Involuntary Control (Gray Spear Society) (20 page)

"No," he said, "they're normal enough, once you get to know them."

"Are we talking about the same freaky, scrawny twins I met the other day? Last I knew, they were autistic, uber-geek, orphaned, fugitive princesses from an Arabian kingdom. Which part of that is normal?"

He appeared miserable. "Can we please drop the subject?"

"How was the sex, big guy?" She leered at him. "Feisty and hot? Was it fun doing two girls at once? Were they innocent virgins before you had your manly way with them?"

"I'm begging you. Leave it alone."

"I'll just ask the girls for all the nasty details. They'll talk. You know how women are."

He put his face in his hands. "Please, no, for the love of God."

"Aaron will hear about this."

"I don't see how my private affairs are his business."

"You fucked the new recruits," she said. "That will affect team dynamics, and therefore, he needs to know."

He looked straight at her. "Last night wasn't some kind of cheap thrill. It was a transcendent, beautiful union. Three lonely people joined together to comfort each other, and for one night at least, we were happy."

"Oh, Lord Almighty, it's worse than I thought. The poor man is in love." She shook her head sadly. "The good news for you is we have much more important issues to worry about right now. What's in the briefcase?"

"There is a secret transmitter built into the metal shell," he said. "I just have to plug it into an available network port once we're inside. It will automatically scour the local area for information and send it to a special receiver built into this car." He patted the hood of the gray sedan. "The car retransmits the data to headquarters. When the download is done, the briefcase will destroy itself."

"Then our job is simple. We just have to hook up the briefcase in a discreet location and walk away. No reason to stick around."

"That's correct."

Marina looked at the briefcase with new appreciation. Assuming the device worked as advertised, she was impressed. Maybe Norbert had a good point about the twins.

"Are you armed?" she said.

"No," he said. "I'm not supposed to be, right?"

"Right. We may have to go through a metal detector. The guards will check us thoroughly. Don't carry anything that will cause trouble. Stay one hundred percent in character at all times."

"I understand, ma'am."

All three of them rehearsed their cover stories for a few minutes. Then they walked towards the visitor's gate.

It turned out Marina's caution was warranted. The team had barely introduced themselves when they were hustled over to a line of glass booths.

A guard said, "If you have any electronic devices, such as laptops, phones, or pagers, I'll take them now."

"You need our phones?" Marina said.

"We don't allow any unauthorized equipment that can record or transmit information. I'm sure you understand. Your possessions will be returned to you when you leave."

The team handed over their phones. Now she felt even more vulnerable.

One by one, Marina, Smythe, and Norbert stood in a booth while some kind of scanning device moved up and down. Puffs of air washed over her body during the process, and there was a low hum.

Two guards watched a video display while two more stood by. They wore white shirts, black pants, light Kevlar vests, and police-style utility belts. Shiny, brass badges were pinned to their vests. Each man was armed with a pistol, a nightstick, and handcuffs. They had the bearing of trained soldiers.

After Marina had taken her turn in the booth, she spoke to a nearby guard, "The security here is impressive."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied in a disinterested tone.

"I'm just curious. How many guards are there, all together?"

"A small army, ma'am. A lot of top secret research goes on here. The United States government trusts us to protect it from spies."

She had hoped for a more precise answer, but she didn't press the issue.

Norbert's briefcase was inspected manually. A guard looked inside it for a minute before handing it back to Norbert.

Finally, the team was allowed inside the fence. Two guards escorted them to a small, white building with narrow windows. The sign on the door read "Visitors Center." Inside, there was a spacious lobby with white couches and chairs. Instead of leaving, the guards stood by the door and watched.

Marina went to a guard sitting at the main desk. "Hello. We're from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. We're here to perform a surprise inspection of your accounting records. Please call the head of that department."

"Yes, ma'am." The guard didn't appear concerned.

He made a short phone call.

"Mr. Birman will meet you here in twenty minutes," he reported afterwards. "While you're waiting, I need to verify your identification."

Marina, Smythe, and Norbert handed over their U.S. GAO badges.

"I'll also need your driver's licenses and credit cards."

"Why do you need our credit cards?" Marina said. "Are you running our credit reports?"

"Just being careful ma'am," the guard said. "You wouldn't believe what people will do to sneak in here, and you did arrive without an appointment. Technically, I should ask you to come back in twenty-four hours, but Mr. Birman told me to make a special exception in your case. We always cooperate with the GAO."

All of the requested items were passed to a second guard, who took them to a back room.

Marina appeared calm, but inside she felt a lot of tension. The twin's hard work would now be put to the test. Two guards still stood by the door, and there didn't appear to be any other exits. Her complete lack of weapons made her feel naked. Without her phone she couldn't even call for help.

Several minutes later the second guard returned from the back room. He placed the identification on the desk and said, "You're cleared. Thank you for your patience."

The team sat on a couch while they waited for Mr. Birman to arrive. Soft, classical music played in the background. Guards remained by the door the entire time.

"This security is hardcore," Marina whispered.

"These are professionals," Smythe said. "We'll be under constant surveillance until we leave."

"That's a problem," Norbert said. "I'll need ten seconds to hook up the briefcase."

"We'll create a distraction," Marina said. "Be ready to move fast when it happens."

