Trading Reality (23 page)

That was fascinating.’ I told her about my lunch with Scott Wagner.

‘Sounds like he’d go down brilliantly at Harrison Brothers.’

‘I think he would be too much even for us. Anyway, what’s going on in London?’

‘Big news.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Jack fired Sally.’

‘Oh, no! What a jerk!’

‘Wait. It’s not so bad,’ Karen went on excitedly.

‘Why? What happened?’

‘Well, as you can imagine, I was pretty upset about it. One minute she’s sitting right next to me. The next minute she’s been disappeared. She didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.’

‘Yeah. I’ve seen it before.’ We all had.

‘So, I went to talk to Bob Forrester about it. I said that in my opinion Sally would make an excellent sales person if we just gave her a chance. I said I would spend more time with her, and I would take the responsibility if it didn’t work out. And then, guess what he said.’

‘What?’

‘He said that there would be a big reorganisation over the weekend, and on Monday, Jack Tenko wouldn’t have a job.’

‘Hurrah!’

‘Exactly. He told me to ring Sally at home and tell her to take the next few days off, and to come in to work as usual on Monday.’

‘Well done!’ I said. ‘I’m proud of you.’

‘I’m quite proud of myself, actually.’

‘And what are they going to do with you?’

‘They’re going to keep me on in London, and probably give me more responsibility, Bob said. Bob asked me to keep an eye on his own portfolio for him.’

‘Sounds good.’ I was impressed. Karen was much better at politics than I. I wasn’t at all surprised that she was going to come out of all this ahead. I should probably get her up to Scotland to deal with David Baker. Which reminded me.

‘I’ve been invited to a dinner party on Saturday in Edinburgh. Do you want to come? It would be great to see you.’

‘I’m sorry, I’ve agreed to go to the ballet with that guy Peter Tewson. I can’t blow him off now. He’s a client.’

‘Oh, come on Karen,’ I pleaded.

She hesitated. ‘No, it’s not just that. Now I’ve said yes, I haven’t the heart to stand him up. I’d really better not.’

I sighed. I did miss her.

‘Oh well. Speak to you later.’

‘Bye, Mark.’

I spent Saturday morning at the factory. There was a whole stack of papers and e-mails to go through. People wanted decisions: Jock wanted to hire two more assembly workers to meet increased demand, which would have been fine if we’d had the cash to pay them. Our suppliers of keyboards were always delivering late; should we get rid of them, or give them another chance? The sales team’s entertainment expenses were running consistently over budget. Once again, even minor overruns could screw up our cash position.

At two, I went through to Software to pick up Rachel. We were going to see her brother, Alex. She was sitting by Andy Kettering’s desk with Keith Newall. Keith was lounging back in his chair, his long legs propped up against a bin.

He was unhappy, and talking fast. ‘This is turning into a gangbang, Rachel. You let me and Andy work together, and we’ll come up with something cuspy. If you have half the code-grinders in Scotland working on it, we’ll still be fixing bugs at Christmas.’

Rachel sighed, and turned to Andy. ‘Have you got the time to deal with this without help?’

Andy was calmly listening to Keith’s tirade. He thought a moment. ‘I suppose so,’ he said. ‘Who needs sleep anyway? And you’ll be around if I get bogged down, won’t you?’

‘Yes, I will,’ said Rachel. ‘OK, Keith, we’ll do it your way. But you’ve only got four days. I want results by then.’

Keith smiled, and relaxed suddenly. ‘You’ll get ’em.’

Rachel turned to me. ‘We’ve still got a couple of problems with the software for FairRender.’

‘Is it serious?’

‘It’s always serious,’ she said. She saw the look of alarm on my face, and laughed. ‘But don’t worry, we always solve it, don’t we guys?’

‘Always,’ said Keith.

‘Are you ready?’ Rachel asked.

‘Whenever you are.’

She stood up. ‘OK, let’s go. I’ll just get the kit.’

She disappeared into her office and returned with a large hold-all full of equipment. We dumped it in the back of the BMW, and headed for a small hospital on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

‘What happened to your brother?’ I asked.

‘He had a rugby accident six months ago,’ she answered flatly. ‘He damaged his spine. He’s paralysed from the waist down.’

