Philadelphia One
1726 Words
PhiladelphiaOne
Sharon sat at her desk, 86 stories up inManhattan, looking at the feed of small cap stocks. The math didn’tbother her. Bachelors in economics from University of Rochester andMBA, she had long ago mastered the math of stocks. She hoped thatwas why a top Wall Street firm had hired her.
Unfortunately, what she had learned in herfirst six months on the job is how little real math seemed togovern markets. They didn’t teach that in school. Markets weresupposed to be rational. Instead, the bosses seemed to go to someclub or event and give orders to the brokers and analysts what topush or sell. Then things seemed to happen according to somescript. Money was made and lost. She got a bonus either way, whichwas more money than her Dad, a pediatrician, made in a year.
What bothered Sharon was it no longerbothered her. Work was becoming morally normal, even though she hadbeen raised better. She had a sense she had been hired as much forher own figure, 36-24-37, as her ability to do figures.
The image on her screen changed. She staredat it.
OMG! It was evidence of her insider tradingtransactions!? It couldn’t be. She erased and breathed.
Another! This can’t be happening. Sheshrieked and muffled it. The guy in the next cubicle didn’t lookup, too intent on some scripted transaction.
New words, “Hello Sharon, can we talk?”
She stared at it not sure what to say.
“Shall I publish what Ijust showed you, maybe to the Securities and ExchangeCommission?”
Sharon couldn’t help herself. “NO, please,”she pleaded through her fingers.
“Then it's best wetalk.”
“Who are you? What do youwant?” Sharon was visibly perspiring, wishing she had a privateoffice. Such luxury was promotions away, an event that did not lookpromising at the moment.
“You may call me Tony,” thescreen said. “I want to save you.”
Sharon relaxed a little. She was quitewilling to accept Jesus if it meant burying this.
“Thank you,” shetyped.
Tickets for tomorrow's express train toPhiladelphia appeared on the screen. “Download these, bethere, it's for your own good.”
She stared at them a long while, then textedthat she was at a meeting tomorrow and would be available on hercell.
Sharon read the ticket again on the platformof Penn Station. She had a reserved seat on the 9:30 Philadelphiaexpress. She wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but what choice didshe have? She opened the door to her seating berth; there werethree other people about her age. She knew one of them! He was afirst year at a different trading firm. They had met at a productseminar.
She entered and sat. They held their silenceuntil the engine started.
A nice looking blonde man made eye contact.“I’m Tom,” he introduced himself. ”Can I ask, what brings you?”
Sharon wasn’t sure she wanted to answer. Shewas tempted to say business, but instead said, “Weirdness.” She gota noticeable reaction from the other woman and the two men.
“Yes, that describes it,”the other woman said. “I’m Nancy, and I’m having one weird day.” They all fidgeted.
“I’m Hank,” said the lastone. “Anyone know what’s going down?”
The silence was deafening.
Weirdness increased as all their phonesbeeped simultaneously with instructions to get in the Uber car whenthey reached the Philly station.
Kim had a whole wall covered in mirror. Shetied a sash around her striking black and purple hair, bowed toherself in the image and began her hard workout, naked so that shecould be fiercely honest about every detail of her performance.
Frank was in the basement; he had a rack ofweights to workout with, pressing 160 lbs. and feeling strong.Since an offer came in weeks ago, buying his business for what Kimassured him was over value, he had found himself strong in a wholenew way. Center asked them through Cheeky to run the Philadelphiasatellite, and a new life had begun. Cheeky found a house in theColonial section; they took daily strolls together bathed in UShistory. Frank was beautifully patriotic despite all the negativesof American politics; he loved to talk with Kim about becoming theworld leader in meritorious government again.
After their workouts Cheeky said, “They willbe here in half an hour.” She recited their resumes, each theproduct of private privileged schools, each went to work in eliteWall Street brokerage houses, each knew it was wrong to obey asthey were instructed to participate in market manipulation, eachgoing down the road to wealth at the price of self-destruction andmoral degradation. Each needed help.
“Oh they’re going to gethelp,” Frank said, as he took a swing with a long fraternity paddlehe plucked from the wall. He smiled wickedly as he saidit.
“You look very dashing,”Cheeky said. “Leave the greetings to me, I want them receptive foryou.”
The four would be Wall Street tycoonsarrived at the address and stared at the Colonial house. None ofthem quite worked up the nerve to knock, which didn’t matter as thedoor opened on its own. They let themselves into the living room.They all felt spooked, even though the room was presented inclassic decor, and the fireplace lit.
A voice said, “Welcome. You are doing theright thing. Please head upstairs. Men to the room on the left,ladies on the right.”
“I don’t think so,” Hanksaid.
A screen turned on and began showingevidence of their malfeasance; an illuminated button readSEND.”
“Not much choice,” Sharonsaid.
They walked up the stairs in silence,feeling afraid. Dutifully they entered the assigned rooms. Thedoors closed after them.
White robes as were worn at Center had beenlaid out for them.
“Naked and robed, back toliving room when the doors open.”
For a moment, each thought about objecting,but only for a moment.
The doors opened and the four filed back tothe living room. Frank with a long paddle stood beside Kim, who wassnapping a heavy leather belt in her hand. Both looked commandingand strong, dressed in black workout clothes.
“What is this?” Tomdemanded.
“This is your chance forsalvation,” Frank said.
“It will be hard won,” Kimadded.
“What do you want?” Hankasked.
