Seeing an empty conference room across the hall, Tom shoved Chris in that direction. “Let’s go in there.”
Chris reluctantly entered the room. Tom closed the door behind them and placed his briefcase on the conference table.
Chris looked unnerved. “What’s this all about?”
Riddick’s relaxed body language had Tom guessing whether the ass actually had the valuable treasure. Either he doesn’t have it or he’s one cool customer. Tom was blunt, saying in a strong and direct tone, “Do you have something of mine?”
The smug look on Chris’s face disappeared. Suddenly he came across as a kid who just got his hand caught in the cookie jar. “What are you talking about?”
The abrupt change in demeanor convinced Tom this was his man. “Did you take something out of my desk?”
Appearing to toy with Tom, Chris tried to cleverly turn the tables on the space veteran. “Why? What are you missing?”
Not biting, Tom assumed the material was in Chris’s briefcase. He took a calculated gamble. “I was told you went to my desk to put a snake in the top drawer, but instead you took something out. I want it back.”
Sticking out his chest arrogantly, Chris started moving toward the door. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I need to get going.”
Tom thrust out his hand, blocking the man’s path. Tom wanted proof. “You aren’t going anywhere until you open your briefcase.”
Jerking the hand down, Chris challenged Tom’s authority. “Who are you to search my briefcase? I don’t have to answer to you.”
By sheer force of will, Tom kept himself from snapping. He took in a deep and calming breath as he folded his arms across his body. “You’re right. I don’t have the authority, but I can still alert security and insist they check it.”
Chris stepped back. “You’re bluffing.”
With that comeback, Tom knew he had his guy. He stared directly into Chris’s eyes without blinking. “Try me.”
Not saying a word, Chris turned and walked over to the conference table. He calmly laid his briefcase down and took a seat. Resting his arms on top of the case, he said in a cocky tone, “Yes, I do have the LRL canister.”
“Give it back!”
Chris patted the seat next to him. “Sit down, Tom. Let’s discuss this.”
Taking any kind of direction from this asshole was the last thing Tom wanted to do. But he sucked in his pride and took a seat. “You don’t want to get involved in this. Give me the canister and I’ll forget you took it.”
“Not until I get some answers. What the hell are you doing with moon rocks anyway? I’m pretty sure it’s a felony offense and you could go to prison.”
Tom had prepared a story. He drew in a sharp breath. “The canister is empty.”
“Bullshit. I know that when these things are sealed with a small weld they contain lunar samples. Besides, the label on the side is officially signed, stamped and dated, stating the rocks are from Apollo 11. You can’t fool me.”
Tom was caught. He never had a chance to study the canister. He had to come up with another story, and quick. “Okay, you’re right.” His mind started racing. “Yes, it has lunar material in it.” He inhaled deeply as he looked toward the front of the conference room, trying not to stumble over his words. “Someone in the lab owed me a favor and got me the sample in secret at my request.” Suddenly a light flipped on in his head. He turned with confidence. “I have been dying to know if there is water on the moon, and I’m not convinced NASA will make the information public. So I wanted to inspect a small sample with my microscope at home. I planned on returning the material early tomorrow morning to my friend so it won’t be noticed missing.”
Chris studied Tom for a moment. He didn’t look convinced. “I doubt you’re telling me the truth, and to be honest, I really don’t care. I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you back your precious canister and won’t say anything, on one condition.”
Tom was stunned Chris was trying to proposition him. The man was in no position to negotiate. Tom fought the impulse to raise his voice in anger. “What’s that?”
Chris sat back. “You split whatever is inside with me.”
What? Chris is asking to steal moon rocks? Tom was shocked. How could a NASA astronaut be thinking of such a crazy scheme? “I can’t do that—you know they keep track of all the lunar material down to the milligram. They will know some is missing, which will lead to a major investigation. There is no way we could get away with it.”
“You already stole some, which is supposedly impossible. I bet you and your friend could figure something out.”
Tom looked at Riddick like he was insane. “You’re crazy. It’s out of the question. Both my friend and I could go to jail.”
Chris’s green eyes stayed defiant. “Looks like you already took that risk, doesn’t it?”
Growing impatient, Tom said in a commanding voice, “Forget it. There is no way I’m doing it. Besides, if I were caught, I promise you, I would implicate you. So give it up and pass over the canister.”
Chris looked toward the chalkboard for a moment. “Okay, then you have to do something for me. Since your part of management, I want you to get me into the rotation. Otherwise, I’ll spill the beans.”
First Chris wanted to steal moon rocks, now he was threatening blackmail. Tom already had a low impression of the man, but the ass just hit an all-time low. Tom still had to make certain the sleaze didn’t talk. “Okay. You hand over the canister and I’ll talk to Dick and see what I can do. But you have to promise me not to tell anyone about this.”
“You have my word as a friend.”
Friend? Are you kidding me? You’re the last person I would call a friend.
Chris continued. “But I need to have proof you’re working on my behalf.”
“How do I know I can trust you? Especially after telling Anne about the blonde I took into my hotel room.”
