The Man

By John Highbarger

Suddenly, The Man is a single parent. His wife has just died of leukemia, and he now must raise their children on his own while sifting through personal grief and starting a Foreign Opportunites Fund for his successful firm. In desperate need of help, he hires a live-in nanny.

 

After a major trauma in his life, The Man becomes a modern, technology-based drug mogul. He establishes his drug business from scratch, carefully piecing together a network of suppliers that keep his identity secure. As a rich businessman, he is able to stay active in anti-drug efforts, and he and the The Man are now on a collision course neither could have foreseen that could alter the political climate of the United States.

 

The Man is a sweeping thriller with multiple story lines, colorful characters, and heart-thumping drama. Author John Highbarger introduces many technologies of the future and the effects, good and bad, these technologies may have on society. Packed with action, intrigue, and family, this page-turner inspires serious thought and will make you question all you know.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Feb 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781480872325

John Highbarger

John Highbarger is a retired Global Managing Partner of Technology Strategy in the world’s largest consulting firm.  In this role, he advised many large organizations on strategy and technology. His projects resulted in major strategic improvements to businesses and the adoption of cutting edge technologies to help clients lead or continue to lead their markets. He now teaches in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Book preview

PART 1

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CHAPTER

1

T he funeral went as well as could be expected. The kids didn’t really understand what was going on, and the man had managed to keep himself together. Still, how could this be happening? A month ago, everything was great. Great job, great kids, great house, great cars, great bank account, and most of all, a great wife whom he loved more than anything. Then she wasn’t feeling well, reluctantly went to the doctor, and got a devastating diagnosis: leukemia. Now she was gone. His business partners were understanding, so he would get all the time he needed to pull himself together, but this couldn’t have happened at a worse time. He was finally ready to start the Foreign Opportunities Fund, the investment fund that he had been wanting to create and the firm so desperately needed, but now it would have to wait.

He had met Megan in college, when they were assigned to a team project. She was a junior and he was a senior, but they quickly jelled into the leaders of the team. They worked well together and led their team to the top of the class, but they also became close friends and eventually started dating. He admired Megan’s intelligence and easy laugh—and her good looks didn’t hurt either.

After graduation he and Megan married, and their careers progressed rapidly. He had interned with a private equity company that offered him a position heading up their technology investments. He accepted the position, but he stayed in school long enough to get a master’s degree in computer science before starting work full-time. Megan took a job in consulting and set a new speed record in reaching management level. Young and successful, they enjoyed partying with their friends and traveling to exotic places. After a few years of marriage, they considered themselves stable and ready for children.

Since the travel requirements didn’t fit with raising children, Megan left consulting and took a position as chief operating officer for a large local manufacturing company. Soon she became pregnant with a daughter, who too soon turned five years old, and they had a son who was now three. The man wondered if things might have been easier for the kids if Megan had stayed in consulting and continued traveling. If Mom isn’t here had been more common, Mom is never coming back might now be easier to handle.

The day before yesterday, he had called a service to help him find a live-in to manage the house and the kids, and he would start interviewing tomorrow. Even if he found one quickly, however, he wouldn’t be able to leave the kids for any length of time, such as a long trip to Asia, for quite a while. He needed to be there for them as they dealt with this new reality. For now, the kids thought that having their dad home from work and taking care of them all day was kind of cool. The fact that Mom was never coming back hadn’t sunk in yet.

During the first day of interviewing, the man met with six people, but none of them were right. When he could catch some time, he looked up operations in Asia that would become mainstays of his new fund. He already had some ideas for the obvious holdings, but to really stand out, he needed to find some unknown opportunities.

The next morning, he got up and looked at his schedule. First, he had a conference call with the office to discuss plans for the new fund. They had offered to postpone, but he wanted them to know that he was still engaged. Then he had to interview four more applicants.

The conference call went off without a problem, though he took some scolding for taking the time to do business right now. The first two live-in candidates were no better than the ones the previous day, but the third was totally different.

Tell me about yourself, the man said.

I’m thirty-four, recently divorced, have no kids, and have a degree in elementary education, said the nanny. My husband left me for another woman. I taught kindergarten for eight years and then stayed home as we tried to get pregnant. We both really wanted kids and were devastated when I got the diagnosis that I would not be able to get pregnant. We talked about adoption, but he wasn’t interested.

That’s too bad, he said. What’s your relationship with him now?

We remain friends. Our divorce settlement went smoothly, since he basically just did what I wanted, but I’m still sad about how it turned out.

He asked, So financially you’re covered?

Yes, he’s a partner in a law firm, and thanks to my settlement, I don’t have to work if I don’t want to, explained the nanny. "I could go back to teaching, but that world has changed so much since I started that it really doesn’t appeal to me anymore. You know—all the rules and standardized tests. I love kids, but I don’t want to try marriage again anytime soon, so I started looking around for a situation that would let me have kids without having them—if that makes any sense."