"Yes, ma'am."

A short time later, a tall man with puffs of gray hair entered the lobby. He wore a white shirt and black tie but no jacket. The guards directed him to Marina.

She stood up. "Mr. Birman?" She put out her hand.

He gave her hand a perfunctory shake. "What's going on?"

"We're here for a surprise inspection."

"My department had a full government audit two months ago. I spent the whole week sitting in pointless meetings and answering pointless questions from bean counters like you. There is nothing left to inspect."

"I understand your annoyance," Marina said, "but White Flame Technology receives a lot of money from the taxpayers of the United States. Congress needs to be certain the money is spent properly. This time the GAO just has a few, specific irregularities to investigate. We could be done in an hour if you cooperate."

"Follow me," he said in a sharp tone.

Birman led Marina, Norbert, and Smythe outside. The two guards followed close behind.

A row of electric golf carts was parked nearby. Birman selected the largest one, but it still had barely enough room for six people. Marina was crammed between Norbert and one of the guards.

Birman drove the cart on the curving paths that connected the buildings. It hummed pleasantly as it rolled along at the pace of a running man. There were no road signs, but he seemed to know where he was going. Marina realized they were getting deeper into enemy territory. The warm sunlight and breeze in her hair failed to calm her.

Birman eventually stopped at a five-story building that looked pretty much like all the others. He used his badge to get everybody through the front door. The interior hallways had white walls and tan, carpeted floors. There were no numbers on the doors or other markings. Marina wondered how people found their way around.

Birman took everybody to a large conference room on the first floor. Marina, Norbert, and Smythe sat on the comfortable chairs, but Birman remained standing.

"Wait here while I get the printouts from my office," he said. "Which projects do you want to look at, exactly?"

Marina had memorized an answer for that question. "The X-229A ground surveillance vehicle and the Poseidon anti-submarine weapon."

Birman nodded and walked off.

The two guards blocked the only door. Marina looked around for a camera but didn't see one.

She decided she needed to scout the area. She stood up and said, "Excuse me. It was a long trip here. Mind if I use the restroom?"

One of the guards nodded. "Just wait a moment, ma'am." He spoke a few words into his radio.

A couple of minutes later, a female guard arrived. She was dressed like the others. She escorted Marina down the hall, but Marina didn't see much of interest. All the office doors were closed, and there was nothing to indicate what was behind them.

Both women went into the restroom together. The guard stood directly outside the stall while Marina used the toilet. When she was done, they went straight back to the conference room.

That was a waste of time,
Marina thought.

She leaned over to her teammates and whispered, "We may be stuck in this room for the duration."

"Look under the table," Norbert replied softly.

She leaned down to tie her shoe. A panel of various outlets, including two network ports, was located on the floor under the table. It was obviously meant for connecting computers and projectors during meetings. Unfortunately, it was an exposed location.

She sat up and whispered, "After you plug it in, change seats to block their view."

She stood and stretched her arms. Pushing out her breasts got the guards' attention, just as she had hoped. She looked up at the lights. They were standard bulbs that could be easily unscrewed.
Perfect,
she thought.

She rolled one of the chairs under a bulb. She stood on the seat, which wobbled and shifted beneath her.

"Ma'am," a guard said. "What are you doing?"

"It's too bright in here," she said. "You're wasting electricity, which means you're wasting taxpayer's money."

"Please get off the chair. That's not safe."

She reached unsteadily for the bulb.

"Ma'am!" The guard walked over to her. "Get down now!"

She intentionally lost her balance and fell awkwardly to the floor. The hard impact would leave a bruise, but it needed to look realistic.

"Virginia!" Smythe yelled.

He ran around the table, tripping over the second guard's foot along the way. Smythe fell into the first guard. There was a moment of chaos as people tried to sort themselves out. Out of the corner of her eye, Marina saw Norbert working under the table. It took him only a few seconds to do his job.

She limped a little as she took her seat in a different location than before. She, Norbert, and Smythe created a wall with their bodies so the guards couldn't see the briefcase under the table.

"Are you OK?" Smythe said out loud.

Marina nodded. "I'll be fine."

"What were you thinking?"

"Trying to save money." She shrugged.

"We need to go," Norbert whispered. "When the device is done, it will burn itself up."

"How long?" she whispered.

She realized there was a ticking bomb at her feet. It wouldn't explode, but that didn't make her feel safe. The smoke would attract the attention of the guards, and then the game would be over.

"Could be hours, could be minutes," Norbert said.

There wasn't much she could do about the problem. They would have to sweat it out until the meeting was done.

Birman returned to the conference room about ten minutes later. He carried shorts stacks of white paper held together with clips.

"You changed seats," he said.

Marina smiled innocently. "The lighting was better on this side."

He furrowed his brow and sat across from her. Everybody received a copy of the printouts.

"While I was in my office," he said, "I called a few friends in Washington. They didn't know anything about this surprise audit. In fact they were as shocked as I was. It seems the orders didn't come through the usual channels with the usual approvals. Some important people were kept out of the loop."

"If we had told everybody," she said flatly, "it wouldn't have been a surprise."

"That's not how things are done. Somebody in the GAO sent you here on a personal witch hunt. Who was it?"