The Quick Brown Fox Read online

  ‘You haven’t any ch... children, have you?’

  ‘That’s planned for next year. We intend to have two. Then we’ll be a real family.’

  ‘You spend a lot of t... time together. What do you talk about?’

  ‘General things,’ replied Harris becoming a little tired by the questions. He was so full of himself having just received an accolade from the Head of Department who controlled the unit that such mundane personal questions started to bore him.

  ‘I mean you have all evening, every evening, weekends, early m... mornings and holidays. What do you think to s... say to each other.’

  ‘I don’t really know. The time just seems to pass. We talk to each other about our work, our families, our friends. We go to parties together and meet people at least twice a week. We go to the cinema or the theatre. The important thing is to be together and do things together. Most essential is that we rely on each other. We trust each other, and we love each other.’

  ‘Doesn’t love f... fade in time?’ The question was posed point-blank.

  ‘It changes. At first it’s all kissing, hugging and sex but it settles down to a different kind of love. Something more mature but there’s always love and respect. Does that answer your question?’

  Don screwed up his face and stared directly at his colleague. ‘I wish I could think of something whenever I m... meet a woman. My m... mind goes completely blank. Do you know, I was in l... love with someone and had to dress up in a Father Christmas outfit to face her and then c... couldn’t say a w... word to her when we met... ’

  At that moment, the telephone rang and Harris moved to answer the call. It was his wife, Rose, ringing him to say that she would be home in a short while because someone else was taking over her shift at the hospital. He wasted no time, being unable to restrain himself, boasting to her about his success in establishing the new theory In his euphoria, he told her that he was going to take her to a well-known restaurant that evening to celebrate. At that particular moment, the world was his oyster and he was enjoying every second of it.

  It would take the best part of six months before the final outcome proved whether his theory of hydrogenetics proved to be successful or not. It mattered not to the inventor for he was totally convinced that he had achieved his aim and that the world would benefit handsomely from his discovery. He sat back in his comfortable executive chair and lit a cigarette, watching the smoke drift up to the ceiling. It was indeed a Red-Letter day and he was exceedingly happy and very proud. There would almost certainly be a promotion in it for him with a raise in salary. Hopefully his name would be associated with the process and he would go down in history as one of the great achievers. At this precise moment, he was delighted to revel in the glory, wearing the laurel leaf of victory on his head, and he was content to sit back and let it all happen.

  Chapter Three

  At the Concentric building deep in the heart of the City of London only two miles away from Universal Energy Inc., business people hustled and bustled to and fro in the giant hallway like a colony of ants moving swiftly under a paving stone, They hurried about their business relating to finance, economics, law, computer operations, and connections with the London Stock Exchange. It was a never ending flow of people and a hive of activity,

  In an office on the twelfth floor of the building, Colin Gardner sat comfortably in his executive armchair smoking a Cuban cigar, watching the smoke drift slowly to the ceiling. He was an entrepreneur who had firmly established himself even though he had no stock to sell and no business, in particular to practice. The room was exceedingly bare in comparison to all the others offices on the twenty-two floors containing only a desk, four chairs and two connected telephones. It was devoid of any filing cabinets, shelves with books and ledgers, or pictures on the walls... not even a coat-rack. Nor was there an inscription on the door identifying the name or activity of the business. Mr. G, as he preferred to be called, simply sat quietly at his desk patiently, waiting for the telephone to ring or for someone to come and visit him.

  In his own right, he was a fount of knowledge having been educated at Oxford University before studying for a period at Harvard in the United States. It was his ardent intention to become a lawyer, setting up his own practice in the capital but shortly on his return to Britain, his ambitions were badly thwarted by an incident which could never have been predicted. As his star began its ascendancy for his future, the Cosmic Joker decided to take a hand to prevent it from happening and the outcome was a disaster.

