Walkabout

"Ok. Tom, what do you want to do?"

"First off I need you to understand what Marsha's lawyers are doing. You should probably call them and coordinate. Maybe you can get me included in suing Adelicus. You know, join in the law suit with Marsha. Also, understand how she's going after Gail, maybe we can do the same from me against William. In other words I need you to figure out what my legal options are so we can choose a course of action."

"I can started on that right away. I'll put in a call to Chicago lawyers and see if they can meet with me tomorrow. It's too late for that today. In the meantime I can review all this and understand the scope. Call me tomorrow around lunch time and we can take it from there. What a mess!"

As they stood on the sidewalk outside of Barbara's office, "I think that's quite enough action for one day Marsha. I'm going back to my office and catch up on some work and let all this new information simmer."

"I think I'm going to get a drink at the hotel bar and have a nap. Maybe I'll even take in a show this evening. I'll come by your offices again tomorrow and we can plan our next move. Try to have a good rest of your day Tom."

Tom waved as he walked away, already lost in thought. Poor man thought Marsha.

####

Julian Aster had been Andrew' best friend growing up. In those days Tom and Gail had a little starter home in a clean decent neighborhood on the Peninsula. But as always there was one family that had struggles. Julian's father couldn't keep a job, and his mom's waitress job didn't bring in very much.

But they did manage to raise a funny, bright little boy - Julian. Andrew and Julian were inseparable, running adventures all over the neighborhood and just generally being little scamps. They walked to school together, were in each other's houses all the time (although Julian preferred the Baker house to his own dour home). They were two peas in a pod.

The trouble started when the boys got to high school, Julian starting hanging out with the 'wrong crowd'. It kept getting progressively worse until senior year. Perhaps the lack of a good father figure finally had its effect. Andrew was off to college back East; Julian didn't know what he was going to do. The two young men didn't hang around each other much, but they still did get together occasionally. Regardless, their childhood bond remained strong. Lucky for the both of them as it turned out.

It was during Andrew' first holiday home from college that the 'incident' happened. Andrew and some friends had gone out and were exiting someplace in the Mission district at closing time. Just as they got to their car they were stopped by two young men with guns who demanded all their money. One of those men was Julian, who froze when he saw Andrew's face.

"Shit, Steve. We can't rob these guys, that's my buddy Andrew."

"I don't care if it's the queen of fucking England. All right you guys, hand over the cash. Pronto!"

"But Steve!"

That's as far as they got because as luck would have it, two on-foot patrolmen rounded the corner at that moment and they reacted instantly to seeing the guns. Julian and his accomplice didn't have any time to put up a fight and within minutes were cuffed and sitting on the curb as a backup cruiser arrived, blue lights flashing for all to see.

The patrolmen got Andrew and his companions ID's and statements in short order. The two cuffed young men were put in the back of the cruiser and whisked away. It all took less than twenty minutes.

But those few minutes cost Julian five years of his life. He narrowly avoided a harsher penalty because they never actually took the wallets. Although he had a gun, Julian's wasn't even loaded. Add to that no prior convictions and he got a relatively light sentence. His accomplice Steve's gun was loaded and he had priors; he got twelve years and a felony conviction.

Andrew asked his dad to do what he could for Julian, which wasn't much. He did show up to court and volunteered to speak on Julian's behalf, but the public defender never called him. Five years was a serious stretch, but the judge seemed to be on Julian's side. He even said a few words of encouragement to him at the sentencing.

During those five years Tom visited Julian every month. He tried to be as encouraging as he could; advising Julian to take advantage of whatever educational programs the prison's Rehab Center had to offer. Eventually Julian did, and earned an AA degree in Computer Science. The example of the elder Baker (who's IT Security firm was doing well by then) was finally having a positive effect.

And so it was that Tom Baker was standing next to Julian's mother when he was released (Mr. Aster was no longer in the picture). After Julian was done crushing his mother in a long overdue hug he held out his hand to Tom. Who promptly slapped it aside and grabbed Julian in a bear hug of his own.

"Julian! Man you are all skin and bones. I guess you'll need to let your mom fatten you up a bit."

