Chapter 39: What do YOU think?

December 8, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“Abbie!” Matthew exclaimed and launched himself into her arms.

“Hey!” she laughed, hugging him tightly. “How’s my buddy?”

“Great!” he replied, taking her hand and leading her into the house.

“I guess I’m chopped liver!” Jason said with a grin.

“Nah,” I said, shaking his hand. “We all love you. Matthew just has a special thing with Abbie. The girls are looking forward to seeing Kristina. Why don’t you bring her into the sunroom? I take it you’re all checked into the hotel?”

We began walking into the house with Kristina in his arms.

“You didn’t have to pay for our room!” Jason protested.

“It was a last-minute change, really, so I felt I should. We didn’t plan on hiring a domestic manager back when we agreed on the dates for your visit!”

“Not a nanny?”

“Would YOU like to tell Birgit or Jesse they need a nanny?” I grinned.

We walked into the sunroom and Jason was mobbed by young girls.

“No!” he replied, putting Kristina down. “Let me guess, you let them help you hire her.”

“Of course! Changing topics, I take it you’re happy with the points?”

“First, second, and twelfth? Absolutely! I wasn’t so happy for Bill, but he missed seven races because of that broken hip at Talladega, so it wasn’t too surprising he finished thirtieth.”

“Yeah, it was going to be a tough season after Casey died back in January, too.”

“He said to tell you ‘hello’ and hoped he’d see you sometime during next year.”

“Michigan, most likely,” I said. “He’ll see Matthew in the Spring, as usual. Everything else good?”

“Abbie,” he called to his wife.

Abbie stood up from where she was sitting with Matthew, took his hand, and walked over to us.

“I’m pregnant!” she gushed.

I started laughing and shaking my head. Matthew looked strangely at me.

“Dad?” he asked after about fifteen seconds.

“First things first!” I said.

I held out my arms and hugged Abbie, and kissed her forehead, then turned and shook hands with Jason as Kara and the girls came over to congratulate Abbie.

“Matthew,” I said, “a long time ago, Abbie said she would never have children.”

“What did I know then?” she said with a smirk. “I said I’d never fall in love, either!”

“So oh-for-two!” I grinned.

“Why, Abbie?” Matthew asked.

“Let’s go sit down and see if I can explain.”

She led Matthew back to where they had been sitting and they were immediately engrossed in conversation.

“When is she due?” I asked.

“Along about June, probably the week before or after the first Michigan race.”

“Then I’ll ask Emily for tickets for the second race, in August. That should give Abbie two months to recover!”

Jason laughed, “I’m not sure she’ll want to take the baby to the track when he’s two months old, but I’ll arrange to be there.”

“Matthew has his tickets booked for the end of February for the race at Rockingham.”

“Cool. We always enjoy his visits. Someday you have to come visit.”

“I will,” I replied, as I heard the doorbell ring.

I excused myself and went to the front door.

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked Patricia and Henry.

“We have an announcement,” she said with a huge smile.

“Congratulations! Round two!” I grinned. “Come on in.”

“Round two?” Patricia asked.

“Abbie just announced she’s having a second kid next June.”

“That’s when Jorge is due!”

“Now THAT is a fitting name,” I said.

“We got the idea from you, Steve,” Henry said. “Birgit and Stephie inspired us to pick names.”

“Very cool. You’re sure it’s a boy?”

“Medically, no,” Patricia replied. “But I’m sure.”

“When are you due?”

“June.”

“So same as Abbie,” I replied.

We walked into the sunroom and Patricia made her announcement and got the same treatment from the girls as Abbie had.

“Sorry to rain on your parade,” Henry said to Jason.

“Can’t do nuthin’ about nature’s timing! Congratulations!”

“Same to you!”

“You guys are welcome to join us for dinner,” I said to Henry.

“Sure! I hear from Patricia you’re thinking of restarting the Rap Sessions, but with High School kids.”

“That’s right,” I replied. “Seniors, of course, which means they’ll all be at least seventeen. We’ll start in the Spring with a small group of kids - about eight at the most, plus you guys, Elizabeth, Ben, Becka, and a girl named Mattie and six hand-selected friends.”

