Carter's War - 20. Chapter 20

It wasn't called the black tower without reason, the tallest tower out of the collection of skyscrapers that dominated the down town core of Toronto, a collection of stricken fingers grasping at the heavens. It stood in stark contrast to the others in that its surface was mirrored black, the pale glow of its internal lights did not penetrate its skin to blemish it. A monument to the security and the sanctity of that construct. It had been built with a dual purpose, to provide security for the cutting edge of Communication research and design and for aesthetics. Robert Avery had built it specifically to house his head office; the old facility had lacked a certain presence that Avery-Woods needed to maintain, a prestige that commanded respect.

The black tower housed the offices and research departments of Avery-Woods, as closely guarded as its primary development and manufacturing sites dotted around the globe, Avery-Woods was shrouded in an air of security. Every access junction to the tower required security passes to gain access and each floor was patrolled by a handful of specially trained security officers hand picked by the man in charge of Avery-Woods security, a former US marine named Sean Iver. It ran off of its own power source, dedicated to keeping the mighty information machine that drove the Avery-Woods communications network running.

Floor upon floor of computer databases, monitoring equipment, Laboratories, offices all working together to keep the firm operational. Rows upon rows of cubicles, where Avery-Woods employees compiled data and processed the myriad of projects that streamed down from their department heads, who received their orders from the Directors, who in turn received their orders from Robert Avery's office.

The top floor of the Black tower was even more secure, housing the President's office. A large modern office suite in which Robert Avery could carry out his day-to-day business in relative peace. His secretary, Lisa Sternosti waited as ever behind her desk as the elevator doors slid open to allow Will Carter to approach.

Lisa wasn't surprised by much, she was used to being called into the office on a Saturday. It was part of working for Robert as long as she had, she was indispensable, reliable and good at what she did. She stared levelly over her glasses as she sniffed at the young man she had known since High School.

"I see you haven't changed," She took in his jeans and un-tucked plaid shirt, her voice a motherly scolding tone. "The old man is expecting you Will."

Will stepped forward with a tense nod, "Thanks," he looked down at his appearance, he really hadn't expected this meeting, "I didn't have time to change."

Lisa suppressed a chuckle, "It's okay Will I wouldn't worry about it, you should go in now."

Will smiled and glanced at Marc who was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and staring out of the window, "Do you mind if he waits here?" Will asked quietly.

Lisa frowned as she looked over at the handsome, if thin, young man that was wearing a shirt she recognized as Andrew's. She looked back at Will and nodded in understanding, "I'll get us some coffee." She said struggling to stand up despite the fact she was six months pregnant.

Will nodded and winked over at Marc. He wondered it if was a good idea to let Lisa get her clutches on him, but he had other things to think of right then. And despite her talent for getting mixed up in other peoples business, she would have his best intentions at heart.

* * *

Will paced the breadth of Robert Avery's office, the magnificent book lined room, textured aged oak and worn leather held a commanding view directly down over the city beneath it. It was literally amidst the clouds, and from here a communications empire that spanned half the globe had its centre.

Robert Avery was wearing a suit, a high mandarin collar that gave him the appearance of a sixties Bond villain, combined with the awe inspiring view and setting only heightened his sense of foreboding. Robert sat with his hands neatly folded on the polished oak desk, surprisingly simple for a man that employed several thousand people across five continents.

"Sit down Will." Robert commanded continuing to wait for Bruce Weippert to arrive; he was in no mood to be dragged into the office on a Saturday afternoon. He had sat impassive as Will had explained why he had called Robert out of a luncheon meeting with the Canadian Finance Minister. His eyes had narrowed only slightly as the implications of what Will had discovered set in.

Will sat in the chair;"I'm sorry, I wasn't sure what else to do."

Robert nodded heavily, his brow knitted together thoughtfully as he studied the problem, "You're saying that he has brought my firm close to bankruptcy?"

"Not quite." Will said as he shifted in his chair, "from what Gavin Jefferies told me most of Avery-Wood's liquid assets are tired up in the purchase of Tri-Tech, if we don't meet this margin call they will begin to seize assets."

Robert reached out a hand to tap a few keys on his computer, no doubt checking the figures for himself. His eyes moved to and fro as he scanned, and tightened again, the only real sign of his shock. He rested his hand on the desktop, the other on his crossed knee as he sat back into his chair. "This is a problem." He admitted after a pause.

Avery looked up at the door as it opened to admit Weippert, the coiled gate of the man was less controlled, and obviously he was trying to appear like he wasn't hurrying.

"Bruce." Avery greeted with a simple nod of his head, "Would you care to explain what happened to the pension fund and why I wasn't informed that there was a margin call taken out against this firm?"

Bruce straightened up, his eyes glittering as they glanced at Will seated watching him, "There was no need," he said after a moment to collect his thoughts, "I have the matter under control."

Robert Avery's eyebrow rose slightly, "Under control?"

"Yes," Weippert said as he took a step towards the desk, "I have covered the margin long enough for us to enter the final negotiations with Rena Allison for Tri-tech, once the merger is announced the stock will sky rocket and we will be back in a comfortable position."

"And if Will here hadn't happened upon your little operation, would I have known about any of this?" Robert's voice was level and dangerous.

"Of course," Bruce said, "First thing on Monday morning, as a matter of fact I had a meeting scheduled to inform you of this." His eyes shifted to Will, "I see that I was beaten to the mark."

Robert caught the motion and shook his head, "Carter did his job Bruce, and you on the other hand did not. It is not my policy to allow directors, even senior directors, make the kind of decisions you made today that affect the entire company. By rights I should fire you for a stunt like this."

Weippert licked his lips, "under the circumstances, I did warn you about the problems with Tri-tech, and you gave me the authority to do what I had to do to ensure the acquisition is a reality. I was simply carrying out your instructions."

Robert considered that a moment, "You over stepped that authority, but its too late to do anything about it we're committed to this course of action now." He sighed as he shifted in his chair, "We should move that party ahead to next Saturday, there is a share holders meeting on the Monday after that, I expect this matter to be resolved before then. Until then I expect to be informed of all decisions involving Tri-tech, do I make myself clear Bruce?"

Bruce nodded, "you're in charge of the Tri-tech acquisition directly from here on, we should send a memo to all the board members making that clear then sir."

Robert reached out and tapped his intercom, "Mrs. Sternosti could you send a memo out for me please..."