prologue

Office10:00

Ron, shakingly spoke. He nervously whipped the sweat, from his brow. He leant-close, to me, and whispered breathlessly

"You know, that I could not fire someone, like you. People like you, are a rare-breed. I need you, to get us out of the shitter. I don't really care what you have to do, to make it happen. All that matters, is that no-one, else knows, about it."

I nodded

"For a start Ron, you have to stay calm. The FBI, have not come, barging through those doors, and started, collecting papers, have they. They haven't, roped all of us, into a room, and questioned us, until we spurt, the truth. Ron, I know that you think that we are dead-men walking. But unless they come in here, and serve us those papers! Then we are, going to fight, and that is what I want, you to think. So what do they really know?"

He closed the door.

"They know, it all. They know that we interacted with the company. They know that we got involved, in their insider trading scheme. Shit! Why did that fat fuck, have to die of a heart-attack. If that, man, had learnt how to deal with his, health a little better, then we would not be in this position. And don't get me started, on that son. "

I placed my hand, on his shoulder

"Oh, for the love of God, you have to remain calm. He was always, going to die. He ate fast-food, as if it was, going out of fashion. It was, only a matter of time, before, the fatty-oils, took their revenge. That is the past. It is done. What we, have to control now, is what happens, to our investors. We have, to keep them, in the dark, and feed them, shit. At least, at that point, we can retain, the investors, we have. And maybe, we might, surprise ourselves, and get a couple of dummies."

He laughed

"You have got to be joking. Do you honestly think, we are going to get enough dummies, to invest in this fraud, to even, make a profit."

I shook my head

"Ron, that is why, you are a novice, and I am the master. Forget the idea that you are ever, going to see, green again. Hell, you may even see a little bit of red. But, all that matters is that we get the heat off of us. Once, that happens, we will be able, to get our heads, out of the sand."

"So, are you going to bring Mike in on it?"

I laughed

"You have got to be kidding me, Mike, is not someone, who I would want to work with. But, I think on this case, he may be our only chance, of getting freedom. Where, is Mike, at the moment?"

Ron, pointed, out into the office

"He is on the phone, right-now, trying to smooth over, some of the rough-patches."

I whipped the sweat, from my brow

"What do you mean, rough –patches, are we down, more points?"

He nodded

"We are down, a couple more points, and a few of our investors, are getting worried."

"You have got to be kidding, with me. How long ago, did you know, about this?"

He frowned

"It was, about eight o'clock, last night. But, I did not want to get, you into the office, because, I knew that there, was nothing that we could do. For one, the market had already closed."

I shook my head

"We are on the same team, here! There is no point, lying to me. Did, they start tanking, before eight o'clock."

He nodded

"They started, tanking at around, 12. At first, it was only minor. I thought, a couple of the guys, in the office, would be able, to fix the problem. But, as it grew, I did not know, what to do. I panicked, and watched, my empire burn-down, around me. "

I exclaimed

"Why, did you not call me, there and then? At least, at that point, we could have, had a chance, to explain, the situation, to our investors. Now, it looks like, they invested, with a couple of armatures!

We both know, that is not, what we are. We have, to put that behind us, and look towards, the future. I will get, Mike, to try and mitigate, some of the damage. And somehow try and figure out, what the hell, the FBI, has on us."

"I may be able to help, you with that task."

I said

"I find that hard, to believe. Because, the last thing, that we want to do, is stick our heads, inside of that trap. At the moment, we are safe and that is the way, which I want it to be. I don't want, to give the FBI, another reason, to put a nail, in our coffin. All I want from you is to sit in this office, and field-calls, from investors. Personally, I don't give a shit, what you have to do. Just make sure, that they keep their money here, in our bank. Otherwise, the next line, you will be looking at, is the line, for food, down at the homeless shelter."

I grabbed, the metal-handle, of the door, and made my way, out into the waste-land, of investors. The phone-cords, dangled along the ground. Mike, sat in a small, glass-cubical. He whipped the sweat from his brow. Fire spurted out, of the other end of the phone. I didn't really know what to say to him. I was dragging him, deeper into a hole, that I was not sure, he would be able, to drag himself out of. I pointed to the office. Mike, slowly placed, the white-phone, in its holster, and headed into the quiet room. I closed the door, behind me. I pointed, to Ron's computer.

"I need you, to find out, what they know, about us. I don't care what you have to do, to get that evidence, the only thing, which I care about, is that, it never comes back, to this company. Because, when the dust, finally settles, this company, has to look like, the cleanest, turd, investors, have ever seen. We need, to make people forget, what happened, to us. Which is harder, than it sounds?"

Mike slowly adjusted his glasses

"I don't know, how I am even, going to break-through, the fire-wall. We are talking about the FBI, not the boy-scouts. These people, are not the type, to leave there passwords, on a yellow, sticky-note. These are the type of people, to hide that sticky-note, in a very secure-vault, behind a very, large, piece of concrete."

