14 February 2022 Monday

Jerry’s words alarmed Jack who stood up from the chair and asked what was happening, to which Jerry replied he believed a person who had just submitted evidence against the District Attorney of New York life was in danger. Jack said, “Give me the view of the whole situation.”

Jerry said, “A woman named Amanda Montes who works for the New York attorney Peter Dixon general contacted me using the site Expose.com she provided evidence of her boss being involved in a cover-up of the murder of an FBI agent, Leon Horne. She came across the information about 5 days ago and was thinking about what to do. Amanda contacted and asked for protection since she thinks she was being watched. But the shocker is she is right. I found a spying program on her laptop. Thankfully, it was not live monitoring, but the data was to be dumped at a server from where it can be accessed. I came across it in time and edited the data for the data dump. I have tracked it to a fixer the District Attorney uses, so there is a very good chance he has suspicions and a very good chance that she will be killed tonight since everyone is spooked because of our website.”

We don’t have the entire network in place to move her in such a short time. How are we going to protect her? What about her evidence? Is it enough?

Unfortunately, it is Circumstantial.

Can we provide her with safe passage to anywhere right now?

We can do that, but you have to get involved in small ways.

What do I have to do?

Pick up fake identity papers from a forger and have to deliver them to Amanda.

What about after that?

She will leave on a flight to Chicago where I have vetted people because of our side project they will provide her with a safe house and cash after some days I could guide her to Montana where she would be invisible for some time and I will monitor her and if she matches with our ideal, we could recruit her.

What about her family?

She has to leave them behind, and no one has a reason to go after them.

But when has reason stopped a criminal?

That is a fine point, but what more can we do? We can’t convince many people to take up and leave their entire lives behind.

But we must do something.

The best we can do is to provide a safe way for her to contact her family.

How are we going to make sure that the D.A. does not come after her?

We can get D.A. arrested.

But you told me there was not enough evidence.

Who says we can’t make some?

I will not fabricate evidence to get a douchebag in jail; it is a slippery slope. We have to think of something else. How about entrapping him?

What are you thinking, Jack?

We can inform the FBI of the evidence and that the fixer was planning on killing Amanda. That way, we can get the D.A. arrested.

Who should we contact in the FBI? And would they believe us?

We should contact the FBI director John Michael. And yes, I think he would believe us since you would talk to him as proprietor of Expose.com. It is a matter of an FBI agent’s murder, so he will believe what we tell him. Just call him right now and mask my voice so I could plan.

Jerry Called John Michael, who answered the call on the first ring and said, “Whom am I speaking?”

Hello director, I heard you were trying to get in touch with me by trying to hack my website Expose.com the whole day?

Well, gentlemen, you heard right, but I am curious how you got my number and what Should I call you about?

You can call me Tom, sir.

Well, Tom, since I am sure this call can’t be traced back to you. Why have you called me or are you going to reveal your identity to me?

Perhaps some other time for your second request. And as for calling you, would you like help in solving the murder of your agent, Leon Horne?

What do you know about the murder?

I know that a member of Law enforcement was part of a cover-up, but the evidence is Circumstantial.

Just send the evidence to me and I will take it from there.

That will not happen, sir.

What do you want in return?

Sir, I trap this individual because he is going to kill someone tonight and I would like your help in trapping him?

Who is this scumbag, and whom is he going to kill?

You will get all your answers at 5:00 P.M. you should make sure that your New York field Office is ready to run an undercover operation and they would need a Hispanic woman as a dummy.

Jerry hung up the call. He told Jack to grab his bike and go to central park where he had scheduled a dead drop for the fake ids. Jack left the office and told Carla that he would not be coming to the office since they would be busy because of interviews.

Jack went to a general store near his office to purchase a hoodie, a face mask, and leather gloves so that he could hide his identity. Jerry gave directions to a bench under which the fake ID was pasted. Jack picked up the envelope from under the bench.

After retrieving the Fake IDs, Jack met Amanda near Times square. He changed the hoodie so that he can not be tracked by his clothes. He identified Amanda from her picture and contacted her using the pass phrase given by Jerry.