A flustered look crossed Chris’s face and he said apologetically, “Sorry about that. It accidently slipped out when I bumped into her. She seemed to suspect it, and I tried to convince her otherwise, but she eventually caught me in a lie. I did my best to cover for you. Regardless, you can trust me. You take care of me and I’ll take care of you.”
Tom didn’t believe a word the man said. “I’ll talk to Dick and somehow you will get your proof.”
Chris opened his briefcase and slid the canister over. “Sounds like we have a deal.” He winked. “I’d be curious how your little study goes.”
Snapping up the cylinder, Tom shoved it into his briefcase. Just before leaving he turned and glared at the conniving man. “By the way, stay away from my wife.”
“DID YOU GET IT?”
Tom watched Dick walk back to his desk after locking his office door. “It wasn’t easy. Nothing went as planned.”
Dick fell back hard into his chair. “What happened?”
“There were three guys, not two.”
Dick shot him a surprised look. “Really? You should have called it off right then.”
“I considered it, but things eventually worked out. I have the canister in my safe.”
“Good, I knew I could count on you.”
“But we have a problem.”
Dick leaned forward. “What’s that?”
“Chris Riddick knows I have the canister.”
“How?”
“Long story, but he found it in my desk drawer.”
“Did he quiz you on it?”
“He did. I came up with a lame excuse, but I doubt he bought it. I don’t trust the guy.” Tom looked at the door before turning to his boss. “You should know he wanted to extort some of it. He even threatened me, saying he would tell if I didn’t give him half of the contents in the container.”
Dick’s eyes widened until they were as big as saucers. “You’re kidding me. Chris wanted some of the lunar material?”
“It shocked me too. I told him no way in hell.”
>
Dick looked out his window over a long, silent beat. He slowly turned back to Tom. “I can’t believe one of my men would seriously consider stealing from NASA. Are you sure he wasn’t joking?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then we do have a problem. I would fire him on the spot, but we can’t risk him telling anyone, and there is no way I am assigning him to a mission now.”
“Well, then you have another problem.”
Dick clenched his jaw. “What’s that?”
“I had to make a deal. I promised I’d talk to you about getting him into the rotation. Otherwise he said he would talk.”
Dick started shaking his head. “I can’t believe this. Man, he had me fooled.”
“You weren’t the only one.”
“How can I assign him to a mission now? I don’t trust the guy.” Dick swiveled his chair and looked back out the window. The soft taps of his fingers bouncing on his desk were the only sounds. Finally, Dick turned with a determined look. “I know what we can do. I just learned how we plan to pass over the stolen material to the Soviets. We’ll announce that a future joint space mission is being considered between the two countries. The plan is for you to meet with some cosmonaut in a neutral country to hype up the idea, and that’s where the transaction will take place. Maybe I’ll tell Chris he will be a part of that mission since I doubt it’ll ever happen.”
“So I’m going to pass the lunar material on directly to a cosmonaut?”
“That’s the plan. Now that you have it in your possession, I should be getting the full details soon.”
“Are you thinking of having Chris join me?”
“What do you think?”
“I think it’s a bad idea. He would have eyes on me the whole time.”
“You’re probably right. But if I assign him to the mission, he might wonder why he isn’t going.”
“I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”
15
A BAD MAN
The metal shopping cart was positioned perfectly up against the station wagon, ensuring it wasn’t going anywhere. Overhead, thick dark clouds had developed, blocking the hot August sun and giving promise of an early afternoon thunderstorm. In an effort to beat the first raindrops, Anne quickly loaded the last few paper bags of groceries into her car’s backseat. Peter was sitting in the cart intently studying his new box of cereal. After the last bag was in, Anne tried to take the box, but Peter stubbornly pulled it away, not wanting to give it up.
Smiling at her four-year-old, Anne realized she needed to be more persuasive. Possibly if she treated him like a helper, he would relinquish it. “Tell you what Peter, how about you help Mommy and you put your cereal in the car.” That seemed to do the trick. Holding on to the box, the boy raised his free arm, looking for assistance out of the cart. Anne reached in, feeling every ounce of the boy’s forty-pound weight as she lifted him. “You are not getting any lighter, young man.” She gently set her son down on the asphalt before pointing toward the backseat. “Now put the cereal inside the car.”
Peter hesitated for a moment.
Anne gave her son a stern look. “Peter.”
The boy abandoned the fight and turned to put the box inside. Anne pushed the cart over to the front of the car before walking back. Peter had set the box on the seat in such a way that he could keep looking at it. Anne tenderly moved her son to the side and picked up the box, placing it in one of the bags. When she closed the door she was shocked to see a pair of arms suddenly trap her against the car. She turned and was surprised to see Chris Riddick, standing inches from her, his arms strategically placed to prevent her from escaping. She kept her composure as she asked coldly, “Can I help you, Chris?”
Chris had an intense stare. “I thought we had a deal.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You promised me you weren’t going to tell Tom about what happened at my place.”
Feeling uncomfortable, Anne pressed an arm against his, signaling she wanted to get free from his entrapment, but Chris wouldn’t budge. She responded strongly, “I didn’t tell Tom anything.”
