Chapter 6 - The Airport Stand-off
The following afternoon, I received an alert. A GPS location ping from Daniel's phone, which was still syncing to my cloud (a fatal error he hadn't yet realized), showed he was at the Honolulu terminal. He must have just tried to check in.
I was sitting in my hospital room, finally able to sit upright with some assistance, when the notification arrived. Five minutes later, my phone rang. Sarah Jenkins’ number.
"Sarah?" I said, answering immediately.
"He's been terminated," Sarah reported, her voice electric. "Corporate HR just emailed the official termination letter. They cited 'misappropriation of funds, financial fraud, and misrepresentation of corporate expense accounts.' They have also filed an internal audit review and are considering referring the case for criminal prosecution. They are demanding immediate repayment of all fraudulent expenses, including the Hawaii trip."
"And the $38,000?"
"The bank confirmed claw-back has been initiated. With the forgery and fraud documentation, they are treating it as a priority. You should see the funds restored to the correct account within 24 hours."
"What about the current moment? Is he trying to buy new tickets?"
Sarah paused, and I could hear the satisfaction in her voice. "Oh, no. He tried to use his personal card to rebook. Declined. He tried to call a few coworkers for help. Apparently, the anonymous email did its work—the news of his suspension and 'investigation' spread like wildfire. No one is taking his call. He has no credit, no employer, and no way to pay for new flights."
"And Vanessa?"
"She was terminated as well, an hour after him. As she was his assistant and the primary beneficiary of the fraudulent expenses, she is being viewed as co-conspirator. Neither of them can leave the island."
"What do they do now?"
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"Well," Sarah said, a chuckle escaping her, "they will likely have to take the 'long way home.' He'll have to get creative. He probably has cash, maybe enough for one economy ticket, which he'll likely use for himself, leaving her there. Or they will have to go to a local bank and hope for a miracle, which won't happen because all their accounts are frozen."
"Good," I stated, the word tasting cold in my mouth. 1,000 words.
