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  Kruger sat up straighter on the barstool, he blinked several times. “Oh…”

  “I’m wrapping up early, I’ll be home Wednesday. I’m sorry too, Sean. I shouldn’t have called that late on Saturday. I was…”

  “Lonely—so was I.”

  “Is this a good thing Sean? Missing each other this much.”

  “Yeah, it’s a real good thing.

  They talked for an hour.

  ***

  Tuesday morning Kruger’s cell phone vibrated again. The ID was blocked, but he accepted the call anyway. “Kruger.”

  “Sean, its Joseph.” His tone was crisp and military.

  “Aren’t we a little formal this morning?”

  “I need you in Springfield this afternoon. You owe me so many favors it’s not funny. I’m cashing one in right now.”

  “Okay, when do you want me there?”

  “No later than three. We need to talk before we meet someone.”

  Kruger was quiet for a few moments, “Who are we meeting?”

  “I will discuss it only in person.”

  Frowning at the demeanor coming across the phone, “I have to be back in KC on Wednesday, but I’ll be in Springfield tonight.”

  “Good.” The call ended.

  Staring at the phone, Kruger said, “What the hell was that all about?”

  ***

  JR sat at his usual spot at the bar, staring at the evening news on one of the TVs, and waiting. It was almost a quarter after six, and the weather report was starting. So far, no Joseph. He placed a napkin on the seat to his right for Joseph after a tall man had taken the seat to his left. JR glanced at him as the man ordered a Boulevard Pale Ale. JR smiled. One of his favorites too. After the man was served, he tried to engage JR in conversation. JR responded with clipped one-word answers until the man finally stopped talking. The absence of Joseph and the stranger on his left started to wear on his nerves. Where was Joseph? When he had spoken to him earlier in the day, Joseph had emphasized being at the pub no later than six o’clock. JR was ready to move forward with getting his life straightened out. Not making small talk with a stranger.

  At 6:30 p.m., as a Cardinals baseball game was starting on TV, Joseph arrived and sat down next to JR. “Sorry I’m late. Got caught on the phone. So, have you met Sean Kruger yet?”

  JR stared at Joseph. “What the heck are you talking about? I haven’t met anyone.” His eyes widen. He turned to his left and saw the man smiling.

  The tall man and Joseph shook hands. The stranger said, “Nice to see you again, Joseph. Your friend here has been nervous, apparently not interested in small talk.”

  “He can be rude sometimes, under the current circumstances. Please forgive him.”

  The man offered his hand to JR. “I’m Sean Kruger.”

  “Nice to meet you.” JR limply shook the man’s hand. “I think.”

  Joseph grew serious. “JR, this is the man I told you about. He can help you. I trust him explicitly. You should as well.” He stood up, looked at JR in a stern, parental manner. “Listen to him, he’s fair and can help you more than anyone else right now.” He turned and walked out of the pub.

  Kruger said, "Before you wet your pants, I'm not here to take you back to New York. I think you were defending yourself, I'm here to help."

  Remaining quiet, JR stared at him.

  Kruger nodded. "Okay, here's what I know..."

  He proceeded to tell JR about the investigation and how they had lost track of him outside of the Westminster Hotel in New Jersey. JR realized the man knew a lot, but not the critical side of it: his side.

  As JR listened, Kruger explained what Plymel had told the police and how he knew Plymel was lying. Finally, when the FBI man finished, JR said, "What do you plan to do with this knowledge?"

  Kruger sipped his beer, stared at the TV, and said, "Nothing. I need someone like you to help me once in a while.”

  “Help you with what?”

  “You know—computer stuff. If you want to help me, fine. If you don't, I'll walk out of here and you'll never hear from me again."

  “How do you know Joseph?” JR asked.

  Kruger shrugged. “Old family friend, he recruited me for the FBI. His nephew is my supervisor at the bureau.”

  "If I help you, what's in it for me?"

  "I'll start the process of clearing your real name."