“For the moment, yourattention,” Kim answered.
The screen came on. There was a video ofHank searching classified material before placing orders, then apicture of his whopping bonus.
“I never did that.” Sharonsaid.
“You’re a first year. Giveit another year; they will have you doing worse. It’s how the gameis played.” Hank answered.
“Do you want that? Frankasked them all. Sharon and Tom shook heads ‘no’.
“Are you strong enough toresist?” Kim asked.
They all shook negative.
“It’s how it’s done,” Hankexplained. “They take the best and brightest, mostly good people,but ambitious, and they dangle rewards. Everyone caves.”
“What is stronger than areward?” a voice asked.
They were silent.
“Think back to yourchildhood,” the voice coaxed.
Sharon bit her lip, “Punishment?” sheoffered meekly.
“Very good,” the voicesaid. Frank pointed with his paddle to the long couch.
“You don’t have any rightto do this!” Hank protested.
“Then civilization isdoomed,” the voice replied. “Unless a movement begins to punish badbehavior, particularly as practiced by the privileged, the countryis lost.”
The four looked at each other, No onemoved.
The voice spoke, “Nancy, your father workedthirty years as a high school principal. What would he say if heknew you were rigging stocks against his pension fund’s interest?”Cheeky showed her the proof on screen.
Nancy burst into tears and became the firstto move to position. Cheeky then presented the evidence thatbrought each of them to stand beside her, behind the couch.
“Reach over to touch thecushion,” Frank ordered.
“Learn your lesson,children,” Cheeky said. With that, she began enumerating their manymalfeasances.
Kim and Frank moved behind them and pulledtheir robes up, presenting four behinds bent over the couch.
When Cheeky got to tax evasion, Frank laidin with the heavy paddle. He had run an honest business for years;how dare these punks cheat the country that had done so well bythem. Kim followed suit, wielding the belt with stunning force.
Cheeky presented outright fraud tomanipulate trusting clients.
Kim looked at her lover and could almost seethe smoke and flames of his aroused aspect. He proceeded with afiery force. Kim and Frank went back and forth with each bottom,giving about twenty hard strokes before moving to the nexttarget.
Frank could feel righteous anger inside him.It was a flame that gave him power. With that power, he wouldrestore virtue among the rich, an awareness that they wereguardians of the economy, officers of the wealth of our nation, andthey had a solemn duty to make it function fairly, so that the hardworking could get ahead honestly.
Cheeky got to the part about manipulatingcommodities; victim farmers were just plain screwed.
For a moment, Frank could see the outline ofa ninja warrior surrounding Kim, as she wielded that belt againstbare behind like a medieval weapon.
How dare they? Her insides screamed.This is betrayal of a sacred trust. Honor could only be restoredthrough punishment. Kim, channeling her weapons master,delivered each stroke of her belt.
How the children of Wall Street howled withthe kiss of paddle and leather. Tom was the first to blubber up.All the rest followed.
“Waa” went their wail, towhich Cheeky giggled and Frank and Kim responded with renewedvigor.
“Please,” Sharonsaid.
“Such a lovely word,”Cheeky answered. “Please what?”
“We will be good,” shepromised.
“All of you? “
“Yes,” they all pleaded asone.
“What does goodmean?”
“Improve our behavior?”Nancy offered.
“Sorry, not enough,” Cheekyreplied, and Frank and Kim continued now without mercy. Fiery lightplayed in Frank’s eyes.
“Whatever you demand,” Tomoffered.
“Good answer, that,” Cheekysaid.
The spanking stopped. “Go get dressedChildren,” Cheeky said. “Report back within four minutes or we willbegin again.”
They scampered so delightfully up the stairsto their rooms.
Kim and Frank high fived each other; shegrabbed him in a passionate kiss.
Well less than four minutes later the fourpunished offenders were standing in a line in the living room. Thegirls were still fastening and fixing their wardrobe. All hadstreaked faces from earnest tears.
“Now you each get a gift,”Cheeky said as Kim fetched a box. Inside there was jewelry. Pinsand bracelets and chokers, all made of silver. “Choose one and wearit each day without fail.”
The boys each picked a lapel pin. Nancypicked a bracelet. Sharon bravely picked the choker – she feltconnected to her submissive side; she was letting observant peopleknow.
“Congratulations,” Cheekysaid. “You have joined a movement to clean Wall Street. You arepart of a larger movement to return virtue to all the powers thatform our society.”
They each put their piece on. A silverpaddle displayed for the world to see.
“Whenever anyone asks howyou earned your badge, you will answer honestly, orelse.”
They all answered, “Yes ma'am.”
“You will seek out otherswho would benefit and tell them so.”
All nodded assent.
“When you know of someonewho would particularly benefit, you will tell them and then writetheir names in the memory of your computer. Don’t worry, we willsee it.”
Hank swallowed hard at the sheer computerpower of such a claim.
“Dismissed, and sin nofurther,” the voice said. Frank and Kim saw them out to theawaiting car.
“There’s champagne for youin the fridge,” Cheeky said to Kim and Frank, who did not need tobe told twice and made a beeline to the kitchen. Kim reached intothe glass fronted cabinet filled with Riedel stemware and selectedtwo champagne flutes. They knew as they toasted that somethingmiraculous had begun; perhaps more than one miraculous thing? Amovement and a what? They squeezed each other knowing that at amystic level living fire was embracing a ninja warrior.
- Writer