That makes all the sense in the world, he said. Let’s go meet my children.

They went to the playroom where the kids were carrying on, and the nanny joined in the activities. As the man sat back and watched, she fit right in and got along with them immediately, transitioning their play into a little game that got them doing some basic reading. The kids were having a blast.

When it was time for he and the nanny to leave, the kids asked when she would be back.

Soon, he replied, and the two adults went to the office downstairs.

Your kids are wonderful. It’s amazing how well they’re holding up, given the circumstances, the nanny said.

Yes, kids are a lot more resilient than we think.

True, she agreed, but you must have done a great job making your children feel comfortable for them to handle their mother’s death so well.

Thanks, but the credit goes to my wife. I really have no idea what I’m doing, he said.

Ideas are overrated in raising children, replied the nanny. What they really need is love, and it’s clear that you’re giving—and have given—them love. They are going to come through this just fine. Not that they won’t miss their mom, but they’ll be able to handle it.

Time was running out, and the man had another interview coming up. Thanks, he told her. I’ve really enjoyed our discussion, but I have another interview now. I’ll need to check your references and do a little thinking, but I’ll let you know in a day or two.

The next interview didn’t go well at all. Maybe the problem was the applicant, or maybe it was that he already had a candidate he liked. No one ever said that interviewing was fair.

The man had spent time in advance looking for internet sites that would provide the information he wanted when he found a candidate that he liked. Now everything checked out exactly as she had said, except that she had left off several teacher of the year honors. She had no criminal record, good credit, and nothing negative on social media. He made up a story to talk with the principal of the school where she had taught, and the principal gave her rave reviews.

Hiring the right nanny was the most important thing he would ever do, because his kids were the most important things in his life. One last source of information could put him at ease, so he called her ex-husband.

Hello, the ex said.

Hi, the man said, I’m calling to ask about your ex-wife. She has applied for a position as our nanny, and we’re careful about who we let around our children. He was startled to realize that he was saying we. Clearly Megan’s death hadn’t sunk in for him either.

Oh, well, she’s great. She loves kids and was always getting teaching awards. We really wanted kids of our own, but she can’t conceive. She’s wonderful, and I miss her a lot. My new wife is fine, but it’s not the same. My wife is pregnant, and we’ll have our own daughter in two months, but some of my friends still say I’m an idiot. What do you think?

Thanks for your help, he said. By the way, I agree with your friends. Goodbye.

This left just one concern: the nanny was thirty-four, he was thirty-six, and she wasn’t exactly the grandmotherly type he had anticipated. What would his in-laws say? The house situation, though, was perfect. The kids occupied their own wing of the house; each of them had a bedroom and private bath, and there was one additional suite, so the nanny would be staying there with the kids. That should work out fine, he thought.

He called the agency and had them send her out again the next day.

When she arrived, he took her over to the kids’ wing. They were thrilled to see her again. She sat down and played with them, and then he asked them to show her the rest of the wing, including the television room/study, their bedrooms, and the empty suite.

After the nanny’s tour, they left the kids playing and returned to his office. He laid out the offer, and she accepted immediately.

When can you start? he asked.

She replied, Tomorrow is Saturday, and my brother can move me. Is that okay?

Okay? That’s perfect. What about your apartment?

I have it on a month-to-month. No problem. When should I plan to be here?

Whenever it works best for you, he said. We’ll be up by eight o’clock and ready anytime. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I don’t think I have to tell you that the kids will be thrilled, and I sure need the help. Here’s your key and a garage door opener. See you tomorrow!

Oh, thanks so much! she exclaimed. I can hardly wait. See you tomorrow!

Then the man called Liz, Megan’s older sister, and told her what was going on. He asked if she could come by on Monday and occasionally thereafter, just to have another set of eyes on things. Liz was thrilled that he wanted her to stay involved, since she and the kids really loved each other, he knew that she’d be honest and fair, and he trusted her judgment. Also, Liz’s stamp of approval would offset any concern on the part of her parents.

The next day went as expected. He got up, shaved carefully, and chose casual but stylish clothing. He wanted everything to be just right to start off with the new nanny. At eight thirty, the nanny showed up with her brother, who was driving a small rental truck. The kids were really happy to see her, and when it sank in that she was moving in with them, they actually danced with glee. She spent the day playing with the kids and getting settled. Her joy was obvious, and it seemed almost as though she and the kids had known each other forever. The brother was gone by nine thirty, and at noon they all went to a place the kids loved for lunch. That evening she and the kids dressed up and they all went to the country club for dinner.

