The Zul Enigma

by J M Leitch

  Carlos shook his head from side to side. He was angry. ‘I didn’t imagine the…’ but Drew wouldn’t let up.

  ‘Listen mate, Elena’s death fucked you up. You need to see someone. Get help.’

  ‘What are you talking about, hey?’ People nearby turned to see what the raised voices were about but Drew didn’t care. He wouldn’t let it drop.

  ‘All this crap about aliens, the baby? It’s not happening. None of it’s real. It’s all in your head. When you told me about the baby? I should have done something to stop you getting on the plane and going to New York. Now look what you’ve done? You’ve got the President of the United States involved! Shit man… they’re going to nail your arse. They’re going to send you to get your head shrunk and they could even press charges. You’ll be out on your ear, mate. You’ll be lucky to get early retirement.’

  Carlos looked over at the barman who was attempting to resolve a query on the bill for a group of drunken students sitting a few bar stools away. Still dissatisfied, one of them grudgingly produced his credit card and slapped it down on the counter.

  Unable to stand the silence any longer, Drew put his arm round Carlos and gave him a shake. ‘Think about it. Early retirement. That wouldn’t be so bad now, would it?’ But Carlos sat rigid like a pillar of ice, freezing Drew out until he dropped his arm.

  Then, little by little, his posture softened and he turned. Far from the impassioned outburst Drew expected, he saw that Carlos was in fact smiling. Really smiling.

  ‘Hey, you’re so full of yourself, Drew Roberts. Well this time you’re the one that’s fucking up. You’ll see. ¡Salud!’ and Carlos drained his glass and called for another round.

  ***

  ‘Drew!’

  ‘Joe?’ Drew’s shoes squeaked in the freshly fallen snow as he tramped over to where Joseph stood on the footpath, his face highlighted by the flashing neon lights of a steak and rib restaurant, ‘I didn’t know you were back on this side of the pond.’

  ‘NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Centre and the Department of Defense wanted to see me. You know what it’s like. When the Pentagon snaps its fingers, everyone has to jump. Including me.’

  ‘Carlos had a meeting there this morning. I just had a drink with him.’

  ‘No kidding?’

  ‘Then he went to the White House.’

  ‘What was that about?’

  ‘When I stayed with him the other night, a couple of mad e-mails came in.’

  ‘What do you mean, mad e-mails?’ Joseph asked.

  Drew shook his head. ‘I can’t say. The UN wants to keep it hush-hush. They made me sign a confidentiality agreement. Thing is they don’t know where these e-mails came from. Neither does ITU-T. So Carlos flew to New York to discuss it with the Secretary-General and he took it to the Americans.’

  ‘Why involve them?’

  ‘To get help tracing the messages. They met Bob Anderson.’

  ‘Straight to the top huh? They must be worried.’

  ‘It’s a mystery all right. Thing is, Carlos told me he clashed badly with the President. Seems they pissed each other off royally.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Conflict of personalities. They rubbed each other up the wrong way. You know how much Anderson’s been dissing NASA. Add Carlos on his high horse and you can just imagine the fireworks. Seems Carlos made a right arse of himself and now they’re investigating him too… and…’

  ‘… and?’

  The wind gusted icy and shrill. It didn’t disturb Joseph’s short wiry curls but it whipped Drew’s hair across his face. He brushed it out of his eyes and turned up the collar of his overcoat. ‘… and the thing is Joe… he’s not well. Elena’s murder? It’s completely messed with his head.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I told you when I had dinner with him the other night, he ended up crying like a baby.’

  ‘You know how emotional Carlos is. And you did say he’d had a few.’

  ‘Sure he was pretty pissed… but it wasn’t just that. He’s a mess. He’s got no friends. All he does is work and he hates it – he hates his job.’

  ‘I didn’t get that impression when we met the other day.’

  ‘Of course you didn’t. He put on an act for you. For heaven’s sake, even Erika said he looked like crap.’

  ‘You’re talking like there’s something seriously wrong,’ and Drew was surprised to catch a glimpse of concern cross Joseph’s usually impassive features.

