Lovers' Agreement
1676 Words
GFT Solutions had five employees. Barnett Lay and Harris Harrison were the partners. Wendy assisted Mr. Lay, and Alicia helped Mr. Harrison. The fifth person was Buffy VanderRye, former Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army. She was a brilliant tactician and rising star of the armed forces. Her career was cut short by a bullet to the spine in Afghanistan. Mr. Lay had hired her to control the company’s secret government contracts. He had also provided her with a high tech mobility device to replace her wheelchair.
Barnett Lay called these five people together in a small conference room. “People, we have to find Claire-Marie Wilcox. I know most of the world is looking for her, but we have to make a serious try at finding her.”
Harrison spoke up, “Just to keep her mother happy? Why not pretend we looked?”
“Because,” Barnett continued, “I think I know why she vanished. If I am right, we need to get to her first.”
“What’s your working theory?” asked Lt. Col. Buffy.
“I think she discovered something at her company that scared her enough to disappear.”
Harrison pressed in, "How did she manage such a complete disappearance? That was a professional job of wiping out clues."
"Somehow, she linked up with somebody or some group that has the capabilities. That is a short list. We need to work the list and see who was active in Ann Arbor during the past year."
Barnett gave each member of the team assignments. They needed to track the activities of several organizations, the last known movements of Claire-Marie, and learn more about the company where they worked.
“Homework for everyone," announce Barnett Lay towards the end of the meeting. "I want each of you to read the packet of recent papers written by the good doctors."
"Why?" asked a now agitated Harris Harrison.
"To get a feel for what type of work these people have done in the past. We need to nail down what they were working on before they vanished.”
Barnett added, “I want you, Harris, to put these papers through the Grinder and analyze the writing pattern Claire-Marie and her husband use."
The "Grinder" was a computer program that examined a selection of writings produced by the same author. It cataloged word arrangements, phrases, spellings, even typical paragraph lengths to build up the word analysis equivalent of a fingerprint.
"When you're done, added Barnett, "Sweep the internet for the past 300 days and see if these two left any trace of information."
“Why?" responded Harris.
“I want to know if they kept a secret record or hidden diary on the web.”
"Holy s**t," announced Lt. Col. Buffy, staring at her laptop screen. The rest of the team looked towards her side of the table.
"FutureVisions just put out a one billion dollar reward for the successful return of Doctor Wilcox....alive."
"Well, that won't muddy up the situation," said Harris with great sarcasm.
"Great," injected Barnett "that will bring out every i***t that thinks he's a detective or a talented fortune hunter."
“What about her husband, Jon?” asked Wendy.
“Nothing here mentioning him.”
Wendy replied, “Well, I guess we now know that it was Claire-Marie that found something. The company wants her back.”
“And, now everyone in the world will also want her,” observed Barnett. “Every country and major corporation involved with genetic engineering will also want to find out what Claire-Marie knows. That puts her life in direct danger. We need to hurry.”
#
In Chicago, Juanita Jones was driving the FBI task force searching for the missing scientists, Claire-Marie Wilcox and Jon Armstrong. She had twenty years of experience in capturing kidnappers. Recognized as a natural leader, Juanita had quickly risen in the ranks of the FBI. Usually, based in Washington, DC, she had formed this task force in Chicago to be closer to the scene of the crime.
"People," she said, "we are thirty days into this case, and we have very little to show." The twelve agents that made up the task force were listening professionally. They were under high stress, but that was a normal part of the job.
Juanita continued, “What do we have that we can lean on to make some kind of progress?”
The digital forensic member of the team, John Wexley, spoke up. "We see a marked increase in traffic from the Russians. They have arrested a friend of Jon Armstrong."
Juanita turned to the liaison for the CIA. “Any way we can find out why they arrested him?”
“In progress,” reported the man.
Agent-in-the-Field Rebecca Manford spoke up. "Our staff person in the Wilcox residence reports that Mrs. Wilcox has made contact with some kind of investigation company in Michigan."
“Purpose?” asked Juanita.
“We are trying to find out. The company’s name is GFT Solutions, we have an owner’s name, and that’s about all. They don’t advertise, nor do they seem to have any customers. It could be a cover.”
