The Ultimate Escape

By J. Demetrio Nicolo

It has been theorized that one's mental and physical well being can be directly related to the level of stress one experiences. Of course if this is a reality, it is not farfetched to think that the intensity and duration of the high level of stress experience can be devastating over a long period of time. This happened to be the case with Jonah Long, who because of his internal drive to be successful, made him an ideal case for reaching his mental breaking point. Since he never discovered how to relax and relieve stress, he enlisted the help of one of his colleagues, a person who had the same dreams and drive to reach optimal success but never displayed the tell tale signs of stress and strain. Without even knowing the full extent of Jonah's concerns, his colleague leaped into action for freeing Jonah from his mental prison and proposed the perfect solution, the Ultimate Escape..

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728362175

J. Demetrio Nicolo

J. Demetrio Nicolo continued his excursion into the world of fictional writing with his third novel, Posers, following his previous endeavors, The Silent Treatment published in 2004 and The Ultimate Escape published in 2020. During the course of his literary journey. he also ventured into a more personal endeavor writing a book titled Alec that has a biographical theme involving his childhood interaction with his father. Posers, a novel about people who posed as other people, represents a continuation of his writing style leaving readers with the proposition of using their imagination to formulate their own conclusions to unanswered scenarios.

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THE ULTIMATE

ESCAPE

J. DEMETRIO NICOLO

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2020 J. Demetrio Nicolo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  05/20/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6218-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6217-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020909139

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Case

Chapter 2 Meetings

Chapter 3 Investigation

Chapter 4 Findings

Chapter 5 Mitigation

Chapter 6 Arnie To The Rescue

Chapter 7 Reminiscence

Chapter 8 Reboot

Chapter 9 Game Time

Chapter 10 A Breakthrough

Chapter 11 Preparations

Chapter 12 The Team

Chapter 13 The Briefing

Chapter 14 Training-Day 1

Chapter 15 Training Day 2

Chapter 16 Preparation

Chapter 17 Let The Games Begin

Chapter 18 Survival

Chapter 19 Reflection

Chapter 20 Redemption

I dedicate this book to Naomi Smeltz, a dear friend and a wonderful person. Her kind words and encouragement provided the inspiration for me to continue the pursuit of my love and passion for writing.

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I t has been theorized that one’s mental and physical well being can be directly related to the level of stress one experiences. Of course, if this is a reality, it is not farfetched to think that the intensity and duration of the high level of stress experience can be devastating over a long period of time. This happened to be the case with Jonah Long, who because of his internal drive to be successful, made him an ideal case for reaching his mental breaking point. Since he had never discovered how to relax and do the things that normal people do to relieve stress, he was well on his way to catastrophic consequences. This is when he enlisted Arnie, one of his colleagues at work to help him. You see, Arnie also had the same dreams and drive to reach optimal success but for some unapparent reason, he never displayed the tell tale signs of stress and strain. On the contrary, during their occasional encounters, Jonah noticed that Arnie always displayed an amicable and sensitive attitude. Arnie was always in good humor and more than willing to lend a hand or come to the aid of anyone he believed he could help. It was for this reason that during a break from one of their staff meetings, Jonah approached Arnie and clumsily tried to inquire as to Arnie’s secret in dealing with the very stressful circumstances surrounding their work assignments. Both men worked as attorneys for a very prestigious law firm. They had similar responsibilities in litigating cases involving high profile clients engaged in political matters. Their primary task is to mitigate any controversial issues that could negatively impact their client’s standing within their political party or even worse their status with their constituents. Cases varied in severity from simple misdemeanors like driving under the influence to more sophisticated issues involving misappropriation of monies or receiving gifts, favors and other such gratuities. Keeping clients from public scrutiny and possible prosecution for misdeeds, at times seemed to be almost impossible and Jonah spent many long work days and sleepless nights trying to cope with the pressures that were brought to bear by both his clients and law firm executive officers. Neither the client nor the executives seemed to care one iota about whether or not they had erred but rather that it was up to the firm’s legal staff to resolve problems without a hint of blame on them. In fact, if the attorney could be held liable for whatever outcome came about, like disbarment, or even worse prosecution, then so be it. Just as long as the client was absolved and the law firm was never held liable. Several methods were employed to keep the law firm attorneys in check such as nondisclosure agreements, possible legal action by government attorneys and threats of making it impossible to acquire employment with another firm or even within the broad spectrum of legal practice, if the attorney decided to leave.

Knowing the level of certain client misdeeds weighed heavily on Jonah’s conscience at times, to the point where suicide would enter his mind as the only possible escape from the mental living hell he was experiencing. He couldn’t discuss any of his issues with his superiors as they made it very clear that such an action would implicate them and subject them to the same legal dangers he was facing. He was often reluctant to discuss a case with his best friend, his wife Anna, as that would make him even more stressful as she would surely try to convince him to do the right thing and blow the whistle on his client and law firm. No, this was Jonah’s dilemma to deal with and he and only he had to figure out a solution or at least learn to live with the situation. It was this latter thought that led him to approach Arnie and solicit his expertise in coping with his stressed out state of mind.

