A Drone over New York

As day crept into evening, the various departments still allowed to work at the office began to wrap up for the day. Kate emerged from her office after yet another round of calls with Rachael.

The first day of a big story dictated the tradition of her buying Missy and Max a drink. Kate looked like she needed one too. After she’d spent a day of dealing with Rachael, Max could completely understand why. As much as he wanted to just head home and start trying to work out the bidding, he needed to stay for at least one round. He also felt like he’d earned a drink.

Despite it being Manhattan, they would only ever go to one bar on a night like this: Jimmy’s. It was tradition at its best. It wasn’t the greatest dive bar in the world, but it was theirs. They even had a couple of decent beers on tap too.

The three wrapped up the day and headed for the elevator. It wouldn’t be too long until the others would join them.

The barman smiled as the three team members walked in. He probably knew they would be coming in today. He was good like that. Always knew what brought the people in. He looked after them too.

The place was still a little busy with the summer work crowd. Kate got their orders and headed to the bar. Missy and Max were left to find a table.

“Hey, thanks for today,” Missy said once they were seated and well out of Kate’s earshot.

“No worries. Just don’t go chasing my job just yet,” Max replied with a small smile.

“Who said I wanted your job anyway?” Missy shot back with a smile of her own.

They both had a good laugh. Missy was ambitious to say the least, but Max liked that.

They traded a few more verbal spars until Kate returned from the bar. It was quick, considering the crowd still there, but Jimmy probably let her push to the front.

“Shame Madison couldn’t stick around,” Kate said as she sat down.

“That was always going to happen,” Max said.

“I don’t think she was going to handle all the nude photos anyway,” Missy said.

They all had a bit of a chuckle with that. Everyone knew Max liked to give the really hardcore ones to the intern.

“Besides, there was no way either Missy or I could babysit her today,” Max said, suddenly feeling serious. “We had too much on our plates.”

“Yeah, everyone was flat-out today. Callie managed to stick around, though,” Missy said as she held up her glass at Max.

She and Kate seemed to know something was going on. But maybe they just weren’t sure exactly what? Either way, Max didn’t like it. Max smiled back and said nothing.

“So, Max, how did you get Michael to keep Callie?” Kate asked.

Max felt himself blush a little.

“Max just likes weaving his magic,” Missy said with a small laugh before Max could say anything.

The jokes started to go downhill from there, as they always did. It was their way of blowing off steam after a day like today. Max loved it, though. Both girls could give as good as they got, which normally meant Max was torn to shreds.

It wasn’t too long until their glasses were empty and Kate was handing Missy the tab token.

“Drinks are on Martha tonight,” Kate said, her tone sounding suddenly official and proper. She sat up straight, the way she always did before an important decision, and looked at the youngest member of the team. “Therefore, Missy, as the newest member, you are hereby nominated as drinks gofer. I’ll have another vermouth and Max will have an IPA.”

Missy grabbed the token with a smile and headed to the bar.

“Jokes aside, Max, nice work today,” Kate said as she seized the moment away from Missy.

“Thanks” was all Max could say, suddenly feeling himself blushing again.

“No, I mean really well done. Giving the presentation to Missy was a smart move. Even Martha somehow knew she’s a massive fan. It made her look really good. It also made you and I look like we’ve really developed her. You know how Martha loves that kind of thing. You did us both a big favor today.”

“I just thought it was time,” Max responded with a shrug. “Besides, I knew Martha would want my opinion, but the write-up could be anyone’s. The stuff Missy knows would take someone in research hours to compile.” He paused, then said, “Just remember this come bonus time.”

Kate smiled. “So how did you manage to get Michael to keep Callie around today anyway?”

Max divulged his little strategy in a low voice to Kate. It wasn’t a terrible secret after all. Kate, though, was impressed with the idea.

“I’m glad she listened to your advice. Her doing that coffee run was a godsend. She was the only intern who seemed to understand their role today. Shame Madison didn’t have that type of initiative.”

“You know I’m not a huge fan of her,” Max said.

“I know. Just to keep you in the loop, and don’t tell Missy this, but I’ve spoken to HR. I don’t think she will be here at the end of the summer.”

Neither will I, Max thought. Today’s reaction was more than enough to tell him the money he could make from this would allow him to quit.

“To get rid of her sooner,” Max said after a moment, “you could always send her on a field assignment and make her wear that baseball cap of yours.”

Kate slit her eyes at him. “Careful, I might make you wear it.”

It was an old joke of theirs about the time Kate was sent out on fieldwork and almost quit because she had to wear a Yankees baseball cap all day. The woman from Boston was very protective of the way her blonde hair looked. The fact that it was a Yankees cap only added insult to injury.

“Incoming!” called Missy as she arrived with the drinks.

But before she could sit, they all heard Michael and his team walk in the door. The group quickly became busy pulling tables and chairs together. It was only a minute later when Sarah’s team walked in along with Martha.

