It took less than an hour for the okay to come through, which was little short of miraculous considering the delicate security area involved. It also demonstrated the depth of concern in high places about McCulloch's disappearance. Just an hour after the permission arrived Troy was called to the conference room by the admiral. He tried not to show concern at the sight of the full colonel and the two star general who were also waiting there for him. The admiral made the introductions.
'General Stringham, Colonel Burkhardt, this is Sergeant Harmon. As you know he is operating as lieutenant on this particular assignment.'
Troy threw the sharpest salute that he could. The salute was returned in silence which stretched on and on until Admiral Colonne had left the room.
'The general will now administer the oath for your Top Secret clearance,' the colonel said. 'As soon as that is done and I have witnessed it you will receive your new ID and pass to the Gnomen project. I will then escort you there. You will raise your right hand.'
This was the first time that Troy had heard the name of the project that was being worked on in the laboratory. It meant nothing to him. The ceremony was a swift one, and as soon as it was over he was rushed out with the colonel to a waiting staff car. Two motorcyclists led the way as they ploughed through the afternoon traffic. For the first time Troy began to realize just how deep were the waters that he was fishing in.
'Rotten weather,' Colonel Burkhardt said. 'Early too. Bet we have an even worse winter.' He leaned forward and slid shut the glass panel behind the driver's seat. 'You've got to find out where this traitorous son-of-a-bitch has gone and then nail his goddamned hide to the wall. Do you understand?'
'Yes, sir. Might I ask, are you acquainted with this Gnomen project?'
'No. Don't know a damn thing about it except that the name of the director is Doctor Delcourt, whom we are on our way to see right now. It is also about the most top-top secret research project that we have going. The budget is right up there in CIA figures. So when the security officer who is supposed to be guarding something like this, when he ups and vanishes, why I get scared. And you better realize now that we will undoubtedly get some high-powered investigation team on to this assignment as soon as someone figures out just whose backyard it is in. Meanwhile, since you are the one who initiated this investigation, you will proceed with it until relieved. Which means that we want you to get us some answers, and I also mean instantly or even sooner.'
Yes, sir, was the only answer to that one. After this one-sided conversation Burkhardt slumped silently back in his seat and angrily chewed an unlit cigar for the rest of the trip. At the laboratory their identification swept them by the security checks and on into the main building. A guide took them up in the elevator, directly to the director's office.
Dr Roxanne Delcourt was in her middle fifties. She was grey haired, not unattractive — though her face was barren of make-up — and was efficiently dressed in a grey worsted suit. The only jewellery that she wore was a string of cultivated pearls tucked under the collar of her white silk blouse. There were no rings, certainly nothing on the third finger of her left hand. She shook hands with Troy, then showed Burkhardt to the door as he left. She relaxed a little as soon as he was gone, and smiled as she turned to Troy.
'Well, lieutenant, please sit down. It has been a most traumatic day with all the comings and goings. It appears that Wes McCulloch didn't show up this morning and for some reason this is being treated like the end of the world.'
'You must admit, doctor, that this could be very serious. After all he was head of security here.'
'I know, but we have nothing here that any spies could possibly be interested in. Gnomen is a research project, pure and simple. An exercise in higher mathematics and nuclear physics. We are begining to get results, but I'm afraid that applications are still years away at this stage.'
'Did McCulloch know anything about the research here?'
'Everything. He had to, of course. Security.'
'Well then, doctor, I'm afraid that I will have to know what is going on here as well. Could you please tell me — just what is the Gnomen project all about?'
Chapter 10
'Oh, dear,' Roxanne Delcourt said. 'You want me to explain exactly what we are doing here with the Gnomen project?' She leaned back in her chair and twisted a yellow pencil between her fingers. 'That could be difficult. It begins with a mathematical theorem…'
'I must tell you, doctor, that math was never my best subject.'
'It is the same, I am afraid, for most people. And, please, my name is Roxanne. Doctor is not my first name, just as I am sure that Lieutenant is not yours.'
'Dead right, doctor — I mean Roxanne. It's Troy.'
'All right, Troy, let me tell you about the mathematics without telling you exactly what the maths are. My work has always been involved with the theory of particle movement, sub-atomic particles that is, and their relation to the unified field theory…'
'You lost me on the first fence. Which theory is this?'
'The unified field theory grew out of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Simply speaking, it is an attempt to tie together and prove the interrelationship of all of the forces in the universe. This is not an easy thing to do. Down through the years a number of people have worked very hard to either prove or disprove it, to get to grips with it in some way. As was Einstein, I am a mathematician, not a physicist. But unlike him, I have more laboratory results and experiments to build upon. And more facilities now exist to put to the test any new theories. Which is what we are doing here.'
'What?' he asked, mystified.
'Tying down the relationships of space-time. If I could show you what we are doing, perhaps then you might understand more clearly.'
He didn't. Troy followed her through the building and looked at particle accelerators, cloud chambers, racks and banks of equipment that apparently didn't even have names. Enthusiastic scientists pointed out to him curly white lines on black photographic prints, as proud of them as if they were photographs of their own offspring. He finished the tour thoroughly depressed, knowing that he was far out of his depth, while wondering at the same time just what he could do about it. When they were done, Roxanne took him to the executives' dining-room, an alcove off the company cafeteria, where they were served first class coffee and toasted Danish.
'That's a very impressive set-up you have here,' Troy said around a mouthful of Danish.
'It certainly is. Do you now see how exciting our work is?'
'No,' he admitted. 'But I think your security arrangements are top rate.'
They laughed at that. 'No, I'm being serious,' Troy said. 'McCulloch seems to be involved in some kind of wickedness that we still don't know about. But as a professional security officer he sewed this place up tight as a drum. It may look casual to an outsider, but the entire establishment is divided into guarded blocks with first-class security checks between each one. Records are automatically kept of everyone going in and out of each block. This information is computerized so that the whereabouts of every person in the entire set-up is known every instant of the time. Very efficient.'
'But other than that, Troy…?'
'Very little penetrated. Look, Dr Delcourt…'
'Roxanne.'
'Roxanne, sorry. During our little tour you impressed me in two ways. First off, you know everything that is happening here in every detail. I don't know if you noticed it, but you answered questions when you were asked about a number of different things. Without hesitation. I haven't the slightest idea what you were saying — but the other people did and they seemed to go away satisfied. You're a pretty high-powered lady.'