Chapter 75: And So It Begins

June 24, 2002, Aboard the Gulfstream en route to Chicago, Illinois

Everyone was on the plane except for Melinda, who was staying in Baltimore for the rest of the week, and would split time between Chicago and Baltimore until she decided where to relocate the office in the area, and then where to live. Stephanie, Melinda, and I all agreed that Baltimore was not optimal, but none of us knew the area well enough to make any judgments.

“What’s your take on the support staff staying?” Stephanie asked.

“I think they will,” I said. “But if they don’t, it won’t really hurt us. We don’t plan to do any bug fixes, and we already basically emulate their system. The bigger concern is ensuring Hastings Mill and Chickasaw don’t snipe the biggest customers.”

“Cindi reached out to the twelve biggest today,” Stephanie replied. “She feels confident we can keep them. She also said that she scheduled the Volstead and Associates conversion for next month.”

“That’s a huge coup,” Julia observed.

“It was always Braun,” I replied. “From the first trouble we had with them fifteen years ago. In fact, I’m positive he’s responsible for Ben van Hoek leaving, which worked to our advantage and to Ben’s advantage.”

“Cindi has a press release ready to go out tomorrow after our town hall meeting about VLC being part of NIKA,” Stephanie said. “She’ll emphasize that it’s the same people who were here on Friday, and that we have a good working relationship with the founders.”

“Are you including the Baltimore folks in the town hall tomorrow?” Bob asked.

“The Virtual Law Clerk team, yes,” Stephanie replied. “They’ll have to join by phone because they don’t have video conferencing. I didn’t feel we needed to include anyone who received a layoff notice.”

“Julia, what did you think about Carl?” I asked.

“I called Dave and Zo and we did a team interview. We plan to extend an offer to Carl. I’ll coordinate with Bob.”

“Anyone else you think is viable, Steve?” Bob asked.

“No,” I replied. “The ones who are qualified are all EB hires, that is, after Braun bought Lone Star and before his merger with Knowles and Jackson. But I’m not vetoing them. I’ll leave it to you to deal with any applications. I expect one or two.”

“Seriously, Big Bro, what’s with the change in attitude?”

“I have to disconnect from the business side,” I replied. “Completely. Well, except insofar as you need advice. I cannot allow myself to continue to get sucked into managing and dealmaking.”

“But you’re so good at it!”

“And I’m happy to give you advice, but no more direct involvement. I’m going to do something I’ve tried to do for nearly two decades — be a software engineer full time. I trust you, Cindi, Julia, Liz, Bob, Mario, Barbara, and Zeke to run NIKA. As of tomorrow, it’s your organization, built the way you want it. It’s time for you to put your imprint on the company.

“I’m not going to disappear, nor am I giving up my shepherding of NIKA’s «kami». I’m happy to do client relations, schmoozing, mentoring, and all the other things to maintain it, but no more on the business operations side. I’ve removed the final stone from my shoe and this is the right time.”

“You really think you’ve vanquished all your enemies?” Stephanie asked.

“Except the government!” I chuckled. “But seriously, I want my time to be mine, with only coding deadlines to worry about. I’ll work the hours I want, the days I want, and you know I’ll be the most productive coder in the company, except maybe Penny; but if you tell her I said that, I’ll deny it!

“But in all seriousness, who’s left? Littleton is dead; Lisa Glass, who had him killed, is serving life without the chance for parole in Texas; the Brauns are in the hoosegow and between the Feds, Colorado, and Illinois, they aren’t getting out anytime soon; Dante, who was a self-proclaimed enemy, is a friend; Margaret Lundgren is defanged; and the idiots who tried to frame me for Samantha’s dad’s escape are all doing hard time. There isn’t anyone else.”

“You didn’t list Noel Spurgeon,” Stephanie noted.

“He and my dad were never enemies,” Samantha quickly interjected. “Rivals, sure, but never enemies.”

“It was always business,” I added. “Even using me as cover for his escape was business.”

And the FBI agents who were complicit, but that was information Samantha and I had to keep under wraps until one of us needed it, or those two tried to retire and move to Costa Rica.

“Did you know about this, Liz?” Stephanie asked.