I whispered

"I know, how hard, this is going to be. The question, is can you do it."

He cautiously, nodded his head

"It can be done, but maybe not in the time, that you want it done. You want, to have your pie, and eat it too, but that is not possible. Maybe, if I had a couple of months, and a couple of highly skilled, hackers. Not these boy-scouts, then maybe. Just maybe, it would be done. But that is not the case. You think that you are some, Wolf of Wall Street. That you are some kind of master-criminal. When in reality, you are nothing but, a fraud with a coat-hat, attempting to empty the pockets, of the poor, and give them, nothing but peanuts, and a show. "

I laughed

"You know, that this is the mecca, for investment. People, turn to us. A trusted friend, to make sure, that there money, is held tightly. Invested, well, and maybe, they make a little money, to buy that house, they had their eye, on for years, maybe, they buy, those women of the night, a new hand-bag, to keep, there mouth-shut, about their affairs. This investment firm, is trusted, and we earnt that trust, the hard way. With blood, sweat and tears. So yes, I want our company, to be like the Wolf of Wall Street. Maybe, that lifestyle comforts me, at night. But, it is not a crime, to want to emulate, something that is successful. If that was, the case, we would not have any Hollywood remakes."

I leaned in close

"Get, this monkey off of my back, otherwise, I will eat you up, and spit you out! Do I make myself clear?"

Mike smiled

"You made yourself Crystal Clear."

11:00

Ron, grabbed a couple of pieces, of paper, and placed them, in front of him.

"Do you think that it is time, for plan B?"

"You took the words, right out of my mouth. I have been thinking about it, all of this time."

The Cayman Islands, is a beautiful place, to hold wads of money, you don't want the authorities, to get their hands, on. It is right out of the Wolf of Wall Street play-book. The set-up is simple, and the greatest thing, is it is all legal. As long, as you are not trying to avoid paying your taxes, then, the island is more than welcoming, and you only pay, the minimum amount of tax.

I stared out, into the wasteland, of hungry, sharks, circling the water, waiting for their pray. A young-assistant, cowarded behind his desk, his head firmly planted, in his hands. I wrapped my arms, around him

"I know, those numbers, are hard to watch. But let me, assure you. That we are doing, everything in our power, at this company, to make sure, those numbers, looks a little bit greener."

He nervously fidgeted, with his glasses

"How are you going to do that? We both know, that there is no way, to change, smart investors minds. Once, they have found, a leak in the ship, there is no way, they are going to stay on it. You have to understand, that these, are day-traders, they are simply looking to buy low, and sell high. And at the moment, the stock-price, could not be, any lower. "

I nodded

"There is no doubt in my mind, that you are a smart guy. That is why; I need you to do something for me. I want you, to go to the Cayman-islands, and cover our asses! If you have any problems, at all, you give me, a call, and I will sort it out."

He whipped, the beads of sweat, from his face

"Do you know that it is illegal, to set-up, an account there?"

"When did you, grow a concise. The reason, why you are sitting in that chair, is not because, you have a heart. People, who have a heart, are too compassionate, for this job. This job requires someone, to be, cut-throat, to never take no, for an answer. To be, a warrior. To stand, and fight, until, your body is riddled with bullets. I am not, going to allow you, to sit here, and cower in the corner. That is what weak people do. Weak people are powerless to stop, what is going on. But, strong people, get up, and fight!"

He shut his desktop

"When does the plane leave?"

I smiled

"I knew, there was a reason, why I hired you. The plane, leaves in a couple of hours. You should, get there in the morning. We have, a couple of friends, on the ground, that would be more than willing, to lay there life on the line for this company."

He nervously whimpered

"What if I get caught?"

"Why, would I hang you out to dry? People like you, are the life-blood of this company. You are the heart that keeps, beating. You are the warriors, at the other end of the line, making me, all of my money. You will be fine. You just have to have, a little bit of faith. Faith that, I have figured this all out and faith in yourself, that you are strong enough, to complete this mission."

Mike whipped the beads of sweat away, from his glasses. I anxiously stared down, at the computer.

"Have you got through yet?"

He shook his head

"I don't know, what type of Organisation, you think that I am hacking into. But, it is not as easy, as a couple of key-strokes. This is the government. With multi-billion dollar, funding. So it might take me, a bit of time, to get through the fire-wall. But like you said, you have to have faith."

I breathed heavily

"Just let me know, when you break-through."

Ron sat at his desk. A bottle of whiskey, in his left hand, he sobbingly said

" The three Major investors, are pulling the plug, they told me, they didn't give a shit, why the numbers, were down, only that, if we did not raise them, that they would be forced out. "

FBI press conference12:00

The FBI agent, a guy by the name of James walked out from behind closed door. He held in his hand a big white piece of paper, with what looked like names of people he wanted to talk to about the corruption. I could not see our company on the list but that did not mean they were not going to look at every company.

