The Aspen Account (27 page)

The last thing Michael remembered hearing as he walked out of Falcon’s office was the loud click of the tape recorder being turned off. Furious, he realized that Falcon had evaded his perfect trap without even a scratch.

Michael left downtown and drove south toward the Denver Tech Center. Sunlight glistened off the light-rail track and the corporate buildings in the distance. He speed-dialed Glazier.

“What the hell happened in there?” Glazier asked.

“I don’t know,” Michael replied.

“He knew you were recording the conversation?”

“No, I don’t think so. But he’s now been able to protect himself with his own recording, so it’ll be even harder to make a case against him.”

“That’s unfortunate. However, I do have some good news,” Glazier announced. “Diamond wasn’t as cautious. He called one of the revenue managers at X-Tronic this morning. They had a short conversation about your e-mail. I believe I got enough to show that Diamond was involved in devising the illegal reporting of the contracts. I’m taking the original tape with me to Washington to meet with the director and the secretary, but I’ll leave a copy in your apartment. It’s good, Michael—really good. We’ve got Diamond!”

Michael felt something relax in his chest, and even though no one could see him, he tightened his lips to conceal a smile. He knew better than to get too excited, but he couldn’t deny how great this news was. Conspiracies of this size never stayed together very long after one or two members were cornered by authorities. He shifted gears and zigzagged through a knot of slow-moving cars on the freeway. 

“Diamond—one out of five,” he said. “That still leaves Don Seaton, the twins, and Falcon. We have to get ’em all, Glazier. Your flight leaves in three hours?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back next week after meeting with the director. We’ll decide which indictments to start with. By then a judge will let us know if we have enough evidence to seize records at both X-Tronic and Cooley and White. Within a week, I’m hoping to organize a federal task force and have our agents raid X-Tronic to lock down their financial records. I’ll need your help to do the same to Cooley and White. It’s going to be big, Michael. The U.S. government is about to declare war on X-Tronic.”

“I wish there was another way,” Michael said, imagining the broadcast coverage on network news as a hundred federal agents ran into X-Tronic and Cooley and White to box up financial records and lock down the IT systems.

“Trust me, Michael, this is the best thing that can happen.”

“What about Kurt’s death?”

“Something’ll turn up as we unravel the fraud. You just focus on the twins—they seem to be the key that links everything together.”

Ending the call, Michael realized that he still had the recording device Glazier had given him from the surveillance kit. Falcon hadn’t given him anything incriminating on the recording, but there might yet be a use for the device. Michael would be skiing with the twins tomorrow, and one of them just might say something to hang them. 

44

WITH A FRESH layer of powder and an eighty-inch base, the ski conditions were sublime. Michael sat between the twins on the Vista Bahn express lift, which took them halfway up Vail Mountain. From there they caught a second lift to Patrol Headquarters—the resort’s highest point—where they would ski toward the backside of the mountain. Vail’s world-famous back bowls offered acres of wide-open, natural terrain that fell hundreds of feet down steep surfaces like the inside of a giant bowl. Such difficult and committing terrain meant that only the most advanced skiers and boarders dare enter.

Dangling from a steel cable fifty feet above the ground, they glided up the mountain, only a few feet above treetops festooned with beads and bras—reminders of wild times in Vail Village.

After reaching the top peak, they skied away from the lift as the chair whipped back around to head down the mountain. Lance took the lead, cutting along the trail toward the back bowls. Lucas was right on his brother’s heels, just as he had been since birth.

The trail, well above tree line, edged along the rim of China Bowl, which dropped like a steep staircase for over a thousand feet before leveling off near the trees far below. The entire world opened in front of Michael as he looked out at the tiered mountaintops. He paused, gathering his nerve before launching out over the lip, when suddenly, Lance turned right on his edges, shot from the edge of the rim trail, and jumped off the ledge into China Bowl. Legs pumping like pistons, he attacked the moguls. Lucas leaped off after his brother. And with little option for retreat, Michael exhaled his fears and plunged over the drop-off.