  One morning, Gardner left his apartment and went into a shop along local High Street to buy a bar of chocolate. He was looking at the items on the shelves when three men wearing masks, and carrying guns, entered the shop, One of them went directly to the cashier behind the counter and demanded money from the cash register. There was no hesitation from the shop keeper who opened the till and removed some notes from it to hand to the robber. It clearly was a small amount and the bandit began to threaten the cashier to provide more money. In such circumstances, it was important for customers to freeze and allow the robbery to take place without interference. Indeed, Gardner had always been advised in America that a person should stay out of trouble and never get involved in any adverse situations. However, in the spur of the moment, he became enraged at the threats issued to the cashier and all thoughts of non-interference were cast aside. Fully angered by the theft that was taking place. Gardner went fiercely and rashly into action. As the cashier began to bring out money from beneath the counter which had been stashed away, he burst into action. Swinging his right arm strongly, he struck the nearest bandit fully in the face knocking him down and turned belligerently to the second man. Unfortunately he was too far away to launch a successful attack. Consequently, there was a volley of shots from a revolver as the robber took fright to fire at him and Gardner fell to the floor badly wounded. He was shot three times in his left arm, and blood flowed from the wound rapidly. Shortly afterwards, an ambulance arrived and he was taken to hospital for treatment. However the injuries sustained were far more serious than three simple bullet wounds. Two of the bullets had smashed his ulna and severed the artery running up his arm. After some consultation, the surgeon advised him that it would have to be amputated. It was a twist of fate conjured up by the Cosmic Joker for had he gone into the shop five minutes earlier or a few minutes later, he would have missed the robbery and continued his life in the normal way. but it was not to be... he was there at the wrong time, in the wrong place! Not surprisingly, the incident kept recurring in his mind for some years. It kept haunting his dreams to the extent that they became nightmares and, ultimately, his attitude towards other people and his image of life became quite austere. His mood became austere and he gave up all thoughts of a career as a lawyer, dwelling much of the time on the way fate, or the Cosmic Joker, had treated him. He cared little for anyone, even those willing to help him, regarding all of them to be evil. Consequently, as time passed by, his mind was affected greatly. Even more annoying was the fact that the police never arrested the three bandits who got away with the robbery and ruined all his ambitions and his life in general.

  For many years, he had made his living by buying and selling information to anyone who was in the market to sell it or buy it. Industrial espionage was the name of the game and, even though it was generally ignored by the public, it was rife in the world of business. Everyone wanted to know all about new products and invention made or invented by the opposition and, worst still, many goods were copied and pirated affecting the profits of large companies... especially in the worlds of music and book production. Gardner could not complain. He had done reasonably well from his undercover activities so far and it looked as though it would continue well into the future. However he became bored with the present state of the operation and decided that the time had come for change. At the age of thirty-two, he had become tired of handling sensitive information for other pe
ople and decided to embark on a new and much wider venture for himself... to find products or inventions that he could sell to others that would bring him a very handsome profit. No longer did he intent to act for others in peddling minor information to receive peanuts for his efforts. This time he was out to capitalise on something much larger and on which he would have total control. To do that, however, required a great deal of patience, hope and fortitude. The seeds of success soon came to fruition when, within a short while, an old friend rang him to tell him of a new venture in a heat process transmission, developed by using a special form of hydrogen displacement. Needless to say, Gardner recognised its value in an instant and he arranged to employ someone to obtain all the details so that he could sell the idea to a number of different organisations who would have been delighted to pursue the idea for their own benefit. Any really good invention would produce many millions of pounds in profit and Gardner was ready to take his share without hesitation.

  He contacted Jake, someone whom he had known in the past. The man had spent five years in prison having committed large-scale fraud but he was a capable person, well organised, very persuasive, and he would be the right person to act for him in this particular case. The formula for the hydrogen invention and all the notes had to be obtained... even before the test results were completed, otherwise the system would be regarded by potential buyers as just a remote idea and would have no value.

  Jake appeared in his office one morning at his invitation and he sat opposite Gardner in one of the vacant chairs.

  ‘What have you got for me?’ he asked with interest. He had many irons in the fire but he felt that acting for Mr. G. would be the most profitable at this particular time.

  Gardner placed a cigar in his mouth and paused to light it with his one hand before replying. ‘I have information of a heating process which could be extremely useful.’

  ‘And you’ll make a lot of money out of it, no doubt,’ returned Jake cheekily.

  ‘Of course,’ came the expected reply. ‘In this particular case we’re talking of many millions... more than enough to retire on.’

  ‘Does that include me in the equation?’

  Of course,’ responded Gardner as though the question was pointless. ‘We know each other of old, Jake. Would I short-change you? This operation includes everyone who’s involved.’

  ‘Then fill me in,’ said Jake with interest. ‘I’m all ears!’

  ‘There’s a scientist called Harris at Universal Energy who’s discovered a hydrogen cell of some kind. If it works, it will enable heat to be produced at a far cheaper rate than it costs now. There’s a small obstacle standing in the way at the moment, It will need to undergo testing which will take about six months but we need to get our hands on the formula and the notes now as well as after the testing. That’s in case adjustments need to be made to the process. It looks like we could be on a winner here.’

  ‘How successful do you think this’ll be? I mean everyone’s looking for new ways to create energy. How come this guy’s turned up with the right formula?

  ‘That’s the secret of inventions. Look at penicillin. Alexander Fleming left a piece of bread to stagnate overnight and, in the morning, there was penicillin. Who knows how these things come about... but somehow they do? That’s the way science progresses.’

  ‘Can’t we get the information by hacking into their computer?’ asked the ex-convict, seeking an immediate answer to the problem.

