“How do you know all this?” Michelle had asked.
Rachel had answered that question for her. “You haven’t met him yet, but one of our members got as far as you did. This happened before he became a member of the Coalition. It’s what caused him to seek us out. What Alan is describing to you almost happened to him.”
“He ran,” Alan said. “He knew things weren’t right, and he ran. They chased after him and he was lucky enough—smart enough, I should say—to have rented his own vehicle. He drove away before he could be subdued, and he quit his job that day and went underground. Corporate Financial’s been looking for him for over five years now.”
That was a suitable explanation, but the thought of allowing herself to be hypnotized scared her even more. Donald assured her that wasn’t going to happen. “You have to allow whoever is attempting to put you under to actually do it,” he said, rubbing her shoulders. “Or at least fool them into thinking you’re going under. Most people will do everything they’re told when a therapist is putting them under a light trance. All you have to do is pretend, fake them out.”
“You’ve done a great job at that so far,” Alan had said.
Hearing that made her feel better, but it still bothered her that they wanted her to plant explosive devices at the building. She voiced her concern. Donald frowned. “It bothers me too, honey, but it’s the only way. I know it sounds heartless but—”
“I find it hard to believe that everybody at this building is going to be like Dennis Harrington and Alma Smith!” Michelle had said.
“I don’t know if they are,” Alan said. “And I won’t lie to you. Innocent people probably will get hurt or killed. But tomorrow Project Reign will start and the number of people who will be enslaved, the number of people whose lives will be destroyed, the number of children who will become orphans, will outnumber that.”
This had been the first time Michelle heard about Project Reign, and Rachel Drummond brought her up to speed. “They plan on forcing people to work as slaves,” she said. “And they’ll be able to do it thanks to the laws that are currently being pushed through Congress that eliminate safety nets for employees working for large corporations. Law enforcement agencies will be powerless to stop it. There’s going to be chaos for much of next week.”
“And blowing up the building will stop it?” Michelle asked.
“If the data center and executive offices are destroyed, yes,” Alan said, fixing Michelle with a hopeful gaze. “Then we have a chance.”
Michelle thought about this now as Sam Greenberg piloted the Lexus toward the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. So far everything had gone exactly as Alan said it would. She’d gone to the meeting this morning at the hotel and was only there for thirty-five minutes when Gary Lawrence came in and asked her to step outside. He’d told her that the board of directors had decided to promote Michelle to the position of Senior Account Executive. Michelle had responded enthusiastically. Gary smiled at her response and said that a replacement for her spot as a consultant was already in town and would take her place for the Red Rose project. In the meantime, Corporate Financial wanted to fly her out to California immediately to meet with the top brass and executives. Could she fly out today? Of course, she’d said. And with that Gary had called Sam on his cell phone, spoke a few words, than hung up. “We have a flight that should have us there by noon.”
She’d followed Alan’s instructions to the letter. She’d made sure the devices Jay gave her were stowed carefully away in her baggage and, as she waited with Gary Lawrence at her departure gate, she paid attention to the news reports; on the surface things seemed normal. There was a report of a disturbance downtown at one of the large buildings that housed several brokerage firms, but otherwise everything seemed fine. Michelle kept a stoical face and boarded the plane with Gary when her flight was called.
And now she was in the back of the Lexus, Sam Greenberg driving, Gary sitting in the backseat next to her, as they headed to Corporate Financial Headquarters.
They had made small talk on the drive out of Berkley, and now as they passed the outskirts of the city a cell phone rang. Sam answered it, listened, smiled. When he hung up he looked at Michelle in the rearview mirror. “That was Bill Rutherford, our CFO. Bill reports that today’s productivity report is the largest he’s ever seen. We’re up sixty percent.”
“That’s good news,” Gary said.
“That’s amazing,” Michelle said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the week goes now that Project Reign is in place.”
“Did Mr. Lawrence tell you a little about that or did you read it in today’s Journal?”
“Both.” Gary had summarized it for her on the flight and Michelle had responded favorably, saying she was interested in being a part of the project. Another score for her.
“How do you feel about being part of Phase Two?” Sam asked.
“Very good,” Michelle said, slipping into the role of business so naturally. “It’s been my goal since coming on board to help Corporate Financial achieve its financial and business goals. Playing a part in this, helping lead the effort, is something I very much want to be a part of. I want to help move the company forward, and when Gary told me more about Project Reign I realized I wanted to be a part of this initiative.”
“You demonstrated your skills and dedication last week during the Building Products Project,” Sam said, pausing every once in a while to glance at her. “You led that effort well, and that initiative is an important part of Project Reign. You did that much to my satisfaction. Being able to fly out to Chicago was another demonstration of your willingness to serve the company. I was confident that once you learned about Project Reign, you would be interested in being a part of it. I saw that when I first interviewed you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Michelle said, looking ahead of her at the highway.
“I think you’ll enjoy headquarters,” Sam said. “It’s very beautiful out here. The building is very modern, very state-of-the-art. We can get you a nice condo, set you up real nice.”
“I would like that.”
“Relocation would be okay with you?”
“I’m willing to live wherever the company needs me,” Michelle said.
“We can talk about that tonight over dinner,” Sam said. He met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “How does that sound? Gary? Dinner at Brannigan’s tonight?”
“Sounds fine to me,” Gary said.
“I’ve let a couple of the executives know that we’re probably going out to dinner tonight,” Sam said. They were in open country now, traveling up a winding road into the mountains. “Bruce Wellhorn and Robert Sack, Gladys Sterling, a few others.” His eyes met Michelle’s again. “They all want to meet you.”
“I want to meet them,” Michelle said, meeting Sam’s eyes. “I’m looking forward to talking business with them and learning as much as I can about my new role.”