"Pops, it means a lot for you to be here today. I can't thank you enough for helping keep me sane while I was inside."

"Well, now that you mention it there is something you can do for me. Next Monday you can show up at my office and we can talk about how to put that AA degree to good use."

"Pops! Do you mean it? You'd give me a job!?"

"Of course we'll have to start you off cleaning keyboards and sweeping up any bytes that fall out of the 'puters. But I'm sure we can find something appropriate for your meager skills."

It was like some Hallmark movie, Julian turned his life around. He applied himself diligently at whatever he was tasked with. As the years rolled along he worked his way up to Lead and eventually managing the whole service department at Baker & Co. Somewhere during all this Shirley came into the picture and let Julian chase her until she caught him ;) And when Juliette came into his life, Julian's life was complete. He and Shirley had been talking about a little brother for Jules.

And so it was that late Monday around six at the Pub just down the street from the Baker & Co. office, "Hi Julian, thanks for meeting me on such short notice."

"Anything for you Pops. I take it this is kinda important. I don't normally get out on a Monday nite for a beer. Especially with the boss. What gives?"

"Julian I need your help. I'm calling in your marker. You always said all I had to do was ask, we'll tonight I'm asking."

Julian took a long sip of his beer. "Yup, I said it and I meant it. How many bodies do we need to bury?... Oh shit, by the look on your face you're serious. I mean, I thought someday you'd need something from me. But oh fuck. OK, tell me what it is and I'll do it."

"I need a complete new ID and I need it by no later than Thursday nite; in fact the sooner the better. Price is no object, but they have to be excellent quality; California driver license, Social Security card, and a passport if you can manage it."

"Pops that will cost you a pretty penny; and I'm pretty sure it's doable by Thursday like you asked. I don't run with those guys much anymore. But you don't give up on your old pals. I get together with some of them from time to time for a beer or seven. But you know Shirley doesn't want me around them. And of course with little Jules in the picture, I've kept my nose clean; I'm a family man now. I'll get working on it right away; I'll even make a call tonight. I'll probably ask you to get me a current picture for the ID's, and of course you'll have to give me cash to pay the man."

"That's a good plan Julian, just give me time enough to get to the bank and it's a done deal."

"Pops are you OK? What kind of trouble are you in?"

"No Julian, I'm not in trouble. But trouble is coming and this is part of the plan. I gotta make some moves and they have to be done fast."

"So do you need any other services? Perhaps somebody needs to get paid a visit?"

"I knew I could count on you, or your friends. But no. You get me the ID's and we're square."

"Pops we're never going to be square. If it wasn't for you I'd probably be dead, or close to it. And I wouldn't have Shirley or Jules. Man I owe you my life. You call me anytime; I'll keep my shovel ready."

With that Tom stood and the two men embraced. "You take care Julian; I might not be around for a while. But you stay close; I have a feeling that Andrew will be needing support in the days ahead. I will always have you in my thoughts."

"Pops that sounds too final. I expect to see you dance at Jule's wedding someday. I'll see you when I see you."

As Tom made his way to his empty home he smiled to himself. With his son Andrew his legacy was secure. He also felt pretty good about being able to claim some credit for the way Julian had turned out. Little Jules even called him PopPop. His smile got bigger.

Now if only Andrew and his Shirley would get started on a little one of their own. He laughed aloud again at the fact that both Julian and Andrew had ended up marrying a 'Shirley'.

Previous Tuesday morning: September 8

"Good morning Mrs. Parsons, please go right in. Mr. Baker is expecting you", Janet was determined to find out what the heck was going on today.

"Good morning Janet, thank you." Marsha walked and took the guest chair.

"Ah Marsha, I hope your evening went well." Tom came around his desk and shook her hand warmly.

"Yes, thank you. I ordered room service and watched a movie curled up on the couch. I was still a bit tired from the flight and the emotions of yesterday's meetings."

"I want to thank you again for coming all this way to bring this news to me in person. I greatly appreciate that you have considered my feelings in all this. Today we're going to shift gears with your permission and look forward, to what happens next. I want to hear more about what your plans are specifically, but first I'll need you to indulge me. I'm going to ask you to accompany me for a bit as we take a meeting."