  ‘I’ve had a man look into it. Somehow they’ve managed to create a system which can’t be hacked into so we can’t get it that way. You’ll need to go to the scientist who discovered the theory, a Robert Harris, and get him to give you the details. Offer him a million pounds to give them up. That should get him excited. I mean, although he works for Universal Energy, the idea really belongs to him. Why should he have to give up all the profits to the company? Get him to see sense. I’ve no doubt the greed will work its way in our favour. No one’s going to ignore the offer of a million pounds.’

  ‘Okay... you say his name’s Harris. I’ll make contact. Give me two days and I’ll have the stuff for you,’ responded Jake. ‘It shouldn’t be too difficult.’

  ‘You do that,’ concluded the entrepreneur.

  As Jake left the office, Gardner puffed at his cigar and poured himself a glass of Jack Daniels which he sipped slowly. It was the second foray into this new venture. With the first one, he had received information concerning someone who was selling a Delgado painting of a maid drawing water from an indoor well. It was one of the items left by a man who had just died and his nephew wanted to sell anything of value. Gardner mde an initial offer seventy-five thousand pounds, which was far more than the man had expected and it was readily accepted. When the painting went to auction it fetched two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. It was his first killing and he enjoyed the feeling of getting the bargain and making a great deal of profit from it. Now he was on to something much bigger. He reflected his present situation and mused on the past He had always gained information and then waited to receive money for his efforts. Now he was in a position where he was paying other people to achieve it. He mind moved to a family matter when his brother had volunteered to go to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War. He had tried to dissuade him from doing so but the headstrong youth was determined to fight for his country. Subsequently all Gardner’s fears were recognised and his brother died in battle. He was awarded a posthumous medal for his bravery but what use was it to him now that he was dead? There was only one life allocated to each person and it was necessary to take charge of it properly. The axiom of Carpe Diem had to be recognised. One had to seize the day and that is exactly what Gardner intended to do. He mused upon his positing being very worldly-wise, always relying on his wits to make a living but there was one crowning glory in his life in America when he was a contestant on one of the television programmes. It was the conundrum show where people had to work out mind-breaking puzzles and he managed to get to the finals where just one conundrum had to be solved by each contestant. They were given thirty minutes to solve it but Gardner managed to succeed in less than eight minutes to win the prize. His mind dwelt on the conundrum that was put forward.

  ‘You are a prisoner in a room in a castle. There are two doors each one guarded by a knight in armour. One door leads to freedom, the other to death. One of the knights will always tell the truth; the other will always lie. You are allowed to ask either one of them, and only one of them, one single question to find your way to freedom. What is that question?’

  He dwelt pn the problem for a while allowing thoughts to race through his mind and then he came up with the solution, being the first contestant to press the buzzer on the panel in front of him.

  ‘I would ask either one of the knights what would the other one say if I asked him which was the door that led to freedom. Whatever he told me I would take the opposite one,’ he ventured to the question-master.

  ‘What would be your reasoning?’ asked the question master firmly.

  Gardner paused for a moment fearing that he might have got the answer wrongly but he pulled himself together and his confidence rose as he replied.

  ‘The reason is that if I asked the knight telling the truth, he would know that if I asked the other knight I would receive a lie. And if I asked the knight who lied, he would automatically lie. Therefore, whatever I was told, I would take the opposite door to freedom.’

  Not surprisingly it was the right answer and he went off with the trophy and fifty thousand dollars. It was the greatest triumph in his life.

  He took another sip from his glass and puffed once more on his cigar as his mind reverted to the present. Patience was the key to the new operation. The projects that he would undertake were by necessity few and far between but they would all be profitable. Yes... patience was definitely the key!

  ***

  Harr
is arrived early at the laboratory that morning. He moved to his computer to look at the formula and his notes again and he started to work out some further calculations when the telephone rang. He allowed the instrument to ring for a short while, not taking his eyes from the monitor, and then, reacting badly, he picked up the receiver.

  ‘Harris!’ he uttered into the mouthpiece irritably.

  ‘Mr. Harris,’ came a strange voice at the other end of the line. ‘Good morning! Glad to catch you in. I know you’re a very busy man but I’d like a couple of minutes of your time if I may.’

  Harris’s face took on a perplexed expression. ‘Who is this?’ he asked.

  ‘Jake,’ replied the man. His voice was smooth, cool and very calm. ‘You don’t know me... not yet anyway.

  ‘Why should I want to speak with you?’

  ‘Because we need to talk.’

  ‘Talk... why should we do that? If you’re an insurance salesman, we have enough already.’

  ‘I’m not in insurance. I want to discuss your heating project. The new theory you’ve been working on.’

  There was a long pause as he thought about the man’s comment. ‘Are you a newspaper reporter!’ spat the scientist, ‘because if you are you’re on to a bum steer! I’m not telling you anything!’

  ‘You’ve got it wrong again. I understand that you explained all about your theory to your boss this morning.’