The Victor Project (19 page)

     It had been over thirty minutes since she had stopped for Rick and now was making her way into industrialized district.  Another twenty minutes of driving and she would be approaching the southern barrier of Zone 5.  Not once during the trip had Frank caught Rick moving closer toward Val for a kiss or anything resembling romance.  The two sat almost motionless on opposite sides of the vehicle.

     The last mile of road had been lined on both sides with nothing but warehouses and factories.  Fortunately, there was a lot of other miscellaneous traffic on the streets that allowed his vehicle to blend in.  Upon making the last right turn, the car he had been tailing slowed then parked in front of a warehouse that appeared to be abandoned.  One other vehicle stood empty in the parking lot.

     From the point where he stopped, there was nothing between his vehicle and the warehouse to use as cover.  The best he could do was turn into the parking lot on his right, leaving the rear of his car pointing in the direction of the warehouse.  The two had exited her car quickly allowing Frank to only see a foot slip behind the large door as it slid closed.  If his sense of distance was correct, he was just inside the three-hundred yard mark.  For a moment he stared at the warehouse door, then the silence of the car shocked him into an awkward lunge for the listening device.  Their conversation had already begun as he slipped the earpiece into his right ear.  For three-hundred yards, the transmitter was producing some remarkably clear dialogue.

     “Forgive me for asking you to meet me here, but I must be discrete,” said William.

     The noise of objects moving, most likely chairs, muddled the next few words.  Frank realized that it would only take the light rumbling of the train parked thirty yards to his left to scuttle his mission.

     “Val told me you two spoke the other night.  I just wanted to thank you for meeting with me and giving me the chance to answer any questions you might have,” said William.

     “I’m not sure I have any questions,” said Rick.

     “That’s all right.  I think what I’m going to say will help you decide.  Some of this will be news to you Val.  Another one of our associates met with me late yesterday.  He received a message from one of our European counterparts,” said William.

     “You have people in
Europe?” Rick interrupted.

     “We have members in just about every zone across the globe.  They all believe and struggle for the same cause, so we try to keep each other informed.  This message said that a group of terrorists are somehow infecting the zones in
Europe with a deadly virus, more deadly than man has ever seen.  Most likely it is man made, possibly for the purpose of war,” said William.

     “There hasn’t been a war on earth for hundreds of years.  Why would the government have to continue developing chemical weapons, much less any weapon?” asked Rick.

     “These weapons aren’t to battle any human enemies, our government has continued weapons research for years in fear of an alien threat,” said William.

     “Aliens?  To fight off aliens?” Rick exclaimed.

     “Of course.  Do you remember reading about an alien encounter with a U.S. space station during the twenty-third century?,” asked William.

     “Yes I remember it well.  It was the only one of its kind,” Rick replied.

     “Correct.  If you remember also, they thought that the aliens might have brought the virus that killed millions that year.  Some people in our government felt strongly that it was no accident, that the aliens purposely infected us with a virus to keep man from exploring the galaxy,” said William.

     “Hard to believe they wanted to kill everyone on earth,” remarked Rick.

     “Maybe they didn’t.  Maybe they just wanted to kill everyone on the ship, as a sort of warning.  And by some unfortunate turn of events it spread down to the planet.  Regardless of purpose, our government committed itself to a program of extraterrestrial defense.  Don’t kid yourself that even today the highly evolved human brain doesn’t still think like that.  Especially the government brain,” said William.

     “That I can believe,” laughed Rick.

     Frank fought to concentrate on the conversation between the three, but what he had just overheard started a barrage of theories.  It was easy to deduce from the conversation that William must have been one of the PERFs.  Val must have been one of them also.  Where Rick stood in all of this Frank wasn’t quite sure.  But above all that was there really a virus spreading across Europe?  If the U.S. government knew about the epidemic, they were keeping their lips pretty tight.

     “Back to the serious part.  We are not certain of how many zones have been destroyed by this virus, but we do know that the survival rate for the human population is almost zero in every zone this virus infects,” said William.

     “So, our government steps in with a cure, like they have done a hundred times,” said Rick.

     “First, it would be hard to believe that our government doesn’t already know about this.  Second, if they do, they would have had to begin inoculations weeks prior to fully protect any of the zones closest to either coast.  We know for a fact that they haven’t started inoculations anywhere, which now might help make more sense about what you and Val spoke of last night.  I was certain the purpose of the project we discovered was to move a large number of people somewhere and I had a strong feeling it revolved around some evacuation.  We weren’t sure about its scheduled date and the reasoning behind it until now.  Would you like to take a guess at the latter part?” said William.

     “By what you have told me, I would say that the government is going to bail out,” said Rick.

     “I agree and to further that, I would say that it’s because they are unable to find a cure,” said William.

     “Anybody seen the invitation list?” joked Rick.

     “That party’s starting without us,” said Val.

     “Our European friends also stated a theory that the confinement of the population in the zones contributes highly to the death rate of the virus, which makes sense to all of us, I’m sure,” said William.

     “I’ll agree to that,” said Rick.

     “I’m not sure we can stop the evacuation.  I wouldn’t know where to begin and I’m not sure I want to, but what I want is to inform the populous about the virus, before the evacuation,” said William.

     “We could just wait until they bail out and then open the zones,” said Rick.

