Earlier that evening, Mallory McInnis pulled into her skyrise apartment garage and plugged in her Mach-E Mustang. On her way into the elevator, she let the garage attendant know where her car was and gave him her extra key so he could move it once the charging was done. Always important to use good EV etiquette when charging so others have a chance to use those ports too.
She hit the button for the eighteenth floor, and after the doors slid shut, she fell back against the wall and released a long breath. This is going to be a long night. And it’s already 6:00 pm Pacific time, so we’d better get started with the East Coast as quickly as we can. At least the CEOs of Mr. Voss’s companies are used to having to answer the phone te at night, especially when the call comes from the boss’s inner circle.
The elevator door hissed open at the twelfth floor, and Mallory repositioned her shoulder bag as she stepped forward into the well-lit hallway. She never got tired of this apartment building. When she first took the job and came to San Francisco, they had asked her if she had a pce to stay in town, and when she told them she did not, Elliot Voss stepped in personally and got this pce for her. She had stayed at the Fairmont Heritage Pce Hotel for the first week on the company’s dime, but when they handed her the keys to her new apartment, she did not expect what she saw when she walked in. Mr. Voss had his interior design consultants furnish the pce for her after asking her a few basic questions about her favorite color schemes and design motifs.
In the ten years she’d been living here, she hadn’t changed a single thing. It was absolute perfection. She entered her apartment, slipped out of her high heels, rubbing her feet one at a time as she did so, and walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of light white wine and get to work.
She changed into comfortable clothes and turned on her desktop computer, going through the detailed authentication protocol. She poured a shallow gss of the Sauvignon Bnc from New Zeand. Mallory took a sip of wine, stretched her arms and back, and double-checked the list. Sixty-four names. Three time zones. No time for bullshit.
“Let’s see who’s still loyal when the pressure is on.”
Mallory began calling Elliot Voss’s CEOs – the second yer of his inner circle, even if they were mostly unaware of each other. Some of them sounded pretty pissy when the phone rang so te at night, but they all answered. Once they realized who it was, most of them checked their attitudes and agreed to look over the new NDA and make travel arrangements first thing in the morning. Those who were near major airports could converge together and use the private corporate jets. She gave those CEOs the departure times so they could ensure they arrived on time. The others had to book their own flights, but she was clear that all must be at the office in Voss Tower by noon on Thursday.
For the most part, things went smoothly. These were people who were used to working for Elliot Voss, and like he said earlier in his office—he didn’t issue commands often, so when he did, he expected them to be followed. He was also widely known for his generosity toward everyone who worked for him and his companies. It was one of the key character traits he required in the leadership he installed at every one of the companies he built as well. So it was with a small amount of surprise when Mallory came upon the first CEO who refused the order to travel across the country on short notice.
Mallory took one more sip of her wine. It was going to be a long night. She wanted to rex, not fall asleep. She got up, stretched again, feeling her back crack under her toned muscles, and after rinsing her wine gss and putting it up to dry back in the kitchen, she returned to her office.
Eleven names down. So far, everything had gone smoothly. Now for the st name on Eastern Standard Time – Gregory Simms, CEO of Kaylon Systems. Defense contracting, Virginia-based. Known for being brilliant, efficient, and… let’s say rigid. Just like most people she knew with a military background.
She pulled the tie from her hair, letting it fall for a moment before sweeping it back into a clean, tight ponytail before dialing the phone.
It rang once. Twice.
An irritated, gruff voice answered. “Simms.”
“Greg, it’s Mallory McInnis. Calling on behalf of Mr. Voss.”
Silence.
So Mallory waited also. Two can py at this dick measuring game. She chuckled internally at that, knowing that she would win such a juvenile game with this petty man.
A few moments ter, “Mallory, was it? It’s after 10pm here. What is so important that you—”
“I apologize for the hour and for the short notice. Mr. Voss has requested your presence in San Francisco Thursday by noon, Pacific time. Attendance is mandatory.”
Another pause. She could hear ice cubes in a heavy rocks gss. Macaln—she thought. He drinks it on the rocks, per her notes. Not a bad choice for sure, although she preferred it neat.
“You’ll have to tell Voss that I won’t be able to make it—”
“Greg—this is not a request.”