Amanda immediately started asking calmly, “What is going to happen now?”

Jack gave her the envelope, “these are some fake ids you will take the cash in them to buy a plane ticket for Chicago where a man will meet you who will give you some cash and take you to a safe house where you will be contacted to move you to a safe location you will receive 1 million dollars for starting a new life there?”

What about my boss? Is he going to be arrested for what he did?

Yes, he will be arrested for a cover-up, but you can not stay in this city.

If he will be arrested, why do I need to hide?

Your boss suspects you and is a fixer, spying on you. They plan to kill you tonight since the website launch spooked them.

Amanda’s calm face shattered, and her face grew pale. Her hands started shaking. To distract her and not let her hysteria grow, Jack said, “Don’t worry, he will be arrested tonight and you will not be harmed.”

Amanda said, “How can I trust you? And what about my family?”

You don’t have a choice, Amanda. The FBI agent was killed by a mob hitman. They will come after you for exposing the mob connection. As for your family, they will be safe and we would provide a way for you to contact them safely so you could talk to them without discussing your location or other details.

Can you give some of that money to my parents so they could live comfortably?

How does 250k sound to you?

That sounds good to me.

Jack acted like typing something on his phone and then he showed Amanda a receipt for the money transferred to her account. And said, “Now Amanda, listen to me carefully. You book a flight from the airport to Chicago where a man will meet you, whose photo and contact information are on the burner phone, which is the envelope. Do not contact your family with that burner or anyone else. You can log in to your bank account and transfer the money to your parents’ account from the airport”

Amanda nodded to his suggestion and asked if she could take some luggage from her apartment, to which he refused, and told her to go straight to the airport.

Jack was having bad feelings after seeing Amanda’s face, but he ignored it and left for Central Park so he did not provide a route to street cameras around New York.

Jack, listening to his gut feeling, told Jerry to monitor her. He then exercised in the gym on Jerry’s order. After an hour of exercise, Jerry interrupted him by making a call on his phone. He asked Jack, “How did you know she was going to do something foolish?”

Jack asked, “What happened?”

She missed her flight and called the FBI about the entire case.

We need to do something so she won’t tell the FBI what little she knows of me.

She knows only that you are a white male in his 20s and of a height of about 6 feet. But that is also something we don’t want anyone to know. How about we intimidate her?

I don’t know if that woman is shaken up enough already so we don’t want to pile up on her? What is she doing now?

She is in a taxi and leaving for the FBI office?

Call her and let me speak with her.

Amanda answered, “Hello who are you?”

Miss Amanda, you met with my employee some time ago and now you are doing the opposite he told you to do.

I don’t know you, so how can I trust you with my life and know that I will be safe?

That is a reasonable doubt, but my problem is that now you will try to expose my ways and perhaps what you know about my employee?

I will tell nothing about you to the FBI, I swear.

How about this Miss Amanda? If you are adamant about going to the FBI, you hire a lawyer and I can talk to someone higher-up in the FBI, so you would be protected.

But you will tell no one about our arrangement and my employee. When asked about me, you just tell them you contacted me for reward money and when I told you about the spying, you came to the FBI. When asked about the money, simply say that it was the reward money for the information provided.

Yes, I will do as you say and return the money as well.

The money is your reward, but destroy the whole envelope before going to the lawyer and discuss nothing with him as well.

Jack's face was caught in a grimace. He was silent for some time and then asked what Amanda was doing and answered that she was going to the Lawyer’s office as suggested. Jack asked Jerry to warn the forger and send him 50k to run from New York as a precaution.

Jack said, “That was a shit show, Jerry. We have to make infrastructure so this does not happen again.” Jerry agreed with him, but to rub it in, he suggested Jack should try to be more trustworthy.

Jack just laughed and told Jerry to message the details of Amanda to FBI director John Michael and to tell him about the D.A. Jerry informed him that the FBI director assured him he will have someone there to meet with Amanda.

