The Victor Project (21 page)

     “So this guy who heard it all, where was he?” asked Val.

     “I’m not sure.  He stated that he had used a listening device.  Quite possibly he was parked a couple of blocks away.  Some of those transmitters can reach for a mile,” said William.

     “So he’s CIA,” said Grunt.

     “I’m not sure what he is.  He followed me then secretly asked me to meet him in a restaurant.  He said without hesitation that you Valarie was his employee,” said William.

     “Frank Belker?” asked Val.

     “Evidently,” answered William.

     “What did he look like?” asked Val.

     “About fifty, dark hair, graying on the temple, big nose,” William described.

     “That’s Frank,” said Val.

     “He stated that someone had sent him a disk in a brown envelope at work.  The disk had information about the evacuation plan.  He stated that the files on the disk will explain all,” said William.

     “The disk.  That’s the disk that was supposed to go to your mole,” said Val.

     “No doubt.  And its inadvertent route must have ceased in his hands,” said William.

     “So this guy anonymously receives this disk containing top-secret information about a government operation and he works for the government, so what does he do, he hides it and says nothing?  Sounds like a trap,” said Grunt.

     “That was one of my thoughts.  But he stated his intentions were to help us.  He said he has a family and doesn’t want to see them die, with an abundance of sincerity I must say,” said William.

     “Aren’t they all,” said Grunt.

     “We need that disk and we also need someone on the inside.  Your friend Rick didn’t seem to enthusiastic the other night,” said William.

     “He’s with us.  He told me so,” said Val.

     “I want to believe you, but this Mr. Belker assures us of a high probability of achieving our goal,” said William.

     “Yea, and a high probability of being a traitor,” said Grunt.

     “If he wanted me or any of us, he could have called in the troops already.  He heard enough the other night to put us all in jail.  With these terrorists out there, the situation has become desperate, there’s no denying it.  What we need is a breakthrough and I believe that to be Mr. Belker,” said William.

     “Well let’s be careful any way we go about it.  Let me do a background check,” said Grunt.

     “On Frank Belker, Mr. CVD?  The guy’s clean or he wouldn’t be working for the government.  It’s not like he’s working under an assumed name.  If he’s playing us, then he’ll still come up clean,” said Val.

     “Val is correct and besides we aren’t afforded the time.  Valarie, give me his profile?” asked William.

     “I never thought of him as a company-man.  I don’t think anyone in the CVD does.  He definitely doesn’t walk around with his nose stuck up the boss’s ass.  He’s sincere.  He is a family man.  Rick could probably give you a better idea if the guy’s a weasel or not,” said Val.

     “No time for Rick.  Your testimony is good enough for me.  Grunt, we’ll try to be careful, but I’m not sure how,” said William.

     “So what’s next?” asked Val.

     “I told him I would get back to him and I will.  I’ll have you drop him a note or something.  What information have you discovered about my new neighbor?” William asked Grunt.

     “He looks clean.  Everything checks out down to his elementary school grades,” said Grunt.

     “You’ve checked all your sources?” asked William.

     “Close to it.  Give me a little more time,” said Grunt.

     “Before I contact Mr. Belker, we need to create a plan,” William began.

     “Let’s get a closer look at that disk.  I’d bet money it will dictate our next step,” said Grunt.

     “Excellent idea.  Val you continue working on Rick to get his ID just in case this doesn’t pan out.  If anything happens to me, continue that pursuit.  Remember, if we don’t succeed before the virus strikes our zone, our mortality will be at hand,” said William.

CHAPTER 12

     “You found the coffee I see,” said Sherman.

     “I could smell it when I got off the elevator.  This better be damn good stuff to get me in here at 1:30am.,” said Ben.

     “It’s worth it.  I guarantee it,” replied Sherman.

     “Remember that William Patton we spoke about?  Well yesterday was a busy day for him.  These pictures are from a meeting that he and Frank Belker had,” said
Sherman.

     “Frank Belker?  What the hell is he doing mixed up in this?” asked Ben.

     “I’m not sure,” replied Sherman.

     “Well we damn better well find out.  That’s practically the whole god damn department socializing with this fugitive!” Ben exclaimed.

     “We were unable to get audio again,” said Sherman.

     “God damn it.  What the fuck are we paying these dumb asses in S-Tech for?” said Ben.

     “Something jammed the transmitter again.  Surveillance thinks he might be carrying a Singer on him,” said Sherman.

     “What the hell is a Singer?” asked Ben.

     “It’s a small box that puts out jamming signals.  If you listen closely it sounds somewhat like an opera playing.  That’s how it got the nickname,” said Sherman.

