Goliath Read online

  Goliath

  E. A. Briginshaw

  Copyright © 2013 Ernest A. Briginshaw

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the express written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  ISBN: 978-0-9921390-0-1 (Book)

  ISBN: 978-0-9921390-1-8 (eBook)

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Although the novel is a work of fiction, some of the characters are composite characters based on my family and friends. Thanks to all of the people who reviewed and critiqued numerous drafts of this novel including members of my family, friends, and fellow participants in the Fiction Writers’ Workshop through the University of Western Ontario. Special thanks to Emily Valentini for designing the book cover.

  *** Chapter 1 ***

  The room was almost completely black so it was nearly impossible to see the profile of the man sitting at a desk in front of a laptop computer.

  “Please enter your password:” prompted the screen as soon as the computer started.

  The keys clicked as the password was entered. The password was a 24-character combination of upper and lower-case letters and numbers which made it practically impossible to crack. The person clicking the keys paused a few times as he recalled the phrase he had created to help him remember the password without writing it down. You could almost hear him hum the tune of the limerick he had created to help him remember.

  When he hit the “Enter” key, the computer continued to start up. But rather than displaying the normal blue sky background and the Windows-icon used in most computers, the computer screen remained black as it continued its start-up sequence. It was obviously doing something as the lights for the hard-drive and wireless Ethernet port flashed on and off.

  “Negotiating protocol….”

  “Securing communications channel….”

  “Welcome, Goliath” flashed on the screen, and then it scrolled down further and displayed a simple “>” prompt waiting for instructions.

  “Package has been delivered,” the man typed onto the keyboard.

  “Waiting for further instructions,” he continued.

  When he entered “EOT” at the next prompt to signal the end of the transmission, the computer screen went blank and the computer shut down almost instantaneously.

  *** Chapter 2 * **

  “Attention, passengers waiting on United Airlines flight 719 from Chicago to Toronto. Your aircraft has now arrived at the terminal. After the current passengers disembark, we will be doing a quick cleanup of the aircraft before continuing on to Toronto. We expect the aircraft to be ready for boarding at gate C10 in approximately 20 minutes. We thank you for your patience.”

  “It looks like you guys will make it back to Toronto tonight after all,” said Henry Shaw.

  Henry was sitting at the airport bar with two of his workmates, Greg Blackwood and Daryl Pender. Greg was a partner with the law firm of Richards, Blackwood and Thornton, or RBT as it was more commonly known. He was tall, in his early 50’s, with silver hair and had the “presence” that seemed to be a trait of successful litigators. He was always impeccably dressed, looked confident and successful - friendly, but also a little intimidating. When he was in court, witnesses were reluctant to lie or withhold information because they sensed he would eventually get the truth out of them. Even judges seemed to give added consideration to his objections.

  Daryl was an associate with the firm, specializing in environmental law. He was short, in his late twenties, and anything but intimidating.

  “I don’t suppose you know where Gate E10 is,” asked a guy sitting next to Daryl at the bar.

  “You’re in the wrong terminal,” Daryl said. He pulled his ticket out of his suit jacket and showed the man the map of the airport on the folder. “You have to head over to Terminal 2.” Daryl traced the route to Terminal 2 on the map and gave the folder to the man.

  “Thanks,” said the man. “This airport is massive,” he said as he gathered up his belongings and headed off.

  “Why is it that complete strangers always approach me for help?” Daryl asked.

  “Because you look like a nice guy,” Henry said. “They’d never suspect you’re a lawyer.”

  Henry also worked for the law firm, although he wasn’t a lawyer - he was the Information Technology Director. Henry was in his early 40’s and had started with the firm over 15 years ago. He fit the stereotype of a computer geek as he was tall, thin and looked a little “nerdish.” However, as the years passed he had put on a little weight and the recent lines in his face actually made him look better and somewhat distinguished. He had started as a computer technician and was initially involved in installing computers and fixing printers. With the growth of the firm through several mergers, his responsibility and authority within the firm had expanded. However, he knew that many of the partners still thought of him as the guy they call when the printer jams.

  Another merger was the reason that Henry, Greg and Daryl were in Chicago. RBT was planning to merge with a small firm called McTavish & Company. Henry had met with McTavish’s Systems Manager to plan and determine the costs of integrating their computer systems.

  Daryl had come because the Chicago firm specialized in Environmental Law and was the main reason for the merger. RBT had realized that many of their clients had to deal with environmental issues both in Canada and the United States, and in some cases the laws conflicted with each other. They required an international presence to navigate these issues successfully on both sides of the border.

  “I was really impressed with McTavish,” Daryl said. “I’ve learned more about environmental law in two meetings with him than I have in the last three years of practice. I sure hope this take-over goes through.”

  “Merger,” corrected Greg. As a partner, Greg knew the merger was pretty much a done-deal but he also knew that a political mistake like calling it a take-over could scuttle the deal quickly.

