The Trade (23 page)

I don't remember seeing Hal in here on
Saturdays or Sundays
, Jay thought.
I don’t recall seeing Hal
in here at midnight, night after night.
His eyes narrowed in
concentrated study. Jay fought the urge to straighten Hal out right
in front of the fawning crowd. Career common sense overcame his
bruised ego. Jay continued to nod in the appropriate places as Hal
carried on. After a few more minutes the hangers-on drifted out.
Jay saw Angus MacKenzie at the door and caught his signal to join
him in the hall. Jay excused himself and headed stealthily towards
Angus.

"He's a pompous bag of wind,” Angus said to
Jay once they were clear of the room. Jay said nothing in
reply.

"No need to answer son. I can see it in your
eyes. Anyway. If this thing works like you say you'll have his job
in a week. I think Hal may have outlived his usefulness to the
firm. He’s probably just getting in your way now. Slowing you and
your people down. Costing us a lot of money.”

Jay cocked his head to the side and let a
small grin catch his lips. It passed just as quickly.

"See you at the club for golf on Saturday?"
Angus asked.

"Your course is open already?”

“
Not really. Only for a few
selected members and guests.”

“
Oh. Yes sir,” Jay
answered. Jay ambled down the hall to the elevator, got back to his
floor and returned to his office. Then he did something he'd never
done in his whole life. He put his feet up on his desk, lit a
stinky cigar, and pulled a beer out of his soda cooler. He'd iced a
couple dozen just for this occasion.

"Game on,” he announced over the office
intercom. Within minutes Jay's team was crowded in and cracking
jokes and sucking on beers. By the time Hal made it back, the
impromptu party was in full swing.

"What's going on here?" Hal asked. Jay stared
him down.

"We're having a party to celebrate your great
success,” Jay said.

"Oh. Thanks,” Hal replied, totally unaware
the joke was on him, in more ways than one. Hal asked for a beer
and got one. The party swelled back up and around the crowd. Jay
enjoyed his private little joke. When Hal had finished his beer he
drifted out of the party.

Ted Spencer noticed Hal leave.

"Nice one on Hal,” Ted said.

"He had it coming,” Jay said.

Both men took a hit on their beers. Ted
looked around the office.

"Jay. There are no women here. In a city of 5
million women from 103 different countries there's got to be one I
haven't nailed yet. Let's go find her.”

"I've got to get up early tomorrow,” Jay
protested.

"Then we better get started,” Ted
countered.

Ten minutes later, Ted and Jay were cruising
uptown on Ted's motorcycle. After two hours of fruitless
bar-hopping Jay had had enough.

"Ted just give me the combo to your
apartment. You go find us 2 babes and I'll wait for you over there
okay?"

"Yeah sure,” Ted agreed. He pulled his bike
to a stop on East 107th & 4th.

"I's 111065,” Ted said.

"Cool,” Jay answered.

"Jay. I might only be able to find one for
me,” Ted said.

"Then go to her place.”

"What if she's got a roommate?" Ted
asked.

"Never been a problem for you before man,”
Jay said.

The two friends laughed out loud. Jay went up
to Ted's place and fell asleep quickly. Ted slipped in quietly two
hours later, alone, and sated.

Chapter

"First round of the year?" Angus MacKenzie
asked Jay Calloway at the Laurel Hollow Country Club on a brisk but
sunny Saturday morning.

"No Angus,” Jay answered. "I played Pebble
Beach two weeks ago and Pinehurst on Tuesday.”

"What? When?" Angus asked. He was sure that
Jay hadn't left the office except for sleep and exercise for the
last two months. Angus made a mental note to check the surveillance
log.

"Relax,” Jay joked. "I played the simulator
at the Wall St. Golf Club. I go over at noon once a week or
sometimes after work too. You can keep clubs there and play indoors
year round. You should try it.”

"Oh,” Angus relaxed. "So you're going to kick
my butt then?" Angus asked.

"You know I'd enjoy nothing more sir,” Jay
said formally.

"Bullocks. I'll kick your ass trying,” Angus
replied in his best schoolboy English.

The two men warmed up and started the
match.

“
Is Tonia going to be
joining us for the back 9 today?" Jay asked.

"Aye,” Angus answered. "Maybe she'll bring me
luck like last time."

"Maybe,” Jay teased. "But I'm really feeling
it today.”