     “Do we have one of these?” asked Ben.

     “We designed it,” answered Sherman.

     “Then what in God’s name is this fuck doing with it?” asked Ben.

     “We don’t know.  He must have someone on the inside,” answered Sherman.

     “Sounds like he’s got a god damn bus load of people on the inside.  Hell he’s probably got the president working for him,” yelled Ben.

     “Watch what you say,” whispered Sherman.

     “Sorry.  I’m just frustrated.  I want to go down there and shoot those tech fucks if they don’t get audio next time,” said Ben.

     “You won’t have to.  They finally got it right.  Last night William held another meeting.  We got it all on tape.  Here are the photos.  That man on William’s right is someone whom we have not yet identified.  They referred to him only as Grunt.  Listen to this,” said Sherman as he pressed the play button on the machine.

<< >>

     The best John could tell, the evacuation plan that he had discovered was still go for July fifteenth.  It was too coincidental that the committee had now instated daily meetings which were mandatory for all senior engineers.  He had checked the docking logs two more times over the last few days and the number of supply dockings had almost ceased.  Evidently, C-Orbit was now fully stocked for its new guests. 

     Meeting the new schedule to ready C-Orbit for mass habitation had kept him busy enough to keep his mind off the possible cataclysm that was befalling mankind.  The committee had also mandated that a communication blackout be strictly observed until further notice, which meant that contacting Rick again would be risky.  Although he desperately wanted to discover what was occurring down on earth, the next time he made contact with Rick, it would have to be for a substantial reason.

     Surprisingly he hadn’t seen Kerns in a while, other than running into him during the mandatory meetings.  Rumor was that some big politician was on board.  Some were saying it was the Secretary of State.  Others were saying it was president of the two Russian zones.  Regardless of whom it was, Kerns had probably found a new place to keep his nose warm.

     To his amazement, the engineers had met the committee’s timeline and had brought the ship to the readiness they required.  RAS had been certified by the committee as one hundred percent ready only one day earlier.  O-deck just needed a little tweaking here and there.  The number of work-orders being created along with the alerts registered had dwindled to an acceptable standard maintenance level.  With the extra time that he now had, he desperately needed to acquire more information to communicate to Rick.

<< >>

     “So that’s it.  Frank’s a traitor.  He’s going to fuck this whole thing up.  You know if someone from our group throws a wrench in this evacuation, you and I will be left behind to dig graves,” said Ben.

     “Well you said we needed to wait and see who all was involved in this.  I think we know,” said Sherman.

     “I don’t think the girl is a threat.  You cut the head off and the body will die,” said Ben.

     “In this case there are two heads,” said Sherman.

     “I want William dead by the end of the day,” said Ben.

     “And Frank,” asked Sherman.

    “Him also, but tomorrow.  Make sure they look like accidents.  And I want that disk,” said Ben.

     << >>

     William watched Frank exit the cab and march toward the entrance to the subway.  As he drew closer, his eyes focused in his direction.  William scanned the tunnel to see who was watching.

     “I’m glad you contacted me, I think,” said Frank.

     “This man will be known as Grunt,” said William pointing to the man at his side.

     “Nice to meet you,” said Frank.

     “Are your intentions the same as you previously mentioned?” asked William.

     “Yes,” replied Frank.

     “I guess the real question is of your total commitment?” said William.

     “Yes I am,” replied Frank.

     “Wouldn’t you like to know what you’re getting yourself into?  It’s more than just passing us a disk,” said William.

     “That’s kind of what I hoped,” answered Frank.

     “OK then.  You did bring the disk,” said William.

     “I got it right here,” said Frank as he proceeded to pull the disk from his jacket.

     “A copy of this has been made?” asked William as he handed it to Grunt.

     “Only one.  In my office,” answered Frank.

     “Tell me precisely where, just in case something happens,” said William.

     “It’s in a binder on the top shelf behind my desk.  The name on the binder is San342,” replied Frank.

     William jotted down the name in his notebook.

     “Grunt here will do the best he can to decipher the data on it,” said William.

     “There is one file on it that is protected,” said Frank.

     “Not for long,” said Grunt.

     “You know, I think I have met you before.  A long time ago when I started in Epidemiology,” said Frank.

     “You must be mistaken,” answered William.

     “I’m pretty good with faces,” said Frank.

     “You’re wrong,” William interrupted with a stern voice.

     “Sorry,” said Frank.

     “How did you find me?” asked William.

     “When?” asked Frank.

     “At the grocery store yesterday,” said William.

     “Oh, I followed you home from the warehouse the night before.  Then I staked out your house the next day and waited for you to leave,” said Frank.