Seeing the smile Martha was wearing, Max knew it was going to be a big night. She was clearly over the moon. As they sat down, Max heard Sarah blurting out some of the numbers the site had seen. Max understood why they were all so excited. The company must have made a fortune today.

Amidst the chaos of the group, Callie grabbed a seat far from Max. It was their little agreement not to get too up close and personal at work drinks.

Jimmy came around from behind the bar to place the pitchers on the table along with three bottles of white wine. He even gave Martha a hug hello. The drinks were poured, and the teams informally debriefed each other on the day’s events.

“Alright,” Michael announced once they were all done. “Bets please. Everyone knows the rules. Ten bucks buys in. Closest takes all.”

Michael’s slightly slurred speech was already starting to reflect the two beers he’d already downed. They all had a laugh. It was a game they always played on the first night. Everyone pulled out $10 and placed it into the center. Michael counted the bills to make sure he got something from everyone.

“We start with the most junior. So, Callie, please tell the group your theory,” Michael said, trying to sound official. “It can either be serious or crazy. Since this is the first time you’ve played, I should warn you, crazy sometimes wins.”

The group fell silent and all stared at the young intern. Max watched her try and retreat into herself and away from all the attention.

“Um, I think it was a paparazzi photographer with a drone,” she said meekly.

Everyone had a small laugh. It was a poor attempt at the game, as well as a silly, illogical suggestion. It was hard to get a noncommercial unlicensed drone inside the perimeter. Max would need to give her a few more ideas. She needed to take this a little more seriously. This wasn’t just for fun. This was how the team brainstormed story ideas. The best ones would appear in tomorrow’s edition. Martha and Michael might forgive a first-time guess, but next time they would be judging her.

Ted from Michael’s team went next: “I say it was her agent. She wants to shed her good-girl image. Hence why there was no anti-drone plating on the window.”

That caused both a lot of laughs and objections. It was a much better response than Callie’s. It looked to Max like Missy was ready to defend her favorite singer, but she held her tongue, waiting her turn.

Next up Tiffany said it was a Tyell’s ex-boyfriend, Sam Rodriguez. Their split had been messy, and he lost out. Tiffany had been amazing on that case.

The game continued as Penny went next. Max stopped and thought for a moment. How many of them would ever even dream they could do what he was doing right now? If only they knew that the seller was sitting among them.

Another uproar brought Max’s attention back to the table. Penny had suggested something crazy as usual. She was always good for a laugh, and got a good one now. Max laughed along regardless. Penny’s jokes were never the same on a retelling. She was just that kind of wordsmith.

It was finally Missy’s turn.

“Firstly let me just say I don’t think it was her agent,” she started with.

The whole crew cheered. It was a $5 fine for putting down another suggestion.

“Money well spent,” Missy said as she handed a five to Michael. “Now for my suggestion. The seller is someone from a delivery company. I think the footage was captured by mistake, but a pilot or customer service rep has managed to get hold of the footage, and now they are looking to sell it.”

Wow, that was close, Max thought. She basically hit Dale right on the head. If it was a different crowd, they might have put the pieces together on his online persona and figured it must have been Dale. But that is why the relationship worked between Max and Dale.

Becky was up next. “Anti-church group,” she said quickly.

It was a good guess, and relevant to the story. Max thought she had probably been working on that angle. It was also a good one because of what had happened to Jack.

Max offered his typical hacker story. It was what everyone expected from him. He had hit the nail on the head a few times. Ever since that UK phone-hacking scandal, hackers were always an easy guess. It didn’t get any laughs or cheers.

Kate was next and suggested it was Tyell herself. She was fed up with the clean, churchgoing girl image and wanted a change. She couldn’t use her agent, so she used this intermediary. Max liked the idea. He might have to use it if he needed something to cover his tracks. Missy went to say something, but Max could see her stop herself. She didn’t want to be the one defending Tyell. That was always a losing battle in this group.

“It was the guy, whoever he is,” offered Michael when it was his turn.

Everyone had a laugh.

“No generalizations,” Kate countered. “Name please!”

“Justin Webber,” he said. It was her current boyfriend and a safe bet. “I mean, it just doesn’t make sense for it to be anyone else.”

That got a lot of japes from everyone. The conversation immediately got hijacked into who the guy was. Just as theories started coming out, Michael insisted they finish the game. Only one person was left.

It was Martha, who surprised everyone with her guess of a disgruntled neighbor. No one had thought of that. Martha was also always someone who went for safer territory. Perhaps she was more intrigued about how this had happened than Max had first realized.

With the bets formally captured, the group started dividing up into smaller conversations. Most of them went back to the argument on who the guy was. Max was caught between Missy and Kate arguing about all the Disney kid stars who had shed their clean image.

