Deception Point Page 27

The look hole in the glass directly looked the uniform a sm all(prenominal) melted pool in the middle of the habisphere. The show up of the two-hundred-foot-deep pool of melted water pissed for a while against the icy walls of the make love and then finally grew calm. The waterline in the shaft was a good quatern feet beneath the glaciers sur manifestation, the discrepancy cause by both(prenominal) the removal of the meteorites mass and ices property of wither as it melts.Norah Mangor immediately set up SHABA pylons all around the hole. Although the hole was clear visible, any curious soul who ventured in like manner close and accidentally slipped in would be in dire jeopardy. The walls of the shaft were real ice, with no footholds, and climbing reveal un toped would be impossible.Lawrence Ekstrom came padding across the ice toward them. He moved directly to Norah Mangor and shake her hand firmly. Well done, Dr. Mangor.Ill expect carve up of praise in print, Norah replied.Youll get it. The executive turned now to Rachel. He looked happier, relieved. So, Ms. sexton, is the professional skeptic convinced?Rachel couldnt help barely smile. Stunned is more like it.Good. thence follow me.Rachel followed the administrator across the habisphere to a large metal box that resembled an industrial shipping container. The box was painted with phalanx camouflage patterns and stenciled letters P-S-C.Youll call the chairman from in here, Ekstrom said.Portable Secure Comm, Rachel thought. These industrious communications booths were standard battlefield installations, although Rachel had neer expected to see one used as part of a peacetime NASA mission. accordingly again, Administrator Ekstroms background was the Pentagon, so he certainly had access to toys like this. From the bum faces on the two armed guards watching over the PSC, Rachel got the distinct impression that sink in with the outside world was make only with express consent from Admin istrator Ekstrom.Looks like Im non the only one who is off-the-grid.Ekstrom rung briefly with one of the guards outside the lagger and then ease uped to Rachel. Good luck, he said. whence he left.A guard rapped on the trailer door, and it opened from within. A technician emerged and motioned for Rachel to enter. She followed him in.The within of the PSC was dark and stuffy. In the bluish cauterise of the lone computer monitor, Rachel could make out racks of telephone gear, radios, and satellite telecommunications devices. She already felt claustrophobic. The air indoors was bitter, like a basement in winter.Sit here, please, Ms. sexton. The technician produced a rolling stool and positioned Rachel in preliminary of a flat- masking monitor. He arranged a microphone in front of her and fit(p) a bulky pair of AKG headphones on her head. Checking a logbook of encryption passwords, the technician typed a extensive series of keys on a near device. A timer materialized on th e screen in front of Rachel. 0060 SECONDSThe technician gave a satisfied nod as the timer began to moot down. One minute until connection. He turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Rachel could catch out the bolt lock outside.Great.As she waited in the dark, watching the sixty-second clock slowly count down, she realized that this was the front moment of screen shed had since early that morning. Shed woken up today without the slightest glimmering of what lay ahead. Extraterrestrial breeding. As of today, the intimately popular modern myth of all time was no longer a myth.Rachel was just now starting to virtuoso how truly devastating this meteorite would be to her fathers campaign. Although NASA reenforcement had no business being on a political par with abortion rights, wel utmoste, and health care, her father had made it an have a go at it. without delay it was going to blow up in his face.Within hours, Americans would feel the thrill of a NASA triumph all over again. in that location would be teary-eyed dreamers. Slack-jawed scientists. Childrens imaginations running free. Issues of dollars and cents would surpass away as petty, overshadowed by this massive moment. The President would emerge like a phoenix, transforming himself into a hero, while in the thick of the celebration, the businesslike senator would suddenly appear small-minded, a penny-pinching Scrooge with no American sense of adventure.The computer beeped, and Rachel glanced up. 0005 SECONDSThe screen in front of her flickered suddenly, and a blurry kitchen range of the flannel place seal materialized on-screen. afterward a moment, the image dissolved into the face of President Herney.Hello, Rachel, he said, a condescending glint in his eye. I commit youve had an interesting afternoon?29The dapple of Senator Sedgewick Sexton was located in the Philip A. hart Senate Office Building on C Street to the northeast of the Capitol. The building was a neo-modern grid of wh ite rectangles that critics claimed looked more like a prison than an office building. umpteen who worked there felt the same.On the terce floor, Gabrielle Ashes long legs paced briskly back and ahead in front of her computer terminal. On the screen was a new e-mail substance. She was not sure what to make of it.The first two lines readSEDGEWICK WAS IMPRESSIVE ON CNN.I HAVE MORE cultivation FOR YOU.Gabrielle had been receiving messages like this for the last couple of weeks. The return address was bogus, although shed been able to track it to a whitehouse.gov domain. It seemed her mysterious generator was a purity House insider, and who constantly it was had become Gabrielles generator for all kinds of valuable political information recently, including the intelligence information of a covert meeting mingled with the NASA administrator and the President.Gabrielle had been leery of the e-mails at first, barely when she checked out the tips, she was amazed to invite the in formation consistently accurate and helpful-classified information on NASA overexpenditures, costly up flood tide missions, info showing that NASAs search for extraterrestrial life was grossly overfunded and pathetically unproductive, even subjective opinion polls warning that NASA was the issue turning voters away from the President.To enhance her perceive value to the senator, Gabrielle had not informed him she was receiving unsolicited e-mail help from inside the albumin House. Instead, she simply passed the information to him as coming from one of her sources. Sexton was always thankful and seemed to know better than to ask who her source was. She could tell he suspected Gabrielle was doing sexual favors. Troublingly, it didnt seem to bother him in the least.Gabrielle halt pacing and looked again at the pertly arrived message. The connotations of all the e-mails were clear Someone inside the White House wanted Senator Sexton to win this election and was helping him do i t by aiding his attack against NASA.But who? And wherefore?A rat from a sink ship, Gabrielle decided. In Washington it was not at all uncommon for a White House employee, fearing his President was about to be ousted from office, to offer quiet favors to the apparent replacing in hopes of securing power or another(prenominal) position after the changeover. It seemed someone smelled Sexton victory and was buying stock early.The message currently on Gabrielles screen made her nervous. It was like none other she had ever received. The first two lines didnt bother her so much. It was the last twoEAST assigning GATE, 430 P.M.COME ALONE.Her informant had never before asked to meet in person. Even so, Gabrielle would have expected a more subtle location for a face-to-face meeting. East assigning adit? Only one East Appointment Gate existed in Washington, as far as she knew. Outside the White House? Is this some kind of joke?Gabrielle knew she could not respond via e-mail her messages were always bounced back as undeliverable. Her correspondents account was anonymous. Not surprising.