"I'm not being funny; I'm being dead serious. What you have to understand, Ben, is that there are always always problems at every portfolio company. You just have to learn how to deal with them. And the keys to doing that are figuring out how quickly can you get your hands around the problem, what can you do about it, and, most important, not letting it get to you. Ever. That's mostly what being chairman of a company is all about. Staying calm no matter what." problems at every portfolio company. You just have to learn how to deal with them. And the keys to doing that are figuring out how quickly can you get your hands around the problem, what can you do about it, and, most important, not letting it get to you. Ever. That's mostly what being chairman of a company is all about. Staying calm no matter what."

"What else is out there?" Cohen repeated tersely, uninterested in the lesson.

Gillette stared at Cohen for a moment. This was so risky. "We've got an issue at the records management company in California. One of our employees sold personal information to a direct marketing company."

"You got to be s.h.i.tting me."

"Nope."

"What kind of information?"

"Drivers licenses, credit card numbers, home addresses."

Cohen's eyes widened. "My G.o.d. What steps have we taken?"

"The employee who sold the information was fired, and we're trying to a.s.sess what liability the company has. We've also alerted senior executives at the company that bought the information about what happened, that one of their midlevel managers was buying the information. They are cooperating with us fully. They fired their guy as well."

"Have you notified the individuals whose information was sold without their permission?"

"No."

"Why not?" Cohen demanded.

"It involved over twenty thousand people."

"So?"

"I can't have the California consumer advocacy people in there at this point. They're worse than the Gestapo. I haven't told you this, Ben, but we're no more than six months away from taking this company public, too. At the price the I-bankers are talking, it would be a ten times return for us. It would be one of the best investments we've ever made. If this thing leaks, the IPO could be delayed indefinitely."

"But these individuals have had their private information sold. Who knows what the people at the direct marketing company have done with the stuff."

"We're trying to figure that out. Trying to contain the spill. Just like at the landfill. So far there's no indication anything bad has happened. No indication that there have been illegal charges made on credit cards or anything like that. We think the guy bought the stuff just so he could target a set of consumers for a new product introduction."

Cohen looked out the window at something in the distance.

Gillette raised one eyebrow. "So, you still want to be chairman of one of our companies, Ben?"

"My G.o.d, it can't be like that at all of them."

"It isn't," Gillette agreed. "And the company I give you might be clean when you take over. The thing is, two weeks after you become chairman, you might get hit between the eyes with something out of left field." He hesitated, thinking through a scenario. "Let's say I make you chairman of our grocery store chain. At first, everything's great. Then one of our tractor trailers plows into a father and his three kids at an intersection. The father and two of the kids are killed instantly. The third one lives, but he's paralyzed for life. The cops find out that the truck driver was blind drunk and had cocaine in his system, too. They dig further and find out we aren't administering the required drug tests to our drivers. The mother of the three kids files a $500 million lawsuit, and the insurance company tells you they won't cover it because a clause in the policy says they aren't responsible for claims if we aren't administering drug tests. A $500 million settlement will bankrupt the company. You think the amount is absurd, but your lawyer isn't so sure. All the jury would hear about at the trial is that Everest Capital manages $20 billion. The woman might actually have a chance of getting her $500 million." Gillette crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you do, Mr. Chairman?"

Cohen hesitated, struggling for an answer. "I . . . I don't know."

" 'I don't know' doesn't cut it, Ben."

"Well, I-"

"Let me throw you another curve. The state's attorney general's office decides the company has been negligent in the whole thing. They decide to press criminal charges against the senior executives. Which, by the way, is very possible. Guess what? You're the most senior executive of all. They show up at Everest and take you away. The news cameras are set up and rolling when you come out of the building and your girls see you in shackles, trying to hide your face."

Cohen shook his head. "All right, what would you do in that situation?"

Gillette smoothed his tie. "You wouldn't want to know, Ben," he finally answered, his tone guarded.

Cohen glanced at Gillette uncertainly, wanting to press but afraid, too. "How would Stockman be able to find out about these problems?" he asked.

"Simple. Troy Mason."

"Oh, s.h.i.t. That's right."

