“Mercedes? How new?” Mason asked. “That could be a factor.”
“A year old,” Jeremy replied. “But before that he had another Mercedes, and before that, another. It’s more of a lifestyle choice than a red flag, I would say.”
“I didn’t like this guy,” Alex said. “He’s an arrogant ass. His attitude burns like acid. He seems to be engulfed in a cloud of constantly frustrated superiority, as if someone had done him wrong somehow, and that someone is everyone. This man is angry at the entire world. It could be him. We need financials, more data to confirm.”
“His boss said that he was passed over for promotion a number of times for precisely this reason — his arrogance and superiority, which is not conducive to good team cohesion,” Mason reported. “They’ve also said he tends to be very harsh on his subordinates, to the point where there were concerns with potential lawsuits from psychologically abused employees. Several people transferred out of his team, and two quit, leaving detailed information about his abrasive style in their exit interviews. On the bright side though, he holds several patents of significant value,” he added.
“Makes you wonder why he is leading a team instead of being a researcher,” Alex said.
“Apparently he wants to grow into leadership; his boss was concerned with completely demotivating him by taking his team away, considering McLeod’s potential for invention.”
“So they sacrifice some people knowingly, just so this guy can invent more stuff?” Jeremy said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“That stuff is what keeps this country safe, Agent Weber,” Mason replied coldly. “That stuff can make a difference during wartime, a difference we can’t afford to lose. It might not be an ideal situation, I agree, but managing talent of this man’s caliber is not an easy job. Inventors, scientists, men like McLeod are desperately needed, and they’re not only scarce, but also very fragile. We all have our battles, Agent Weber, so before you pass judgment on Walcott Global’s management practices, I’d like to remind you what’s at stake.”
Jeremy’s face reddened.
“Here’s an interesting fact for you, Jeremy,” Alex said, trying to defuse the tension in the air, “Quentin Hadden reports to Bob McLeod.”
“Let’s look at him next,” Jeremy said, opening a new file. “Masters, electrical engineering, another Ivy League, this one went to Cornell’s College of Engineering on a scholarship. He’s one of those people who can read extremely fast. Very comfortable alone, there was note from his school counselor in his file, stating that he shows signs of sociophobia, and recommended several actions to rehabilitate and integrate him. A later note stated that everything they tried had failed; that the boy just didn’t want to be around people. A couple of items on his record showed that he responded with extreme aggression toward bullies, but he never started the fights, just defended himself. What else… drives a three-year-old Acura MDX and doesn’t travel,” Jeremy ended his briefing and closed Quentin’s file.
“I don’t have much,” Mason said, “considering he reports to Bob McLeod. I couldn’t ask him. We do have on his record that he complained twice to Human Resources that McLeod is being unreasonable and abusive.”
“Yeah, we already know he was right on that one,” Jeremy commented.
“And he’s also one of our top inventors,” Mason added. “He holds several patents under his name, a couple of which are highly valuable and strategic, and have been filed under a code instead of the description, to protect the secrecy of the invention.”
“I didn’t know that was even possible,” Alex said. “Again, it matches what I observed in the past few days. Quentin is withdrawn, keeps to himself, he barely said a word. When he does speak, he averts his eyes and wants the interaction to be over soon. And you know what else I’m thinking?”
“What?” Jeremy asked, while Mason looked at her with curiosity.
“I think it must be awful for a man like Quentin to put up with a Bob McLeod in a position of power, especially thinking how Quentin dealt with his bullies in school. I’m thinking our Mr. Quentin Hadden is a time bomb, waiting to explode.”
“I agree,” Mason said. “After we finish this investigation I will make sure Human Resources becomes aware of what’s going on.”
“The last one is Vernon Blackburn,” Jeremy said. “Another PhD, married, no kids, and quite the playboy.”
Alex chuckled.
“What’s the matter?” Jeremy asked.
“That’s an understatement,” she replied. “The man is constantly hunting, flirting, scouting, spreading his pheromones. I feel sorry for his wife.”
“Our people found out their marriage is in trouble. His wife walked out on him recently, and he’s been trying to get her back.”
“That’s not exactly what he was doing last Friday on the ship,” Alex replied caustically, “and he wasn’t working much, either.”
“He also likes a drink or two after work. He drives a Jeep Grand Cherokee. No recent foreign travel. Did you notice anything else noteworthy?”
“No,” Alex replied. “Just philandering and jumpiness. He did seem very jumpy, but quick to recover and start flirting with just about any female who could fog a mirror.”
“I have feedback from two supervisors, his current and former. Both very happy with his performance, although both had to talk to him about office flirting. No one has complained about him though; apparently women appreciate his attention; he has a certain… charm,” Mason ended his briefing, a little uncomfortable.
“That it?” Alex asked. “That’s all we have so far?”
“Yes,” Jeremy replied. “As soon as the warrants come in, we’ll get financials, phone records, and data records. Oh, and forgot to say, we have all five under surveillance, round the clock, since we took over last week.”
“Any movement?” Mason asked.
“Not yet, but one of them will move soon. They always do.”
“Until then?” Alex pressed on.
“We’ll keep digging,” Jeremy said.
“I’m afraid the documents might have already been transferred. What if we’re too late by the time the warrants come in? We need to stop the info leak before it leaves the country.”
“Thanks for stating the obvious, Ms. Hoffmann, very valuable input,” Jeremy said, frustration getting the best of him.
“We know that, Ms. Hoffmann,” Mason intervened. “We’re all painfully aware of the consequences and the loss we will incur if that document leaves the country. Yet there’s only so much we can do. We have to wait for the warrants.”
“Ahh… the hell with it,” she snapped. “We need that info now. We need to find out who changed their behavior lately, even a tiny little bit. No one bought a new car yet, but what else changed in their lives?”
“What are you saying?” Jeremy asked.
“What would you do if you recently got into some cash, the type you can’t deposit in your bank account?”
“I… I’d start using it, I guess.”
“On what?” she insisted.
“On everything… groceries, gas, restaurants.”
“And how would we see that?”