The 22nd Secret Read online

“Pam, I read your thesis. We all did. It’s brilliant. You want to sit here on the porch and talk for a while.”

  “You read it? How? When?” She looked straight into Howard’s eyes. Howard felt her in his mind then quickly looked out to the hills. The truth was that he didn’t care where they were. He wanted her to feel at home. “Let’s sit on the swing,” Pam said.

  She walked down the steps. Howard followed her up a path to the right of the house, toward a huge oak tree with a swing hung by chains.

  They swung for a few minutes, enjoying the beautiful day before Pam asked. “So you read my thesis. How’d you get it? And why?”

  “Seems your Dr. Peterson couldn’t make sense of what you were theorizing, but he knew your brilliant academic background. So before he rejected your work outright he contacted a professor he had during his graduate work at Berkeley, a Professor Weiker. He sent your work to him for his opinion. You might say Weiker is an associate of mine. He understood your work immediately. He called me. We discussed it and agreed on what we had to do. He called Peterson and gave him ten reasons why your work was poppycock. Then suggested he give all the copies back to you and tell you to come up with a thesis that was theoretically conceivable, not some fantasy hogwash.”

  “That’s exactly what happened.” Pam said.

  “Good. I would like to have those copies if you still have them. Anyway, we do have an intern program at Los Alamos for grad students. I quickly sent you an invitation and made arrangements to come here.”

  “I don’t get it. If my theory was sound, why did you and this Weiker do this to me?”

  “Pam, you ever think about a practical use for your theory. Say it works and you sell it to Microsoft? What would they do with it?"

  “Well, I never really thought about it. I mean, I wasn’t really sure it would work and then to create practical interfaces, then applications. I guess I thought it would revolutionize computing. I mean, you could have entire libraries and more in a device the size of your watch.”

  “Pam, you know what stealth is, in a military context?”

  “Yeah, sure it’s the ability to evade detection.” Pam paused. She stared out into the Idaho countryside. After a moment her face sprang to life. “Oh my god, my theory works. You have it and it’s a military secret.” Pam stood up and faced Howard quickly grasping the magnitude of this situation. “With that you could invade anything. They say the wars of the future are going to be fought in cyberspace. What a weapon! You have it and you’re using it as a weapon. With something like this you could invade the privacy of every American, anyone or anything, anywhere.”

  “Sit down, Pam. You’re very brilliant to have deduced all that so quickly. In one way, I’m very sad for you. I wish there was a way I could say this is your choice, what you do with yourself for the rest of your life. But not to sound overly dramatic, you know too much. You just can’t go on and pretend this hasn’t happened. The only way for you now is join us.”

  “You mean, I go with you to Los Alamos or…that’s what Mr. Lo is here for.”

  “I wish it was that simple. Think about what’s happened already today. You and your parents knew nothing this morning, right? Now your parents know the government wants you, and you know your thesis is the most highly guarded military secret of the 21st century. Outside of the President, a dozen or so other people, and now Pamela Koller, nobody knows anything about any of this. You’re very brilliant, Pam. What would you do if you were me?”

  “You could have left us alone. You said yourself we knew nothing,” Pam said quietly, already knowing why this could never be.

  “That’s right. I could have but I couldn’t let your thesis be published. You agree with that?” Pam was looking down at the ground. She gave a slight nod. She had already concluded what Howard was about to explain. “So I let you think your theory was nonsense. You wouldn’t even care who got their hands on it then. Maybe you meet someone someday years from now, and they’re willing to help you explore your ideas. But none of that’s really the reason I’m here.” Howard turned to her and made sure he made eye contact before speaking. “Pam, your country needs you desperately. I hope you understand, I can’t tell you everything. I told you and your parents the more any of you know about this the worse it gets. I hope you see that now.

  The soft summer breeze rustled the leaves overhead. “Look, it took three of the greatest minds in the country years to come up with what you have in that paper. Oh, sure. We’ve developed it further and some of your ideas aren’t quite right. That’s why we need your help. I believe you could advance us decades in just a few years. What we saw in that paper.” He paused again and shook his head. “It was a miracle.”