For the next week the man continued to work from home, but there were no issues, and he got a lot done. He was really learning the ins and outs of Google and becoming quite adept at finding whatever he wanted, including detailed information on everyone and everything. He was amassing a list of midsized companies to visit on an upcoming trip to Asia. The next week, he started going to the office for a while every day. Meanwhile, things on the home front were going smoothly.

Then his world was shaken again. On Thursday, as he was driving to work, he pulled up to a stop sign, came to a complete stop, and drove off. But then he saw flashing lights in his rearview mirror and pulled over.

An officer came up to his window and said, Driver’s license, please.

The man produced his license, but said nothing. The officer took his license and returned to his patrol car.

After several minutes, the officer returned and said, I’m citing you for failure to stop at the stop sign.

The man said, I’m sorry, officer, but I came to a complete stop at that sign. However, I’ll sign the ticket.

You’re challenging the ticket?

Not here, he said, but I will in court.

Look, I need one more ticket on this shift, you got it, and you’d better just pay it or you’ll find yourself dealing with bigger problems. Who knows? If I search your vehicle, I might find some illegal drugs. You won’t win in court anyway, because the judge and I both work for the city of Dallas. With that, the officer turned and walked away.

He sat there and fumed for a few minutes. He hadn’t gotten a ticket in years and the money was inconsequential, but the officer’s audacity really burned him. He realized that he was in a fragile state from the loss of Megan. He wasn’t a violent man by nature, but he wanted that cop dead. He noted the officer’s name and badge number on the ticket: Zackman 79521. He wasn’t going to waste time on this ticket, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He swore that he would get his revenge.

A couple of weeks later, the nanny’s transition from playmate to adult supervisor had gone better than he would’ve ever expected. The kids didn’t seem to notice, and everything went smoothly. She seemed to relish her time with the kids and was clearly in her element. Meanwhile he spent his time secluded in his office and working feverishly.

The nanny did sense a subtle change in him over those first two weeks. He seemed to have a little edge on him—nothing she could put her finger on, but definitely a shift in attitude. Regardless, she knew that he was really pleased with her and how the relationship with the kids was going. He was probably just really focused on getting the new fund going.

Internally, he was infuriated. The episode with the cop had ignited something in him that he couldn’t shake. He began to find himself lost in strange, uncharacteristic thoughts of violence and revenge. He had always been careful and studious, staying above the fray. But now he realized that if such an injustice could happen to him, the system must be far more corrupt than he had ever known. He needed to obtain super wealth, so much wealth that no one would dare bother him or his kids—and he didn’t care how he did it.

If he was going to do this—and he was—he was going to do it right. He was doing too well and was too happy to risk it all on a half-baked venture. He had it all planned out in excruciating detail, and he knew it would work, but doing it right would require significant seed money. He had what most people would consider a lot of money, but it wasn’t enough. That’s what the next phase of his plan was all about—raising investment funds.

He spent a lot of time researching in the far reaches of the internet, places most people never go. He had contacted a young man to help him navigate this uncharted territory. Besides helping him get acquainted with the subject matter, the young man showed him the most secure email service in the world and the most untraceable path for searching and working on the internet. Mastering these tools, he located the contacts he needed and began deep research. As he got better, he created his own crawlers, programs that continually searched the internet for information that matched certain specifications. With these tools, he could find and monitor just about anything he wanted.

He began taking day trips out and back from Dallas, always returning to a quiet home, his kids and the nanny fast asleep. He managed to go to cities all over the United States. In each city he rented a car and drove to a couple of stores, bought some common supplies, purchased untraceable but programmable burner phones, and drove around in apparently random residential neighborhoods. He stopped occasionally at homes under construction or undergoing serious remodeling and visited for a few minutes. Although he appeared to be just looking around, anyone following him closely would have seen that he planted small devices in hidden places in the houses. After ten such day trips, placing five devices on each trip, he was ready for a longer trip.

He was getting glowing reports from Liz, about the nanny, and his home situation was progressing nicely, so he decided to take a three-day trip. He told the nanny that he would be visiting several Central American countries, looking at opportunities for the new fund, and that after he returned, he would take everyone for a week at Disney World. Then he would take a longer trip to Asia.

Later the nanny asked where she could find some family photographs. She anticipated that as the kids continued to deal with the loss of their mother, photos would help them work through their grief. Remembering the good times with their mother would ease their feelings of loss. He thought that was an excellent approach, so he showed her the computer where the family photos were stored and gave her the password.

His Central American trip included stops in Grand Cayman and Panama. In Georgetown, Grand Cayman, he met with an attorney and set up several business entities. Then he went to ten different banks and set up accounts for the entities, transferring money into one account from his personal account and then moving money from that account into the new business accounts. The accounts were all numbered, with no reference to his identity. In Panama City he did the same thing, transferring money in from various Cayman accounts. He was ready to get serious.

When he returned to Dallas, his family was doing well.