Warrior: The Call

By Curtis Lanning

Daniel Landry is given the opportunity he has been looking for all his life. All he has to do is look the other way and falsify a few documents. Since he believes right and wrong are relative and his parents' belief in God is a lie, the choice, to him, is obvious. However, a freak accident on a golf course throws Daniel into the true reality--an intense battle between good and evil.

Will Daniel be able to rescue his family and his hometown from the grip of the demons controlling them before it's too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889431633

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Warrior

The Call

Curtis Lanning

ISBN 979-8-88943-162-6 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-163-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Curtis Lanning

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

About the Author

Chapter 1

Twelve—that is the number of times a person takes a breath every minute when the body is calm, not under stress, relaxed, serene. That is the number of times Daniel Landry breathed as he finished submitting the falsified audit report to the Securities and Exchange Commission for the chain of bars and nightclubs owned by an entertainment firm based in Mainland China. Daniel was calm and relaxed, not because he didn't know what he was doing was illegal and unethical. He was calm because he knew his actions were sanctioned by his employer and a large bonus was involved in his compliance with the client's request.

Daniel has been with Conrad, Thompson, and Waterhouse, a West Coast accounting firm based in San Francisco, California, for five years after finishing his MBA from Faith University of Northern Kansas and then passing the CPA exam on the first try. Ethics was the cornerstone and foundation of accountancy, and being from the Midwest and completing his degree from a Christian university usually meant that Daniel's reports were causally glazed over with very few, if any, questions. Daniel knew this time would be no different.

Completing falsified reports was not always the modus operandi for CT&W. Actually, when Daniel began working for them as an entry-level accountant in small firm cash accounts, CT&W was highly respected and known for impeccable quality. However, since Randolph Conrad died in a tragic accident three years ago, the Thompson and Waterhouse part of the firm held to less respectable practices and, instead, started to take on clients who were willing to pay for lawyers and accountants to look the other way and help to hide their nefarious activities. Daniel had gained the notice of Carl Thompson as being very gifted in creating reports that held the appearance of high ethical standards but, in reality, were only cleverly disguised fictions.

All set? Carl Thompson asked as he stood up from sitting on Daniel's desk and turning to face Daniel.

Mr. Li should be very pleased with this report, Daniel replied with a confident smile.

Carl returned the smile and nodded his head in agreement. Being the senior partner of the two, Thompson and Waterhouse, he had the most to lose if, for whatever reason, the activities of the company were to be exposed. He was twenty years Daniel's senior and had taken a liking to Daniel.

Mr. Li will be here on Friday, and he is excited to meet the famous Daniel Landry from Missouri.

Daniel's eyes widened as Thompson relayed the news. He sat up in his chair and cleared his throat. At the age of thirty, Daniel was quickly becoming a rising star in the firm.

Do you golf?

Daniel thought incredulously at his question. Golf was not Daniel's sport; in fact, he considered himself extremely lucky if he finished ten-over par in mini golf. That one-hole with the windmill or the bridge over the constructed stream usually did him in, and by the end of nineteen-holes, he gives up trying to keep score since it seems he is perpetually in last place. No, Daniel did not golf, but what was Carl asking actually? Was he asking if he wanted a complimentary membership to the Olympic Club? The twenty-first floor and the Anderson-Conrad building, where the office was located, did have a virtual driving range that Carl had installed three years ago to improve his game, as well as a place to broker a few deals with semi-lucrative clients.

Well? Carl asked expectantly.

Oh, um no. I don't golf. I mean, Daniel stammered, I don't. I mean, I haven't played.

A devilish smile crept up Carl's face. Awesome, he said with a chuckle and a hint of delight. Mr. Li is a horrible golfer, but he loves to play. Tom and I have a terrible time pretending to be bad to allow Li to gain the lead and finish even with us or one under.

Carl Thompson and Tom Waterhouse were extremely competitive and were bitter rivals of each other's athletic ability. Perhaps that is what made them great partners—their fierce competitiveness and desire to one-up the other in virtually everything. Almost like brothers, they could banter each other, but if someone else tried to steal a client or show the slightest edge of being a little better or show a slight competitive edge, Carl and Tom banded together like a dynamic duo and squashed the competitors, and sometimes, their actions were legal.

With you playing with us, that will give Li the idea that we have been practicing, and he can stomp on you instead of us for a change.

Carl was not hiding his excitement of this discovery.