  “Suppose I don’t want to help the government?”

  “I think you’re smarter than that. I think you already know if you come to Los Alamos, with what we already have, you could help change the world.”

  “Change the world for the military.” Pam stared into the grass.

  Howard spoke with sympathy. “Most technology starts as a military secret. Then someone comes up with something new and the old moves into the public sector. The first computers were used to aim cannons during World War II. If the people then thought they weren’t going to use their ideas for the military then maybe there’d be no computers. Who knows? Pam, you figure it out. I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you this is your chance to work at a level that will truly challenge you. And as fantastic as this may sound, changing the world, you could make a real impact on the future of the human race. I think you’ve already figured all this out.”

  “You’re right. I have figured it out. I know I have two choices. Go with you willingly or find out why Mr. Lo is here with you.”

  “I’m sorry, Pam. Please don’t look at it that way. This is not a situation I want or enjoy.”

  “I’m just sad for my parents. How much of this can I explain to them?”

  “The truth about your thesis, you already know you can’t even tell them that much. Pam, I’ve been in this business a long time. I’m hoping you’ll be my protégé. Let me give you some advice. Soon you’ll be glad your parents don’t know anything about what you do. You’ll become weary of the secrets, the security and the constant surveillance. Hank’s here watching me, making sure nothing happens to me, as much as he’s here for you. You asked why Hank and I aren’t using our real names. You won’t either. If you come to Los Alamos with me, what wonderful opportunities you’ll have. Money won’t be an issue. Anything you want for your research will be provided and you personally can have anything you want. Believe me, we’ll make you happy. I’ll see to that. You’ll want to come home and you can as often as you want. Private Air Force jet, and when you do come home you’ll want to be just Pam, not an ultra-high level government researcher working programs so classified they officially don’t exist. And when you’re at work, you don’t what to run the risk of anyone finding out about your private life. I have a private life. So does Hank.”

  “I’ll really make a difference? I mean the future; I’ll change it.” She looked up at Howard. “That’s important to me. I’ll make a real contribution.”

  “Without a doubt I believe an Einsteinian contribution.”

  “And I’ll make lots of money. There’ll be intrigue, espionage that kind of thing.” Pam’s voice reflected the excitement she felt about the opportunity that lay ahead of her.

  Howard chuckled. “Yes, lots of money. I don’t know about excitement, but maybe someday.”

  “I can fly in private jets and have my own car?”

  “Anything you want, Pam.”

  “You’re offering me one of the greatest job opportunities in the world, aren’t you? Like I’m going to be up there in the government. Like the President. Important like that?”

  “Some would say more important, at least to the future.”

  “I’ll do it. I’ll take the job, Dr. Woolum.” Pam shook Howard’s hand.

  “Pam, th
ere may be considerable danger. Not right away but maybe someday. You’re just starting out. You never know where things may lead and Pam. This is very serious. You must understand this. Once you’re in, once you know everything, you can never leave. There’s nowhere to go. What’s in our heads belongs to the government and they want it secure and protected. The only place you can go is here, your parent’s house. They give each of us somewhere like this. They’ll leave you alone here.”

  “Will I become a spy? That’s what Henry is, isn’t he?”

  “Just one difference, Pam, this is real, deadly real.”

  “When do I start?” Pam stood up. “I’d like to spend some time with my mother.”

  “Hank and I will fly back to Los Alamos tomorrow.” Howard stood. “He’ll come back in one week to get you. Pam, from now on, wherever you are they’ll be someone nearby. You won’t see them. They won’t bother you. They won’t even know who you really are. Hank will give you a watch like this one.” Howard showed Pam his wrist watch. “But for a lady. You can pick your own style later. You’ll be able to signal for help but you won’t need to.”

  “This like some kind of secret spy watch?” Pam grabbed Howard’s arm and looked at the watch. It looked like a typical analog watch.

