Adrik was convinced that it was his professional responsibility to get to the bottom of this UFO sighting. In line with his restriction to overt activities only, he phoned up Ted Siegel, a retired newspaper reporter who consulted as a private investigator in his retirement. “I want you to dig a little deeper into this UFO sighting for me. Find people who actually saw it and interview them. Talk to shop keepers and anybody else you can find who knows somebody who knows somebody else who saw it.”
“I get it,” replied Ted, “you just want to know what’s going on. That’s right up my street. Give me a couple of days!”
When Ted came back with his report later that week, Adrik was astounded. Enough people had seen the object going up and coming down from different angles that he was able to triangulate with very little error that it had originated from a new helicopter technology company called Electrolev in Long Beach. Ted had even spoken to people in bars who were family members of Electrolev employees and who confirmed that some kind of important test flight had taken place at Electrolev that day. Adrik was now even more intrigued. If new helicopter technology was afoot then it was seriously his responsibility to make sure that everything known about it was recorded. It took Ted just another day to come back with the names of the principals of the company – John Sykes, Judy Chen, Tony Shepard, Steve Harmann and their biographies. There was a public record of the investment in Electrolev by Jones, Cohen and Brown. A loose tongued relative of an employee had confirmed that Electrolev had flying vehicles of some kind on the premises.
Adrik took a drive around Long Beach and looked at the Electrolev plant, photographing it from all directions. He rented a helicopter and paid to have it fly over Electrolev so he could take photographs of the place from the air. The next morning he reported to his boss back in Moscow: “There is apparently a new aerospace company formed in Long Beach to make helicopters. They made a test flight last week over the city of Long Beach which demonstrated that their prototype is completely silent. This could represent an important break through in helicopter technology.”
His boss was frighteningly intense: “A silent helicopter? This could have devastating implications on the battlefield! I need evidence at once! Use Igor, do you understand?”
Adrik was a highly educated young man with a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Moscow. He was the one who could know what was or was not new technology, but he was limited to overt intelligence gathering. For everything else there was Igor. Igor had the job description of cleaner and handyman for the consulate. However he had a skill set which covered the full range of covert intelligence gathering activities, and it was for special missions like this that he was employed, so that diplomats like Adrik did not have to dirty their hands or risk doing anything illegal.
Adrik sat down and explained the situation to Igor, who was a squat man about five foot five inches tall, with a swarthy complexion and thick black hair. He made a strange companion to Adrik who was six feet tall and had light brown hair and a graceful frame that had won him many prizes in college athletics. “That’s easy,” responded Igor. “Tomorrow night I will procure a false ID and rent a truck. I will first sneak into the building and explore it while you wait outside. If I can find anything resembling a flying vehicle then I will take lots of pictures of it. If it seems small enough to lift we will quickly open the gate, go in and load it onto our truck, and take it off to a storage shed that I have down near the port of LA. By tomorrow you will have all the evidence you need. Obviously we must not be recorded. I know how to disable security systems and cameras, but just in case we will take firearms. Nobody who sees our faces can be allowed to live!”
Adrik gulped at this thought. He was a gentle person, deeply in love with his fiancé Lara who he went back to see in Moscow every three months. He was a recent graduate who had only had this assignment for a year and the thought of killing somebody just to find out about new helicopter technology shook him. He protested to Igor, who came back with: “Our boss uses code words, Adrik. When he says I must have evidence, use Igor, this is exactly what he means. In our line of business we simply do what we have to do and don’t think about it.”
Chapter 21
A few days after normal shifts had resumed, Hippy was sitting flipping through newspapers at the reception desk at around 9.30 p.m. when he thought that he heard a tiny sound. Since he was pretty stiff from sitting still so long anyway, he picked up his Nextel and called in to his dispatcher: “14 to base – I’m going on patrol now.” With that he picked up his giant metal flashlight and slowly started his routine tour of the premises. Most of the office area could be seen at a glance from near the reception, and that was obviously all quiet. He knew that some nights Tony Shepard was likely to be working in his office until late in the night, but he was not there now. Then in the computer room opposite the offices of John Sykes and Tony Shepard the backup tape drives were likely to be whining and whirring on and off all by themselves through the night. Moving across the office area, he opened a door which led out into the large laboratory and workshop where parts were constructed and some quite large contraptions, about which he had no clue, were to be found. The warehouse area had dim lights kept on all through the night which facilitated his inspections. Suddenly he was shocked because one of the big rollup doors from the warehouse out into the yard was open. He had been round all these areas soon after all the employees had left and he knew full well that this door was closed at that time. Then in the darkness of the yard he was suddenly able to see two men, wearing dark clothes, pushing one of the pieces of equipment which was on wheels, out towards a flat bed truck which certainly did not belong in that yard.
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, and hastily closed the office area door behind him so that the light did not attract attention. He then pulled out his Nextel and said in a hushed voice: “14 to base. Burglary in progress at Electrolev premises. Police needed immediately.”