Much to Jonah’s surprise, Arnie not only responded in an exuberant way, but seemed to know exactly how to help relieve Jonah’s stress. Without even knowing the full extent of Jonah’s concerns, Arnie leaped into action, pulling Jonah aside and telling him that he had been there himself and proceeded to describe exactly what Jonah was going through. This shocked Jonah since he had never discussed details of his situation with anyone but yet Arnie’s description was right on target. It was for this reason that Jonah listened intently to what Arnie had to say and decided to invest in whatever solution Arnie was willing to share with him. Arnie’s words were etched in his mind and it was these words that led Jonah to an experience he would never forget.

"Jonah, I’ve lived what you are going through, what you are agonizing over and I have the perfect solution for freeing you from your mental prison. I have the "Ultimate Escape"!

CHAPTER 1

THE CASE

T he day began on a familiar note with Jonah arising early in the morning before his wife Anna and his two children, Barry and Matilda would awake. He started his traditional ritual by turning on the coffee maker and going outside to retrieve the daily newspaper in the driveway. Only this time he was surprised that the paper was strewn all over the front lawn. He grumbled a few choice words and began retrieving it page by page. As he put it together, he noticed the headlines on the front page. There in bold print was the headline that a local politician was being charged with the assault of a young woman while vacationing on an island in the Caribbean. Normally such a headline would go unnoticed by Jonah since he typically ignored the front page and went directly to the sports section followed by a quick look at the business department where he would check the price of gold. The checking of gold prices was of interest because several years earlier he had to exchange some gold coins that he had been given by his grandmother in order to purchase a new automobile. At that time he felt that the gold value given by the jewelry store where he cashed them in was well below what he expected and he often wondered if he acted prematurely in cashing in the coins. At any rate he returned to the kitchen with the newspaper crumpled under his arm. This time he didn’t ignore the front page as the article about the politician stirred his curiosity. His curiosity stemmed from a case he had been assigned where a high profile local politician was associated with an on-line venture involving the use of young women as getaway companions for corporate executives and politicians. He poured himself a cup of coffee, sat at the kitchen table and began to read the article. Before he had a chance to finish reading the entire article, his wife Anna appeared and opened a conversation about a vacation that they were planning for the coming summer. Jonah reacted in a positive way saying that he was looking forward to getting away from the pressures of his job and spending more time with his family, especially his children. He had been working multiple cases, the majority of which were high profile and involved the local mayor, a corporate executive from one of the city’s prominent employers and a police chief who had been accused of embezzling money from a pension fund.

The case involving the mayor centered on a series of trips he had taken to various European cities using city funds under the guise of investigating potential revenue sources. In developing a defense for this case, Jonah was able to divert blame to the city comptroller who he accused as not providing sufficient oversight of expenditures and advising the mayor. He was able to obtain an out-of-court settlement with the mayor keeping his job and agreeing to pay back the trip costs over a period of time. The case of the corporate executive was more complex as it was tied to an environmental issue where his company was engaged in the disposal of potentially toxic waste into a quarry located at the edge of town. The quarry spanned two municipalities having different laws regarding the waste disposal issue and Jonah had to navigate the legalities of each to develop a case that would successfully mitigate the outcome; again without a trial and resolution by payment of a fine. The resolution of the pension fund embezzlement turned out to be the simplest of all three as Jonah was successful in arguing that the pressures of being a police chief had caused an emotional breakdown thus placing the chief in a fragile state of mind. Coupled with the high degree of stress with his job, the Chief was also in the midst of a divorce and trying to arrange for the rehab of his son who had a drug addiction problem. Again Jonah was able to build a case that resulted in a financial settlement without any criminal prosecution. Over the last five years Jonah had spent an exorbitant amount of time away from his family and now that he had just a single case to work on he sincerely felt that it was time for a vacation, one that would not only help bring the family together but also recharge his batteries. Little did he know that his vacation plans would be dramatically altered.

As Jonah and Anna continued their conversation, their children, Barry and Matilda arose and came thundering into the kitchen as they overheard the tail end of the vacation conversation. Both were in their teenage years with Barry being the oldest at fifteen and Matilda thirteen. Barry was of slight build having wavy blond hair while Matilda was somewhat chunky, had auburn hair and piercing green eyes. Both children were super students achieving excellent academic accomplishments. It was a rare occasion that either of them had to be scolded for any transgression, which was left up to Anna to handle. Both Barry and Matilda were justifiably excited about the proposition of a vacation as it had been sometime since the family had actually gone on a formal vacation and the two children were quite anxious to have it happen again. Barry and Matilda took up chairs at the kitchen table, leaning with their elbows atop the table and pestered Jonah and Anna to provide more details about the vacation plans. Jonah looked at Anna as a broad smile formed on his face and nodding his head provided a subtle motion for Anna to respond. Anna gave him a slight look of discomfort as she tried to explain to the children that the vacation was just in the thinking stage and that they had not formed any solid plans. Both Barry and Matilda slumped back into their chairs each displaying looks of disappointment. At this point Jonah stepped in and explained to them that his new assignment may interfere with their vacation timeline plans but it would not eliminate it from happening. This pronouncement allayed some of the disappointment expressed by Barry and Matilda and the vacation conversation was declared over. Barry and Matilda then retreated from the kitchen table, grabbed bowls from the cabinet and milk from the refrigerator to form their breakfast meal.