“You’ve given up on college kids?”

“Not completely, but I think our intervention will be more successful if we start when they’re seniors, before they go to college. You know I was doing seminars in San Diego, right?”

“Patricia told me someone complained about being offended.”

“Yeah. I would have LOVED to have had Elizabeth with me then. You know her take on suppression of ANY speech.”

“Pretty much the same as the rest of us, but blunt and forceful. She’s not one to be deterred by hurt feelings.”

“Exactly. My thought is we get to the kids before they get exposed to that kind of thinking. And we teach them to think independently and logically.”

“Your cadre of libertarians?” Jason laughed.

“Free thinkers,” I replied. “You know my take on this - I’m very much for broad civil rights and limited, fiscally sound governance. Or put it as simply as possible, I’m not opposed to government, I’m opposed to too much government. Most decisions should be left to individuals, not to society. I know Henry and Patricia agree on that one.”

“What about law enforcement?” Jason asked.

“I think the firearm in the shoulder holster tells the entire story there,” Henry said. “It’s the one knock-down, drag-out argument he had with Patricia.”

“Because the ACLU and most civil rights lawyers seem to think the 2nd Amendment doesn’t exist,” I replied. “But let’s not get into that argument again!”

Later in the afternoon, I had a chance to sit down with Abbie in my study.

“So, did you have a Winter vacation?” Abbie asked with a smirk.

“And what gave you THAT idea?” I asked.

“Our talk and your attitude. You’re much more relaxed and laid back again.”

“Not just her, but Becka and I initiated someone the way you and I initiated Becka.”

“Now THAT is the Steve Adams I know and love!”

“Oh, and it wasn’t just a Winter vacation,” I chuckled. “There were two other girls, too. And one more after I arrived back home.”

“Jesus, Steve!” Abbie said, laughing and shaking her head, “What happened to not going crazy?”

“To be honest, it WASN’T going crazy. You know that in the past there were periods of high activity and low activity.”

“And you banished that crazy fundamentalist thought from your head?”

“I think so, but I need to be on guard. It’s something Becka said about her past. She said she came to visit you.”

“She did. Will she be here later?”

“Yes. She’s bringing Stash with her.”

“Her regular Saturday night fuck,” Abbie smirked. “She has one for Fridays, too. And there’s some guy she sees during the week!”

“So long as she’s happy,” I said. “I know she gets STD tests, so no issues from me. You know that.”

“Did you enjoy her piercings?” Abbie asked with an arched eyebrow.

“You know my take on those - I prefer the freshly-scrubbed, girl-next-door look. Though I certainly make allowance for sexy goth girls from Albany, New York!”

“Stephie was exactly your type, wasn’t she?”

I nodded, “She was, but you were special to me, Abbie; you still are. It’s not the outside, it’s what’s on the inside.”

“You certainly liked the inside and I sure liked you inside!”

I chuckled, “How does Jason deal with that kind of talk?”

“He’s getting better about it, but you know how conservative he is.”

“And how are you adapting to motherhood?”

Abbie shook her head, “You have no idea how weird this is for me, but I wouldn’t trade Kristina and whoever this is inside me for anything in the world!”

“I know the feeling. Do you have names picked out?”

“Casey William if it’s a boy. Jason picked that name, and I can’t argue with him on it.”

I nodded, “Honoring Bill Elliot’s nephew and Bill himself. And a girl?”

“Rebecca Joy,” she smirked.

“I like it,” I said. “Both of those names are awesome. Did Patricia tell you what they plan to name their baby?”

“Jorge. If there was a more fitting name, I can’t imagine what it might be.”

“Me either.”

December 13, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“Hi, Squirt!” I said when Eve, Elyse, Deborah, and I arrived at Spurgeon Capital mid-morning on Friday.

“Hey! How’s your new ‘domestic manager’ working out?”

“We’ve had great weeknight meals every day this week, and suddenly we all have more free time. We should have done this sooner.”

“Cool,” Stephanie replied. “Samantha is on the phone and will be off in a minute. Ernie will signal us; an issue with regard to her agreement with the SEC. I’ll let her tell you.”

