Executive: A Thriller Read online

  EXECUTIVE

  A Novel

  Leslie Wolfe

  Dedication

  For my husband, for everything he does.

  ...1

  ...Thursday, March 25, 9:42AM

  ...Corporate Park Building, Third Floor

  ...Irvine, California

  "I checked her out, and everything is just as expected." Steve pushed a thin file over the large desk, toward his boss. The man took it and flipped carefully through the pages, mumbling his agreement to the various things he was reading.

  "Is she available yet?"

  "No, sir, waiting for your approval."

  The man gave the file and the photo attached to it another thoughtful look.

  "Do you think she's ready?"

  "No, sir," Steve answered. "But she could be, with a little bit of time and effort."

  "She's so young," the man said, "so young. I hope we're right about this."

  "She's not any younger than I was when I met you," Steve replied.

  "True."

  The man stood up and paced the floor for a few minutes, looking out the windows of his office. The sun was climbing in the sky, inundating their world with the crisp morning light. Everything would turn out all right.

  "OK, please proceed."

  Steve could hear the smile in his voice.

  ...2

  ...Friday, April 2, 11:13AM

  ...Traveling Tech Corporate Offices

  ...San Diego, California

  "I can't do that. We're talking about one of the best tech support analysts I have ever had." George Auster's chubby face was sweating heavily, while trying to persuade his visitor.

  His morning was turning into a nightmare that he could not begin to comprehend. The man standing in front of him was not willing to negotiate. This man had stepped through the door, put a picture on his desk, and looked him straight in the eye.

  "She has to go. You have 48 hours. Or you lose everything."

  He had no choice.

  ...3

  ...Saturday, April 10, 6:22PM

  ...Ridgeview Apartments

  ...San Diego, California

  Your next opportunity awaits.

  "I definitely hope so," Alex mumbled, waiting for a new search page to load, while staring at the promising slogan of yet another job board.

  With little patience for what she was doing, and in desperate need of a job, Alex was browsing page after page of countless job postings, reading ads, and looking for possible fits. With rent due in just two weeks' time and no money left in the bank, she was considering a variety of jobs, spanning from boring-to-death customer service to marketing, but not ignoring any other available options. It was no longer the issue of making the right career choice; it was about survival and paying the bills.

  At 29, she was living alone in a small two-bedroom apartment that looked like a war zone. Not preoccupied by the appearance of her home, she had furnished the apartment with a bizarre selection of items, all serving the purpose of functionality. She had focused on what she needed at particular stages in her life, with no consideration given to furniture styles or colors.

  Her desk was huge, quite old, and made of solid wood. It had two sets of drawers, one on each side. Not one square inch of the desk's surface was visible, as it was covered with bills, handwritten notes, and office equipment. Her computer took most of the available space, together with a modem, two printers, a scanner, and a phone, all connected by numerous intertwined wires.

  The past few days had been carbon copies of one another— search after search, application after application. She had no choice but to keep going.

  ...4

  ...Friday, April 16, 8:40AM

  ...Corporate Park Building, Third Floor

  ...Irvine, California

  "She's available and running out of money."

  "Good. Place the ad in a couple of days. Let me know the minute she sees it."

  ...5

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 5:17PM

  ...Ridgeview Apartments

  ...San Diego, California

  Her chair looked as if it had been taken from a high-end, downtown office setting—black, massive, and all leather, in total contrast to the rest of the room. Leaning comfortably back in it, Alex was reviewing job posting after job posting, and applying to whatever would have had even the slightest chance of landing her an interview. Although she was quickly going through the ads, one caught her attention.

  The Agency is looking for highly motivated, independent individual, possessing a variety of business skills and an adventurous spirit. Please email résumé.

  "That's weird. The Agency? What kind of name is that?" Alex said out loud, breaking the silence. That had to be just another recruiter. The email address was a Yahoo account, and, without giving it much thought, she submitted her résumé and moved to the next ad.

  Seconds later, a familiar sound let her know that she had new email. One look at the sender's name and she opened it right away.

  From: The Agency

  Subject: Received Application

  Thank you for your application.

  In order to perform an assessment of your skills, please click on the link below and complete the form. Please note that this process will take at least an hour of your time. Please give truthful answers to all questions, and indicate all the skills you possess. We will carefully review your online application. If selected to move forward in this recruiting process, we will be in contact with you.

  "Oh, no, not another form," Alex cried. Most online recruiting forms had proven to be nothing but wasted time, without any benefit for her. Spending an average of 15 minutes on each online application form—creating profiles, usernames, and passwords for a variety of companies—was like shooting herself in the foot. She needed to spend less than one minute on each ad, because of the high volume of ads she had to browse every day. "And this has to be way worse, they say it takes at least a full hour," she complained, but there was no one there to hear her. "You have got to be kidding me . . ." Continuing to grumble, she clicked on the link indicated in the email. A browser page opened up.