‘Oh, no. I’m sorry. Is it . . . permanent?’

‘We don’t know. They’re going to try some fancy surgery in a couple of months’ time. There is a chance he may recover completely, or he may just stay as he is.’

‘How old is he?’

‘Twenty-two. He had just started with a firm of accountants. He used to play rugby for Edinburgh University, and he’d just joined Watsonians. He was injured in his second match for them.’

‘Poor guy.’

We drove through some iron gates, and up a short drive to the hospital. Three wheelchairs were gathered under the shade of an old chestnut tree, which dominated the large lawn surrounding the building. We walked in through the reception area and along a corridor to her brother’s room. Rachel knew the way well.

He was sitting in a wheelchair, next to french windows that opened out on to the garden. He was reading a book. The room was small, with a bed, a TV, a couple of chairs, and a portable computer. The bed was surrounded by complicated medical equipment.

His face lit up when he saw Rachel. She bent over and kissed him. ‘Alex, this is Mark, Richard’s brother.’

He bore some resemblance to Rachel, but his chin was squarer, and his hair, though naturally curly, was cut short. Despite the wheelchair, he looked young, fit and tough. I could believe he was a good rugby player.

‘What position do you play?’ I asked, careful to keep the question in the present tense.

‘Flanker. Do you play?’

‘I used to play number eight at university, but I haven’t touched a rugby ball since then.’

‘I’m sorry about your brother.’

‘And I’m sorry about your back.’

Alex smiled, and turned to Rachel. ‘What have you got for me?’

‘It’s a new game Virtual America have developed. It’s called Manhunt. I thought you could play it with Mark.’

Alex sized me up. ‘I’d be glad to. Is that all right with you?’

I nodded, surprised at being roped into a computer game. ‘That’s fine.’

Rachel took out two small headsets and a couple of 3-D mice and plugged them into the computer. She also attached a compact disc drive, and slotted a CD into it. She tapped several keys and a map of an island appeared on the screen.

‘OK, this is how it works. You, Mark, have landed on the shore of this island. You have to get to a secret cave, find an ancient scroll, and get back to your boat. You, Alex, have to find him and stop him. Alex won’t know where you’ve landed, nor where the cave is. You’ll both be armed with cutlasses. Mark, you’ll be able to move faster than Alex, but I warn you, Alex is good at these games.’

Alex smiled. It was only a computer game, but I could see he wanted to win. I felt my own competitive instincts rising.

Rachel spent a couple of minutes explaining details of how to move about in the virtual world, and then told us to put on our goggles.

I saw a map of the island. My location was marked on a sandy beach. I could also see a cave in the side of the mountain, where the scroll was hidden. Between the two points were a jungle, a river, and a plain.

I switched to the view of the virtual world. Now I was actually standing on the beach. I looked down and could see my bare feet beneath ragged blue trousers. I was wearing a billowing white shirt, and as Rachel had promised, I was carrying a cutlass. I could hear the breakers all around me. In front was thick jungle, behind the sea and a tiny rowing boat bobbing in the waves.

I set off along a path into the trees. It was much darker out of the sunlight. The jungle noises, birds and a thousand insects, pressed in from all sides. I could only see a few yards ahead of me along the path. I pressed ahead warily.

Where was Alex?

I heard a hissing sound, and looked down. There was a cobra ready to strike, it’s tongue darting in and out. I leapt back and brought my sword down in one movement. I caught the snake just as it lunged, and it fell to the side of the path, dead.

‘Nice reactions,’ said Rachel in my ear. I smiled, took a deep breath, and walked on.

Although I had only been in the virtual world for a few minutes, the island was already beginning to feel real. I had more or less forgotten that I was in a small hospital room in Edinburgh. And with that came the fear of the hunted. I turned my head to look from side to side as I walked.

There was a bend in the path by a large tree draped with vines. I rounded it, and saw Alex jogging towards me. He was dressed as a pirate too, in a red shirt, with a patch over one eye, and a cutlass in his hand. I panicked, and turned and ran. I had a real sensation of speed, if I looked down I could see my feet flying along the path. The jungle rushed by on either side, and the world moved up and down in time with my legs. As I neared the beach I realised that soon, with my back to the sea, I would have to turn and fight, so I darted off the track, into the jungle.

