Heavy Traffic

"If I did, it wouldn't have happened. How could anyone think that I would ever let Mark Morris work for one of my companies?"

"Why?" asked Amanda.

"Mark Morris is the guy that was pretending to be Kimberly's brother," said Sean.

"Sean, I'm beginning to think that we have some serious personnel issues to deal with."

"Yes, Mrs. Wallace, I think we do."

~~~

Tom Folsom was recovering from his latest sexual tryst with Kimberly Morris (nee DuPont) when his cell phone rang. Kimberly handed him the phone from the bedside table as she left the bed, walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Folsom saw from his caller ID that the call was from Kimberly's husband and smiled as he answered, "What's up Mark?"

"It looks like our Boy Scout has resurfaced and he appears to have brought a missus Boy Scout back with him. You need to check the e-mail that Bryce Pierre just sent out. Now it appears there's more than one. Hold on, let me read this new one."

While Morris read the new e-mail, Folsom went to his laptop on the desk in the bedroom and logged into his own e-mail account. Kimberly came out of the bathroom with a damp washcloth and began to silently clean the remnants of their sex from him as he read the messages.

"You don't have any idea who this Amanda Wallace is?" asked Folsom.

Kimberly raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"No clue," said Morris. "She certainly believes she has some authority though. I can tell you that she has an accent; it sounded British but it may have been Australian. I've never been good at distinguishing the difference between the two. If she is to be believed, she will not tolerate anything short of immediate and full compliance with her orders. I didn't want to test her too much when she called me."

"Has anyone heard from the Boy Scout himself?" asked Folsom.

"Apparently he made arrangements earlier today through his assistant Maureen to fly someone named Gideon James from Dulles to Bainbridge, Georgia."

Kimberly saw the reaction to whatever her husband had told Folsom before Morris heard it in his response, "Did you say Gideon James and he was being flown to Bainbridge?"

"That's what I was told," replied Morris.

"See what other information you can dig up on the reason for the flight arrangements, and do it quickly. We may have bigger problems than a meddlesome owner showing up."

Looking down at Kimberly as she started trying to restore his arousal with her mouth he added, "Have you spoken to anyone else about any of this yet?"

"No," said Morris. "I assume Kimberly is still with you, so you can share what you want with her."

Mark knew exactly what his wife and Tom Folsom did while together. He had been their cuckold since he and Kimberly met, and accepted his role willingly.

"I'll discuss it with her when the time is right. I think the three of us need to have a conference call with Bryce Pierre this afternoon."

"Got it. Talk to you later."

Kimberly removed her mouth from Folsom when she saw that her efforts were not achieving the desired results.

"Want to tell me what's going on?"

"You may want to read these two e-mails and then we'll see if we can start figuring out what's going on together."

He stood from the chair so that she could sit down in front of the laptop. She opened the oldest e-mail from Bryce Pierre first.

"Did that son of a bitch marry someone?" she seethed. "Who is this Amanda Wallace?"

"It appears that she and Sean are husband and wife from the content and tone of Pierre's e­mail. Your husband said that she has an accent, either British or Australian, and she expects people to do what she says when she says it."

Folsom nudged Kimberly out of the chair and took her place, "You better get dressed and on your way. I need you to be in your own office before I arrange a conference call with Pierre."

Kimberly's anger had replaced her own arousal so Folsom received no argument from her as she went back into the bathroom and started the shower.

~~~

Sean turned his attention back to the road. They had been on Interstate 75 for the last ten minutes so he and Mickey had been watching for the target truck being followed by a blue van. He called his uncle for a location update.

Kirby gave them the latest, "The target truck is in the far-right lane approaching exit 117 so you're about ten miles back. There is road construction that has the highway reduced to three lanes at that point. Your vehicle description has been sent to all the local authorities, so you have a green light to push your speed as circumstances allow."

"How soon can you coordinate a conference call with the three other trucks?"

"I want to confirm a couple of other arrangements for your support first. Let's shoot for about ten minutes from now and I'll bring everyone in on a conference call from here," said Kirby.

"Sounds good. Talk to you then."