"Janet, is CC ready for us?"

"Five minutes, gives you enough time to get to the conference room and grab a coffee on the way."

"Right this way Marsha, the conference room is just on the other side of Janet's desk. Can I get you a coffee, or a water?"

"A water please. I do hope you're not planning anything too dramatic."

"No, not exciting - necessary. It's not a mystery, but it's best if you see it as it unfolds. Janet please join us."

As they entered the conference room they could see on the screen a well-dressed man sitting at a similar arrangement.

"Tom, good to hear from you. Although when Janet talked to my admin and said it was an emergency I became a bit worried. I'm in New York this week; luckily we could re-arrange my calendar so I could meet with you. Please, tell me how can I be of assistance?"

"Clark, thank you for fitting us into your tight schedule. Let me introduce Marsha Parsons. This call bridges the personal and professional which is why I wanted to speak with you directly."

"Marsha, meet Clark Curtis. Clark is the CEO of Curtis & Co., one of our fiercest competitors."

"Oh really Tom! Mrs. Parsons don't you listen to that man. It's true that our companies compete, but Tom and I go way back. We roomed together at CalTech. Our firms have forged a friendly co-existence over the years."

"Clark, I know you still have the Adelicus MSSP contract and it's that relationship I want to talk to you about." At the mention of her husband's company name she grew more attentive.

"Marsha, for your information when the Adelicus Managed Security Services contract came up for bid, naturally our firm was put forth. But I declined the opportunity and handed our spot to Curtis & Co. You see I was afraid that with Gail as the regional Controller there might be a whiff of favoritism that I didn't want.

"And Clark it is along those lines that are the subject of our call. It has come to my attention that an executive at Adelicus might be compromised and I wanted to give you that information myself."

"Tom, that's a pretty serious matter. Of course, we'll look into it right away. What with the government contracts Adelicus has they could be in serious trouble if a breach occurred. What and how did you come to this information, give me what details you can. Who is the compromi... bloody hell! Mrs. Parsons are you Mrs. William Parsons?"

"Yes Mr. Curtis. That I am."

Clark got a very serious look on his face, "Tom I'm afraid of hearing the details, but go ahead old friend - say the words so that there can be no miss-understanding."

"It's true Clark, my Gail and William Parsons have been in an ongoing affair for some time. Mrs. Parsons flew out from Chicago to deliver the details to me in person. She and I visited my sister Barbara, who will act as my personal attorney in all this. She has a complete dossier, provided by Mrs. Parsons' investigators. I have neither viewed nor read any of the transcripts of the evidence. I intend to keep a good distance between me and whatever legal troubles arise. I'll have Janet forward Barbara's contact info so that you can have full access to that dossier."

"My word! Tom you must still be reeling from learning of this. But you're doing the right thing bringing this to me. Hopefully the outcome is only a domestic issue between spouses, but we'll need to do a thorough investigation to ensure there was no collusion of a financial nature. My god man - a regional controller and the CFO! I'll have to call Mr. Adelicus directly to inform him of the potential fallout of this news."

"That's exactly what I would do if the roles were reversed Clark. And one other thing, I know we're probably in agreement but I want to just state for the record that I will not be privy to your investigation nor be in contact with you again after today. I want all of us to have clean skirts when or if it gets ugly."

"Too right. I will get our best forensic auditors on this right away. I wonder what we'll find as we pore over the system logs and financials? No matter, Tom I will communicate whatever I need to through your lawyer. I guess we won't be playing golf while I'm out there next month."

"No old friend, I think it will be a while before it will be safe for us to get together. Until then, be well Clark."

"You too Tom, you'll be in my prayers. Goodbye."

Janet had tears in her eyes, "Oh Tommy. I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. And Gail! I would never in a million years thought she'd step out on you. Oh my god, finding out right before you're going to retire. You poor man." With that the matronly woman rushed to Tom's side and hugged him.

Marsha watched all this with some surprise.

"Ok Tommy, you tell me what you need done. Do you have a plan?"

