Lots of people.
Doctor Elliot checked the monitor. “The subject is under. We are ready to begin the procedure.”
Smith lay upside down, his head surrounded by a halo of steel rods and tubes. The base of his spine was shaved bare of what little snow-white hair remained. Eric watched as a computer-controlled probes touched the bare skin.
“We’re going to begin by making an incision,” Doctor Elliot said. “We’ll use a small core drill to drill into the bottom of the skull. Once we have our entry, the computer will insert the probes into the brain. Then, we will connect the wires to the controller and place the controller under the skin.”
Nancy cringed and he could only imagine what was going through her head. Then again, she’s not like most women. She might not feel concern. It could just be rage.
She finally spoke. “Continue, Doctor.”
Elliot flinched. “I want it recorded that I’m doing this under protest.”
“Duly noted,” Nancy said. “You may proceed.”
Eric shuddered as the computer activated the probes. The surgery began and the minutes slowly ticked by.
The probes finally completed their job and Doctor Elliot delicately stitched up the small incision at the back of the Old Man’s neck. Elliot stopped and turned to Doctor Oshensker. “Time to bring him up.”
Oshensker nodded and punched the keyboard of his computer.
Eric watched the monitors as Smith’s vitals began to climb. He also watched Nancy out of the corner of his eye, but she remained motionless, eyes fixated on her father.
“He’s coming to,” Elliot said. He patted Smith on the arm. “Don’t move. Just relax. The procedure was a success. We will unclamp your head and remove your oxygen tube as soon as possible.” He nodded again to Oshensker who keyed a series of commands and the metal rods holding Smith’s head retracted, leaving Smith’s face pressed against the oval face rest. Elliot reached underneath and pulled the tube from Smith’s mouth. It came out long and slimy and Elliot placed it on a metal tray next to the table. “Can you speak?”
Smith raised his head and asked in a rough whisper, “Was the surgery successful?”
“We placed the implant,” Elliot said. “Since you’re not a drooling idiot, I assume we didn’t cause any brain damage. We’ll get you cleaned up and in the recovery room. Then we’ll start with the diagnostic questions to make sure there’s no cognitive decline.”
Smith cleared his throat. “How long… before… you can activate it?”
“Not for several days,” Elliot said. “We need to take it slow, baseline your cognitive function before we activate the stimulator.”
Smith coughed repeatedly, then croaked, “As soon as possible.”
Elliot and Oshensker exchanged glances, then went to work on cleaning Smith up.
Eric turned to Nancy and Barnwell. “I guess the excitement is over.”
Nancy stood. “There is nothing for us to do here. I’m sorry I let my father’s condition impact our work.”
Barnwell placed his hand on Nancy’s arm. “It’s not a bad thing to worry about your father. It means you’re human.”
“It’s only been a couple of hours,” Eric joined in. “I don’t think the world will end because we stepped away for a moment.”
Nancy looked down to Barnwell’s hand on her arm. “We need to get back to work.”
Eric agreed, if for no other reason than his hope that work would distract Nancy from her father’s surgery. “Let’s see what Karen has planned.”
They made their way to the War Room and found Karen in the conference room. She glanced up as they entered. “Good. You’re both here. I have the mission profile.”
Nancy took her seat at the end of the table. “Proceed.”
“Our asset is named Wei Dong. He’s been inside Unit 61398 for almost three years.” A picture of a young Chinese man appeared on the screen. “The Unit has relaxed their security. We now meet him directly instead of using dead drops. We need to ask him about the Unit and see if he knows anything about Palmer’s Red Team plan.”
“Sounds good,” Eric said. “How many team members?”
“Two,” Karen said.
“Send Deion,” Nancy said. “He speaks Mandarin.”
“Done,” Eric said.
“I have something else,” Karen said. “I found a possible link between The Jade Group, the holding company that manufactured the infected IC’s in the cameras from Nashville, and a shell corporation that owns the MV Rising Star. Both companies share an IP address registered to another holding company in Seoul called C-Tec. I can’t break through their firewall, but the business has a physical address.”
“Definitely worth checking out,” Eric said. “Nancy, this might be an opportunity for you to get out in the world and clear your mind.”
Nancy looked as if she might disagree, then nodded her head. “Perhaps you’re right.”
“Would you take John? He needs down time and Korea would be a break from the last week.”
Nancy raised an eyebrow. “Don’t trust me alone?”
“That’s not—”
“Relax,” Nancy said, her mouth quirking up in a smirk. “I was… kidding. I’ll get Frist and we’ll be wheels up in thirty.” She stood and headed for the door. As she opened it, she turned back to Eric and Karen. “Be good,” she said, before closing the door behind her.
He turned to Karen. “Did she make a joke?”
Karen’s mouth was hanging open. “If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. It almost makes her seem… normal.”
“She just watched a computer insert electrodes into her father’s skull. She’s a far cry from normal,” he said. “Look, about that guy, Dean Palmer. I want to read his report and then I want to meet with him.”
“I can get you the report, but a meeting in person? Wait, is that why you sent Nancy to Korea, so you could get back in the field?”
“No,” he said, then thought better of it. “That’s not totally why I sent her to Korea. I do want to meet with Palmer, though, and ask him more about Red Team.”
“You know who could help with that? Valerie Simon. She helped run one of the Red Teams in 2004, before she went to Afghanistan.”
“How do you know that?”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Because I’m good at my job? I know you looked into her after the thing with Nancy in Afghanistan, so I did a little digging of my own. She’s a solid operative.”
He smiled. “I know. I’m thinking of recruiting her.”
That made Karen frown. “What does Deion think about that?”
“Does it matter? The Office could use her. Besides, it’s probably the only chance the two of them have together. You can’t have a normal relationship in this life, not with a civilian. At least with Valerie he stands a chance.”
“You’re starting to remind me of the Old Man. I’ll get a copy of Palmer’s schedule and have a mission plan on your desk in an hour.”
“You can get Palmer’s schedule in one hour?”
She laughed, a hearty guffaw that shook her ample chest. “I’m not Dewey, boss, but I have my moments.”
Smith opened his eyes. He was in his quarters, lying in bed, and Hobert sat in a chair next to his bed. “Checking on my well-being?”
Hobert snorted. “You’re a damned old fool. I could almost strangle you.”
He was still light-headed from the anesthesia, and the room spun as he attempted to sit up. “Nathan said I was fine.”