Enemy In the Room

by Parker Hudson

  “Thank you.”

  “Dad?”

  “Yes?” It was two hours later, and David was in his bedroom, standing by the bed, a shirt in hand. There were a few items left on the bed to go into his carry-on. His son stood at the door.

  “Can I come in?”

  David smiled. “Sure.”

  Rob closed the door. “Mom’s in the den reading. I wanted to talk with you before you leave, about Callie.”

  “Callie? What about her?”

  “The movies. The adult movies. Dad, Callie and her boyfriend have done some porn movies.”

  He felt a chill. There was a long silence. Finally he replied, slowly, “Yes, Rob, I know about Callie. I’ve known for about three months, I guess. I’d just as soon your mother doesn’t find out. I’m trying to fix it, to get Callie to stop before something happens to her.”

  “I talked to Callie, but she doesn’t sound like she wants to change, because of the money. I asked her to quit. It’s so gross.”

  “I know. I know.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why she’s doing it. Money isn’t everything.”

  “She said it’s because you stopped paying for her school, and so she has to do it.”

  David paused. “I told her that I would not support her as long as she was living with that Alex guy in the apartment that I was paying for. He’s the one who got her started in this kind of ‘acting.’”

  “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

  “Yes. I love your sister as much as any father can. But I can’t pay for her to live with that creep.”

  “I guess it’s pretty tough on you with my games and Callie’s movies….”

  David continued to shake his head.

  “Dad, I really will try to do less, or stop. And I’ll work on Callie.”

  David looked at his son and could see his distress. He made a tentative move toward him, then reached out and hugged him. They stood together for a moment. “When I get back from Moscow maybe we’ll try to talk to her together.”

  Rob pulled back. “That’s a good idea. Together, maybe she’ll listen to us. I just wanted you to know, and I hope you have a great trip. It’s awesome what you’re doing.”

  “Thank you, son.”

  Rob opened the door and left. David stood staring at his suitcase.

  David’s flight was scheduled to leave at one the next afternoon, about the time Kristen’s flight would land in Los Angeles. She had almost called him on the way to the airport early that morning, but she remembered his aversion to cell phones and had decided to see Callie first before involving him, particularly with the importance of his next few days’ work.

  For his part, David went into the office early in an effort to finish off USNet real estate business. The offices were empty, and he sent a few final emails to their team in Moscow. Thirty minutes later, he was putting files in his travel bag when Todd came in. He looked pale, and his eyes were red.

  David straightened up from behind his desk. “You look like you haven’t slept all night.”

  Todd closed the door. “I haven’t.” He stood still. “David, I …I have to talk with you.”

  David looked at his watch. “Sure. Of course. Sit down.” David moved to one of the two chairs in front of his desk, and Todd joined him.

  As Todd started, he focused on the desk, then his hands. “David, I know that you’re leaving in a little while, and that’s why I’m here. I…I’ve got to tell you about some things that won’t be easy, and about what I’ve found out. I’m afraid, and if anything happens to me, I want you to know this, even though it means the end of my work here.” He finally looked up at his boss. “I’m very worried for Mary and our boys, and I’ve got to get out.”

  “Todd, what is it? Out of what?” David shifted in his chair.

  “I’m not proud of what I’m going to tell you, but I felt like we needed more money for our family. And so I did something very stupid. I accepted a bribe from Mike Campbell to put our operation in their building.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. I know. I let you down. And now there’s a question about whether the site even has adequate sewer capacity.”

  David leaned forward. “What?”

  Todd raised his hands. “David, as impossible as it sounds, I wish that was all that I have to tell you. But it’s only the beginning.” He took a deep breath, rubbed his hands, and then told David about how he had been thrown into a van by some thugs. And then someone named Victor Mustafin had blackmailed him into joining the RTI operation by threatening to expose his illegal income to USNet. But the blackmailer also offered a way to make more money than he had ever dreamed of having.

  “I don’t understand how this guy found out about Mike Campbell’s bribe. Did Mike tell them?”

  “That’s the really unbelievable part.” Todd described in detail his training in RTI, all the information it gathered, and how. David just listened. “And they threatened serious ‘negative consequences’ if I told anyone about what they do to extract and then use all of this information.”

  “That’s really why you’ve been so down on email and cell phones. They’ve been intercepting our calls.”

  Todd nodded. “And everyone else’s. That ‘report’ that you got in the mail—I wrote it and mailed it to you.”

  David turned to his desk. “Here it is. Akbar Kamali reminded me a day ago that I forgot to give him a copy. I guess he just got it.”

  “If I believed more in God, I’d imagine that He had something to do with your forgetfulness.”

  “What?” Todd was silent. David continued. “So who are they, and why are you telling me now?”

  “Because now I’m scared for all of us, and I don’t know where else to turn. From what I’ve just learned, I think USNet is actually behind RTI and uses the information that it gathers to destroy our competitors, and maybe even to destroy people.”

  David leaned back. “USNet? What makes you think that?”

  “Have you ever heard of the guy who approached me, Victor Mustafin?”

  “No.”

