"I'm going to try the run now," Takamura said. "I think I've bypassed the security tag program and it won't notice that it's been bypassed."
"You think?" Thorpe repeated.
"We won't know until we try it," Takamura said.
"What's the worst that can happen?" Thorpe asked. "The computer explodes?"
"I don't know," Takamura said seriously. "I suppose the worst that can happen is the worst thing that whoever set up the security tag is capable of. This security program is very sophisticated."
"Well, let's go for it and see what happens," Thorpe said.
Takamura typed in a command and the screen cleared, replaced by the little clock with the hands winding. At the top of the screen, a green band also appeared, with the word clear written across it in big black letters.
"What's that?" Thorpe asked.
"It means the program is running clean. No tracer or tag," Takamura explained.
They waited until the bar turned red and the word suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a new one flashing: tagging.
"It didn't work," Takamura exclaimed. He immediately began typing commands. "Someone's on to the program and trying to find out where it's coming from. I routed it through a bunch of systems, so it will take them a while to get back to us."
"How long?" Thorpe asked.
"A minute, maybe more."
"Well, then, get out of there."
"I'm trying to disengage right now."
Thorpe felt helpless and stupid as he watched Takamura's fingers flying over the keys.
"Shit!" Takamura exclaimed. "I can't disengage. This is a very good trap," he said. "They've got us and they're going to find out where we are." He sat back in his chair and looked at Thorpe helplessly.
Thorpe dropped to his knees and leaned under the desk. He pulled the telephone line that went to the computer and its power plug. The screen went dark.
"What did you do?" Takamura exclaimed.
Thorpe had the two cords dangling from his hand. "Will they find out we ran the program now?"
It was an option Takamura hadn't thought of and it took him a few second to collect himself. "No, I don't think so."
"Good," Thorpe said, dropping the cords. "We'll have to come up with a different way of checking this information."
"I'll work on it," Takamura said.
"Any idea who put the security program in place?" Thorpe asked.
"I initially thought it was Colonel Kinsley," Takamura said, "but once I got into it, I knew it was more sophisticated than anything we have here at Bragg. Probably someone in Washington. Maybe even the NSA — they have the best people there."
"You sound jealous," Thorpe said. "Now, why would someone in Washington be concerned about this?" he asked. He didn't expect an answer from Takamura, nor did he get one.
"What do you want me to do?" Takamura asked.
"Let's suppose there's someone who killed these six girls around Stuttgart in the past year. There's a chance that person is German, but there is also a possibility that the person is American. Most likely a soldier. I wanted you today to check military posts here in the States and see if there are any missing girls. If there are, then we have a pattern. We can then try and cross-reference to see how many military personnel fit the pattern. Which ones were in the right assignment at the right time."
"I might be able to access the personnel computer from a different location, now that I have an idea what the security program is like," Takamura said. "All I need is a phone line and I can use my laptop and cell phone in my car or, even better, work from my computer at home. It's a better machine than this crap."
"Great," Thorpe said. "Try to see if you can find anything stateside. Parker's coming here in two days and she'll link up with you. She has access to a lot of resources, so if you find anything, give it to her. If you run into any trouble, call Sergeant Major Dublowski." Thorpe gave Takamura the phone numbers.
"What do you think is going on?" Takamura asked.
"I don't have a clue," Thorpe said. "You need to be very careful. I appreciate what you've done so far. Don't take any chances. Push comes to shove, we'll let Parker do the digging. Using the Freedom of Information Act and some good congressional and media pressure, she can find out a lot. The main reason I'd like you to work it as soon as possible is that I want to be able to check on anything you might find out while I'm over in Germany. The last girl disappearing was only two weeks ago. The killer, if there is one, is probably still over there."
"I'll work the search again tonight from my apartment," Takamura said.
"It was somewhere in North Carolina, sir," Welwood said. "They got off the net before the NSA could pinpoint it. We're still not sure how they escaped our hook. The program was designed to keep an intruder locked in until identified."
Hancock regarded the other man over steepled fingers. "Was it Thorpe out of Fort Bragg?"
"I would assume so, sir."
Welwood was on Hancock's side of the black marble hallway, deep in the heart of Direct Action. Hancock's office was dark, paneled with expensive wood. His desk was massive, over ten feet long by six wide, but there was still nothing on it. A computer was built into the desk itself, angled glass allowing him to read the screen from his seat. Recessed lighting in the ceiling above Hancock was angled forward to cause visitors to have to squint to see him.
Above each of the chess sets was a single halogen light hanging down from the high ceiling, highlighting each board.
"What were they searching for?" Hancock asked.
"A five-variable search in the Department of Defense personnel computer," Welwood said. "Military dependents, female, age sixteen to eighteen, with a CID file number, in the continental United States."
Hancock tapped well-manicured fingers on his desktop. His eyes drifted to the chessboards.
"Major Thorpe is turning into a problem again," Hancock mused out loud.
"I don't understand the significance of the searches," Welwood said. "First girls overseas disappearing and now in the States."
"I don't either," Hancock said, "but you can be sure if Thorpe is involved in it, there's trouble somewhere. Did you do as I asked and inquire about this Romulus file in Operations?"
"Yes, sir. I made some discreet inquiries but drew a blank."
"What else?"
"There might be some trouble." Welwood pulled out a sheet of paper. "I ran the records on the phone in the office where Thorpe is assigned. Thorpe made a couple of phone calls this morning to a number in Alexandria. I ran the number and it belongs to an office in the Pentagon. He talked to someone in the congressional anti-terrorist liaison office."
"Who authorized you to do such a thing?"
"I used my initiative, sir."
"Thorpe's going overseas," Hancock said. "I'm going to have some people in Europe keep an eye on him over there. As far as Fort Bragg, I'll also keep tabs on developments there. I want you to expand your coverage to the Pentagon and find out who he's talking to."
Welwood wasn't happy about that last part. "We need to be careful with the Pentagon. They're covered by the NSA also. We might run into some counterintelligence. The green and blue suiters over there can get pretty riled up if they think we're stepping on their turf."
"Then be careful," Hancock snapped.
After Welwood left his office, Hancock pulled two files from a drawer and laid them on his desk. One was labeled romulus. The other remus.
The fact that the files were hard-copy paper and not loaded into the Agency's mainframe computer told Hancock that this was top-level stuff. No matter how good the hardware and software, computers could be compromised. There was only one copy of each file, the ones in his hands. The paper and photographs were coated with special chemicals that would react to any xeroxing or photographing.