by Jack Bowie
Hawthorne nodded. “Of course.”
“And what about Dr. Turner?” Braxton asked. “Is he still a Jason?”
Hawthorne smiled. “Certainly. Conrad just finished a most interesting paper on the application of group theory and advanced statistics to gambling. It’s become quite a hit. I hear he’s received several very lucrative consulting requests from the casino industry.”
Braxton shook his head. He couldn’t wait to tell Fowler what his favorite card cheat was up to.
“I’m sorry about the report,” Braxton finally said. It was a subject he felt embarrassed raising. “We believe Singer released it. The intelligence community hasn’t been able to determine the buyer. Is there anything that can be done to mediate the risks?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Hawthorne replied. “You did everything we asked. The traitor has been caught and Jason was never involved. Everything else can be handled in due time.”
Braxton was taken aback at the scientist’s nonchalance. It sounded like he didn’t even care about the release. About the impending danger.
“You’ve already fixed it, haven’t you?” Walker said.
The scientist cocked his head. “Not exactly. Let’s just say the report was incomplete. We knew about the leaks before it was published. We chose to modify some of the initial calculations: calculations upon which the proposed masking devices were based. A corrected report has now been shared with our friends in the Army. Whoever purchased the purloined report will be following a very long and ultimately unsuccessful journey. And we may even be able to identify the actor when they attempt to test their device.”
“Did Ian, ah, Professor Donnelly, know?”
“No. That would have been unwise. It was all the doing of the Steering Committee.”
“But won’t someone else eventually discover what Ian did?” she asked.
“Probably. But by then, a new system, a better system, will be in place. This is the way of science. Knowledge proceeds in fits and starts, but there is always progress. That is why we no longer forage on the savannas of Africa. I believe that will always be the case. Unless, of course, we manage to annihilate ourselves along the way.”
“But that is why Jason is around,” Braxton added.
Hawthorne smiled and nodded.
The scientist reminded Braxton of Father Richards, his physics professor at Boston College. At the end of every lecture, Richards would ask a student a question that relied on the information presented. If the question was answered correctly, Richards knew the lecture had been successful and left the hall with an enigmatic smile.
“Very good, Mr. Braxton. When we first met I told you that one of my imperatives is a commitment to Jason. Jason is of incalculable value to our country. I will not allow it to be threatened or eliminated.”
Hawthorne abruptly pushed his chair back and rose. “Excellent speaking with you both. Until next time.” He nodded at the pair, then turned and walked away.
Braxton and Walker watched, dumbfounded, as the head Jason disappeared into the crowd on the plaza.
“Do you think we’ll ever see him again?” Walker asked.
Braxton paused then shook his head. “In this city, you never really know.”
“Enough, Adam Braxton. You’ve gone to some impressive lengths to delay your soul baring confession. Tell me about yourself.”
Delay? I thought I’d been saving her life.
Oh, well. He did owe her.
“Okay. I was born in Lakewood, Ohio. You do know that Ohio is the birthplace of eight Presidents, don’t you?”
Thank you for reading The Jason Betrayal. I hope you enjoyed it.
I’d really appreciate it if you would take a minute to add a review on Amazon. Referrals and reviews are the only ways for a self-published author to build their readership and compete with the big names.
Go to The Jason Betrayal Product Page to leave your review.
Please send any comments to [email protected]. To get the latest on Adam Braxton and sign up for my newsletter go to www.JackBowie.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Finally, if you haven’t done so, check out the previous Adam Braxton Thrillers:
The Saracen Incident
The Liberty Covenant
The Langley Profile
Acknowledgements
The Jason Betrayal is a work of fiction, but the Jasons are very real. For over half a century, these brilliant scientists have provided advice and insights to the American experiment. For a complete history of the Jasons, I heartily recommend The Jasons: The Secret History of Science’s Postwar Elite, by Ann Finkbeiner.
The story draws on the memories and experiences of many more individuals than I am able to name. My thanks to you all. Some names, facts and times have been changed to fit the storyline. All errors are mine. In particular, I took some liberties in the geography of the Vienna sewers to fit the plot.
Thanks to the real Sallie Shahid, winner of my Langley Profile contest, for lending her name to a new member of the Adam Braxton world. I hope you like her.
Thanks to my daughter Lisa and her husband Victor Lombardi for keeping my medical descriptions clinically accurate.
Thanks to my daughter Jennifer and her husband David Katz for their insights and explanations on all things European.
Thanks to Robin and the amazing authors in her Inklings Writers Group for their invaluable comments and suggestions on early drafts.
Thanks to my advance reader group for their feedback on the final manuscript.
And finally, thanks, as always, to my wife Sharon for her patience and understanding under a seemingly never-ending barrage of odd questions, usually without any obvious context. You always had the answers I needed.
About the Author
Jack Bowie was born and raised outside of Cleveland, Ohio, then headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend MIT. After graduating, he held technical management positions in public and private sector organizations in Massachusetts, Virginia and Connecticut.
A lifelong reader of classic science fiction and espionage thrillers, Jack's writing began as a break from professional duties and grew into a passion for storytelling.
Drawing on his career as a researcher, engineer and high-tech executive, Jack’s novels describe the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, interplay of technology with personal passions and egos.
For more information on Jack, check out www.JackBowie.com, or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jackbowieauthor.