He soon found himself falling behind the aggressive skiing of the twins. Not wanting to be left behind, he tucked into a low ball and pointed his skis straight down the mountain, quickly accelerating to a speed far beyond his comfort level. But he had to keep up with the twins or risk losing them for the day.

Going as fast as he dared, he barely managed to keep up with them as they moved closer to the trees on the far left side of the bowl. His thighs were burning from the violent pounding across the moguls that stood like frozen waves along the steep slope. Focusing desperately through the tinted plastic of his goggles, he fought to keep in control on the challenging terrain. And for the first time that morning, he knew he was in real trouble—the twins were just too good to keep up with.

Jarred and shaken, he tried to go faster yet. But he caught too much of a mogul with his left, and his tips crossed. At that speed, he had no time to react, and his legs were yanked out from under him, sending him sprawling face-first onto the unforgiving terrain. His skis snapped off, fluttering upward as he bounced across the rough moguls, coming to a halt fifty feet downslope.

Stunned from the battering impact of his crash, he gradually rose to his feet. The twins where yelling enthusiastically from below—apparently, his misfortune had been cause for much amusement. Michael gathered himself and trudged up the slope to collect his scattered gear. Before snapping on his skis, he took off a glove and reached inside his jacket to rub the upper left side of his chest. He hadn’t registered the pain until now. And as he felt the bruise, a sudden panic rose within him. He turned his back to the twins far below, unzipped his inside coat pocket, and pulled out the recording device. Its case was smashed, the battery panel ripped away. It was destroyed.

“Fuck!” he growled to the snow, realizing that he now had no way to record a conversation with the twins. He looked over his shoulder and saw them waving their poles at him. Mouthing another curse, he skied down the side of the bowl toward them. He slid to an abrupt stop next to the twins, spraying snow onto their legs.

“That looked painful,” Lance said.

“More than you know.”

“Let’s cut through the trees for a while,” said Lucas.

“Yeah,” Lance agreed.

Michael paused. Was this how it had happened—how they lured Kurt into the trees? An instinctive fear settled in the pit of his stomach as the twins continued to coax and wheedle him into the thick woods, away from the relative safety of the open slopes.

“I’m not much for skiing in the trees,” Michael said. “I’ll just head on down the trail and meet up with you guys at the Orient Express,” referring to one of the lifts near the base of the bowls.

“Well, we’re not really sure where we might go,” Lucas said. “Every time my brother and I go into the trees, well, you wouldn’t believe some of the places we end up.”

“Yeah, better follow us so we don’t get separated,” Lance added. “Come on. We’ll go slow, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I really don’t think I ought to,” Michael said, hoping yet to convince them to stay in the open.

“How disappointing,” Lucas said as he turned and skied into the trees. In seconds he was out of sight.

“Don’t worry about him,” Lance said. “He’s all talk. The thing is, we were going to stop and smoke some bud, so we need to get away from the trail. Come on. We won’t be long.” And Lance pointed his skis into the trees and followed his brother’s trail until he, too, had vanished.

“Fuck,” Michael muttered. Then, almost instinctively, he looked back for a last glimpse of the open slopes before following the faint trail into the shadows, leaving the bright, sunlit world behind.

45

HEARING VOICES IN front of him, Michael turned to cut farther down the mountain, brushing his shoulder against a snow-laden spruce bough along the path. Then he saw the twins, who had stopped on a wide ledge overlooking a drop-off. They had thrown off their gear and were sitting around one of their ski packs. He slid to a stop beside them.

“Hey! You made it!” Lucas said with a salesman’s smile.

“I figured it was better to face my fears,” Michael replied. He sidestepped in his skis to get closer to the drop-off.

“And why would you be afraid of us?” Lucas asked.

“No, silly, he means he doesn’t like skiing in the trees,” Lance laughed.

“Jesus!” Michael said, as he looked out over the drop-off. His eyes followed the small cliff that angled down the side of the mountain. “That’s a long ways down!”

“Oh, yeah, you should be careful,” Lucas said casually.

Lance pulled out a small nylon case from his inside coat pocket and opened it to reveal a thin metal pipe and a small bag of pot.

