Chapter 8: A Real Shit Storm

Sarah and William shared a ride back to the airport. Neither said anything while en route. Both were lost in their thoughts as they mulled what they learned from Annette, or Tiffany Ann as she was known to Richard. It seemed obvious that Richard could use her to communicate to her father. There was a relationship there dating back years. The fact that Annette was nothing more than a mole to steal information was wholly unexpected.

At the airport, William’s phone buzzed his emergency ring tone. Before he could look at it, Sarah’s phone also started to buzz incessantly. They ducked into a quiet corner and checked their text messages. Jimmy was frantically trying to reach William, while Sarah’s phone buzzed with messages from Dennis. The two needed to make contact because all hell had broken loose.

Sarah sighed heavily as she read her text messages. Another sigh escaped when she clicked on a link Dennis sent to a breaking news story. The relative calm that had held in Vegas had erupted since their trip to Lincoln.

“You, too?” asked William.

She looked up and saw that William was engaged with this phone. “Me, too?” she asked.

“I assume your sigh was because the shit just hit the fan in Vegas?”

Sarah nodded.

“You’re not the only one.” William kept pushing buttons and reading his phone.

Sarah waited for William to continue.

“It looks like the FBI has re-focused their investigation into Argonne Oil and Gas. Some kind of anonymous tip has re-lit their interest.”

“It’s an insider,” insisted Sarah. “But how is an insider creating so much havoc?”

Sarah’s phone beeped again. This time is was Joseph. She quickly read his message and then told William, “Joseph just messaged. His soccer deal is dead. Don’t know what happened, but there is an epic storm brewing.”

More beeps on both of their phones. Richard. He was calling for a meeting tomorrow morning in Atlanta.

“Oh, fuck,” spat William. “I thought we’d at least have a day to figure out a game plan, but Richard has sent his executive summons.”

They left their quiet corner and quickly made their way to the airline counter. Instead of flying home, they both changed their tickets to Atlanta. They were lucky to get side-by-side seats in first class. Before leaving the airline counter, they sent Jimmy and Dennis messages. The first was a forward of Richard’s message and a note to get to Atlanta as soon as possible. The second asked them to bring clothes from the extra stash they both kept in their offices.

“The flight is almost three hours from now. Let’s go get comfortable,” said William.

They found a restaurant near their gate and settled into a booth. Both ordered margaritas.

“What the hell happened?” asked William. He stared intently at Sarah.

She squirmed a bit at William’s intensity. “Hospitality staff at both The Voyager and All-in All-in-One hotels went on strike this morning. They are across the street from one another. Picketers are causing rubber-necking and practically stopping traffic. It’s on all the major networks right now.”

“I thought you had a lead on what was going on?” asked William.

“A lead, but no actionable material. We know that there is an insider involved, but have not narrowed it down to any likely candidates.”

William took a long pull of his drink and then rested his back against the booth. He closed his eyes and slowly nodded as he worked out one possible solution after another to the layers of intrigue that engulfed Argonne in the past few months.

Sarah let him be and munched on the chips and salsa. When the waiter arrived with drink refills and fresh salsa William did not stir. When the entree arrived he finally opened his eyes and opened a napkin on his lap.

“What do we know?” he asked rhetorically.

“It’s an insider, sure. But, is it just one insider? There are too many things happening across all of our verticals that make it seem like one person could not pull this off alone.”

Sarah’s fork stopped midway to her mouth. “But, if that’s the case...” The rest was left unsaid as she put her food-filled fork back on her plate.

Sarah watched William take a few bites of food. She then said, “What are you thinking?”

William lifted his glass and took a long sip before he set it down and patted his mouth with his napkin.

“I think there are at least three people involved. And, I think they are very highly placed in Hotels, Sports, and Oil and Gas. Somehow they are working together to create this shit storm we’re in.”

“What about Media? And Gaming? Do they have a mole? An insider feeding information to the mastermind behind all of this?” asked Sarah.

“Maybe,” allowed William. “But given that neither Media nor Gaming have the same level of problems, I would assume that the mastermind could not find a partner in those two companies, or any help he or she is getting is not close enough to the c-suite.”

Sarah pushed her plate away. She lost her appetite.

“Eat,” encouraged William. “We’ve got our flight and then an early morning meeting with Richard. And if Joseph makes it to town early, then you may not get as much sleep as you are hoping.”

Sarah scowled at William. “Not tonight. If I don’t get sleep it will be because I’m worried about tomorrow’s meeting.”

William smiled and just nodded his head.

The flight to Atlanta departed on time. When they landed and deplaned they found Jimmy and Dennis. They had gotten to Atlanta about an hour earlier and stayed behind security to meet their bosses at the gate. They knew they were coming from Lincoln, but neither knew why either Sarah or William would go to Lincoln, let alone both of them. The two assistants were seasoned in their jobs to know not to ask why they were coming from Lincoln. They would be told when the time was right.

“There is a car waiting. We’re going to The Ritz-Carlton. It took a bit of convincing, but all of the presidents and their staff that are in town have rooms on the top floor.”

“Where is Richard?” asked Sarah.

“He’ll be at The Ritz-Carlton,” said William. “It’s always been his go-to hotel in Atlanta. He probably has the penthouse.”

Turning to Jimmy, William said, “You said a car is waiting? Then let’s get going.”

The foursome traipsed out of the airport and found their car waiting with the emergency flashers lit and a driver standing at the front bumper. He held a sign that read Argonne Party. The ride to the hotel was taken in silence. When they checked in they were informed that all of the others had already arrived. Tamara had taken the initiative to make a reservation for 10:00 PM in the restaurant’s private room.

When they left the elevator, Dennis followed Sarah directly to her suite. Jimmy stayed with William as he found his door.

“What’s going on, Sarah?” asked Dennis.

“I’m sure you know more about Vegas than me at this point.”

“Yes, and I’ll update you, but Nebraska?”

“In time,” was all Sarah said. “Now, Vegas?”

Dennis entered Sarah’s room and sat at the small table in the suite. He opened his laptop and began to talk as he reviewed his latest emails and scanned the news stories that were being published practically hourly. Sarah listened intently, knowing that she would be on Richard’s hot-seat tomorrow.

“Thank you,” Sarah said when Dennis had summarized the latest news. “Now, give me a few minutes to shower and change. If you want, come back at ten to ten and we’ll go downstairs together.”

Dennis nodded. “That bag has clothes,” he said as he motioned to a duffle just inside the door, “that are good for dinner tonight if you want to change. You did not have anything in your office for a Richard meeting, so I bought what you’ll need for tomorrow and arranged for a delivery tomorrow morning.”