Guardian Program

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Guardian Program Ch 11

A novel by R.C.PeterGabriel, All rights reserved.

Eleven days later, Allen McKinney was let into Director Deckard's office.

"Have a seat, Mr. McKinney," said the Director, as he pressed the button under his desk sealing the room from prying eyes and ears. "I take it you finally have news."

McKinney sat across from the Director, at his desk instead of at the conference table like the last time he had been in the room. "Yes, Sir. Vegas was very cooperative, but some of the tests we requested took a bit of time." With that, he handed over two autopsy files and sat back for what he was sure would be quite a while.

Director Deckard, studied the pair of autopsies completely several times. He was hampered by not being familiar with the language, and abbreviations used, and the fact that although the test results were in the same order and page layouts were identical, the transcription of the verbal description the coroner used while performing the autopsy was in a completely different order.

He was about to point out that none of the lab results matched with what Smith had provided until he realized the results from the coroner came with a range of possible errors. He started over.

Once he thought he understood the two autopsies, he sat back in his chair and met McKinney's eyes. "I apologize for taking so long."

"No problem, Sir. It took you less time than it took me."

The Director sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "At least Smith is fallible."

"How so, Sir?"

"It would seem he missed the mark on the HIV."

"I assumed that was what you were speaking of. I noticed the same thing. But my gut told me, that the autopsy was at least one of the major messages Smith had sent us, so I asked Vegas to re-run the test."

"And?" enquired the Director.

"Actually, it came back negative. I was about to bring you the information when the coroner called me back. He told me that because I had seemed so sure that Sims had had the infection, he had one of his assistants take penile tissue samples and looked at the cells manually."

"Are you saying Smith knew Sims had a disease that wasn't even detectable yet by normal means?"

"Yes, Sir. The virus hadn't even reached the bloodstream yet. Less than fifty cells were noted in Sims' body." McKinney slid the most recently faxed copy of the HIV report across the desk to the Director.

"How is this even possible?" Deckard sat staring at the report shaking his head.

After several moments McKinney spoke up. "Sir, I have no idea how Smith can do the things he does. I do, however, have a few points of good news."

The Director met McKinney's eyes and waited.

"I checked on the payroll for Bridge Security and it would seem that as far as the actual security personnel are concerned, Smith only hires former military and police who have distinguished themselves in some way with regard to honor and or honesty. All of them have put their lives on the line for this country. I can't begin to believe they would allow themselves to be used for any purpose that would harm it."

"Well, I'm glad you feel safe from Mr. Smith's impending military coup."

McKinney allowed himself a nervous chuckle. "Are you mocking me, Sir?"

"First of all, I would like you to consider that I chose you for this assignment. I find you competent and intelligent, with an eye for detail that far too many CMOs miss. I usually feel I can trust your gut, but yes McKinney, I was mocking you.

"Even with fifteen thousand troops, a number you are projecting on him, I might add, Smith couldn't take over this country. He might hold it hostage for a few days, but not take it over. Now, if we could move past your need for ego stroking, we have other issues to discuss."

"Of course, Sir, you're right."

"What was your other point McKinney?"

"Sir?"

"You said that you had a few points of good news. That would imply that you had more than one."

"Ah, yes Sir. The other point is an important one. I attempted to contact several file readers, all of whom got back to me eventually, however, I managed to get through to one on the first try. The reader for the NSA, Jack Henderson.

"I told him I needed floor plans for a sting on a suspected AL Qaeda cell operating out of Paris. I explained that time was very important and that I only needed the building's layout. Since the whole purpose was to find out if the jamming blocked Smith's ability to produce a file, I had a 'Black Knight' placed in a car parked near the building. I even put a conventional jammer in the building on the other side."

McKinney paused to smile. "I placed both jammers in a position where their effective ranges would dissect the target building about one-third of the way into it on their respective sides."

"What kind of building did you use? To be an effective test Henderson couldn't know what he was looking at."

McKinney's smile grew. "That's the great part. I used a real target that we knew was genuine and was ready to be raided. The floor plan was a big help, it showed several hidden hallways and ambush points, but only from the center and side where the conventional jammer was. We were blind on the side where the 'Black Knight' was placed."

"Did Henderson have any explanation for not getting the other areas of the building?"

"No Sir. He was apologetic and even commented on it. He said that without being a file reader I wouldn't fully understand, but that something called the 'white wall' had a bubble in it and not only that, it was textured."

"What the Hell, does that mean?"

"He couldn't explain it completely, but he described it like in an action movie, how you can sometimes see a shock wave. If you put bumps all over it and painted it white then that would be close. So, I asked him if he could tell me what caused it. He told me that he didn't have a clue, but that whatever it was, radiated outward from a point in the parking lot one-hundred two feet, six inches from where the 'white wall' cut into the building."

"I take it that was where the 'Black Knight' was placed."

"You would be correct. I did the math also, using the curve created by this 'white wall' Henderson indicated on the floor plan, it led me to the exact point."

McKinney handed the Director a small copy of the area in the file. That showed the normal 'white wall' and how the bubble pushed in a large section of it.

"Your conclusion?"

"We now have verification of the exact range of the 'Black Knight' and that it blocks Smith from using his tech, just as much as everyone else."

"Probably."

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"McKinney, I may be the one who is being paranoid now, but we know Smith has tech that we can't even guess at. We know he can spin a situation before anyone is aware the situation even exists. If I could see through the jammers, I would say I couldn't, just to let people like you and I trap ourselves.

"Don't get me wrong, I think your experiment was conclusive. I don't think we have to worry about being overheard while under the protection of the 'Black Knight', but ... my gut is screaming at me not to trust the assumption."