"Troy knows all the stuff I just told you about," Gillette continued. "See, there was this other weekly meeting you didn't know about, Ben. An off-site meeting, usually at a condo Bill rented on the Upper East Side. Bill, Troy, and I discussed all the major problems at all the portfolio companies at it so Troy was in on everything. He could give Strazzi a lot of information. Strazzi would then pa.s.s it on to Stockman. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Troy made copies of a few files in the days after Donovan died as an insurance policy. So he'd be sure to remember it all and be able to back up what he was saying with proof. In case he didn't get the nod to be chairman of Everest."

"Strazzi would have the money to buy the widow's stake in Everest," Cohen pointed out.

"One of the few people who would," Gillette agreed. "And, knowing Strazzi, he'd probably get it at a discounted value."

"We could make her an offer, too," Cohen suggested.

Gillette shook his head. "Nah. The only way we'd be able to come up with that kind of cash would be to use her stake as collateral. Bankers wouldn't lend us any money against it if they thought there were problems with our portfolio. And, believe me, Strazzi would make certain every banker in New York thought there was."

Cohen's face went pale. "You know what this means? It means Strazzi's the one trying to kill you."

Gillette stared at Cohen for a few moments. "I thought of that, too, but it doesn't make much sense. I can see why Strazzi would want Donovan gone, but not me."

"Why not?"

"He'd need Donovan dead so he could put the blame for Dominion on him. But he can get me out of the way by getting the widow's stake. Why risk being linked to another murder if there's another, less risky way to get what you want? Strazzi's ruthless but not stupid."

"I don't know," Cohen said, pulling a piece of paper from his pad and placing it on Gillette's desk. "If he's willing to commit one murder, why not another? I think we should go to the cops."

"With what?"

"With what we just talked about."

"We've got no proof."

Cohen bit down on his lower lip. "We should at least give the cops a heads-up."

"What's this?" Gillette asked, glancing at the paper Cohen had put down on his desk.

"Your consent to my becoming Everest's chief operating officer. You need to sign it."

Gillette leaned back. "This seems kind of formal."

Cohen shrugged but said nothing.

"Is it really necessary?"

"I told you," Cohen said, his tone turning serious, "I want people to know I have complete authority from you to do what I need to do. When you send out the e-mail, I want you to tell everyone about this," he said, nodding at the paper.

"All right," Gillette agreed, picking up a pen. He scribbled his signature at the bottom. "Here you go." His expression brightened as he handed the consent doc.u.ment to Cohen. "You know what just occurred to me, Ben?"

"What?"

"You haven't used Latin the entire time you've been in here."

Cohen nodded. "Hey, I'm trying to listen to the boss."

17.

Conspiracy. Two or more individuals working together in the shadows to carry out evil-a.s.sa.s.sination, overthrow, fraud. Two or more individuals working together in the shadows to carry out evil-a.s.sa.s.sination, overthrow, fraud.

The strength of a conspiracy is measured by the commitment, planning, and ability of the conspirators to maintain secrecy.

But the success of a conspiracy is ultimately determined by the ability of the conspirators to make all traces of their bond evaporate after the crime is committed. Like specters fading into the mist, their relationships vanish, trails grow cold, and there is nothing and no one to connect.

Then no person of authority will question what has been achieved. Or, if they do, nothing can be proven or altered. And those who have been targeted-dead or alive after the crime-never get the justice they deserve.

TOM MCGUIRE CROSSED WILLOW STREET, striding deliberately, and moved down the sidewalk toward the Brooklyn Heights promenade-a wide walkway overlooking New York Harbor. From here, he had a panoramic view of Lower Manhattan.

McGuire ambled up to the black, wrought-iron fence at the edge of the promenade. Below him, cars and trucks roared up and down the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. He leaned both arms on the top of the fence and checked his watch. Three minutes in front of noon. Three minutes early. He was always on time and despised people who were routinely late. People like Christian Gillette. Of course, he despised Gillette for more important reasons now.

"Hi, Tom."

McGuire turned toward the voice. His brother, Vince, moved up to the fence beside him. Three years younger, Vince was short and dark. A fireplug who wore his black hair slicked back and sported a gold bracelet and a pinkie ring. It was hard for Tom to believe they'd come from the same parents. About the only things they had in common were being at the FBI before founding McGuire & Company, punctuality, and poker faces.

