The Human Network

By David Hovgaard

Marcus Cleveland is a young reporter working for the record a small newspaper specializing in investigative reporting. He stumbles into a story about a master financial criminal and his mysterious machine. The enigma of Alvin Gable his life and the device he built is a game with some lethal players. They have no rules when it comes to getting what they want and torture is just another card in the deck. It will be a race against time to see whether Marcus can uncover one of the NSA's oldest and darkest secrets before a shadowy figure known only as Sheba can end them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Hovgaard
• Release date: Sep 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311374196

David Hovgaard

I like to tell a good story and I hope you like to read them because there is more to come.

Book preview

The Human Network

By

David Hovgaard

Copyright 2012 David Hovgaard

Smashwords edition 2015

This book is dedicated to my father

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Epilogue

Other books by David Hovgaard

Contact David Hovgaard

Chapter One

Marcus Cleveland was putting the final touches on a story about bid rigging in municipal contracts when the phone rang. He was the only one in the city room at that hour everyone else having gone home to be with their loved ones something that at this point in his career and life he couldn’t do. He picked up the receiver wedging it between his shoulder and cheek while he typed.

Yea he said.

This is the switch board we have a call from the warden of Stony Point he would like to talk to someone on the city desk so I guess that is you.

Sure put him through. A few seconds later Marcus heard a man’s voice.

Hello this is Harold Grissom the warden at Stony Point federal prison.

Yea I am here Marcus replied trying to sound like he knew what the hell he was doing.

To whom am I speaking?

My Name is Marcus Cleveland I work on the city desk and to whom am I speaking?

Like I said I am Harold Grissom Warden of Stony Point Federal prison.

Nice to be talking to you, now how can my newspaper be of service?

Well I am passing on a request for an interview from one of our inmates.

Really who is he?

Alvin Gable.

Marcus typed the name into goggle got back a bio of a master financial criminal that had reportedly stolen billions from the people that were usually the ones that planned and executed great economic rip-offs of middle class pension funds.

In the space of three short years he had gone from nobody to the darling of Wall Street. He was also some kind of personal Guru helping people with their problems like doctor Mel a well-known TV head shrink well not a real one. Mel Reynolds had no professional credentials just a willingness to spout homey bull that sold. Alvin’s efforts were far less public but from what he could gather much more effective. That was until it all fell apart and he went to prison for running what was reported to be a Ponzi scheme. The public never knew the facts of the case because Alvin pleaded guilty and the indictments were sealed. That had been almost six years ago. He had refused every request for an interview when the story was hot. So why now, why after reporters had long since stopped asking did he want to talk?

Sure Marcus said his journalistic instincts telling him that there was at least something here even if it were just filler.

So, When?

Tomorrow at ten if you would.

I will be there.

The warden thanked him and hung up.

What the hell is this Marcus John Woolsey demanded when Marcus called to tell him that he was going up to Stony Point while he was riding in the cab to the prison having caught the early train to make it by ten.

"I said I got an interview and I will be back tomorrow.

Who are you interviewing?

Alvin Gable.

The Alvin Gable Woolsey asked?

The one and only Marcus added?

Listen Woolsey said changing tack right in the middle chastising him for not covering the Mayor’s press conference on the subject of Marcus’s bid rigging story, don’t fuck this up and then he was gone.

No longer mad I guess Marcus said to dead air laughing.

The Cabby looked at him in the rear view and he waved, if just this guy’s name was enough to get Wooly off his back than there had to be something here. The cab dropped him at the gate and he was checked through by the guards minus the butt peek his bag wasn’t so lucky it was emptied, x-rayed and frisked. He was putting the last of his things back in the leather satchel that his then girlfriend Jesse had bought him after he got the job on the paper when a guard that said his name was Walter Ryan waved him over to uh guide him into the prison. They were met by the Warden Harold Grissom.

Hello mister Cleveland is it?

Yes it is nice to meet you as well and put a face to the voice.

The same Grissom replied. Now if you would just accompany me I will take you to Alvin.

Marcus noted that the warden used Alvin’s given name without adding prisoner to it. It explained why he called personally instead of letting the prison’s public relations department handle it. Whatever Alvin was he had gained this man’s respect. No easy task as from what Marcus had heard Grissom was a no nonsense kind of correction official. The kind that believed in hard work and very few second chances.

Alvin was sitting in the library reading. There were no other inmates in the room. The warden introduced Marcus to Alvin and vice versa. Then he looked at his watch shall we say an hour for this first meeting.

An hour Alvin agreed.

Well then I will leave you to it.

Grissom left and only a single guard remained outside the door. Marcus took mental note of it.