"Sir, nothing and I mean no known technology can get past these jammers. Every department in the DOD has attempted to find a usable signal within a jammed area. As you know, General Anderton spent months trying to get past one before he put his name on the Guardian Program.

"I thought the experiment was prudent because although we couldn't get past the jammer with our tech, it doesn't mean Smith couldn't do it with his, but Henderson was using Smith's tech. If he couldn't see past it, the implication is that no one can."

"I agree McKinney, let's move on. What did Vegas PD say?"

"They refused to speak to me, at least not at first. I spent a day getting the runaround until I made the detective in charge realize the benefit of cooperating with the CIA. In addition to a few veiled threats, I explained that I could close one of the city's Homicides in exchange for all of his information on Sims. He seemed to like the idea."

"What did you find out?"

"I found out that Smith knew about at least one of Sim's aliases. He had gone to Japan posing as a buyer for an electronics company wanting to buy into Wii, claiming he could revitalize the American market. The mission seemed successful. He recruited at least four contacts around the city and two inside Nintendo.

"I checked with immigration and they said he had just returned from Kyoto the day before his death. The day he was in Nevada."

"So, you're saying Smith can hack into immigration?"

McKinney chuckled. "Why not, we do it all the time."

"True, go on."

"Apparently, Sims had been seen on camera at the Bellagio dropping twenty grand on craps before moving to the hotel's concierge to get a comp room and a ride to the auto dealer that sold him the car. He supposedly never even went up to the room.

"PD told me a known prostitute likes to hang out near the dealership. The lot's security cameras showed a woman fitting our dead hooker's description having a short conversation with Sims as he was leaving in the Austin Martin. She got in and they left in the direction of her house."

"Well that makes sense," Deckard said more to himself than to McKinney.

"Sir?"

"That would seem to be the reason Smith used the car for one thing. Vegas more or less invented facial recognition, McKinney. All the hotels and casinos use it to see if the winners cheated, by their expressions and pupillary responses. They also want to make sure no one banned by any of them gets in, disguised or not.

"If Smith hadn't handed the nice people at the Las Vegas PD an open and shut case for someone other than Sims, they would have used traffic cams and followed Sims back to the program house.

"It also links the alias to the murder."

"That will make collecting on the life insurance a bit more difficult."

"Smith had a full autopsy, less than two hours after Sims died, I doubt it would be difficult for him to produce a death certificate so he could collect the money. Don't get me wrong, Smith definitely has an agenda, and he certainly knows how to use money, but money isn't his agenda."

"We could just ask him what it is, Sir."

"Would you tell me if you were him?"

McKinney shook his head. "Of course not, Sir. I see your point."

"Did Vegas tell you anything else?"

"No, but I connected the dots for them on the hooker's murder."

"Didn't they seem suspicious about the CIA knowing about the death of one of their prostitutes?"

"I don't think the detective will dig any deeper. For one thing, I told him we had been following the suspect for a little over a year, and that he was linked to some electronics smuggling ring out of New York. He seemed way too happy to have two cases cleared from his desk, to start messing with who he called 'Spooks'. I think he believes we walk around shooting each other with umbrella guns and driving cars with ejector seats and rocket launchers.

"I told him he would have a week or two to check out the car before we impounded it."

Deckard laughed. "That was mean McKinney."

"Perhaps. Payback for the way he treated me the first twenty-four hours of our acquaintance."

"Okay, so we're back to having two basic questions. Well, three actually. One, what is the tech Smith has and why did he build it? Two, can he kill with it anywhere or was he able to kill Sims only because he was in the program facility? And three, we still don't know if he let us in on the tech because he disliked killing Sims. After all, the death implied he made an error, or because it was simply a tactical decision."

"Those are all fine questions, Sir. Unfortunately, I highly doubt we will get the answers unless we either have Smith tell us, or we can manage to get someone close to him.

"Probably not, but we did manage to get an answer to several questions. The big prize is that we now know we can have privacy using Smith's tech. That in itself is priceless. Now that we know, I can set a meeting with the other members of the program. I would like you there McKinney, Henderson too, if we can get him. It would be too risky to pull in more of the readers."

"Speaking of which, what is happening with the replacement for Sims?"

"Narrowed to two candidates, Smith is supposed to make his decision by next Monday. When he does, I'll let you know who it is and you can bring him up to speed."

"Maybe it would be a good idea to fly out to Vegas to walk him through the first few days. I might get a look at some of the tech."

"Negative McKinney. One, you don't know anything that would help a new reader. And two, that would be a definite violation of protocol."

"You're right again, Sir. And, I would be at the program facility, where we know I would be forcibly retired. "At least I would get some sleep. I haven't been sleeping well since the program went active."

"I sleep just fine. This program certainly has the potential to change our lives. For good or bad is yet to be seen. Until we know which way the wind is blowing, I don't have any reason to lose sleep over it. If I stressed over every project this organization sponsored I would have had a coronary years ago."

"I'll try to remember that. How do I proceed from here?"

"For now, relax and enjoy the rest of the day. I'll try to get a meeting for tomorrow, but it probably won't happen until after the weekend, so you might get a three-day. When I get the meeting, I'll let you know."

Deckard stood and extended his hand in a clear dismissal.

CMO McKinney stood and shook the Directors hand. "Thank you, Sir." He then moved to the door and waited while the room was unsealed.

When the door opened, the Director's aide quickly buzzed the intercom. "Sir, Secretary Lieber has been attempting to confirm your lunch meeting. What do I tell him?"

"Tell him yes, of course." With that, the Director of the CIA checked his watch, then got his suit coat and followed McKinney out the door. He had a lot to do, but you don't keep the Secretary of Defense waiting, especially when you need to confer with him anyway.

End of Chapter 11. I hope you enjoyed it and all of my work.

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