The wait seemed long, but wasn’t. Eric knocked on the door every few minutes. After several tries there was a thump from the other side, and the door opened.
Leon was there, and looked angry. He glanced at the big Colt in Eric’s hand. “No weapon, huh? Now get in here and explain to me what this was all about tonight.”
They went upstairs, past the odor of gun oil and powder residue. Leon put coffee on, and opened a package of cookies. Eric told him Neal had said he had important information for him, had given him a number to call and when. He didn’t say anything about Neal’s note.
“The guy’s a civilian engineer. What could he know?”
“Whatever, someone made sure we wouldn’t know it,” said Eric. “So you knew Neal.”
“I knew of him,” said Leon. “Project engineer since the start: Wright Patterson, NASA, MIT graduate, very capable, but still an engineer. A hardware man.”
“Maybe he knew someone we need to talk to.”
“Could be. Anything he said could give us a lead. Have you told me everything? We’re supposed to be working together, Eric. Are we?”
“What reason would I have not to?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Interagency rivalry, something I’ve said, my after shave, could be anything.”
“You CIA?”
“My, we’re blunt tonight. Did they teach you that in NSA school?”
“Wrong bait. Keep fishing.”
“Don’t need to. I looked you up in our mutual database. I’m sure you’ll find me in there, too, if you already haven’t. You know what they have listed for you? On leave for special assignment. That means you’re black as hell, dear boy. Deep, deep. Well, so am I, and it doesn’t make any difference what special ops units we’re assigned to. We’re both here to save this project. We’re working for the good old US of A.”
“Okay, then I’ll go first. I know that commercial interests are trying to get hold of this plane. Are you involved with that in a personal way? Maybe a little something to pad a federal retirement?”
“Is this going to be twenty questions?”
“If you don’t answer the first one, I’ll call my operations director and get one or both of us pulled.”
“I’m involved in it up to my ass, and you are, too. You just don’t know it yet. I heard my party acquaintance call you for lunch, or was it a cookie?” Leon waved a cookie at him.
“Lunch. We meet tomorrow.”
“Don’t believe his business card. I’ve checked, and it’s a phony. I think he’s someone’s lawyer. See if you agree. The offer will be tempting, since you’ll actually be working with the aircraft. His name is phony, and so is the company he’s supposed to own. We traced the so-called executive secretary that answers his calls to an unemployed schoolteacher in a Jersey apartment. I’m still trying to find out what company or conglomerate he’s working for, and how they found out about the plane in the first place. They’re probably aerospace. Davis will be up for retirement soon, and what better golden parachute than a fat consultantship.”
“So Davis is in on it.”
“He is the man. When I started digging he came up with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Do I actually appear to be corruptible? Dear me. He doesn’t seem to feel the same way about you. As a matter of fact, I think you frighten him. Which brings me to my first question. My turn, now. I wonder how a career military man could fear a data analyst like you, unless you’re more than that. Your entire career is special ops and deep cover with a few visible assignments for tech transfer, but I’ve checked your academic degrees and they are real. So, Mister Price, why are you here? To analyze data on something that doesn’t work yet?”
“That’s two questions.”
“Yuck, yuck. So answer the fucking first one first.”
“I’m here to save the project, and that includes data analysis. It includes identifying our tech transfer friends, and their country or countries, and why the technology has come without documentation. It includes identifying corporate spies trying to steal said technology, and the saboteurs trying to slow or stop the project. And now we can add the murderer of Neal Johnson to the list. That enough for you?”
Leon reached out and tapped Eric’s shoulder holster at his armpit. “Identify—and eliminate. You didn’t mention that.”
“First things first,” said Eric.
“I can accept that.” Leon pulled back his coat to reveal the holster there, a black grip with an extended magazine protruding from it. “At least we’re on the same page. The corporate spies are mine. We find them; they die, all the way up to any CEO involved. The saboteurs are yours.”
“A bit extreme. My orders don’t read like that.”
“Mine do, so don’t interfere if we get to that point. We’re supposed to be allies.”
“Fair enough. Now what do we do?”
“Business as usual. Neal has disappeared, and you wonder why. We’ll do an autopsy and check the slugs in his body.”
“They’re from an M16.”
“We’ll check it out, and I want to get Davis’ reaction to Neal’s disappearance. This could even have been a corporate hit, or it could be the saboteurs we’re chasing. We have to separate out the bad guys, and then kill all of them.”
“And somewhere along the way I want to see that airplane doing something that tells me this entire project isn’t a waste of time,” said Eric.
“Now, now, keep the faith. Someone high up thinks this is vital to national defense, or you and I wouldn’t be here.”
“A hired killer, and a data analyst?”
Leon smiled. “Make that three hired killers, at least. And one of them isn’t working with us.”
Eric had to agree with that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHERE ANGELS DWELL
“You were right. It was an M16,” said Leon. “Neal never knew what hit him. Military rounds. One of our people found the brass near the auditorium. The firing pin has a distinctive burr we could identify if we could find the right rifle, but there are hundreds at the base. I’ll talk to Davis, and see what’s possible.”
“He knows about Neal?” Eric rubbed sleep from his eyes. The call had shocked him awake, and morning glow was creeping down the buttes visible from his bedroom.
“Had to. He’ll make up some story for the techs about why Neal is gone. He mentioned that your background would make you a logical replacement.”
“What?”
“Why not? You arrive, and shortly after that Neal is gone. There have been three people in that position in the last two years. Two resigned for health reasons, and Davis will use the same excuse for Neal. I happen to know that one of the other two guys just disappeared, and has never been found. There are lots of ways to sabotage a project, and getting rid of the technical leadership is a good one. It’s mostly program analysis, Eric, and that’s what Davis was told you’re here for. There’s a whole team of people to handle the technical stuff. It would put you at the center of base operations, and that’s where you need to be. You’ll be a target, of course, but at least you’ll be one that shoots back. Anyway, don’t be surprised if Davis calls you about it.”
“Is that why you called so early? It’s just past six.”
“Sorry. Oh, yeah, one other thing. I think you’ll like this one. Nataly Hegel called me last night and left a message. She wanted your phone number. I called her shop, left a message saying you’d call her back this morning. She’s usually in there by nine.”
“Okay,” said Eric. What now? he thought. She’s probably canceling out on dinner.
“Gotta go,” said Leon. “I’ll be in Phoenix all weekend. Company business.”