CHAPTER 24
The formal boardroom discussion was over. The door was open and a waiter paused in the doorway, awaiting instructions from Professor Blackstone. Meetings were frequent within the complex and John had set a protocol for how the service staff would enter and exit a room when confidential matters were being discussed. Each member of the dining staff had been vetted by security to ensure that they posed no risk. Monitoring entry in and out of the scientist’s work area was an added level of protection.
The Professor spotted the man and, keeping with John’s protocol, turned the blackboard towards the wall and made sure all the documents had been gathered up and placed into folders by the attending scientists. Satisfied that the information was secure, Professor Blackstone nodded at the waiter, who circled around the table, gathered up a tray of cups and silverware, placed it on a cart, and wheeled it out of the room.
Blackstone turned and continued his discussion with another scientist.
The rest of the group ignored the waiter and crowded around the conference table, each man excited by the prospects of the scheduled afternoon experiment. Claudia was in a corner, reviewing several documents that Professor Means had given her. The documents reflected several conclusions he had made, and something he questioned. Claudia remained huddled with the scientist as he explained the group’s collective position on the energy output they expected from the ‘mere handful’ of atoms they would be working with. As he went from point to point, she nodded and listened as he stressed that his conclusions were accurate. Several times she stopped him with questions about the procedures and safety of the containment device, but was content to let him finish what the group of scientists had all agreed they would go forward with. Anxious to let them know that she was open to their ideas, she withheld any apprehension she might have had and stressed that she would be a “team player” and work with the group.
One by one the scientists left the room. Professor Blackstone and Claudia were the last to leave the boardroom. Blackstone looked around the room to see if anything confidential remained, and walked to the door. He flipped off the lights and tested the lock behind him.
John was waiting in the hallway. He had his arms crossed on his chest, the look on his face grim. He wore a pistol on his hip, something he never did in the laboratory area. Two security men stood at the end of the passageway, awaiting their leader’s instructions.
John nodded hello to Claudia as she passed, but he was not interested in speaking with her.
He touched Blackstone’s arm.
“Do you have a moment, Professor?”
“Certainly.” The Professor turned and nodded to a scientist he had been walking and speaking with. “I’ll see you at the lab,” he said, and turned his attention to John.
“I don’t like the look on your face,” said Blackstone.
John pulled Blackstone aside, his voice a whisper.
“I think we have a problem.”
“A problem?’
“Yes,” said John. “I have been doing some background work and I think we have a mole.”
“A mole?”
John glanced at his men to see if they heard the Professor’s comment. They were talking to each other and laughing. Neither man had turned their heads. John kept the Professor close, whispering.
“Please. Not so loud.” He again turned towards his men. “I don’t know who we can trust.”
“What makes you think –”
“We sometimes scan local frequencies. Monitoring is a force of habit.” His forced smile was grim. “Yesterday I intercepted a scrambled, low frequency radio wave message that came from inside the compound.”
“Inside? Can you be sure?”
“Yes. There’s nothing else around here and the transmission came from a relatively weak force.”
The professor thought for a moment.
“It could have come from a passing vehicle, on the outside road.”
“Yes, I’ve thought about that.”
“So what is the significance of this being a low frequency signal? Why would that concern you?”
“It is something a special ops military unit would employ in the field. It’s useless to anyone else.”
“You’re saying -”
“Yes. I think someone is communicating, low tech, with someone on the outside. Scrambled low tech radio waves are an easy way to avoid detection, hard to intercept.”
“Who do you think is doing it?”
John again glanced down the hallway at his men to see if they were watching the discussion. “I don’t know. I couldn’t unscramble the message. It came across as gibberish. Right now I can’t even be sure of my own men.”
The Professor rubbed his face, his brow wrinkled.
“Please. Stay on it. This afternoon we will be conducting some very sensitive experiments.”
“How sensitive?”
Blackstone glanced down the hallway and back at John. “I’d rather not say. It’s not something I should discuss. It’s not as though I feel I can’t trust you. …You run security here. But these experiments are very sensitive. The results will have a far reaching effect.”
“I understand,” said John. “Everything considered on a need to know basis.”
“Yes.” The Professor grabbed his forearm. “Just stay alert… And please, keep me posted.”
“Will do,” said John.
John had a stern look as he glanced at his watch, spun around and headed for his men at the end of the hallway. He sped past them.
“Let’s go,” he said, and the pair quickly turned, racing to catch up with their boss.