The 22nd Secret Page 9

  Chen looked at Tino. He was relieved to break away from Henry’s sadistic stare. Tino smiled broadly, he enjoyed Henry’s antics. There was no one like him. If the kid were not just what they needed, he’d have told Henry to blow his balls off.

  “You ever see a James Bond movie?” Tino asked, motioning to Henry. “This guy makes Bond look like Mary Poppins. He’s the real thing. I know your people. You got no one like Henry. If you don’t agree to work with us, he’s going to blow you away, right now. Trust me, he will and another thing. I’m no computer expert but I think the U.S. government pulled the big one on you guys. I think they let you steal everything just so they could get this virus out all over everything you got. Your people ever wonder why it was so easy. You think you’re so smart, stealing all our secrets. Looks to me like you screwed yourselves.”

  Chen’s eyes darted from Tino to Henry, and back to Tino. His mouth quivered.

  “You’re a smart boy. Tell Henry what you want to do, but I wouldn’t wait too long. Henry might be getting tired of holding that gun. I’d hate to see you have an accident in your pants.”

  Chen looked at the picture of his home. The bewildered look on his face told Henry things were going to work out. Henry pulled his right hand out from under the table and set his silencer-equipped nine-millimeter pistol down, with the barrel pointing at Chen, whose eyes grew big as silver dollars when he saw the gun.

  “What do you think?” Henry asked. “You ready to learn more about all this? Might as well, cause there ain’t no backing out for you now.”

  “Why me?” Chen asked.

  “I picked you because of your experience with your missile program. We could make a plausible reason for you to be in this country. I knew you were educated in England and here in the U.S., so I hoped you wouldn’t have a strong accent. You’re good looking enough to maybe get in that girl's pants. I never heard of anyone else doing that. She’s the key. Without her, none of us got anything.”

  Henry picked up a binder and handed it to Chen. It was Pam’s Master’s thesis.

  “Call this a gesture of good faith. Read it but you won’t understand it. That’s the theory. Won’t do you any good though. Maybe in ten years or so you and several of your best people will figure it out. But hell, by then we’ll have something better.”

  “Who’s Pamela Koller?”

  “That’s the girl you’re going to try and meet tomorrow during Professor Weiker’s lecture. Pam’s her real name, grew up in Idaho. She tried to publish that thesis and we went ballistic. So we got her working for us at Los Alamos. Within four years, she turned that theory into a working weapon, a kind of stealthy virus. It’s in just about everything you people got. Now she’s kind of burned out. She’s on leave of absence. She’s going to be in your class tomorrow morning. Just try and say hi or something. I don’t know how we’ll recruit her, but take your time. Move slow.”

  “Try threatening her family.” Chen added sarcastically.

  “That’s an option. But I think we should try a kinder, gentler approach first. She hated developing all this as a weapon. Hated the whole secret military deal, didn’t have a single friend at Los Alamos. No one liked her. I guess she’s so smart she just didn’t relate to anyone. She’s real shy, never really had a chance to develop normal social skills. She started college at fourteen, went to work for us at seventeen. Read that paper, memorize her picture, and remember she’ll call herself Patty Lawrence. Whatever you do, don’t ever mention Tino, that paper, or me. Just so we don’t accidentally slip up, we’ll all refer to Pam as Patty Lawrence from now on.”

  Chen looked at her picture. She was clearly a beautiful girl, with long blond hair and a great figure.

  “I don’t think I’ll forget this face.”

  “Good. We’ll meet here in a week to see how things are going.”

  Henry could see the tension on Chen’s face. His eyes continued to dart between Tino, Henry and the picture.

  “Look, I’m sorry about the gun and your family. I had the same problem with Tino when I first approached him. When you realize what we’re telling you is the truth, this kind of thing won’t be necessary anymore. You’ll be grateful for the opportunity we’re giving you. Chen, this will make you the most important scientist in China.”

  “Call me Ben. I use Benjamin Chen for my English name. What do you two get out of this?”