“Boys, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a smoke,” he said with a wry grin. 

Leaving his skis attached to his boots, Michael sat with his uphill side on the snow. He removed his helmet and gave it to Lucas, who wanted to compare the pattern of vent holes with that of his own helmet. Meanwhile, Lance carefully laid a pinch of marijuana in the pipe bowl, packed it gently with a fingertip, and brushed a flame from his lighter along the rim. Holding the smoke in for a few seconds, he exhaled with a sheepish grin.

Then Lucas took a hit and passed the pipe to Michael.

Michael looked blankly at the pipe for a moment, wishing for a healthy shot of Polish vodka instead. But eventually he put it to his lips and took a puff, held it, and began coughing uncontrollably. The twins laughed like a pair of hyenas.

“Not much of a smoker?” Lance asked.

“It’s been a while,” he replied.

“So,” Lucas said as he took the pipe back and had another puff, “how’s the audit going? Since we’ve already filed, I can’t imagine you’ll be around much longer.” He passed the pipe back to Lance.

“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I should be wrapped up any day now,” Michael said sarcastically. 

Lance passed Michael the pipe again and motioned for him to take another hit. He did, this time managing to keep the smoke down for a few seconds.

Lucas said, “The merger talks are something that we’re watching very closely, just to make sure no issues come up. Now that the financials have been issued, we should be getting close to a decision. The board of directors has already met to discuss the new offer from Cygnus. They were forced to up the ante once Wall Street became aware of our record growth this last quarter. It’s going to be very difficult for any other parties to get involved in a bidding war now that the stock is more expensive. Cygnus is determined to acquire the company, and because of certain assurances we’ve received, we want to make sure the two companies don’t face any opposition.”

“Sounds perfect,” Michael replied.

“There’s only one problem,” Lucas added. “If any negative publicity surfaces during the next week, well, it could change minds very quickly. Investors may become wary of any new risks. The stock price could drop, which would start to make it look very attractive to large competitors or even some venture capitalists who might want to purchase the company and cut it up into pieces for a profit. We also want to avoid hitches in the SEC approving antitrust wavers for the merger. It’s imperative for X-Tronic’s future that we not have any problems during this critical time.”

“Can’t imagine there would be any problems,” Michael said. “You guys seem to have everything pretty well covered.”

Lucas stared intently at him, watching closely for any reaction. “I’ll just say this straight out,” he said. “We know you’ve uncovered some information about the company that could be very damaging if it became public.”

Michael was silent.

“Well,” Lucas continued, “it’s in our interest that this information remain out of the public eye. You understand, it could hurt a lot of powerful people. In fact, I can assure you that there are very powerful men who will make sure that this information does not become public.”

Michael looked back at Lucas but said nothing—the powerful marijuana was affecting him, making it hard to concentrate.

Lance watched him carefully while Lucas continued to talk. “Now, just so we understand each other, I want to make sure you know exactly what information we’re talking about.”

Now it was Michael’s turn to speak. He blinked a few times, and slowly he managed, despite the drug’s effects, to bring his immediate surroundings into focus. 

“Yes,” he said. “I understand
completely
what you’re talking about. I have no desire to do anything that would jeopardize anyone’s financial position in the company. In fact, I would very much like to become someone of financial position
myself
.” Michael spoke the words slowly. He just wanted out. Away from the isolation, from the trees, and from these two people who may well have been involved in taking Kurt’s life. Right now he would say
anything
to escape.

Lucas’s expression revealed nothing. But out of the corner of Michael’s eye, he saw a smile spreading across Lance’s face.

“And what do you think it would take to become someone ‘of financial position’?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Two hundred thousand dollars in stock options. Judging from the options I’ve examined so far, I’m sure the two of you could make that happen. Nothing that would take away from the piece of the pie—in fact, I’m merely proposing that we make the pie a little bigger. I also want an annual salary of a hundred and fifty thousand and a position on any strategic subcommittees involved in the company’s expansion into Asia. I know X-Tronic’s growth strategies, and I want to be a part of the company.”