by Mike Crowson
* * *
When everyone else had gone, Millicent let Gail Downing and the civilian IT operator go and sat at her desk, drumming her fingers and thinking. Finally she took out Tobias N'Dibes card from her handbag, got up and crossed to the computer.
At the computer she fed it with her private password and clicked on the appropriate icon to compose mail. She typed in ‘[email protected]’, gave the subject as remote viewing and composed her message:
To:[email protected]
Subject: Remote Viewing
Message:
Hello,
I think I've reached a position where there's something I really need to know. Give me a call so we can discuss it.
Millicent
When the message had gone, Millicent looked vacantly at the screen for a few moments, before she wiped off all traces of her time online, and went back to her place with the card, which she replaced in her handbag. She sat down at her desk in her office again, and drummed her fingers absently on the desk.
The phone rang and Millicent picked it up. "Hampshire," she said.
"Tony Gibbs here," came his voice. "Leverett is away today and doesn't come back until late tonight. It'll be eleven thirty to midnight."
"Pick him up first thing in the morning," Millicent said. "Knock off now, it's getting late anyway."
"Tommy Hammond will be pleased about that. He wants to eat out with some female."
"Tommy usually has impeccable taste in ladies," Millicent remarked. "So she'll be a looker, whoever she is. Take the night off while you can."
Millicent had no sooner put down the phone than it rang again.
"Hampshire," she said.
"Good afternoon," N'Dibe's deep voice rumbled politely. "Would the same restaurant at seven suit you?"
Millicent glanced at her watch. It was five thirty and she wanted to pay Dr. Leverett a quick call. There should be plenty of time for that before meeting Tobias.
"The time is fine," she said.
"Very good. I will see you there," N'Dibe said and rang off.
Millicent looked around the empty incident suite and yawned. She picked up her handbag and walked over to the switchboard to make sure that calls for her were forwarded to her mobile and all other calls routed to the main switchboard, then headed for the car park.
She was walking out of the building when she realised that N'Dibe had used her direct line. Last time it was her mobile. Did he know every phone number she had?