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Chapter 15 - April 5-7, 2003 - Episode 12

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The room is empty and the camera grinds away, centered on Larry’s desk.  A woman enters the room — first the top of her head is visible, then the rest of her back as she walks under the camera and into the room. The camera swivels its focus to her. At this point it is clear that the woman is Donna Langhorne. She stands still for a minute as if talking to the man who isn’t behind the desk.

Donna then reaches down to the coffee table and picks something up, but she is between the camera and the coffee table so it is impossible to see what she has in her hand. Whatever it is, she keeps it out of sight of the camera as she goes behind the desk and opens a drawer that the camera, which has now focused on her behind the desk, cannot see. Her right arm, visible from the shoulder to the elbow, apparently is taking something from the drawer. 

She now turns so that she has her back to the camera. Her shoulders are moving but it is impossible to see what her hands are doing. Apparently she drops something, because she stoops over, then quickly stands up again, still facing away from the camera. She puts the invisible something back in the invisible drawer, turns so that her right arm is out of sight, and bends to put whatever is in her right hand down on the coffee table. Then she leaves the room.

The camera resumes its bored fisheye view of the office with Larry’s desk in the center.

Mark says: “Still can’t tell what she picked up from the coffee table.”

“I hoped there’d be more,” says Dom. He plays the whole sequence again.  And again. Both men crane their necks as if trying to see what Donna is shielding with her body.

Dom hits himself on the head. This time he backs up to the time before Donna enters the room. He examines the table; there are a few magazines, a piece of probably greasy paper that may have come with Larry’s pizza, coasters, and Larry’s revolver. Dom clips this frame into the edit buffer and fast forwards to the time after Donna is left when the camera is back to its fisheye view. He clips another frame. After a little fiddling, Dom superimposes the before and after frames. The gun and the piece of greasy paper do not line up.

“I have a list of what’s in that desk drawer,” says Mark. “Can’t look at it now. It’s on my computer at the office.”

“Not a problem,” says Dom. He works for a few minutes while the detective watches, bemused. Soon the windows on Dom’s computer show the applications run by the New York Police Department. A minute later, the screen of Mark’s computer is in a window on Dom’s computer.

“You can run your computer from here,” says Dom.

“Shit. So much for security. Maybe you DO have something else to bargain with. Okay, let’s see.”

Mark retrieves the inventory for the top drawer of Larry’s desk:

pencils, 2

finger nail clipper, Swank

eighteen assorted paper clips, one straightened out

three AAA batteries, Eveready, all completely discharged, one corroded

plastic stylus, intact

plastic stylus, broken

bottle with 17 of 50 Excedrin (verified by lab)

box with 23 of 24 bullets, .22 caliber

unopened small package of Kleenex

unused pad of post-it notes, yellow (no impressions)

 

###

 

            Media Contact:

            Eve Gross

            Chief Marketing Officer

            212 555 1000

            eveg@hackoff.com

           
For Immediate Release

 

DONNA LANGHORNE TERMINATED AS CEO FOLLOWING INDICTMENT
BOARD APPOINTS JOANNE ANKERS AS ACTING CEO
COMPANY COOPERATING FULLY WITH AUTHORITIES

 

New York, NY -- April 7,  2003 – (BUSINESS WIRE) hackoff.com (NASDAQ:HOFC) announced today that Donna Langhorne has been terminated as CEO following her indictment for the murder of former CEO Larry Lazard. The Board of Directors has appointed Board Member Joanne Ankers of Big Router Ventures as acting CEO.  Joseph Windaw of Windaw and Wallar Venture Capital continues as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Company has been informed that there is a continuing investigation into the possible involvement of certain of its officers in a hacker attack against the company’s competitor antihack Corp. It is possible that other charges will be filed against the company or its officers. The company is cooperating fully with these investigations. In addition, the company intends to hire an independent outside law firm in order to conduct its own investigation. It is not possible at this time to state what the effect on the company these charges and investigations will have.

Company CTO Dom Montain has been granted a temporary paid leave of absence to allow him to aid the City in its ongoing investigations.

The company notified NASDAQ and the SEC of this event prior to the opening of the New York securities markets and requested a temporary halt in trading of the company’s stock. Trading is expected to resume shortly after the dissemination of this announcement.

Acting CEO, Joanne Ankers is a 1991 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and holds an MBA from Wharton awarded in 1995.  She is currently a Director of Strategic Investments at Big Router Ventures and has been granted a leave of absence from that position to allow her to assume the CEO role at hackoff.com. Ms. Ankers has been a hackoff Board Member since 1997. Big Router Ventures participated in venture financing for the company and held 500,731 shares of the company’s stock as of the end of 2002. 

“These are very difficult times for the company,” said Ankers. “Nevertheless, our customers should be reassured that we remain willing and able to supply their security needs.”

 

###

The Chat Board

ITS HAPPENING AGAIN
by: thewatcher02 (38/M/New Rochelle, NY)                                                                                                                                               04/07/03 10:10 am
Msg: 100030 of 100044
hackoff’s not trading!

 

Re: ITS HAPPENING AGAIN
by: ChorusLine (25/F/Paramus, NJ)
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy                                        04/07/03 10:11 am
Msg: 100031 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100030 by thewatcher02
This can’t be good.  Trading is stopped again.  The Street won’t like this.

