Jennifer Government Part 38

"You want me to help McDonald's?" This was getting complicated.

"We're all one big happy family in US Alliance, haven't you heard?"

"Of course," Buy said.

"But no, I don't want you to help McDonald's. I want you to tell me if they're playing straight. Find out who's behind the attack: I want names, their plans, everything. I wouldn't put it past those Mca.s.sholes to stage the whole thing."

"Okay." He thought: Paranoid, too. Paranoid, too.

"And never call me at this time again. It's five in the f.u.c.king morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry" Buy started, but John had already killed the call.

Buy set up a three-o'clock to see Lucia McDonald's, Marketing Director, which would let him pick up Kate from school afterward. McDonald's main offices were in Sydney, but Lucia was in Melbourne for crisis management. She wanted to meet him at the store that had been attacked, so Buy wandered up Swanston Street and rode the escalator. The McDonald's store was no longer under plastic: to his amazement, there were people eating in it. He entered, looking for Lucia.

"Buy Mitsui?"

He turned. A woman he'd mistaken for a customer was smiling at him, covering a cellphone with one hand. In front of her was a half-eaten cheeseburger and fries. "I'm Lucia. Have a seat. I'll be one moment."

Buy sat and eyed Lucia's cheeseburger. He hoped she wasn't going to ask him to eat. He'd seen the news: they were hosing green stuff off the hot plates. Buy would sooner eat his briefcase.

"All the food is cooked off-site," Lucia said, catching him. She folded up her cellphone. "We're positive there was no contamination, but it's a good way to rea.s.sure our customers. We're running hot delivery vans up and down Swanston Street."

"No contamination?"

"It was a mixture of flour and food dye. Just a prank."

"Oh, I didn't realize," Buy said. He still didn't want a cheeseburger.

"You and the whole general public. We've got a h.e.l.l of a PR job. I've got half my staff down here to gorge themselves on Happy Meals."

Buy looked around. Now that Lucia mentioned it, there was a certain uniformity about all the customers. Most had cellphones pressed to their ears. A few had notebook computers. "Do you know who attacked the store?"

"As of this morning, yes. Security cameras saw them come out of the store and exit onto the street. We got cooperation from a couple of stores along Bourke Street, ran their security tapes, and saw which parking lot they went into. One of them paid with a Visa card. Since Visa's in US Alliance, voila, one billing address for a Mr. Hack Nike."

Buy blinked. He wondered if it was a coincidence that the attacker worked for Nike, like John. There was probably more going on here than Buy was aware of. "Have you reported this to the Government?"

Lucia smiled. "We don't work that way, Buy. Too public. We'll talk to this Hack Nike instead."

"By 'talk' you mean"

She leaned forward. "I mean we'll mount a very persuasive case as to why he should never try anything like that again."

"I...see," Buy said. "I'd like to talk to him first, if you don't mind. John Nike wants to know what these people are about."

"Yes, John John," Lucia said. Her eyes shone. "I must say, it's very flattering that he's taken a personal interest. How do you know him?"

"It's complicated."

"I hope you'll tell him how grateful I am for his a.s.sistance. If he's ever in town, I'd love to take him to dinner."

"I will tell him," Buy promised. "So can I"

"Let me write down the details for you."

On the Bechtel Eastern Freeway, en route to Kate's school, Buy dialed the number Lucia had given him.

A young woman answered. "h.e.l.lo?"

"h.e.l.lo," Buy said. "Can I speak to Hack Nike, please?"

"He's not here," she said, a little aggressively, Buy thought. "He doesn't live here anymore. Okay?"

"Oh. Do you know where"

"Try Claire Sears, Sales a.s.sistant. Why don't you look her up? I'm sure you'll find Hack there there."

"Uh," Buy said. "Thank you." He hung up. That was strange.

He called directory information and got a number for Claire Sears. Claire had an answering machine. Buy told it, "Hi, my name is Buy Mitsui...I've heard about your group, about what you do, and...I'd like to be part of it. Please call me back as soon as you can."

