Ethan Berenson, the code-breaker Joseph had sent to spy on Groom Lake, hadn’t provided anything useful of late. If there was something going on in the Mojave, Joseph had yet to know about it. He would call Berenson back to Fort Meade and have him fired on the pretext that no such trip was ever authorised. Müller had always been a strong advocate against the personal misuse of hard-earned tax-payer’s money.
James was in his office early the next morning reviewing Kubacki’s deciphered document that Emily had sent through Shred-It the night before. He was extremely proud of her efforts in cracking the illustrations. In fact, he was proud of his entire team. They always came through, no matter what.
Beyond his area of expertise, James understood very little of what these instructions on creating an inertial engine were all about. James had absolutely no clear opinion as to the authenticity of the technology described. He hoped Uri Lovinescu had more insight.
Shortly after nine, Monica, James’s executive assistant, popped her head in the door. “Morning, JW. I have a somewhat distraught looking lady outside waiting to see you. Your calendar is empty for the next few hours. Do you have some time available now?”
James leaned slightly forward over his desk and peeked outside the office door towards the reception area’s visitor chairs. What was Yvonne Baird doing in Manhattan and here at SkyTech? he wondered.
“Please, send her right in,” James said.
Monica was back a moment later. “She said she would rather talk out in the foyer, if you didn’t mind.”
“Looks like I don’t have a choice,” James said, a little amused. He stood up and walked around his desk through the door.
Yvonne quickly scrutinised James from top to bottom.
“Miss Baird,” James said, reaching for her outstretched hand which was damp with nervous perspiration.
“Mr. Clark,” she said softly, looking left, then right. “I see you’re not wearing a suit jacket.”
James chuckled. “Yes. As chief exec of my own company, I afford myself certain flexibilities as to how I choose to dress.”
Yvonne blushed. “Mr. Clark, I’m so sorry. That’s not what I meant at all.” She came straight out with it. “While you were with Trish LaForgue at our local office, a listening device was slipped into your suit jacket.”
“That particular suit is due for the cleaners tomorrow.” James looked at her with uneasiness. “I think we should talk privately in my office.” He ushered her in and closed the door.
James sat down on the Chesterfield and invited Yvonne to make herself comfortable in one of the armchairs.
“Care to explain, Miss Baird.”
“Please, call me Yvonne.”
“And I’m James,” he said. “Have you been offered some refreshment?”
“Yes, but nothing for me, thanks.”
For a few seconds, James looked directly into her intelligent brown eyes. She didn’t drop them. Unlike LaForgue, he sensed a deep-seated honesty in Yvonne.
“So,” James said. “What’s this all about?”
“Mr. Clark, er, James, I’m in a very awkward situation,” she said, nervously. “I don’t know if you can help, or are even in a position to, but right now I don’t know where else to turn.”
James detected an almost pleading note in her voice. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”
“It has to do with the transmission SkyTech was asked to decipher. I don’t know how far you’ve progressed with that as I’m now completely out of the picture. Trish LaForgue has taken complete control, and I’ve been handed my hat, so to speak.”
James didn’t have the least bit of prejudice towards Yvonne but didn’t know how seriously to take LaForgue’s directive not to discuss this with anyone else. Should he also heed Uri’s warning about not getting on the wrong side of LaForgue?
“You want me to help you get back on the team?” James asked.
“No, nothing like that at all,” she said, shaking her head.
“Then I must apologise, Yvonne. I’m at a bit of a loss. What is it that you need from me?”
“You probably know that I work directly for Joseph Müller,” she said, looking even more distraught. “He’s a cruel and vindictive man.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that he’s a piece of work,” James responded, contemptuously.
“Under threat of losing my job, he wants me to get hold of the contents of the transmission, once deciphered, and to make sure that he gets it.”
“I’m not sure I can do that.”
“There’s more,” she said. “Müller suspects that there’s some sort of operation going on in the Mojave. Problem is, that I know of no such thing, and I’m expected to provide details.”
James said nothing for a moment, and then decided to follow his gut. Yvonne Baird was someone he could probably entrust with sensitive information.
“We’re at a loss ourselves as to what’s actually going on there,” James said. “But we do suspect it’s more than a convoluted transmission sent from the middle of nowhere.”
“There is definitely something happening,” she said with conviction. “I had exactly the same ultimatum from Angelo Cevallos.”
James saw her eyes moisten. “Cevallos?”
Chapter Forty-Three
“Angelo Cevallos,” Yvonne repeated. “He’s a mobster running a number of gambling halls in Las Vegas, and… and the father of my two young girls. I’ll never see them again if I don’t meet with his demands.”
James reached over to a box of tissues and handed her one.
“Thank you,” she said, dabbing her eyes.
James thought about this for a moment. “Do either Müller or Cevallos know about each other’s demands?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
James suspected there was something else. “If you don’t mind me asking, what hold has Müller got over you?”
“Theft,” she said, without a moment’s hesitation. “I took a handful of stir-sticks out the lunch room. You know the ones that look like little drinking straws. My girls like them.”
Shit, James thought. Müller really was a piece of work. “And he played it for all that it was worth, I imagine.”
“Yes,” Yvonne said, teary-eyed again. “If he reports it to HR, I’ll never get another job in any of the security departments again. Knowing Müller, he’ll probably ensure I’m prosecuted.”
Stir-sticks? James couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Yvonne dropped her head. “If I meet with Müller’s demands, I don’t see my girls again. Giving in to Angelo, I end up without a job, or worse.”
“Yvonne,” James said, steadily. “I won’t go into too much detail now, but there is definitely something buried under the location of where that transmission came from, and I suspect that Cevallos is probably the only one who has an idea of what it is.” James had his suspicions on one other but kept it to himself for now◦– LaForgue.
Her face lit up. “Did you find the exact spot?”
“Yes. And nearly did ourselves in. The place was heavily land-mined.”
Yvonne’s hand covered her mouth in alarm.
James smiled. “Well, as you can see, no damage was done.”
“Was SkyTech able to decipher the communication?”
“Yes,” he said. “But it wasn’t a communication at all.”
“Oh?”
“A documented solution to inertial propulsion,” James said. “But no one here at SkyTech can validate if it’s genuine or not.”
“Sorry, that means nothing to me,” she said, shaking her head.
They sat in silence for a minute.
“Do you have any suggestions what I should do about either Müller or Angelo? I’m desperate.”
“Does Müller know that you’re here?”