Robbie's Scheme

by Justin Haines

“Your honor,” John interrupts once he decides Sally’s rehashing the same points she’s already made. “Robert Locke is a flight risk who has already fled the city. He’s a billionaire with a private jet, a luxury yacht, personal helicopter, and a fleet of sports cars. He's not going to ignore all of that and risk losing it when clients come calling for their money. His girlfriend and his righthand man, a co-conspirator named Jalen Lit, returned to the city last night. Why do you think he didn’t come with them? With this market collapse, I don’t think Robert ever plans to return.”

  “None of this is evidence I can present to a jury,” Sally interjects. “Being successful and rich isn’t a crime in this country, yet.”

  John ignores the comment and continues pleading to the judge. “We have no way of knowing which jurisdiction he’ll travel to next. I can’t remember ever dealing with a suspect this likely to try and evade capture. You need to issue a warrant for his arrest, so we can catch him before he leaves the country and extradition becomes a nightmare.”

  “How do you know he’s already fled?” Judge Richards asks.

  “Because I have a team surveilling him. He’s currently hiding out in a secluded resort upstate. The resort is known for hosting corporate retreats, but he’s the only Merry Men Financial Management employee up there. Jalen Lit returned to the city last night to help the fund navigate this crisis. The rest of Merry Men is still trying to act as if it’s business as usual while the market collapses around them and their clients’ money goes up in smoke. If Robert was coming back, now would’ve been the time.”

  “What’s the word on the Street? Where’s his team telling clients he is right now?”

  Questions are good, and John’s happy to keep answering them. Questions mean this request isn’t being brushed off like Sally wants.

  Judge Richards is leaning forward in his chair now with his elbows resting on the desk. John knows he has his attention, and this can only be a good sign for the warrant he’s seeking.

  “From what I’ve heard, no one’s able to get in contact with Robert. He’s not answering any calls or responding to texts and emails. It doesn’t matter who’s trying to reach out to him. It is my firm belief that Robert is preparing to flee the country.”

  John’s purposely choosing to leave out any information about the trip being preplanned or the fact that his informants have told him that Theo’s the reason for the radio silence. Apparently, Robbie doesn’t know anything about the financial collapse occurring outside the resort. He doesn’t even know the number of missed calls and unread emails on his phone.

  But what the judge doesn’t know can’t hurt him. Or hurt John’s chances of securing this warrant.

  “Issuing an arrest warrant is pointless,” Sally cuts back in. “It will keep him in the country temporarily, but we don’t have anywhere near enough evidence to convict him at trial. He’ll walk free in a matter of weeks if not days.”

  “His arrest will scare his co-conspirators into cooperating,” John insists. “While he’s languishing in a jail cell, we’ll have a rush of snitches volunteering information. If their testimony isn’t enough, I’m sure they can point us in the direction of corroborating evidence for the next round of search warrants. But it will all be for not if Robert’s already left the country because we didn’t arrest him in time.”

  “John, we’ve been over this,” Sally says as she turns her attention away from the judge. Her voice is softer, not as firm as she’s sounded for most of the meeting. “I have bosses who don’t like this case and want it to disappear. I’m worried the smallest mistake could give someone cover to kill it. Our office doesn’t feel comfortable starting a case on the foundation of hoping more evidence will come forward post-arrest. Don’t rush this arrest and risk Locke walking away free.”

  John ignores her plea and keeps his eyes focused on the judge. His job isn’t to play politics or make decisions based on how other lawyers and politicians will interpret them. His goal is always the same and it’s only about serving justice. He doesn’t care if Robbie has powerful friends; he only cares that none of them are on the jury when John drags him into a courtroom kicking and screaming.

  “Do you currently have any witnesses cooperating with your investigation?” Judge Richards asks.

  “Yes, your honor.”

  “Do any of them have first-hand knowledge of the crimes Mr. Locke is committing or how he’s perpetrating them?”

  Judge Richards leans back in his chair and rests his hands behind his head as he looks expectantly at John.

  “Their roles are complicated.”

  “For your sake, I hope they start becoming clearer.”

  John closes his eyes and realizes the judge’s laid-back posture in the chair isn’t an accurate depiction of his mood for this case. As he tries to think of an argument to salvage his warrant request, John can feel his mouth drying. The judge’s more adversarial tone is making his hands start sweating.

  “Is any employee or former employee of Merry Men Financial Management currently working with you?”

  Judge Richards grabs a piece of paper off of his desk and starts reading it as John takes a breath and prepares to answer. He’s not sure if it’s part of the documentation John provided in an attempt to win this warrant, or if Richards is already mentally moving on to another matter. Sally also crosses her arms and looks at John in anticipation of the answer.

  “No,” John admits as he fidgets on his feet. “Nobody from inside is on our side. Which is why we need the arrest warrant to scare the rats into jumping ship.”

  Judge Richards waves his hand to cut John off from pleading any further. Halting the begging is probably best for John’s dignity. After all, he’ll have to come back into this office for another request another day, and he wants the judge to take him seriously.

  “As of now, do you have anyone to offer Mrs. Clayton as a key witness who can make a credible and direct accusation?”

