Naked Ambition. Dan Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ left this sentence hanging in the air, but Nick knew what he was thinking. Finally, with a pleading look on his face, Zach said, “I just thought you’d kinda be a perfect person to bring in on this. You know?”

      Nick’s eyes looked upward toward one of the parking lot lights that illuminated the area. He was thinking, trying to bring all the information he had been given together, to make sense of it.

      Mr. Baker was next to speak. “Look, Nick, I’m asking you to help with this situation because I have to find out what’s happening or not happening in order to know how to respond appropriately. But I need to find out fast.”

      ‘Fast’ was given a timeline by Mr. Baker: two weeks. In those fourteen days Baker was asking Nick to come up with evidence needed to either convict or clear Herb Clarkson of inappropriate interaction with a minor. It really didn’t matter to Baker what the outcome was, he just needed it to be convincing enough that he would know what to do. That is, either do nothing if Clarkson was innocent of improper behavior or, if there was enough proof to show that he was in some way abusing an underage boy, then go to the authorities. The fee to be paid to Nick, suggested by Baker, was a base of five hundred dollars plus one hundred dollars a day for up to two weeks and any appropriate expenses.

      “And I’m going to add an incentive bonus,” Baker had said. “I’ll give you another five hundred dollars if you can get the information I need by next Monday.”

      Next Monday! That’s only seven days away, thought Nick. “Why by next Monday, Mr. B?”

      That question was answered when Baker explained that the president of M/X Technologies was stepping down and next Monday the M/X board would be naming someone to take that position. He went on to say that Herb Clarkson, a highly respected engineer, headed up the Division of Product Development and Implementation, one of two vice-presidential positions in the company. It seemed that the present president, Jeremy Wilcox, son of one of the founders, favored Clarkson and had been grooming him for the top position for the last year. Therefore, it was assumed by most employees that Clarkson would be named the new president by the start of next week—next Monday.

      “If Clarkson does turn out to be involved with this kid,” Baker said, “it will reflect very negatively on my company. But as bad as that would be in his present position, it will be even worse if he is the newly named president. That’s why I hope you can get what I need by next Monday. It’s as much for M/X Technologies as it is for me.”

      To Nick’s question of how Baker thought the investigation would best be done, Zach spoke up. He told Nick that next week was the camp’s last week of classes. “The classes meet Monday through Thursday, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The staff is made up of volunteers like me. What I thought is that I could bow out and then you could step into my shoes.”

      “You think this Clarkson guy will accept me like that?”

      “Dude. I think there will be no problem. I mean, you’re a great player. And I know you did some coaching last year, right?”

      “Yeah. Coached a high school girls’ team all season.” Nick then added with a smile, “They won second place in their division.”

      “So that means you have had a police background check, right?”

      “Yeah. I have a copy of my clearance at home.”

      “Good. Then there shouldn’t be any problem.” Once that was said, Zach went on to explain the set up. “Here’s what I suggest. You present yourself as a high school volleyball player. Like sixteen years old. I’ll suggest to Clarkson that you take my place as an assistant coach. Dad will give you a good recommendation. And he’ll make sure Coach Clarkson knows you are under age. Then…” There was a pause. “Well, you have to make Coach believe that you want him to, like, take you under his wing. Talk with him. Confide in him. Do anything you can to get close to him.” Zach looked at his good friend and asked, almost as a plea, “You think you can do that?”

      Nick, following Zach’s line of thought, said, “Sure.” That word ‘sure’ was said with an ease that belied the doubt that Nick had as to whether he could carry off being a high school student once again. To Nick the whole thing was pretty strange, even creepy.

      Zach continued. “And then there’s the kid. His name is Jack. Get to know him, too. See if you can strike up a conversation with him. Maybe a quick friendship. And then let it go from there.”

      Let it go from there. That was easy for Zach to say. The plan sounded simple enough. But, implementing it was not so simple. In fact, as Nick thought it over, he recognized that there were several substantial challenges to be overcome.

      After a time of silence, Mr. Baker said, “So, Nick, what do you say? Are you in?”

      Nick had already made up his mind. He looked at his buddy, Zach, and then at Zach’s father. “For you, Mr. B, I’ll do it.”

      Baker replied quickly with a smile, a couple of firm pats on Nick’s back and a hearty, “Thanks, Nick. Thanks a lot!”

      Zach’s response was a little less dynamic: a simple knuckle bump and “Dude, you da best.”

      MONDAY

      WEEK ONE

      DAY 3

      NICK HEARD THE CLOCK DOWNSTAIRS chime six times. As he rubbed his eyes—eyes that had been mostly open for the last half hour—he looked toward the window nearest his bed. He saw that the soft yellow rays of the morning sun were already peaking over the treetops.

      The night had been a difficult one—a restless one—for Nick. He would sleep for a while, then wake up and stare at the ceiling for what seemed like an hour. Maybe more. Always in his mind was the problem of how to do what had been asked of him: to integrate himself into the M/X Technologies-sponsored volleyball camp staff and do it in a way that would bring him into a close, trusting relationship with Coach Herb Clarkson. And to do it in a very short time. How would he go about doing that? That was the really tricky part.

      However, it wasn’t just Nick’s apprehension over the ‘how’ of doing the job but, also, of the ‘why.’ That ‘why’ was one of his major concerns, one that made saying ‘yes’ to Mr. Baker’s request very easy. The thought of any kind of inappropriate interaction between an adult male and a young victim made a deep impact on Nick. That a man would maneuver and manipulate a boy like that, “Well,” he said to Zach at one point, “that just makes my skin crawl.” Adding to his overall revulsion of this kind of relationship was the feeling of anger brought up by memories of a situation where one of Nick’s friends, a boy named Jimmy, had been physically and emotionally abused by Jimmy’s mother’s boyfriend. The very thought of Jimmy and what he had endured and the resulting impact that the abuse had made on his young life brought Nick to the point of wanting to strike out in some kind of vengeful manner, a behavior that was an anathema to his basic peaceful nature.

      Seeing that the day had started and knowing that to lie in bed another moment was a waste of time, Nick got up and dressed. Within minutes he was rolling his bicycle out of the garage. Once at the road in front of his house he looked at his watch. It was 6:15 am.

      As Nick mounted his bike, he looked up at the blue, mostly cloudless sky. What a joy it was for him to be outside in nature on such a beautiful day. Anxious to get going, it took him very little time to get the bike up to speed as he peddled down СКАЧАТЬ