Erik Otto - Detonation

The car began to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, the cityscape looming ever closer. He could see the tip of Nadar Tower edging out the other skyscrapers in the distance.

He pulled out his phone and checked his appearance in the camera app. His short-cropped black hair was neatly in place. He adjusted his tie only slightly then put the phone away in his pocket.

“Is it possible for you to let me out in the front of the building, instead of going to the parking lot?” he asked the car.

“Sir, you have been granted Level 7 Priority. It is intended for you to be dropped off on your designated floor. Is that agreeable?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Of course he was. He should have guessed they would show off the new car lift system on his first day.

Several people were waiting for a lift up the tower when the car arrived, but the car ignored them, adroitly hooking onto the lift rail on the side of the building without stopping. It then promptly started elevating up the side of the building.

The car docked on the eighty-seventh floor, and the door slid open simultaneously with the wall port. He walked into the building and was greeted by a short but immaculately dressed older man. It was a lavish lobby area, filled with curvy furniture, gilded edges and sparkling glass.

“Hello Mr. Kelemen. Please come this way.”

“Thank you. And your name is?

“Bennett, sir.” Bennett led him through a few work areas toward a major elevator.

“What’s your role at Nadar, Bennett?”

“Pardon me, sir, I have been told to take you directly to the executive floor, and not discuss any company business. Apologies.”

They took the main lift up several floors and then walked across the lobby to another elevator stenciled Executive Lift . Bennett used a key card, a retinal scan, and fingerprint identification to gain access to the executive elevator. Finally, they landed on the executive floor. The lift opened into a surprisingly austere room, with four spindly wooden chairs and a glass coffee table.

“Please wait here, sir.” Bennett left him there and took the lift down.

He was supposed to meet with the security director in his office, and the security director didn’t work on the executive floor. There must have been a change of plan.

A man looking to be of Asian descent strolled down the hall. He was just past middle age, of normal height, with a peppery five-o’clock shadow. He was dressed in a white shirt and brown blazer, with a tuft of hair sticking straight up at the front. Axel recognized him. It was Bhavin Nadar, the founder of Nadar Corporation.

When it was clear Bhavin was headed his way, Axel got to his feet and met him halfway with a handshake. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Nadar. I’m Axel Kelemen, your new security director.”

Bhavin looked him up and down. “Yes, yes of course you are. Nice to meet you. Well, you certainly look qualified.” Bhavin clutched his bicep figuratively and smiled.

Axel smiled back politely. “Thank you, sir.”

Bhavin said, “Why don’t you come with me,” and Axel fell in step with Bhavin, heading back in the direction Bhavin had come.

“I’m here to tell you why you’re really here,” Bhavin said as they walked down the hall together. “There is a saying in India: Satyameva jayate .”

“Truth alone triumphs,” Axel said.

“Of course you would know that. You did a tour in India, yes?”

“One year, sir.”

They didn’t stop in the boardroom but rather arrived in Bhavin’s office, and then walked farther still down some stairs leading out the back to another rather basic-looking meeting room a few levels down.

Bhavin gestured for him to sit down.

The office had what looked to be a large, full-length window with a view of the Manhattan cityscape. Axel could tell it wasn’t a window, but actually a high-resolution display screen. At this point, Axel had no idea which floor he was on or what side of the building he was in. Nadar Corporation definitely didn’t want people to know where this room was.

“And you did two special ops tours in India as well, yes?”

Axel didn’t respond.

“I’m sorry,” Bhavin said. “I’m sure you can’t confirm or deny the ops missions. I want you to know we know everything about you. We know you workout every morning for two hours. We know you conducted special ops missions in India, Russia, Congo and Yemen while in the CIA. We know about your children’s fondness for buttered pecan ice cream. We know you’re probably feeling guilty about all the money and perks we are offering, and we know the only reason you even considered this job is because of your friend Ryan’s recommendation.”

Axel didn’t react. He sat quietly with his leg crossed and hands on his lap.

“You see, we’ve had two investigators dig up as much as we could find, using methods that… well… it’s probably best you not even know about. We’ve also done the same for thirteen other candidates fielded for this position.”

Axel was aware they had at least one investigator following him, yet the amount they knew was disconcerting, particularly the special ops missions. They must have obtained some of the information through illegal means. At the very least, Nadar Corporation had some powerful intelligence capabilities.

Bhavin continued. “After all that, we selected you as the number one candidate. And not only because you’re eminently qualified, but because we believe this is a job you can be passionate about; because it’s a job that can save lives, and not in the dozens or hundreds, but in the millions.”

Axel only nodded slowly, waiting for the punch line.

Bhavin sighed, stood up and looked out into the fake skyline. He said, “You know, when you have the amount of money I have—when you’ve accomplished the things I’ve accomplished—you start to look for deeper meaning. You start to look for a different kind of security, one bodyguards and bulletproof vests can’t help you with.

“Nadar Corporation has business units in software, mining, defense, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, social media, and robotics. With that broad a purview, you begin to understand the world at a level few can. You’re often the first to ferret out those unknown unknowns. You begin to look for hazards that may actually pose a threat to all of humanity simply because the wellbeing of humanity is tied so closely to your business.”

Bhavin looked over his shoulder at Axel. His eyes were fiery, intense. “We’ve found a few.”

Bhavin paced in front of the screen. “That’s why you’re here. We don’t trust our bungling governments to address these threats. There are no really effective NGOs. All the current mitigations in play are facile and pointless. So… it means, we, Nadar Corporation, need to do it ourselves.”

Bhavin looked over to gauge Axel’s expression, then continued. “All of this will be done completely covertly. There will be military-style ops involved. You will have the most advanced intelligence and military technology at your disposal.”

Axel’s mind was racing. He tried to think of questions that would ferret out how serious Bhavin really was. “What’s your budget for this?” he asked.

“Two hundred million, for now,” Bhavin said, wrinkling his nose as if he was talking about a stale piece of bread. “We would do more, but that’s the limit we can go to without being subject to excessive budgetary scrutiny.”

“What level of organizational support is there for this project?”

“Just me and the board, but they will not have the level of understanding I do—for their own protection.”

“Will I be required to do anything illegal?”

Bhavin sighed and shrugged. “Sometimes you have to do things for the greater good. Sometimes those things are messy. But you know that. It’s one of the reasons you were chosen. I can assure you, though, there is nothing unethical involved.”