The Quick Brown Fox Page 5

  ‘But what if... ’ began Jack before he was rudely interrupted.

  ‘There’s no buts and no what ifs,’ countered the patent attorney angrily, tiring of the negative argument. ‘Just do as I say and we’ll all be rich in no time. End of story!’

  The two brothers left the room reluctantly and the Baker sat back in his chair to examine the application in front of him again. It was a fantastic opportunity to make a great deal of money if it was handled correctly. Certainly the major nations of the world would quickly warm to the idea, The problem was how much they would be prepared to pay for a theory which, as yet, was untried and untested. However, the potential was there... that was the main feature, His mind went back to the time when he was on an internship with the firm of a patent lawyer. An application came from a client who wanted a patent registered on a battery that was supposed to be every-lasting... one that charged itself up continually, never running out of energy. The person handling the project decided to turn criminal and sell the idea to a third party instead of applying for the patent registration. He started out on that aim but his deceit was soon discovered. It was his misfortune that his plan had been full of holes and he made some fundamental mistakes... the primary one was to write to a number of organisations asking whether they wanted to buy the idea. It was so easy for the police to track down the culprit when they came into possession of one of the letters thus being able to apprehend the man and end the venture very swiftly. Alan Baker was well aware of that situation and he intended to avoid every pitfall in his effort to become fabulously rich very quickly.

  He went over to the window and looked out over the City of London at its tall buildings hugging the sky. He kept telling himself that it was a win-win situation but there was a risk in every action and he knew it. Yet he was fully aware that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The fact that he was committing a crime against one of his major clients and that he was breaking every rule in the laws of patent agency passed through his mind but he ignored them. The axiom prevailed that needs must when the Devil drives. There was the other side of the coin that appealed to him more greatly. He had his eye on a villa in a remote Caribbean island... in fact if he managed to pull off this crime successfully, he would be able to buy the whole island. The thought of it was far too much to ignore. There was no fundamental flaw in the plan and if one turned against the law, it was far wiser to undertake a really big crime and opt out of civilisation once and for all than to keep repeating smaller ones and get caught. The fact remained that those who went on a series of smaller illicit offences, were more likely to be caught and punished for lesser gain. He truly believed that he had made the right choice to turn to crime on this single issue for his own benefit, to secure his own future and that of his brothers. Not only that, but he found the venture to be exciting, stirring the blood in his veins. Acting daily in an office poring over the text of dull applications over a period of time was a boring task Suddenly he was faced with a massive opportunity... one that he had always dreamed about. He never considered that it would actually happen... but it did!

  ***

  It was two days later in the afternoon when the telephone rang in the laboratory. The senior scientist answered the call to hear Jake’s voice at the other end of the line.

  ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog!’

  ‘For Heaven’s sake!’ snapped Harris. ‘Don’t start that nonsense again!’

  ‘At least you’ll know it’s me every time we make contact,’ returned Jake smartly. ‘You should understand the need for secrecy. How about it, Bob? You’ve had two days to think about it. What do you say to the offer?’

  ‘I haven’t made up my mind yet,’ uttered the scientist flatly. ‘There’s a lot to think about.’

  ‘You’re stalling!’ accused Jake curtly. ‘I’m not very happy about it.’

  ‘I told you... there’s a lot to think about!’ uttered the scientist irately.

  ‘Such as what?’ demanded the caller. ‘It’s all very simply. You hand over the papers. That’s all there is to it!’

  ‘There are things you wouldn’t know about,’ came the reproach, ‘such a loyalty and duty.’

  ‘Don’t tell me that you and your wife wouldn’t like to retire to Bermuda or Bali at your early age and be set up for life! It’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned, Bob. What do I have to do to make you realise it?’

  ‘There’s nothing you can do. But let me tell you one thing... I’d appreciate it if you’d leave my wife out of it. She’s not involved!’ Harris was beginning to lose his temper. They had found the weak spot in his armour and continued to touch the nerve.

  ‘Okay,’ said Jake conceding although he failed to understand why. ‘I’ll give you another couple of days and then I’ll call again. But let me say you’re starting to get on my nerves. You’re playing me around and I don’t like it. Get with it, man! This is your future we’re talking about.’

  ‘It’s my future that I’m talking about as well,’ came the stark reply.

  ‘Okay,’ concluded the ex-convict unhappily. ‘I won’t argue with you. Two days!’

  The conversation ended there and Harris sat back in his armchair musing over the problem. Should he or shouldn’t he? If he agreed, Rose could return home and their lives would be safe... at least until the final testing of the theory came about. Then Jake would start to pester him again for the updated formula but at least some months would have passed by.

