Chapter 40
The sunlight streaming through the dirty attic window spotlighted a small cloud of dust specks that floated above the secure SATCOM link. That link to the NSA provided fax, voice, and data, all digitally encrypted. The attic provided a discrete office, exactly the type Jack wanted, complete with pull-down steps from the second-floor hallway below. It was why he had chosen to rent this house.
“Janet, what have you got for me?”
“Just what you’ve been looking for, Jacky boy.” Janet Price walked across the small attic space and dropped a small stack of papers on Jack’s desk. “Hot off the fax. The profile of our mole is on top since I knew you were hot for it,” she continued. “Next are the security clearance background investigations of every person assigned to the Rho Project.”
Jack leafed through the stack.
“Hmm. Heavy-duty mathematician. Real shocker there. Excellent computer programmer but inexperienced with top-level security systems. Good language skills but nonnative Russian speaker. Blah, blah, blah…” Jack tossed the top couple of pages in the shredder pile. “Exactly what we already thought. Why do they pay those folks?”
Jack continued through the rest of the background reports on Rho Project personnel. Now this was more like it. After several minutes, he looked across the small room to where Janet sat patiently awaiting his response.
“So let’s run through what we know and what we suspect. We know this person is a math wizard and really, really good with computers. We suspect they haven’t had much secure network experience. That last rules out a Special Forces or spy type.”
“Unless they’re trying to look amateurish.”
“No. That doesn’t feel right. This person's no spy.”
“So he or she is a scientist.”
“Yes. Number one or two in his class, Cal Tech type, doctorate by twenty-five, flat-out genius.”
“That describes about half the people on the project. Hell, Jack, a third of the physicists and mathematicians in Los Alamos fit that profile.”
“That’s okay. We can narrow it down. It has to be someone on the project, but we can eliminate the technicians. They don’t have the math background.”
Janet crossed her legs, leaning farther back in the chair. “So that’s our in.”
“You’ve got it. We don’t want to go after anyone who could be our man. He’d get suspicious. We want to start with someone on the project who we know can’t be the mole, but who has access.”
Jack shuffled the papers, finally pulling two sets.
“This one is perfect. A technician with a reputation for being able to build anything. Everyone uses him to build specialized equipment.”
Janet reached over to take the papers from Jack’s outstretched hand. “Gilbert McFarland? Looks boring enough. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“We did that last night.” Jack winked at her.
“Play your cards right and it might not be a one-time occurrence.” Janet’s wicked smile seemed to heat the room.
Jack shook off the thought. That would have to wait. “Did you notice that the McFarlands are regular churchgoers?”
“Lutherans. Sounds like we’re going to get a little religion, Mr. Johnson.”
“We could use it, Mrs. Johnson. By the way, how’d it go down at the school today?”
“No problems. I met with Principal Zumwalt. I told him we had just moved here and that I wanted to apply for a teaching job next year. He seemed impressed with my application and certifications and said I’d start getting substitute calls right away. It’s cold and flu season.”
“Good. We want you hopping around the classrooms. And anything let slip in front of a high school kid is guaranteed to slip further. Besides, we only need to spot little oddities.”
“How about you, Jack? How’d your day go?”
“As expected. I made the rounds of all the local government offices. Introduced myself as Jack Johnson, field agent for the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Janet’s throaty laugh once again elevated his blood pressure. “That must’ve made you quite popular.”
“I don’t need to be popular. Just expected to be out snooping around the area.”
“Did you get in touch with Harry?”
“Just talked to him over lunch.”
“How’s the telephone line repair business?”
“He seems to have found a home over at the phone company. He gets the fun outdoor work.”
“Too bad we’re staying away from him. I’d take him a hot chocolate and some soup. Poor boy.”
Jack stood and walked over to the hatch leading down from the attic. “I’ve got to run a couple of quick errands. In the meantime, pull up everything you can on Mr. McFarland. Before church comes around this Sunday, I want to know everything about his inner circle: wife, kids, everyone.”
As he climbed down the stairs, Jack could already hear the click of Janet’s fingertips on the computer keyboard. The McFarlands were about to acquire some special new friends.