“Roger that,” said the dispatcher. There was a moment’s silence while Hippy watched the men struggling to load the machine onto the back of their truck. Evidently it was heavy and they were struggling mightily, first lifting up one corner, then the next, and then concentrating their effort on picking up the opposite end. “Number 14: police are on their way,” said the dispatcher.
Officer Roger Peterson was patrolling Pacific Coast Highway in his cruiser. He was a ten year veteran of the Long Beach police department and was musing about why he was staying in the department because of the hassle he sometimes got from his bullying sergeant. The problem was that if he moved to another police department he would lose all the pension rights that he had accumulated. Because of that he stayed. His call sign was 7 Mary 3. Suddenly the dispatcher came on the radio: “Seven Mary 3 from dispatch - burglary in progress at Electrolev, number 430 Pacific Avenue. Backup is also en route.”
Officer Sam Prentice had the call sign 7 David 12. He was patrolling Pacific Boulevard and thinking about the fact that his shift was due to end in two hours. He would not get much sleep that night because he had committed to an early shift the next morning in order to help out another police officer who needed time in the morning for a school meeting. Sam’s wife was a registered nurse and they had two pre-school children who would be tucked up safely in bed when he got home. Suddenly he heard dispatch call: “7 David 12: burglary in progress at 430 Pacific Avenue. You are backing up 7 Mary 3.”
Sam knew that 7 Mary 3 was the call sign for Roger Peterson who he knew well; they had attended a police family barbecue together on the last July 4th with their families. Sam gunned his cruiser, knowing that he could get to that location in less than one minute. He turned on his flashing lights but not his siren, so as to increase his chances of making an arrest. As soon as he got to 430 Pacific Avenue his practiced eye saw a big gate for freight trucks wide open, with a severed chain hanging limply through the links – an obvious victim of a bolt cutter. Inside the yard he could see a white flatbed
truck parked, facing the gate. Following standard procedure, Sam parked his cruiser right across the gateway to prevent anybody from driving out of the premises. He picked up his microphone: “7 David 12 10-23.”
“10-4,” came the terse reply. Over his shoulder he could see the flashing lights which he knew to be Roger hurtling towards the same scene from the other direction. Pulling out his 9mm Beretta service weapon, Sam leaped out of his car and strode briskly into the yard, flashlight in one hand and gun in the other. He heard Roger’s cruiser screeching to a halt behind his. Suddenly he saw men behind the flatbed truck working with some kind of machinery. “Long Beach Police department – put your hands in the air and face away from the sound of my voice!” he commanded. Suddenly he was overcome by an overwhelming pain in his chest and he was on the ground. He did not instantly realize that he had just been shot.
Roger got out of his cruiser and the first thing he heard was a gunshot and then he saw Sam collapsing on the ground. Since the intruders did not know yet that he was there, Roger leaped towards Sam’s cruiser for protection. Long Beach police cars had ballistic shields in their doors and this was one of the safer places to be in such an emergency. He sat himself in the driver’s seat. In this position his whole body was protected behind the bullet proof door. He pointed his Beretta out between the open door and the body frame. He heard the engine in the truck roar to life, and the truck started accelerating towards him. Since this was clearly a life threatening situation, Roger started shooting at the windshield of the truck, which he could dimly make out above the glaring headlights. He fired four rounds but it made no difference. In three seconds the truck slammed broadside into the police cruiser, thrusting it to one side and across the street with a tremendous crash and screeching noise as the wheels of the cruiser were pushed sideways across the street. The truck took off towards Pacific Coast Highway. Despite all his training, Roger was so stunned by the impact that he did not even get the license plate number.
Moments later Hippy came rushing across. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Roger was hurting from all kinds of places but he seemed to be functioning. “Probably,” he responded. “Give me a second,” Then he grabbed the radio microphone in Sam’s cruiser and called in to dispatch. “7 Mary 3 to dispatch. Officer down. Roll an ambulance to my location and send me backup. Two unknown suspects in a white flat bed truck – unknown make or model traveling northbound on Pacific Avenue towards PCH.” Then he leaped out of the car, and ran towards the fallen body of Sam Prentice.
Chapter 22
As the next morning dawned, police were blocking off Pacific Avenue at the two adjacent crossroads, and had draped yellow crime scene tapes across the driveway of Electrolev. Steve Harman was in the yard talking with Lieutenant Witham of the Long Beach police, while other officers prowled around the yard and the street looking for clues. “What is produced at Electrolev?” asked Witham.
“We make technology for helicopters,” said Steve without hesitation. He pointed at the slightly battered structure of Charlotte which was still in the middle of the yard where it was dumped unceremoniously on its end when the burglars dropped it. “This is one of our most secret prototype products, and I am sure those crooks were trying to get off with it.”