  He wrested with the thought for a while before putting it out of his mind to watch a programme on television. It was a parlour game in which one person had to discover the identity of another. He stared at the screen for a short while and then an idea formed into his head which circled around in his brain like a vortex encompassing his whole attention. Why not change the identity of the formula to get Jake off his back for a period of about six months. He could run off a copy of the formula from the compute and make a number of changes that no one else could recognise. In that wasy he would not be betraying his employer, he could mainin his principles, and any defects would be there until the adjustments made after the theory had been tested. Jake, or whoever he passed the documents to, would never know that it wasn’t the right formula... the theory was his own invention and, as it was brand new, no one would ever be the wiser. He could change the details and be free of the pressure until the test period was completed. Who knew what would happen in a period of six months? It was a splendid idea and he would change the formula so that the next time that Jake rang, he would agree to do his bidding.

  He returned to the laboratory the next day and turned on the computer to obtain the formula. To his dismay, the pages on the instrument came up blank. He became desperate and started to hammer on the keyboard but it was no longer on the computer program. The scientist stared at the empty screen in dismay. Someone had removed it; the details were no longer in his possession! But who had done such a thing? He turned to Don in despair demanding to know what had happened to the formula and the twenty pages he had written on the subject. The other man shook his head denying that he knew anything about it. Without delay, Harris went to the office of David Coleman, the Head of Department, to advise him of the situation but the senior manager was not there. After a number of enquiries about his absence, Harris was told that the man had taken a long leave due to a mental breakdown and that he would not be available for some months. Not surprisingly, since this situation had just occurred, no one else had been appointed in his place and the scientist was left out on a limb with no one to contact. It was all becoming pretty much a nightmare! What had happened to his theory? Where was the formula and the notes at this particular time? Had they been erased from the computer by accident or was it a deliberate act of destruction? More importantly, he would shortly have to face Jake to tell him what had happened knowing that the man would simply believe that he was stalling? The problem was t
hat it was no longer his decision whether or not to hand over the formula and the notes. He didn’t have them in his possession any more... he had nothing to offer the ex-convict however much he threatened him.

  The prophesy was not without pain. When Jake telephoned him two days later, and he told him the story, there was utter disbelief at the other end of the line.

  ‘Come on, Bob!’ commented the caller. ‘Don’t make this harder than it is. Let’s have the formula and the notes and I’ll be off your back. We know where your wife is staying. We have the address of her mother and you know what we’re going to do, so don’t sell me short!’

  ‘I’m telling you the truth!’ blurted Harris adamantly realising that his excuse sounded extremely feeble. ‘Someone’s swiped the computer!’

  ‘Tell it to the birds!’ rattled Jake with an element of anger in his voice. ‘Look... I don’t know why I’m doing this but I’ll giving you two more days to come up with that formula and the notes. If you don’t give them to me then, I’ll have to take action.’

  The breathing of the scientist suddenly became heavy and he closed his eyes before asking the question. ‘What kind of action?’ As he waited for the reply, he became more alarmed than ever. What could they do to him to get the absent formula... break his arms... breaks his legs... deface him? Then his mind went to the fate of his wife. What would they do to her? The thought was too painful for him to consider.

  ‘That’s for me to know and for you to find out,’ returned Jake enigmatically ‘Don’t mess me about, Bob, or you’ll find out what I do when I’m angry.’.

  The scientist paused to reflect the situation for a moment. There was only one thing he could do... he would have to reconstruct the formula and the notes from memory and redo all the work over the next two days. It was the only way to resolve the issue.

  ‘Okay,’ he conceded. ‘Ring me in two days time and I’ll have it for you... the notes as well.’

  ‘That’s my boy!’ came the reply. ‘Glad that you’ve come round to a sensible way of thinking. I’ll ring you again. Remember... the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog!’

  ‘Yeh... the quick brown fox... ’ uttered Harris before the conversation ended sharply leaving him in a state of flux. There was a lot to do to reconstruct the formula and the notes and, if he was to prevent himself from suffering pain, he needed to get to it fast. And there was one more thing to think about. What would they do to his wife if he didn’t turn up with the goods. It was too terrible to contemplate!

  Chapter Five

  Jack and Dean Baker wasted no time in finding their way to the Chinese Embassy in London, They had telephoned in advance to make an appointment with the ambassador, Wi Chung, and, as soon as they arrived, they were shown to his office. It was a large room with little furniture and the ambassador sat behind a single desk staring at them blandly, with no expression on his face whatsoever, before asking them to sit down.

  Jack felt extremely nervous on the understanding that he was complicit in a criminal action and that he was fully responsible for anything adverse that might come about from his presentation. He was dealing with a major representative of a mighty nation now and he was virtually demanding money by offering information. It was something quite foreign to him and his knees began to tremble before the negotiation began. He was unsettled by the whole issue especially as the theory had not yet been tested and there was the possibility that it could ultimately fail. Dean was much less affected. He was nervous at having to come to the Chinese embassy and he realised that there could be adverse repercussions but they were not likely to happen. In his opinion it would be a clear-cut case of a positive or negative answer and the matter would lie there. He trusted his elder brother who had assured him that there was no danger to them whatever circumstances arose.

  Wi Chung’s attitude was less than welcoming. He simply stared at the two men as though they were trespassers in his home.

  ‘What is it that you want to say?’ he asked point-blank holding his hands in front of him on the desk.

