Ana

CH 8

Tom's mind was abuzz Monday morning as he drove up to the office building that was home to the small environmental consulting firm that employed him. The trip to the Philippines had been a bit too exciting for his tastes and now, he felt lucky to be back in one piece. He was still frustrated at Ana for ignoring his attempts to communicate with her on the trip back to Texas. There had been no sign or sound from her since she warned him about the car bomb.

This wasn't going to be one of his most productive days at work but he needed to at least show up and do what he could. Anyone entering the offices of Peterson Consultants, Inc. would be introduced to a multitude of facts about the owner as nearly every wall displayed either a business award Ms. Peterson had won or a framed article about her clipped from various business publications. However, Tom knew she got where she was today by ruthlessly walking over everyone else's back and bending very rule in the book. He tried to avoid her as much as possible.

Once in his office, Tom surveyed the neatly stacked documents and folders that covered half of his desk. Each stack on Tom's desk represented a different project he was working on and helped remind him of what he needed to get done. On the left side of his desk was a relatively new folder with the name "World Holdings" scrawled across it in blue marker. World Holdings was the company that had hired him to investigate the vacant property this past weekend. The company Ana claimed to work for...

Opening the folder revealed a few pages of information about the client and a description of the work they hired Tom to do. It might be a good idea to investigate the company more and see what else he could find out about it. An innocent call to the receptionist to ask a few innocent questions might be a good way to start. He picked up the phone and dialed the main number listed for their headquarters in Boston.

"Good morning Tom," a familiar voice answered when the phone was picked up.

"Ana?" Tom asked.

"Yes Tom?"

Feeling a bit silly he said, "I was just checking to make sure you actually work for World Holdings."

"Well, to be honest, it's a bogus company. I find it useful in my interactions with various companies and governments."

"I see," Tom said, not exactly sure he did see.

"Not to change the subject but have you seen the news today?" she said.

"No, I just got to work. I haven't even had time for coffee yet."

"You should check out the BBC website. They have an article related to your trip this weekend."

A dozen questions flashed through his mind but the line went dead before he could ask even the first one. Tom quickly called back but he got a message saying this was not a working number.

Frustrated, Tom exchanged the phone for the computer mouse. His fingers flew across the keyboard and with a click the BBC website come up. Right on the main page was a reference to a car bomb in the Philippines.

He quickly clicked on the link to read more. Had it gone off, were their casualties? He had to calm himself to read the article which informed readers that a very large car bomb had been discovered and disarmed by local authorities in a crowed plaza in Pagsanjan, a small city south of Manila. An investigation was underway to find the person or group responsible. Police are looking for a person of interest that eyewitnesses reported was acting suspiciously next to the van moments before authorities discovered it was filled with explosives. The local police were being praised for their heroism in disarming the bomb and preventing what might have been horrendous loss of life and property."

Tom breathed a sigh of relief. No one had been hurt but now it seemed he was a wanted man. They couldn't track him back to Houston could they?  Tom desperately tried to remember if he had told anyone his full name when he was in Pagsanjan. He didn't think so.