“Of course,” I said, shaking my head. “There was NO corporate involvement, they got all the guys, have proof they were working outside the controls on their own hook, but the government wants their pound of flesh.”

“More, really.”

“Shit,” I sighed.

Ernie signaled and said, “She’s ready for you, Mrs. Krajick.”

We went into the office and I saw Samantha sitting at her desk, clearly fuming.

“Now what?” I asked.

“Something they will NEVER get.”

“What’s that?”

“An admission of improper controls AND me surrendering my trading license.”

“What the fuck?” I asked.

“We had a deal signed, waiting on the Director’s approval, and some new SEC Deputy Director decided we weren’t paying a high enough price. I told him, in not quite so many words, to go fuck himself. They have NOTHING on Spurgeon at all. Matheson, Foulkes, and Monroe did everything off the books, through their own accounts, and on private cell phones! The SEC literally has NOTHING, but they want to hang it on me. It’s not happening.”

“What about your dad siphoning off the money?”

“All perfectly legal per SEC regs; that was about tax evasion and money laundering and the IRS and US Attorney agree that was completely personal, because the firm paid out the funds properly and legally, AND reported it as was required. The SEC wants to use that, and a few other things which are perfectly legal to show Spurgeon engaged in a conspiracy.”

“But you personally?”

“That’s the carrot, believe it or not. They’re talking about filing charges and having me arrested. That’s the stick.”

“But it’s all bullshit!” I protested.

“You know it; I know it; they know it. But if they arrest me they can impound ALL of my personal funds and force me to hire a Chief Investment Officer to run Spurgeon until I’m cleared. And that could take years.”

“Tell them to fuck off,” I said.

“As I said, I already did. I have my attorneys working on it. Trust me, I’m clean and so is Spurgeon. The new guy has to show he’s got a big dick and the thought of stealing billions from me is giving him a two-inch woody. I’m not impressed!”

“I sure wouldn’t be!” Bo laughed coming into the room, along with Keri, Alec Glass, and Lee Finlon, an attorney from Spurgeon.

“Is there anything we need to discuss before we go to the conference room?” Samantha asked.

“This should be straightforward,” Alec said. “No changes, no issues. The complicated part, setting up the LLC and arranging to transfer ownership of the current building, was already handled by Deborah and Lee.”

“Then let’s go sign some papers!”

We went to what I considered the most ‘over-the-top’ conference room I’d ever seen, complete with hardwood flooring, a huge Persian rug, cherrywood furniture, an authentic Picasso, an authentic Matisse sculpture, and others I couldn’t immediately recognize. The room had a stunning view out over Lake Michigan.

The room screamed ‘I have Fuck-You money’, and I thought it was overdone, but Samantha insisted her clients needed to see it. Of course, I was guilty of similar thinking, having an office done in authentic Japanese style with everything imported from Japan except for the mural which had been painted by Siobhán.

“Steve Adams,” Alec said, “allow me to introduce Edgar Preston from Windy City Property and his attorney, Ian Smith from Smith-Jones.”

“Go ahead and laugh,” Mr. Smith said. “Everyone does. We were college roommates and shared an apartment during law school. And we married twin sisters whose last name is Miller.”

“Damn,” I chuckled. “Nice to meet you, John Smith!”

“You got that part, too! An erudite man.”

Everyone shook hands and I introduced my team.

“Shall we get this done?” Alec asked.

We signed an endless stream of documents which included both the purchase of the building as well as the lease for the first floor of the new building back to the current lessors, as well as the lease for NIKA on the upper floor. Some documents I signed for NIKA, others I signed on behalf of ‘NS Property, LLC’, the corporation Samantha and I had formed to own the property. When we finished, Samantha had Ernie bring in champagne to celebrate.

“How are things going?” I asked Keri after we drank our toast.

“So far, so good. Thank you so much!”

“You achieved this yourself,” I replied.

“But with your help and support.”

“I think my sister is leaving things in capable hands.”

“Thank you!”

I walked over to where Alec and Edgar Preston were standing, talking with Eve.

“When does construction start?” Mr. Preston asked.