Witham looked suspiciously around, which was actually his habitual manner but was very unnerving to people he interviewed. “These were probably not your regular petty thieves trying to get money for drugs. We have already ascertained that they were wearing latex gloves so that they did not leave fingerprints. And to try and immediately shoot their way out without making any attempt to run elevates this to a much more serious level of crime. How valuable was the machine they were trying to steal?”
Steve thought inwardly 8 billion dollars but instead he replied: “It has no commercial value. It’s just a laboratory prototype. I think that they were trying to steal technology know-how from us.
“How is the police officer who was shot?”
“He is in critical condition in hospital. Look, I think that you people need to seriously upgrade your security if you are attracting this kind of attention. You could put in some really strong steel doors at the gates and more razor wire over the tops of the courtyard walls.”
Steve nodded his head thoughtfully. “You’re right, I’ll get on to it this morning.”
Later when the staff came in, Steve held a meeting in the conference room with John, Judy and Tony. He told them what he knew about the events of the previous night, which had already been described factually on the Channel Seven news. “I am going to upgrade our security one level,” said Steve. “There will be a steel gate across the front door with a camera and a remote control so that the receptionist can buzz people in from inside. Then I am going to have steel bars installed inside all the windows. The outside gates will be replaced with heavy steel ones operated by automatic motors, and we will have more razor wire put along the tops of the courtyard walls.”
Tony replied: “After what happened last night nobody is going to question all that! How about some internal motion sensors and TV cameras? That kind of technology is quite cheap these days.”
Steve nodded approvingly. “That’s a good idea! We can have monitors for all the cameras at the receptionist desk, and the motion detector status panel can be placed there as well. That way the guard knows instantly if anything moves in the place. By the way, was Charlotte harmed much by her ordeal?”
John answered: “She seems to be dinged about a bit and looks wretched in places, but we can probably have her fixed up in a couple of days. Right now we are using her as a test bed for fixing the angular stability control – you know the problem that Judy drew to our attention on the first outdoor test flight.”
Tony looked briefly at the others, and then said: “Can we change the subject now?” The others nodded patiently, looking wonderingly at Tony, who continued: “Our patent attorney received a letter from the United States Patent Office this morning. Everybody knows that they will not accept patent applications for perpetual motion machines without a demonstration – that’s pretty obvious because nobody has ever made a perpetual motion machine. What neither our attorney nor it seems anybody else knew is that they have a similar rule for levitation devices. So what they are asking is that we come over to Washington and prove to them that it actually works!”
John immediately came back with: “How about you and I taking one of the Annette prototypes over there and just show them. One demo will convince the bastards!”
Tony felt instinctively that this was not the greatest idea. “I think that the fewer people who know about this technology the safer we are,” he said. “If we take one of the Annettes over to Washington there is always a chance of it getting lost. If we are successful then there are going to be maybe ten more people who know what the true nature of our technology is.”
“That’s a really good point,” responded John. “but I think that we ought to play by the rules. Surely the patent examiners are sworn to secrecy about these things? I want us to go and convince them. The value of the company is going to hinge upon the patents which it owns, and this one is the most fundamental one of all. In any case we intend to use submarine patent techniques to stop the patents from actually issuing until we are ready. With all the improvements we are making every day, like the stabilization loop techniques and the methods for assembling anticoils, we are going to have no trouble at all in keeping a stream of continuation patents going.”
The others nodded reluctantly. Responsibility of the kind they were having thrust upon them meant making decisions without having complete knowledge of the situation, and this was stressful to all of them. John however seemed to be growing in stature and authority as he warmed to the role of president of Electrolev. The others had noticed that he walked in a more upright manner and seemed to have greater confidence as each day went by. By contrast Tony and Judy seemed to be more involved with each other as the weeks went by, and would spend hou
rs talking over the minute details of anticoil technology. Although nobody discussed it openly, almost everybody imagined that the pair of them were living together most of the time, especially since they would turn up in the same car on some mornings and then leave together as well. As her relationship with Tony had grown, Judy had become more stylish and assertively feminine compared to her previous demeanor at Lighting Enterprises. She had achieved for herself a reputation for intuitively anticipating problems. Her influence had grown especially after she almost predicted the fiery crash of Barbara.
Judy sat up straight in her chair and looked around at the others. “I have concern that we ought to discuss here and now. Our business plan hinges around making replacement for helicopters. But in our discussions in the last few days it is clear that you all believe as I do that the anticoils will work outside the earth’s atmosphere – in space. This gives different dimension to things. The space shuttle is obsolete, spy satellites are obsolete. Every kind of satellite is obsolete because LeviStar vehicle with solar panels could hover say, 50 miles up indefinitely. It could be brought down for servicing when you wanted. So this thing has international geopolitical ramifications!” She paused, momentarily self conscious at using such long words. As Judy and Tony had become closer, Judy had taken to wearing increasingly sexy clothes, and today she had on a tight black sweater which emphasized her considerable curves to perfection, especially when she sat up straight as she did at this moment.
A Disruptive Invention Page 10