When Sean disconnected the call, Amanda asked him if she could use his phone to check his e-mail for a confirmation from Mark Morris.

"Sure," said Sean. "While you have it, you may want to call Brian Hibbert. He is in charge of IT support for my sporting goods retail operation, 'Wilderness Outfitters'. His office is in Alpharetta, Georgia so depending on the hotel we stay at he will be within an hour's drive from us. Ask him to get you set up with an e-mail account with Wallace Enterprises, then tell him what you would like for a cell phone, laptop, and anything else you want. Tell him we want it prepared to be delivered to you tonight at the latest."

"Thank you, Sean, that would make things, much easier for me."

"Nothing's too good for Mrs. Wallace," Sean grinned at her.

Mickey's expression was turning more and more stoic as Sean and Amanda continued their charade of being husband and wife, but she didn't say anything.

Amanda found an e-mail from Mark Morris and after reading it relayed the information to Sean and Mickey, "Mr. Morris' tone denotes a need for some attitude adjustment but he has confirmed thirty rooms for us at a hotel called 'Wonderland Inn and Suites' off Interstate 20, near someplace called 'Six Flags over Georgia".

"The girls will like that place," said Sean. "The 'Wonderland' brand is our family-oriented chain. We try to place them near amusement parks and other attractions popular with families. The rooms and amenities are tailored more for children than hotels that cater to business travelers."

"Let me call Mr. Morris back and let him know that I received the information," said Amanda, but she didn't wait for a response before dialing the phone.

"Mr. Morris' office."

Amanda recognized Nina's voice. "Hello, Nina. This is Amanda Wallace again. May I speak with Mr. Morris please?"

"Certainly Mrs. Wallace, I'll get him for you. Please hold on."

Mark Morris was on the phone within seconds, "Mrs. Wallace?"

"Mr. Morris, I wanted to thank you for your assistance with the rooms. That is exactly the type of performance Sean and I will expect from all of our employees in the future. I look forward to meeting you in the very near future. You did receive notice that we will be calling a manager's meeting soon, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. Does this mean that you and Mr. Wallace will be taking a more hands-on role from now on?"

"I am not going to discuss our intentions with you, Mr. Morris, because they are not your concern. Just keep doing your job and following directions given to you and the future will take care of itself. How long have you been in your current position Mr. Morris?"

"I have been here six months"

"And what happened to Keith Longo to make your position available to you?"

"Keith was discharged," said Morris.

"Interesting," said Amanda. "I'm sure that Sean would have mentioned it to me if he discharged one of our vice presidents, so maybe you can enlighten me as to who other than either Mr. Wallace or I feel that they had the authority to discharge Keith Longo."

"I wasn't with the company at the time, so I can't say who made the decision," said Morris but his wavering voice implied that he did.

"Well then," Amanda continued, "Assuming that the same person who felt they had the authority to fire Keith Longo also felt that they had the authority to hire his replacement, maybe you can tell me who it was that hired you?"

Morris knew that Tom Folsom would not be pleased but he saw no way to avoid answering the question posed to him, "I was hired by Tom Folsom."

"Ah yes, the elusive Mr. Tom Folsom. Tell me, Mr. Morris, are you loyal to Mr. Folsom?"

"Sure, I guess. He's treated me well and I respect him, so yeah I would say I'm loyal to him."

"That's fine. Now tell me if you are more loyal to Mr. Folsom than you are to Mr. Wallace and me? I mean, your history of deception where Sean is concerned would surely make us curious don't you think?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Morris.

"Do you intend to blame Kimberly DuPont for all the deception, Mr. Morris?"

He was silent so long that Amanda decided to prompt him, "How is Kimberly by the way?"

His response was so low that Amanda barely heard it, "She's fine."

"How does she feel about you working for Sean?"

"Well, I have been reporting to Tom Folsom since I started so it hasn't been an issue for us yet."

"Do you think it will be an issue once the proper chain of command is re-established?"

"Reporting to you or Sean will be a bigger issue for her than for me," he offered.

"How so?" Amanda asked.

"Kimberly was hired to replace Marilyn Turner as vice president of the Communications division at the same time I was hired for my position."

"Was Marilyn Turner also discharged?" asked Amanda.