“Monday,” Eve said. “It’s pretty easy to get on a construction schedule this time of year. They’ll start working on the ‘sky bridge’ first thing.”

“Thanks for signing off on the permit requests,” I said. “That made it possible to get them before the ownership actually changed hands.”

“You’re welcome!”

We finished our champagne and Mr. Preston and his lawyer left, then Bo and Alec left, leaving my team, Samantha, and Stephanie in the room.

“What are your lawyers doing?” I asked.

“Working with the US Attorney. Basically, there is no evidence of any crime, and the SEC has to work through the US Attorney to get indictments. We’re loading him up with every report from every source to counter any SEC allegations. The thing is, if the US Attorney turns them away, they could try for civil charges through an SEC administrative law judge.”

“Which is utter and complete bullshit,” I spat. “They are NOT Article III judges and are under the sway of the head of the SEC, which means they aren’t impartial.”

“And we’d have to fight them in Federal Court once they handed down fines or whatever. But we’ll challenge the SEC’s actions based on the DOJ finding no evidence of any crime. It’s ugly, and it’s costing me quite a bit, but fuck ‘em!”

“What’s the handicapping?”

“In the end, we beat them. It’s only a matter of how much bad press we get. But we’re working on that, too. We’re going to get a story out through some friends in the press that we’re squeaky clean and the SEC is posturing for political purposes.”

I nodded, making a mental note to have a chat with Stan Jakes. He owed me a favor or two, and I was about to call one in.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” I said.

“I’m not sure the US Attorney would be happy to see you right about now,” Stephanie said with a smirk.

“He didn’t appreciate the headline? ‘Botched FBI Investigation Allowed Escapee to Flee Country‘?”

“That’s putting it mildly, big brother!”

I’d had a chat with Stan Jakes which had led to that headline. There was no way I was going to allow the government to get off scot-free.

“Well, it did take some of the heat off Spurgeon, and put it squarely where it belongs - on the FBI.”

“True,” Samantha said. “Now if we only had something on the SEC!”

“Thanks for everything, Samantha,” I said.

“You’re welcome!”

Everyone hugged and my team headed back to my office. As soon as we arrived, I called and made a lunch appointment with Stan Jakes. We met in our usual place - Venice Café, at a back table in the dimly lit room.

“What do you have for me?”

“An SEC witch hunt,” I said. “You know the DOJ isn’t going to bring any criminal charges against Samantha Spurgeon, but a new SEC Deputy Director wants to make his bones by nailing Spurgeon and forcing Samantha to give up her trading license.”

“The US Attorney is about to close the case,” Stan protested.

“I know. The SEC is trying to get him to bring criminal charges, and barring that, they’ll try Samantha in a kangaroo court before an Administrative Law judge. And if they bring those civil charges, they can suspend her license to trade, and try to freeze her assets even though there isn’t a shred of evidence of wrongdoing. Everything she has was not only properly earned, but also properly reported and all taxes paid. The IRS said so. Noel and his buddies did their stuff privately, with private resources. It’s a witch hunt, Stan, plain and simple.”

“You want a favor,” he said flatly.

“Just tell the truth,” I said. “That is what you do, right?”

Stan laughed, “There are quite a few people who don’t think so, but yes, only verifiable facts. I don’t do opinion pieces. I leave that to the weenies on the editorial board.”

“Good, solid, hard-hitting journalism,” I replied. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

“And this has nothing to do with your hatred of government?” Stan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It has EVERYTHING to do with it,” I replied. “When innocent people are targeted, it reinforces my belief that the government has become too big and too powerful. To be honest, somebody got their panties in a twist because a pair of FBI agents were caught completely unawares by Noel Spurgeon’s escape despite having been warned beforehand! It wouldn’t surprise me if someone at the FBI was pressuring the SEC.”

“I’ll look into it,” Stan said. “But there has to be a story for me to run with it.”

“I understand. All I’m doing is pointing you in the direction of a possible story. I’ve done that once or twice in the past.”

“Once or twice?” he chuckled. “Message received. Let me see what I can uncover.”

“Thanks. So, what can I give you on deep background today?”