“Dammit, people,” suddenly shouted Juanita. “We are already thirty days overdue for an answer. I don’t want to make it thirty-one!”
#
Claire-Marie and Jon sat on the hot sands of the beach overlooking Lake Michigan. Claire-Marie had not told Jon about the confrontation she had had with her mother. The two scientists had been interviewed and offered jobs at FutureVisions' Ann Arbor laboratory. Claire-Marie's offer was more than three times the amount of money offered to Jon. She would lead cutting edge research for the company. He would work by himself in a biochemistry lab. Both knew that it was Claire-Marie the company wanted and felt they could secure her by giving her future husband a job.
They had traveled to the shores of Lake Michigan to decide between the offers. Claire-Marie had many offers from famous companies. Jon had only a couple of offers. Claire-Marie wanted to make more than just a decision about a job. Now was the time for her to settle everything. Whether to get married, where to work, how to preserve family unity, and whether she could endure eternal fame.
“Well, we have two solid offers to stay in Ann Arbor,” Jon began.
Claire-Marie didn't answer. She just stared at the glittering water, searching for the right words.
“We have to talk,” she stated.
“So, a serious discussion,” he said. “How serious?’
“It is time to talk about everything. The marriage, the job, both of us…” she trailed off.
"Make or break?" he asked with apparent tension in his voice.
She didn’t answer him directly. “We need to establish a clear understanding of what we do together.”
“Or do apart…” thought Jon.
“If we get married, my mother will likely disown me or refuse to let you into her house." Claire-Marie waited for a reaction from Jon, but he was waiting for the critical issue to emerge.
“If we get married," she continued, "and it doesn't work, we would be living and working close to each other. If I succeed at work and you do not, how jealous will you become? If you don't rise in the company, and if I become a trophy for the company to parade around, I will resign. Will you leave with me? These are the issues we need to settle."
Jon didn’t answer immediately. Claire-Marie liked this quality in Jon. He thought carefully before speaking on something important. After a few moments of silence, Jon took her hand.
“Most guys in this situation would say that they loved you, would stick with you no matter what may come, blah, blah, blah.” Claire-Marie’s eyebrows arched higher as she heard this unexpected response. “But, I guess I am just not a normal guy.”
He pulled himself up from lying on the beach towel, and he assumed a sitting position.
"You have everything. Intelligence, looks, money, fame, the works. I can only offer you one thing, an agreement." He paused for effect. “I do love you, I want to marry you, and together I think we make an unbeatable team.”
Claire-Marie wondered if this confession was going to include the word 'but.'
"However," continued Jon. "Life is short. If you walked away right now, you would have your family, career, and everlasting fame, and you could marry just about any man on Earth. Everything would be predictable and safe.” Jon looked down at the sand.
"I cannot offer you safety. Instead, I see something in your work that has great potential. I am willing to sacrifice my career, my pride, and even my name if we can accomplish something bigger than both of us. There is a place for pain and suffering in life. It makes the feeling of satisfaction at the end so much greater. I want us to be together at eighty years of age, saying, 'Wow, we did a lot of stupid, risky things.'"
Claire-Marie was stunned. Jon had never been this open and direct before. Now he was saying things she had never imaged a person would say in a situation like this one. Unlike all the men she had known in her life, this man was speaking the truth. He may not be the "right man" for her, but his offer was clear and direct. Stay safe or venture beyond the boundaries of comfort to discover things undreamed by humanity.
Jon did try to say some more, but Claire-Marie cut him off, pulled him closer, and kissed him. Jon looked a little surprised.
“Okay,” she said. “We take the full risk together, no matter what happens. We are in this to the end.”
Jon now interlaced his fingers with her fingers. He smiled. “It’ll probably be a rough ride, but it will be real.”
The two leaned into each other in a simple embrace. Claire-Marie and Jon both turned to look again at the dancing waves of the lake. After a few seconds, Jon spoke again.
“Oh. To be official, I do love you and want to marry you.”
Claire-Marie took off her sun hat and used it to hit Jon over the head.
- Writer