Well he said shall we begin he asked taking the seat opposite while he fished his recorder and pad from his satchel. Alvin took the opposite seat and stared across the table at him for a second then smiling Alvin said you will do.

Do; do for what Marcus wanted to know?

To tell my story so that everyone will at last know the truth that so many sought to hide.

Who sought to hide your story, from what I understand you refused every opportunity to speak at the time of your trial.

It was not yet time for that.

So why now?

Yes now there is time. Do you want to hear the story or not?

Mind if I record you?

Not at all, please do.

Marcus turned his recorder on and placed it on the table.

Now the ground rules, you will make yourself available to me at the times that I will designate. Today we will speak for an hour in two days I can give you an hour and the rest of the times I will give you on your next visit.

Why the restrictions why not just tell me the story?

I have my reasons and if you want to hear what I have to say you will make yourself available.

Very well I will try to be here barring unforeseen circumstances.

That of course is understood none of us can know the future, can we?

No we cannot. Shall we begin?

Certainly, I was fifteen when my life changed. I had a normal family a mother, a father and they I think loved and cared for me and then came the word. I was in school, gym class I believe. The school nurse called me out to tell me that they were dead. There had been an accident. So now I was alone. I went to live with my Aunt the old house was boarded up held in trust for me. It was that old house and the money they left me that allowed me to become who I became.

How so?

Mister Cleveland patients I must tell this story in my own way and you must listen if you want to hear it.

Marcus didn’t like it but he wanted the story so he sat made notes and listened to the highlights of his life after the death of his parents. The hour ended with his senior prom. Marcus was escorted from the premises meeting up with warden once again.

How did it go?

It’s a beginning he told him. I will be back on Wednesday."

We will expect you they shook hands and parted.

Marcus paused turning he asked one more question, why the special treatment?

How do you mean?

You called me, isn’t that usually done by the public relations department?

Usually the warden agreed, but not always he added before walking away without answering the question which made Marcus even more curious.

He arrived at work the next morning slipping in or so he thought without Wooly seeing him.

Where’s the story Marcus Woolly called from his desk at the head of the room?

Marcus left his cubicle and trudged the short distance to the editor’s office. I haven’t got it all yet. He is spoon feeding it to me a little at a time along with his life story.

"I see, well stay with it when you get it all should sell big. People still talk about him as if her were some kind of second coming or something.

So…,

I know Marcus supplied don’t fuck this up.

He went back to his cubicle there was a note to call Arthur Mueller at DOD. He didn’t know the name so he put it off for after lunch he wanted to do background on Alvin and the whole financial mess.

The reports from six years ago called it a Ponzi scheme but they were short on details as to the nature of the con. They did have list of people said to have lost money as a result he read them noting that there were more than a few heavy hitters. Then he ran across a society article Gloria McIntyre had been engaged to Alvin but the engagement was called off the month before everything fell apart no reason given but in light of what happened it seemed obvious. However, it was always best to give all parties a chance to tell their side of the story. Besides he needed more than just Alvin’s side of things which had to be an interesting story so he made a call got the McIntyre’s family secretary.

Madame was currently vacationing in Monaco she would not be back until the following week did he want to leave a message.

He did. He gave his name and the name of the paper asking if she would like to discuss Alvin Gable.

I doubt it the secretary said but I will pass your request on.

Thanks he said and hung up.

He decided to go over to the other side of the paper and talk to Myrtle Max the society editor. Her real name was Dolores Beecher but Myrtle Max sold more papers so everyone just sort of went with it and called her Maxi. Myrtle was in but her secretary Rita Combs was running interference so he neatly side stepped the whole issue by walking around her desk and into Maxi’s Office. Myrtle was on the phone so he took a seat on the couch. Myrtle and he had spent more than a little time on the high backed monstrosity as she liked to call it. Maxi was a Cougar with an eye for the latest talent on the floor. She bought him lunch dinner and breakfast his first week on the paper to the consternation of his then girlfriend and they were hot and heavy for a while but she got interested in someone else and he was not fool enough to believe that what they had was any more than what it was. So when she saw him take a seat she waved off her secretary. He waited like a good paramour until mommy finished her business.

What can I do for you Cleve she asked after she put down the phone?

Background mostly he said smiling letting her know that if she wanted he would give it another go.

What do you have on Gloria McIntyre and her engagement to Alvin Gable?

Maxi paused to recall or consider Marcus could never tell. She was good his old lover. Then all memory banks engaged she held forth.

"Well Gable was the fair haired boy back seven or eight years ago. Came out of nowhere got rich quick helped a lot of people do the same moved into high society won the heart of its then queen and then like all pyrotechnics he burned out