 

Re: ITS HAPPENING AGAIN
by: pooper
Long-Term Sentiment: Sell                                        04/07/03 10:12 am
Msg: 100032 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100031 by ChorusLine
There’s nothing about hackoff for the street to like.

 

Press Advisory Out
by: Jumbo10 (46/M/New York, NY)
Long-Term Sentiment: Hold                                                 04/07/03 10:15 am
Msg: 100033 of 100044
There is a press advisory out, just as there was last week, for an announcement expected at 10:30 explaining the trading halt. Last week the stock went up after the announcement. Probably just the marketmakers making money in ways that we ordinary investors can’t, but could happen again, too.  I’m down to hold on the stock though, because I made money last week.

 

Re: ITS HAPPENING AGAIN
by: scooper
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy                                        04/07/03 10:18 am
Msg: 100034 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100032 by pooper
pooper, last week you thought the announcement was an April fools joke and you could have made money of you bought stock like I did

 

Re: Press Advisory Out
by: Alaska60-60
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Sell                              04/07/03 10:22 am
Msg: 100035 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100033 by jumbo10
this is probably the time their selling jerkoff to antihack now that the lizard is out of the way the cunt figured out it was the right way to go and she did it. 

 

Re: Press Advisory Out
by: scooper
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy                                        04/07/03 10:26 am
Msg: 100036 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100035 by Alaska60-60
alaska, you’re as much an asshole as your friend pooper and this is not the antihack board. why don’t you stay there where you belong so you can pump and dump that and not bother us here on this board.  Last week anithack was down and hackoff was up.  hackoff has great management now.

 

jerkoff hacked antihack
by: Alaska60-60
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Sell                              04/07/03 10:31 am
Msg: 100037 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100035 by Alaska60-60
The press release is on Yahoo.  Finally they told the truth they cheated the way they beat the hostile from antihack was hackoff hacked antihack customers. i knew this was not right when it happened.  i said that and all you jerkoffs didnt listen.
And also the cunt offed the lizard which figures.

 

Re: Press Advisory Out
by: Jumbo10 (46/M/New York, NY)
Long-Term Sentiment: Sell                                        04/07/03 10:35 am
Msg: 100038 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100033 by jumbo10
This has got to be bad for the stock. Usually Wall Street does not like indictments and this is for murder, plus antihack might sue for the way hackoff stopped their hostile. I’m back down to a Sell on the stock now. I don’t know how this can go anywhere.
Only hope is that Big Router will buy hackoff for its technology. I figure that’s why they put their woman in. But then they’ll buy it for nothing, which means we’ll get screwed so I’m still a Sell.

 

Re: Press Advisory Out
by: PacPhil (25/M/New York, NY)
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy                                        04/07/03 10:37 am
Msg: 100039 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100038 by jumbo10
Jumbo, that’s good analysis. When do you think Big Router might announce they are buying the company? Does that matter to the stock? Why do you think Donna killed Larry? What will The Street think?

 

Re: Press Advisory Out
by: Alaska60-60
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Sell                              04/07/03 10:40 am
Msg: 100040 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100038 by jumbo10
So now pump and dump jumbo says hes ready to dump so probbly means hes going to buy.  Only way big router is going to buy jerkoff is for pennies and even less than antihack would pay because at least antihack wants the customers and big router probably already has them and the technology isnt worth shit

 

Whats Happening
by: CLess
                                                                                      04/07/03 10:45 am
Msg: 100041 of 100044
Does anyone know why the stock isn’t trading???

 

Donna
by: TestTost (35/M/San Francisco, CA)
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy                              04/07/03 10:45 am
Msg: 100042 of 100044
Too bad about Donna. She was hot. I haven’t seen a picture of the new CEO, so don’t know how she rates.  Lar must’ve been messing around. I figure that’s why Donna shot him but if I were him, I would’ve messed around with Donna.

 

Re: ITS HAPPENING AGAIN
by: ChorusLine (25/F/Paramus, NJ)
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy                                        04/07/03 10:46 am
Msg: 100043 of 100044
Posted as a reply to: Msg 100031 by ChorusLine
Murder. Hacking antihack. Other investigations. What will the Street think?

 

Stock Opened
by: thewatcher02 (38/M/New Rochelle, NY)                                                                                                                                               04/07/03 10:46 am
Msg: 100044 of 100044
hackoff’s trading again! 2k shares at 1.60 up ten cents. bid 1.55; ask 1.65.

 

THE END

 

[Note to readers: I hope you enjoyed hackoff.com.  If you did and would like to tell a friend about it, I’d appreciate it.  Clicking on this link is one way to do that.

 

You can also rate and/or review it on Amazon by clicking this link. When you get to Amazon, just click on the stars to rate and on the review link to review.  Of course, you can follow that same link to get to Amazon to buy a copy of hackoff.com either as a souvenir (I’m signing all copies purchased before the pub date of March 15) or as a gift for a friend.

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Thanks for reading.

 

Tom Evslin]

 

 

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Comments

Just shows that you should always go with your first impressions.

"I am not a detective, but I get to play one on Tom's blook."

Great story - thank you Tom!

Tom,

Thanks for the ride. It's been a real pleasure to read Hackoff since day one. Kudos.

I enjoyed the story as well as the blook process. Thanks and good luck as Hackoff.com moves to print format.