I slashed my way through the undergrowth. I could hear Alex behind me, catching up fast. I slashed harder. He was only a couple of yards away from my exposed back when I emerged into the open. The river was in front of me, and beyond that the plain leading off to the mountains.

I leapt into the river, and much to my relief, swam across. Once again the sensation was remarkably lifelike. I could hear the sound of the water rushing past my ears, and the splash of someone jumping in behind me. I pulled myself out on the far bank, and ran, my eyes focused on where the cave should have been.

It only took a minute of running at full speed to reach it. I turned round to look. Alex was nowhere to be seen. He knew I was faster than he, so he hadn’t followed me. He was lurking somewhere, watching.

The cave was dark. I stumbled through the gloom, looking for the scroll. It was a creepy experience. Creatures scurried across the cave floor, and bats flew into my face when I disturbed them. Eventually, I found it in an old chest.

Now, how to get back to the boat? Alex was out there somewhere, waiting for me. I decided to rely on my superior speed, hoping that he wouldn’t be able to move through the jungle fast enough to cut me off. I ran back to the river, heading for a point a couple of hundred yards to the left of where I had crossed earlier. I swam across, and plunged into the trees along a narrow path. I couldn’t see Alex, but I kept running. My own breathing was heavy in my ears, and my speed was decreasing. I was tiring. I slowed to a walk; I might need to conserve my energy for a sudden sprint. I reached the sea about a hundred yards from the boat. The beach was empty apart from some driftwood and coconuts. I jogged towards the boat looking to the right along the line of trees.

I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look ahead. There he was right in front of me, standing in front of the pile of driftwood, sword at the ready. Damn! He must have been hiding there.

He swung at me, and I just had time to jump back. I lunged at him, but it was all over in seconds. I was surprised, and Alex was very quick. I soon saw the sand tumbling up to meet me, and then everything went black.

I took the virtual glasses off. ‘Phew!’ I said. My heart was beating rapidly, and I felt damp from the sweat. I had played the odd computer game before, and had been mildly diverted, but never had I experienced anything quite like that.

Alex took his headset off too. He was grinning broadly. ‘Nice effort.’

‘I told you he was good,’ said Rachel to me. ‘How did you like it, Alex?’

‘Not bad at all,’ he said. ‘I like that one. The running is especially realistic. Yeah, it’s good. Can I keep it?’

‘Sure,’ she said.

We stayed all afternoon, and didn’t leave till seven. We were going straight on to David Baker’s dinner party.

‘Jesus,’ I said once we were both in the car. ‘He’s so young! It must be horrible for him. And for you.’

Rachel nodded. ‘I do what I can with the VR. I think it helps. I don’t know. I just hope so.’

So did I.

David Baker’s flat was in an elegant crescent in Edinburgh’s New Town. It was one of a pair of flats on the second floor of an imposing Georgian building. David himself opened the door.

‘Ah, so you came together,’ he said, casually. ‘That makes sense.’ I wondered if he was concerned about an alliance of Rachel and me against him. But if he was, he showed no sign of it. ‘Come in, come in. Can I get you a drink?’

The flat was decorated well, and furnished with the kind of odd bits that a couple gather together in their first years of marriage, plus one or two better pieces that are given pride of place. In the Bakers’ case, this role was taken by a beautifully polished antique dining table, which was now laid for six.

Willie was there, and two women whom I didn’t recognise. ‘Let me make the introductions,’ said David. ‘This is Annie Granger . . .’ I nodded at the thin, gawky woman with glasses and a wicked smile who was sitting next to Willie. My immediate thought was, Is this Willie’s girlfriend, or just a date for the evening? I couldn’t decide. Willie sat awkwardly near her, but then he would have done that whatever her status.

Since Karen hadn’t been able to come, I was alone. So was Rachel. Did she have a man somewhere? Interesting question. ‘And this is my wife, Pat.’

Pat was tall with long red hair and green eyes. She was wearing a long skirt, and a blue silk shirt over a white T-shirt. No make-up. Not at all the sort of wife I would have expected David to have come up with. She shook my hand. ‘Hello. Dave’s told me a lot about you,’ she said in an English accent. ‘And I’m very sorry about your brother.’