  He stared at Kruger. If he and Joseph had been friends for years and they both wanted to help him, then it might be the best way to make good on the promise he had made to Mia last night. If he could start their life together without looking over his shoulder, it was worth taking a chance. "What do you want to know?"

  “How much money did Plymel have stashed away?”

  “It was over sixty million, scattered across numerous accounts in the Caymans and Bermuda. Why?”

  Kruger smiled. “With your skills, I hope you diverted some of that money.”

  JR laughed and nodded.

  “Good, I’ll need a copy of the files you acquired from Plymel’s computer. Plus, I need you to hack into P&G’s server to determine any measures they’ve taken to find you. I’ll need to squelch those efforts immediately.”

  JR nodded and said, “I’ve already been in P&G’s server. I’ve got a backdoor just in case I need it.” He paused and said, “You’re not like most FBI agents, are you?”

  Kruger smiled. “I made a pledge to prosecute the guilty, not the innocent.”

  JR smiled and took a sip of his beer. He turned to Kruger. “I don’t get it—why do you want to help me?”

  Kruger laughed and took a gulp of his beer. “Good question. I read what P&G Global claimed in the police report; it didn’t make sense. Too many time gaps—witness accounts too consistent with each other. They’re covering something up. Bottom line, they lied to me. I don’t like people lying to me.”

  “Thank you. I didn’t think anyone would ever believe me.”

  Kruger frowned. “Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t done anything. When this is all over, you can thank me.” He was quiet for a few moments. “I may need your assistance, but I’ll try to keep you out of it as much as I can. Agreed?”

  JR nodded. “Yes. Just let me know what you need.”

  He stood. “JR, I’m in your court. But, if I you lie to me in any fashion or manner, I will turn on you so fast.”

  JR swallowed hard. “All I can do is to tell you what happened. It’s my word against theirs. I’m only one person against a bunch of very rich guys. You have to make the distinction.”

  Kruger smiled. “Let’s go to your place and you can tell me everything.”

  ***

  Kruger walked out of the pub and headed toward his car. Joseph was sitting in the passenger seat when he got in behind the steering wheel. Joseph said, “What do you think?”

  “I believe him. I’m not sure he has the ability to lie to anyone he trusts. He trusts you, therefore he trusts me.”

  Joseph nodded. “He was an exemplary soldier. But, unfortunately had a commanding officer who was scared of individuals with more intelligence. I need him in my little world, and I believe he would benefit you at times. Am I wrong?”

  Kruger shook his head. “No, you’re not wrong. Once I have the files from JR’s transgression into P&G’s server, I can go to the US attorney general and get a subpoena. Then I can bring in CPAs that carry guns. I’m kind of looking forward to that. It should be fun.”

  Joseph grew quiet. He stared out the passenger window for a moment then turned back to Kruger. “My biggest concern is there may already be someone else looking for him.”

  “You told me you found him after I mentioned his old name the other night. Are you starting to lie to me after all these years?”

  Joseph shook his head. “No, I’m not lying to you. The point is, regardless of how careful JR has been, there are always trails. The more people looking for you, the more chances those mistakes will be found and acted upon.”

  Kruger nodd
ed. He had the same concern.

  ***

  JR sat on a sofa in his living room, Mia sitting next to him holding his hand.

  Kruger sat across from him with a small digital recorder, and Joseph stood next to the fireplace. Kruger turned on the recorder and said, “It is September twenty-second, eight-thirty p.m., Springfield, Missouri. This is the testimony of the fugitive from an incident in New York City on February tenth of this year.” He stopped the machine. “Are you ready?”

  JR nodded. Kruger turned the recorder back on and leaned back in his chair.

  Part 3

  Springfield, MO

  JR looked at Mia, took a deep breath, and said, “I met Tony Chien and Steve Wilson in college. We were all computer nerds. Tony and Steve wrote code and I debugged it. After college, Tony had the big idea, he asked Steve and I to join him. Those first few years, we’d work till two or three in the morning, crash, and start all over again at nine or ten the next morning. We had a blast.