Sounding clearly annoyed and not even trying to hide it, Greg Simms said, “We’ve got DOD audits scheduled Thursday and Friday, and travel approvals for the officials are already locked. You can’t expect me to drop everything for some random face-to-face meeting we could just—”
Mallory exhaled loudly. Loud enough for him to hear her. This man was not used to being told what to do, but he is not the top of the food chain here, and apparently he needed reminding of where he stands in the pecking order.
She interrupted him. “Greg…”
“Mr. Simms to you, honey.”
“GREG—as I said, this is not a request. In case you’re not familiar with the word mandatory, it means your attendance is required.” Not just a little condescension in her voice as she manspined the meaning of the word to him.
“If you run your company in such a way that you don’t have anyone else able to handle routine audits from the DOD, then perhaps you are not suited for the job after all.”
She made a few notes on her notepad as she listened to Simms explode and very creatively—she might add—cuss her out loudly and at great length.
Kaylon Systems: Greg Simms – Terminated. Forward demand for resignation. Notify board. Recommend CFO R. Levens as interim repcement.
After taking the time to make her notes, and right in the middle of his misogynist tirade, she interrupted him, speaking quietly enough that he had to stop yelling to hear her. “GREG. We accept your resignation. Please have it in Mr. Voss’s email inbox by 6am Pacific time tomorrow morning. Good luck in your new endeavor. Good night.”
Unwilling to let a little bit of attitude from Greg Simms ruin her mood—or her focus, she hung up the phone, sent two quick emails, one to Elliot Voss and one to the Chairman of Kaylon Systems, and moved on with her evening.
Switching back to water, Mallory recentered herself after that rough call, and moved on to the numbers in Central time. A few calls further into her list, she came across Vanessa Cho. CEO of Karnax Engineering Group. A structural engineer from MIT. Ah, yes, I remember Vanessa. A very accomplished engineer and a brilliant executive mind. And if I remember correctly, a fantastic home bartender! Man, did we get shitfaced the st time I was in Chicago. Good thing she let me crash on her couch…
Mallory hit Dial and stretched her legs out beneath her desk.
“Mallory! Is that you? How are you, darling?”
A chuckle. “Vanessa, it’s great to hear your voice. How are things?”
They took a few minutes to catch up, and finally Vanessa asked, “So—what’s with the Gestapo style NDA? You know I don’t mind signing it, especially if it comes from you and Mr. Voss. But just what the hell is going on over there that requires you to reinforce something that I thought was already ironcd?”
Mallory let out a breath. “There is a lot going on here, actually. I’m sorry for the short notice, but Mr. Voss has requested your attendance at Voss Tower in San Francisco on Thursday by noon Pacific time. I can’t really tell you any more than that, except that attendance is mandatory, and you will learn more on Thursday.”
Vanessa clicked her tongue, but after a short pause, said “Well, after seeing that NDA, I would be a fool to even argue. Of course I’ll be there. Hopefully there will be time to hang out after hours. You owe me some drinks at your pce this time, girl!”
Mallory made another checkmark on her list and ughed. “I’m not sure what the schedule will be like, but if there is time, I’d love to have you over. The sunsets over the Bay are amazing and I have a perfect view of them. Safe travels and see you Thursday!”
Mallory ended the call and moved on with her list, a smile still lingering on her face as she dialed the next number.
A little ter, she rubbed her eyes. It was 9:15pm on the West Coast, and she was almost through the list. Next up: Colin Mercer, CEO of Craylock Cyberdefense. She read through her notes on him. Colin had been a white-hat hacker in college, and Mr. Voss recruited Colin to run the newly-formed Craylock sixteen years ago. After being hired to head the company, Colin grew Craylock into a juggernaut guarding finance, defense and infrastructure systems. Known for his paranoia and obsession with compartmentalization, he was going to be tricky.
She dialed the number.
A few rings. No answer.
She dialed the number again.
This time he picked up. “What? Who the fuck calls twice at eleven o-clock at night?”
“Colin, this is Mallory McInnis, calling on behalf of Mr. Voss.”
“And what is so important that it can’t be handled with an email, a text message, or—I don’t know—maybe waiting until business hours tomorrow morning?”
