Enemy In the Room (43 page)

“What time?”

“They weren’t sure. About ten.”

“That’s about when I get in. There were no
seats available tonight, but I’m on the first non-stop in the
morning. Callie, don’t worry about the police. They just have to do
it—it’s procedure.”

“What if they find some ‘stuff ’?”

“I don’t know. Do you have any?”

“I did. Not now.”

“OK. Just take one day at a time. I’ll be up
early and out to help you. And, oh, I’m praying for you, and for
Jane’s family.”

“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. Everything.”

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.”