The Griffon, Chapter 5

Discovery of a new planet with a new species. Their subsequent elimination. It was a lot to take in at this time of day. I began to wish in earnest that the cup of coffee in front of me was a Bloody Mary, or at the very least that it had a slug of whisky in it. However, no amount of wishing was going to change the fact that it was nothing more than a cup of coffee. And I was, therefore, forced to content myself with the conversation at hand.

“I assure you, Mr. Helmqvist, that I am not proud of my company’s past but it is a legacy that I inherited,” Elias Haynesworth replied after my little spat.

“Why not pull out and be done with it?” I asked trying to regain control of my emotions.

“Our production, our profits, everything is dependant, now, on cheap access to yttrium. To leave would be financial ruin. A lot of people’s livelihoods are at stake, Mr. Helmqvist.”

“How many people know about your operation on Ithilles?”

“The company’s executive board. The facilities manager. Two members of our Applied Science division. And, the head of our private security detail.”

“I’m guessing that your security detail are all synthetics?”

Haynesworth nodded again.

So no loyalty issues there, I mused to myself.

“Roughly then, what? Ten people?” I asked aloud.

“Fourteen to be exact.”

That was certainly enough for a leak, especially if someone grew a conscience.

“How trustworthy are the ones that are aware of the plant’s existence?”

“They all have a considerable financial stake in the company and I know each one personally. I do not think that they would blackmail me. Twenty million is not that great a sum to them.”

Must be nice, I thought.

“Any idea where the footage came from?”

“It is archived footage that our team took early in our occupation of the planet. These blackmailers found a way into our computer system and stole the recordings.”

“Why on Earth would you even keep anything like that? It was only a matter of time before someone found it. In fact, I’m surprised it took this long.”

“I do not know how to answer that, Mr. Helmqvist. Sometimes these things are forgotten about and it was before my time so it was always, more or less, an abstraction to me. Anyway, it can’t be helped now.”

I shook my head and let out a snort in derision.

Then a realization struck me that there is more at stake than one man’s livelihood, or fourteen, or even the entire payroll of Nash Automotive Works.

“Who else knows about the email?” I asked suddenly.

“I am not sure, Mr. Helmqvist.”

“Sorry, let me rephrase that. Does anyone else in the company know about the email?”

“I cannot be certain,” he replied with a growing sense of concern. “However, I believe that you and I are the only ones aware of it.”

“Let’s hope that you’re right.”

“Why is that?”

“Because if this thing goes public, you’re looking at some pretty serious charges from the Galactic Court. You and everyone implicated in the project will be doing hard time. Your associates may not like the thought of that and might do something rash.”

“That is preposterous, Mr. Helmqvist. Even if they were moved to violence, killing me would hardly solve their problems.”

“It might or it might not,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. “What I do know is that if you are dead, they can pin all kinds of horrible things on you and you can’t deny them.”

That struck a nerve and he tensed up.

“I am certain that no one else has been contacted,” Elias said as if he was trying to convince himself that it was the truth. “If so, they would have contacted me first thing this morning.”

“Perhaps you’re right. Even so, we need to play this one close to the vest.”

“Certainly, Mr. Helmqvist. I would not dream of telling anyone else.”

The conversation fell into a lull as I tried to process everything. After a few minutes, Haynesworth broke the silence.

“Will you take the case?” he asked hopefully.

“I need a few more minutes to turn this over in my mind,” I replied and restarted the video.

The images, the text, it all flowed passed my eyes. To be honest, it was all pretty disturbing and the reasons behind it filled me with disgust.

The video ended and I just sat there staring at the holographic screen. I could see Haynesworth in my peripheral waiting in anticipation.

“I’ll take the job,” I said at last.

I needed the money.

It was that simple.

Oh sure, I could go on about how this case could help me establish a reputation with a certain type of clientele. And, that it could mean more, well-paying jobs in the future.

However, that was all a load of crap and what I discovered in those few moments of quite reflection is that I had a price. I could say all that I wanted about being principled and that I gave up being a lawyer because of scumbags like Haynesworth getting away with all sorts of horrible shit. But, at the end of the day, I was willing to push all of that aside for a handful of credits.

“Wonderful!” Haynesworth replied with obvious enthusiasm. “When can you start and what is your fee?”

The answer to the first part of that question was easy. I was fairly certain that I was already on the job. The second part, now that unexpectedly tripped me up. I was about to spout out some inflated fee in the hopes that I could somehow buy off any guilt through association with Haynesworth that I will undoubtedly have later on.

And then out of nowhere, the image of that midnight blue sedan down in the lobby came to mind.

“What can you tell me about that nifty 4-door that you have down in the lobby?”

“I’m sorry?” answered Haynesworth. Clearly my question was unexpected.

“The dark blue sedan downstairs in your lobby. The one across from the roadster.”

“You mean the Griffon?”

“Yeah, sure. I guess. What can you tell me about it? Is it new? I haven’t seen one before.”

“The Griffon is new, in a sense,” Haynesworth replied as he settled into his chair. “Only ten have ever been produced, and unfortunately, only ten will ever be produced.”

I guess that that ruled out buying one in the near future. However, that didn’t mean that I couldn’t still try to get one.

“Why aren’t you going to produce it?”

“Too expensive and Marketing does not think that it will sell. I suppose the design tested poorly with consumers.”

“Tested poorly? I think the Griffon is a real peach.”

“Why thank you, Mr. Helmqvist. I’ll be certain to pass along your opinion to the boys on the second floor.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a jab at me or not. It felt like a jab at me but then I’m kinda used to people not liking me. Nonetheless, I let it slide.