Once things appeared to have settled down, Jonah finished his coffee, kissed Anna goodbye and hugged Barry and Matilda before departing for work. Once he arrived at his office, he was immediately directed to report to the board room to meet with his superior. This gave him some degree of angst as he wasn’t sure if his report on his current case assignment met with the favor of the firm’s executive council. After months of analysis, he had made some serious recommendations and he pondered the idea of whether or not he should have been so drastic on how to proceed with the case he was assigned. He had been given a case that involved a client who had run afoul of the law by sponsoring an investment into a new social media application that provides a platform for users to obtain the services of young women for what is described as companionship for weekend getaways to an exotic island. Jonah despised the sleazy operation but was directed to do everything in his power to take care of the client. The law firm’s executive council recommended that the client disavow that he knew about the details of the application and blame everything on the man he hired to develop the application. Jonah knew that this was far from the truth and would undoubtedly destroy the career of the young computer software genius who innocently fulfilled the task he was given by the client. Instead he developed an intricate plan that would first involve a settlement attempt and if not successful, defending the client in a court trial where he would develop a case that provided enough questionable circumstances to at least result in a not guilty verdict rather than trying to prove total innocence. Jonah had used this approach several times in the past and was successful in generating enough of a basis for convincing the jury that there wasn’t enough evidence to sustain a guilty verdict. In other words his signature approach was to develop enough doubt that a jury could not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jonah had honed a special skill in analyzing jurors during the jury selection process such that he could identify certain individual traits that he would take into account while building his defense.

Upon entering the board room, Jonah was met by his manager Will Leason who grabbed him by the arm and whispered in his ear, Don’t blow this. Do what these guys instruct you to do. Inside the room was a large wooden table surrounded by plush red velvet backed chairs. Seated around the table were five elderly men, dressed in pin striped, three piece suits. Jonah kind of chuckled to himself as he tried to picture himself dressed in this manner sometime in the future when he matriculated to the executive level. He said to himself, I wonder if the whole team gets to wear the same stupid looking uniform. Jonah took up a seat near the head of the table with Leason sitting beside him. Once they were seated, Leason introduced Jonah, stating that he is one of the best legal minds in the firm and a loyal team player. He then turned to Jonah and gave him a nod to begin presenting his approach. Jonah got straight to the point presenting his approach using all the positive body language he had learned as a defense lawyer presenting his cases. Unfortunately the firm’s executive council frowned on his approach and to a man said that it was too risky and if the case went to trial it would surely involve wide media coverage causing the client’s reputation to be seriously damaged even if obtaining a not guilty verdict. Instead the executives maintained their original position that Jonah construct a case for defending the young man who had developed the application software, once they had shifted the blame on to him rather than their client. Jonah was told that they would spare no expense in achieving the exoneration of the software developer but with the caveat that the client be hidden from all implications. Jonah didn’t particularly like this approach but felt that he could at least provide an opportunity to protect the young software engineer from doing any jail time even though it could seriously jeopardize his profession and possibly ruin his chances of succeeding in the software application industry. The meeting was adjourned and after the executives departed Leason turned to Jonah and pronounced that his direction had been established. Jonah reluctantly nodded his assent and the both of them exited the conference room heading back to their offices.

When Jonah reached his office he asked Martha, his secretary, to bring him the case files so he could develop a plan of action that would coincide with the direction he had received from the firm’s executives. Without placing too much effort in developing an exact strategy, he knew that the first step in the process is to meet with the client and then the software engineer. To this end, Jonah requested a meeting with the client as soon as possible so that he could develop an accurate understanding of how the development of the application began and the ensuing steps in the process, especially how the press became privy to the application and identified the client involved. A meeting was arranged through the executive staff who reminded Jonah that the client could never be implicated in any actions he took. Jonah pondered why there was such a desire on the part of the executive staff to avoid any implication with the client. He understood the delicate balance between companies and high profile public figures but the media had already publicized the case. The client was an executive for one of the top local corporations before being elected to office as a state senator and his rise in the political arena was so sudden that few really understood or even knew the platform he ran on. It seems that his opponent suddenly dropped out of the race just before elections took place. Jonah was curious as to why the firm chose to accept the client if there was such a sensitivity about implicating him thus hampering the firm’s ability to pursue various defense avenues. Jonah couldn’t wait to interview the client as the encounter may shed some light on why the firm took on this endeavor. A date for the client meeting was established and oddly enough it was to take place at a remote site during a Saturday evening. The site was a small restaurant located on the edge of town; a place that Jonah never knew existed. The fact that such a discrete location was selected was odd enough, but the time of the meeting was set at ten PM, which was just as puzzling.

Once the meeting with the client had been arranged, the next order of business was to set up a meeting with the software engineer, Josef Brunner. Arrangement for this meeting was comparatively much easier to accomplish. Jonah had been given Josef’s phone number and upon calling him, he received an immediate response. In fact, Josef seemed quite anxious to meet with Jonah and