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  The last fifty feet were too steep for the bike in my condition. I simply let it drop and crawled up the hill and through the entrance. Inside the cave I found the remains of our hasty packing days before. There was spare water that I desperately needed. I tried to tie my shirt around the wound, but hadn’t the strength to do a decent job. I grabbed my Northface jacket, which I would need on the other side. Somewhere along the way I had lost the Colt, probably in one of the falls from the bike, but I would soon be inside where they couldn’t find me. I couldn’t kid myself though. I was still in deep trouble. On the other side it was freezing cold, and while I had my cell phone in the car, past experience had shown that I needed to get at least ten miles down the road before there would be service. Probably further if the weather was still bad. After resting a bit, I forced myself up. I was too wobbly to stand and so crawled my way to the tunnel room of the control complex.

  Inside the complex, my reserves were gone. I could see the tunnel I needed to take to get home, but I needed to rest. I passed out on the floor. It was there that Karole found me and everything changed!

  Chapter 3

  Present Day

  They credited my momentary lapse to confusion or surprise. “Oh come on,” I managed to say, trying to get my thoughts back to the present. “What kind of nonsense is this?”

  I didn’t get an answer, but the older one took back control. “You knew Kurt Morris?” he asked in a sudden change of direction.

  The new line of questioning surprised me. Of course I knew Kurt, but that was another direction I didn’t want this discussion to go. He had been a thorn in our side for a number of years, until he ‘disappeared’ about a year ago. But he had never had any connection to the gun in front of us.

  “Of course I knew Kurt,” I responded with genuine confusion in my voice. “He owned one of our competitor firms, and was often at odds with us, sometimes with a great deal of hostility for reasons we never understood.” I looked at him with anticipation.

  “You know he disappeared a little over a year ago. No trace. No hint of foul play. Nothing.”

  I did, but said nothing, merely nodding my head.

  “I was responsible for investigating his disappearance,” he informed me.

  I hadn’t known that, but it still didn’t explain what that had to do with his visit with me today.

  “I failed to find a thing,” he continued without interruption. “First time ever I failed so completely. He just disappeared one day along with a couple of his people. A real black mark on my record.” His eyes found mine. “I haven’t given up you know. It’s surprising what can turn up if you keep looking.” His gaze traveled to the rusted mess on my desk.

  “Oh, I know you and that pretty boss of yours, or is it co-owner, were nowhere around when he went missing. My investigation showed you both were continuously in Washington for some pretty high-level contract meetings for several weeks either side of his disappearance. I also know the gun has nothing to do with that. Still, he didn’t like you,” he said, looking back in my direction. “Or trust you either.”

  I knew that. It wasn’t a secret. “Do you think his disappearance and my gun...,” I started.

  He went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “He had a lot of stuff hidden. A whole room. His family found a hidden basement in his house when they were making repairs in preparation to sell the estate. Most of it appears to be odd bits and pieces that he has collected from around the world over many years. Unconnected, and yet. . .” He paused for a minute, then continued. “There are some state of the art computers, with megabytes of files. All encrypted. Sophisticated encryption according to our people. We haven’t broken it yet.”

  I wondered if they would. Morris was a crafty old bird, and had some very clever people working for him. He had old money and was willing to use it to further his goals. I didn’t know much about codes and such, but I thought I had read that there were some that were simply unbreakable. I’d bet if there were he had used something like that.

  “And he got the gun somewhere,” the agent continued. “Claims in his notes he had it for more than twenty-five years. His records claim the carbon dating age Jeff here just told you. Don’t know about that, but we will have to run some tests ourselves. Colt didn’t recognize it when he first approached them, and only a few years ago discovered who it belonged to. What do you think of that?”

  I didn’t know how Morris had gotten the gun, but he could have had it that long. Even before it was manufactured. That must have given him pause. The odds against it were incredible, but it would help explain his persistent interest in our group.

  “That’s bullshit,” I replied. “They didn’t even make them twenty-five years ago. Wait a minute,” and now I looked at him. “I thought you said all his files were encrypted?”

  “That’s another odd thing,” he replied. “Other than a few labels and notes, everything was. Except for a few pages of clear text stored with the gun. It was almost like he had plans to show this to someone?” He looked at me questioningly.

  I shrugged. “Sounds too convenient, and too far-fetched. Almost like a setup of some kind.”

  I was willing to bet he had planned to show it to someone, probably me. I could see him confronting me with this mystery. He had been more forward the last months, as though he was becoming more and more frustrated with something. And he was getting older. Now I suspected he wanted some answers before his time ran out. This reminded me we had neglected the Morris situation for far too long. This was another reason to follow-up.

  “A lot doesn’t make sense, and I agree his claims seem a little hard to accept. We will see what our labs bring back in a few weeks.”

  It seemed we had gotten off track. The younger one, Jeff, seemed restless, and like he wanted to say something. Yet he had been slapped down enough and suffered in silence. I was at a loss of what to say as well. Nothing had really been accomplished by their visit, but it seemed we might be done. Then, the agent confirmed I had a very serious problem on my hands.