  “After our first program was released, Tony stopped programing and became our one-man sales department. Within six months, we had twenty people working for us. Steve was the genius behind all of the different products, and I was the guy who kept the programs working. We made a good team.

  “About a year after we started, Tony had a meeting in Albany and bragged about me to some New York state senator. Not long after the meeting, I was asked to consult on the redesign of the state’s revenue and licensing software. That’s another story, I’ll get into later.”

  Kruger said, “Is that how you were able to delete your driver’s license file?”

  JR nodded. “I’ll explain it later, but yes, it was.” JR paused for a second and said, “Everything went great for the next nine and a half years. We grew to about a hundred employees. Tony was a great individual to work for and with. He paid well and shared the profits with his people. We all had shares in the company. Since I had chosen not to get into management, the number of shares I owned didn’t equal Tony’s or Steve’s.

  “One day, Tony gathered ten of the individuals who had been with the company the longest, and had a meeting. Tony owned the majority of the stock and generally made most of the decisions. He would consult with Steve and a few others, but generally he made most himself. After he closed the door, he took a bottle of champagne from a small refrigerator and passed out plastic cups. He poured us all a small glass of the wine and said, ‘We have just made the big time. P&G Global has agreed to invest in our company.’ Steve shook his head and said, ‘Why are we celebrating? I’ve heard about them. They’ll destroy this company.’

  “Tony shook his head and said, ‘I have it in writing. They plan to leave current management in place and provide needed equity for our next expansion.’

  JR stopped and took a sip of water. He continued, “It was probably thirty days after our little meeting when we were all called into the company’s food court for a meeting. Did I mention how well Tony took care of his team? The food court was incredible. He contracted with ten local restaurants to operate satellite units in our building. We had everything: Italian, Tai, Chinese, pub food, vegan, and pizza. You name it, it was there. When I walked into the court that day, I kind of suspected something was amiss; all of the restaurants were closed. They never closed; we had people working all hours. Anyway, everybody was either sitting or standing around talking. We all grew silent when three guys in dark, expensive suits walked into the room. Tony was with them, but he wasn’t wearing a suit. Everyone grew quiet. One of the suits was Abel Plymel. He walked up to a microphone and asked for everyone’s attention. After the room was totally quiet, he said, ‘Good morning. My name is Abel Plymel, one of the principals for P&G Global. We would like to welcome all of you this morning to our first meeting under the new ownership group of CWZ Software’.

  “Plymel smiled and looked around the room. He continued, ‘As most of you know, P&G Global purchased a majority of CWZ’s outstanding shares thirty days ago.’ After he said this, a murmur rose from the crowd. I looked at Steve Wilson, who was standing about five feet from me. His face lost all of its color and he had to steady himself by leaning against a table. Plymel droned on.

  “This was when I looked at Tony. He was looking down at the floor as Plymel spoke. There was no smile on his face, just the look of a man whose soul had been ripped away. The only thing I could determine was that something had gone wrong when Tony signed the final papers.

  “Plymel looked back at Tony and said, ‘I want to thank Tony Chien for his leadership at CWZ Software since its founding. Tony will be promoted to a position on the board of P&G Global. This will be effective immediately. He will also be consulting on new products for CWZ.’ Plymel started clapping and the room followed his lead. Tony managed a weak smile and waved to all of us.

  “Plymel wasn’t through with all of the good news. He continued filling us in on all of the changes. He said, ‘Over the course of the next thirty days, we will be reviewing processes and strategies. We do know there are a lot of redundancies in the executive ranks. We will be making changes where it is deemed necessary. However, all of you out there are doing a magnificent job. We need you to keep doing what you do best.’

