The Trade (32 page)

"Like nothing ever happened,” Tonia said.

"I wondered when you'd be back,” Angus said
without looking up. "I've been expecting you.” Angus continued to
eat his breakfast.

"Have you?" Tonia asked.

"Quite,” Angus said in his best Oxford
English. "Rubbish like you always turns up.”

"Bastard,” Tonia spat.

Something in her tone of voice turned Angus
toward her. His eyes lit on Rick, and his gun.

"Who's this then?" Angus asked. "Over young
Calloway already are we? Like he'd have anything to do with trash
like you anyway,” Angus finished. He knew he'd cut her. Angus and
Tonia stared at each other. Neither flinched. Finally Rick broke
the awkward silence.

"Angus MacKenzie, you are under arrest. You
have the right to....”

"Save it,” Angus said. "I'm not going to jail
and you both know it. So what do you want? A million? Two million?
Just name your price and get out, I've got work to do.”

“
I doubt you have a million
or two after the Japan debacle,” Tonia said. “How does it feel to
have presided over the largest collapse of a financial house since
1929?” Tonia asked.

“
Don’t worry about me
honey. I have plenty.”

Angus turned back and lifted another morsel
of breakfast to his mouth.

"You have the right to remain silent,” Rick
continued. "Anything you say can and ..."

A shot rang out. Rick jumped. Angus slumped
forward into his breakfast. Tonia dropped her arm to her side, the
smoking pistol falling to the floor.

Rick looked at Tonia. He picked up the gun.
Rick walked over to Angus and saw that he was dead. He looked back
at Tonia. A pained look came to his eyes, then recognition dawned,
and a smile replaced his grimace.

"It's over,” Rick said into the walkie
talkie. "Shot by a ruined investor I imagine the police will
decide,” Rick said to Tonia. They left the house and disappeared
into the fog with the rest of the team.

Chapter

A small AM radio sat on the porch beside Jay
Calloway. Marty Brenneman's excited voice carried well on WLW's
50,000 watt clear channel station. Jay listened intently to the
call.

"Bottom of the ninth, one out, one on. The
Reds trail the Jays by 1 in this 7th and final game of the World
Series.”

"Guzman looks in for the sign. He checks the
runner at first. Davis levels his bat. Here's the wind and the
pitch.”

The solid crack of Louisville Slugger on
Spalding baseball was unmistakable even over Jay's small portable
AM radio.

"It's a drive to left,” Marty Brenneman
exclaimed.

"Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of
here,” Joe Nuxall urged wildly in the WLW radio booth at Riverfront
stadium.

"Henderson goes back, he's at the wall, he
leaps, annnnnnnd THIS ONE BELONGS TO THE REDS,” Marty Brenneman
shouted over the radio. "THE 1993 WORLD SERIES MOST DEFINETLY
BELONGS TO THE CINCINNATI REDS!”

The tsunamic mix of Joe Nuxall screaming,
Marty Brenneman's classic call, and 54,327 Reds fans going wild in
Riverfront Stadium washed all over Jay Calloway. He'd been in his
mountain retreat living a simple life since his escape in April.
His one luxury was baseball.

After Rick told him that Tonia was in the
witness relocation program, Jay had convinced himself that he was
over her. Living in the woods and helping Fr. Dan was a rewarding
life, but the hiding out was tough. He missed going to the ball
park and hanging out in left field by the lemonade stand for an
afternoon businessman's special. He missed programming. But there
was no way he could leave the safety of the backwoods. And no way
they wanted him anywhere near the Internet. He still lived in fear
of leftover contracts from Angus MacKenzie and Stan Krantz and
their network of evil doers. Whoever had re-aligned the dollar to
the Balboa was still out there.

Though Angus was dead and Stan was safely
behind bars, Jay never doubted for a moment that their influence
could still reach out and touch him. He figured to live out his
life quietly in the mountains in the service of Fr. Dan and the
missions. Tomorrow he was leaving his Kentucky retreat for a new
post deep in the Ozarks of Arkansas. Rick had promised to keep
visiting him every few weeks as he had since late April. Lately Jay
had noticed something different about Rick. He didn't know what it
was.

