The Code - Genesis - Book I (8 page)
Read The Code - Genesis - Book I Online
Authors: K. Thorpe
Josh runs into Amanda outside the lounge. “The projector’s all set.”
“Thanks,” she retorts sarcastically.
An oblivious Josh walks back into the room.
“Looks like you were right, Professor. She’s not involved, though she is a very interesting individual,” Natan says.
“I told you that she had nothing to do with this. She doesn’t have it in her to lie,” he asserts.
“We all have it in us to lie, Professor…under the right circumstances. Though it didn’t appear that she was.”
“I arranged the meeting for you, Agent Natan…now, have you had a chance to review any of the information?”
“Some.”
“So, what do you think?”
“There may be something to this, Professor. I need a bit more time.”
Josh appears relieved. “I’m so glad that you’re evaluating this from an unbiased perspective. Thank you for giving me…uh…this…a chance.”
Amanda pokes her head back inside the door of the lounge, catching the tail end of the conversation. “Not to interrupt your intricate mating banter…but, Ms.…N.S.A. lady. You wanted to know if I’d seen anything strange lately?”
“Yeah?” Natan replies.
“Well, there’s a strange looking fellow standing outside of Josh’s office right now. I haven’t seen him here before,” Amanda answers.
“Right now?” Natan asks.
“Yeah, at least he was there a second ago.”
Wasting no time, Natan and Josh both bolt for the doorway and venture into the hallway. Josh breaks into a sprint, hollering over his shoulder, “Where was he, Amanda?”
Amanda shouts to Josh as he runs away from her, “Just outside your office.”
Natan and Amanda run after Josh, maneuvering down a hallway and around a corner.
On the other end of the corridor a man dressed in professional attire stands at the exit sign just yards from Josh’s office. He faces away from Josh and the others. He has a gun, which Natan spots, so she addre
sses him. “Sir. I’m a federal a
gent. I need to speak with you. Wait there.”
Still facing away from them, the man takes off. Natan yells after him, “Federal agent! Stop!” The man runs, approaching and throwing open the door of a nearby stairwell. He disappears through the door, rushing down the stairwell. Natan pulls her gun and rushes after him in hot pursuit. Josh and Amanda stand back in awe.
“Wait here,” Natan instructs
sternly to
Josh and Amanda.
Amanda looks at Josh, “I’d do what she says.”
Natan vanishes through the exit door, rushing down the steps with no sign of the man in sight. She reaches the bottom floor and finds nothing. Natan opens the door that leads outside, emerging in the middle of a bustling campus. She tucks her gun away as she sees several student passersby. Natan looks all around. The man isn’t anywhere to be found.
Dammit!
Chapter Eleven
Natan returns to Josh’s office to find Josh and Amanda talking. Flipping through items on his desk, Josh inquires about the situation, “Did you catch him?”
Natan shakes her head. “He must have gotten lost in the crowd of students outside.”
Josh suddenly looks around the room frantically. “My bag’s gone!”
“What bag?” Natan asks.
“The bag with the shadings.”
Amanda chimes in, “Who was that guy? What shadings? What’re you guys talking about?”
Natan looks at Josh, then at Amanda, “This is a government matter, Ms. Clark. I need to speak with Professor Sails alone. If you see anything again, please call me on my cell.” Natan pulls a business card from her pocket and hands it to Amanda. “Don’t call my office. I’m never there. My cell is best.”
Amanda takes the card and replies, “Okay.” Then under her breath says, “Why do I always get a cute woman’s number for all the wrong reasons?” Amanda leaves the office.
Natan closes in on Josh. “You have copies, right?”
“Of course not.” Josh runs his hand over his forehead. “I haven’t even had time to review them all, let alone copy them.” His eyes reveal stress as he looks around the office again. “Who would even know what I had in there?”
“Looks like someone knows a lot more than we do,” Natan says.
“Let’s focus on the most important issue here…the symbol shadings,” he replies.
“We’ll find them,” she tries to reassure him.
It doesn’t help. “They may be as important to this as you are. Did you catch up with him or find any clues, at least?” he asks.
“Clues? Who am I? Cagney or Lacey?” Natan retorts.
“You know what I mean,” Josh looks away.
“He was carrying a gun…government issue.”
“So?”
Natan continues, “The guy was carrying a gun reserved for certain branches of the federal government, like the F.B.I., C.I.A., D.E.A., N.S.A., among others.” Josh raises his shoulders with a vacant look.
Natan shakes her head, “I can understand how you were arrested in
Mexico
.
It means someone from the government is interested in you.”
“Who?”
Natan replies, “That
is
the question. And, if we can answer that, we’ll be able to get the symbols back and piece together the rest of the pieces of this photo puzzle.”
“So what do we do now?” Josh is devastated by the loss.
“We wait,” she says, “And I’ll have the lab check for any forensic evidence on the package in the meantime. I’ll be in touch.” Natan leaves the office. Just as the door closes there is a knock.
Amanda pops her head back in and addresses Josh, “Do you have a moment? I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”
“Just one,” he replies, “I’m on my way out.”
Amanda enters the office. “How do you know that N.S.A. woman, Josh?”
“Amanda, I need you to keep your meeting today with Agent Natan confidential.”
“Why?”
Josh replies, “Could you just do this for me? It’s important.”