  “For a studious, scientific type, it seems a little risky being around you,” he said, the predator look back in his eyes. “Your brother and father were killed in an unusual boating accident, and you inherit a fair bit of money. Then, a few months after you claim to have lost this gun, two of your friends vanish. Completely! Neither has been heard from, no bodies, nothing, and that’s been more than a decade. You and another unknown, Carol Martens isn’t it, start up a specialized consulting business that is an instant success. Major contracts in the first year and growing demand all the time. Then, six years ago a couple of your company’s employees are killed in an odd fire at an out-of-the way facility. Last year a significant business competitor also disappears, and he has this missing gun hidden in his possession with the improbable history.”

  He paused. Then he stood up, reaching out and picking up the gun from my desk as he did so. “I’ve got time. I think that maybe I need to do a little more looking in detail into you and your friends. And,” he finished, shaking the remains of my gun in his hand. “We’ll see what type of real mystery exists with this.” He motioned to the one I knew only as Jeff, and they headed towards the door.

  “I’ll be in touch,” he said with a smile.

  I knew he would be more than in touch. I was certain that I would be receiving far more attention than I could withstand. Part of our approach had been to avoid the wrong kind of attention, while gaining access to the information and people we needed. The question now was what to do about it.

  Chapter 4

  I looked at the clock and realized it was almost 3:30. They had stayed over an hour. The visit hadn’t seemed anywhere near that long at the time. The departure of the two Feds left me very uneasy rather than panicked. I was also uncertain what had really been accomplished. They had made me aware they had a mystery on their hands. I had also learned that at least one of them had some interest in me, mostly generated by the discovery of a gun that clearly had no rela
tionship to the disappearance of Kurt Morris. A disappearance that seemed to consume the older agent. In fact, thinking back on the meeting, they had told me more than they had learned. I also had the feeling that the investigation really hadn’t progressed very far, and I wondered just how long ago the Feds had discovered Morris had my gun hidden away. Not long, I now suspected. I also wondered if this visit was more ‘unofficial’ than it seemed. Perhaps the visit didn’t have the backing of a formal investigation within their organization. Not yet anyway. He seemed like the type to be persistent, and if he was able to get some supporting scientific data that backed up even some of what Kurt Morris had apparently written down, official backing from his organization would surely follow. Damn Morris! Just when and where had he gotten my revolver? I was already wondering if there was a way to use the device to go back and get it before it was discovered? Even if that kind of action violated one of our key ground rules to minimize any changes to the timeline. Especially making changes to critical events. History had shown itself to be tolerant of some interference, but we didn’t have a clear idea just how far we could take our meddling. The revolver seemed to have become a very crucial part of the time history.

  Perhaps their tack was to unsettle me enough that I might take some action that would help them with their mystery. Well, they were partly correct. It would be necessary to inform the others, although little could be done until the morning when Carol returned unless I wanted to trigger an alert, and thus far the situation didn’t seem to call for that kind of action. Not yet anyway. The men had been fishing. However, the situation had the potential to grow out of control and cause a total relocation of our efforts. For now, I wanted to get out of here. If they were watching me, leaving early would certainly raise their interest level, but my boss would be back as soon as he learned of their departure. He would be full of questions, and I didn’t want to deal with him today. I looked around the office. There were stacks of documents, proposals, test reports, as well as drawings and models for various levels of construction on current and past projects. All of it belonged to Aero. Only the laptop was mine, and that contained nothing of interest other than work. I decided to leave it as well. It did contain some current work documentation, and I didn’t want any issues with leaving with company proprietary information, even though it normally went with me every night. This time, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be back.

  It took only a moment to clear off the desk and lock the computer and proprietary papers away. I slid back my chair, stood up, and walked over to grab my sports coat. I slipped it on and headed out the door, only to be intercepted by Doris Marshall, the group secretary who was responsible for all of the consultants in this wing of the building, myself included. Fiftyish, and still quite attractive, she had been with Aero since it’s founding, coming over with a handful of others when Dan started the company and brought key startup talent with him. She was one of the most efficient secretaries I had ever seen, and cared for the people she supported.

  “They didn’t haul you away in chains,” she asked with an attempt at lightness. I could tell, however, that she was concerned and was hoping to learn what the visit was all about.

  “I had them out-numbered,” I started to joke back with her. Then I thought about it for a second. Whatever I told Doris would get back to Dan in short order. I didn’t want to explain the purpose of the visit to him directly because he would dig for detail, and would ask far too many questions I didn’t want to answer. Also, he would get annoyed and use his contacts to push back on the Feds, something I didn’t want either. That could only serve to accelerate their interest, something our group didn’t need at this point. I had to approach the visit carefully. Deciding to give them something approaching the truth, I hoped I could satisfy everyone’s interest and prevent Dan taking any immediate action. The Feds hadn’t told me to avoid talking about the “interview,” not that I would care much if they had.

