Steve was slowly pacing the floor, but Alex wasn't letting him out of her sight.
"Your success in this line of work will depend on the accuracy of your diagnosis. In most cases, there is also a time factor. Your best ally is modern psychology. You will learn to read people, to assess their states of mind in just seconds, and then to decide if they have a role in your play, if they are simply ignorant bystanders, or innocent victims caught in a game they don't even comprehend. You will learn to find the real motives behind actions. You will learn to hide not only who you are, but also what you think and how you feel. And I have to say, there is a lot of work to be done in that respect," Steve continued with a smile. "Your face is like an open book, Alex."
She felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
Steve clicked the small remote control he was holding. A new slide came up, its title reading, "Surviving the Jungle of Corporate America."
"Do you want to stop for a break?" he asked. She signaled no without a word, eyes on the intriguing title.
"You have to remember, most of the people we are exposing have a lot to lose. Few of them are small-timers, who are only risking their jobs. Most of them are risking serious financial losses and jail time and will not go down without a fierce fight. Please take this job as seriously as you would take police work. It comes with all the risks, but unfortunately without the Kevlar vest, gun, or badge. And there is usually no way of knowing, before we actually take a position inside the client company and start the investigation, if we're dealing with a small time, non-dangerous case, or if there's a serious felony being committed. I have to repeat: your best ally in the field is psychology."
The following slide was a list of book titles with comments.
With a cynical smile, Steve continued. "Weekend is coming." He tapped on the pile of books on the table beside him. "You'll be busy."
Another slide.
"Always think Means — Motive — Opportunity. This is the base for any human action, criminal or not. The first book on the list will explain some unusual motives you might encounter."
The following slide was projecting a book's cover, People of the Lie.
"Written by a psychiatrist, who is also a man of the cloth, the book addresses issues of parental abuse. You might think, what's that got to do with anything? Well, two things actually. One is that I find this book to give the best descriptions of human evil I ever came across."
Alex blinked in surprise.
"Sometimes all we have to do to fix a company's problem is to identify and remove the evil person who is doing harm, without any material or professional gain whatsoever. This book will help you grasp the concept of evil and will give you some examples of evil people posing successfully as nice, pleasant people. The second reason for my selection is that the way we act and react is forever marked by our experiences as growing children. Parental abuse is unfortunately common in our society, and those abused children grow up and get jobs, so keep an open mind when you are assessing motivations in the corporate world."
The following slide was another book title, The Truth about Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to Do about It.
"In other cases, corporations are to blame for causing the harm. The executives become too focused on profits and cost reduction, while neglecting the realities and limitations of their staff. Therefore, their actions are harmful in the long run. Read it, and let me know what you think. On the same topic, I have added another two titles."
The book list was quite long, a comprehensive selection of titles varying from Freud's Totem and Taboo and Civilization and Its Discontents to Organizational Behavior, including books dedicated to emotions, stress management, and crisis management.
"Wow," she whispered.
"For all these books, I made notes on the sections you should absolutely go through. That is because we are in a bit of a hurry. However, feel free to hold onto the books, and read the ones you like from cover to cover, when you have a bit of time. On Monday, we will proceed based on this homework. Oh, you have to finish all the books by Monday."
"But…" She stopped protesting, when he smiled encouragingly.
"Didn't Tom tell you? We're never bored at The Agency." He leaned forward and powered down his laptop. "Now, could I ask you to have lunch with me? It's been a long time since I had the privilege of sharing a meal with a beautiful, smart woman."
Alex was walking on a cloud.
…14
When people looked at Brian Woods, they all thought he had to be rich and extremely powerful. He radiated power in a manner that most people found intimidating. When he walked into a room, everyone felt the urge to stand up and greet him with respect, despite the fact he was only in his mid-forties. If he were to be seen driving an average, full-size sedan, everyone would agree that it must be a rental, because he just had to own a Mercedes S 600 customized by Brabus, or at least a Bentley.
Tall and slim, with deep black eyes and beautiful, yet masculine, features, Brian was turning heads ever since he could remember, but without becoming arrogant about it. A combination of class and charisma was making him successful in his work with The Agency. When Brian joined an organization as a vice president or CEO, one look and no one doubted that he belonged in a top executive role.
With his tie loosened and sleeves rolled up, he sat casually at his desk.
"We met briefly last week. I walked you to Tom's office for your interview, but we haven't had the chance to talk. Welcome aboard, Alex; it's a pleasure."
Alex took the hand he extended and gave it a confident shake, trying not to show how intimidated she felt. She couldn't help wondering why these remarkable people had chosen her to be a part of their team. She didn't feel all that special. Now, after one look at Brian, she felt like the ugly duckling.
"The pleasure is all mine," she said, and sat down.
"I will be training you on systems, communications, procedures, and emergency protocols. I will leave all the psyche-and-soul-related topics to Steve. Tom will come toward the end of your training to tell you a few things about observing things, clues and other stuff like that. Any questions so far?"
"None whatsoever." I didn't think men like these existed in reality. I thought you only saw them in movies.
"Then let's proceed." Brian turned toward the wall and projected the image of a small electronic device, photographed in the palm of someone's hand. "This is a communications device. It's usually in your car, therefore, you have to make sure the spot where you're parking isn't too deep underground, or it won't work.
It comes disguised in the climate control panel of your car. The reading for the temperature doubles as a reading showing the strength of the signal at a point in time and place. Let's say, for instance, you have the bad guy in the car, and he's getting talkative. All you have to do is start the heating or AC in your car; press and hold the fan button for two seconds; and we're receiving, monitoring live, and recording at the same time.
Meanwhile, the car's heating or AC will also be working. If the temperature reading shows two dashes instead of digits, your coverage is zero, and you need to get out of that spot in order for the system to work. If the temperature is blinking, you barely have any coverage; so you'll need to drive around until those degrees stop blinking."