The Arcturus Man (53 page)

“I’m stunned. I don’t know what to say, other than thanks,” said John.
“I can’t believe I’m turning down millions but it would be a violation of law practice ethics to accept a gift like that while I am representing you,” said Brett. “I can’t accept it.”
“Then stop representing me. Or better yet, I’ll fire you right after you get me out
of this jam,” said Jared.
“Jams…it’s a plural,” said Brett. “Don’t forget the plural.”
“Jams,” said Jared.
“Jared, I have more bad news, said John. .
John put his beer on the marble countertop and then picked it up again.
“This going to leave a ring?”
“Don’t worry about it. What’s the bad news?” asked Jared.
“They flew you up in a military transport, didn’t they?”
“Yes. What of it?”
“You couldn’t have gone commercial.
You’ve been placed on the no-fly list,”
said John.
“That is really, low.
There are squeezing every way they can to get you to give
up your invention,” said Brett.
“That’s not it. The backup was classified above my pay grade but it is unmistakable that they have something on you that they think connects you with Al Queada or at
least some terrorist organization,” said John.
“They yanked my security clearance because they claimed I was a dual-national.
Wouldn’t that have done it?” asked Jared.
“That alone wouldn’t put you on the list, Jared.
There is something more, much
more. Have you been doing any business in the Middle East? Or, maybe ties with radical
Muslims in the states?” asked John.
“Nothing. There isn’t anything like that,” said Jared.
“How about Mashhadi?” asked Brett. “He’s pretty anti-Semitic.”
“Hamid’s not a terrorist,” said John. “I did a background on him when Jared first
started using him for his patent work. He has a file, but it’s fairly typical of the attitudes
of most of the Islamic community. He’s more anti-Israeli than he is anti-Semitic. His sister was killed during the Israeli bombings in Lebanon. He got a little weird after that but
it’s understandable.”
“Jews and Arabs are Semites so it makes little sense for an Arab to be antiSemitic,” said Jared. “Hating Israel, now that’s another story.”
Jared walked over to the frig and pulled out three more St. Pauli Girls and slid
them in front of Brett and John.
“I’m driving. One beer’s enough,” said John.
“Coffee then?” asked Jared.
“Sure.”
Jared opened the pantry door and took out a bag of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans and filled the hopper in the Capresso coffee maker. He poured in water, rotated
the coffee pot below the grinder, and pressed the start button. The grinder whirred. They
all watched the process in fascination. When the grinding stopped, the coffee pot snapped
back to its original position and fresh, perfect coffee began to trickle into the pot.
“I’ve got to get one of those,” said John.
Jared’s house phone rang again. He glanced at the caller ID.
“Hello Dieter. I’m glad you called,” said Jared.
“Is that Steinmeier?” whispered Brett. Jared nodded yes.
“Yes, that is correct, but please verify the quantities.
I want 62 Dell dual-core
processors…whatever the most current and best model is…shipped to Panama City, Hilton Hotel, in care of Ginger Siemels. Is that what you have?” asked Jared. “Yes, exactly.
As soon as you can.
And can you get them shipped from the UK…great…that’s
great….be talking to you. Bye.”
“What was that all about Jared? Evidently you have legally adopted Ginger without consulting with me,” chortled Brett.
“Very funny,” retorted Jared.
“I can’t wait you hear about your wedding night,” interjected John.
“I bet you
burn up a truckload of monitors.”
“Seriously, what are you up to?” asked Brett.
“I’m going to rig up some parallel processing and significantly enhance Ginger’s
programming.
Consider it her evolutionary development.
I think she can be so much
more than an AI animation. She’s capable of doing some serious science,” said Jared.
“Why Panama City?” asked Brett.
“You should know why.
I don’t want any more federal interference with my inventions and patents,” said Jared.
“So you think she has some commercial value?” asked Brett.
“It’s not about making money,” said Jared.
“OK.
New subject. Let’s recap.
You are about to be indicted for first-degree
murder.
The government is stealing your patent.
You can’t fly.
Your house burned
down. The cops found dead bodies all over your island. There still could be charges from
that. It can’t get much worse than this, Jared. At least people are no longer trying to kill
you. Thank God for little favors,” said Brett.
“I’m not certain that people aren’t going to try to kill me,” said Jared.
“I thought you said that this Colombian…Rubio…promised to lay off.