  “With that statement, Plymel walked out of the room. He was followed by the other suits and Tony Chien. Funny thing, I never saw Tony again after that meeting. Several weeks later, it was announced that Tony had elected to resign from the board of directors and spend more time with his family. When I heard that, I laughed. Tony had been forced out, plain and simple. A week after that, Steve Wilson was gone. That was when I knew I needed to do something else.

  “Two months after the gathering in the cafeteria, I was called to a meeting in the conference room next to the director of HR’s office. By the way, she had been replaced a week before. There were three individuals sitting side by side on the opposite side of the conference table from where I had entered. I had never seen any of them before. The man in the middle wore a dark suit, was probably early fifties, bald, except for a strip of gray hair circling his head, and his expression was grim. He didn’t smile or look at me. Two women sat on either side of him, their expressions were even grimmer. I don’t remember much about them, except one was older than the man and the other was younger. There was a large cardboard file box sitting on the right of the older woman. She asked my name and I told her. She reached into the box and pulled out a file and handed it to the man. He motioned for me to sit across from them and I said, ‘No thanks, I’ll stand.’ He stared at me and then referred to my file.

  “He said, ‘It has come to the attention of upper management that your position within the company does not produce revenue or develop new products. Is this correct?’ I had already made the decision to leave, so I wasn’t in a very good mood. I said, ‘Yes, you’re right. I don’t sell nor do I develop. I just keep the programs we produce from screwing up and getting this company sued.’ I leaned over the table and got in the man’s face. ‘By the way, who the hell are you?’”

  JR chuckled, shook his head, and looked at Kruger. “I knew why I was there. The rumor mill was working overtime. I was getting fired, along with fifteen other people.” He took another sip of water and continued, “The man stared at me like I was an infectious disease. He stammered and said, ‘I’m an outside HR consultant. Our names are not important. Now, if you will sit down, I will go over your options within the company.’

  “I laughed at him and said, ‘What options? The midnight shift in Duluth?’ Baldy shook his head. ‘No, the position we are offering is in Atlanta.’ I looked at him, he didn’t get it. He really, truly didn’t get it. I decided I wasn’t going to play his game. So I said, ‘Hey Baldy, I’ve been here since the company started. I don’t need any shit from you or your two bimbos. Package me out and I’ll get the hell out of here.’”

  JR chuckled again. “The silence was deafening. All three stared at me with their mouths open. Baldy recovered first. He said, ‘Well, I can see
you want to be difficult. You will receive one week of salary for each complete year you’ve been with CWZ. You also have four weeks of vacation built up, which will be paid first. Do you have any questions?’

  “I said, ‘Nope,’ and walked to the door. As I was opening the door, I looked back. They were already putting my file away and getting the next victim’s out. A security guard met me at the door, and I was immediately escorted out of the building.”

  Kruger turned off the recorder, stood, and stretched. “That sounded pretty impersonal.”

  JR nodded. “It was. They were just hired guns. They didn’t know us, nor did they care. Some of the employees at CWZ had given everything they had for ten hard years. Except for their stock, all they got at the end was a week’s salary for each year they worked. The smart ones sold their stock immediately. They came out okay. The ones that didn’t—well, let’s say they got screwed a second time when the stock crashed.” JR smiled. He got up and went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

  They took a fifteen-minute break and then sat back down for JR to continue his narrative. Kruger turned the recorder back on, and JR picked up where he had left off. “What we didn’t know at the time was that Tony had sold P&G Global ninety percent of his personal shares. What Tony didn’t know was that Plymel had been buying publically traded shares for six months. By the time the sale closed, P&G owned fifty-two percent of all available stock. They had outmaneuvered Tony, and he lost his company. I haven’t talked to Tony since. He never returned my calls.

  “Over the next six months, CWZ was hammered by lawsuits and their flagship software program lost market share. P&G Global moved customer service to India and outsourced the programing. Within a year of buying the company, they had dismantled it and made their initial investment back plus a huge profit. From what I found in Plymel’s computer files, they made a profit of over forty-million dollars by dismantling CWZ.