“Josh, what’s going on?”
Josh doesn’t answer.
Amanda continues, “Okay. I’ve been incredibly patient here. I mean, first you get me to loan you my brother’s G.P.S. with no explanation…which you bring back all dented and scratched…”
Josh interrupts her, “I told you I was sorry about that.”
“Yeah,” she continues, “but you wouldn’t tell me how it happened.”
“I told you I dropped it when I was hiking.”
“Hiking where?
Mexico
?” she probes.
“How did you know that I went to
Mexico
?”
“You left a copy of your itinerary in the lounge. I slipped it under your door last week. Didn’t you see it on the floor?”
Josh looks around, “No. I don’t remember seeing it.”
“And, you know that Ryan is going to come back from
Iraq
and kill me himself because his equipment is jacked. I was never supposed to loan it to anyone.”
“I seriously doubt he’ll kill you,” Josh replies to the melodrama.
“Josh, this isn’t funny. You know he’s the only one in my family still speaking to me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m dealing with my own things right now,” he says.
Amanda continues, “And now you’re involved with this woman from the N.S.A. Are you in trouble or what? What was in your bag? Why is a man snooping around here?” Amanda touches Josh’s arm. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’m not in any kind of trouble. I can’t go into detail right now. Just keep this under wraps for the time being, all right?”
“Josh, I need a better explanation than that,” she says.
Josh grabs Amanda by her arms. “I need you to trust me.”
A stunned Amanda relinquishes. “Okay, fine. But I’m just worried about you. You know that you can trust me, right?”
“Don’t worry. I do trust you, Amanda, and I appreciate your concern…”
Amanda jokes, “Just remember that next time you schedule me for back-to-back T.A. assignments.”
“Sure thing.” Josh gathers his keys and jacket, “Now, I’ve got to run. Lock up for me, will you?”
“If I do, that agent won’t be back to question me again, will she?”
Josh grabs the first symbol page from his desk drawer and as he’s leaving Josh says, “Only if you steal my test notes again.” Josh rushes from the office, leaving Amanda behind.
Amanda shouts after him, “I borrowed those, Mr. Hilarious.”
Chapter Twelve
Inside the N.S.A. Natan stands in front of Marsh as he sits at his desk. “You requested me, Sir?” she asks.
Marsh’s voice grumbles a bit. “So, you still want me to believe that you don’t know Professor Josh Sails?”
“Sir?”
“There’s evidence that you have been in contact with Professor Sails since your return from
Mexico
.”
“Sir?”
“Agent Natan, please take a seat.”
“I’ll stand, Sir.”
“Agent Natan, sit…please.” Natan sits in a chair in front of Marsh’s desk. Marsh leans in, speaking in a lowered voice, “I’m concerned for you, Agent Natan.”
“Concerned about what, Sir?”
“This is just between you and me…” Marsh rings his hands together as he looks at Natan intently. “As you know, the N.S.A. has been involved in a blanketed domestic wiretapping program. What you don’t know is that all government department telecommunications received after the
Boston
incident have been included in that agenda. All calls have been recorded and logged in a separate database…”
Natan’s shock interrupts him. “What? I knew the civilian wire tapping and data mining was extensive, but now they’re monitoring their own? Is the N.S.A. still facilitating this?”
“We are…along with the C.I.A. They needed someone to monitor the monitorer. I guess they’re trying to find Al Queda cooperatives within the government. Things are unfolding within the government that are shocking, Agent Natan.”
Natan shakes her head. “It was only a matter of time.”
“It gets worse. I’ve been instructed to question you regarding your contact with Professor Sails…”
Natan replies, “Well, if my calls have been logged, Sir, you’d know that he contacted me here just after my return from
Mexico
.”
“The fact that he’s contacted this office on more than ten occasions has been brought to my attention,” he says.
“Sir, it may not be completely appropriate to have contact with an individual from a case after the case terminates, but it isn’t illegal or even directly recognized to be against agency protocol, particularly with this case, as strange as it was.”
Baxter looks at Natan directly. “You’re right about that…but conspiracy is recognized as such.”
Natan is appalled. “Conspiracy? Of what?”
“Do you recall your conversation, Agent Natan?”
“Yes. I haven’t engaged in any…”
Marsh interrupts Natan by playing a digital tape of the call, a filtered Natan’s voice emerging from the tape. “Professor, why are you calling me here?”
A filtered Josh’s voice answers her, “Agent Natan, I must finish our discussion from the plane…the Code…things have already been set in motion.”
“I can’t discuss this now, Professor.”
“There is little time, Agent
Natan. Can you meet me at the u
niversity tonight?”
“It won’t look good for me to meet you. I can’t be involved in this, Professor. As an N.S.A. agent, I can’t be a part of this.”
Josh pleads, “It’s urgent. I have something I need to show you.”
“Does this involve the end date and the symbols?”
“It involves you, Agent Natan. Lives may rest in your hands.”
“When and where?” she replies.
“Mathematics building. Third floor.
Nine p.m.
” Josh pauses on the tapes, “Thank you, Agent Natan. You won’t regret it.”
Marsh and Natan hear dial tone. Marsh looks at Natan, “Did you meet with him?”
“Yes Sir, I did,” she confirms.
“Do you have an explanation?” he inquires.
“That conversation places me under suspicion of some conspiracy?”