Phineas Simpson rarely came to work this early but a client needed a current balance sheet in a hurry to satisfy a potential purchaser. So, here he was, pulling his Prius into one of the dozen empty parking places in front of the three-story, black-glass office building that was the twin of a dozen such structures, each on its own eighth of an acre of manicured lawn, grass now shining in the early morning light with the rainbow colors of water supplied by a sprinkler system.
At the moment, Phineas’s interest was not in the grass, the sprinkler system, or even the day’s work ahead. He was watching as a huge black Lincoln Town Car slid silently into a parking place in front of the building next door. In the three years he had worked here, that building, or rather, its occupants, had been the subject of speculation. There was no flow of workers, only an occasional visitor, most of whom arrived in that same car, or one just like it, visitors who uniformly had coat collars turned up or hats pulled low and who inevitably looked around before walking swiftly inside as if fearful of being recognized.
This morning’s arrival was different.
The driver, a black man in a black suit, opened the passenger door. Out climbed the largest woman Phineas had ever seen. A brightly patterned cloth was wrapped around her in a manner that matched the turbanlike headgear she wore. Phineas had never seen her before, although several of his coworkers had reported sighting such a creature. She had, of course, been the subject of wildly divergent speculation. An African ruler of some sort in exile? An extension of an African embassy?
The small plaque beside the front door was no help. It only bore the street number and a single word: “Narcom.”
Whoever she was, she exhibited none of the furtiveness of her infrequent visitors. Instead, she waved a cheery good morning to Phineas as he sat in his car and walked in no particular hurry to the building’s front door, leaned over presumably to insert a key, and let herself in.
Phineas’s curiosity would have taken a quantum leap had he known a little more about what he was looking at but could not see. First, the golf-course quality of the lawn concealed dozens of buried weight sensors. The step of anything larger than an average dog would set off an alarm as well as show up on an electronic map. The smoked glass standard in the office park was absent here, replaced by darkened glass reinforced to withstand any projectile smaller than an artillery round. She had used no key. She had exposed her right eye to an iris-recognition system that automatically opened a locking mechanism that would have done credit to Fort Knox. Once she was inside, it locked itself again.
Momma passed through the indirectly lit lobby, treating the man behind the 24/7 reception desk to a smile. The desk itself served to conceal both a small armory of automatic weapons and an elaborate silent alarm that could be activated by a single button.
In her office on the third floor, a timer-activated pot yielded a single cup of black Haitian coffee. She took the cup to the sofa opposite a fruitwood-inlaid French desk from which she took several newspapers. She sipped as she read, nodding her approval.
The New York Times
August 3
BERN — In a surprise move, Swiss authorities have frozen bank accounts of GrünWelt, the international Green and anti–global warming organization, under international treaties waiving Swiss bank secrecy laws where international criminal activity is suspected.
The Swiss police, Interpol and unnamed law enforcement agencies have so far declined comment but a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity speculated the action was taken as the result of the discovery of an arms cache in the headquarters of a heretofore unknown branch of GrünWelt in San Juan, Puerto Rico, along with seizure of both written and computer records that implicate the organization in a number of violent acts directed against institutions and persons not subscribing to the concept of man-caused global warming.
Ivor Klingov, CEO of GrünWelt, denied any connection with the San Juan group and was quoted as saying …
Momma folded the paper, placed it back on the desk, and exchanged it for another.
The Washington Post
August 5
SAN JUAN, PR — Heime Norriaga, spokesperson for the Puerto Rico office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that records of an alleged branch of the international conservation and anti–global warming organization GrünWelt seized in a raid days ago reveal a course of extreme and violent action against those with whom the organization disagreed as to the source of global warming or the fact of warming itself, as well as possible worldwide industrial sabotage and possible ties to a Chinese-owned company.
Although declining to make public the names of those arrested, Mr. Norriaga stated the charges included weapons possession and possession of false identification, including forged passports. He also stated six of the men had international criminal records, as well as connections to the former Soviet special service.
It is unclear what other charges …
“Go gettum, Jason,” Momma said to no one in particular, again swapping papers.
Chicago Tribune
August 6
LYON — At its headquarters here today, Interpol announced that records seized in Bern earlier this week definitely demonstrate the international anti–global warming and conservationist organization GrünWelt subsidized a secret branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was, in turn, owned by a company suspected of having ties to the Chinese government. The duties of the San Juan “office” were not the slogans and peaceful advocacy of ecological “green” causes for which GrünWelt is known but intimidation, violence and, in at least one instance, murder.
Additionally, Interpol claims to be decoding special computer programs that may link the organization to a number of unexplained mine disasters, oil leaks and spills, gas explosions and other catastrophes of which GrünWelt seemed to have knowledge before the events occurred.
Interpol has posted names and photographs of suspects not in custody in all 29 participating nations. A spokesperson for Greenpeace and other “green” organizations denounced GrünWelt as …
Momma drained the last drops of coffee as she dropped all three papers into a magazine rack. Sitting behind the desk, she picked up the phone, the only object other than a computer monitor on the leather-inlay surface.
A response was almost instant. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Our man Jason Peters, find him.”
“How soon do you need that information?”
“No rush,” Momma replied. “But somewhere down the line we gonna need him again an’ I ’spect he don’ wanna be found.”