Max finished his token second drink before declaring his was going to head home. A collective sigh went through their little group. No one wanted the party to break up. A few of the others were already on their fourth. Michael was on his sixth and already ranting through some of the better theories to Callie. He had cornered her, and she looked like she was enjoying watching her boss be a little drunk.

Kate tried to convince Max to stay, but he pulled the whole early-morning thing on her. It was true, though. He had barely slept last night. It was also going to be a long day tomorrow.

He didn’t mention that it was also going to be a long night. He had a ton of stuff to prepare everything for the bidding. He wanted to pull another image or two to send out tomorrow. He had the other bidders to go through, the photo identification to review. The list was endless. It was going to be a full-time job managing the sell side of the bidding.

When Max stood, Missy tried to sit him back down. No one wanted the party to end so soon. But Max said no and grabbed his leather satchel.

He looked across the table to Callie, who gave him that look asking if he wanted her to come with him. She was having fun chatting with the drunk Michael, but she was going to want to stay at his place tonight.

Max walked around the table saying his customary good-byes before he finally reached the rowdy end. He watched Michael and Callie do a shot before he stepped close. Michael instantly knew what Max was trying to do and wouldn’t let him leave. He always had that way about him. But it did give Max an opportunity to sit with Callie for a moment.

Michael rambled off a few theories on who the guy was and his normal theory on how Tyell was on her way down, so she needed something to fire her back up again. It was a little bit of a drunken rant, but Max let it happen. It was fun to listen to until Michael finished his drink. That was the only way to escape him.

“Don’t go anywhere, Max,” Michael said as he tried to stand. “Let me grab another round first. Who’s up for a shot?”

He counted Max even though he didn’t raise his hand, then stumbled off to the bar and left Max with Callie.

“You want me to come with?” she offered quietly and out of earshot of everyone else.

Max could tell she was having fun and didn’t really want to leave. First-night drinks are always the best ones. Max would normally love to stay, but tonight’s work at home was too important.

“Nah, I’m just exhausted and need to pass out,” Max said. “This looks like it is going to be a big night. Stay out. Have fun. Just make sure you chat to the others. Michael has a way of cornering the new person. Make sure you grab some time with Martha if you can.”

Callie nodded. Max could tell she really wanted him to stay. But she already had a few to drink and would probably want to break their agreement of no PDA at work.

“Let’s celebrate this weekend,” Max said with a wink before he stood up again.

Max looked around the bar and realized now was the time to make for the door, as Michael was engrossed in a discussion with the barman.

Outside, he pulled out his phone and hailed a Johnny-Cab on the company account. It was hot on the street, and the two drinks made Max’s head a little dizzy. He should have grabbed a bottle of water before he left. He didn’t worry, though. The cab vending machine would have one.

Two minutes later it arrived and he climbed in.

“Johnny, security on, please,” Max said after they got underway.

The computer confirmed the security functions were operating and that his voice was no longer being recorded. Max didn’t really need to do it, but it was habit. Especially since his contact at the cab company had given him all those recordings for the Bubber case. The video couldn’t be turned off, though.

He grabbed a cold bottle of water from the vending machine and guzzled it down. He didn’t realize how much he was dehydrated until then.

Now a little more relaxed, Max pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his dark email, opening any message that looked serious. The best bid stood at $3 million. Only $1 million more to go before Max knew he could just quit.

It could all wait until he was home, though. There, he would type out the emails and check on the facial recognition.

“Johnny, news please,” Max said after he read his emails.

His timing was perfect. The anchor was leading with the Tyell story. If the taxicab news channel was covering it, odds were every other major news channel was already doing so as well.

The cab pulled up in front of Max’s apartment. He got out, but then stopped at the store next door first to grab another bottle of water. It was a hot night, and likely to be a long one.

On his way out of the store, his phone buzzed, and caller ID showed it was Michael. He was probably calling to ask where Max had gone. Michael was one of those party animals who never really let you leave a party. He always tried to get you to come back. There was no way Max was going to answer it. Tonight he was going to make himself four million dollars. Then he could go and party.

He said the number in his head again. Four million dollars. It was a big number. He tried to think of what he would do with it all. The heat made the idea of sitting on a beach somewhere more appealing than ever.

A few moments later his phone buzzed again, and this time it was Callie calling. Michael had probably convinced her to call him using her phone. Again Max let it go through to voicemail. Michael was probably now wondering why she had his number. It was not something that Max was going to like dealing with tomorrow.

He fumbled with the keys to the front door. The lock was sticky in the heat; it always was. One of the first things he would do was move out of this apartment. Get somewhere nice. He was sick of living in a crappy apartment with a crappy front door. A crappy three-flight walk up in a building that got way too hot in the summer, and then he had to spend too much on AC.

Max finally got the door open and made the muggy three-flight climb to his apartment. He hated this climb in the summer. The stale air made the breathing taste foul.

When he finally reached his landing, out of breath, he turned and saw, to his dismay, that the door to his apartment was wide open.

Without even going in, he knew that his place had been trashed.