Cash Out (26 page)

“Kidnapped.”

“— whatever, for a couple days?”

“Dude, I'm gonna shit my pants if we keep talking about this.”

Rod steps away, looks back at me. “You said this was important, Danny. Life-changing for you and Kate.”

I throw a hand out, let it fall to my side. Defeated. “Yeah, but . . . You know. All this?” I motion to the car trunk. “This is beyond. I mean . . .”

“You said you needed to last a few more days so you can cash out.”

I mumble, “I know.”

“And live a better life.”

I sigh, irritated. “Yes.”

“And these assholes have gotten in the way. Singled you out.”

I look away, shrug. “Yeah.”

“So you've been forced to protect yourself and your family, without the cops. Otherwise, you'd lose a ton of money.” He studies me. “Money for which you've worked very hard the past two-plus years. No?”

I gaze at the car trunk, nod.

Rod eases closer. “Listen. If you've changed your mind, we can stop this and call the police right here, right now.”

I look at him, roll my eyes.

“See what they say about the kidnapping, the hit-and-run with Larry, the various instances of battery. See what FlowBid says about it all.”

My stomach weakens. “Okay, okay. I get it.”

He smiles down at me, puts a hand on my shoulder, and shakes me hard. “Just hang in there.” There's amusement in his voice. “I'll make sure Larry goes gentle on those guys. I promise.”

“Okay.”

Rod looks at me, his face softening. “I'm doing this because I believe there's something better for you, Danny. This start-up venture capital shit, it's not you.”

I nod, break the eye contact.

“That Duncan guy in the trunk there? Dickheads like him are the reason you got into journalism back in college.” He studies me. “Exposing the risk they pose to the rest of us.”

I look down.
Fuck, he's right. It hurts to hear it.

“Remember that judge you nailed in that campaign-funding investigation?”

Mumble, “Yeah.”

“That was a public service, Danny. That was your passion.”

“I know. I just—”

Rod scrunches his face into disgust. “All these people with their fancy cars and IPOs and catered meetings and extravagant parties?” His eyes narrow. “That shit rots, and it rots fast.”

I close my eyes, nod.

He slides an arm around me. “And it's not you. This is your chance to make a break for it, and I'm not gonna let those assholes get in the way.”

I take a deep breath, let it out slowly.

“Now . . .” He raises his shoulders, looks around. “. . . you think you have this secret-video thing doped out for tomorrow night?”

I blow out a gust, and my stomach sinks. “Yep. It's all packed.”

“You think whatever it is you tape will cause the stock to plummet or something?”

“That's the thing.” I look away, glance back at him. “I have no fucking idea.”

He studies me.

“And if it's something I think will damage the share price . . . I mean,” I sigh hard. “I just can't . . . Even if it means that I . . .”

His face softens, and he nods.

“I just can't do that to all the FlowBid people. To all the investors—I mean, people—who've sunk their savings into this company.”

Rod bites his lip a moment. “But what if Fitzroy is doing something awful? Breaking the law or something? What if you're being asked to document something important that needs to be reported or disclosed? Something that could save even more people even more money down the road?”

I look down and shake my head.

“What do you do? Do the right thing, turn the tape over, and watch the stock sink?” He thinks about it, adds, “Turn all those lives upside down?”

“I don't know.”

“Or keep it to yourself? Let the geeks get you fired? Lose your fortune, but save the livelihoods of everyone else?”

I close my eyes. “I don't know, man. I'll just have to. Dude, I just can't think about that right now. I just— I mean, I just need to get through the next twenty-four hours, come up on the other side. Then, depending on what I get on tape, I'll have to make a decision.”

He shifts, looks into the shadows, nods.

“I mean, there's a chance they want me to tape something that won't have any kind of material effect on the stock.”

Rod smirks. “And that's why one of FlowBid's largest shareholders was trying to scare you into staying out of Tampa?” He looks out, laughs. “Yeah, right.”