     “It could be weeks before the zone military realizes they’ve been left behind.  They will stand vigil just as before, most likely until the virus strikes.  By then it’s too late,” replied William.

     “But if we convince the masses that their beloved government is leaving town with another deadly virus bearing down on them, they could push the right buttons,” said Rick.

     “Now you’re thinking like me.  We also give them the only solution I can think of now, which is to open the zones,” said William.

     “Why don’t you just go to the media?  Tell them the story?” asked Rick.

     “We thought of that.  The government and the media look upon us as a bunch of violent, left-wing propagandists.  They would never believe our story without hard proof.  We’d also tip our hat and open the door for the government to lay down a brilliant cover-up, which no doubt they have already created,” said William.

     “So you need proof,” said Rick.

     “Hard proof,” said William.

     “And that’s where I come in,” said Rick.

     “You are correct again.  Rick, you can see that we are not gun-toting terrorists and we’re not some crazy twits with secret tattoos and chants.  We just want the people to realize what they’ve lost, freedom.  And we want them to have that choice again.  Unfortunately, our original purpose has now been altered somewhat to help save the human race,” said William.

     “Sounds kind of corny,” said Rick.

     “Whatever the connotation, it is none the less true,” said William.

     When William mentioned the word evacuation, Frank’s cloud of questions all fell to the ground, with answers.  The Victor Project referenced on the disk was created to evacuate key personnel.  William didn’t have to lend a hand on that one.  If William had gotten his hands on the same disk that had landed in his lap, he would have his hard evidence.  Frank closed his eyes to visualize the column in the spreadsheet that listed the start dates for the evacuation, but couldn’t recall one specific date.  The best he could remember was that they were all in the near future, possibly within the next few weeks.

     The news about the virus helped to pull the whole thing together.  William was poised right on the edge of the abyss.  What he needed was for Rick to get him a few bits of information, some of which were on the copies of the disk Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous had bestowed on him.

     “Needless to say we’re willing to take a few more risks at this stage.  And the next risk is what we need your help with,” said William.

     “You need me to break into the CVD’s computer system,” said Rick.

     “Val mentioned that you displayed above average intellect,” said William.

     “Thank you,” said Rick with a nod toward Val.

     “This is dangerous.  I wouldn’t be showing you respect if I didn’t tell you that.  I think you know that the NSA would have no problem killing anyone they catch interfering with this evacuation plan,” said William.

     “Include the FBI and the CIA in that,” said Rick.

     “Noted.  We’d need to use your password to hack into the system.  We can’t do it from the outside either, it has to be an inside job.  Val can handle getting us in the door.  All we need is for you to help us,” said William.

     “So you wouldn’t really need me for anything more than just the password,” said Rick.

     “That’s correct.  Once you’ve given us the ID and password, our paths would never have to cross again,” said William.

     “Well, if you’re right about all this, we’re either going to be free friends or dead friends,” said Rick.

     “Eloquently put,” said William.

     “I’ll help you.  I’ve made my mind up about that.  The bad news is that I have my ID and password written down in my apartment in Zone 3.  There’s not much I can do until then,” Rick replied.

     “When do you return to your zone?” asked William.

     “Tonight.  I’ll be back in my apartment by tomorrow morning.  I return to this zone on Friday,” said Rick.

     “You could EarthNet it to us, but if they’re tracking your communications, which I think they are, it would be signing your own death warrant.  When do you leave?” asked William.

     “In just about an hour,” answered Rick.

     “Not enough time to give you our encryption code.  Let me talk to some of my gurus and see what they can come up with.  When you return to your apartment, you might have a message, just do exactly what it says,” said William.

     “OK,” said Rick.

     “Do I have your trust?” asked William.

     “Yes, yes you do,” said Rick.

     Frank never thought that one of his employees would so easily be converted.  Although with the evidence that had been presented and with what he knew from the files on the disk, his own pendulum was beginning to swing.  The patriot within him realized that what he had overheard had just become a federal crime on a grand scale.  He had taken an oath to serve the
U.S. government and anyone threatening that government was threatening the people and the sanctity of the United States.  But the crusader inside him that had just been aroused believed that the people were being swindled, swindled out of their lives.  It wasn’t as easy of a choice as Rick Mallory had just made it appear.

     The opening of the warehouse door caught Frank’s eye and he squinted to see the figure emerging.  After a moment he could make out that the first form was that of Rick.  Rick stood perfectly still near the door of the building as if waiting.  Frank refocused on the conversation.

     “I wanted to tell you some things that I didn’t want Rick to hear.  There are certain events close to me that seem noteworthy.  My computer has displayed uncommon characteristics and last week my two neighbors disappeared, suddenly replaced by a suspicious man,” said William.

     “You think he’s CIA?” asked Val.

     “I’m not sure.  Grunt is looking into it.  I just wanted to let you know in case, in case something happened to me,” said William.

     “Nothing is going to happen to you,” said Val.

     “No listen.  You know full well of our situation now.  You’re the only one besides me that knows the entire picture.  If I disappear you have to assure that our cause is not lost.  Do you understand me?” asked William.

     “Now you’re really scaring me,” said Val.

     “I hope so.  I’ve been trying to all along.  Just promise me you’ll see this through.  You’re kind of my second Lieutenant now,” said William.

     “Mars’ second Lieutenant,” said Val.

     “Yes, that’s what I meant,” said William.

     “I should meet the man,” said Val.