“If you mean did he speak to me about it, no, but this isn’t new. He’s been trying to get away from it as long as I’ve known him, which is nine years, and he put Julia in charge from day one of NIKA. He’s stepped in when he’s had to, but he’s always wanted to be a software engineer.”

“That’s true,” Julia said. “And I’m not going to argue, so long as he’s willing to give advice to those of us who are running NIKA.”

“Which I am. I’m also yielding my veto except with regard to executive suite hires, not that I expect to replace anyone anytime soon.”

“What’s the next step with EB?” Julia asked. “We were more or less kept in the dark.”

“It’s on autopilot for bankruptcy. Jacob is working with a Maryland attorney and a Delaware attorney to ensure we comply with the state bankruptcy provisions, and he’ll file a liquidation petition sometime in early July. That will lead to the cancellation of the stock, and the Brauns have nothing. The court will accept the petition because we structured the deal such that SKJ is paid, the suppliers are paid, and the banks will be paid. The company will literally have a completely empty balance sheet except for the valueless stock and the personal loans the Brauns made when we file.”

“So everyone comes out whole, or makes a profit, except the Brauns, who instead go to jail.”

I smiled, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Birgit

“Dad!” I squealed and ran to hug him.

“Hi, Pumpkin. How was your day?”

“Good. Tiffany and I hung out with Jesse, Scarlett, Matthew, and Chelsea. We went to the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, and the Sears Tower. And we had pizza at Bacino’s.”

“That sounds like a good day.”

“It was fun! Tomorrow we’re going to Brookfield Zoo. Cuddles before bed?”

“Let me see your mom and Suzanne,” Dad said, “and we need to call your other mom.”

“OK,” I agreed, because I didn’t really have a choice but to wait.

It took about fifteen minutes before Dad came into the sunroom and we got into the chaise. I snuggled close, he wrapped his arms around me, and I sighed deeply. Being in his arms felt so good and made me feel so safe and loved.

“Did you get in touch with your friend?”

“Yes. I gave her the name of the counselor and encouraged her to call. Hopefully, that will help her stop what her parents are trying to do.”

“Sadly, it might not. Did Katy tell you about a girl named Lauren?”

“Yes. Her parents sent her to some kind of insane religious camp that tried to get her to stop ‘sinning’. But that’s bullshit, because it’s only sinning if you needlessly hurt someone else; if you hurt yourself, it’s not sinning, just stupidity or carelessness!”

“A reasonable paraphrase of Lazarus Long,” Dad replied. “But you know the view of the Christian West.”

“I don’t believe in any of the mumbo jumbo, but at least what Jesse’s church teaches — that sin is falling short of perfection, makes some sense, though they still object to his moms. You think that’s what might happen with Marcella?”

“I have no idea, but given her parents suggested a therapist, I’m going to guess they aren’t fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, because they take a very dim view of psychology and psychotherapy.”

“Because their dumb god can’t stand up to logic, reason, or science! At least Jesse’s church is rational on that.”

“And you see why I am the way I am,” Dad replied. “You take it a bit further, as you lean towards atheism being more likely while I lean towards theism, but only in the sense that there is some larger force in the universe beyond what our senses or instruments can perceive. Buddhism seems to be on the right track, though it’s incomplete.”

“I’ll tell you what’s on the wrong track!” I declared. “Islam! I still can’t believe Fatimah is being forced to marry a guy her dad picked!”

“And I’ll repeat that what you object to is Saudi culture, not Islam. Aisyah did not have an arranged marriage.”

“No, but she had to have a man’s approval!”

“Yes, that was true, but she voluntarily did that. She could easily have done everything herself. She’s very traditional, but her family isn’t Saudi, and as such, didn’t follow Saudi customs. I’ll also remind you that Fatimah didn’t object.”

“She was brainwashed!” I protested.

“And people would say YOU are brainwashed by me!”

I rolled my eyes, even though Dad couldn’t see because my head was on his chest.

“Not even close!” I declared.

“You’re an independent woman with the freedom of self-determination. But think about what it looks like to outsiders? Think about Jesse, too.”

“Maybe,” I replied grudgingly. “But I don’t have complete self-determination!”

Dad laughed, “Neither do I! We all have to follow the law and our commitments, or suffer the consequences. Being an adult does not give you complete freedom; that’s the frustrating thing most kids don’t learn until they get out of college. You and your siblings and the cousins have the advantage of learning that at a much earlier age. Think about the situation with Marcella.”