Jay clicked off the radio and stepped past
his already packed bag out into the early fall air. He imagined the
victory fireworks going off over the stadium in Cincinnati.

"Good game eh?" came the voice from out of
the darkness.

"The best,” Jay answered, unsure of where the
speaker was but certain who it was. Rick liked to just appear like
this. Jay felt his spirits rise as his eyes scanned the darkness.
He heard footfalls on the gravel path between the tall pines in
front of his shed.

"I brought someone to see you,” Rick
said.

"Oh?" Jay answered.

Rick Hewlett and Tonia Taggert stepped out of
the shadows of the trees and into the brilliance of the full
moonlit night.

"Who is it? Who's with you?" Jay asked.

"It's me,” Tonia said.

"Oh,” Jay said. His surprise was
complete.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning,” Rick said.
"You two have a lot to talk about.” Rick disappeared back into the
night forest.

Chapter

"It's been a long time,” Tonia said.

"Yes it has,” Jay answered. He made no move.
Neither towards her nor away from her. Jay had been sure that he'd
never see Tonia Taggert again.

"I thought you might be here,” she said.

"Did you?" Jay asked quickly.

"Don't worry,” she started. "I didn't tell
anyone about this place. And Rick brought me by what I'm sure was
the longest possible way. I couldn't find it again in a million
years.”

Jay remained rooted to the porch. After
staring down at her for the longest time he finally spoke.

"What do you want Tonia?" he asked flatly. He
saw his ambivalence register in her eyes. He knew he was hurting
her but he remembered all the nights he'd cried himself to sleep
over her.

"I just wanted to see you,” Tonia started.
"And to say I was sorry,” she said softly.

"What are you sorry for?" Jay asked, there
was an edge in his voice.

"I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry I had any
part of Angus' plans. I'm sorry I hurt you.” Tonia paused and
collected her thoughts. She took a deep breath. Tonia was on the
edge of tears, her lower lip trembling. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a
chance to know you for real, to love you for real, and to let you
love me for real. I’m sorry for all of it. I’m sorry I betrayed
your trust. I’m sorry for the lie.”

Jay stepped across the porch and down the
stairs. He came close to her but still did not reach out to
her.

"How can you stand there and say that?” Jay
said. Anger was creeping into his words. His indifferent tone of
voice was beginning to crack. "I loved you,” Jay said. “You said
you wanted a fairy tale. Is this it? Is this the fairy tale? Being
scared every day for the rest of your life?”

Tonia looked up and started to speak. He cut
her off.

"Let me finish. I loved you. But it wasn't
you. You weren't you. I don't even know who you are. I still don't
know what was real and what wasn't. I loved you Tonia. And you
didn't love me back. You used me. You tricked me. For money. You
made me a character in your fairy tale nightmare. How could you be
so cruel?”

Jay stared at her in the moonlit night. He
couldn't see the look in her eyes. He couldn't see the depth of her
pain. Jay turned away from her slowly and started back towards the
lodge. He heard her sobs behind him. Jay kept walking.

Tonia watched him retreat. She took one short
step towards him, then another. Anger flared through her guilt.

"You weren't so innocent yourself you know,”
she cried out in anger. The harsh words rang off the night forest
pines.

Jay turned to face her challenge.

“
You took Angus' money and
wanted more. Don't even try to tell me you didn't love doing it.
The challenge, the game. It was always about the game for you. And
even after you knew I was married you still pursued me. How pure is
that?”

Jay stared at her. He had nothing to say. She
went on. Do you know how many nights I lay under that sweaty
bastard while he grunted and drooled on me?" Tonia spat. A shudder
went through Jay's body. Jay took a step towards her.

"Why didn't you leave him?" Jay accused.

"He would have killed us both,” Tonia said.
"He had us watched all the time! Even on the beach,” she said. “He
used to make me watch a movie of us on the beach. And then he would
get on me. It was disgusting.”

Tonia let the truth settle on Jay. She moved
a step towards him. Felt him melt the tiniest amount.

"I tried to warn you,” she said.

