Cable Pairs
ABOUT THIS STORY
Law enforcement, intelligence, and the military work tirelessly toward the common goal of keeping the world safe. Typically, these organizations approach their tasks with minimal coordination, as each employee and organization must compete for budget, glory, and control. Occasionally, they form a close-knit team. Locating the perpetrators who organized the horrific 9/11 attacks is one example, but no single person or organization claimed credit for the entire operation.
Books and movies rarely follow this all-inclusive, real-life pattern. Instead, writers prefer a few independent characters who travel worldwide to solve the case in a blaze of glory. While thrilling, this concept does not accurately reflect the reality of established procedures, law, interagency cooperation, human behavior, or politics.
Instead, the following narrative has many key players and random people on both sides of a large incident. All have agendas, backgrounds, weaknesses, personalities, and roles. Plus, the author introduces a new, intangible character not found in traditional spy novels: the economy. While this entity has no body or soul, its influence is everywhere.
ONE
Today’s Economy Snapshot
• IMF downgrades global growth forecast.
• Business spending on equipment weak.
• Hogan-Miller Corp. rejects takeover bid; stock tumbles 37%.
• Prices rise in September, but president expects inflation to cool.
• Arizona governor says tougher monetary policy is needed to slow inflation.
• US new home sales hit 6-month low.
• Students struggle to afford rent.
Dow 34,858.03, Down 235.33
Nasdaq 14,202.23, Down 123.41
S&P 4,647.23, Down 44.21
Bat McKinley and Jake Sherman were having a terrific afternoon hunting near their hometown of Clearwater, Georgia. The crisp autumn air and the warm sun made it a perfect day to tromp around the lush forest. Today, they were joined by two new hunting buddies: Special Agents Cecil Patterson and Andy Hanson of the FBI.
The four had been part of a secret operation to dismantle a joint French and Russian spy ring that intercepted secret US government communication cables buried in the same forest. The spying operation was carried out clandestinely under the guise of the Corbans Corporation, a Russian-established logistics company. Jake’s ex-wife, Harriet―also known as Anitchka Ermolaev―was the company’s head of security. The FBI investigated the data theft, and as a result, she was deported and would be arrested upon her return. Her betrayal devastated Jake, who compensated by throwing himself into work and hiding the truth from his children, Jake Jr. and Jennifer.
Cecil whistled the Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline” as Bat scanned for game. Jake’s phone chirped, and he answered an urgent text message from his boss at the Dawsonville Municipal Water Department.
The noise annoyed Andy. “Gosh, you’ve texted three times already. It’s Saturday.”
“I know, I know,” Jake replied with a sigh. “I finally figured out why Pump 29 has low pressure, and I can’t get a new valve. Even though I keep telling the head honcho everything’s fine, he wants it fixed yesterday. Anyway, I’m putting my phone away. See? How are things at the FBI?”
“It’s all the same. Lots of reports, but Cecil is the big winner. He testified this week.”
“What’s that all about?” Bat asked.
Cecil stopped whistling and answered with a grunt. “This lowlife, Toby Baxter, ran the Duluth Department of Education’s maintenance department. For the last 10 years, he has received kickbacks from contractors who overbilled the city and substituted cheap supplies. The FBI got involved because many of his repairs were funded by federal grants. After all my investigative work, I only testified for an hour, but I still had to sit in the courtroom for eight days. What a waste. The only good news is that a few jury members nodded when I spoke. Well, enough about that mess. Let’s talk about something more interesting. How’s the singles scene?”
Jake and his former wife were permitted limited communication through the Russian government. Through censored letters, they’d recently completed their divorce paperwork. This separation cleared the way for Jake to date Bat’s sister, Donna, and Andy’s sister, Jasmine.
“Completely crazy,” Jake answered with a big grin. “Donna was my girlfriend as a teenager, but things didn’t work out. Then she married an idiot, which didn’t last long. So, we’ve been calling each other and had coffee a few days ago. I can feel the connection returning. I also called up Jasmine, and we went out for coffee. She’s a fantastic woman with looks that would put her on the cover of any magazine. Plus, she’s a great listener and a lot of fun to be around. But that’s not the outrageous part.
“Word goes out through the office grapevine that I’m single. And, boom! Women have been flying out of the woodwork to get my number. Get this. Do you remember dating when you were 20?”
Bat nodded. “Of course,” Andy said.