  Drew shrugged. ‘I’m no doctor. I don’t know how bad it is. All I know is I’m worried. Especially with these messages coming in. God knows why they had to appear on his computer, but they’ll be big trouble for him, believe me. If the Yanks can’t figure out who sent them, given his mental state at the moment, they might try and pin them on him.’

  ‘Why do you think that?’

  ‘Come on mate, you know the direction Anderson’s going. All this shit about slashing NASA’s budget? It’s not because he wants to cut back on US interests in space. On the contrary! What he’s pissed about is NASA’s too tied in with the Russians and all the other nations involved with the International Space Station. That and the fact US activities in space are too closely monitored – which is where Carlos comes in – he’s the one enforcing the peaceful use of outer space shit.’

  ‘I guess you’ve got a point…’

  ‘Of course I’ve got a point. And if they find out he’s gone a bit sick in the head…’

  ‘National Intelligence will be checking up on him already…’

  ‘…then they’ll have him.’

  ‘And you were just with him. You’ll be on their list too. You’d better be careful who you talk to and what you say.’ Joseph lowered his voice and Drew, a couple of inches taller, had to stoop to catch what he was saying before the wind blew the words away. ‘You know I do business with militaries all over the world. More often than not they have conflicting goals, if you get what I mean. And there are big sums of money involved and a lot of jealousy and suspicion. I have to be very careful because I see and hear a lot of things – sometimes unpleasant things – very unpleasant things. I hear what you’re saying about Carlos. I know what the “powers that be” are capable of.’

  ‘And your point is…’

  ‘My point is I’m glad we met. It’s good you told me all this. Give me a day or two and I’ll be in touch, okay? Then we’ll see what we can do to make sure our friend gets out of this okay.’

  CHAPTER 11

  Carlos sat up with a jolt as his brain struggled to make the transition from dream world to real world. Registering the persistent ringing of the phone, he grabbed it and put it to his ear.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Dr Maiz? This is Amanda from the President’s office. We’ve finalised our investigations and are ready to acquaint you with the findings. Tom will pick you up in thirty minutes.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll be ready.’

  Carlos went into the bathroom, took off the dressing gown and hung it on the back of the door. He splashed cold water over his face, trying to rid himself of the residual muzziness the nap had left clouding his head. He shaved, brushed his teeth, patted on cologne, combed his hair and got dressed. He wasn’t looking forward to this meeting, but at least he’d soon know where he stood.

  Thank God the waiting was over. He’d been under surveillance for three days and it had nearly killed him.

  ***

  ‘So how is he?’ Tom asked Mary as she poured him coffee. He was sitting in the kitchen waiting to take Carlos to the White House.

  ‘Not so good. When we cut his comms after Mr Howard’s call, he became very agitated.’

  ‘I can imagine.’

  ‘At first he kept checking his phone and trying to log in, even though he had to know we were keeping him incommunicado.’

  ‘He must have felt isolated.’

  ‘And claustrophobic. We haven’t let him out of the house since he met his friend the first night.’
r />   ‘What’s he do with himself all day?’

  ‘He stays in his room, most of the time lying on the bed with his headphones on listening to music or sitting in an armchair staring out into the garden. Sometimes he gets himself into a real state. Then he paces up and down like a wild animal in a cage. He’s been getting more anxious by the hour.’

  ‘What’s his appetite like?’

  ‘He comes down to the dining room for meals. It breaks up the monotony, I guess, and he gets to have a chat with me. But he’s eating less and less. He sure enjoys his wine though,’ said Mary, frowning.

  ‘He is Continental…’

  ‘… it’s not that. This man’s got a drink problem. It’s not just wine with dinner. He brought four bottles of whisky back the night he met his friend and he’s been hitting it hard ever since.’

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘When we searched his luggage, we found amphetamines and sleeping tablets.’

  ‘Not unusual, I guess. Not for someone who travels as much as he does. How is he sleeping?’

  ‘Not good, although he’s not taking anything for it. Not that it would help. We swapped his meds with replicas in case he tries anything silly.’

  ‘Any contact from the alien?’ Tom smiled.

