“You are?” she asked, sounding confused.
“Yes dammit, you know that. How many times do I need to tell you?”
“Well then why aren’t you out there making a statement? They said you were unavailable for comment. I thought maybe something might have happened to you!” There was concern in her voice intermixed with a hint of anger.
“What the hell are you going on about, woman?” he yelled back.
“Don’t use that tone of voice with me!”
He took in a deep breath. He needed to gain control of his emotions. Now was not the time to be arguing with an insecure wife. With everything running precisely according to schedule, he didn’t need her fucking things up for him simply because he couldn’t control his temper. “Okay, calm down. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ve had a heavy week what with the lockdown and all. Please, darling, what are you talking about?”
Jess, who had donned a dressing gown, stood up and was glaring at him, her ruffled jet-black hair sensuously draped over her full breasts. He knew that she despised him when he was on the phone to his wife. Jess was a woman that any red-blooded man would consider attractive, but in a more coarse rather than classical sense. This was most likely due to her fuller figure, hefty voluptuous breasts, striking black hair and sky-high cheekbones. All these features had most certainly been augmented over the course of her forty-five years of life, and Denny was certain she was as real as a plastic Barbie doll, but he didn’t care. Typically dressed in form-fitting clothing, with high heels and plunging necklines, she was the type of woman you would more likely find in a late-night bar than a church. She made no apology for her lustful lifestyle, embracing it at each and every turn.
His thoughts drifted back toward his irritating wife who said, “Denny, just turn on the damn TV. It’s all over the news.”
“Okay, lemme go, I’ll call you back.”
Denny slammed shut his cell phone, and commanded the apartment’s intelligence server to activate the TV. A sleek, attractive red-headed woman wearing a beret materialized in Jess’s bedroom.
“Good morning, planet Earth. This is Janine Fuller from CNNA once again with an update coming to you live outside NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory here in Pasadena, California. As I reported earlier today, it seems that NASA scientists have picked up an alien signal from within deep space. From unconfirmed reports, it has something to do with the EMB machine that I reported on only a few days ago. At the time, I was less than enthused by what was being shown to me, but now I, like all of you watching across the world, have renewed interest in this incredible discovery. What’s even more astonishing is that this signal appears to be internet related, sent here from another world. NASA is now in lockdown for most likely security reasons and so I am unable to enter the building and obtain further information. We’re all desperately waiting here outside the grounds for a further statement from General Denny Smith, who apparently is in charge of the lockdown, but as of yet, his whereabouts are unknown. More to follow after this break.”
“Television off!” yelled Denny, tossing his phone across the room. It almost hit Jess, who was forced to duck. “What the hell is going on here? How in hell’s name does that bitch of a reporter not only get to find out about the signal, but knows more about it than I fucking do?”
Jess’s large, brown, almond-shaped eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “Calm down, Den. You’re going to burst a blood vessel or something. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all of this. Besides, maybe she has it all wrong anyhow. She did say unconfirmed reports. Didn’t she?”
Denny clasped his hands tightly into fists, took a deep breath in and then slowly and calmly continued in a soft but deadly voice. “Whoever’s responsible for leaking this is going to regret the day they were born.”
He stood up and quickly began dressing. Jess stared at him like a spaced-out drug addict.
“Well, Den?” she managed. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” he barked, fastening his belt.
“The signal. The internet. You were going to tell me all about it. Remember?”
“Please, Jess. Not now. I’ve got a lot to sort out.”
Jess’s face colored. She opened her mouth, and was about to say something but stopped herself.
“Where’re you going, sweetheart?” she finally said.
“Where do you think?”
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret. You know that those bastards on Capitol Hill are just waiting for you to slip up so that they can get rid of you. We’re so close, honey, don’t throw it all away.”
“Don’t you worry about me. I know what’s at stake.”
“What about your wife?”
“She’ll have to wait.”
After pulling on his boots and grabbing his kitbag, he hurriedly left the apartment. He jumped into the back of his Mercedes Benz and commanded, “NASA headquarters. Police mode.”
This was no time to be obeying speed limits. Heads were about to start rolling.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Sheri, Steve and the professor sat around the table in Sheri’s office, the expression on their faces grim. Sheri was the first to break the silence. “I just don’t understand it. It was one am and we were completely alone.”
“I know, my dear. I was there with you, remember,” said the professor.
Sheri turned to Steve. “What do you think? Any ideas?”
“I was asleep. Actually that’s not completely true, I was up with Chloe, but that was around midnight. I was admiring the aurora borealis, or let’s say a bit freaked out by it. By the way, I’ve never seen anything like it, not even when I did my time in Alaska. To be honest, it concerns me that our magnetosphere’s so damaged.”
“Steve, not to be rude, but let’s not get side-tracked here, my boy. Now how in hell did Janine manage to be privy to that information, and so quickly when—”
“Only two possibilities,” Sheri interrupted. “One, a spy in the facility. Highly unlikely but possible, or two, we’ve been bugged … but how? This place is supposed to be like Fort Knox. The biometric screening in this building is state of the art as far as I’m aware.”