  Thank you for giving The Agency an hour of your time, the message read.

  "Oh, we're not there yet, pal. I've only given you 15 seconds so far," Alex replied to the written text, as she continued reading.

  Please grab a cup of coffee, and let's proceed.

  "OK." Smiling at the thought of having a conversation with an online recruiting form, Alex rose and went into the kitchen. Seconds later, she came back to her black leather chair, carrying a large, steaming cup of coffee. "Got it, what else do you want from me?" She clicked next.

  If you promise total honesty, I promise a recruiting process without any bullshit, the following page stated.

  "Oh, that's fresh. That's totally new," Alex laughed. In an environment in which getting a job depended on how well you replied to some well-known questions by giving some well-known answers, the whole interviewing process seemed to her like a bad joke, told repeatedly. She was amazed at how most people refused to deal with intelligent, innovative people, preferring instead a standard, already-know-the-answer person, showing little initiative and absolutely no spark.

  An old college buddy of hers was currently working as a human resources specialist for a big bank. She had taught Alex a few tricks and explained that recruiters look for specific indicators, such as no turnover of jobs without spending at least two years in the same company, no "empty time" between jobs, and no varied experience—the applicant should only reflect experience in the specific field of the job applied for. Therefore, if Alex wanted to apply for a customer-service position, she had a better chance to get that interview by listing only customer-serv
ice experience. Thanks to Leah, and to her own intuition, she was easily getting interview invitations.

  With her curiosity at a peak level, she clicked next again.

  Now that I have your full attention, let's start. Please select all options applicable to you.

  The first page was the most bizarre selection ever put together. There was an endless list of skills and questions, grouped by categories. Next to each entry, there was a small check box, positioned next to an available option. By clicking in the box, a check mark would appear, indicating the respective statement was applicable or true. On the upper right corner of the Web page, a progress bar displayed that this was the first page out of 26.

  "One hour? I might be fast, but I think you guys are trying to hire Superman." She took a long sip of coffee and started clicking.

  ...6

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 5:19PM

  ...Corporate Park Building, Third Floor

  ...Irvine, California

  "She's online now, sir."

  "I'll be right there."

  ...7

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 5:29PM

  ...Ridgeview Apartments

  ...San Diego, California

  The first category was listed under the title "About Yourself." Alex had options for everything that could describe her, such as height, build, hair color, and style. To her surprise, there were also boxes to check about age, gender, place of birth, race, and other questions considered illegal under current labor laws. She dutifully completed each one.

  The form continued with a questionnaire meant to assess the IQ level of the candidate. Although dealing with the job market quite often, Alex had almost never run into intelligence testing. One thing was certain: this was no ordinary application form, and Alex had a growing desire to meet the people behind this original selection process. Suddenly, she found herself wondering what kind of job would require such a detailed and unique application.

  ...8

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 5:40PM

  ...CentroTech Resources Corporate Offices

  ...San Diego, California

  "What?" The HR director could not understand. "Are you telling me I cannot hire this person? Why? Who are you?" She was getting frustrated, and her voice was showing it.

  The man in front of her, without saying a word, slowly pulled a wallet from his pocket, opened it, and put it in front of the director's bewildered eyes. She recognized a Federal Bureau of Investigation badge. Her voice dropped to a whisper and her head slowly nodded in compliance.

  "As you wish."

  ...9

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 6:42PM

  ...Ridgeview Apartments

  ...San Diego, California

  New category: Language Skills. This time, she had to type the words herself.

  Please indicate the languages you speak fluently.

  English, Italian, German.

  Please indicate the languages in which you can sustain a minimal conversation.

  Spanish, French.

  Please indicate the languages you can understand or speak a minimum of 15 words or short phrases.

  Weird, Alex thought. She typed: Russian, Polish, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic.

  Please indicate the countries to which you have traveled.

  "Are they recruiting for the CIA? Is that it? The Agency? Who are these people?" Her own voice, breaking the silence in her apartment, startled her.

  Another page, a new category: Computer Skills. Another endless list of selectable options.

  ...10

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 7:05PM Local Time (GMT +4:30 hours)

  ...Combat Logistics Patrol, Royal Canadian Regiment

  ...15 kilometers southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan

  "Hey, Lenny, got a light, buddy?" Ryan's dirty hand, holding an unlit cigarette, appeared first, followed by the rest of his body, as he was coming around the front of the Nyala. The massive armored personnel carrier, rigged with multiple antennae and a remote weapons station, was releasing six dust-covered, sweaty Canadian armed forces.