“Well, back then, women held all the cards. If there was a cute girl at the bar, 25 guys lined up to buy her a drink. And she wouldn’t give hardworking guys like us the time of day. Fast-forward 30 years, and all these astounding women get divorced from their thick-headed husbands. Now, there are more women in the singles scene than men. And somehow, all the eligible guys figured this out. So, they take advantage of the situation. Love ’em and dump ’em, that’s their motto. When single women learn about an honest guy, they go crazy. I have 10 phone numbers. Ten! Can you believe a guy like me has that?”
“That’s nuts,” Bat said with wide eyes. “Imagine how many numbers you’d get if you didn’t have a face ugly enough to make onions cry.”
Everybody except Jake laughed, and he said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, I have a third woman in my life.”
“Who’s that?” Cecil asked while still chuckling.
Due to security concerns, the FBI did not permit the four men to discuss their involvement in the cable intercept investigation, so Jake had to speak in code. “Remember our little adventure? Well, this lady, Tiffany, oversees moving those underground objects. I’ve had a bunch of meetings with her.”
“I think I might know who you’re talking about,” Cecil remarked.
“The problem is that only one company in Georgia installs those underground objects―Immutable Telecom. The head guy got arrested because of his involvement in the you-know-what, and afterward, the family that owns the dump put his idiot cousin in charge. The situation is driving Tiffany up the wall. Plus, the pinheads at Immutable are all like” (Jake briefly switched to a funny voice), “‘We have security clearances, and you sewer jockeys don’t. Get out of our way!’”
The men laughed, and Jake continued. “Immutable is completely off the rails. Get this. One of their guys stopped one of my guys from repairing an old water pipe. I mean, he physically shoved him away. So, the two got into a fistfight, and the other workers had to break it up. Immutable demanded that I discipline my guy, or they would press charges. So, I dragged him in for a one-on-one meeting, took out a bottle of 18-year-old scotch, and we disciplined that entire thing until we were blind, stinking, plastered.”
The group laughed again, and Cecil asked, “Is Tiffany cute?”
“When she’s not angry, she is. Plus, she’s super smart.”
“Anything spicy happening between you two?” Cecil asked with raised eyebrows.
“Not really. I’m trying to focus on Jasmine and Donna. But I want to get to know Tiffany better. I even like her name. Tiff-an-y. It sounds so smooth.”
Bat, who had been uncomfortable discussing his sister’s love life, abruptly changed the subject. “Hey, I got my 401(k) statement. It’s down by over 40 percent. How’s yours?”
“All my investments are in the toilet,” Andy answered, throwing up his hands.
“My investment portfolio is a complete dumpster fire!” Cecil exclaimed, joining the hand-raising gestures. “Everything is down, and now early retirement is out of the question.”
“Phbbbt, you got that right,” Bat said. “Mine is―” He went quiet and held his fist up. The group stopped, and Bat pointed ahead, where they saw an eight-point buck staring at them. It was Andy’s turn, and he aimed for a long moment. He pulled the trigger, and the buck fell.
“What a fantastic shot!” Bat hollered. “The four of us will eat well this week.”
Andy clicked the safety on his rifle and grinned. “Not too bad, not too bad.”
They walked over to the buck, and Bat began cutting while Cecil unfolded the game cart. As they raised the deer, Jake said, “To continue our earlier topic, all my investments are way down. I don’t know how I’m going to pay for my kids’ college.”
“I understand that,” Bat replied. “The experts can’t agree on what’s causing this mess. One blames the weak dollar, while another suggests insider information. I don’t think anybody truly knows.”
“I watched an investigative report on the local news last night,” Cecil offered. “They got way into the details of day trading. One analyst has proof that a bunch of college students developed a new computer program to pump the market dry.”
“I read about that new high-speed trading, too,” Jake said. “They say quantum computing will drive traditional brokers out of business and make it impossible for normal investors to make a buck.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain everything,” Andy said. “I have a ton of Allen Pharmaceuticals stock, and they’ve been talking up their new cancer drug for the last two years. It was supposed to blow the other treatments out of the water and send their stock through the roof. Then, three days ago, this stupid upstart company launched the exact same drug. I thought that was what patents were for. Am I right? When the news hit, Allen’s stock completely tanked. I lost 20 grand in one lousy day. One flipping day! Ticked me off like you wouldn’t believe. And I couldn’t care less about that day trading mess. That’s not what’s going on. This smells like somebody has an inside track, that’s for sure.”
“It seems like that kind of thing is happening all the time,” Cecil observed. “I guess it’s the modern age. If somebody gets a hot stock tip, then everybody gets it.”
“True,” Andy agreed.
The men finished cleaning their deer while discussing what might be causing the downturn, investment strategies, and their families.
Please buy this book