“Got to be an inside job,” said Steve.
The professor grimaced. He was rubbing his knees. “Well, children, whatever or whoever it is that’s doing it, it must cease immediately.”
Sheri looked at the professor with a bemused expression. Calling them “children” was in no uncertain terms condescending and patronizing, yet somehow, coming from him, it seemed almost endearing.
The professor continued. “We don’t yet fully comprehend it all ourselves, and we have Miss Marple blurting out half-truths to the world. We risk huge international interference by this getting out. Already the Ruskies and the Poms are demanding access to our systems, and the Frogs are not far off I’m betting.”
“Has anyone seen the general this morning?” asked Steve.
“No, but I heard he’s spitting poison,” said Sheri. “And has already summoned Janine to his office demanding a retraction.”
Steve said, “If I know Janine, she’ll be retracting nothing. Since the freedom of information acts were passed a few years back, she’s like a dog with a bone, and I very much doubt there’ll be much reasoning with her. There’s no way in hell she’ll ever reveal her source. We’ll have to find it out ourselves.”
“Let’s leave this to the military,” added the professor. “After all, it’s supposed to be their job. I do so wish, however, that they were doing it properly.”
Sheri thought the professor a bit twitchy and irritable, but wasn’t sure why. Perhaps he was tired.
“Well, then, where to from here?” asked Sheri.
The professor cleared his throat and frowned. “I think it’s imperative that I get down to Australia to check out Dundee’s computer. Sheri, I could certainly do with some company and support down there.”
“I’d love to, Prof, but I absolutely c
an’t leave Chloe.”
“What about you, Steve?” asked the professor.
“I’ve always wanted to see the Opera House … but no. Sheri needs me here.”
Steve took Sheri’s hand and squeezed it gently, then winked at her affectionately.
“Go, Steve. We’ll be fine. The professor needs you there. Simon wouldn’t dare do anything while we’re in here. Besides which, even he couldn’t get inside, not with all this security.”
“So good that Janine managed to get classified information out of here.”
“She had inside help. Now, Steve, we could argue the point all day, but that won’t change my mind. You need to go.”
Steve paused for a moment then said, “Okay, but only on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That if you need me, you get me back here immediately. You know it’s only a three-hour flight to Australia.”
She smiled. “Okay, settled.”
“One more thing,” said Steve.
“Yes?”
“We’re in lockdown, remember? We’re going to need the general’s permission for this little venture.”
The professor said bluntly, “Well then, we’ll just have to get it, won’t we.”
Steve, Sheri and the professor stood up, gulped down their coffee and left the room. After a brief meeting with the general, who was surprisingly cooperative, both Steve and the professor went to pack a bag, and within the hour were at LAX. Sheri, meanwhile, made sure that Chloe was settling well into her new playschool, and then headed out for a meeting with the general, something she wasn’t particularly looking forward to, given their previous encounter.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“So tell me, Miss Johnson, what the hell happened in the last eight hours that I had to hear highly classified information second hand from CN freakin’ NA?” demanded the general, his left eye twitching, his thin lips taught.
Sheri didn’t answer immediately, instead she wondered for a few seconds what the best way to answer might be. She imagined how she might respond to Simon, after one of his drunken tirades. “General, I can only imagine what you might be thinking, but let me just say for the record that I had absolutely nothing to do with the leak. You have my word on that.”
The general let out a surprising chuckle. “Jesus, woman, do you think I’m that stupid to think that you did? Firstly, you’re bugged from here to Timbuktu and secondly you’d be a complete idiot to sabotage your own project.” He shook his head. “No, no, this smells more like espionage to me, but at the moment I don’t have motive and I certainly don’t have proof.”
“Have you interviewed Janine Fuller yet?” asked Sheri, feeling slightly relieved that she had escaped the general’s wrath.
“’Course I did, but that damn bitch was in no mood to be sharing anything, even though I threatened to lock her up as a risk to national security. Unfortunately, as you might know, she has friends in high places that’d never allow me to do that, and of course the whole world thinks she’s the best thing since wireless electricity! No, that route is a complete dead-end.”
The general sat down at his desk, clasped his enormous hands together and continued. “So, any chance you and the professor might have noticed someone, perhaps a marine or a cleaner around last night?”
Were the general’s eyes focusing on her or on her breasts? Surely not. “Not a soul. We’d just finished a vidcom linkup with Drew Murrey in Stromlo. After that, on the professor’s insistence, we took a walk down to the cafeteria for a drink, at which time the two of us sat down and he disclosed that information to me.”
“You’ll need to point out exactly where you sat. I’m going to have the entire room scanned and rescanned and if necessary rescanned again for any evidence of espionage.”
Yup, he was definitely looking at her breasts. “Yes, General, I understand,” she said, a sick feeling growing in her stomach. She stood up and was about to leave when the general strode over to her, hands in pockets, blocking her escape. His ice-blue eyes locked onto hers. He smirked as he looked her up and down, his gaze finally settling on her breasts again. Sheri’s heart was racing, the sickness inside her growing with every heartbeat. She had felt this wretched sensation before with Simon. Her mouth went dry.