  Mary laughed. ‘Not unless it’s in his head.’

  ***

  At the Oval Office Bob was in conference with Anita and Barbara Lord.

  ‘I’ve scanned through your report, Barbara.’

  Barbara’s name was appropriate. She was overly groomed in the big hair Barbie Doll way many Southern Californian women seemed to favour. Doubtless as sharp-brained as Anita, the two women couldn’t have manifested more different styles.

  ‘I can tell you I was not amused when this Dr Maiz showed up in my office with his story of little green men. If I didn’t know better, I’d’ve thought Greg was trying to set me up!’

  ‘The timing is uncanny,’ Barbara said.

  ‘Tell me about it. It’ll be political suicide if it gets out I’ve authorised NASA to investigate communications from extraterrestrials. And on behalf of the UN, for Pete’s sake!’

  ‘But sir, that’s not the case. All you did was ask NASA to identify where the messages originated.’

  ‘That’s not the spin the press’d put on it. That’s why you’re handling this personally.’

  As he looked away she raised an eyebrow in Anita’s direction but Anita ignored the look, her plain face remaining as impassive as ever. She was an inscrutable woman, Bob’s Secretary of State.

  ‘So, give us a synopsis of your findings before Dr Maiz arrives. Bring Anita up to speed.’ Bob nodded towards the report on the coffee table, ‘she’s not read that yet.’

  Barbara sank back into the sofa, tilting her long legs to one side, at ease in the presence of the President. Her chunky gold bracelets clunked as she reached behind herself to adjust the cushions. She had to splay out her fingers to get a grip on the fabric due to her long acrylic nails.

  ‘We’ve spoken to Maiz’s family in Madrid, his colleagues in Vienna and the few friends he still has contact with. Without exception, everyone mentioned the change in him after his wife was murdered back in November ‘08.’

  Bob grunted.

  ‘They all say the same thing. Since then Maiz has withdrawn and become increasingly solitary. He’s also been drinking heavily. Some think he’s battling depression.’

  ‘Did anyone detect a change in his behaviour after he received the e-mails?’ Anita asked.

  ‘Not after getting the messages… but after the baby incident… yes. His Administrative Assistant said he was like a different man that afternoon: positive, assured, just like he used to be before his wife died. She wasn’t the only one to comment.’

  ‘Interesting. Greg Howard said the same thing. Now tell Anita what this Dr Roberts said. He works at Goddard and was at Dr Maiz’s apartment when one of the e-mails came in. They also met Monday night here in DC.’

  ‘Roberts didn’t want to talk at first, but after we played him the conversation he had with Maiz in the bar he began to cooperate.’

  ‘You see, Anita, he thinks his friend’s gone whacko. You reckon he’s putting on an act,’ Bob asked Barbara, ‘or is he really concerned about Dr Maiz’s mental state?’

  ‘He’s genuine, sir. He wouldn’t have confronted Maiz about it the other night otherwise.’

  ‘Where does this Dr Roberts fit in?’ Anita asked and Barbara explained his connection with Carlos and told her about the get together they’d had in Vienna with Erika and Joseph.

  ‘All their bio-data’s in there,’ she said, reaching over and tapping the report.’

  Anita leaned forward. ‘It’s a little coincidental, isn’t it? Roberts appearing the very night the first messages arrived. Then them both meeting up with another ex-NASA man and a woman they were all hanging out with back at Goddard just a few days later?’

  ‘Exactly what we thought and, after Roberts left Maiz Monday night, our surveillance reported him talking to a man on the street. When we quizzed Roberts, he told us it was Fisher – that they’d bumped into each other out of the blue. But it turns out Fisher’s head of the MALAT Division of Israel Aerospace Industries – IAI – that’s a division in their Military Aircraft Group. Not only was he in Vienna on legitimate business, he’s here in DC for talks with the Pentagon and Department of Defense regarding homeland security. It’s not public knowledge, but IAI’s partnering NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Centre to develop a revolutionary unmanned aircraft vehicle that will out-perform the existing MQ-9 Reapers. Fisher’s got clearance of the highest order. Besides, we turned up nothing to connect him or Roberts to Maiz and the messages.’