  “One step at a time, read that paper. Try and make contact with Patty. When it looks as though we got a chance with the girl, we’ll tell you what we want. It won’t be a problem. You’ll think the deal is more than fair. So we meet here next week same time?”

  Chen and Tino nodded.

  Ben went home to his apartment near campus and read Pam’s thesis. Henry was right. He didn’t understand it. He re-read it three times and it never made sense to him.

  He set his alarm for 6 am. That would give him enough time to read it once more and make it to Wieker’s lecture at 1 pm. He planned to be just a little late, giving him a chance to sit near Patty if he could.

  Patty entered the classroom at five minutes before 1. She hugged her notebook, hiding as much of her chest as possible, and walked quickly to the back row with her head down. She always sat in the back of crowded rooms, avoiding the constant feeling of penetrating eyes. Usually, she could block people’s thoughts if they were not directed straight at her. She usually wore baggy, unattractive clothing, no makeup, and kept her hair messy. This decreased the onslaught of unsolicited lustful thoughts from those around her, but not today.

  It wasn't that she didn’t take advantage of her sexual powers. By the time she was ten, her mind was more mature and capable than that of any human alive. By her sixteenth birthday, her body had caught up. She was attending the University of Idaho at the time. Pam did not hesitate to allow herself the pleasures of sex. In fact, she was a sexual predator despite her age. She was selective and rewarded, and she always got what she wanted. Her ability to probe the minds of her partners added to their pleasure.

  She elevated the emotional aspect of intercourse to an art. Although her cover at Los Alamos prevented her from being as active as she was in college, she did have an occasional night with Hank. In his line of work sometimes all the time you have to make a life and death decision was one word. Hank liked fantasies about force and rape. He was a violent person and Pam used this, always taking him to the brink, but never letting him step over the line.

  After Tom Walker recorded the tape for her parents, she felt particularly low and alone. She cried while he hugged and comforted her. She decided she needed more comfort, so she took him. He was also a violent man but more protective. Pam wanted that at that moment, so she had him carefully undress her. He protected her throughout the night. He was very tender and sensitive for such a powerful man.

  One thing Pam was careful to do with all her partners was to not let them fall in love. They would never forget their experiences with her. They would always want more as long as they lived. She knew that no other woman would ever measure up. But they would not long for a lasting relationship. Someday, she hoped she would meet someone she wanted to be with forever, and she would take him for herself and no one else.

  Today, for the first day of class, Patty wore very short cut-off jeans, a tank top, and sandals. She took time to fix her hair in a sexy but casual way and she wore a touch of makeup. She was the most beautiful girl on campus that day. The classroom buzzed around her. People that knew each other whispered. Others just thought quietly. It wasn’t uncommon for professors to come in late, so Weiker had not arrived when Ben walked in at one minute past the hour. Patty was reading a book, but she knew someone had walked in the room and was looking specifically for her. Ben walked to the back of the room and sat with one empty desk between them.

  “Hi,” Ben said. Patty looked up at him, smiled, and continued reading.

  “Good book?” Ben asked.

  “Yes.” Patty didn’t look up. Professor Wieker entered the room a
nd Ben smiled. He knew this was a good start. He would try again after the lecture. He sensed that Patty was shy. It was strange in such a beautiful girl.

  Most students filed out of the lecture hall or gathered around Professor Wieker after class. Ben watched as Patty stacked her books and held them to her chest. He rose from his chair at the same moment she did. He stood in the aisle and blocking her path.

  “My name’s Ben. Benjamin Chen.”

  Patty eyed him up and down, not saying anything. Ben noticed a slight blush in her face.

  “And you are?”

  “Patty,” she slid past him to leave. Ben had to yield, but he still had a few chances before she would escape.

  “Man, I’m starving,” he said. “Want to go get something to eat at the student union?”

  “I can’t.” Patty continued to slide down the aisle, avoiding eye contact.

  “Hey, look. Where you going?”