  Greg headed the Technology Committee for the firm but was more than a figure-head partner on the committee. He knew enough about technology to be credible, but he was also smart enough to know when he was out of his comfort zone and dependent on the expertise of others. He had pushed several technology policies through the partnership overcoming the objections of several key partners. If Henry had tried that on his own, he would have been quickly discounted. Henry had provided Greg with all of the facts to support the recommendations and had been in the room when many of the decisions had been made. But he did not speak, nor was he asked to speak. It was during those meetings that Henry realized what a powerful ally Greg was as he overcame any objections by skillfully slicing and dicing any opposing arguments until they were left in shreds. In the end, their recommendations were normally supported by all of the partners.

  Henry, Greg and Daryl had arrived in Chicago on Tuesday and were expected to be there all week working out the details of the technology plan and budget for the merged firms. Things had gone extremely well, which is why they were at the airport on Thursday night hoping to catch an earlier flight back to Toronto rather than waiting for their originally planned flight on Friday afternoon.

  When they arrived at the airport, they were told that the flight was almost completely sold out. Daryl had grabbed the last seat available in economy, and Greg had upgraded his ticket to first class to get a seat. However, Henry was out of luck. There were still seats available in fir
st class, but that option was only available to partners within the firm. It was at times like these that Henry felt the impact of the class-based hierarchy within law firms. There were partners, associates and “overhead” and he knew he fell in the last category. He could tell Greg felt bad about it, but he knew he also had to play the political game.

  “Done,” Greg said as he navigated a website using his phone. “You’re now booked in an Executive Suite for the night at the airport hotel.”

  “Executive Suite?” Henry asked. “A regular room would have been fine.”

  Greg showed Henry his phone so he could write down the confirmation number for the reservation. Henry could see from the screen that Greg had cashed in some of his personal frequent flyer points for the upgrade to a better room. Henry was sure Greg did it somewhat to relieve his guilt about leaving him behind in Chicago, but Henry appreciated it nonetheless.

  “So what do you plan to do with yourself this evening?” Daryl asked Henry as he took another sip of his drink.

  “Not much,” Henry said. “I’ll probably just stay at the bar and watch the game until I head to the hotel.” The bar included several TV screens showing a few basketball games, a football game, and poker. It had never been clear to Henry why poker appeared on sports channels.

  “Maybe you could check out some of Chicago’s finest,” Daryl said, gesturing with his head in the direction of two women who were sitting at a table on the other side of the bar.

  Henry glanced over his right shoulder while trying not to be too conspicuous about it. Daryl was right. They were surely some of Chicago’s finest looking women. One was a thin blonde wearing a black dress. She caught Henry’s eye when he looked over, so he quickly looked up at one of the TV screens scattered throughout the bar. After a few seconds, he glanced over again. The other woman was a brunette in a red dress, although he couldn’t quite see her as well due to the lighting. Both seemed over-dressed for an airport.

  “Attention passengers travelling on United Airlines flight 719 to Toronto. The aircraft is now available for boarding. For those passengers travelling in first class or in rows 1 through 19, please proceed to gate C10. Please have your boarding pass and identification available for inspection at the gate. We apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience.”

  “OK, let’s go,” Greg said. Greg and Daryl gulped down the last of their drinks and quickly gathered up their coats and suitcases. They travelled a lot so knew how to pack to fit all of their stuff into a single carry-on bag with wheels. They didn’t want to waste time waiting for checked baggage.

  “See you on Monday,” Daryl said as they headed off.

  Henry turned his focus back to the TV screens above the bar. He wasn’t too interested in the basketball games but he normally followed the NFL, so switched his focus to that TV. However, that game was a blowout with New England up 48 to 10. Where the Monday night football games were normally quite close, the introduction of more Thursday night NFL games had been a disappointment. This wasn’t the first time one of the Thursday night games had been one-sided.

  Henry glanced over his right shoulder again and made eye contact with the blonde woman in the black dress. She smiled. Henry noticed that the other woman was nowhere to be seen. He felt someone touch him on his left elbow and turned to see that the brunette woman in the red dress had quietly slipped onto the bar stool where Daryl had been sitting.

  “Hi,” she said. “I’m Tammy. I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night together.”

  Henry couldn’t speak. This woman was so beautiful that he literally stopped breathing. He knew he was blushing but he was sure he would soon turn blue due to lack of oxygen. It was only when he looked away and back at the TV screen that he started to regain his composure. He was normally very quick-witted, but his mind was racing and he couldn’t seem to control it. When he finally took a breath, he started to think things through. Logic seemed to kick in again and he realized this woman was probably a hooker.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I’m not interested in an escort tonight.” It was only then that he could turn his head to look at her again.

  “I’m not a hooker,” she said. She was looking him straight in the eye and he sensed she wasn’t lying.

