The Term Sheet | Wattys 2016 Winner

Chapter 43

David and Andrew stared out the window at the pouring rain. It had already been two hours since the phone call. They sat silently. A black Lincoln Town Car finally pulled up.

"It's them."

The back doors swung open. The old man with piercing eyes stepped out.

"That's Shawn," said David. "And the geek is Brandon."

Brandon tried to cover himself from the rain with his tweed blazer, but Shawn walked as if he didn't even notice the deluge. By the time they reached the front steps, David had swung open the door and the two men strode in. Shawn stared at David up and down. Then looked around the apartment slowly, taking everything in. Finally he spoke.

"Why did you call me this morning?" asked Shawn.

"I have a bit of a situation here and I think you might be the only person who can help me. Without your help, I'll be forced to shut down Cryptobit."

"Shut it down?"

"Yeah. Our business partner screwed us over."

"What do you mean?"

"He's blackmailing us. He wants us to accept an acquisition and become the flagship product for his new product release and is threatening a lawsuit that will scare off the other investors who are about to write us a big check. The lawsuit would never hold up in court, but it doesn't need to."

"So you called me?"

"We're out of money and time. It's the only card I had left to play."

Shawn looked at David with what seemed like pride and after a moment, asked: "Is Doug Kensington the one blackmailing you?"

"Yes. How'd you know that?" Shawn smiled but didn't answer. "If we don't change his mind, your chances of tapping messages disappear. Up in smoke, just like our company. So in a way, he is blackmailing you too. That is, unless you help get us the money."

Brandon laughed and said: "You think the Secret Service is going to give you money?"

"If you want to be able to listen in to your bad guy, you will."

"Last time you swore your system was impossible to tap into, even for you."

"Maybe I was wrong."

"What's your deadline?"

"Tomorrow night."

"The Secret Service doesn't deal with blackmailers," said Brandon. "We can't get involved unless he directly threatens the president or his family."

"You wouldn't be here if there wasn't already a threat against the president. Look, I know it's a long shot, but it's the only plan I have left. Why did you come here, anyhow? Unless I'm mistaken, the president's nowhere near Oregon right now."

"That's none of your business," barked Brandon.

"You come to my house with no notice, I think it's my business now."

"If I recall, you invited us here."

"Yeah, this time, but..."

"It's a matter of national security and you don't have clearance," said Brandon. "Look, we don't have time for this. I couldn't care less about your little startup. It should be illegal as far as I am concerned, but right now I have a job to do. How do you crack your system?"

"First, wire the money."

Brandon stood up to walk out, but Shawn put his arm on Brandon's shoulder and pulled him down again.

"How much do you need?" asked Shawn.

"A million dollars by tomorrow afternoon."

"Assuming we can get that kind of money, which we can't, explain your plan," said Shawn.

"First I need to know whose account it is you want to tap."

"That's also a matter of national security," repeated Brandon.

"Doug Kensington," said Shawn.

Brandon blushed. David went pale.

"What?"

"Your business partner. We need to tap his account."

"What does Doug Kensington have to do with national security?"

"The deal is we loan you a million dollars and you tap into his account. No questions."

"Loan? I think you mean invest, don't you?" said Andrew.

"No. I said loan. There is no way the Secret Service hands out a million dollars. But I might be able to get the money temporarily for whatever plan you have if we can get it all back."

"But what happens to Cryptobit after that?" asked Andrew.

"That's not my problem," said Shawn. "Now tell me the rest of your plan."

They sat at the table as David laid out a tiny USB drive, a blank piece of paper and a pencil and began explaining everything.