  Ben followed her to the front of the lecture hall.

  Patty stopped and turned around. “My car.”

  Ben caught the slightest glimpse of a smile. “Well, can I walk with you a minute?”

  “Okay,” Patty said as they walked into the hallway.

  “Great. Hey, listen. You know, there’s going to be some group projects. Maybe we can work together.”

  Ben didn’t stop talking until they reached her car. She turned around and looked into Ben’s eyes for the first time.

  “Wow, this your car?” Ben said. “An SL 600. New isn’t it? Man, I’d love to drive it.”

  Patty shot her best shy smile right through Ben, as she held out her hand to shake his. She lowered her eyes.

  “Very nice to meet you, Ben.” A blush raced over her face.

  Ben watched as Patty drove off. He considered himself to be well above average around women. Normally, he would have pressed for a phone number. Maybe even a date. Most women, especially one this attractive, would have pressed back or blown him off. It was obvious she had very little experience with men. He would have to approach her slowly, give her time to warm up to him. Apparently, Henry was right. Her great looks and exceptional intellect, and the fact she was always years younger than the people around her, had prevented most men from hitting on her. At least he could tell his new partners he had successfully made contact.

  I bet she’s a virgin. Ben thought about her virginity the rest of the day. He thought about fixing that for her.

  Patty’s security at Berkeley was much less than at Los Alamos, or even at her parents’ farm. Kent Bradley was recruited by Henry to shadow Patty. He wasn’t supposed to get too close. Just make an occasional observation when Patty was in public.

  Sitting at his desk at Los Alamos, Henry read Kent’s e-mail. Kent was quite concerned. During the first day of classes, Patty had been seen talking with a Chinese student. Rather than saving it in Patty’s Los Alamos file, he forwarded the message to Betty and deleted it. He typed a hasty email and sent it to Kent.

  There may be future contacts between the two. Do not interfere. Report all contacts directly to me, no one else.

  Ben read through Pam’s thesis three more times before his next meeting with Henry and Tino. They ate in the same private dining room and waited to begin their meeting until after the servers cleared the table.

  “I know you talked with Patty. How’d it go?” Henry asked Ben.

  “Better than you led me to believe. I’m going to sit by her in class again tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll talk.”

  “And the thesis. You read it?”

  “Six times. I still don’t really understand how it’s supposed to actually work. But I can tell you this much. If it does work, it’s just like you told me. It could be all over everything everywhere. And you’re right about something else. We didn’t have a clue of the existence of anything like this. Thanks for tipping me. It would take us years to actually make something like this work. You say you have this figured out and working.”

  Henry smiled. “You mean I won’t need my gun tonight and I don’t need to act like Tino here and have someone rough up your family.”

  “Hey, watch it or I’ll have to rough you up,” Tino said, laughing.

  “No, just tell me. I want to hear it straight out of your mouth. You have this theory perfected and you’ve implemented it.”

  Henry fixed Ben with his steel-eyed stare. “Yes, we have it. It works and Patty is the person that did it. She’s our expert.”

  “Damn, everything we’ve accomplished is useless. You can probably override our guidance systems, anything.”

  “Not probably, Ben, definitely. Your people might as well just disassemble those weapons, because even knowing what you do now; it’ll take you a decade to disable it. Open and shut case. You stole from us exactly what we wanted you to steal. We almost have better control of your systems than you do. But you get the girl and you have it figured out today. She shows you how to detect and disable this stuff and you’re a great man. A hero of the people. Hell, you may even figure out how to take this to the next level. Beat us at our own game. It’s the first technology war of the 21st century.”

  “The key is the girl,” Ben said. “I see that now. You could give us all the reports and files but Patty can change our learning curve by years. How do we get her to well, defect? I guess that’s what she’d be doing?”

  “I wish I knew. Her security file contains nothing that would help.”

  “How about her family,” Tino suggested. “We know where they are.”

