The 16mm Caper

Chapter 8

Austin leaned one hand on the windowsill and watched the traffic far below as he listened to Vera's report on the speakerphone, nodding with relief. Using Vera on operations was always a risk; her penchant for overreacting in some situations was always a reason for concern. This time, however, she seemed to have behaved very well indeed - for Vera. All that remained was to see if the man called for a meeting.

He commended her for her behaviour and advised her to keep him informed if a call came in. He pondered his relationship with Vera and what would become of it after they succeeded in getting the film.

Austin shut off the phone and stretched his back; a vintage film like that would be desirous to have beginning a new career. He decided a call to Julia was in order. Punching the number into the phone, he listened to the ringing patiently. He knew it would be ten or twelve before it was picked up, and he was right - as usual.

"Yes?" The voice was soft and fragile.

"Julia? Austin. How are you, love?"

"Trying to avoid another boring get together with Ralston. How about you?"

"Better than can be expected, dear. I have some further news on our business interest I'd like to go over with you."

"I'm flattered, Austin." There was a moment's pause. "Can it be later this week, will you be available?"

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of not being available for you Julia, you know that." He felt a jab of disappointment.

"Hmmm, yes. I'll call you." The phone clicked softly and Austin stayed standing with the receiver to his ear, his eyes staring out over the city and seeing nothing.

******

Concerto Number 3 in G Major from Bach's Brandenburg series floated eloquently in the background as Harry, arriving unannounced registered his complaints to Austin, who sat patiently, eyes half closed, sponging in the harmonic qualities of the music.

"She's psycho. You know that, don't you? I don't mind extreme measures when they're called for, but she does it 'cause she likes it. She's nuts." Harry was reporting on Vera's attitude toward he and Douglas when they were away from Austin. Douglas had fallen victim to another of her pressure point attacks.

"I wouldn't let her hear you voicing those sentiments, Harry." Austin opened his eyes and gazed at the man seated across from him. Bach washed over the conversational pause. "Douglas should practice being a quicker study."

"I don't see why you even needed her. I can handle a simple job like this."

Austin smiled fleetingly. "Let's not kid ourselves, Harry, these jobs are never simple. Should the young man refuse our offer we- I- could be in a very awkward position. I prefer someone, shall we say, more inclined to deal swiftly and firmly without hesitation or moral consideration if the need arises."

Harry made a humphing sound. "Well you got that all right - in spades."

"Just let Vera be Vera, Harry. You do your job and if Douglas is smart he can simply do his. We'd like to do this in a businesslike fashion but we both know when large sums of money are involved circumstances tend to get complicated. If things become a problem, I'll deal with Vera. Just try and stay on her good side." His voice quavered, and he sat up in his chair, reaching for the remote for his music system.

Deal with Vera. The phrase sat heavily in his head as he carelessly allowed his mind to slip back in time. Back to a place where his comfortable world of high-powered wheeling and dealing had suddenly come to a screeching halt with the diagnosis of his teenaged only child as having a dissociative disorder - an antisocial personality disorder.

Austin replayed the doctor's explanation in his head, reliving the memory of disbelief and helplessness. His wife fared even worse, falling into a deep depression requiring psychotherapy and a continual diet of drugs. Thousands of dollars and dozens of institutions around the world later,

He saw his daughter, now a beautiful young woman, living an existence balanced by a diet of coordinated drugs and therapy. She could function on her own in most situations but the normal routines of home and job had to be avoided.

It was only by accident that Austin found a niche for his daughter that was compatible with her instability, a place where he could both control and protect her, giving her a means for siphoning off the pressure that constantly built inside her damaged brain.

The music ended and Austin blinked, surprised to find Harry sitting watching him. He coughed to clear his throat and stood, authoritatively dismissing any further concerns regarding Vera.

"So now what, do we grab the material or what?"

"Well, let's allow him to think a bit about our approach. See if he calls for a meeting and if that fails, well, then we move on to your area of expertise."

Austin directed his attention to the older man. "Harry, you will be responsible for the material once we finally get it. Understand it comes directly to me, nowhere else."

"I'll protect your precious film, just keep that broad on her leash." He shrugged and pushed himself up out of his chair, shambling toward the door with a final, ineffectual shrug of dissatisfaction.

******

Mary tied her hair back in a loose bun, leaving some fly away wisps over her ears and quickly did a final wincing check in the bathroom mirror before bolting for the kitchen and grabbing her purse and a container of now cold coffee.

"I'm out of here, Peter," she called, fumbling open the door and slamming it after her. They had stayed up till the wee small hours rehashing the creepy woman visit and had slept past the alarm now she was late and in a panic.

The Parking Authority car was stopped just down the block and Mary ran to her car to avoid being ticketed for staying past her permit limit. She gunned the six-year-old Camry out into traffic and raced down the street with a short squeal of tires. Half a block behind, Douglas eased the limo out from the curb and began to follow.

Peter flopped out to the kitchen, tugging up his pyjama bottoms. He stared glumly at the empty coffee pot and the dish with toast crumbs on the counter, scrubbing a hand through his hair and grunting. As fussy as she was about her appearance and her wardrobe, Mary was less than house and garden in the kitchen, a trait Peter found most annoying on a weary morning such as this.

He shuffled around rinsing plates and dusting crumbs into the garbage then prepared a fresh pot of coffee and went out into the hall for his morning paper that Mary had neglected to bring in. While he waited for the coffee to brew he concentrated on what he would say to Harv, when he phoned and asked about how these other people knew about the film.