"I can tell,” Angus grumbled. The match was
only one stroke in his favor.

"Hi babe,” Angus MacKenzie said to Tonia.
"Give me a kiss for luck,” he said. “This little shit is breathing
down my neck today.” Tonia pecked a little formality at his cheek.
Jay saw the brief yet unmistakable moment of distaste cross her
face. Jay knew he had to get Tonia away from Angus, he could see
the old man tearing the radiant life essence out of her. Jay felt
like it was time to let Angus know what was what. He felt the words
coming up in his head.

I'm sleeping with your wife
, he heard
himself say, but the words died in his throat.
She doesn’t love
you. She loves me
, his mind screamed
.

Tonia gave Jay a look he hadn't seen before.
She'd recognized the rebellion coming to Jay's face. She tried to
calm him with her eyes.

"Let's get to it,” Jay announced.

"Right,” Angus replied in his Oxford
accent.

They teed off for the back nine with Angus
one up. The match went back and forth with Angus stretching the
lead to two up and then slipping back into a tie with Jay. They
started the 18th hole all square. There was a foursome backing them
up so they had to wait. Angus sat down beside Tonia while Jay
stretched his tiring back and practiced his swing.

"I heard the live run went well yesterday,”
Angus MacKenzie said.

"Yes Angus it did,” Jay replied.

Tonia hadn't heard Jay call him Angus before.
Alarm bells rang in her head. She knew it was part of the plan but
lately the plan had been interesting her less and less. The goal of
the plan seemed to be not as important to her now as it had
before.

"We'll keep our eye on it and then announce
your position next Friday. I'll have someone talk to Hal on
Thursday after work.”

"That'll work,” Jay said. "That'll work just
fine.”

Angus noticed the satisfied tone in Jay's
voice. Jay stepped up to the tee for the final hole.

"Almost time to pay the piper,” Angus
whispered to Tonia. "We've got him just where we want him.”

Chapter

"And so it is with great pleasure that we
announce the appointment of Jay Calloway to the position of
technical director for CTSG,” Angus MacKenzie announced. "He will
be assuming the responsibilities of the former director plus some
additional duties. Jay? Do you have anything you'd like to add?"
Angus MacKenzie asked.

"No thanks, Mr. MacKenzie,” Jay answered. His
face was beaming with equal amounts of pride and vindication.

Polite applause made the rounds of the room
while Angus shook Jay's hand for the photographer. As soon as Angus
was gone, the members of Jay's former and current groups went wild.
Bill Beck appeared with a bottle of champagne. The party spilled
out after work into the same bar where Jay had picked up Maria over
a year ago. Jay saw Ted leave with an ugly woman and laughed out
loud.

"I know where they’re headed,” Jay said to
himself. He thought about sneaking up to Ted's apartment and
letting himself in with the secret code and embarrassing Ted by
finding him with the ugly woman. Jay decided against it.

The drinking and back clapping carried on for
several hours. Near the end Jay felt a compelling urge to call
Tonia. He worked his way to the pay phone, dropped a quarter and
dialed her number. A male voice that wasn't Angus MacKenzie
answered the phone.

Jay hung up the phone and went home
alone.

Later that night Jay went for a walk by
himself through the safe downtown streets of Battery Park City.
Walking directly south from his apartment he came to the South Quay
in the Hudson River. He hung his confused head over the lumber
railing and wept quietly in his hands.

"Tonia. Why?” he cried. "Why?"

"What do you think he's doing? Praying?" the
dark man asked.

"I don't know,” the larger of the two
answered.

"Looks like he's trying to decide whether to
jump in."

"Kind of."

"Poor bastard."

"What?"

"He has no idea does he?"

"So?"

"So that makes him a pretty pathetically poor
bastard in my opinion.”

After staring at the water for half an hour
Jay walked the eight blocks over to his 24 hour downtown video golf
club.

"Late night again Jay?” the attendant
asked.

"You know it.”

"You want the big bucket?"

"Two,” Jay replied.

The attendant knew Jay well enough from his
late night visits to leave him alone when he was in a two bucket
mood. Jay whacked golf balls then played Golden Tee until dawn.

When he finally got home, an email from C.
Daniel Kinchon was in his inbox.