  ‘What about the ex-girlfriend?’

  ‘Erika Stone? She’s an American national. She used to live in Maryland. She’s a single parent with two sons. She checks out too. Maiz didn’t even know she’d moved to Vienna until Roberts told him last week, although Fisher knew. He’s the one who helped her get a job there.’

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Roberts also had a girlfriend living in Vienna, another reason he was visiting, but he told us she’d never met the others, which our investigations confirmed. She’s in the clear... in any case they broke up last week.’

  ‘You’re positive about all this?’ Bob said and Barbara nodded. ‘Go on then. Tell Anita what Dr Roberts thinks about his friend.’

  ‘Roberts told us he was shocked at the deterioration – both physical and mental – he saw in Maiz when they met for dinner in Vienna,’ and Barbara went on to tell Anita everything Drew had said about his conversation with Carlos that previous night.

  ‘When they spoke later in the week, Maiz told Roberts he was leaving for New York to meet Howard. He said Maiz was like his old self again. Charged with energy. Carlos told him there was no doubt in his mind that “Zul” was what he claimed – the baby hologram convinced him.’

  ‘Are you sure this Roberts character isn’t involved?’ Anita asked. ‘Could he have sent the hologram.’

  ‘No way. Now, Maiz claims the baby appeared immediately after a virtual meeting he had with Stone.’

  ‘Why was she…?’

  ‘At the reunion, Fisher told Maiz he had some vintage music magazines he was selling. Since he was off on a trip and Stone was dropping by his office the next day, he asked her to show them to Maiz by holovideo. So… back to the hologram… NASA checked the logs but there’s no record of a second holovideo call taking place that day. As for Roberts, or anyone else for that matter, manifesting a hologram in Maiz’s office without it showing in the logs, well, according to NASA, it’s impossible. So may I continue?’ Barbara asked, not even trying to disguise the edge in her voice.

  ‘Wait up a moment,’ Bob shifted in his chair. ‘Anita and I were kicking some ideas around while we were waiting for you earlier. Dr Roberts has lived near DC – the political heart ‘n’ mind of the US – for a long, long time. Could one of
those opposition bastards’ve gotten to him, huh? Paid him off to cook up this story and try to bury me?’

  ‘There’s no evidence to support that. There’s no way to hack into Maiz’s terminal, so if Roberts was involved, Maiz would have to be in on it because only Maiz could have sent the messages. Honestly, I can’t see Roberts letting his friend destroy himself in order to ruin you, even if Maiz was agreeable.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’

  ‘All our intelligence confirms Roberts is a principled man and a good friend. He has a rough manner but a heart of gold. Anyhow, if that had been his plan, he would have leaked the story already. And why would he make his connection with Maiz so obvious? No,’ she shook her head without disrupting a single hair, ‘that theory makes no sense.’

  ‘Okay,’ Bob said, ‘back to the phone call.’

  ‘Maiz also told Roberts he found out from his wife’s autopsy report the day she died that she was six weeks pregnant.’ Barbara spread her hands making her bangles jangle. ‘She must have known but never told him.’

  ‘Is that significant?’ Anita asked.

  ‘Very. She wanted a baby and he didn’t. If they hadn’t argued about it, she would never have left him and got herself murdered. So there’s Maiz sitting at the morgue already feeling responsible for her death, having his guilt compounded when he discovers that not only was she pregnant, but far enough gone to have known about it. She must have brought the baby subject up as a prelude to breaking the news to him, but when his reaction wasn’t the one she expected, she flew into a rage and left. Now that adds some punch to the baby hologram.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Bob said, ‘it sure does.’

  ‘Roberts was worried Maiz couldn’t hide from Howard his conviction that “Zul’s” contact was real, but although Roberts tried to talk Maiz out of it, he couldn’t stop him getting on the plane to New York. All he could do was warn him to be careful, tell him not to mention the baby, and hope ITU-T would resolve the mystery of the messages before Maiz made an ass of himself in front of the Secretary-General.’