the Kennedy assassination, for crying out loud.”
“When you’ve lived in the shadows, you get used to seeing things in the dark.”
“You’re serious?”
Griff nodded.
Lance took another bite and stared Griff down. He swallowed and asked, “Okay. What do you need?”
“Your rising stars—Eply and…”
“Wilkinson.”
“Yeah, Wilkinson. The corporate dudes. Can they get me some insider info?” Griff pulled a piece of paper out and slid it over to Lance. “I made a list.”
“In-Q-Tel…Hornet Investment Group…SAIC…Booze Hamilton…Blue Wing LLC…” Lance read. “Is this for you or for Helena?”
“Not sure, yet.”
“Bottom line it for me—And not the full King James Version. Sunday school it and cut to the chase.”
“In the beginning was darkness and light. Then Al Gore invented the internet. Then government decided that maybe working with all the fallen angels would make creating a New World Order easier. Then 9/11 happened and they bulked up by putting their plans on steroids with the Patriot Act. Then Snowden Skywalker takes on the evil empire. Then a helicopter crash kills Helena’s father.”
Lance stared at Griff with a half-chewed mouthful of chili dog. He swallowed. “You make a compelling argument—for Oliver Stone’s next movie.”
“Call me crazy—”
“You’re crazy.”
“Yeah? Ask Donald Wallace.”
Lance chewed on that thought as well as his hot dog.
“What do these so-called Masters of the Universe do?”
“Write software,” Lance answered.
“And what’s behind all the glass in a cockpit panel and rattling around in the FADEC?”
Lance swallowed. “Computer code…”
“Bingo.”
“You sure this isn’t just the tiny G.I. Joe in your pocket sounding off?”
Griff shrugged. “Her dad’s journals make for some interesting reading.”
“You found them?”
“I did—all except the last one, which no doubt vanished in the smoking hole where he augured in.” Griff crashed his index finger into the table top.
Lance winced.
“Courtesy of the late Donald Wallace…now, why would he give them to me? Then he gets killed? And, why didn’t the family have them in the first place?”
“But you’ve got them back now. That’s what Helena wanted, right?”
Griff nodded.
“And you’re going to give them to her, right? That’s what she hired you for.”
“In due time.”
“Why do I sense a messy conflict of interest heading my way?”
Griff finished his chili cheese dog and sat back. “That’s why you call me, isn’t it? To deal with messy situations?”
“Right. I don’t call you to create them.”
“Would you rather not know?”
Lance scowled. “I was having such a good day. Hannah brought in a batch of her momma’s lemon bars. And I settled the Mitchell suit for eight figures.”
“Well, I guess the lesson is, when life tosses you lemons…give them to Hannah.”
“You are a riot. But seriously, Griff, where is this headed? What’s the point? She doesn’t need the money. Or is this for truth, justice, and the American way?”
“Like your buddy Henry Lee said at the O.J. trial, Something not right here…” Griff stared at Lance.
“So? Just another day in the paradise we call America. Enjoy it. Don’t fight it. That’s what I do.”
Griff nodded slowly.
“You’re not going to take my advice, are you?” Lanced asked.
“I’m not going to go to war with city hall. Look how that turned out for the guys at the Hornet Investment Group—”
“Exactly my point.”
“But…”
“Griff…take the money and run. Run hard. Run fast.”
“But…”
Lance shook his head.
Griff smiled.
“I’ll get Eply and Wilkinson on it for you.”
“Thanks.”
Lance sighed. “I just hope there are some lemon bars left back at the office.”
***~~~***