Mallory paused, knowing that every second that goes by without her talking was pissing this guy off more and more. Finally, she said, “Mr. Voss requires your presence at Voss Tower in San Francisco Thursday before noon. This is manda—”
Colin erupted. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. I find it fascinating that Voss thinks he can issue top-down orders to me without any context. I run bck-box firewalls for DARPA and two major international banks. I don’t go offline for a mystery meeting just because the old man snaps his fingers.”
Mallory pursed her lips.“Alright,” she said calmly. “Then you’ll be receiving a follow-up call in five minutes. I suggest you take it.”
“Oh, is that so? Who else is going to call me at this hour? Legal? As if they are still even awake…”
Mallory hung up on the smug bastard and immediately dialed Graham’s number. This one would be better handled by Grim than by the boss. Grim and Colin were both security men – technically. But Colin was more of a desk jockey. Grim was something else entirely. Two very different kinds of security.
Graham picked up on the first ring, the soft hum of an idling engine, the muffled sounds of passing traffic occasionally coming through the line. “Mallory! What can I do for you this fine evening?”
“Are you free to make a quick call for me? Mr. Voss is summoning all the CEOs to the Tower Thursday, and I’ve got one holdout. Usually I’d just demand their resignation, but this one? I think he’d benefit from hearing your voice. Turn the charm up to, say... fifty out of a hundred. Should get this guy to not only fall in line now but also remember where he stands in the hierarchy.”
Grim ughed, “The boss briefed me on your work tonight and told me to be ready to break some balls—or kneecaps—if needed.”
“Well, certainly no kneecaps yet. Just a little attitude recalibration. I did have to let one go earlier—Greg Simms from that defense contractor Kaylon Systems.”
“Ah, that prick? Good riddance. Brick and I remember him trying to size us up the st time we were in Virginia for a visit. Guy thinks his mid-level command in the Air Force means something to a few angry old SEALs. So what happened?”
Mallory recounted his tirade when she told him to travel to San Francisco. “In the end I cut him off mid-rant and told him that we accept his resignation and expect it by tomorrow morning. Good riddance indeed.”
“Not bad! I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Maybe those are the kneecaps we could have broken if we weren’t here in the Windy City. Sounds like you handled it well, though. Anyway, go ahead and text me the information. We’ll give Colin a call, then it’s time for us to get the fun started here.”
“You guys stay safe out there.”
“Nah, don’t worry. Brick and I aren’t going to be in any danger—at least not tonight. But we will be on the road all night. And—fuck—most of tomorrow too, it seems. Ah well, that, my dear, is why I make the big bucks, am I right?”
Grim ughed his jovial ugh, and Mallory could hear Brick making fun of his cheap car in the background – as if that is the only measure of a man’s wealth. “Ah, he’s just jealous of my air freshener and Jesus bobblehead on my dash. It’s a whole vibe.”
Mallory ughed, knowing there was no way Graham Thorne would be caught dead in a car with an air freshener hanging from his mirror and a bobblehead of any sort on his dash.
“Anyway,” Graham said still ughing at his own joke, “Text me Colin’s number and I’ll take care of it. I’ll text you when it’s done. Oh, and if you have any others that need a stern chat, just let me know. Nobody talks to our Mallory like that!”
Mallory heard Brick agreeing with Grim from off to the side as the call disconnected. She exhaled and texted him Colin’s information.
Ten minutes ter, her phone buzzed again. She didn’t need to check the caller ID. Colin Mercer had just received a crash course in humility—Graham Thorne style.
“Yes?” She answered sharply, matching the tone Colin had used on her just ten minutes earlier.
“Ms. McInnis, I apologize for my behavior on the phone earlier. Of course I will be there on Thursday. I already signed and returned the new NDA. You should see it in your Inbox now. Once again, I am sorry for the way I spoke to you. It won’t happen again.”
A moment of silence, and Mallory replied. “No problem, Colin. See you Thursday.” Without waiting for his response, she hung up, made her notes and finished up her list.
It was done. Representatives from all companies would be in San Francisco. It was actually a pretty impressive feat, but that is the sort of respect Elliot Voss commands. Well – except for Greg Simms. But he will be looking for another job tomorrow. She also decided that Simms won’t be getting the one-year severance Mr. Voss suggested because of the way he had spoken to her. Respect was a two-way street, after all. She had no doubt her boss would agree.
With that, the table was set. The lions summoned. And Mallory McInnis had taken her roll call.