Margo’s public relations firm in Chicago was not about product launches or the rebranding of corporations. It was a place men, women and companies of immense power came for help when struck by disaster. The reputation Margo had built when troubleshooting for the Senator allowed her to pick and choose her wealthy clients. And they were only too happy to pay her top dollar to make their problems go away.
The firm was not staffed with the usual squad of MBAs from the best schools. Margo was drawn to independent thinkers like herself. The three people who formed her core staff had been educated the hard way: by failing spectacularly and learning from it.
Margo admired them for turning their lives around and, in turn, they were devoted to her. She knew their histories but had been willing to give each of them a second chance. Now they did that for Margo’s clients.
It was after 10 p.m. when her plane from Washington, DC, landed. But when she got to the office they were all there waiting at the polished chestnut conference table. Most of them were night hawks anyway.
Her colleagues were an awkward bunch, both physically and socially, but they found ways to show their devotion to Margo. Knowing she probably hadn’t eaten, they had placed sushi and two bottles of sparkling water at her place at the table. Her favourite music played softly in the conference room.
‘We have a potential new client,’ she said without preamble as she took her place at the table.
‘Can we know who it is?’ Courtney asked.
Courtney was a financial wizard who had done time for money laundering when she was still in her twenties. Now, at thirty-five, she was a straight arrow who wouldn’t so much as pick up a quarter on the street. But she could follow money like a bloodhound.
‘Soon enough, Courtney,’ Margo said, eyeing the sushi thoughtfully. ‘Did you guys already eat?’
‘Hours ago. But we ordered this when you were in the cab on your way here. It’s safe,’ Jason said.
Jason was the famous, or infamous, fifteen-year-old prodigy who had managed to hack into the Defense Department’s computer system. He had not been given prison time because of his extreme youth. Despite his genius, no reputable company dared hire him. Margo had dared and won a lifetime of loyalty.
Now twenty-two, there wasn’t a computer system Jason couldn’t crack if he chose to. Each time there was a significant hack attack, he would get a visit from the authorities. But he was never involved. He worked only for Margo.
Margo pushed the sushi away. ‘Thanks for this but I think I’m going to cool it with raw fish for now. My tummy is a little fragile at the moment.’
‘I’ve got half a salami sandwich in my office,’ Pete offered.
‘Thanks, I’m fine,’ Margo said, giving Pete a smile. ‘More important things to do right now.’
Pete, aka Finder, had a knack for tracking down people, places and things. No matter what you needed or who you needed to find, Pete knew a guy, heard a story, saw a photograph. He never forgot a face. He could find people who didn’t want to be found and, if he chose, he could also help people disappear.
Sadly Pete had zero social skills. He was so frozen by pathological shyness that he could not successfully complete a phone call, buy a shirt or rent an apartment. His mother had done those things for him until her death; now Margo looked after him. He, in turn, looked after her, even when she wasn’t aware.
‘So here’s the deal,’ Margo said. ‘The person we are considering working for is Jack McCarthy.’
If any on her team was surprised, they didn’t show it. And Margo, to her credit, could have been speaking of a stranger. ‘Before we decide to help him,’ she said, ‘as with all of our clients, we need to make sure he’s worth the salvage effort. No favouritism. Just truth. That’s what we’re after. Are you guys in?’
They were in.
Margo began her story where it had begun for her: at O’Hare Airport a little over two weeks ago. She talked without stopping for over thirty minutes, giving them every detail she could remember. And she remembered it all.
No one spoke until she had told them everything, including what happened in today’s meeting with Senator Wainwright. She did not mention that she was expecting a child. The next person she told was going to be Jack.
‘So here’s the plan,’ Margo said. ‘Courtney, you must follow the money. How did he move all that cash out of our accounts so quickly? And more importantly, where is it now?’
‘Did he have to forge your name?’ Courtney asked. ‘Or was everything joint?’ There was no judgment in her question.
‘Joint,’ Margo said. ‘Jason, there has to be some sort of electronic trail. Start with his mobile phone. It’s disconnected now, but he was looking at it just before he got on the plane. Was he making a call? Did he get a text? And he’s been on the move. How is he paying for things?’
‘I’m on it,’ Jason said. ‘First, I’m going after the security cameras at the airport. He couldn’t just vanish.’
‘Do it.’ Margo turned to Pete.
‘Let me guess,’ Pete said. ‘Find Jack.’
‘You got it,’ Margo said. ‘But remember, the CIA has been looking for him for years. He’s good.’
‘I’m better,’ Pete said. Then realizing what he said, he started to stammer out an apology.
‘You are better, Pete,’ Margo said kindly. ‘Just find him for me.’
‘I’ll start with raincoat guy,’ Pete said. ‘Seat 1B.’
Margo checked her watch: 3:30 a.m. ‘Let’s call it a night. Go home and sleep. I want you not to think about Jack at all. Don’t make a plan, a call, don’t research anything. Just get rest and we will begin fresh twelve hours or so from now.’
‘Sure,’ they said. ‘Not a thought.’
‘Can you do that too?’ Courtney asked, knowing her boss probably hadn’t slept more than an hour at a time in the past few weeks.
‘I give you all my word,’ Margo said, ‘that I will shut down my brain tonight. Tomorrow we’ll meet here at four in the afternoon and begin.’
Everyone started packing up their things.
‘Listen up,’ Jason said to the group. ‘Be careful on your home computers, your laptops, even your phones. If Jack really is involved in some sort of black-ops project, we have to assume someone will be watching Margo and anyone else close to her.’
‘Good point,’ Margo said. ‘Kyle told me to watch my back about a dozen times while I was in Washington.’
‘So do that,’ Courtney said. ‘Stay in lighted, crowded places, use only car services that you know. Follow the usual drill, our rules.’
‘By the time you get in tomorrow afternoon,’ Jason said, ‘I will have set up a computer system with so many fail-safes that even I won’t be able to hack in.’
‘I want you to sleep,’ Margo said.
‘Computer geeks don’t sleep, we hibernate.’ He went happily off to his office, chuckling at his nerd-humour.
‘I, for one, am sleeping,’ Courtney said, beginning to layer up for the freezing temperatures that awaited her outside.
‘Me, too,’ Pete said. ‘I was able to scrounge this amazing Murphy bed from a tear-down over on Clark Street. I hooked it up so it pops right out of the wall. It has a mini-bar and a TV set.’
‘And this is in your office?’ Margo asked, not really surprised.
‘Right next to the popcorn machine,’ Pete said. ‘They were renovating this old theatre and …’
‘You’re all nuts,’ Margo said, heading for the door. ‘See you at four.’
Margo was barely out of the door before her three employees were back in the conference room.
‘How long will it take to set up the computer system?’ Pete asked.
‘We’re already impenetrable here,’ Jason said, powering up. ‘I just said that so she’d go home to get some sleep.’
‘Make popcorn, Pete. And let’s get to work,’ Courtney said. She opened the big file of personal financial information that Margo had brought in and started going through it, line by line.