“You know that was an innocent pass. I was only trying to comfort you. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Anne put her hands on Chris’s chest and attempted to push. But nothing happened. She was getting nervous. “Chris, let me go.”
“You know I caught your husband doing something illegal. I can end his career. Even have him put in jail.”
Having no idea what the man was talking about, Anne questioned if it was even true. She looked Chris directly in the eye. “What are you saying? Are you threatening me?”
“Not exactly, but you can guarantee it will stay a secret.” Chris moved in dangerously close. His breath feathered her lips. “You are so beautiful.”
Turning her face away, Anne pushed back hard against Chris’s chest, trying to break free. “Let me go, Chris.”
Peter cried out, “Let Mommy go.”
Anne saw Peter pulling on Chris’s pants. Chris easily kicked his leg free from the little boy’s grasp. Anne angrily looked up to see a sinister look in Chris’s eyes. He looked determined to kiss her. She had no choice but to attack the man, and she knew exactly where. She took a hold of his shirt with both hands, allowing her to put all of her weight on one foot. She lifted the other, and with all of her might, powered her knee as hard as she could into Chris’s crotch, pulling on his shirt for maximum effect.
Bull’s-eye. Chris instantly dropped his arms as he let out a loud groan, doubling over in pain. Hearing the man cry out brought a sense of satisfaction to Anne as she hurriedly grabbed Peter and tossed him onto the front seat of the car before jumping behind the wheel. She quickly locked the door. Starting up the car, she looked out her window to see Chris still bent over. You deserved that, you bastard.
Anne sped out of the parking lot. When she stopped at a red light, her hands were trembling.
“Are you okay, Mommy?”
Looking over to her little protector, Anne said lovingly, “I am, thanks to you, Son.”
A big smile appeared on Peter’s face.
Placing a hand gently on his leg, Anne squeezed. “You were very brave back there.”
“Was that a bad man, Mommy?”
“Yes, Son. That was a very bad man.”
“WE HAVE A PROBLEM.”
Tom looked across Dick’s desk with concern. “What’s that?”
“I called in Chris earlier today to tell him he would be part of the joint mission with the Soviets. Though he was excited, I was surprised when he still told me about the lunar sample you had.”
Tom couldn’t believe his supposed “friend” had already broken his promise. “Why in the world did he do that?”
“Good question. Maybe he was afraid the canister might be discovered and he could be connected, or he just has issues with you.”
“What did you say?”
“I was caught off guard. I didn’t know what to say. However, the less I said, the more he rambled on. I eventually told him thanks for informing me and to keep it a secret until I was able to look into it.”
Tom started shaking his head. “We can’t trust the guy. Here you offer him an assignment, which proves I’ve talked with you, and he still shoots off his mouth. You’re right. We do have a problem.”
“Well, I think I’ve figured out how to solve it.”
“How?”
“We will…”
Suddenly Dick was cut off by a voice coming out of the desk intercom. “Mr. Stanton, Chris Riddick is here to see you.”
Tom opened his mouth in protest.
Dick put a hand up signaling Tom to sit tight while he pressed the talk button. “Send him in.”
After Dick released the button, Tom wondered what his boss was up to. “Did you request him to your office?”
“I did, but I didn’t expect him so soon.”
“What are we going to say?”
“Don’t worry
, just follow my lead.”
A knock sounded on the door before Riddick opened it. He entered with his usual cocky expression. Once he noticed Tom, Chris hesitated for a moment, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
Dick pointed to the chair. “Welcome, Chris, please close the door and have a seat.”
After slowly shutting the door, Chris narrowed his eyes at Dick as he lowered himself into the chair.
Tom just smiled. He couldn’t imagine what was going through the man’s head.
“Chris, I called you here to discuss the LRL canister you saw in Tom’s possession.”
Tom had no idea where Dick was going and saw by Riddick’s uneasy reaction, neither did he.
“You stumbled onto a covert operation. One which I wasn’t ready to open up to you about this morning.”
Tom looked at Chris. Is Dick actually going to tell him about the operation?
Speaking with confidence, Dick continued, “Management caught wind of someone within the agency who was secretly asking questions about how to acquire lunar material. There was concern this person might be looking to steal some. After further investigation it was learned an international buyer had been lined up. Because of the seriousness of the crime, the CIA was called in. Tom was recruited as part of a sting operation.”
Chris’s mouth was agape as he looked over at Tom.
Mashing his lips together, Tom did his best to keep a straight face as he nodded toward Chris.
“Tom was in the process of passing over the LRL canister to the individual when you found it.”
Chris leaned forward. “Who’s the guy?”
“That’s information you don’t need to know.”
Chris nodded acceptance.
“You should know that the canister was empty. It was set up to look official to convince the suspect.” Dick leaned back in his chair. “I’m telling you this only because I just heard some very disturbing news. I was informed earlier today after assigning you to the Apollo/Soyuz mission that you may have tried to steal some of that lunar material.”
Chris slumped deep into his chair, glaring toward Tom.
Not acknowledging the stare, Tom hoped Dick wasn’t giving up his informant.
USSR Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 3) Page 15