The Weakest Link

by Anthony Ivins

computer and load it on.

  Jack looked at Jenny’s files again and saw a position that lit a spark in his eyes, Head of Recruitment for Software Development. Jack opened his browser, searching in Google for any jobs at Tesla. A long list came up and Jack went through them one by one until one jumped out of the screen at him - Junior Programmer. Jack opened the job advert and went through all the requirements. He opened one of his many fake resumes, the one that was closest to the Junior Programmer job.

  He went through the resume in detail, adding in the qualifications and experience that the job advert required. Once he was satisfied that his resume covered all these requirements he logged onto the Gmail account that matched the name on the resume and sent it, along with a flattering cover letter, to the Head of Recruitment. Jack opened the drawer next to his desk and pulled out an envelope, emptying the contents of SIM cards onto the table. He scratched through them until he found the one he wanted and inserted it into an old mobile phone.

  He powered the phone up and confirmed that the phone number of the SIM card was the same as the number he had put on the resume. Jack sat back. The waiting game had begun.

  Angela Davis had received hundreds of resumes for the position of Junior Programmer. Most of them were chancers and she had her secretary weed out a lot of them. She had short listed four candidates who she thought were best, including one late comer whose resume had only come through this morning.

  She picked up the resume, it was impressive, almost too impressive for the position. She had looked up his Facebook profile and was equally impressed. The man seemed to travel a lot, enjoyed museums, art galleries and the odd football game. There were no dubious photos of late night parties or politically incorrect memes. She looked for the mobile number and dialled it.

  The phone caught Jack by surprise. He didn’t know why he chose that ringtone as it always sent a shockwave through his body when the phone rang. He cleared his throat and took a sip of water before picking it up.

  “Michael speaking”

  “Hello Michael. My name is Angela Davis, I am the Head of Recruitment for Tesla Motors.”

  “Hello Ms Davis”

  “Please call me Angela, we are very informal here at Tesla.”

  “Sure, Ms Dav…, I mean Angela”

  “Michael, we have your application here for a Junior Programmer - you did apply for the job?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “Great. You know Michael you have a very impressive resume.”

  “Thanks Angela. I take my career very seriously.”

  “Michael, are you available on Wednesday at 11 for an interview?”

  “Let me check my diary quickly.” Jack shuffled around some papers on his desk, making just enough noise to sound busy. “Hi, sorry to keep you waiting. Yes, I have some free time then.”

  “Great. Do you know where our offices are?”

  “The ones off Deer Creek Road?”

  “Yes, those are the ones. I will email you the details.”

  “That would be great, thanks. Oh, and who will I be meeting with?” This information was crucial for Jack.

  “You will be meeting with myself and the Programming Manager, William Berry. We’ll be meeting in his office but I’ll confirm of all that in the email.”

  “Ok great. Thanks very much for the call Angela and I look forward to meeting you on Wednesday.”

  “Thanks for your time Michael, enjoy the rest of your day.”

  Angela put the phone down. That sounds like a pleasant man, she thought as she smiled to herself. She was sure of this one and, unless something dramatic happened in the interview, it was another position she had filled. Her target was only two positions away and she still had a month to go. That incentive trip to Thailand was almost in her grasp.

  Well that was easy, Jack thought to himself as he put the phone down. It was only Monday so he had a day to relax and prepare himself. I’d better research this William Berry to make sure he isn’t a threat.

  For the next day and a half Jack stayed in his apartment, reading some books and passing the time by playing with Scuzzy. These were the moments he hated during a job. So much waiting. Although he had done this many times before, he still got nervous. The chance of being caught hung like a dark cloud over his head.

  Jack woke up early on Wednesday morning feeling his toe throbbing from the scrape of Scuzzy’s claws. I must get some sleeping slippers. That cat is going to kill me! He rolled off the bed and hobbled to the shower. Usually Jack liked to keep a bit of stubble on his face but today he had to have a close shave. He needed to look as young as possible. On his fake resume, he was 24 years old, 10 years younger than he really was. Some black dye in his hair would help hide any hint of grey that was starting to speckle his head. A pair of thick rimmed spectacles would also help take five years off his age.

