Intentional Consequences

by Charles Harris

  By late afternoon, the House leadership and almost every Democrat presidential candidate had weighed in. Some of the candidates claimed President Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Russian interference in 2016 had emboldened the Chinese. Others demanded a Congressional investigation to learn whether the Chinese efforts were payback for Trump’s trade war. All demanded action, without specifying what needed to be done. Even the President expressed concern. Fearing the worst, investors drove PaprW8’s stock price down another 9.1%.

  As morning broke over Beijing, the Chinese issued a terse denial, calling Andy’s article “a total fabrication” filled with “politically driven accusations.”

  By the end of the weekend, Andy had been interviewed on several Sunday morning political shows and booked for appearances on the Monday morning network and cable news programs. Eva caught a few of the Sunday shows and some interview clips while she was in D.C.

  She finally heard from Andy Sunday night after she had made it back to Austin. His text said: “Thanks. Crazy here. Overrun with interview requests, job offers, book offers, conspiracy theories and threats. Exhausted. Miss you. More later.”

  That was enough for Eva.

  Chapter 75

  Monday morning, Eva was walking through her wildflower garden with her coffee, when a call came in on her Apple Watch. “Hi, Rakesh,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “How was the gallery opening?” he asked.

  “Great. Good crowd. Nice sales. I was glad to get away. Even happier to see Andy’s story hit the street. I got back yesterday afternoon.”

  “Yes, Andy’s story has certainly created a stir. Eva, sorry for the short notice, but I was wondering if we could meet this morning. I’ve been talking with the FBI about some important matters.”

  “Sure. Where do you want to meet?”

  “Could we meet at my corporate office about 10:00?”

  “Yes, fine. I’ll see you there. Anything I need to do to prepare?”

  “No. I’ll see you then.”

  What could that be about? she wondered.

  Eva finished her coffee and checked the time. She pulled off her short gauze beach tunic and jumped in the pool for a few laps before getting cleaned up for her meeting. Forty minutes later, she slipped on a green and white sleeveless silk-jersey midi dress and headed downtown in her Porsche.

  They met in a small conference room next to Rakesh’s corner office on the 15th floor of his corporate headquarters building. The windows overlooked the Colorado River as it wound its way south through the city from Lake Travis.

  Rakesh gave Eva a hug as he came in. “Eva, thank you for coming on short notice. I’m sorry if this sounded mysterious. Unfortunately, this is very sensitive. Please, sit down. Let me get to the point.”

  Still standing, Rakesh said, “I think I mentioned we were going to do some JPAC security audits on Dan. The results were so disturbing that we called in the FBI. Bottom line, and I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, we found that Dan has been providing confidential information about some of JPAC’s political clients and their marketing to agents of the Chinese government.”

  “Oh, my God,” Eva said. “How long has this been going on?”

  “At least since late last year, but the data he was providing goes back to the 2018 elections and some early work on 2020.”

  “Are you sure you’re not misinterpreting something? I can’t believe he’d do something like that.”

  “We’re sure. He’s been accessing firewalled client accounts and sending the data to another internal account he controls. From there, he’s been using his executive overrides to our data loss prevention and content filtering controls to transfer the data and some reports he created to an email address the FBI says is associated with known Chinese espionage operations.

  “Why? Do you know why he would do that?”

  “According to the FBI, he’s been receiving recurring offshore payments into the same personal account he used for his personal payments from Bernbach. The FBI also thinks he’s received some cash, which they haven’t found yet. Beyond the money, which Dan hardly needs, the FBI thinks the Chinese have been blackmailing him, both with regard to the data he’s supplied already and with regard to the Chinese agent’s he’s been working with.”

  “Chinese agent? Oh, no. Don’t tell me there’s another woman.”

  “Possibly so. I’m sorry. The FBI won’t share the details, but the evidence apparently includes some security camera facial recognition matches they discovered while working the investigations of your drone episode and home invasion. They think Dan was recruited by an agent you know as Xeng Li, who went to some parties at your house. She works out of the Chinese Consulate in Houston.”

  Eva was stunned. She stared out the window, watching some brightly colored kayaks on the river. Anger blocked the tears that started to form. Looking down at the table and then back at Rakesh, she said, “I’m sorry, Rakesh. This is just hard to process. Are you saying Dan had some kind of relationship with Li?”

  “Not necessarily, although the FBI seems to be going in that direction.”

  “That’s just disgusting. Tara Hope I could maybe understand. Xeng Li? I don’t get it.”

  “Regardless of the relationship question, they say she has been Dan’s handler.”

  “Is she still in the U.S.? We had heard she left the country.”

  “Apparently that was a show to get rid of the man she was dating. Your friend.”

  “Is any of this connected to what Andy was investigating about Bernbach and the Chinese, or is this a completely separate situation?”