  "And you call yourself a smoker, eh?" Lenny said, extending his Zippo. "Fuck, man, you never have a light on you, like, never!" He lit Ryan's cigarette, then extracted one for himself, lit it, and took a deep breath of smoke mixed with the dry dust of the Afghan desert. "Ahhh . . . it feels good . . ." Lenny walked to the edge of the road, in the shade of the Nyala, stretching his legs. "What would ya' do without me, huh? Quit? What's it gonna take to get a stubborn Newfie like you to carry his own lighter, huh?"

  "Gimme yours, and I'll carry it for ya', eh?"

  "You better pray this baby doesn't just go AWOL on me one day," Lenny said, clutching his fingers around the engraved Zippo, "'cause it's you whose rotting corpse they'll end up finding in a ditch, got it?" Lenny's thumb was slowly going over the engraving on his lighter, feeling the words etched into the metal: To Leonard, with all my love. From Dad.

  "Got a light, eh, Lenny?" A third soldier was extending an unlit cigarette, requesting service with a wicked smile on his face. Lenny obliged with a deep sigh.

  "I don't get it, just don't. What the fuck is wrong with y'all? What would y'all do without me, huh? Good thing I don't have to wipe your lame asses too." Lenny walked away from the road, toward a pile of boulders, not too far out. Farther away from the boulders, maybe half a klick or so, young herders were watching over sheep. They had all turned to look at the convoy. The wind was carrying the stinking smell of sheep, mixing it with the omnipresent, fine desert dust.

  "Where you headin', man? You wouldn't be going to take a leak, would 'ya? Do you need my presence? Do you need help with that? Wanna show it to the natives?" Ryan asked, bombarding Lenny with his questions—each question raising more laughter from the rest of the men.

  "Ah, fuck off, will ya'll? I can water this desert on my own, thank you very much." Lenny waved a dismissing hand right before stopping at boulders, his back toward the road.

  Friendly advice kept pouring in, mixed with roars of laughter. "Don't forget to shake it. That's right. Good boy."

  In response, Lenny's right fist rose above his head in a threatening motion. Then the fist continued its journey, raising the middle finger, combined with an upward motion. Unabated, the comments continued, "You're holding it with your left? That's not right—"

  A shearing sound interrupted everyone and brought instant silence among the group. Lenny turned, half-zipped, crouching to the ground. "What the fuck?"

  A fully armed unmanned combat aerial vehicle, UCAV, was approaching from the south. "Whose is it?" Lenny yelled.

  "American. We're fine, there's no action scheduled here today."

  "I hate these UCAVs; they scare the living shit out of me," Ryan said, serious now. "With a pilot, you can expect some judgment; but with a machine, you never know."

  "Newfie chicken, who would have guessed? They're safe, man, safer than the planes. There are pilots flying them drones, just like they do real planes, only they fly them like toy cars, with remote controls." Jimmy, otherwise quiet, was the group's official geek, always ready to share his knowledge of anything to do with technology.

  "Still hate the goddamn things, man," Ryan continued. "Objects were not meant to fly like that and blow things up. Jesus, what the hell?"

  "But the robot we send into the mine field, you don't mind, do you? It's just like that, you idiot. It's just a flying robot, with a remote control, so pilots don't get killed or captured. You're too much of an idiot for me to keep explaining shit as simple as that." Jimmy waved away Ryan's ignorant concern.

  However, no one really felt safe. The UCAV changed its heading and started descending, approaching them. The men were able to distinguish the onboard sensor array cameras, rotating in search for targets.

  "Take cover!"

  The yell could have come from anyone. A couple of men crawled under the Nyala, whose blast-resistant belly had the potential to provide some protection from air strikes. Lenny was still crouching by the boulders, weighing h
is chances to make it back to the vehicle.

  From under the Nyala, they could hear the captain's voice. "Bravo One, Bravo One, this is Charlie Three, over. Bravo One, Bravo One, this is Charlie Three. Come in, damn it!"

  The UCAV took a position and launched a Hellfire missile, aimed at the group of sheepherders. The explosion followed shortly, among the men's screams.

  "Charlie Three, this is Bravo One, go ahead."

  Lenny crouched tighter, getting closer to the ground. "Oh, God . . ."

  "Bravo One, we're taking fire from an American drone, over."

  The UCAV slowly circled the area, scanning for more movement and heat signatures. It found a target. Taking position on the new object, it launched another Hellfire.

  Lenny's blood sprayed the Nyala's right front tire. His engraved lighter rolled into the ditch, reflecting the sunlight.

  The UCAV was scanning again for new targets. It had two more missiles left.

  ...11

  ...Tuesday, April 20, 9:40PM

  ...Ridgeview Apartments

  ...San Diego, California

  Page 26 of the recruiting form was loading on the screen. This last page began with a paragraph of instructions.

  Please read each question carefully, and reply truthfully. There are no wrong answers in this section.

  The first question came as a shock.

  Would you consider doing these things in order to reach your goal?

  Alex replied out loud, "Well, depends on the damn goal, now, doesn't it?"