  “Well, he and Akbar Kamali are best friends. They spend a lot of time together during the week, away from the office.”

  David shook his head. “Is that all?”

  “No, of course not. When I learned about them, I started drilling down into the information that RTI gets and keeps. David, there is a ton of information about you, me, Paul Burke, and everyone at USNet, except that there’s nothing about Kamali or Trevor Knox. Like they don’t exist.

  “And there is a lot of information about people and strategies at other telecom companies. But almost nothing about the plans and strategies at USNet. Nothing on our company. Just mostly personnel files with key words that trigger reviews by the RTI systems.

  “Then I figured out, by looking over a long period, that all of the intercepts of emails and phone calls are only from USNet’s servers—there are none from any of our competitors’ systems.”

  David frowned.

  “So I started looking into business that we’ve done. David, there are lots of intercepts about the Hong Kong office market, E-News, those adult movie companies, Ezon and every other company we’ve ever bought. And about every competitor that has suddenly gone out of business. And all of that information stops once USNet takes an action. It’s like something focuses RTI on a company or a person or an issue, and then USNet does something. I think the entire RTI network is somehow run by Kamali and Mustafin, and maybe even Trevor Knox, to take advantage of everyone else.”

  “It’s not possible.”

  Again Todd was silent. When he spoke again, he almost whispered, and he was clearly distraught. “What I stumbled on late last night were intercepts about Bill Porter.”

  David straightened. “Bill Porter?”

  “There are a lot of intercepts about him, both calls and emails, starting right when we first had problems with him over Capital Tower. All the calls that you and Kristen made to him, the emails with the offers. Eve
rything.”

  Todd was silent for a moment, looking at his boss.

  “But they end after he set up a meeting with some guys to look at some development land in the foothills. There are calls as he is driving up there the day he disappeared, and then they all stop. None of the later articles, emails or calls about him were captured. It’s as if someone turned off the search. Like they knew that he was never coming back.

  “David, here’s why I’m scared. The first contact I had from RTI were three tough guys in a van who threatened to tell USNet about the bribe if I didn’t cooperate. I listened to Porter’s archived calls—the other voice on several of them sounds exactly like the guy who threatened me that night.

  “I think USNet did something to Porter, and he’ll never come back. If USNet can do that over an office building, then what will they do to me if I ever slip up? I’ve got to get out, but I’m afraid to go to the police. And if anything happens to me, I wanted you to know that it might not be an accident. What can I do?”

  David said nothing for a long time. “Is there anything in writing that can prove all of this?”

  “No. We can’t print anything at the center. I have some notes that I made as I tried to piece this together.”

  “So you took a bribe from Mike Campbell, and you believe that our company may be responsible for illegal taps, extortion, blackmail, and maybe worse, but you can’t prove it.”

  Todd nodded. “That’s right. I guess I could take you or the police to the control building. But I imagine that all of what RTI does could disappear with the flick of an electronic switch.”

  “You’ve definitely said a lot.”

  “I know. It’s awful. But that’s why I’m here. I hope that maybe on your trip you can help me think how to deal with all this. I don’t want anything to happen to any of us, like I think happened to Porter. Just don’t call me on my cell phone, or send me an email about it. Here, please take this number. It’s a cell phone I bought that’s not on USNet’s system. I think it will be safe for you to call me on it, from a landline, if you have any questions.”

  “Todd, I don’t know. You’ve obviously said a lot that I’ve got to digest. It doesn’t seem possible.”

  “I know. But please, David, it’s true. It’s real. Help me.”

  “OK. Let me think about it while I’m gone. I’ll call you on this number if I need to, and we’ll try to figure it out as soon as I’m back. Just hold it together until then.”

  Todd stood. “I’ll try. Thank you, David. Thank you. I’m sorry for what I did. I…It’s all my fault.” He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

  David returned to his desk and ran through in his mind all that Todd had told him, trying to make sense of the possible connections, and the implications. Todd’s fear was palpable. Should they all be afraid? And whom could he trust?

  At 10:50 Elizabeth called from the street to let David know that his ride to the airport had arrived. She had volunteered that morning to take him, so he could leave his car in USNet’s garage. She had enticed Rob to join them by offering to let him drive to the airport on his learner’s permit.

  When they pulled up to the passenger drop-off area, David hugged Rob again and told him good-bye. Rob actually hugged back. A moment later, out on the sidewalk, Elizabeth gave David a kiss. “You seem worried about something. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He smiled. “Just thinking about all that I have to do to in the next few days.”

  “We’ll look for you on television.”

  “Maybe live, the morning of the Fourth. Or on the news later. I sure hope it goes well.”

  “It will. Have a safe trip. We love you.”

  “I love you. Everything with the kids will work out. I promise.” She didn’t answer—just nodded. He turned, picked up his bags, and walked into the terminal.

  It was just after eleven when Kristen’s taxi arrived outside Callie’s townhouse. She paid the driver and walked up the stairs, her travel bag over her shoulder. She knocked and was surprised when Alex opened the door. He was apparently on the way out.

  “Uh, hi,” he said. “Come in.”