  Jack looked at Dean but clearly he was the one who had to open the proceedings and he cleared his throat before speaking. The atmosphere in the room was most clinical and austere and he felt as though he was in a foreign country which technically was the case.

  ‘We have a proposition to make to you,’ he began tentatively, ‘It is one which will advance your country into the next century and be most beneficial to your nation and to its citizens.’

  That sounds very promising. You better tell me all about it. But first let me ask you, but have to come to us?’ enquired the ambassador sharply.

  ‘Because you’re a nation which could benefit greatly from the process we’ve come to talk about,’ continued Jack tactfully. He was reluctant to give away more than he needed to at this point.

  ‘So you think that China can benefit from whatever you have to tell me.’ His response came more as a question than a comment,

  ‘Very much so,’ cut in Dean quickly, hoping that they could deliver their message and get out of the place as fast as possible. He was beginning to feel very uncomfortable in the presence of the cold Chinese interviewer and he felt an element of claustrophobia.

  ‘Well let’s not waste time,’ uttered the official tiredly. ‘What’s it about?’

  ‘Hydrogenetics,’ retorted Jack bluntly.

  ‘I do not understand the word. You’ll have to explain it.’

  Jack went on to clarify the theory having rehearsed it many times over the past two days. He knew every aspect of it and explained it to the man in perfect terms even though it was really beyond his comprehension. After listening intently, the ambassador pursed his lips as he thought about the project and then ventured further.

  ‘You say that this theory is as yet untested,’ he uttered sagely. ‘How certain can you be that it actually works?’

  ‘The testing will take about six months to complete,’ returned Dean smoothly. ‘After that, it can be put into operation.’

  ‘Only if the test proves to be successful,’ countered the other man sharply. ‘And if it is not, there is nothing to consider.’

  ‘I think it will be successful. A patent has been applied for but it’s not yet been submitted,’ Jack told him, re-entering the fray. ‘We think that your country would benefit mostly from it.’

  The ambassador unclenched his hands and sat back in his chair. ‘I ask you again. Why come to us? Is it your intention to approach other countries with this idea?’

  ‘Not if you decided to take it on and want exclusivity for it,’ responded Dean firmly. ‘We think you can take this project and develop it yourselves. Never mind about waiting for the test results in Britain. You have the ability to advance it more quickly and the capacity to do so in China. That’s why we’ve come to you first. We assure you it’s a great opportunity with an enormous potential for savings in costs.’

  The Chinaman mused over his words without speaking for a short while and Jack became listless, shuffling his feet.

  ‘There’s an old Chinese proverb,’ stated the ambassador calmly, still showing no expression on his face. ‘Man with head in clouds gets feet wet in puddle.’

  ‘What are you saying?’ asked Dean a little puzzled by the expression.

  ‘What I am saying is that you come to me with an untested idea and clearly you hope to gain financially from it. If we turn the situation on its head and I came to you with an untested idea seeking gain, what would you say to me?’

  The two visitors glanced at each other uneasily, squirming in their seats. The man was right. Without hesitation they would send the applicant away with a flea in his ear. However, the ambassador was unwilling to allow an opportunity as great as this one to pass him by. He recognised the potential and, as they men told him, it could be developed in China. If it proved to be successful, the rewards woul
d be substantial. He was not foolish enough to disregard the fact that the two men had come to him with an excellent proposition.

  ‘I presume this is not your invention,’ he went on thoughtfully trying to get to the bottom of the situation.

  ‘No... it isn’t,’ returned Dean, realising that this was the start of a much tougher interrogation.

  ‘And neither of you are scientists, I presume.!’ The situation was beginning to look stark.

  ‘No, we’re not,’ admitted Jack sullenly.

  ‘Then how do you come by this process?’ The Chinaman was determined to get down to the nitty-gritty without delay.

  ‘You don’t need to know that,’ commented Dean rudely.

  ‘But I do,’ exclaimed the ambassador. ‘Look at it from my point of view. You come to me with a process that’s been untested. It was not invented by you. It belongs to someone else but you’re trying to sell it to me. Why shouldn’t I be suspicious of your motives?’

  ‘We have possession of the details,’ returned Jack sharply. ‘Isn’t that enough? Surely that’s all you need to know. Yes it’s untested at present, but your people could develop it... and a damned sight quicker too.’

  ‘If it is possible to do that,’ uttered the other man. ‘If not, you’re wasting my time.’

  Jack became angry and was about to release some invective for the insult but Dean was wise enough to prevent him from doing so by placing his hand on his brother’s arm to stop him.

  ‘Fair enough,’ declared the younger brother swiftly. ‘If you’re not interested, we’ll take it to someone else.’

  ‘I didn’t say I wasn’t interested,’ retorted the Chinaman curtly. ‘I simply want to understand all the facts and learn of the provenance of the process and who owns it.’

  ‘I told you, it doesn’t matter who owns it,’ rattled Jack irately, trying to hold down his temper. ‘We have the information. Do you want it or not?’