Daniel sat questioning what just took place. Was Carl Thompson asking Daniel Landry, the lowly accountant from Missouri who just got promoted to auditor six months ago, to join the partners in a game of golf with the biggest client in the Asian market? Are you asking me to join you and Mr. Waterhouse in a game of golf with Mr. Li? Daniel realized he asked the question like a high school nerdy teen girl would if she had been asked by the football quarterback to the senior prom.

No, Danny, I am not asking you—I am telling you. Saturday at ten, meet us in the lobby, and we will meet Li at the country club and play a round. Now come with me. Tom and I want to talk to you about something before Li and his associates get here today. Carl then proceeded to the doorway of Daniel's small office.

Daniel wasted no time getting up from his chair and following the man he felt was changing his life forever. The past six months felt like an absolute whirlwind. First, the promotion, which increased his salary, gave him an actual office, instead of a cubicle and an expense account. With this promotion, he was able to negotiate deals for side jobs to provide accounting or bookkeeping services for smaller shops in town that couldn't afford the $10,000 minimum fee from CT&W. The partners didn't mind, as long as the side jobs were small and it wouldn't bring CT&W into any legal trouble.

As Daniel exited his small office door, struggling to keep up with the older but more physically fit executive, he eyed Chad Martin, following him with his gaze with the look of What in the world is happening? and Chad mouthed the word, What?

Chad was as close to a best friend as Daniel could get. They met when Daniel first came to work at CT&W. Chad is a straitlaced and follow-the-rules kind of guy. When Conrad was the senior partner and called the shots, Chad had a promising future. Mr. Conrad liked Chad because he was young, full of hope and promise, and no matter what, integrity mattered immensely to Chad, and being what Daniel would call a religious nutjob, that dictated every decision in his life. Chad and Daniel did not see eye to eye on many things, but with movies, TV shows, and sports, they were spot-on and got along well. When Mr. Conrad died, so did Chad's chances of upward mobility in the company. The T&W of CT&W started calling people into the office, asking them ethical questions. The ones that answered the questions with the hint of being ethically flexible got the better assignments. Chad was given the boring jobs that nobody wanted. Raises and bonuses were given to those whom Thompson and Waterhouse liked the most.

Daniel motioned with his right hand pointing up and mouthed the words, Going upstairs!

Chad looked down at this cubicle desk, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. What is his problem? Hey, if the boss asked you to look the other way or put in a few different numbers in a few places, you do it. It isn't like anybody is really getting hurt. Didn't they call it victimless crimes?

The elevator call system dinged, and the doors opened. As Daniel and Carl stepped inside, Daniel looked back at Chad, and although he was some distance away, he could swear he heard him sigh, and Daniel thought it looked like Chad was—no, he couldn't be, but maybe he was praying? Daniel was puzzled as to why Chad would be praying for him. This is a good thing. Going upstairs to the top floor meant he had made it; success was within his reach. Daniel suddenly got the disgusting notion that Chad thought Daniel needed his prayers. I don't want or need your prayers, Chad! Daniel thought. There is no one up there anyway to hear them. You're wasting your time.

The doors closed, and Carl put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. Things are looking up for you, Danny.

Indeed they are.

The anticipation was almost overwhelming as the elevator was climbing to the most important floor in the Conrad building, the penthouse, which was the twenty-fifth floor. Everyone on the tenth floor where Daniel worked in auditing and budget justifications knew the penthouse was where the board of directors would meet, what the executives called home, and where the senior partners' gym, wet bar, running track, virtual driving range, and helicopter pad were. CT&W had a corporate helicopter the senior partners would take periodically. For long distances, they would charter a private jet. All of the expenses were company business and no personal trips, but everyone knew that was not entirely true since you can't talk business when you are snorkeling in Thailand.

The excitement brewed inside of Daniel, and the thoughts of What if? and What could they possibly want to ask me? and What if they know? ran through this head. His excitement turned to panic when he thought about the late nights he spent in the office last summer with Veronica. Veronica was the acquisitions and contracts attorney. They knew each other from undergrad, when Daniel was getting his BA and Veronica was in prelaw. Now that Veronica was out of Stanford and looking for any help she could find in getting higher up the corporate ladder, they had a couple of nights discussing how to legally get things accomplished and documented so as to not draw attention to CT&W and especially to himself. What if they saw the security cameras?

The elevator doors opened, and Daniel was not expecting to see