  “I think we’ll have to just improvise as we go.” Henry took a sip of water. “Here’s what I think we got going for us besides her family. We know she hates the military. Was really an outcast at Los Alamos, had no friends there, people treated her like shit, and she resented the fact her work was kept a secret. I know she wanted it to benefit mankind, not just the military. And she’s lonely. Believe it or not, I don’t think the girl’s ever had a meaningful relationship with a man. She’s not a lesbian, I know that. I saw her hit on at Los Alamos by several of them and just about all the men. Never took a second look at any of them. Hell if I know why. She’s really shy. That’s about the only explanation I can think of. I think if you can get close to her, Ben, we got a chance. Then let’s just see what happens?”

  Ben thought for a moment. “I’m trying to put this together. I mean, why are you two guys doing this? Henry, I had our people in China check you out. What they told me scared the shit out of me. They told me to be very careful. Tino was okay, just wanted to make money. But you, the espionage people are asking why you’re in on this. It’s not like you. They would be delighted for this to be happening if it was just Tino. But you, they’re very suspicious. They told me to watch out for you. You’ve killed several of our people for a lot less then is at stake here. They’re surprised I’m still alive, if I actually came face to face with you. They told me you are very capable of tracking my family and me down, even in China. I sent a copy of Patty’s thesis to our computer experts. They have no idea if any of this is possible but I am to proceed as if it is and bring in the girl.”

  “Let me try to explain,” Tino said. “You have any idea how much money this technology is worth. Sure, maybe not to you communists, but to us capitalists? Makes Bill Gates look poor. I mean, just the criminal angle is worth billions, and you haven’t even started talking legitimate commercial applications. The family is very aware of the influence computers are having in our culture. So it’s simple. We want to be on the leading edge of computer crime, but we need someone we can do business with, someone willing to let us exploit the criminal and commercial uses here in the west. Henry and I want you Chinese to give us the information we need to use it for criminal purposes at first, then commercial, doesn’t cost you anything. Just share what you learn from Patty with my computer people. Someone somewhere will eventually leak this out. Henry’s surprised it hasn’t happened already.”

  “She was pretty screwed up in the head,” Henry continued. “Prob
ably still is. Almost had a mental breakdown from all the stress. And me, what have I got out of a life devoted to the United States Government? I intend to get a big piece of the pie. That is, if there is a pie.”

  Henry took another sip of water. Tino and Ben were silent. It was clear Henry’s words were all that mattered.

  “Don’t forget, all this is just talk without Patty. And we can’t just grab her and take her to China. She has to go willingly. She has to want to show you what she knows. I think she has to fall in love with you first. Then we look for an angle, some way to convince her to go to China and show you how to use this technology. Do you think you can get her to fall in love with you? Then at least she’ll trust you and want to be with you.”

  “And if I don’t get Patty to go to China and teach me about this, you’re going to kill me, right?”

  Henry looked straight at Ben. “You want me to lie to you? We need Patty and you’re the one person in all of China in just the right spot, with just the right stuff, to get her and exploit her. If this doesn’t happen, Tino and I will not want any witnesses. That means you.”

  Ben swallowed hard. His mouth was dry. He stared at Tino and back at Henry.

  “Then I guess failure is not an option. I’ll get her somehow.”

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Ben, I want you to contact your people. Tell them we want them to agree to share whatever they learn with Tino’s people. That’s all we’re asking. I’m sure they’ll think it’s a good deal. Try to get Patty to take an interest in you. I think she will. We’ll meet back here in two weeks. That should give you time to see how things are going between you and Patty.

  “Sounds good,” Ben said.

  “Oh, and one more thing. There’s a shadow on Patty.” Henry looked at Tino. He was lying and they both knew it. “I wasn’t aware that was going to happen. I thought I would be the only one who knew where she was. But it’s gonna be okay. I got it under control.” Henry looked back at Ben. “Ben, be careful you don’t do anything that could make this guy suspicious. Like getting one of your Chinese people to try and contact her. Two weeks. Okay with everyone?”