James turned the mike on and walked closer to the press which flashed their cameras. This obscured his face, and made it hard, to see him. This was not helped by the Business channel lacing the live broadcast with ads for everything from a new Toyota to KFC and McDonalds'.

When we did eventually return James was ready to say his statement which his boss, (the acting regional director of the FBI) had prepared for him to say.

"Thank you all for coming out today, this will not be long, and then you are welcome to ask any questions you want"

"On April 10th there was a transaction made by a member of the company which compromised the integrity of the business, this trade was made without the knowledge of the company or anyone else in the organisation."

"For this reason, the person involved has put this organisation under investigation; this investigation is in an attempt to determain if there was any other illegal activity inside of the company or by the person, who for this press conference will not be named."

The first group to ask a question was CNN.

"June, here from CNN, does the FBI have a lead suspect in the investigation"

"Yes, the FBI does have a prime suspect, which we will be interviewing over the next couple of weeks"

"Are there any other questions, from any other journalists in the room?"

"Yes, NBC here, can you identify the company or the person involved in this investigation?"

"You should know, that we can't"

The young FBI agent's face lit up just a little bit, you could see that he wanted to blurt out that he knew that we know who did it, but he just left it at that, and then some skinny young agent walked out in front of the camera.

"That is all of the questions we are willing to answer at this time"

Office building 12:30

The door creaked. I nervously stared, through the peep-hole. I dejectingly yelled

"They are here; make sure, that you don't give them, anything."

Two young, FBI agents, walked through the doors, and pointed, to my office.

"Is that office, free?"

I nodded

"I just have, to get my boss, out of the room. "

The two-men placed a large, folder down on the table. They softly asked

"I am sure, that you saw, the press-conference, this morning. All we want is your help. We are fighting on the same team."

I nervously looked, at the stack of paper, before gently asking

"What is all of this?"

He shook his head

"This is simply, an insurance policy. If you give us, what we want, we will leave this room, satisfied. We will go back, to our office, and we will, scratch your name, from the list of potential suspects. But, if you fail, to give us, what we need from you. We will make, your life, a living hell. We will dredge-up, your past, and put it out, for the world to see. We will survail, your family. We will monitor your friends."

I leaned forward, and stated

"I don't know, what you think you know, but you really only have, half the picture. Those documents, only tell you, what you want them, too. "

He softly replied

"What I want to know, is how an investment company like yours, ended up, in bed, with someone, as evil, as this. Was it all about, the money?"

I laughed

"Clearly you don't understand, how business works. Business is a cut-throat game. Either, you get eaten, or you find, a way, to make it through, to the next day. That is what, this company, is built on. It is built on the back, of fighters. People, willing, and able, to put there hat in the ring, and be able, to survive. "

The FBI agent, smiled, and placed, a stack of documents, down on the desk.

"I guess, that explains, all of this. Was, all of this, just the little man, trying to survive, before he got caught, and killed by the bigger fish, or was this planned."

I scoffed

"If you are talking about, insider trading, then you are wrong. This company was built on the back, of honesty. People, trust us, and if they knew, that we were involved, in something like that, they would leave, our protected shores, and head else-where. And no-one, at this company, wants to see that happen."

The FBI agent, pointed, to the phone number

"What would happen, if we called, that number?"

I proudly said

"Our investment firm had garnered, a little bit of attention, from The Waterman Company. They had seen, what we were capable of, and they wanted, a piece of the action. They told me, that if I wanted to be something more, than the little fish, I should give them, a call."

The stone-faced FBI agent asked

"Did you?"

I nodded

"I did. That is when, they told me, that they could no longer honour, the agreement."

He said

"Why did they void the agreement?"

I softly replied

"The CEO died, of a heart-attack. And since, he was the only one, who had the ability, to offer us, a contract, death, meant that it was void. Do you have any more evidence, you want to pull-out, of your paper-wallet, or am I free to go."

He showed me, the door

"I think, we are done here. If I have any additional questions, I will let you know."

1:00

Mike slid the piece of paper, under the door

"That is everything they know."

I laughed

"They don't have a clue, how deep, the hole, really goes."

He smiled

"You are right. But the good thing is that we are in the clear."

I smiled, at Ron

"We are home, and clear. Tell that to the investors.

He said

"What about, the FBI investigation, it is not like, they are going to lie down, and die."

I smiled

"Tell the investors, we are open, for business. Buy the stock, before, they all go. Hell, we might surprise ourselves, and get a couple of Casual Traders."

Ron asked

"What about your friend, in the Cayman-islands."

I wrapped my hand, around his bulky-shoulders, and calmly replied

"He will be back, in the morning. When he comes back, I want to see, a bonus on his desk. I will deal, with whatever, damage; our friends the FBI caused us. Now, get back to work."

The cog, in the machine, began turning again. I sat down, at my desk, and watched, the sharks circle, their prey. I opened the computer, and saw that our company was slowly bouncing back, to normal. I breathed a sigh of relief. By close of business, that day, we had gone up, at least four points.