The Tower A Novel (Sanctus)

4





Assistant Director O’Halloran was a thin blade of a man worn sharp by a lifetime in the Bureau. Everything about him was hard and

precise: the steel rims of his spectacles; the pale grey eyes behind them that looked up as Franklin and Shepherd entered the

room; even his gunmetal hair appeared to have been parted with a scalpel rather than a comb. He was sitting at the same immaculate

desk he had been photographed behind on the recruitment literature that went with the application form Shepherd had filled out

almost a year ago: same flatscreen monitor, same keyboard, same desk phone and framed photograph. The only things different were

the two files on the desk in front of him: one plain, the other with Shepherd’s photograph printed on the first page. Shepherd’s

pulse quickened when he saw it.

‘You have quite the impressive resumé,’ O’Halloran said, tapping a thin finger on the file with the photograph. ‘Mathematics

major with computer science at the University of Michigan. MSc in physics from CalTech. Best part of a PhD in theoretical

cosmology from Cambridge University in England – though you never finished that one, did you? Even so, I imagine you could be

making six figures and upwards in the financial sector, yet you chose to sign up as a GS-10 with a basic starting salary of

$46,000. Why is that I wonder?’

Shepherd swallowed drily. ‘Money’s not that important to me.’

‘Really, you a Communist?’

‘No, sir – I’m a patriot.’

‘OK, Mr Patriot, tell me about your PhD, why didn’t you finish it?’

Shepherd glanced down at the file, recalling the psychiatric evaluations and background checks that had formed part of his

recruitment screening. All of it would be in there, at least everything he had told them. But this was the Assistant Director he

was talking to so there could well be other things in there by now – things he had hoped to keep hidden.

‘It’s all in the file, sir.’

O’Halloran regarded Shepherd from the centre of his stillness. ‘I want to hear it from you.’

Shepherd’s mind raced. He was being tested and Assistant Director O’Halloran was far too senior for it to be about something

trivial. If it was to do with the parts he’d left out of his past then Franklin could easily have questioned him about it back at

The Biograph, which meant it had to be about something else. He should stick to the story he’d already told, volunteer no new

information, and hope things became clearer over the course of the next few minutes.

‘I had been in academia all my adult life,’ he said, saying the same lines he had spoken to his recruitment officer. ‘It was

everything I knew but not everything I wanted to know. Some people like to gather knowledge just for knowledge’s sake, I always

intended to apply mine.’

‘NASA.’

Shepherd nodded. ‘A large proportion of my education was funded by Space Agency scholarships. I also spent a lot of research time

on various NASA projects, which is pretty standard for anyone on one of their scholarships: they get extra brain power, we get our

feet under the table and gain practical experience of the work we will hopefully end up doing.’

‘So what happened?’

‘9/11 happened – sir. Homeland defence and the war on terror became the number one priority. It took a big bite out of everyone

’s budget. Almost the entire space program was shelved. I suddenly found myself with no grant and no job to go to even if I did

manage to complete my studies. It was … like hitting a wall.’

‘So you dropped out.’

‘That’s one way of putting it, sir.’

‘How would you put it?’

‘At first I felt cheated, like something had been taken away from me. It seemed pointless to carry on studying for a job that was

no longer there. There were plenty of private companies offering to fund the remainder of my studies but they all wanted me to

sign my life away in exchange. Work for them as soon as I graduated, study stock markets instead of stars. It wasn’t what I

wanted. So I took off and went travelling to clear my head and try and work out what I was going to do with my life now NASA no

longer appeared to be an option.’

‘Where did you end up? There’s a gap in your file of almost two years where you seem to have disappeared off the face of the

earth: no social security records, no job history, no credit card records.’

‘I was off the grid mainly – Europe first then Southeast Asia and eventually Africa, travelling from place to place, working

cash jobs in bars and as migrant labour on farms, staying in backpacker hostels that charged by the night. They don’t take credit

cards in most of those places. I’d been a student for most of my adult life so I knew how to live cheap.’

‘Then what, you saw the light and decided to rejoin society?’

‘Yes, sir. I realized I was squandering an opportunity. What happened on 9/11 changed my life – but almost three thousand other

people lost theirs. My future had been altered; theirs had been taken away. My intention had always been to pay back the money for

my education by devoting myself to public service and working for NASA. I came to realize that just because that particular

opportunity had been closed to me didn’t mean I couldn’t pay my dues in other ways.’

‘So you signed up for the FBI?’

‘Not immediately, sir.’

‘No, that’s right.’ O’Halloran opened the file for the first time and flipped to a page near the back. ‘First you worked as a

volunteer for various aid agencies, setting up computer networks and fundraising pages and teaching computer skills to homeless

people and the long-term unemployed.’ He looked back up. ‘You really weren’t kidding about money were you?’

‘No, sir – it’s never been something that has particularly motivated me.’

O’Halloran pursed his lips and studied Shepherd like a poker player deciding which way to bet. ‘I’m not entirely happy that the

Bureau I have served all my adult life seems to be some kind of consolation prize for you, Shepherd, but I can’t afford to turn

away a candidate with your qualifications.’ He closed the file and laid a hand on the second one. ‘Are you familiar with the

Goddard Space Flight Center?’

‘Yes sir, I spent a few summers there running test data off Explorer 66.’

‘Is that anything to do with the Hubble Space Telescope?’

‘Not really. They both collect data from the furthest edges of the universe, at least they did – Explorer is pretty much used as

a test satellite now. Hubble does everything Explorer used to and has a much greater reach.’

The lips pursed again. ‘Not any more.’ O’Halloran opened his desk drawer, removed a badge wallet and handed it to Shepherd. ‘I

am not in the habit of sending trainees out in the field before they have completed their training or spent at least a year in a

field office, but apparently, out of more than thirty thousand currently active Bureau personnel, you are uniquely qualified for a

situation that has arisen.’ Shepherd opened the wallet and saw his own photo staring back from an FBI ID card. ‘That will

temporarily entitle you to carry a concealed weapon and transport it onboard commercial airlines. You can collect your Roscoe and

a box of shells from Agent Williams on your way out.’

Shepherd read the name printed next to a date that expired in a month. ‘My middle name is Thomas,’ he said, turning the badge to

O’Halloran.

‘There’s already a Special Agent J. T. Shepherd in the Memphis office and, as no two agents can have the same ID,’ he raised

his hand and made a small sign of the cross in the air, ‘I now baptize you J. C. Shepherd. That’s your Bureau name, and you will

answer to it. I am placing Agent Franklin in full command of the investigation and you are to follow his lead exactly. You have

been assigned to this investigation solely because of your unique and considerable expertise in the field of astronomy. You will

use it to assist Agent Franklin in this investigation and give your opinion only when it is requested. The rest of the time you

will look upon this as a valuable opportunity to learn on the job from a well-seasoned and highly regarded agent. Once your

usefulness to the investigation has been exhausted, your temporary status will be revoked and you will report back here to finish

your training, understood?’

‘Yessir.’

‘I trust you know your way to Goddard from here? There’s a car signed out to you in transport.’ He took the plain covered file

from the desk and held it up. ‘Agent Franklin can brief you on the way.’