"Yes."

"Interesting. Mr. Morris, when you happen to speak to Mr. Folsom please let him know that I would like to chat with him at his earliest convenience or by the end of business today, whichever occurs first."

"I'll pass your request along..."

Amanda's voice became very firm and tight, "Mr. Morris, do not ever confuse a direct order from me as a 'request'. Is that clear?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good. Thank you again for arranging for the rooms." She disconnected the call and handed the phone back to Sean.

"It appears that this Tom Folsom fellow has initiated a mutiny of sorts within your company, Sean," said Amanda. "What do you know about him?"

"We'll discuss it later," said Sean, dismissing the subject with obvious irritation in his voice.

"You forgot to call Brian Hibbert." He handed the phone back to her. "Please make it quick."

Amanda wasn't offended by Sean's tone as she took the phone back, scrolled through the contact list until she found the right number, and then hit "dial".

"IT, Brian speaking."

"Hello Brian, my name is Amanda Wallace."

"Hello, Mrs. Wallace. Congratulations to you and Sean. What can I do for you?"

"Sean asked me to call you to have you set me up with a corporate e-mail account and to see if you could provide me with a cell phone and laptop computer."

"It would be my pleasure. I'll get your e-mail account established immediately. Your user name will be your first name and last name separated by a period at Wallace dot com. Your temporary password will be today's date, entering two digits for both the month and day but four digits for the year. No spaces or symbols."

"Sounds easy enough," Amanda said.

"What type of cell phone and laptop would you like?" Brian asked.

"I think things would be simplest if you were to get me the same models for both as Sean currently has. That way we can share accessories, chargers, and be able to seamlessly move between each other's units."

Amanda enjoyed the permanence that her request implied.

"I hope I'm not being too forward, but I can see how Sean would have been attracted to you. You obviously have great common sense and make very wise choices."

"Thank you, Brian, I am flattered. How soon can you have the items ready?"

"I have the items available now. The cell phone will need to be activated and have a number assigned to it, but my rep with the cell phone company should be able to handle that within half an hour. With your permission, I will go ahead and set up and then synchronize your e-mail account on it."

"That would be appreciated, Brian. Thank you"

"My pleasure. The laptop is also available but it will take about two hours to burn the standard image files onto the hard drive."

"That's wonderful Brian. Would you be able to have the items couriered to me at the Wonderland Inn and Suites off Interstate 20 near Six Flags as soon as they're ready? If I haven't checked in yet, just leave them with the front desk for me."

"Consider it done. Is there anything else that I can do for you, Mrs. Wallace?"

"Not at the moment, but I may be calling on you for some additional IT projects soon."

"I look forward to meeting you. Take care."

Amanda handed the phone back to Sean once again. He nodded and smiled at her as he paired the hands-free Bluetooth one more time and also plugged in the charger to the cigarette lighter so that he wouldn't have to worry about the battery going dead on them.

Sean had also liked the permanence that Amanda's request implied, and he felt proud that others were as impressed with his "wife" as he was.

Mickey continued to observe Sean's responses to Amanda. She had to admit that Amanda certainly knew how to handle herself and to effectively impart her will onto others, using either kindness or intimidation when each was called for. She had a smile that inspired servitude, without arrogance or entitlement. Each interaction that Sean had observed between Amanda and another person had obviously increased his admiration for her.

Her "Adam, come try a taste of this apple" smile had been saved exclusively for Sean, and it had worked its magic. It was also obvious that Amanda worshiped Sean and she made no secret of her devotion to him. For two people who had known each other for only a few hours, there was a clear and visible bond, and much to Mickey's dismay, it seemed to be growing by the minute. Amanda was about to impress her and Sean even further.

"Sean, could I make a suggestion about the rescue?" Amanda asked.

Sean met her eyes in the rearview mirror and said, "What's that?"

"We're assuming that the blue van following the truck is carrying the traders, right? I suggest that we verify that by you driving past the van and let me see if I recognize anyone in it. If it is holding the traders, then I'll try to get a count of how many of them are in the van, which will then tell us how many might be either in the cab of the truck or inside the carrier with the girls. Ideally, all six traders would be in the blue van, which would allow us to separate them from the truck and make rescuing the girls much safer for everyone."