  “So far, no one’s suggested any connection with what Bernbach was doing. Even if this had nothing to do with Bernbach, the two situations both show China’s interest in our elections.”

  “This is crazy. What happens next?”

  “The FBI is arresting Dan this morning at JPAC. They’ll keep it quiet, but they won’t just let him turn himself in. They’ll take Li as soon as they can find her.”

  “This has to be terrible for JPAC—and you.”

  “True. Once the news gets out, and it will, JPAC is going to suffer badly. With the management changes we’ve already made, the team can handle losing Dan. But the reputational impact is going to be devasting, and the lawsuits from clients are going to be expensive, even with some insurance protection. We’re parsing the data Dan divulged so we can explain things to the clients. Unlike the corporate data breaches we all read about, what Dan did only affected about two dozen clients, but the races were all important Federal elections. We’re trying to see whether any PII for individual voters was included in what Dan supplied. If not, it will reduce the disclosures we need to make. The candidates may prefer to keep the whole disaster quiet, if that’s possible.”

  “It’s just so hard to believe. They had to play to Dan’s ego, his vanity—just like Bernbach did.”

  “There is one positive from JPAC’s perspective. Dan apparently didn’t give them access to any JPAC software or algorithms. The FBI thinks that’s what the Chinese were after in the drone and home invasion incidents at your house.”

  “Thank you for calling me, Rakesh. I’m sorry, if I seem a little distracted. I’m still in shock.”

  “That’s understandable. Please keep this in the strictest confidence. Valerie’s aware of it, so you can talk with her. But nobody else, especially our reporter friend, Andy Baker. You’ll probably hear from Dan once he’s been taken in. If he asks, you can tell him we’ve talked, but please omit the details. He may need your help with bail or legal counsel. I’ll give you an update this evening if I can.”

  Eva nodded, finally tearing up. They stood and hugged again, this time for longer. Then Eva was gone, and totally alone.

  While she was driving home, tears flooding her eyes and anger wrenching her heart, two FBI agents quietly arrested Dan at his JPAC offices and took him away in an unmarked black sedan. Rakesh arrived a few minutes later and met with Dan’s a
ssistant and the JPAC leadership team to start the remediation process.

  Chapter 76

  Back home, Eva traded her dress for compression shorts and a sports bra. After pushing herself for an hour on the Peloton, she showered and pulled on shorts and a tee shirt. With little interest in lunch, she grabbed an apple and walked to her studio to try to take her mind off the meeting with Rakesh. Although she made a few gallery calls and dabbled with some ideas for new prints, her mind kept flashing to images of Dan with Li, and the FBI arresting Dan at the business he had worked so hard to build. How could he do these things? she thought, To me? To Rakesh? To himself?

  Mid-afternoon, she walked down to the tram station and looked over the lake, remembering the last time she had stood there, topless, kissing and hugging Dan so passionately. Tears warmed her face as the permanence of her loss set in. Painful as it was, the hurt from the Tara Hope affair was redeemable if she was willing to forgive. She controlled the outcome. This was different. Dan was going away and she couldn’t control anything. In theory, she could wait for him to get out, but she knew she couldn’t—she wouldn’t. This was permanent. This was reality. She sat on the tram bench, staring at the lake, and cried. Fear and loneliness washed over her. As her tears slowed, she thought about her father. Breathe. Pray. Focus. Find the peace, then the will.

  ◆◆◆

  Eva jumped as a call came through on her Apple Watch. It was from Andy. Eva stepped off the tram platform and said, “Andy, hi. Good to hear from you. How are you doing?”

  “I’m good,” he said. “Still trying to get over the crazy schedule this past weekend. Think I can do those interviews in my sleep. The FBI is coming in a few minutes. Hey, were you serious about Austin?”

  “What about Austin?” she asked.

  “Uh, you said I should take some time off and, uh, come to Austin. Were you just kidding?”

  “Oh, sorry! Today’s been rough. But no, I wasn’t kidding. I mean, yes, I’d love for you to come down and spend some time if you can.”

  “The company wants to take advantage of the publicity my story’s getting. Between that and the FBI, my boss thinks I’m probably stuck here for another week. How about a week from today if I can make that work? Might be able to fly in on Sunday night.”

  “That would be wonderful. I could really use a friend.”

  “Me too. I’ll call my Aunt Debby and see if I can stay there.”

  “Why don’t you hold off on that? I’ve got a lot of room here. Let’s talk this week.”

  "Oh, uh, OK. Sure. Sounds good. Gotta run. FBI’s here.”

  Eva wiped her eyes and walked back to the house, looking forward to what she could become.

  Author’s Notes

  In the history of American democracy, four periods defined whether the place once called the world’s best hope would continue to be a beacon to the world or would die in vain.

