Regression (39 page)

“
I’ll look through
Jennifer’s files and see if she has anything.”

“
I’ll leave it in your
capable hands.” Troy boarded the elevator as she turned toward
Jennifer’s office. Rapping on the door, she half hoped to find
Jennifer had changed her mind and was sitting behind the tidy desk.
Seating herself, she moved the mouse to wake up the
computer.

A greeting scrolled across the
screen – password 456832272426. She shook her head, “Not very
secure, Jennifer”. The password failed. Rechecking her numbers, she
tried again. And again. The password written on Jennifer’s screen
saver did not work. Adya shook her head. “What the heck is this,
some kind of riddle?” She began a search for any other
clues.

The drawers in the office yielded
the regular assortment of pencils, pens, sticky notes, paper clips
and other accoutrements of office work. The files, well organized
with labels and colours, held no answers. Adya paused now and again
to leaf through sheets. Sanctum related files were in a cabinet to
the left of the desk. Island files were in a much larger cabinet
across the room. T.E.S.C. files were in a third cabinet tucked on
top of a compact fridge, she stood on her toes to peer at
them.

She finally flopped into the
chair, staring at the keyboard. Glancing at the telephone on the
right, she leaned over to dial Peter’s extension. Her hand hovered
above the key pad, and she began to laugh. She entered
‘iloveabraham’ and a bleep told of her success. Smiling ruefully,
she changed the password and screen greeting.

Jennifer’s electronic filing
system was even easier to navigate than her paper one. Adya quickly
found contact references not only for press but university heads,
corporate contacts and politicians. All were cross referenced and
alphabetized with annotations about the relevant family members,
habits, dislikes, likes and even birthdates. “Wow, this is
comprehensive. Thanks, Jennifer.”

“
Hey, there you are.”
Babak stuck his head through the open door. “Find anything
helpful?” He glanced around. “Who were you talking to?”

She blushed. “Myself. Only
intelligent conversation around here.” He laughed. “She literally
catalogued everything we’ll ever need for keeping things running
smoothly. Wanna see?”

“
No.” Babak raised his
hands in mock terror. “I can’t do files, keep them away. You can
have them all.” He began to back out the door.

She rose. “Wait, I’ll walk with
you since I got what I need. I can access this terminal from the
sick room, right?”

“
I think
so.”

Together they walked to her room.
“Babak, I’m still not ready to share with the others news about the
babies. Especially now. You okay with that?”

He nodded before heading the rest
of the way to the elevator, leaving her to draft her
statement.

Peter met Adya before the meeting.
She raised an eyebrow, glancing at his empty hands.

“
I really couldn’t put
anything down on paper. What the heck do you say?”

Rattling a sheaf of papers, a
self-satisfied smile graced her face as she joined him at the door.
“I had a few ideas. Used to handle the PR as president of the board
for a charity. I just hope they’ll be helpful…” She shrugged.
“Coming from me, some might not even listen.”

“
Why don’t we put all
the ideas on the table, no names, no one need know who wrote what.
No prejudice, then.”

“
We’ll see if they go
for that idea.”

In the end, only seven men had
even some semblance of a statement, most had written a line or two,
not enough for a press conference.

“
Why do we need a
press conference in any instance?” Santino gesticulated for
emphasis.

“
The CEO and CFO of
the largest and most influential corporation in the world have
died. There will be questions from all the governments in the
world, never mind the universities, businesses, and general public.
We need to maintain their confidence in our ability to weather the
storm and remain a leading edge developer of technology. Abraham
has always publicly represented the company and the loss of his
figurehead could possibly inspire chaos in the world markets
leading to global instability.” An awed silence followed Adya’s
pronouncement.

“
What did you say you
did in your last lifetime?” from Uba.

“
A lot of things,” she
answered softly, her face clouded before she refocused. “Let’s take
a look at these offerings. I’ll make copies.” The murmurings as she
left the boardroom grew louder, quieting upon her return. Together
the group developed a statement incorporating ideas from the
contributions. A press conference called for five in the afternoon
in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria was expected to be well
attended. While setting the time, she got the impression reporters
would scramble anywhere at any time for a Three Eleven press
conference. With shaking hands Troy took the final copy of their
prepared statement, offering Adya a tremulous smile as he left the
conference room once the meeting was adjourned.

“
He looks like he’s
heading to an execution…his own.” Melik’s humour could not remain
stifled for long.

“
I hope they don’t eat
him alive.” She was sure many shared her worry. “Should someone go
with him, for moral support?” A look round the faces indicated no
one else was willing to face the firing squad.

At five, Adya and many others
tuned in to a live broadcast of Troy Campbell’s attempt at reading
the statement. His nervousness was obvious in his shaking voice and
faltering words. He lost his place twice in the prepared statement,
having to shuffle the pages to find it. It was almost painful to
watch him attempt to field questions from the reporters.

“
Who will take
over?”

“
What’s being done, do
you know names at Anvolussion?”

“
What will happen to
the company?”

Adya mouthed answers to the
questions, wishing she could send them to Troy through sheer
willpower. Her hands gripped the arms of her chair with frustration
and empathy as he proved unable to deal with the pressure and
excused himself from the conference, repeatedly stating “No further
comment. No further comment.”

“
That was a disaster.”
Kian’s flat tones mirrored his dull eyes.

“
An understatement.
Not that the rest of us could have done any better.” Peter’s
agreement elicited many groans of sympathy. “I never realized just
how difficult it would be to be the front man.” He turned his gaze
on Adya. “Adya, you said you were the PR person for a
company?”

“
Not a company. A
charity.”

“
How big was
it?”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
How many people were
you usually dealing with?”

