This
work of adult
fiction, loosely based on characters portrayed by Russell Crowe,
includes adult language and experiences; you have been warned. No
copyright infringement on the original work is intended.
Copyright
Reagan Kavanagh
& Diana Walker 2006.
Author’s
Note: We know this
conflicts with the time line in the Ransom
Arc but given the events of the last 48 hours, this was too good not
to write. That’s why we call it fiction and take the
appropriate
licence. Reagan and Diana
JAI
VARGHESE
TO:
Jai Varghese
FROM:
Terry Thorne
SUBJECT:
Terrorist Alert
DATE:
10 Aug 06
The
United States Department of State has issued an advisory to all US
citizens regarding potential terrorist activity in the sub-continent.
As we are your security responder, I must advise you to take all due
precautions with your families, your employees, and your
surroundings.
Please
take this opportunity to review all relevant documentation and
contact me immediately should you have any questions or concerns.
Terry
Thorne
I sat back in my
chair and took a deep breath. The entire world knew what was
happening in the UK, but I’d no idea anything was brewing
locally. I picked up the remote on my desk and clicked on the bank of
tellies
on the wall facing my desk as I tapped my keyboard to bring up the
major news agencies. CNN, AL- Jazeera,
Reuters’
streaming video …nothing about India. I watched for five
minutes
and shook my head as I turned back to the computer. I must take Mr.
Thorne up on his offer of further assistance.
TO:
Terry Thorne
FROM:
Jai Vargghese
SUBJECT:
RE: Terrorist Alert
DATE:
10 Aug 06
I
have checked CNN, Al-Jazeera, and Reuters. There is nothing
regarding any threat to the sub-continent. Any additional data you
might provide will be appreciated.
Jai
Varghese
I
hit ‘send’ and picked up the phone to call my
family.
TERRY
Little bugger
didn’t take much time getting back to me. Lucrative contract,
but
that head–bobble thing he does reminds me of those dogs for
the car
dash. Jai Varghese is the Bill Gates of India and is on a first-name
basis with Gates, Steve Jobs, and Larry Ellison. He’d been
educated from primary school through university in England,
immigrated to the States where he got in on the dot-com upswing. He
saw the end coming, cashed out, and went home to set up his own firm.
The three musketeers had outsourced a good bit their business to his
firm. He’d been a busy – and incredibly successful
– lad.
Jai’s coding
factory cranks out everything from cookery programs to structural
engineering computations. When I’d got the nibble from him,
I’d
packed my kit and headed to Mumbai. Jai’s limo met me at the
airport, and I’d blinked when we pulled up in front of
Varghese
Consolidated Systems. Jai was in his late forties then and sole
owner of his company. I’d surveyed the physical plant and
suggested video surveillance as well as putting in audit procedures
amongst the other standard precautions. In making the plant
physically secure to assure the safety of Jai’s employees,
the
thought had entered my mind …was I keeping people out or
keeping
them in?
The reason I’d
taken the job with Jai was because it was the first step in the
interview process to be able to get his K&R business.
Five-hundred employees, and Jai had become enough of a humanist during
his years in UK and the States that he not only covered his
employees, he covered their families as well. With the money he was
raking in, he could afford it. It is a sweet contract.
Time
to answer Jai’s e-mail.
TO:
Jai Varghese
FROM:
Terry Thorne
SUBJECT:
RE: RE: Terrorist Alert
DATE:
10 Aug 06
The
State Department advisory concerns possible terrorist activities in
Mumbai and New Delhi and environs around the 15th
of the
month. Clearly, if anything is to happen, Swatantra Din would be a
prime date for such a disruption.
The
Advisory goes on to encourage normal activities, though they should
be exercised with all due caution. My fondest regards to Sarika and
the children.
Terry
I sip at the cup
of coffee Diana has put beside me as I type. Jai’s factory
would
be a prime target for any terrorist activity. It wouldn’t
only
maim and kill hundreds of people; it would bring a good deal of
current internet traffic to its knees. Let’s pray we
don’t find
out how good a security expert I truly am. My cell is sitting on the
desk and rings. It is Reags.
“It’s me. Max
just called; he made his original flight. He was on the plane
–
complete with laptop, cell phone, and briefcase – and
they’re
scheduled to put wheels up in less than half-an-hour.” Thank
Christ.