Maybe
you should have taken care of him when you had the chance,” said John.
“Rubio will keep his promise. I’m sure of that,” said Jared.
“So you think that Reisinger and Anderson are going to get someone to replace
the Colombian.” asked John.
“They’re certainly behind it but the muscle is being provided by the Russians, either Penkovskiy or Zhidov, but my guess is Zhidov,” said Jared.
“We’ve already discussed this.
If the conspiracy goes above Reisinger and Anderson, you should consider leaving the country,” said John.
“I don’t think it does.
I am convinced that Reisinger and Anderson are rogues,”
said Jared.
“You don’t think Obama is in on it?” asked John.
“That guy is capable of anything dumb, just think about the secret CIA gulags.”
“Obama is corrupt, but he’s not stupid,” said Jared.
“I also don’t see the White House knowingly getting involved in this. After all, as
good as your invention might be, this is small potatoes,” said John.
“John, I don’t think you are grasping how revolutionary Jared’s technology is.
It
isn’t small potatoes by a long shot.
Obama is working on his legacy.
He wants to win
the war against global terrorism, it is not inconceivable that he would do anything to get
his hands on Jared’s gizmo. It could even detect roadside bombs and people wearing
bomb belts. Isn’t that right Jared?” asked Brett.
“Yes, and it can work at a distance of about 100 meters. I haven’t tested it, but the
math suggests that it could do that,” said Jared. “Actually, the range could be vastly
greater than that but sorting out the right…ahh…signal, so to speak, gets extremely complicated with distance…the inverse of the cube of the distance apart…so the difficulty
becomes exponential. I think I can solve that problem, but I need more time.”
“Wow!
I knew something about your invention but I had no idea it was that effective. How does it work?” asked John.
“You don’t want to know. It is very technical. The basic concept is based on that
all things are connected at the Quantum level,” said Jared.
“That’s another way of saying I wouldn’t understand it if you explained how it
worked,” said John.
“Well, yes.”
John feigned looking wounded.
“Maybe I can simplify it.
You’re not a physicist John so no one should expect
you to understand physics. All scanning technology to date relies on either sensing at the
molecular level…sniffing…or scanning in the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from
ultraviolet, through visible light, infrared, radio waves and x-rays. My technology is able
to detect at the subatomic level—the weak forces—and it is highly tunable. It isn’t a refinement of any other technology.
It is entirely unique and has never been done before.
In fact, I don’t believe that any scientist has even theorized it.”
“So it’s radioactive?” asked John.
“Not at all. You have to throw whatever you learned in college about energy and
matter out the window. Imagine that every substance in the universe has a thin string tied
to it and that they’re all tied together. I can find the right string in the knot for every substance and—so to speak—pull on it until it moves. Then I know it is the right string. This
force is a close relative of gravity, but at this point it’s becoming not so simple to explain.”
“Neat,” said Brett. “So this is why they can’t figure out your patent without getting the know how from you. As you said, they don’t have the science to figure it out.”
“They do not have the science,” said Jared.
“So this is the String Theory I’ve read about,” said Brett.
“String Theory is different. I regretted using the term string as soon as I said it,”
said Jared.
It was fascinating, but John never went to an Ivy League college like Jared and
Brett did and was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He only had one physics course
at George Mason and only passed with a D. He wanted to change the subject.
“Let’s get back to the problem we are trying to solve. Is there anything we can do
to put Reisinger and Anderson on ice?” asked John.
“These are powerful politicos. I don’t see how we can touch them unless we had
hard evidence that they can’t make disappear,” said Brett.
“That isn’t as impossible as you may think.
I have information on both of them
that could take them out,” said Jared.
“What information?” asked John.
“For the time being, you and Brett are better off not knowing any more than I
said. Trust me,” said Jared.
“Why don’t you let us decide what’s good for us,” said John.
“Ditto,” said Brett.
“You’ll have to trust me guys,” said Jared. “Trust me that you don’t want to know
what I know.”
Brett and John looked at each other. They nodded.
“So why aren’t you using this information?” asked Brett.
“It’s not the right time. Soon. Soon,” said Jared.
“There is something that just isn’t logical.
It’s obvious that this new technology
has tremendous commercial value, not to mention putting most terrorists out of business.
You said that the U.S. Government doesn’t have the science to figure out this technology
you discovered without your help. If that is true, killing you makes no sense. You would
be taking this secret with you to the grave,” said Brett.