“I’m free to go to New York, but only if I accept the consequences of my actions, both for me and for her. But don’t you say each of us is responsible for our own actions?”

“I do, and that’s true. In your case, your actions would be inducing her to sneak out to see you, making you at least partly responsible for anything that happened. Just because each of us is responsible for our own actions, it doesn’t mean that we have no responsibility for causing other people to do things which might harm them.”

“The concept of ‘sin’ — unnecessarily hurting someone else.”

“Exactly. You did the wise thing, Pumpkin. Hopefully, the counselor will be able to help Marcella.”

“Good night hugs and kisses?” Ashley asked, coming into the sunroom.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at her for interrupting my time with Dad, but he couldn’t see.

“Relax, Pumpkin,” Dad said, somehow detecting my reaction.

I reluctantly got up and Ashley came over and climbed into the chaise. Dad hugged her, held her for a few seconds, then kissed her forehead the way he always did. She kissed his cheek, they said ‘good night’ and she got up.

“I take it Stephie is still in a mood?” Dad asked as Ashley started to leave the sunroom.

“She’s a little better,” Ashley replied, turning to talk to Dad again. “I think her going to see Grandma Nancy in two weeks will help a lot. She just needs to get away from Nicholas.”

And if Nicholas stayed away from her, I’d give him the best birthday present any fourteen-year-old boy could ever hope to have! The same one Jesse had received.

“Good night,” Dad said. “I love you.”

“Love you, too!” Ashley said, then left.

I got back into the chaise and snuggled close to Dad.

“Your body tensed,” Dad said. “That’s how I knew.”

“Ugh!” I groaned.

“Your moms always say that anyone who interferes with cuddle time takes their life into their hands.”

“Duh! Cuddles are the best part of the day!”

“We came to say ‘good night’,” Albert said, coming into the sunroom with Nicholas.

“Good night, men!” Dad said formally, because that is what the two future Navy officers wanted.

They didn’t even get hugs, which I thought was dumb, but they, like Matthew and Michael, felt they were too cool for hugs. That would NEVER happen with me. Ever! Jesse was OK with hugs, and obviously, Ashley was, too. Stephie had been, but being a bitch had changed that. I hoped at the end of the Summer, when Nicholas moved home, she’d lighten up.

“You tensed again,” Dad said.

“You read me like a book,” I giggled. “And I bet you could play me like a piano!”

“That fantasy will have to remain just that — a fantasy.”

“Have YOU thought about it?” I asked sexily.

Dad laughed, “How could I not with as much as you tease me about it?!”

“Does that bother you?”

“Only if you do it in public, though if I thought you were actually trying to convince me, it would have to stop.”

I obviously was, but he was letting me off the hook. I knew the right thing to say.

“I know why you had to say ‘no’ and why that won’t change,” I said. “But I have a feeling it’s more complicated than what you explained.”

“Life is full of complications, Pumpkin, but what I said to you is true, and is sufficient.”

We cuddled for another two minutes before I got my kiss on the forehead and I kissed Dad on the cheek and reluctantly got up. I left the sunroom and headed up to my room where I got ready for bed, climbed in, and slipped my hand between my legs, imagining what it would feel like to do it for real.

🎤 Steve

“I think Birgit is fishing for the real source of my refusal,” I said when Jessica, Suzanne, and I climbed into bed.

“What makes you say that?” Jessica asked.

“She made the comment that she thinks my refusal was not the complete story. She’s right, of course, but there is no way I can reveal to her what happened with Stephanie.

“No, you can’t. Perversely, that would only encourage Birgit because she’d know it was possible, given you’d done it before.”

“She’s going to hunt for clues, as she always does,” Suzanne observed. “But I don’t think there are any to be found. First, she’d never, ever suspect what happened, and second, nobody is going to reveal it to her.”

“It’s the inadvertent comments that cause trouble,” I said. “Especially when it comes to our kids, because they are intelligent and incisive. But I can’t imagine anyone even making a nodding reference to what happened, and Stephanie and I are close like a brother and sister, but we’re very careful.”

“As you should be,” Jessica said. “I’m not saying that either of you would intentionally cross a line at this point, but the risk is still there.”