  Callie was sitting on the sofa but smiled and stood up when she saw Kristen.

  Alex stepped aside, then moved toward the door again. “You really didn’t have to come all the way out. I drove up last night. Now I’ve got to go down to the police station to file some papers about getting Jane’s body out of Mexico, if they can’t find a family member.” He frowned, shrugged his shoulders, and left.

  Kristen walked over and hugged Callie, who was in khaki shorts and a blue blouse, without make-up. It looked like her hair had not been washed for several days. They embraced for a few moments, and Kristen felt Callie start to cry.

  Wiping away tears, Callie said, “Can I get you a Coke or something?”

  “Don’t worry. If I need anything, I know where to find it. How about you? Want to talk?”

  Callie nodded and sat at one end of the sofa. Kristen took the other. Callie was barefoot and swung her feet up on the cushion. Kristen took off her flats and joined her younger friend.

  “Thanks so much for coming. I’m not sure what to do.”

  “Have the police been here already?”

  “Yeah. Early. They, like, woke me up. They looked all through Jane’s room. They, like, took some of her stuff. They’re going to try to find out where her family is.”

  “Did she ever tell you?”

  “Not really. I think she was from Dallas—parents divorced.”

  “Did they question you?”

  “Yeah. When Alex was still in Mexico, he told me just to say that I couldn’t remember anything, like about the drugs.”

  “And that’s what you said?”

  “Yeah. They seemed OK. They said they’d call me if they needed anything else.” She paused and looked at Kristen. “I…I’m so glad you came. Like Jane was just here and now she’s—Kristen, it could so easily have been me.”

  She started to cry again. Kristen gently pushed Callie’s feet to the floor, then slid over beside her. She took Callie’s head and laid it between her breast and shoulder, and hugged her tightly.

  David was one hour and two drinks into his Moscow flight that evening. What have I done? I’ve driven Callie off. I’ve let Rob live in another world that he now prefers to real life, though maybe there’s hope. I should have listened to Elizabeth about both kids. I’m a great father.

  I fired Kristen, the best real estate person I’ve ever worked with, to keep my job. I didn’t train Todd well enough to turn down a bribe, and a major project is in trouble because of it. And if Todd is telling the truth about the intercepts and the violence, I’ve got to help him stop it, or else go to the police. If Todd will take money, could he be lying about all this to cover it up? It sounds unbelievable, but he’s obviously scared. And if it’s true, then the company I’ve worked so hard for all these years is somehow involved in all the messes I’ve made, with my family and with my staff. I’m a great father and an even better businessman…

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Kristen said from a chair across from the sofa. Callie had cried and finally fallen asleep in her arms. Kristen let her sleep on the sofa for a couple of hours.

  Callie rubbed her face. “People don’t walk much in this heat.”

  “Well, then let’s go for a drive. Go somewhere for dinner. Something.”

  “I’d rather just stay here.”

  Standing up and walking over to Callie, Kristen smiled and said. “No. We need to get out. Let’s get cleaned up and I’ll drive your car to somewhere outside the city for dinner. We can find some fish tacos. Come on, sleepy head. Let’s go before the traffic is terrible.”

  Callie swung her feet to the floor. “The traffic is always terrible. But I guess you’re right. OK, I’ll get up.” She stood.

  “Good.” Kristen looked at Callie. “Listen, I didn’t ask you earlier. You said that you might be pregnant. Did you find out?�
��

  Callie looked down. “I didn’t want to take the test alone. I put it in my room.”

  “We’ll do it in the morning then.”

  “I don’t really want to know.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Uh, all right. We’ll do it in the morning. But, Kristen, I—”

  Kristen raised her hand. “Let’s get ready, and we’ll talk about it as we drive.”

  “OK.” Callie nodded, gave a small smile, and turned to the bathroom.

  When David’s flight arrived in Moscow on Saturday morning, Peter Goncharov met him outside Customs, and they drove southeast into the city. The news from Peter was good. Sales were up, their new space was virtually finished, and the move-in had begun the day before. Their internal preparations for the Presidential reception were well on track: caterers, response lists, parking, press releases, display photos from their first days in Russia, decorations, security checks, corporate information, etc.

  “Tanya Prescott called yesterday. If you feel up to it, after you check into your hotel and clean up, she wants to meet us at three to drive the route from the Kremlin to our new office and then review our joint security plans.”

  “Sure,” David replied, his head a little fuzzy but the adrenaline flowing. “That’s what I’m here for.”

  They talked more about business and how quickly Moscow’s real estate landscape was changing and improving. When they arrived at the hotel, Peter had coffee in the lobby while David unpacked and changed.

  David had just unzipped his large bag when his company cellphone rang. Expecting it to be Peter, he answered without looking at the readout.

  “Hello.”

  “Cousin, it’s Omid. How are you?” His voice was quiet but filled with excitement. Before David could answer, he continued. “Our plans have changed, and I didn’t have time for anyone to call you from Europe. Goli and I are in Tabriz at her sister’s house, and we’re leaving in an hour for the border, which we’ll cross tonight.”