  “They have a mystery on their hands, and wondered if I could shed any light on it,” I said, now more serious than a moment before. I hoped the transition in my attitude came across naturally. “You remember the big story about a year ago when Kurt Morris went missing?” I asked her.

  She nodded her head. I knew she would remember, having supported a number of his people here. In fact, several of the firm’s consultants were still here working on a couple of on-going programs. I wondered what they would think when the story started to circulate.

  “The two men who just left have been in charge of the investigation, and apparently are still working part time on it.”

  She interrupted me. “That’s why the older one looked so familiar. Now I remember him. His name is Williams. He is from the National Security Group, and spent a lot of time asking people questions when it happened.”

  Thank you Doris. I had planned to have Carol task one of our people check out the people who had investigated the disappearance. I had hoped we could get a handle on these men. I’d still have her check, but Doris had just simplified the task immensely.

  I continued with what I had been about to say. “They recently found some additional documents and papers in his house,” I explained, “and among all of this stuff they found a gun I had lost more than a dozen years ago.”

  Her eyes widened at the mention of the gun, and I could guess where her imagination was headed.

  “No, it’s not like that,” I hastened to add. “You should have seen it. It was rusted and corroded beyond recognition, and obviously hasn’t been used since I lost it many years ago.”

  “Then why would they care about it?” she asked.

  “Well, I suppose there are all kinds of possibilities they could be thinking about. After all, Morris and I were never on the best of terms. Maybe they are wondering if the gun somehow has something to do with that. In any event, isn’t it a bit strange that he would have the gun I lost all those years ago and I wouldn’t even know it? They are just looking for some explanation, and since he isn’t around they came to me as the most likely candidate. They had hoped I might be able to shed some light on when and where he had found it and why he might still have it. Unfortunately, I can’t help them. I’m surprised as anyone to have it show up like this.” I looked her right in the eyes. I have read that direct eye contact convey a sense of sincerity and trustworthiness. I certainly needed something.

  She was still trying to absorb it all and put it together in her mind. “I wonder where Mr. Morris found it?” she said, more to herself than me.

  Boy, wouldn’t I like to know that myself!

  “Maybe they will find out. After all, they just seem to have found the revolver recently, along with a lot of other odd stuff he appears to have accumulated over the years.” Play it down, I thought. Make it sound like just another piece of junk he had accumulated, all having little value or meaning. But I knew otherwise. His possession was of monumental importance. I considered telling her the most interesting bit; the part about the note indicating the gun was older than it could possibly be. But that wouldn’t do. While it would belittle the men from the NSG, and make it harder for them to pursue their investigations, it was the type of story we didn’t need floating about either. And Dan would be so angered by the ridiculousness of the whole thing I was sure he would take action I didn’t want. No, better to leave it like this. Doris would share the news with a few, and the story would get around.

  “You look like you’re leaving,” Doris noted. “Dan wanted to see you after the others had left,” she added.

  I had suspected that. However, I had other plans and would count on Doris passing on my edited version of the interview to him. “I have to go out. Carol called and wants to bring me up to speed on some important developments on that propulsion project Dan is hot to close on,” I lied.

  “I thought she was out of town until tomorrow,” Doris responded. “Dan tried to get her on something yesterday.”

  “She is,” I improvised. I forgot Doris had a pretty good handle on
what our key people were up to during the critical phase of this proposal. “She wants to video conference in a couple of people before she leaves the East Coast tonight. The conference setup is over at our office, and it’s three hours later where Carol is. She has a late plane to catch, but we can still get this in.”

  I was getting better at lying. I’d had a lot of practice in the last few hours. Actually, Carol was already on a plane for home and I could count on an early sit down with her in the morning.

  “Tell Dan I’ll be in Monday morning, probably late morning. He and I can talk then.” I was glad I hadn’t taken anything with me out of the office. It looked like I was rushing off to a meeting, leaving everything in place for the morrow’s work. No hint that I might not be returning.

  Doris wasn’t happy with the situation. After all, her boss had said make sure I talked with him before leaving, and that wasn’t going to happen. But short of chaining me to her desk there was little she could do to prevent my escape. I smiled at her for further reassurance, and headed down the long hallway toward the elevators. I was sure she would be getting a call off to Dan as soon as she got back to her desk, but he wouldn’t be able to get over here before I was gone, even if he was at his desk, which was unlikely. Dan was not a chair warmer, and spent more than half of his time on the floor with his troops, making sure no roadblocks hindered his company’s progress. It was something he had learned from the Skunkworks at Lockheed, where he worked on the Blackbird as a young engineer.

  For once the gods were with me. The elevator arrived just as I did, and I joined the two people already stepping into it. I didn’t know either, which was good. I didn’t want to get involved any more conversations just now, as such discussions frequently involved details of the project and could easily become extended exchanges. The others got off at the lobby, and I continued down to the basement. I passed through the guard check without breaking stride. Without anything to inspect, they simply waived me through. My car was only a short distance ahead, and I triggered the locks as I walked towards it.