The Company man, part 24

Jonah determined that the president of Privex had suddenly decided to leave the country and head to Columbia for a summit meeting with his angel investors. “Bad move,” Jonah commented to Henry as they drank coffee. “They’re not going to be too happy that he spent so much of their money now have nothing to show for it. He thinks his skills are so valuable that they’ll give him a different job in their outfit, but that kind of money lost is unforgiveable. He’s gonna die a very painful death.”

Henry put down his coffee. He didn’t like that kind of imagery Jonah was putting in his head. “Did you ever find Jonathan?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Just his car,” Jonah conceded. “I’m starting to think that guy really is a ghost, just like you said. He’s very good at disappearing.”

With the the discovery of the clones, Privex was declared lost. Its assets were sold and the money used to setup identities for the clones determined to have not actually committed any crimes. They were moved to different cities and states, with restraining orders to not contact one another. The original Henry was permitted to keep his apartment, though he had to give up his car, and now took the bus. Jonah got him a job in the accounting department of the local FBI office. They were having lunch in the cafeteria on the second floor.

“Henry?” Jonah asked. “What did you think of those guys in inventory that got killed?”

Henry didn’t like to talk about it, but he trusted Jonah. “I never especially liked them,” Henry confessed, but then added, “But I never hated them! I still respected them. Why?”

Jonah stared up at the ceiling. “I was reading through Jonathan’s notes,” he explained. “He makes mention of a monoculture. It’s an environment where everyone has the same or view similar views on things, with no differing opinions. In that kind of situation, soft opinions get reinforced, making them stronger. Over time, they become strong opinions, even fanatical ones, except that members of the monoculture don’t see it as such because everyone agrees with them. I’m guessing you had at least some infatuation with that weather girl too?”

“She is very pretty,” Henry smiled.

“And that got reinforced into a dangerous obsession among the clones. There are subtler examples of this in companies where the president is very controlling. All of the people that report to him just agree all the time, giving the president a perception that he can do no wrong, and ultimately drives the company into the ground. In a sense, the experiment Privex performed demonstrated why cloning for labor is not a good idea.”

“Cloning for labor?”

“The drug cartels wanted a cheap source of labor,” Jonah explained, “Which in progressive economy’s is increasingly hard to find. Places like China are on the upswing. With labor prices and job opportunities increasing, it’s hard to find people to process drugs for little to nothing in compensation. Columbia has less of a problem, but they can see which way the wind is blowing. It makes sense that they would invest in a program like this. What’s sad is that they found an American company willing to do the dirty work. I don’t know what the board was thinking.”

“Maybe they had one of those mono-culturey things,” Henry suggested. “If that were the case, they wouldn’t be able to see the problems posed.”

Jonah smiled. “You’re smarter than you think you are Henry,” he stated, then switched topics suddenly. “Found any new hobbies?”

“I found a group near my apartment that does a lot of stuff with RC planes and helicopters. I bought  a kit and have started building my own. The girl working at the hobby store is really cute, and has helped me out a lot.”

Jonah smiled. His next report on Henry would be a good one.

THE END

The Company Man, part 23

#2 heard the shots and cautiously peered around the corner. He saw #62 laying on the ground as the police officer pulled his injured partner back through the door. He was yelling into his radio. “Shots fired!” he cried. “Shots fired! I’ve got one man down and need backup. I need full armor backup!”

#2 could not take his eyes off the corpse of #62. With one death, his confidence evaporated and fear raced in to fill the void. “My God!” he exclaimed softly. “They’re going to kill us all!”

#2 turned around to face his crowd of brothers. All of them stood, motionless, with the same  horrific look of terror. The scene was sickening. No variety, they truly were all the same. #2 knew they were all thinking the same thing.

“Start looking for other ways out,” #2 ordered with a voice that crackled with fear, but none of them moved.

“We should give ourselves up,” one of them suggested.

“Maybe they’ll listen if we explain,” another offered.

#2 felt his power slipping away. In the short time he’d grown used to the power, and could bear to give it up. “We just shot a police officer,” he argued. “They’re not going to stop and listen.”

“We didn’t shoot a police officer,” one of them argued. “That one did, and he’s dead now.”

“We could blame him for the other killings,” #12 suggested. “That he held the rest of us hostage.”

But #2’s nerves had already yielded to fear. He drew his gun and pointed at the others. “I said,” he growled. “Look for another way out.” The others did not move. He fired once, killing #33. The others still remained frozen in fear. He fired again, killing #78. It sickened him that no matter how many he killed, there would still be more of them with that expression of horror. #2 started to shake.

#24 drew his gun and shot #2, killing him. He then walked over to the couch and turned on the TV to the weather channel, but the weather girl was not scheduled to come on for another six hours. The rest filed out of the dorms and surrendered to the SWAT team that had just breached the building.

The Company Man, part 22

#62 could not stop sweating. He’d managed to take down the security guard who held the key to the weapons locker, but not before he seriously injured several others. The police were demanding entrance and it did not look like they’d be able to keep them out much longer.

#2 instructed them go and get guns, which they’d done, but now it was unclear who should carry one. There were not enough to go around, and none of them had any experience carrying a gun. It looked pretty easy in the movies, but in practice there are a lot of steps to remember. Actually loading the gun, clearing the chamber, turning off the safety, and all of this while not accidentally pulling the trigger and shooting oneself.

#62 kept a gun. He felt it appropriate given that he’d been the open to get the weapon’s locker open. He wanted to feel safe, and did not care as much about the others. #2 demanded a gun. He had a certain authority given that he’d been around the longest that the others respected. The others were a bit nervous giving him a gun, though. Still, it was passed up to him.

The one who had committed the murder, #24, was also given a gun. #62 did not see who else got one. He kept his hidden. Still, the excitement and adrenaline made him dizzy. All of the clones were milling about in the common room, which was too small to contain them all. He moved clear of the crowd and went over to the door to sit down.

But as he did so, the door burst open and a police officer stepped in. #62 panicked, drew his gun, and pulled the trigger.

For a moment, everything was quiet. He could not tell if the shot had silenced the crowd behind him, or if he’d simply gone deaf from the pounding of his own heart resounding in his ears. He did not have time to dwell upon it. A second office drew his gun and fired three times, hitting him twice in the heart and once in the head. #62 fell to the ground, dead.