Jack got some practice in order to make electronic Jammers and tools he needed to break into the genetic lab in Chicago. He visited the nearest electronic store and bought his needed equipment and also some network cables and other things so he could mask his purchases. He visited the self-storage unit he had rented to store his things from his apartment and started practising on making the tools. Jerry wanted him to be proficient in making a jammer to disrupt all phone networks inside the lab and to make a device to fool the hard-wired alarm system of the facility. Jack practised for some time and by the end of the day, he was proficient in making jammers. He asked Jerry about all the tools they needed, to which he replied he would need a list of items for the robbery.

5 Rubber Ducks so that Jerry could take control of the machines, which are not on any network. Jammers to block phone signals A Taser to knock out people. Chloroform Gloves Cryogenic container to keep biological material safe. Bomb if there are no other options like gas lines or chemicals to destroy the lab. lock pick toolkit as a redundancy. Gas Mask to hide his face and to not accidentally knock himself out of chloroform.

Jack asked if he needed to purchase some things, to which Jerry replied he had everything in hand and would only need to purchase Rubber Ducky beforehand. All other things except the bomb will be arranged in Chicago. He will need to make his bomb. Jack was opposed to the idea of a bomb, but he knew it was necessary to remove the evidence.

Jack visited the shooting range where he brushed up on his shooting, which was neglected in the last few days. He practised with a sniper rifle and landed some good shots at 1000 yards. Jack reflected on how far he shot. He was pulled out of his musing at the ringing of his phone. He viewed the caller as Todd calling him. Todd Dunn was his friend who was a detective in NYPD. He picked up the call and said hello. Todd said, “How are you, Jack, and why did you not call me when you shot a man?”

I am fine and as for the second question; I did not want to get you in more trouble because I thought you would catch some fire for helping me in acquiring the gun licence.

That is not a problem Jack, friends are there to help. You should have called me. How are you doing?

I am doing fine. Did you get in much trouble for the licence thing?

No, that was just a nuisance. The detective investigating your case raised some fuss about it, but it was no trouble. That was the way I got to know about the shooting.

What is the problem with that detective? He was a dick on the night of the incident also?

From the grapevine, I heard he had a problem with you demanding a lawyer and your lawyer kicking his ass and putting him in place. From those descriptions,, I assume you called your aunt Lannie?

Yes, and please call her my mom from now on.

That is a wonderful development, and I would love to have her in my corner. How did your FBI hearing go?

It went pretty well. I resigned from the FBI and got a sealed settlement.

That is as good as an outcome. What are you doing tonight?

Nothing special. Why?

Would you like to come to dinner at my place? I would like a male company that is not from work.

I would love to. Did something happen at work?

No, nothing major. How does 8 P.M. sound to you?

Sounds good to me. I will be there. Any preference for wine?

Just don’t bring any if of you want to live, my wife can’t drink it and I may not save you from her wrath.

No problem.

Jack shoots guns for some more time and goes home after that. When Jack reached home, Jerry told him he had some information for him to review. Jack asked about the info. Jerry told him he had looked into his friend Todd and her wife and he had information which might be helpful. Jack asked why Jerry had looked into them, to which Jerry replied he looks into every person Jack interacts with after James’ debacle and would not stop doing so.

Jack sighed and asked Jerry what he found. Jerry told him that Todd’s wife Emilia was a financial advisor and accountant and had taken a break from her firm. They could find an excellent employee in her. Jack was reluctant and asked why she would work with them? Jerry replied that because of her pregnancy she missed promotion and her firm is a kind of male-dominated, so chances are she will be rehired at a less salary.

Jerry listed out Emilia’s qualifications and described she was an honest and competent person and would be best for their company. Jack was convinced and wanted to meet Emilia so he could find out if Jerry was right about her.

Jack arrived outside Todd’s house, which was near his parents’ house. He enquired Jerry about it, to which he replied they had bought the house using family money from Todd’s family and had no Mortagne on it. Jack was impressed by their forethought because he did not agree with the mortgage policies and believed in buying things from cash reserves.

Todd opened the door and welcomed him into the house. After seeing Emilia, he was reminded of Todd’s luck in high school. Todd was a big jock who played football and had good looks. While Emilia was a very good-looking brunette who was just 1-2 inches shy of Todd’s height of 6 feet. They were both looking good together, and Jack complimented them. Jack presented Emilia with sparkling water and a cake.