“One more thing before you leave, Miss Johnson. I will want a full report on this new development and any implications that you think this may have ASAP. Also, I will need to be privy to anything the professor and your partner, Dr Winslow, might unravel while in Australia.”
Sheri struggled to find the words, her heart thumping away in her throat. “Yes, I … um … I’m expecting them to report to me by midday. I’m still unsure exactly what this all means.”
“Excellent, Miss Johnson,” he said, touching a loose strand of her hair and rolling it between his chunky fingers. “Remember, it’s all about teamwork. I scratch your back and you scratch mine.” He winked at her, smiled, then let go of her hair and stepped out of her way. “Or may I call you Sheri?” he said softly.
She took in a deep breath. “Miss Johnson will be fine, General,” she said, squeezing past him as she grabbed the door handle and twisted it.
Without turning around she heard him say, “Anything you need, Miss Johnson, anything at all and I’ll be more than happy to oblige.”
Sheri closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. She regained her composure and vowed to herself never to be alone with that snake again. The general was a smooth operator, and on some primal level he was exactly like Simon. His behavior disgusted her.
As she strode down the corridor, another familiar-looking officer passed her in the hallway. He politely removed his cap and nodded as he walked by. The man seemed quite distressed about something, sweating profusely, even though the building was pleasantly air-conditioned. She turned around to catch another glance, and saw him disappearing into the general’s office.
* * * *
“Major, you better have a damn good explanation for this press leak,” spat the general, pouring himself a whiskey.
“I just don’t understand it, sir. Security picked up nothing unusual or different last night. Have you entertained the possibility that perhaps the professor or that woman scientist might have leaked something?”
“Don’t be an idiot, Major. You know that’s not feasible, not by any stretch of the imagination. Give me something to work with goddamn it!”
Graham felt his hands start to tremble again. He hid them behind his back, lest the general notice. “Yes, sir. I’ll look into it.”
“You’d damn well better. I want you putting on extra guards, extra staff and cross-referencing any retinal scan that went through last night and from here onwards with backup files on record. Any slight variation and I want to know about it. Are we on the same page?” The general downed the whiskey in one shot, licked his thin lips and nodded at the empty glass with approval.
“Yes, sir, I’ll get onto it immediately.”
“Good. Now go do your damn job properly this time.”
“Yes, sir.”
The major was at the door, but the general wasn’t finished. “Oh, one more thing, Major. When you check on those retinal scans from last night, I want you to print out a list for me and cross-reference it to the roster. I want that on my desk by five pm today. Dismissed.”
Graham nodded, then saluted, feeling his heart sinking deep into his stomach. He knew that this mess he was in had Janine Fuller written all over it. What the hell did she do in that press room? He could fudge the names on that list for now, but he knew it was just a matter of time before the wheels fell off. The stakes were rising and so was the possibility that he could quite easily end up incriminating himself.
He straightened his cap, and hated himself for a horrific incident that he was involved in years ago. An incident in Tel Aviv that had now come back to haunt him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“I’m sorry, Janine, but I can’t possibly get you on th
at flight, it’s fully booked. Tomorrow, no problem.”
“Do you have any idea of what’s going on here, Gail? If I don’t get to Canberra before tomorrow, I might miss out on the story of a lifetime and I will personally hold you responsible.”
There was an uneasy silence, before Janine said, “Are you listening to what I’m saying? Is that travel-agency brain of yours not working today?”
Janine wasn’t normally this rude to Gail, but she had to be on that flight. On this there could be no compromising.
Gail responded with a deep sigh. “Okay, I’ll do what I can, but it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg. I have to call in a huge favor.”
“I don’t care if it costs me my soul; I need to be on that flight!” Janine disconnected, and then remembered that she hadn’t organized a carer for Sabrina.
She quickly rang Gail back and had to backpedal and plead with her to pick up the cat. A colorful argument ensued until the travel agent not only reluctantly agreed to take Sabrina in, but to also feed her the strict organic diet that Janine had her on. The favors that Janine owed people were stacking up, and she hoped she had called it right on this story. If not, she’d have a shitload of explaining to do later on.
After resolving all her last-minute domestic issues, Janine went on a treasure hunt for her misplaced Louis Vuitton luggage. Irritable and frustrated, she noticed Sabrina acting peculiarly. The cat was no fool. She’d seen the strange human ritual of placing clothes into large cases before, and that meant only one thing for her—misery. Desperate for a quick escape, she meowed and then darted off, but was ambushed by her owner the moment she reached the master bedroom.
“And where do you think you’re going, madam?” She stroked Sabrina’s soft, gray fur. “Right, Mommy needs to go away for a few days, but Aunty Gail will be around soon to come and collect you. Be nice, darling. Last time I had to pay for Gail’s emergency room bill and it cost me a small fortune. We’ll have none of that this time!”
The Waterhole Page 11