     “Then my paranoia was valid,” said William.

     “You saw me?” asked Frank.

     “I was fairly certain, but you must have done a fair job of hiding,” said William.

     “I thought I was doing a better job than that,” said Frank.

     “I’m not sure what else to tell you at this point.  We are hoping that the disk will connect many of our assumptions.  I still believe we will need your further assistance at some point.  Is there anything that you would like to ask me?” said William.

     “Have you heard anything more about the virus that is spreading?” asked Frank.

     “Unfortunately not.  In some ways I fear the worst,” said William.

     “The worst?” asked Frank.

     “That anytime soon we will hear of it striking the U.S.,” answered William.

     “And if that happens the Victor Project will kick in,” said Frank.

     “And maybe more, if it hasn’t already,” said William.

     “Aren’t you worried about someone nearby holding a mic like I used?” asked Frank.

     “Not with this.” With William’s reply he reached into his shirt and revealed a necklace.  On the end dangled a small plastic box that resembled a cigarette lighter.

     “This device renders useless any microphone designed by our government,” said William.

     “Then how did I pick up your conversation the other night?” asked Frank.

     “I was just about to ask the same of you,” said William.

     “Well the guy that got me the device told me that he had made a few adjustments, some filter or something.  I think it must have unjammed your jammer,” said Frank.

     “This gentlemen, does he work for the government?” asked William.

     “At one time.  He’s retired now,” answered Frank.

     “So the government most likely has this new technology,” said William.

     “I would say yes to that with a high confidence level,” answered Frank.

     William proceeded to bring one finger to his lips to signify everyone to remain quiet.  Calmly he wrote something in his notepad and presented it to Frank.  The note read:

    
Need to leave quickly, all of us.  We will contact you.

     With that William and Grunt turned down the tunnel and disappeared.

<< >>

     “This is the evacuation plan all right.  Evacuation dates, schedules, coordinates, everything.  They’re starting on July fifteenth.  That’s this Saturday!  What about the other file?” asked William nervously.

     “I told you this tool usually takes about an hour to decrypt a password,” replied Grunt. 

     “It’s been an hour,” said William.

     “Don’t the printouts I just gave you tell you enough?” asked Grunt.

     “Yes, plenty.  But it’s those files with the passwords that I must see.  If the data before did not warrant protection, then what in God’s name is on those files,” replied William.

     “You know those others were probably supposed to be locked also.  Our mole just got lucky,” said Grunt.

     “We’ll never know unless that program of yours completes its mission,” said William.      

     “I’ll get it, relax.  This program has never failed me.  Maybe you should take a walk or something,” said Grunt.

     “How about food?  In what mood is your pallet?” asked William.

     “Chinese,” replied Grunt.

     “Chinese it is,” said William as he moved toward the door.

     As William closed the door behind him, Grunt focused on the screen that was slowly emitting lines of code that it was executing.  As he picked up a piece of paper near the screen, it beeped.  Grunt’s eyes returned to the screen and immediately he leaped from his chair thrusting it backwards onto the floor.  In a frenzy, he almost tripped over the rug as he headed for the door to intercept William.  It was halfway down the block before he drew close enough to William to call out.

     “Hey,” yelled Grunt.

     William quickly spun around only to see Grunt motioning with his hand to return.

     “It broke it,” said Grunt as William slowed from a dead run.

     “That wasn’t too discrete you know,” said William.

     “What?” asked Grunt.

     “The bellow,” said William.

     “I had to stop you.  At least I didn’t yell your name,” said Grunt.

     The two picked up their pace as they came closer to the front door of the shop.  William proceeded to flip both of the dead bolts after the door slammed.  Grunt returned his chair upright and began typing.

     “I’m still hungry,” said Grunt.

     “Provide me with the needed information and I will purchase the establishment for you,” said William.

     “This is nothing more than a list of names,” said Grunt.

     “Those are the names of the people that will be evacuated.  This column lists the zone residents,” said William.

     “What’s that?” asked Grunt.

     “B1-13, B3-24, it appears to be room numbers.  Most likely rooms on the space station,” answered William.

     “Those are security clearance numbers on the far column,” said Grunt.

     “Is this all the file has to offer?” asked William.

     “That’s it, nothing but names.  About thirty-five pages in total,” answered Grunt.

     “I was hoping for more,” said William.

     “Like what?” asked Grunt.

     “I’m not sure, maybe a back up plan, maybe specifics about the virus,” said William.

     “You think our names are on this?” joked Grunt.

     “We’re on an entirely different one,” said William.

<< >>

     When the recorder stopped, Ben grabbed it and through it against the wall.