Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 01 - Flapjack by Daniel Ganninger Read Free Book Online

contractors, security companies, and the government.  It wasn’t in their mission plan to market kid’s toys, but we figured they just saw the dollar signs from the potential of the product.  We came to realize that the toy business was not so fluffy and cuddly.  It’s a billion dollar industry, sometimes more brutal than any other business sector.  Elmo and SpongeBob Squarepants aren’t usually hugging and shaking hands.  Many times they pull out weapons and have a good, old-fashioned street fight.  For us, however, it was going to be a big fat payday.
    Genesis would have the plans securely hidden away and we needed to become much more creative to get them.  We were going to need a little outside help.

-Chapter 12-
     
    Galveston had a few contacts in the area of computer geekery, but only one person he felt could handle a job of this size with the discretion it would need.  Galveston considered him a super geek, but only in the nicest of terms.
    Alex Jubokowski had a resume a mile long.   He was a former computer programmer with the National Security Agency, had designed software for missile defense systems for Northrup Grumman, written security software for giants Microsoft and Bank of America, and implemented tracking and distribution software for FedEx, just to name a few.  He did this all before the tender age of thirty.
    Boredom set in, however, and Alex set his sights on Las Vegas, that wholesome city in the desert.  He developed an algorithm to predict the next sequence of numbers on slot machines, a hobby he started back in his days at MIT, and a once thought impossible task.  He got caught of course, not using the algorithm, but trying to purchase a slot machine on the black market.  He somehow escaped prosecution, but the word had spread about his impropriety and his job prospects dried up.  He was just the guy we were looking for.
    Upon meeting Mr. Alex Jubokowski, my stereotypes got the best of me.   I expected to meet a thirty-something, short, nerdy guy of Polish descent with little to no personality, wearing glasses and a pocket protector.  Instead I met a tall twenty-something man of Indian descent wearing a black Pantera t-shirt, black leather jacket, misplaced earring, and riding a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R crotch rocket motorcycle.  Along with that he had one hell of a gregarious personality.  I liked him from the beginning and I knew why Galveston had him in mind the whole time. 
    We met him at our pala tial rolling estate, which disappointed him when he found out it was Galveston’s apartment.
    “ Judo!” Galveston quipped, thrusting out his hand.
    “ You know I always hated that nickname,” Alex responded.
    “ Yeah, whatever,” Galveston smiled, slapping Jubokowski on the back, “Judo, Roger Marshall.”
    I offered my hand, “very nice to meet you.  I’ve heard very little about you,” I laughed.
    “ Nice to meet you too, Roger.  I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you,” he agreed dryly.
    “ I’m glad I could be of such importance.”
    “ How in the world did you let this guy talk you into anything he’s involved in?” Jubokowski questioned, smiling and pointing at Galveston.
    “ Actually, I’m an escaped mental patient,” I quipped back.
    “ You would have to be, wouldn’t you?  I tell ya, this guy has gotten me involved in more things than I care to say.  Half-cracked schemes, touting of federal laws, you name it,” Jubokowski explained.  “More than once I thought I was insane.”
    “ That’s the way I feel everyday with this guy,” I retorted.  I finally had someone who felt my pain.
    “ If you guys are done with your warm fuzzies, I’d say it’s time to get down to business.  We have a lot of work to do,” Galveston said as we all walked up the steps to our glorious headquarters.
    “ Jubokowski?” I began, “can I ask you how you got that name?” He looked me squarely in the eyes.
    “ Well you see, when a man and a woman…,” he