  “What? No dinner, no movie, just straight to bed?” Henry felt his wittiness returning.

  “You know, this usually works out better if I play the role of the woman and you play the role of the man, but if I need to buy you dinner to get you to put out, then I’m game,” she said flirting with him.

  Henry just stared at her for what seemed an eternity. He was trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe one of his friends was going to suddenly appear to tell him this was a practical joke, but no one knew him here in Chicago. Maybe she was a con artist and he was going to find himself mugged at the end of the night with the police asking him how he could have been so stupid.

  Tammy broke the silence. “You’re not married are you? Because I don’t screw around with married men. You’re not wearing a ring, but that doesn’t mean anything these days.” Suddenly it seemed like it was Tammy who was wondering what she was doing. “I’m sorry, this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done it.” She glanced over at the blonde woman who had been watching the whole thing. Tammy looked embarrassed and started to slide off the bar stool to leave.

  “Hi, I’m Henry,” he said, holding out his hand. “Nice to meet you. No, I’m not married. So, can I buy you dinner?”

  Tammy stopped her retreat. She smiled and shook his hand. “Yes, I think I would enjoy that very much. Just a second, I have to let my friend know what’s going on.” Tammy walked over to the blonde woman in the black dress and spoke briefly to her. They both looked over at Henry and smiled, although the blonde woman looked more worried than happy.

  “Let’s go,” Tammy said when she returned.

  Henry and Tammy walked slowly through the airport concourse. Or it seemed slow compared to the hundreds of people who seemed to be racing to catch their plane or to get out of the airport and home to their families. Many of the passengers seemed frustrated as they tried to navigate around Henry and Tammy without colliding into other people racing in the other direction. A few people mumbled obscenities and gave them dirty looks as they passed. Henry was oblivious to them.

  “So where would you like to eat?” Henry asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Tammy replied. “I think our choices will be somewhat limited at the airport.”

  They continued to saunter through the airport concourse, smiling at each other, but hardly talking. It seemed like both of them were in uncharted waters and neither of them knew what to say or do next.

  They came across a restaurant/bar that looked somewhat promising. It had a sign out front that showed their menu which seemed more comprehensive than the fast food places they had passed by, although it seemed to focus on their “breakfast available all day” items. The restaurant wasn’t that busy so they easily found a table. When the waitress arrived, she asked whether they wanted drinks or a full meal.

  “Both,” Henry said. He nodded to Tammy to let her make her choice.

  “I’ll have a glass of white wine and a Caesar salad,” Tammy said.

  “I’ll have the steak sandwich and a Bacardi and Coke,” Henry said. He would have normally just said a rum and coke but he felt asking for a Bacardi somehow made him seem more sophisticated. For some reason, appearing more sophisticated seemed important to him.

  The waitress brought their drinks and they continued to talk while they sipped them, but they had run out of small talk and the pauses in the conversation seemed to be getting longer and longer. They were both pleased when the waitress brought their meals.

  Henry had noticed that her purse had a large “LW” button on the clasp which made him suspicious that Tammy wasn’t her real name. “So is Tammy your real name?”

  Tammy blushed with embarrassment. “No, it’s actually the name of my cat. I’m not sure I want
to tell you my real name, and I can’t tell you why. This must seem so strange to you.”

  That was an understatement, although she seemed like a puzzle he wanted to solve. “Well, in the interests of full disclosure, Henry is my real name and I hate cats.”

  “I know - that Henry is your real name, that is, not that you hate cats. We overheard you talking with your friends at the bar. We knew you couldn’t get a flight to Toronto tonight and your friends bailed on you.”

  “Don’t they have laws against stalking here in Chicago?” Henry asked, smirking as he said it.

  Tammy paused before answering, as if she was trying to navigate her way to a place she’d never been before. “Why, are you planning to have me arrested?”

  “Jury’s still out on that one.”

  “Lawyers,” she said. “You know what they say. If you laid all of the lawyers end to end at the bottom of the ocean…”

  “It would be a good thing,” Henry said, finishing the punch-line. “But I’m not a lawyer. I just work for them. Can I ask what you do for a living?”

  “Let’s just say I’m in media and leave it at that.”

  Henry pondered her answer for a moment. “Media - that’s a fairly broad category, although you’re certainly pretty enough to be on TV or be a movie star,” Henry said, fishing for clarification.

  “Thank you, although you’re going down the wrong path. I do more research than anything else.”

  Henry became even more intrigued, and nervous. Had he somehow become a research project about how easy it is to pick up guys in airports? How gullible guys become when they see a pretty face? He didn’t like where his line of thinking was heading.

  “Can I get you anything else?” asked the waitress, thankfully interrupting his train of thought.

  “No, I think we’re good,” Henry said, glancing at Tammy for confirmation. “Just the bill please.”