  “You’re the one said you could put a whole library in there.” Howard smiled. “It’s the interface that’s tricky. You’re going to help me with that. You can tell your mother you can come back to visit every few weeks.”

  “It’s almost dinner time. Would you and Hank like to stay for dinner? Wait, should I call him Hank?”

  “His close friends call him Hank. I’m sure he’ll expect you to.”

  “My Mom really likes to cook. It will make both my parents feel more at ease. We can explain about how important my work will be and that its best kept secret.”

  Pam stood up from the swing, absorbing everything at once. “I’ll make lots of money and can come to visit all the time. Take them on vacations. I can tell them that, right?”

  “We’d love to stay for dinner. I think it’s a wonderful way to talk with your parents about all this. Just be careful what you say. Don’t be very specific and don’t mention the thesis. I think it would be wise for me to take any copies you have with me.”

  “I’m sure you’re right about that. I’ll figure out how I can sneak them to you. As far as letting something slip, if you think I’m saying the wrong thing just give me a quick thought. I’ll pick it up.

  I’m sure you will, Howard thought.

  “I’m going to surprise you, Dr. Woolum. “Maybe you’ll be my protégé.”

  Howard laughed. “Maybe,” he said. He knew it was very possible.

  “Come on. Let’s tell my dad I’m going to get him a new truck.”

  Pam ran off toward the house. Howard stood wondering how much she had learned during the conversation. He ambled to the house, grateful she was recruited to his side. He wondered if the other sides also had people like this.

  A week later Henry returned to the farmhouse in another rented car. He loaded the new luggage Pam’s parents had bought her as a going away gift, while Pam hugged her parents and said goodbye. Hilda Koller cried the entire time. Henry opened the car door. Pam Koller climbed inside, Patty Lawrence sat down.

  Chapter Four

  Berkeley

  March, the year of the crash

  Henry Lo surveyed the occupants of the restaurant while walking up to the bar. The restaurant was popular with locals around San Francisco’s Chinatown. It was often used by the mafia as neutral ground. Most customers paid little attention to the large Chinese-American man as he sidled up to the bar, but four men at one table eyed him cautiously. The table was in the far corner of the dining room. There were three empty chairs with empty dinner plates, meaning that Tino had two men with him. The old Chinese lady that tended the bar nodded politely when Henry spoke to her in Chinese. She escorted him down a hallway to one of the private dining rooms. She opened the door and Henry bowed. He walked in and she closed the door. It was a small room just big enough for a table that sat four and a side table for serving. There were no windows. Two tiny wall sconces offered dim light. The shadowy room had mahogany wainscoting and burgundy wallpaper, the same décor it had for fifty years, maybe longer.

  Tino sat facing the door. A young man dressed in a black suit stood behind him and slightly to his right. Another young man appeared from behind the door, visible to Henry only after the old lady closed it. A frightening silence filled the room. Each man was armed. Each man was a killer.

  “Mr. Cassioppi,” Henry said “I thought we were to have a private meeting?” He walked to the table and stood across from where Tino sat. The man standing behind the door followed and stood facing Henry.

  “So you’re Henry Lo,” Tino said. “What’s in the briefcase? You carrying a gun? Check him see if he has an ID, Frankie. I want to see a real CIA ID.”

  Henry watched the man next to him out of the corner of his eye. He recognized the arrogant smile on the young man’s face for what it was. He was a cocky little punk. So was the one behind Tino. Henry’s peripheral vision, strength, and amazing quickness kept him alive during his youth in Chinatown, his three stints with the Marines in Vietnam, and twenty years with the CIA. This would be over before any of the other three men in the room realized it started.