  The first period was during the late 1700s, when the passionate advocacy and pragmatic compromises of the Constitutional Convention resulted in the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

  The second period was during the middle of the nineteenth century, when the Civil War years and reconstruction tested America’s morality and commitment to be one nation, indivisible.

  The third period was during the country’s recovery from the Great Depression, when the New Deal saved the country from the ravages of greed and ushered in a new era of social safety.

  Some might say that the fourth period was during the middle of the twentieth century, when segregation was finally defeated a century or so after the Civil War. Others would rightly note that while the efforts of the Supreme Court and President Lyndon Johnson were important if belated steps toward forming a more perfect union, they failed to solve the problems of racial prejudice and inequality that continued to plague America for decades more. No, the fourth period that mattered occurred during the early twenty-first century, when an unforeseen combination of shifting demographics and this new technology called the internet upended the very assumptions that were the basis of the American constitutional compact.

  Although political scientists will be debating the impact of this period for decades, just as historians try to parse the specific events that led Rome to fall, this book explores part of the story of what happened and why it mattered.

  Intentional Consequences is set in the early days of the 2020 presidential election cycle, in a world of fake news, facial recognition, altered images, drones, artificial intelligence, geopolitical hacking, privacy issues, social media manipulation and a loss of trust in our traditional socio-political institutions.

  As the lawyers would remind me to say, this is a work of fiction, not history. But the characters live in a world swirling with current news, events and people you’ll recognize. The setting is realistic but embellished and tweaked with the creative license of a novelist. Like most of us, the characters have opinions and are glad to express them. As you get to know them and the reimagined world around them, you’ll find their political opinions, like their morals and egos, are their own.

  I set out to make this book fun, pointed and provocative, regardless of your political point of view. Overall, this is a “purple” book that’s intended to offend and invigorate both sides of the American political spectrum—and especially each party’s so-called base. If you don’t like one character’s politics, stand by for the next one. If a character’s comments make you smile or frown, that’s good. You’ve taken the bait and you’re engaged.

  This story is fiction, but the underlying issues are real. Many of them are affecting and endangering the future of American democracy. Beyond entertaining you with an interesting, timely and fast-paced story, I hope this book will encourage you to join in the good faith debate we need to confront these issues and enhance democracy in America.

  Much of the political commentary in the book is intended to highlight the partisan bitterness that is encompassing virtually every aspect of our society. In portraying that, I have relied on news reports, articles, editorials, blog posts, tweets and other materials from both traditional media and social media through early August 2019, when this book was first released for publication.

  The technology in this book is important because of its current and future impact on our democracy, and on each of us as voters and keepers of the flame. All the technology discussed in this book exists in one form or another, and the few of the applications that have been embellished are in research and development somewhere. I’ve tried to provide enough detail to be interesting to readers who are familiar with these technologies while still being informative to those who are parsing them for the first time. In a few situations, I have intentionally withheld details that might be helpful or encouraging to bad actors, domestic or foreign.

  Few issues are more important than determining how we are governed and by whom. We can debate the platform planks and nuances of specific legislation. We can argue about the character and demeanor of our candidates and elected officials. But if the pace and misuse of technological change outstrips the capability of our constitutional structure and socio-political stereotypes to protect us against mob rule from the left or the right, none of those things will matter. Whatever the answer, the first step is agreeing that American democracy deserves preserving. The second is admitting and understanding the challenges. Only then, can we move past denial and work together on the solutions.

  Although I’ve written extensively across my legal and business career, this is my first novel. It won’t be my last. So, I offer special thanks for the time you entrusted to this book. Please post a review and spread the word. I hope you’ll be back for more.

  I inherited my love of writing from my mother, who taught me the power and value of words. I’m eternally grateful to her and for the sacrifices she made for me. I’m also thankful for my wife and family, who have been the sunshine and inspiration in my life and always will be. Without their love and support, this book and s
o much more would not have been possible.

  Reading Group Guide

  How does the book explore the causes and effects of personal, political and business betrayal?

  Which characters were the victims of betrayal? Which were the perpetrators?

  How did the victims of betrayal respond? Were some responses more successful or satisfying than others?

  How were the principal characters affected by their relative ability to exercise self-discipline and control?

  How does the theme of personal discipline relate to the internet’s trend toward shorter attention spans and quick, easy answers?

  What were David Bernbach’s strengths and weaknesses?

  What were Susan Ward’s strengths and weaknesses?

  What are some of the personal and business privacy issues the book explores?

  How does the book relate loss of personal and business privacy to loss of trust and betrayal?

  Several of the characters talk about using silos and “need to know” to protect information. How effective was that approach for them?

  The book highlights several emerging technologies that are affecting our society. What are the benefits and dangers of these technologies? How should the dangers be controlled?