"So?" Vince began in his gravelly voice. He'd smoked a pack of cigarettes a day until five years ago, when a doctor thought he'd detected a spot on Vince's lung. It had turned out to be a false alarm, but it had been enough to scare Vince away from tobacco for good. His voice still bore the scars of the habit. "What's the deal?"

"I met with Gillette this morning and he wouldn't budge. He's not interested in $300 million."

"Our guy won't go any higher?"

Tom shook his head. "No. Says if he pays more than three hundred his people will question him too hard, and he definitely definitely doesn't want that. Neither do we. So we stick to the original plan." doesn't want that. Neither do we. So we stick to the original plan."

Vince spat over the fence at a truck whizzing past beneath them. "What the h.e.l.l happened on Park Avenue this morning?"

"Stiles's men were too quick. They've turned out to be very good, and our guy f.u.c.ked up."

"Gillette's a tough target."

Tom ground his teeth. "Yeah, but remember we're using people we don't know well because we don't want any connection to us when this is over. Unfortunately, the people we've hired have turned out to be idiots. Look, we're gonna have to go to somebody we trust."

"But if they're caught-"

"I know, I know," Tom cut in, scratching his head.

Vince spat again. "f.u.c.k Gillette. If he knew what was really going on, he'd sell us the thing for $300 million in a heartbeat. Then we don't get in any deeper."

"But then our guy doesn't get what he really really wants." wants."

"f.u.c.k him, too," Vince shot back over his shoulder. "You know what? I think we just keep delaying our side of the deal until we buy the company. What's he going to do at that point? Go to the authorities? No way. He's in as deep as we are."

"Not quite."

"Deep enough," Vince said loudly.

"Look, he's smarter than that. He'd figure out what we were up to when thirty days from now Gillette's still alive. He'd make the closing, and his money, contingent on us doing what we promised to do-kill Gillette." Tom saw that his brother was getting uncomfortable. "Vince, we've got to stick with the original plan," he urged. "And, the next time we go, we've got to make sure make sure we get Gillette." we get Gillette."

Vince gazed out over the harbor, a pained expression on his face. "I don't know," he muttered. "This thing's getting too close. I mean, Donovan was easy. No way to link us to that." He took a deep breath. "But Gillette's becoming a problem."

"There's another problem." Tom hadn't told Vince everything. Hadn't wanted to upset him. "And it's a big one."

Vince glanced up. "What is it?"

"Gillette's close to signing an IPO deal with a Wall Street firm."

"To IPO McGuire & Company McGuire & Company?" Vince asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"You gotta be kidding. That p.r.i.c.k. When did he tell you?"

"He didn't," Tom answered. "Our guy found out through a contact of his."

"What a s.h.i.t Gillette is. He was gonna sell our company right out from under us."

"That's why I had to go to him last week and put the $300 million offer on the table. Our guy told me Gillette was going to sign with the investment bank in the next day or two. If he did that, we'd have no chance of buying the company. So I figured I could buy us some time with the offer. I figured Gillette would think twice about signing up to sell the company if we were p.i.s.sed off. Then he went and hired Quentin Stiles."

"So we've got no choice," Vince said in a resigned voice. "We have to get Gillette."

"Yep. And fast."

Vince let out a long, exasperated breath. "All right," he said quietly.

"It's just a d.a.m.n good thing that bomb in the limo went off thirty seconds early," Tom spoke up. The bomb had been set to detonate at a certain time. It wasn't controlled by a remote device, as McGuire had told Gillette. "It would have been a fiasco if it had gone off on time and Gillette had been killed then."

"Hey," Vince piped up angrily, "I thought I had a green light. The guy says he wants Gillette dead. I'm just trying to do my job. I didn't know it was premature."

"Easy, brother," Tom said gently. Vince's fuse was short. "I told you before it was my fault. I didn't know there was another agenda, that things had to happen in a certain order, that they had to get Mason out of the way before we could go after Gillette. I thought we had a green light, too."

"Was he p.i.s.sed?"

"Oh, yeah."