  Henry slowly raised the briefcase as if to set it on the table. The three other men in the room relaxed, assuming he would turn to submit to Frankie’s shakedown. Henry watched as the eyes of all three men followed the briefcase. Suddenly, Henry threw it directly at the face of the man standing behind Tino. With the same movement, Henry fired a forearm shiver to the nose of the grinning man just to his left. By the time the man behind Tino caught the briefcase instinctively, Henry’s right hand slipped in the left side of Frankie’s jacket. Blood began to pool at the base of Frankie’s nostrils. His knees began to buckle. Henry’s right hand grabbed the handle of the gun in Frankie’s jacket. He pulled it out at the same instant he raised his left hand to catch the wild right hand Frankie heaved toward him. Tino rose from his chair and went for his gun. The young man behind Tino threw the briefcase across the room, slamming it against the side table. He reached behind his back into his waistband for his gun.

  Three seconds had elapsed. Somebody’s world was about to collapse. All four men froze. Tino and the man standing next to him gripped the butts of their still holstered guns. Frankie grimaced. Henry’s left hand had a firm grip on the man’s broken right hand. Henry’s right hand held Frankie’s gun squarely pointed at Tino’s forehead.

  “Nobody move.” Henry whispered. “Get your hands out where I can see them.” He squeezed Frankie’s hand. The sound of cracking bones made Tino’s hands tingle as they held them palm up in front of them. Frankie held the wrist attached to his captured hand with his other hand, squirming against the pain.

  “You make a sound and I’ll crush every bone in your hand. I want a private meeting with just you, Tino. Otherwise, I’m going to have to fight my way out of here. I figure I got a thirty percent chance. You three got zero. What’s it going to be?”

  “What do you want with me? You’re from Los Alamos. That means this has something to do with the military. We don’t deal in treason. You know that.”

  “You deal with the Chinese and, with their help, what I got will make you and me billions. Get rid of these idiots and let’s talk.” Henry squeezed Frankie’s hand as hard as he could. The sound of breaking bones was followed by a scream of agony as Frankie fell to his knees. With the quickness and grace of a cat Henry was behind him, still looking cold-eyed at Tino, with the gun trained on his forehead. He wrapped his free arm around Frankie’s neck picked him up and dragged him to a corner of the room as Frankie held his crushed and bleeding hand.

  “You got maybe five seconds to decide,” Henry said, using Frankie’s limp body as a shield. “Your men heard the scream. When this door opens, you better make the right de
cision or I’m in a hell of a mess and you’re dead.”

  The door suddenly flew open. One of Tino’s men burst into the room. He froze at the sight of Tino and his partner, standing with raised hands. He froze and swiveled his head surveying the room.

  “Don’t move,” Tino said calmly. “Don’t anyone move a muscle. Mr. Lo and I are going to have a private meeting now. Mr. Lo, how would you like us to proceed from this point?”

  “Tell your men to go back to their table in the main dining room and don’t try anything stupid. Leave us alone till they see you come out.”

  “You heard him. Get out and stay out,” Tino ordered. The man slowly backed out of the room and closed the door.

  “Now what?” he asked.

  “Tell that guy to pick up my briefcase and carefully put it on the table.”

  “Do it.” Tino nodded and the man did so.

  “Now tell him to come over here and get Frankie and help him out of here.” Henry never took the gun or his cold stare off Tino. The man put his arm around Frankie and opened the door. “Tell your friends I’m keeping Frankie’s gun, just to make sure you stay away from me.”

  “Yes, sir.” Frankie and the man walked out of the room and the door closed behind them.

  “Sit over here,” Henry said. He held the gun perfectly still. Tino kept both arms raised and stared at Henry, who gestured with the gun toward the chair closest to the door. Tino quickly sat down. Henry walked around the table and sat across from Tino, then softly set the gun down by his right hand. Tino looked at Henry’s calm, smiling face.

  “You just crushed a man’s hand, pretty much bare-handed. I’ve never seen anyone do that. I never seen anyone move as fast as you did either. They say you have two lives. One with the CIA at Los Alamos and another one nobody seems to know much about. I guess I’m talking to the other Mr. Lo.”

  “Call me Henry. Sorry about your man’s hand but I didn’t want to just kill him with my first move. It might have cast a gloom over our first meeting.”