“Okay, okay. I'm sure it could affect the share price. Okay?”

“I'm just saying—”

“Yeah, I hear you. I can't discuss it any more right now.”

“Okay, and I'm just saying you should be prepared for the dilemma.”

Larry taps the horn, calling for Rod.

“Kate coming?”

I nod. “We're gonna get a bite, head back to your place.”

Rod starts toward the car. “Good. Larry's gonna drop me off at my place. I'll make sure he understands my rules before I send him off.”

“What about Baldy's friends? The guys casing my house? Larry's house?”

He stands over the shotgun seat. “Something tells me Larry here can handle it. Go get a bite, Danny. Maybe a drink, too—loosen up, take a couple of big breaths, get your bearings. And when you come home, take my bed. I'll sleep in the front room with the boys.”

“Rod, c'mon.”

He points at me. “Don't you dare offend me.” He drops into the shotgun seat, slaps Larry on the shoulder, hollers out to me, “Be safe, Danny.”

Safe?
I laugh to myself.
We'll see how safe I am after I tell Kate what I have to tell her.

And, just like that, I feel like I'm about to faint.

I
wait for her at the corner of Jackson and Fillmore.

She pulls up in our minivan, unlocks the doors, and looks down the street as I ease in. My heart pounding, I glance over and look away.

“You okay?”

Her voice is tight. “Sure.”

“Where should we go?”

“The Haight.” She starts down Fillmore. “I need someplace easy and chill.”

God, I don't want to do this.

We cross California.

The tone in her voice is heavy. “Do I want to know?”

Oh shit.
“What?”

“The bald guy.”

“Oh.”

“Do I want to know? Is he okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Well. We're letting Larry take him—”

“You know,” she says, her voice tightening, “actually, I don't think I want to know.”

“No, honey. Seriously. He's fine.”

“With Larry? That guy's fine with Larry? Are you nuts?”

“And David Duncan, actually. The guy who hired Baldy. I mean, I guess Larry has him, too.”

We drive in silence for a long while.

“Dan, assuming this thing doesn't blow up in our faces sooner . . .” She glances at me. “. . . what do you think guys like that are going to do once Larry lets them go?”

I twist my lips, look straight ahead, and nod, conceding. “Well . . .” I'm drawing a blank. “Yeah, that's a good question.”

“I mean, so what if that man was following you guys?”

“Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah, Larry doesn't like people fol—”

“That's the problem, Dan. Larry.” She grips the steering wheel with both hands, leans forward in frustration. “Larry's involved.”

“Yeah, I know. That was . . . I mean—”

“But, hey, I sure enjoyed my date with him.” She pauses, forces a chuckle. “Oh yeah, that was a real treat. Thanks for setting us up, Dan. You're a real swell husband.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I snap.

“I mean, not every gal has a husband who sets her up on dates with violent sociopaths.”

“It wasn't a date,” I snap.

We cross Oak.

My steam is rising. “Listen, I'm doing the best I can here. This whole thing is crazy.”

“No shit. And it's all—” She stops herself, bites her lip.

“Sure,” I snap. “Say it. I knew that's what you're thinking. It's all because of me and my big mouth, talking to
BusinessWeek
, doing all that stupid shit at work.”

“And doing God knows what on the Internet.”

Shit.

She waits a long while. “It's just that the geeks should have had nothing on you. I mean, we should have been celebrating right now.”

“Kate,” I start, but can't think of anything to add.

We reach the top of the hill, and Kate pulls right onto Haight. “And now I get a call from Julie at FlowBid telling me there's an e-mail flying around listing your porn activity.” Her voice quakes. “Some e-mail to all of FlowBid's—”

“Well, just the top floor, actually.”

“Whatever. The point is, every person in the company has seen it. And according to Julie, it's all a bunch of ass stuff.”

My stomach is surging again.

She takes a parking slot near Steiner.

“Well, it's not like you have a bad ass.”