“
Depended on the
event. We ran a few events which raised hundreds of thousands, but
most were more modest.”

“
Did you ever do press
conferences?”

“
Yes, now and again.”
All eyes focused on her.

“
Then why the hell
weren’t you out there instead of Troy. You sent him to the wolves.”
Jovan’s face reddened, angry.

“
I haven’t exactly
been welcomed here with open arms and hesitated to push too hard.
Had you asked me I would have gone but I don’t want to force myself
when−”

“
For God’s sake, don’t
pussyfoot around. Will you or will you not be willing to speak to
reporters?”

“
Yes, if the executive
is in agreement.” A glance over the sea of nodding heads was
gratifying. “We need to consult with Troy and the other members who
aren’t here. I’ll let Troy know we want a debriefing as soon as he
arrives and I’ll notify you all. Don’t wander too far.” Adya left,
elation lightening her steps. She knew what she had to do. It
wasn’t just about the babies right now, she was meant for more than
even that. She hurried to log into her computer and begin preparing
for the meeting.

All eyes were on Troy as he
entered the board room. Shame and frustration deepened his voice.
“You have no idea. They go at you with their questions like a bunch
of vultures, not letting you have a chance to think before firing
another one at you. It was horrible.” He looked around before
emphatically avowing “I am never, ever doing that again, don’t even
think about asking me.”

Babak patted the distraught man on
his back. “You won’t have to, Troy. If everyone is in agreement,
Adya has background in PR and would be willing to take that
role.”

Troy glared at her, “Where were
you this afternoon?”

“
I didn’t want to
inflict myself where not wanted. I regret …” Adya lowered her
eyes, feeling badly for Troy’s rough experience. She raised a
serene face to the assemblage. “There is one issue.” Silent,
expectant eyes trained on her. “A fourteen year old cannot be the
spokesperson for the largest company on Earth. Adya Jordan needs to
have died on the plane with the others.” Shock, disbelief, and
finally dawning understanding met her gaze. Rising from her chair,
she walked into the centre of the horseshoe table. Approaching
Peter, she offered her hand. “Dawn Ingram at your service.” Peter
accepted the proffered hand while shaking his head with
confusion.

“
Dawn Ingram will
become the spokeswoman for Three Eleven. She needs the unanimous
support of all the executive, who understood she was being groomed
by Abraham to succeed him in such an event as this. She must very
quickly accumulate the appropriate test scores and assessments
every other executive has completed. And, those who have known Adya
Jordan must present a grieving face at her loss when Dawn makes the
announcement. Another victim of Anvolussion’s terrorist activity.”
After a moment’s pause to let them digest, she pressed her
advantage. “Someone needs to maintain cohesion in this organization
for all our sakes. I believe Dawn is that person and if you are in
agreement she will assume that role with the death of Adya
Jordan.”

“
Now hold on a moment,
here. I thought we were talking about PR, not actually taking
Abraham’s position.” Jovan glanced around the tables to find a few
nods of agreement but not a large number.

“
I recognize I have
not been with Three Eleven long enough to have finished my
orientation. That can and should still happen. But this crisis has
precipitated a need for action.” Pausing, she waited for the
murmurs to subside and all eyes to be on her. “In twenty six years
we expect the worst to happen. I spent a number of months learning
many of the preparations enacted. The scope and magnitude of all of
the projects is incredible but I have come away with one overall
impression.”

Adya walked away from the centre
of the horseshoe-shaped table, distancing herself from the waiting
audience of scientists.

“
I am reminded of the
story of the blind men and the elephant. The story
starts−”

Janak stood up, protesting “I do
not have time to listen to fairy tales and bed-time stories. We
have given you the courtesy given to all other regressees, but
enough is enough. With all due respect, there is no time for
this.”

She stalked to his position at the
table, slamming both hands down on the table surface. “Respect is
due, and not being given. All of you, and I mean all of you,” she
glared around the table, “have refused to give me true respect.
When Abraham asked me what my career was, what I did, I stated I
was a mother and home-maker. All of you took that as an indication
I could not possibly have anything of value to contribute to your
various projects. Few of you made any effort to listen to me or
communicate with me during my time in this timeline. You assumed I
had nothing to give.”

Moving to her seat, she collected
a stack of folders. Turning a slow circle, she searched the eyes of
each man in turn, many breaking contact with her gaze. “I had hoped
not to have to lay my cards on the table so early. I really
expected more from you. But since it seems academic accreditations
are the only currency getting respect here, I’m forced to trump you
all. I’m better qualified to run this firm than any one of you at
this table, from my IQ score to my academic degrees.” Adya
approached Janak and slapped down a folder. “Babak can confirm my
IQ of 172 puts me in the ranks of Leonardo Da Vinci and Isaac
Newton. None amongst you are at that level.” She waited as they
glanced tentatively at each other.

“
I recognize IQ is not
everything, though. An associate degree in Biology, focus on
population genetics, helps. Peter, even you never asked how I was
so familiar with terminology and practice.” He lowered his eyes,
unable to meet her gaze.

Kalani was next, a folder pushed
into his limp hands. “Associate degree in Chemistry. We never got
the chance to work together so I cannot fault you. Never-the-less,
do not assume you hold the monopoly on the discipline any
longer.”

She turned, three more men
receiving their literature. “My degree in Psychology has a focus on
child development.”

Tad avoided her look as she passed
his folder. “I completed my PhD. in Sociology, investigating
effects of modern stresses on family dynamics. I discovered family
breakdowns were directly proportionate to perceived stresses of the
workplace and modern society. I made an active choice to stay home
with my children and to support them and my husband. Doing so did
not stop my ability to learn and to further my education.” She
continued to distribute the folders as she spoke.