"You did try to warn me didn't you?" Jay
asked timidly. He melted more. "That morning, you tried to warn me
didn't you?" he asked. The pleading was clear in his voice. He
wanted it to be real.

"Yes. And then I had to hide out for weeks.
If Rick hadn't found me and brought me in..." she trailed off. "I
don't know who Angus hated more, you or me,” Tonia said.

They stood quietly in the dark.

Tonia finally broke the silence.

"You really did love me didn't you?" Tonia
asked, now the quiet unsure one. "That weekend at Thanksgiving and
that night on the rooftop in the snow. That was just like a fairy
tale. Just like what I always wanted. I was the only one for you by
then wasn't I?" she asked.

"Yes,” Jay answered.

The two old lovers again stood quietly in the
moonlight, unsure of what to do next. They stared long and deep
into each other's eyes, searching for some faint glimmer of hope. A
glimmer that what might have been love might still be alive.

Jay spoke softly, Tonia could barely hear
him.

"I'm sorry,” he said.

"So am I,” Tonia answered.

They slowly stepped into each other's fragile
yet healing arms.

"I guess that'll be two new missionaries
headed for Arkansas?" Rick asked.

"Looks that way,” Father Dan Brennan
answered.

They watched quietly from the woods as Jay
and Tonia embraced in the warm glow of the early autumn moonlight.
They turned away as the lovers embraced in forgiveness and in
hope.

The End

So, I am going to think
twice before I get into that plane next time.

This story made me think
about our trust and dependence that we so easily give up to the
programmers of our daily life. Bravo Mister Kalnay for writing a
thought provoking and entertaining look at the way our airliners
operate today. The story was fast moving and gripping. I found
myself laughing out loud from the witty banter between the
characters.

Mister Kalnay gives us a
look into the world of computer programming that touches so much
our daily life that is enlightening and scary at the same time. He
breathes life into the nameless people we rely on to protect us
from all that could go wrong with the system. Could not put this
one down...but I advise reading this one before you head to the
airport anytime soon.

Yeah, it's gripping! Grips
you and if, like me, you have to fly right afterwards, you'll be
gripping the armrests the whole flight! Nice mix of interesting
relationships, tech-savvy software lore, and mystery. Couldn't put
it down!

The first of JT Kalnay's
works I've read, this early effort compares nicely with Ryan's
"Adolescence of P-1" or Grisham's "The Firm" but wisely navigates
around Powers' "Galatea 2.2" territory. You get a good sense this
writer has "been there" but there is more to "The Pattern" than
just an insider's view of an industry and culture that is pretty
much a black box to those that haven't. This one gets a 4 out of 5
simply for not quite cracking the level of the big boys: Clancy,
Ludlum, Cussler et al. Will be interested to see how this author
develops in this genre.

I was surprised to enjoy
this book so much as it comes from a not so well known author.
Fantastic fiction.

I was thinking about the
HAL 9000 malfunction in 2001 A Space Odyssey while reading The
Pattern. Decades ago, I wondered if people would risk their lives
on software. Now we have fly-by-wire controls in our airplanes and
we depend on software in our hospital equipment as well as our
cars. Software glitches can now kill. It's a really scary thought
and I really enjoyed the thrilling journey the author takes us on
in this techno-thriller treat. In the best spirit of science
fiction it gives us pause to consider the dependency we freely give
to our technology. In addition, as this story unfolds our humanity
is laid bare in the face of technological realities that are seldom
realized by most of us.

Please Enjoy This Sample
From The Pattern

June 19, 1994

Chantilly
Virginia

Assembled From News Wire Reports

A chartered executive Lear
Jet inbound from Mexico City crashed today in heavy fog during
final approach to Dulles National Airport in Washington D.C. Ten
passengers and two crew members were killed instantly. There were
no Americans on the flight and there were no survivors. Although
the airplane had the latest electronics, it had aborted one landing
due to the fog and was in the process of lining up for a second
attempt when the accident occurred. The black box flight recorder
has been recovered from the wreckage and the bodies have been
identified. The last transmission from the cockpit was, "There
seems to be something wrong with the electronics. Going
around."  The plane disappeared from radar less than ten
seconds later.