"Thanks Janet, I knew I could count on you. You're already part of the plan. Get Barbara's contact info to Clark's admin and be standing by. We're probably going to have a few more impromptu meetings the rest of this week. As for what else, your agreeing to stay one more year to help Andrew fully settle in the lead chair gives me great comfort. I was feeling good about that already, but now with so much up in the air Andrew will need you twice as much."

"Are you going to divorce Gail? Oh my, you two have been married for what, 40 years?"

"Yes, right out of college. It's too soon to talk about divorce. Barbara is looking at what options are available. And with Curtis & Co. in the mix, I don't know what's going to happen. OK, let's get back on track. I know Andrew is at clients today, do you know what time he'll be back?"

"He has back to back meetings right until the end of the day. I actually think he'll go straight home after his last meeting."

"Hmmm, Marsha and I are going to head out to lunch. Can you please send Andrew a message telling him I'm coming by at 6 with pizza tonight? And copy Shirley, that way she won't waste any time cooking. I think talking to them at their place will help. I dread telling them about all this."

"Marsha, let's go back to Paoli's for lunch. And today we'll let Frankie make us a batch of his famous Paoli's Cosmo's. I guarantee you'll love them."

Just as they were settling in their seats and the Cosmo's on the way Tom's phone rang, it was Julian.

"Please excuse me Marsha, I have to answer this. Hello Julian, what's the news?"

"Get me a fresh 2 by 2 inch photo. And it'll be five grand. The docs will be ready Thursday morning provided you get me the photo today."

"Understood, where will you be this afternoon?"

"I'll be in the office all afternoon until 5pm"

"Ok Julian, I'll get it done."

"Ok Pops, see you later today."

"Sorry about that, business marches on."

"I understand."

"So tell me what do you have planned for William?"

"Divorce! He's going to pay dearly for disrespecting me this way. Here's the thing, for six years he's been disappearing from his family's lives for two weeks out of the year. His explanation was always that he was working with Gail on division financials. What a crock - he never did that with the Eastern division guy. As if I wouldn't have noticed, even if I hadn't spotted them that first day. He not only played me for a fool, he treated me like an idiot." Steam was practically coming out of Marsha's ears.

"Wow, you really are fired up about this. So you're going for the jugular?"

"Yes, he won't know what hit him. It's different from your situation entirely. I know it's still cheating but at least Gail didn't do it in your home town and spent weeks away from you. She really did work during the day while in Chicago. And as far as I know neither of them has done anything to harm Adelicus; they are both honest in their professional lives at least. I really don't expect the lawsuit against Adelicus to go anywhere. Although Mr. Adelicus does have a strong conservative streak. William is going to be very uncomfortable for a while."

"Tom, in several of the recordings Gail talks about how she appreciated the time in Chicago; with the added bonus that she didn't have to schedule any time away from you that wasn't work related. She deluded herself into thinking that she wasn't taking anything away from you."

"Except that she broke her vows. She lied to me for six years, a lie of omission to be sure. But still I was deceived as much as you were Marsha. And boy it sure stings."

"Why don't we order before I lose my appetite."

######

Toward the end of the day Julian stuck his head in Tom's office, "Hi Pops, I'm getting ready to head out."

"I was nervous as a thief in church coming back from the bank with all that cash. Are you sure you're going to be OK taking it from here?"

"No problemo, even if somebody noticed you at the bank and followed you. There's nothing to tip anybody off that I'm walking out with that pile of money. Besides five grand in hundreds is not even an inch thick. Plenty of places for me to stow in amongst all the gear I'm toting."

"You be careful Julian, I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"No worries Pops, I got this." Julian scooped up the envelope, "I hope you got the picture too?"

"Yup, it's on top of the bills in there. Oh, and I put a name and address on a note in there. I'd like that used if it's possible."

"Good, you relax and leave this to me." With that Julian was on his way. Appearing for all the world that it was any other day heading home.

Previous Tuesday evening: September 8

"Hello my Son! I come bearing carbs."

"Excellent, let's see what you brought. Shirley is in the kitchen." Andrew closed the front door and followed his father into the kitchen.

"And howz my favorite daughter in law?"

"I'm good Papa; I must admit this is a pleasant surprise. We usually save this kind of treat for the weekend."