Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 59

         

Thor kicked over a recycling bin. A homeless man stared from across the road, and Thor flipped him off. He turned his phone back on as he walked away from the Palo Alto Waze office. His phone's incessant pinging during the meeting had distracted him. Thrown him off his game. He'd fired an assistant for sending too many text messages before.

Waze was a Google acquisition for maps. Hadn't been incorporated into their other products, yet. The Waze team was signing a deal to put Ancien into its newest release, but the lawyers had privacy concerns. This was taking too much time.

A horn blared. Tires squealed to a stop. He could smell the burnt rubber.

"Hey," shouted the driver. "Why don't you watch where you're going?"

Thor looked up from his phone. The crosswalk was indeed red. Still, he cursed the driver and kept going.

It was hot. Not a single cloud in the sky. Thor ducked under the shadow of an overhang.

For many, a weekend with lawyers was on par with pulling one's own teeth with a rusty set of pliers. Not for Thor, though. Usually Thor loved it. It was one big power struggle. And power was what Thor knew best. He knew how to manipulate it. How to bend it. How to make others think they had it. Especially when they didn't. That's the thing about power. The more you grabbed at it, the more it slipped away. You couldn't just take power. But you could direct its flow. And the more other people tried to grab it, the easier it was to redirect.

Most lawyers played right into Thor's hands. Lawyers knew the law. Thor knew power.

"Thor," he heard from behind him. He turned his head. It was Heath Lemming.

"Oh, were we supposed to meet now? I'm just—"

"We need to talk. I've got Luna," Heath said.

Thor looked around.

"Where?"

The crosswalk turned red. Even though Thor saw this, he still had an urge to cross.

"I mean, I have her in my control."

"A bit of a stretch, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't know what you plan on doing with her." Now Heath looked around. People were waiting on the other side of the street, but nobody was within earshot. "But I don't think killing her is the best course of action," he whispered.

"Heath, how could you accuse me of such a horrible thing? Why would you think that? All I asked was for you to find her and bring her to me. I'm just concerned for my friend and predecessor. I don't know why you're blowing this out of proportion, but maybe hiring you wasn't such a good idea after all."

Thor could see beads of sweat forming on Heath's brow. He didn't know what angle Heath was trying to play here. Maybe he was recording the conversation. Trying to get him to confess. If so, it was a rookie mistake—and a deadly one to make with a power player like Thor.

"Fine, let's do it your way then," said Heath. The light turned green. Thor nodded. "I think Luna has more value to you alive as part of the company. Rather than separate."

"What about the confidential knowledge she has in her head? Don't you think that makes her a liability if she were to unexpectedly leave the company? You know, of her own accord."

"That's what I mean. I think she's got proprietary information that we still need her to document before she unexpectedly leaves. And she trusts me. I think if you give me some time, I can help you get that proprietary information. But you can't force her out of the company until we get it."

Classic power move. Thor had been using this technique since he was a kid running garage sales for his parents. When a customer came and asked for a discount, he would say his parents weren't around so he couldn't check with them. The truth was his parents didn't care.

"I think we'll be just fine without her intellectual property."

Thor could sense Heath's attempts to redirect power. People didn't usually try to manipulate others unless they had a good reason to do so. Thor thought through the reasons Heath might have for trying to manipulate him.

"Don't you think the board and stockholders will find it unsettling if Luna just disappears?"

Another power technique. Appeal to authority figures.

"No."

Fuck authority figures. Amateur negotiators always made the mistake of over-explaining their stance. Thor was no amateur. Best to keep it short and simple. Less fodder to pick apart later. Heath was definitely up to something.

Another stoplight. Thor was getting tired of this. He looked to both sides. No cars were coming.

"Look," said Heath. "If you want Luna, you're going to have to go through me. You think you've got everything under control, but you don't. You don't even know for certain where Luna is at this very moment."

That's when Thor realized what was going on. Heath had a thing for Luna after all. He had been her lawyer. There was history. His initial hunch had been correct. Heath wasn't working for him—he was working for Luna.

"Palo Alto Police Department. Right over there," said Thor as he pointed across the street. "Just a few blocks that way, if I'm not mistaken."

"Actually, you are mistaken," said Heath.

"Look, I'm tired of playing cat and mouse. You've been helpful, but this isn't working for me anymore."

"But—"

"You're fired, Heath."

And that's how you redirect power. Thor turned around and started walking again. Heath followed him into the middle of the road.

"Thor, wait—"

Thor thought he could physically feel the flow of power shifting toward him at that very moment, right under his own two feet. Pulling in an irreversible new direction with such violent force. The feeling took his breath away. Like flying five feet off the ground. How easy it was. How natural. Just a few words and the world bent to his will. Just a few words and day became night. Light became dark. Life became death. With nothing but a few words.