"How would you suggest separating the van from the truck?"

"The first idea that comes to mind is to give them a flat tire so that they have to pull over to the side of the road. If you position this car behind them, maybe Mickey could shoot out their right rear tire without them noticing the shot. Once they are on the side of the road and away from the truck, they would be sitting ducks."

Sean considered her suggestion. "Even if only some of the traders are in the van, dividing their force makes sense. Okay, let's start by passing the van and getting you a chance to see inside it. My back windows are tinted dark enough that no one will be able to see you back there as long as you don't press your face against the inside of the glass."

"Speak of the devil," said Mickey. "I think I have the blue van in sight about a half-mile ahead in the right lane."

"Okay," said Sean. "I'll pass it on the left so why don't you go ahead and scoot over to the right side of the back-seat Amanda? Mickey, as we pass the truck try to see if there is anyone in the cab besides the driver. You may not be able to see anything until we're far enough in front of it for you to see the windshield in your side mirror so let's get it adjusted for you now. I have the controls over here, so I'll move it per your instructions. Use one of the trucks behind us as your guide."

Mickey guided the adjustment of the right-side mirror until it was positioned so that she could use it to see the windshield of trucks as they passed them.

"All set," she said.

Amanda had moved over behind Mickey and she also confirmed that she was in position. Sean sped up to cut the distance between them and the blue van faster. Within only a few seconds, they were passing it. Sean slowed slightly to allow Amanda plenty of time to inspect the occupants of the van.

"I recognize the driver and front passenger," said Amanda. "There are two passengers in the middle seat and two more in the very back seat, but I can't see their faces clearly. I would say that we have all six of the traders in the van."

"That's good news," said Sean. "Now let's see if the driver of the truck is alone. Get ready Mickey."

Sean sped up again to pass the container truck. He had to get ahead of it by several car lengths before Mickey had the windshield visible to her in the side mirror.

"Only the driver is visible," she said.

"Okay," said Sean. "I'm going to get off at the next exit and let them get in front of us again."

He heard his cell phone ring through the car's speakers and he answered it.

"Sean?" said his Uncle Kirby. "Hold on while I bring the three drivers on the line with us."

"Before you do, Amanda got a look at the men in the blue van and identified them as the ones who captured her and the girls. That is definite confirmation that we have the right truck and it is our target."

"Good to know," said Kirby. "Hold on. Stan, Bruce, and Tony; are all of you on?"

Three separate voices acknowledged their connection to the conference call. "Good. Sean, why don't you take it from here?"

"Yes, sir. Gentlemen, my name is Sean Wallace. While you all work for one of the companies I own, I am recruiting each of you today to perform a task in service to your country, not to me or my companies. We need your assistance to rescue 25 young girls who are being held prisoner against their will. There should be no danger to any of you related to your participation in this operation, and your activities will be legal and fully sanctioned by the proper authorities. I must insist that you keep our operation secret until it is completed, but after that, you will be free to discuss it. Are you all in agreement with participating in the operation under these terms?"

"Yes," came the first response.

"Count me in," came the second.

"I'm in," came the third.

"Thanks," said Sean. "Now here's what we need to do. The target truck is currently northbound on I-75 approaching Exit 146. As soon as it passes Exit 155 where the three of you are waiting, you will need to enter the highway and start positioning yourselves. Once the target truck has committed to taking the Interstate 475 bypass around Macon, one of you will need to move in front of the target while at the same time, another of you needs to pull directly to the left of the target and pace it exactly. That will have it blocked front and side. There is a blue van following the truck and my silver Volvo SUV will be behind it. I need the third of you to move in behind my car. Several marked and unmarked police cars will be tight on your tail waiting so don't get concerned when you see them. Any questions so far?"

One of the truckers spoke up, "This is Bruce. I'll take the lead position in front of the target; Tony why don't you take the side and Stan you can take the rear. I understand we don't want to use cell phones during the operation itself, so let's plan on channel eight on our CBs so that it would be a quick flip if we needed to switch to channel nine for communicating with the police."