“That has occurred to me,” said Jared. “It just means that there are enemies who
want me dead so no one ever has access to this technology and there are enemies who
would do anything to make certain that I stay alive. The first group are probably terrorists and the second group want the technology to either make money or benefit the nation…perhaps altruistically,” said Jared.
“Yea, that makes sense,” said John.
“I would guess that Reisinger and Anderson are in group two,” said Brett.
“Reisinger certainly knows about my patent.
Anderson, however, thinks I’m the
anti-Christ...or some crap like that. Reisinger probably keeps him in the dark to keep him
as an ally. The Justice Department is useful, even for the CIA. Reisinger is definitely in
group two. I doubt Anderson knows very much about the patent, or if he does, he probably doesn’t grasp the implications. He’s doing the work of God in getting rid of me, not
Mammon. He’s group one,” said Jared.
“My boss is a nut case. And the Russians?” asked John.
“The Russians are more difficult to focus on.
I can’t get them clear in my head.
Penkovskiy could be group one and Zhidov, two, but I’m guessing. Zhidov is clearly in it
for the money.”
“Let me get this straight. Group one guys want you dead and group two wants to
keep you alive. That means Reisinger and Zhidov aren’t behind attempts on your life and
in as much as Anderson is clueless, it’s Penkovskiy who’s pulling the strings to assassinate you,” said John.
“That’s possible,” said Jared, “but it would mean that Penkovskiy is tied to some
terrorist organization.
I can’t visualize him working with the Chechen terrorists.
It
doesn’t add up,” said Jared. “My assumptions could be wrong.”
John was now in his element. He was comfortable again.
“It does add up.
There are Chechen terrorists with ties to Al Queada.
The death
of their leader, Shamil Basayev, in July 2006 was a blow to their movement. They’re
desperate. What’s Penkovskiy’s background?
Any chance he came from Chechnya?”
asked John.
“He’s a Great Russian…that is, he’s from European Russia. He isn’t a Chechen,”
said Jared.
“Still, there’s something there,” said John.
“Maybe,” said Jared.
“Let’s follow the money.
It’s always about the money.
Can you get Dieter to
help? See who has money in some Swiss bank,” said John.
“That’s a great idea,” said Brett.
“OK, I’ll ask Dieter. I’m sure he’ll give it a shot,” said Jared.
Jared’s cell phone started ringing.
He glanced at the caller ID.
“It’s Jenny. You don’t have to leave. This will just take a minute,” said Jared. He
flipped his cell phone open.
“What?” said Jared.
“Greetings Mr. Siemels,” said Sami. He spoke in Russian.
Jared covered the mouth piece with his palm.
“It’s Zhidov.
He has Jenny’s cell phone,” he whispered.
Jared turned on the
speaker phone feature and set the phone on the counter. John pulled out his note pad and
held his pen at the ready.
This was just too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence.
They were just talking about him and now he’s on the phone.
“How did you get Miss Nilsson’s phone Sami?” asked Jared in Russian.
“You know my name? I am flattered Mr. Siemels.
May I call you Jared or perhaps Jorens?” asked Sami.
“Answer my question,”
“Is it not obvious? I took it from your lady friend.”
“Get to the point then.”
“I like doing business that is to the point.
You will kill yourself in twenty-four
hours or Miss Nilsson will experience a long and painful death with great indignity. You
will do this for sweetheart. Give me an answer now,” said Sami.
“I want proof of life Sami. She may be dead already.”
“Then hang up phone.”
“Has she been harmed in any way? You can tell me that.”
“No, no, not harmed. She is a beautiful woman. I must admit I peek, but that all.
I will call with instructions tomorrow.
I inform you of the time and location where you
commit suicide. It be public place. You have 30 minutes to die after I call. You drive to
Boston in morning, arrive at 12:00 and wait at Dolphin Seafood Restaurant in Cambridge. Have drinks. Eat excellent last meal. I listen to news on televizor and read newspapers.
I have friends at public place to observe your death. If you not dead in twentyfour hours, she is mine. Here. I have photo of sweetheart for you. Take a good look.”
Jared glanced at the LCD screen on his phone.
A photo of Jenny appeared. Her
mouth was taped shut.
Her face was bruised.
A leering Sami was holding her by her
hair, forcing her to look into the camera.