by Mark Lemke
CHAPTER 22
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Prichard went back to the couch, sat down, and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, intimidating anyone in his line of sight, in this case, Marti and me.?
"Okay.? What do you recommend, Nick?" ??
I could see Marti stiffen when he asked me the question, not her. I thought about it for a minute.? Many things came to mind, not the least of which was that I needed to decide how involved I was willing to get in this.? Things had changed, and this was no longer a research project.? This was getting real now, and I wasn't sure how far Prichard would be willing to go.? I needed to probe that before I committed to anything.
"You have a couple of problems," I started out with.? "One is that you don't know the specific nature of the threat.? That makes it hard to design a strategy other than the ones your security department already has.? Your security plans are not unlike those at other nuclear power plants.? But as we just saw, it's possible to beat your system with just a little extra effort.? So not knowing the nature of the threat, you'll have to rely on your security staff.? And according to the information Marti just provided us with, we need to assume the bad guys have someone on the inside."
Prichard looked far from relaxed as he continued to lean in toward me as I spoke.
"Two, is that they've demonstrated they're willing to murder someone to advance their cause, so they're a determined lot."?
Just saying it out loud made Prichard look like someone had just knocked the wind out of him.? Murder . . . at his power plant.? This was nothing he'd ever dreamed could happen.? He was an engineer.? He took a deep breath and looked out the window, looking defeated.? This wasn't what he'd signed up for.
"Your security team has been beaten twice in a week; once in a drill and once for real when they failed to stop the murder of one of your employees.? I'd say you're going to need outside assets . . . people you can trust or at least that have no other vested interest in what's going on here."
Prichard was no longer looking at me but I was sure he was listening intently, taking it all in.? Things were happening fast, and not knowing who on his own staff could be trusted presented him with some very real problems.? He nodded his head slightly, as if to indicate he could immediately see my point.? He knew bringing in an outside team would cost money and money he hadn't budgeted for.? But as much as it might cost to bring in an outside team, he knew the cost of not doing anything would be significantly higher if he didn't avert this threat.?
"What about the report that you put together?? What do we do about that?? I need to get that report back and put it under lock and key," Prichard wondered out loud.
I shook my head.? "Don't bother.? It's probably already been compromised.? If it has, the damage is done.? If it hasn't by now, it probably won't be.? Either way, asking for it back now will only tip off the insider that we're looking for him.? For now, it's best to move quickly and without much notice.? Don't give anything away and don't make mistakes."
I turned and looked at the senior NRC resident.? No matter what kind of outside assets were brought in, I knew they'd clash with the local law enforcement and the FBI.? The FBI always wanted to be in charge and didn't want to let anyone else know what they were doing.? Meanwhile, the local sheriff would want to exert his authority as well.? Turf wars.? I'd seen them before.? Well-meaning guys, all of them, but too much focus on who was in charge, and less on what needed to be done.?
Whether Prichard knew all this or not, I decided to sum it up for him and make it clear in front of the NRC resident.?
"You know the FBI is going to want to take charge of this situation.? You may or may not have a choice in that."? Turning to look at Marti, I continued talking to Prichard, "I'm surprised you haven't been contacted already."
Marti returned Nick's stare.? Despite his challenge to her, his self-confidence was giving her goose bumps.? His good looks and lean build didn't hurt, either.? Her initial anxiety about both the threat and about being involved in a murder investigation had turned into excitement.? However inappropriate it might be, she was now working with two very powerful men, in a situation she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.? Their aggressive behavior and the incredible situation she found herself in gave her an adrenaline rush.? She didn't know if she should be pleased with that or ashamed.? All she knew was that she instinctively wanted to be on their side.? And on the edge of her consciousness, she knew she wanted to get to know Nick better.? That was distracting to her, though, and she'd have to keep those feelings compartmentalized.?
"Let me look into that," she volunteered.? "I think you're probably right though.? The FBI will have the lead on this.? However I don't have any reason to believe that's not a good thing."?
Marti appeared to be testing the waters a bit.? I knew she'd little experience in this sort of thing, but she was, after all, a member of the federal government, and she probably felt obligated to exert some authority in this situation.?
Prichard said, "I agree with your assessment so far, Nick.? I assume I can expect you to put something together to help us out?"
I took this as the go-ahead to keep my team in place-for a fee, of course.? But I didn't want to give away my hand just yet.?
"Yes, I can help you out, but as I said, I expect the FBI and the sheriff will want to take care of it."
"I'm sure you and your team will work together with them in a collaborative manner."?
The way Prichard said it left no doubt in my mind that he wanted me to walk that tightrope between being subordinate to the FBI and working on my own.
"I can get a team in here to help you, yes.? My recommendations will include the name of someone to lead the team."? I knew that wasn't going to be received well.? Prichard was familiar with me now, even though he didn't know me well, and it was only natural that he'd want and expect me to take charge of this.? So his look of surprise was to be expected, even if it didn't happen too often.?
"I assumed you'd lead the team.? Was I mistaken in my thinking?"
"I have other commitments, sir."
"I'm sure whoever you recommend would be very competent, especially if you recommend him.? But I prefer you to take charge of this situation for us."?
Prichard said it in a way that would normally leave his listeners with the impression that he'd made a decision and that was the end of it.
"I'm sorry, sir.? As I said, I have other commitments.? I'll get you a name as soon as possible."?
With that, I gave Marti a slight smile, stood up and extended my hand to her.? She paused only briefly, and then took it in her own.? When our hands meet, I found hers was warm, although a bit clammy with perspiration.? As if she could tell what I was thinking, she pulled her hand away quickly.? Blood rushed to her face and gave her cheeks a nice rosy color.? She turned her eyes away from mine, no doubt embarrassed by the uncontrollable physical response.? She probably hoped I didn't notice, which I found strangely attractive.? My face softened with a hint of a smile, but she was no longer looking at me to see it.?
Choosing not to embarrass her any further, I turned to shake hands with Prichard.? I looked him in the eye for a moment longer than necessary, hoping to silently convey a message.? I was hoping he took notice of how I closed the issue in spite of his insistence that I be involved.? He was an intelligent man and I didn't want him to pursue this any further right now.? So when he shook my hand and said, "Thank you for all your help," and nothing more, I knew he got the message.
"No problem."? With that, I left the room without looking at Marti again.
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