The email asked if Jay was free for lunch in
a couple days because C. Daniel was going to be in town for a
conference at NYU. Jay quickly replied, offered C. Daniel free room
and board in his apartment. In a few moments C. Daniel replied and
turned down the offer, reporting that his university was picking up
the whole tab, but he really would like to get together for lunch.
Jay replied and they made the arrangements.

Chapter

“
So how do you like New
York,” Jay Calloway asked C. Daniel Kinchon.

“
I don’t,” C. Daniel
answered.

“
Why not?” Jay
asked.

“
The better question is how
can you stand it here?” C. Daniel replied.

“
I have a great job. It’s
exciting. They pay me great. I’m doing really super complicated
stuff based off my research. What could be better?” Jay
asked.

“
I can think of a lot
better,” C. Daniel answered coolly.

“
Like?”

“
Like using all that talent
of yours and all those ideas of yours for some greater good. Is
getting rich why God gave you all those brains? Is making some fat
cats a lot fatter really what you want to do?”

“
C. Daniel. When did you
become such a prude?” Jay asked.

“
No sir. I am still the
same person. When did you become such a New Yorker?”

The student stared into the eyes of his
former mentor. The man he’d respected and looked up to was nowhere
to be found. Instead, a slick New Yorker sat across from him.

“
How’s the conference?” Jay
asked.

“
It’s great. Let me tell
you the directions people are taking your research…”

The rest of the lunch passed in polite
academic conversation.

Chapter

"We've been up for two weeks now,” Jay
announced to his crew. "We're going to be moving onto our next
project in three weeks so I want everyone to go on vacation for ten
days between now and then. Mr. MacKenzie has made the Key West
condo available for any and or all of you. Missy has the different
combinations for the different weeks. Work it out amongst
yourselves so that there's always at least 3 people here to cover
training and support.”

Heads instantly nodded in agreement. Though
they had come together well, the team had been pushing hard and
needed the rest.

"What are you gonna do?" one of the team
asked.

"You know better,” Jay chided. His team
laughed at the inside joke. Jay's life away from the office was a
closely guarded secret. He didn't wear a beeper and not even Missy
his personal secretary knew his home phone number. "When you're at
work you're at work, when you're not you're not,” Jay repeated.
Many of the team chanted the oft-repeated words with him. A laugh
went up.

Even so several of his workers had seen him
jogging alone and one had seen him and Tonia at a 5K race in
Syosset. So at least they knew the gay lover theory had no basis.
Although, another worker had seen him at his lunch with C. Daniel,
so the theory was still alive. Still no-one except Ted Spencer knew
a single thing more about Jay than he wanted them to.

"I will tell you this,” Jay said, looking at
the grey overcast sky clinging to the cold, steely waters of the
Hudson River. "When I get back my skin won't be this color.”

Jay held up his pale arms. Laughter greeted
his programmer's joke. Jay smiled at the team, made his excuses and
left to get ready for his jog.

"He's leaving town again,” the dark man said
into the phone.

"Yeah I heard,” the voice at the other end
replied.

"Where's he going?"

"Don't know,” the dark man said.

"Does Tonia know?" the voice asked.

"No.”

"Damn. She hasn't worked out the way we
thought she would has she?"

"Not lately. I question her commitment to
this assignment.”

"We better get a team ready for his trip. The
deal goes down the first week of April. We want to make sure our
boy's here to take the fall.”

"What should we do about her?"

"That ain't our decision now is it?"

"Right.”

Jay cruised through the overpass connecting
the World Financial Center to the World Trade Center. His black
running tights swished between his legs. His new Nike Air Huarache
running shoes squeaked on the wet rubber floor. Behind him the
noon-hour chase team was trying to maintain a loose, inconspicuous
tail. Jay's routine was so established that they'd become lax in
their coverage. Jay always left around the same time, then either
took the A train uptown and jogged back downtown or else he went
out the West doors of the Winter Garden and ran fast half mile
repeats along the Hudson. Watching him along the Hudson was easy.
They had an unobstructed view in both directions from a rooftop
perch. But the ease had made them predictable. Jay knew who would
be watching and from where. He mentally ticked off seeing the same
people in the same places day after day. It took a serious act of
will not to nod to the watchers as he went by. The only time he
didn’t see them was when his run was a stair climb. Since he could
get into and out of the stairwell in the 54 story tower, Jay would
practice for Everest once a week by walking up and down the stairs
carrying a backpack filled with sand. The watchers never bothered
to watch him in the stairs.