  “Once we arrest Robbie and conduct another raid for documents, I’m sure they’ll be enough evidence to go along with our current witnesses for a conviction. And that’s before anyone else makes a plea deal.”

  Judge Richards tosses the paper back onto his desk and cracks his knuckles. He takes his reading glasses off and stares at the wall across from his desk. Biting his lower lip, he appears deep in thought. But his squinting eyes don’t make it look like a happy thought. John prays the look of disgust is in relation to whatever document he was browsing and not John’s argument. His shoulders tense as he prepares for the Judge’s decision. While John’s jaw clenches, Sally tries to suppress a presumptive smile.

  “I’m inclined to agree with the United States Attorney’s office, Mr. Knott. I’m not sure why you feel it’s appropriate to command my time when the government doesn’t feel comfortable with the case.”

  “Your honor, I’m begging you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think this was our last and best shot to bring Mr. Locke to justice.”

  “You said your team followed him to a secluded resort. Do you still have him under surveillance?”

  John hears Sally zip up her bag and hates the assumption that this meeting is over. She’s no longer trying to hide her smile and looks like she’s ready to leave. Also reading the writing on the wall, he can’t believe that she’s getting her way.

  “Yes,” John sighs after a moment.

  “Then you’ll know if he tries to flee the country. You have my blessing to detain him if he makes any attempt to escape. In the meantime, I suggest you continue investigating Mr. Locke and bring me some real evidence for an arrest warrant to be issued.”

  “We’ll be happy to pursue criminal charges when the evidence supports a conviction,” Sally adds before John can respond. Turning to glare at her, he only sees her back, her hand already on the doorknob. “Thank you for your time, your honor.”

  Judge Richards starts to stand and Sally’s already out of the room before John can find any words. Under the judge’s glare, John
finds his feet and makes his way to the door. His legs don’t feel real, like he’s in a dream.

  John can’t believe that everyone seems to accept that this meeting is over. In his heart, he believes they’re making a huge mistake.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  If Maya thought the stock market crash was descending her newsroom into pandemonium, she was wholly unprepared to step out of the elevator and into the offices of Merry Men Financial Management.

  The voices screaming in Russian are the first thing Maya notices as she walks past the receptionists’ desks. The poor women working the desk look flustered and overwhelmed. With the phones ringing off the hook, no one offers any reaction to her entrance. Maya wants to offer them help, but worries they might not let her in. It’s much easier to sneak past someone panicking than trying to explain her purpose and risk being sent away after helping them.

  The yelling Russians only grow louder as Maya puts some distance between herself and the ringing phones. It’s hard for her not to laugh when she discovers the source of the noise.

  Luka’s running around the office, going from computer terminal to terminal, and jumping up and down like his hair’s on fire. Several of his Russian programmers are following his lead, running around the office like a group of chickens with their heads cut off. Whatever they’re looking at on the computers isn’t making any of them happy. Maya doesn’t speak a lick of Russian, but it’s easy to assume the words they’re yelling aren’t the kind children are taught in grade school.

  She stops traversing the office when a computer monitor crashes into the ground beside her. The Russians are moving to the throwing things portion of their meltdown, prompting Maya to seek shelter behind a large white pillar. Fearing for her safety, she only dares to peek out when the yelling takes a momentary pause.

  Luckily, Jalen spots her head poking around the corner and storms across the office in her direction. For once, he isn’t wearing a suit jacket and his dress shirt is covered in wrinkles, making Maya wonder if he slept in the office last night. Everything about him looks stressed, which she figures is understandable. With Robbie gone, he’s supposed to be in charge of this ship drifting over a cliff.

  “Have you heard anything from Robbie?” Jalen shouts from a few yards away.

  Maya glances over at Luka to make sure she’s safe before shaking her head and stepping away from the pillar. “No, that’s why I’m here. I was hoping you could get in touch with him.”

  “No luck. Theo’s got him on lockdown for five days of brainwashing. None of us are able to get through to him and Theo will never pass along any messages. I figured if he’d break out for anyone, it would be to talk to you. He probably doesn’t even know the markets are crashing.”

  “There’s nothing you can do? Robbie must have some sort of backup system in case of an emergency like this.”

  Jalen rolls his eyes and raises an eyebrow, questioning if Maya remembers who she’s talking about. “Theo doesn’t like backups. He thinks it sabotages the main plan right from the start.”

  “Right,” Maya sighs.

  The loud crash of another computer monitor into the marble floor interrupts their conversation. The wreckage isn’t as close as the one that sent Maya into hiding, but she can tell Jalen’s worrying about the carnage around the office.

  “Ok, well don’t let me take up any more of your time. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do.”

  “Maya, I already told you,” Jalen says as he drops his voice to a whisper. She leans in to make sure she can hear him over the rioting band of Russians so he doesn’t need to repeat whatever he’s talking about. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Robbie and Al are the only ones who know what our current portfolio looks like and I don’t even know where Al’s office is.”

  “Al doesn’t work here?” Maya asks as she looks around.

  The entire office is constructed out of glass walls, so she’s able to see into each room on the floor, but she doesn’t know the face she’s looking for. A quick scan does confirm there’s no nameplate for Al or a head trader.