“I thought you were past being concerned,” I said carefully.

“It’s not a concern, per se, but more of an acknowledgment of human nature. I think you’re both strong enough to keep it in the past, but we never know where our breaking point might be. I found mine, and I only made it because you loved me and never gave up on me.”

“Only because you found the inner strength to complete the rehabilitation program,” I countered. “And we’ve all had our struggles. Well, Suzanne seems to have avoided the emotional distress Kara, you, and I went through at various points.”

“I had the advantage of meeting you when I was seventeen,” Suzanne said. “It’s the same advantage your kids and their friends have. The ones without the crazy parents are all really well-adjusted. And even Rachel is, now that she’s away from her lunatic mother! She and Javon are coming to the Fourth of July party.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said.

“Samantha didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“She sent two attorneys to talk to Carla. Trust me, Carla won’t say a word to anyone about anything.”

“It must have slipped Samantha’s mind,” I chuckled. “Or she wanted me to have plausible deniability if something backfired. How much did Carla’s silence cost?”

Suzanne laughed, “Why am I not surprised you guessed?”

“With Samantha, it isn’t a guess! She’s very much of the ‘if money can make a problem go away, then you should make it go away’ school. She’s not as ideological on the topic as I am. For her, payoffs are, in effect, an accepted cost of doing business. I do not agree, but you know I’m John the Baptist on that one.”

“The lone voice, crying in the wilderness?”

“Yes. I read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to all the kids when they were little to explain why you don’t concede small points to try to win over an ideologue. The Republicans get rolled by the Democrats every time because of that. The Democrats ask for something outrageous, the Republicans counter with something less outrageous, and thus the Democrats succeed in moving the ‘Overton Window’ towards their goals. You take a small part of what you want, bank it, and now that’s the minimum. Your next outrageous proposal moves the window further in your direction.”

“Which is why you don’t want to settle what amount to hold-up attempts.”

“Correct. I think insurance companies are idiotic in that regard, but think about it — they’re negotiating with my money, so they don’t really care, so long as they reduce the payout compared to their maximum liability. It’s all stats, and they know they can increase premiums and we have to pay precisely because they’ve settled in the past, which convinces juries that the claims were valid, thus feeding the system.”

“You really dislike plaintiff’s lawyers!” Suzanne declared.

“Good thing you’ve decided on criminal defense!” I replied.

“With your experience with Liz as Consigliere, have you changed your opinion?”

“No. Her main job is still to protect me from other members of her profession! And that includes government lawyers!”

“But isn’t that true of Melanie and Mike?”

“In one sense, yes, but civil cases are very different from criminal cases. Most civil cases are about extorting money from a business. After all, if the acts were criminal, they’d file criminal charges! But the government sees successful people and corporations as their personal piggy bank, and can’t resist trying to take a bigger taste than tax law permits. The Mafia won’t intentionally put you out of business because that goes against both their interests and yours!”

“What about the Sopranos episode where they wrecked the camping and outdoor business?”

“‘Bust Out’? Sure, because David owed them more money from his gambling debts than he could ever repay. He couldn’t sell the store, because it was in his wife’s name, and he’d already gambled away his son’s college fund. At that point, the only way to recoup the losses was a planned bankruptcy, after they stripped the store’s assets.”

“Hmm ... your takeover of the company in Baltimore?”

I laughed, “The parallels are not lost on me! But they didn’t owe me money, per se. But in both cases, the person who paid the price didn’t heed the warnings they were given, either directly or indirectly. Think about it — if the Outfit put companies out of business with regularity, who would give them the time of day?

“It’s similar to paying protection — you have to actually get something for your money, or you don’t pay. Unlike the government, the Mafia has to deliver. The Feds can put you out of business without a thought because they just need to run the Treasury presses for an extra microsecond to cover the lost tax revenue, or raise rates, or force a settlement to a civil suit.”

“I get it,” Suzanne said, “but do you really believe Al Capone was a businessman providing the citizens with goods and services denied them by their government?”

“Until the public got caught in the gang wars,” I replied. “If the Northside and Southside mobs had stuck to their territories and not gone to war, the crackdown would have been a much tougher sell to the public. The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre shifted public opinion away from the ‘harmless vice’ argument about bootlegging and prostitution.