She scrunches her face. “What?”

“What I mean is, it's not like you have this disgusting ass and I had to look at nice butts on the Internet. You have an amazing ass.”

She looks at me, the disbelief piercing me. “I can't believe you.”

“I'm just saying, hopefully it's a little less embarrassing for you. This is not because there's a problem with you or—”

“Oh, I
know
it has nothing to do with me.”

“It has to do with my problems.”

A momentary tone of sympathy. “Your ass problems?”

“It's not like you're chubby and I was looking at skinny girls or something.”

“Oh, gee, Dan. That makes me feel so much better. It's not like I have a disgusting ass. So why should I be hurt and humiliated? Is that what you're saying?”

“I'm just . . .” And my brain freezes.

“Dan, what if I worked someplace where lots of people knew I was married to you. And, one day, thousands of my coworkers learned that I was spending hours upon hours looking at boners and balls on the Internet? Bonerssandballs dot-com?”

“Well—”

“No, think about that.”

I do, and I can literally feel the humiliation.

“How would that make you feel?”

I'm such an asshole.

“Would you feel hurt, like there must be something wrong?” She looks at me, her eyes hurting. “Would you take it personally?”

There's a lump in my throat, and it's so big I can barely swallow.

“You know it's more than this sex shit, right, Dan? The fact we don't do it like we used to. You know that's just a symptom of bigger things.”

“No.”

“Yes.” She shakes her head, looks away. “We don't connect anymore. We're like robots, running around trying to catch up, trying to do it all, and all the time we're running right past each other.”

“I'm so sorry, honey.” My voice breaks. “You deserve . . . so much more.”

This softens her. “I mean, I know you're a man, and men like to look at girls, and that's okay, I guess. But this e-mail thing was . . .” She looks out onto Haight, shakes her head with a dry chuckle. “This was a lot.”

“I am so sorry, honey.”

She's looking out the window. “Like I said, it's symptomatic.”

I close my eyes, shake my head. “Honey, listen, it's not like—”

“You're obviously horny. I mean, the whole company knows you're horny. And now they're all thinking you're obviously not getting what you need at home.”

“No, listen.”

“And then I'm thinking—you didn't even
tell
me the geeks had this on you. The ass activity. I had no idea.”

“Neither—”

“So, now more than ever, I'm wondering what else they have on you. Things you're not telling me.” She turns, looks me in the eyes, and my heart sinks. “Something you'd do anything to keep from me.”

“No.”

“Something so bad, you'd rather see people kidnapped and sent to Larry's house.”

And I know, I have to do it. I have to tell Kate about those instant messages. Those fucking stupid messages with Anne. If I tell her, I take that bargaining chip away from the geeks. And I can tell her on my own terms, not through a companywide e-mail.

I look down, take a deep breath. “Honey.” I can't look at her. “There's something . . .” I force myself to look up, meet her eyes. “. . . I have to tell you.”

K
ate is crying when she spins on her rear, pulls her feet from under the wheel, and lands the heel of her boot into my nose. The back of my head bounces off the window.

I'm crying, too.

“I'm so sorry,” I wail.

“I”—she kicks again, gets me in the arm—“
knew
”—another one, in the gut—“it.”

Blood drips off my upper lip. “Honey.”

She drops her head, sobs.

“Honey.” I wipe the blood off my lip. “It's just that stupid IM'ing. I mean, it got out of control. But there wasn't anything else.”

Oh my God, how did I become such an ass?

“We never touched, I swear.”

She squeaks, “Do you love her?”

“Love her? Honey. Never.” I quake, teeter on losing it. “Honey, I love you.
Only
you.”

I do lose it, start to sob.

She shakes her head, covers her face. “I can't. I just can't”—she opens the door, wobbles onto Haight, her mascara-streaked face caught in the headlights—“do this.”

She stumbles toward the sidewalk.

I roll down the window, shout, “Honey.”

Her shoulders fall as she walks away.