He ended the call. He felt kind of bad, laying a trap like that. Before he'd left McDonald's, Lucia had showed him the tape of the attack, and Buy was surprised by how amateurish it all was. On the news, it had sounded like a strategic chemical weapons attack. "They're kids," he'd said to Lucia. "Just kids."

"They cost us twenty million in brand damage," Lucia had said. "Don't feel too sorry for them."

Buy was early, so he parked the Jeep and ducked inside, hoping to see Kate's cla.s.sroom. There were pictures of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars plastered everywhere. This was a Mattel school, Buy realized. He suddenly understood why Kate had a Barbie lunchbox.

A security guard stepped in front of him. "Help you, sir?"

"Oh," Buy said, startled. "I'm just picking up my kid."

"Students can be collected from the gate, sir," the guard said. "Please wait outside."

"Uh, sure." He turned and walked back. That was a pity. But he supposed the precautions were necessary. You never knew when some lunatic would try to s.n.a.t.c.h a kid.

Kate was one of the first out the gates. She ran toward him, her schoolbag bouncing on her back. "Buy! Did you get my Virtual Animalz?"

He opened the door for her. "I think you need to explain this whole concept to me again."

"Buy. It's It's simple simple."

He started the engine. "To a smart girl like you, maybe."

"A man came to talk to us today," Kate said. "He said some companies are bad. Do you work for a bad company?"

"What?"

"He said the bad companies ganged up on the good companies and they were going to fight."

"US Alliance and Team Advantage?"

"Yes!"

"This is what they teach you?"

"The good companies are...I forget."

"Me too," Buy said.

"I know Mattel is a good one."

"There aren't really good companies and bad companies, Kate. It's not that simple."

"But Mattel look after kids in schools. There was this sick kid, they gave him a heap of toys. The other companies are mean and greedy."

"In a way, all companies are greedy. That's why they make things for us. It's how the system works."

"Can I get a treat? Since you didn't download any Animalz?"

Buy smiled. "What kind of treat?"

"A Bouncing Beanie Baby."

"I'm surprised you can't buy them at school," Buy said. "I'm surprised they're not mandatory."

"Mattel don't make Bouncing Beanie Babies. But I like them."

"You're a rebel."

"Can I?"

"Sure, I suppose."

"Thanks! The Chadstone mall is on the way home."

"Let's go somewhere else."

"But you said"

"Just not at Chadstone," Buy said. "Please. I don't want to go to Chadstone."

"Oh," she said. "Okay."

They drove in silence for a while. Then Kate said, "Do you think Mommy will call again?"

Buy looked at her. "I'm sure she will. The second she can."

"It sounded bad. Where she was. Noisy."

"She'll be fine. I'm sure."

"I hope she calls again," Kate said. She bit her fingernail and inspected it. "What about Sears? They sell them there. Can we get a Bouncing Beanie Baby at Sears?"

"Yes," Buy said. "We can go to Sears."

65 Billy

Billy woke to Jennifer's elbow in his ribs. "Hey. Tryin' to sleep here."

"We've landed."

"Oh." He followed Calvin into the aisle and stretched, cracking his knuckles.

"Don't do that," Calvin said.

"Sorry." Calvin looked tired and cranky, which was good, because that meant he wouldn't chase Billy so fast. Billy was pretty sure there would be some chasing, because as soon as he got a chance, he was going to run like f.u.c.k. He'd had a lot of time to think about this, and decided it was definitely better than the alternative, which was sitting around and waiting for the NRA to pop him. That John Nike had been pretty convincing.

Jennifer and Calvin escorted him off the plane, keeping between him and the other pa.s.sengers. A neon sign said: WELCOME TO LOS ANGELESHOME OF US ALLIANCE! "Man, it feels good to be home," Billy said, inhaling. "Smell that air, wow."

"It's air-conditioning," Jennifer said.

He spotted a sign. "Hey, bathroom. I gotta p.i.s.s."

"Wait until the hotel."

"Come on, I just woke up. I really have to go." Jennifer looked at Calvin. Calvin said, "Come on, then."