They all ate food, and the conversation started flowing. Jack was asked questions about the incident with James and he answered them. Emilia was taking all the details in a friendly spirit and was not giving Jack any dirty looks when he could not satiate his curiosity. He asked, “Emilia, don’t take it the wrong way, but you are taking the incident rather well.”

Don’t worry about it Jack, I am a cop’s wife and I have heard stories from Todd about Afghanistan so it doesn't phase me. Did you believe your life was in danger?

Yes, that was the first thought after he fired shots into the kitchen.

There you have it. You should feel safe in your home and should not be belittled for defending yourself.

That is a very good perspective and I would remember it.

Jack, to change the subject, started asking about their life and work. Todd told all about the street cops beating up suspects and the general tendency of shootings in the city. When Jack asked Emilia about her work, she told that she was just a glorified number cruncher and was now on a break. Todd interjected, “Don’t let her fool you. She has a cum laude from Columbia.”

Jack said, “That is a heavy title even I did not get it despite graduating early.”

Todd, “Man, you graduated early from that university. You truly are a genius.”

Jack, to deflect attention from him, asked Emilia if she was thinking about going back to work after the baby. To which she replied she wants to go back to work part-time but the firm she worked for didn’t allow it so she was not sure about it.

Jack jumped at the chance and said, “I am starting a company and need a Chief Financial Officer. Would you be interested in it?”

Todd asked which company he was talking about and when did he have time to start it. Emilia also voiced the same question.

Jack said, “I am starting a new company with a focus on server softwares and physical data centres and we are going to launch on next Monday.”

Emilia said, “But I can not work full time and you would want someone who can give you full attention because that field is very brutal and competitive”

“I don’t want you to work full time. What I need is an employee whom I can trust fully. As for competition, we don’t have to worry about them. We are going to launch a new product and will not have competition in it for 1-3 years minimum. Are you interested?”

Todd and Emilia shared a look and then Emilia asked, “Can you explain more details and what salary and work look like?”

“I can not tell more without N.D.A., otherwise my partner might kill me and my mom will help her. But what I can tell you is there is 1 colleague of mine from the FBI who is my business partner and we have hired 4 other people in more important positions. I will offer a salary of $10000 a month for part time and if you decide to work full time after some time $20000 a month as salary and.5% stock options at 500k with the condition in case of selling to allow me to buy first in case of selling. Other four people accepted the same offer except for the part-time part. And we are hiring 20 employees in this week”

“Wow, that is a big salary and you are valuing your company at 100 million from the start . I don't know if to call you crazy or knowing the value of your stuff.”

“I would think of myself in the 2nd category. I will shell out that much salary because I have something unique and valuable.”

“God, I hope so, otherwise you are going in for about 300 k a month on expenses.”

Expenses are more than that, but that is after you accept the job. Are you interested in signing N.D.A. and getting more details?

I am tempted to just sign without those because of your confidence and willingness to spend money, but I will be interested in getting more details and meeting your business partner.

Would you like to come to visit the temporary office or we can come to you at the house?

I would like to visit the office. Todd can take me there.

Jack told Emilia that he could pick her up and Todd can go to his work. Todd told him to relax and said that he wants to see the office as well. Jack gave him the address and took his leave from their house.

Jack walked to the house. He called Carla and took a status report; she informed him they had hired 8 employees and will be fully staffed in 2 days and also told him they all had seen the softwares and the last 2 versions had only a few bugs which have been resolved and had been satisfied. Jack told her to send the software to their corporate lawyer, Leo Dixon, for filing for copyright. She told him she had done it already. Jack asked if she was free the next day to meet a potential candidate for Chief Financial Officer. She told him she was free and asked about the candidate. Jack told her about Emilia and her qualifications. She asked if it would create problems if she worked part time from the start. Jack told her they had very little bookkeeping in the starting and it can be handled part-time and besides, for starters, he would like to negotiate big deals with three of them combined so they could get acquainted with each other's thought process. Carla agreed and told her she would tell Leo to make the Contract with the condition he described.