  To complete his disguise, Jack slipped into a slim-cut blue suit with a plain white dress shirt. He pulled out a tin of shoe polish and set the polish alight. Using an old cloth, he scooped out some of the melted polish and rubbed it over a black pair of Oxford Wingtips. He waited for a few minutes for the polish to dry before using a stocking to buff the shoe, rubbing vigorously until the light glistened off the dark leather.

  After putting on the shoes and tying the laces, he put on his spectacles and looked at himself in the mirror. Perfect! Although I might look a bit too polished. Jack scrunched his shirt gently, giving it that semi-ironed look. He picked up his mobile phone from the desk, gave Scuzzy a rub on the head and headed off to his car.

  Jack drove a white Toyota Camry. If ever anything was average American, this was it. The last thing he wanted was a car that stood out. He wanted something that blended in and that was easily forgotten. He fired up the engine and made his way to Deer Creek Road taking a slow and deliberate ride. He was going through his plan in his head, trying to think of what could go wrong and how he would deal with the situation if it did. He was a resourceful man and thrived under pressure. He always managed to get himself out of difficult and challenging situations by keeping a cool head and thinking outside the box.

  As Jack pulled up to the security boom he looked at his watch. It was 10.45 a.m. His timing was impeccable.

  “Good Morning Mister.” The security guard called cheerfully as he sauntered up to Jack’s car.

  “Morning Sir” replied Jack, trying to look like a humble 24-year-old.

  “Who are you coming to visit?”

  “Ms Davis and a Mr William… um...Berry I think his name is.”

  “Do you have an appointment?”

  “Yes sir, at 11 O’clock”

  The security guard looked at his watch and then scrolled down the piece of paper that was fastened to his clipboard.

  “What did you say your name was?”

  “I didn’t. After a lengthy pause, he added “It’s Michael Clark.”

  The security guard glared up at Jack. What was this little punk trying to do, embarrass him?

  “You trying to be funny, boy?”

  Dammit! Thought Jack. Why couldn’t I have let that one go.

  “No sir. I was just making a joke.”

  The security guard focused back on the clipboard and continued running his finger down the list until he stopped, three quarters of the way down. He made a large scribble and looked up again at Jack.

  “Ok. You can go through and park anywhere that has a green marker. Red markers are for staff only.”

  “Thanks. “

  The security guard opened the boom and Jack drove through, cursing himself for trying to be clever with the guard.

  Jack drove slowly past the rows and rows of Tesla’s that were parked in the staff parking. At least they eat their own dog food, Jack thought, referring to companies that use their own products. At the end of the row he came to the visitors parking bays and pulled into the first open one. He got out of his car, a copy of his resume under his arm and walked along the rows of staff cars
, making his way to the entrance of the offices. Obviously in the right place. Jack thought to himself as he walked inside the building, underneath huge red letters that spelt Tesla.

  The reception was a not quite what he expected. There was a large desk in the middle of the room with some people sitting around it, heads buried in their notebooks. Jack stood at the entrance for a few seconds, wondering where he should go next. A woman holding a tablet and wearing a secret service type earpiece walked up to him.

  “Good morning and welcome to Tesla. How can we help you?”

  “Hi There. I have an appointment with Ms Davis and Mr Berry at 11.”

  “Ah… you must be Michael and you mean Angela and William?” The lady smiled at him. “We aren’t very formal here. Everyone is on a first name basis.”

  “Ah thanks.”

  “Why don’t you have a seat over there and I will let Angela know you are here. Would you like something to drink in the meantime?”

  “Some coffee would be great. If you have any?”

  “Certainly. Milk, two sugars?”

  “Black, no sugar.” Jack smiled back and took a seat where he was shown, his plan starting to unfold.

  Within two minutes the receptionist had re-appeared with a cup of black coffee and put it down next to Jack.

  “Thanks.” Said Jack, picking up the cup and taking a sip. It was damn good coffee!

  The receptionist smiled at him and disappeared behind a white screen.

  Jack sat and took in his surroundings, looking for any weakness that he could exploit. He took out his phone and pretended to read a message, taking a