  “He shows up for some of our meetings then disappears. Robbie usually goes to see him, but I don’t know where I’m supposed to go and Al isn’t reaching out to me.”

  Jalen’s interrupted by the sound of two people running right into each other and the flurry of Russian curses that follows.

  “What’s going on there?” Maya asks as she gestures to Luka’s breakdown.

  “Luka’s freaking out but nothing he says makes any sense to me. And I’ll tell you another secret, I don’t think his concerns matter. Last time I ran any numbers with Robbie, Luka’s holdings made up a smaller fraction of our total capital than you’d expect. Plus, as he’s always bragging, none of his holdings are for more than a minute. So, while he might not be able to make us tons of money, he’s not causing any losses for me to worry about. From what I can tell on my computer, he isn’t holding any positions that warrant any concern, let alone this level. And by the way, I think he should still be able to work his algorithm because there’s plenty of people selling.”

  “Why’s he freaking out then?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” Not comforting words for Maya to hear from one of the men shepherding the economy. “Maybe it’s existential dread over an economic collapse? Or maybe the Russians have been investing their entire paychecks in Kirkendall stock. Who knows what those guys get up to. They always seem sketchy and never want to talk to me.”

  The sound of more glass crashing makes them both jump. It’s louder than the computer monitors but there’s no sign of any broken desks or office walls. The lack of visible damage makes them both silently hope it wasn’t someone breaking an exterior window. There’s enough turmoil here, the day doesn’t need to take that dark of a twist.

  “Do you need to go check on that?” Maya asks after Jalen stays frozen in place for a moment.

  “And do what? Nobody’s listening to me or cares what I think.”

  The defeat in his voice makes Maya worry. Why on earth would Robbie leave this man in charge? This fund’s responsible for billions of dollars; their reputation would be in tatters if investors could see Jalen now. With his qualifications, why would Robbie hire him at all? The answer’s becoming increasingly clear to Maya and it feels like the only option to focus her impending article on.

  “So, what’s the plan to get this place back under control?”

  “Get in touch with Robbie. Beyond that, there’s not much I can do to help. I don’t even know what kind of position we’re really in right now. But that isn’t stopping our investors from blowing up the phones.”

  “What are you saying to them?”

  “Nothing. We’re trying to avoid them for as long as possible.”

  While not a strategy Maya normally endorses for damage control, she can’t fault Jalen for it. She doubts he’d be able to say anything to calm investors over the phone. The background sounds of this office might make everything worse.

  “Well, good luck getting past Teddy to talk with Robbie. Can you just point me to Wyatt’s office and I’ll be out of your hair?”

  “Wyatt? What for?”

  “He’s your legal counsel, right?”

  “Yeah, and our Chief Compliance Officer.”

  “I want to talk to him about Robbie. There’s some rumors and accusations I want to hear his opinion on.”

  “What kind of accusations?”

  “It’s best if I talk to Wyatt about this first. I can fill you in after.”

  “Follow me. I’ll introduce you.”

  Walking beside Jalen as they cross the office, Maya notices everyone’s looking at them. At first, she worries people are suspicious of her. But the looks aren’t dubious, they’re hopeful.

  She quickly realizes they aren’t looking at her at all. They’re looking at Jalen. They’re looking to him for leadership and for clues on how to act. They’re going to follow his lead to better understand if this is the end of
the world or just a minor blip on the radar. And so far, he’s doing nothing to ease the panic that the sky is falling.

  “Thanks for the help, Jalen,” she whispers as they approach the door to Wyatt’s office. She doesn’t want any of his employees to hear. “I think you guys are going to be fine. Everything will blow over once Robbie’s back. My advice, don’t let everyone think you’re this worried. If you’re confident, the team will be confident. They want to follow you, not Luka.”

  Jalen doesn’t respond to Maya’s kind words as they enter Wyatt’s office.

  “Wyatt, this reporter is here to speak with you.”

  The animosity in Jalen’s voice as he announces Maya’s job title catches her completely off guard. She watched his demeanor change when she brought up accusations against Robbie, but she didn’t think that that would make her the enemy in his eyes. Despite never being athletic as a child, Maya has the distinct feeling she’s just been cut from the team.

  Jalen isn’t even looking at her as he speaks. He simply jerks his head back to show Wyatt the reporter he’s referring to. The treatment makes her feel small and far less comfortable than she did when she first walked into the building.

  “Careful what you say around her. She’s talking about rumors and accusations against Robbie and us.”

  Jalen turns to leave the office. Maya tries to reach out to touch his shoulder, but he steps to the side and avoids her hand. On his way out the door, he turns back to look at Maya. His lip sneers at her and his eyes are cold. It suddenly makes her feel defensive. How can Jalen care so much more about her investigation than his employees’ rioting or one potentially jumping out of a window?

  A reaction like that tells her he has something to hide. This isn’t how innocent people act. They welcome the press, eager to tell their side of the story and clear their name. They don’t surround themselves with less-than-competent friends who get defensive at the slightest mention of a vague accusation.

  Robbie and Jalen are leaving her no choice in the outcome of her story, no matter how sympathetic she wants to be.