Off the Grid (A Gerrit O'Rourke Novel) (9 page)

The others nodded. Gerrit settled back onto his chair. Did they also know he was in this country under an assumed name? Since Kane introduced him by his real name, he assumed they knew nothing of his alias.

More secrets. And it had been a long time since he heard
Doctor
attached to his name. A long time.

Kane edged forward. “Dr. Clarke is the foremost authority in quantum computer technology and cyber-security issues.”

“You flatter me, Mr. Kane. I am one of a hundred scientists puttering around in the dark in this particular field.”

The man’s thinly disguised arrogance—cloaked in false modesty—rankled Gerrit. There were only a handful of scientists in Clarke’s field that could do what this man does. On the other hand, Gerrit could see why this man might be a high-value target for the enemy—if his own side didn’t shoot him first.

Kane continued. “Henry, you’re the one they chose to sit on a prestigious international panel for cyber-security technologies. And Dr. O’Rourke will fit very nicely in your entourage to Vienna.”

Clarke pompously patted Gerrit’s arm. “I’d be honored to have Dr. O’Rourke aboard. My secretary will send you my travel schedule to look over. She’ll make whatever reservations you require.”

Lawton sat quietly, watching the others interact until he gave Kane a nod. “My office will run interference.”

“Your office?” Gerrit asked. “Which office might that be?”

“Let’s just say Her Majesty’s security office is interested in Dr. Clarke’s well-being. Wouldn’t do to have him popped off on my watch, good fellow.”

MI6.

Gerrit looked over at Kane, whose face seemed masked at the moment. “No, that would not be good, Mr. Lawton. Let me know what you need from me.”

“My friend, Mr. Kane, will give you the details. I won’t be seeing you in Vienna, but I will be…available if matters turn sour. I guess we’d better be off, shall we, Dr. Clarke?”

The scientist shrugged, stood, and was about to leave when Lawton tapped him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go on ahead, Henry. There’s one small matter I need to discuss with Mr. Kane and Dr. O’Rourke.”

Clarke looked back curiously and then left the room. Lawton closed the door behind him. “What an arse that man is. Sorry to stick him with you, Dr. O’Rourke. But we needed that clown to give you cover.”

“Cover?” Gerrit looked from Lawton to Kane.

Lawton nodded his chin at Kane. “Richard, why don’t you give our boy here the details.”

G
errit saw the two men exchange glances before Kane leaned forward, eyeing Gerrit for a moment before turning to Lawton. “First, I wanna make sure you know all about our boy here, George.”

Lawton shook his head. “I’ll take your word that this is our man. That’s all I need to know.”

Kane leaned forward. “No, no, George. I want you to know why I’ve picked this good ol’ boy for the job.”

Gerrit shifted in his seat, feeling like this was some kind of job interview for a job he never signed up for—nor wanted. And if Kane called him
boy
once more, Gerrit was going to grab that long-haired creep’s silver locks and give him a Mohawk.

Kane reached into a drawer and pulled out a bulging file folder. “Just so I don’t forget anything, I’ve jotted down a few notes about our boy here. Quite a history.” He glanced up and gave Gerrit a wink.

Kane’s index finger trailed down a page before turning to the next. “Bachelor of Science degree in 1991 before joining the U.S Marine Corp, where you entered as an enlisted man. Qualified to serve with Force Recon just before the Persian Gulf War, field-elevated to officer status based on combat service and education.”

Kane shot him a look before continuing. “Let’s see, you left the military in 1996 and returned to MIT to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science. Says here you specialized in nanotechnology—something to do with nano electronics.”

“Mr. Kane, I don’t see how this trip down memory lane tells me why I’m sitting here today. Can we fast-forward to the present?”

“Patience. My friend George needs to know he’s getting the best. Like we say back home, ‘Don’t call him a cowboy, till you’ve seen him ride.’ My friend here has to know this is not your first time to the rodeo, boy. And I want to refresh my memory about your background while you’re here to correct me—if the record’s wrong.”

Gerrit leaned back, watching as Kane continued through the file.

“Now, in 2001 you started a research fellowship at MIT focused on harnessing nanotechnology by creating a…what do you call this—?”

“A nanofluidic device—”

“Right, a device capable of detecting biological warfare agents the size of a pinhead.” Kane glanced up. “My, my, boy. That’s got to be tinier than a little ol’ ant.” He returned his gaze to the file. “You just started on that project when they hit the WTC and Pentagon on 9/11. Three months later, you’re called back into military service.” Kane looked at him.

“I volunteered.”

“Now why would you go and do something like that?” Kane seemed to be toying with him.

Gerrit crossed his arms, leaning back. “They needed everyone on board for the Afghan invasion. A couple years later, they sent me to Iraq. So, where are you going with this?”

Kane lowered the file and clasped his hands together. “That leads us to 2004. Your parents and uncle.”

Those words sent a knife twisting in Gerrit’s gut. The police files from Seattle PD’s archives at his home came to mind. And on his wall, photos of the blackened car and what was left of his mother and father pinned up for him to face every day. Charred remains, barely enough left to bury after a closed-casket ceremony—a ceremony he missed because he was off fighting a war in the Middle East. Deep ops that lasted long after they lowered his parents into the ground.

Gerrit stood and leaned on the desk. “You had better have a good reason for dredging all this up or I am on the next plane back to the U.S.”

“Calm down, my boy. Don’t get your feathers ruffled—”

“And if you call me
boy
one more time, I’ll take that file and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Are we clear?”

Kane slowly rose. “I like a man who’s not afraid to speak his mind. I’m bringing this all up for a good reason. I need—your country needs—your help. These records,” he motioned toward the open file, “tell me you are a man who sacrificed for his country.” He leaned on the desk facing off with Gerrit. “Why did you give up your work at MIT to become a Seattle cop? Do you still think you’ll find out who killed ’em?” He seemed to forget that Lawson was still in the room.

“You read my file. You tell me.”

Kane nodded. “A background investigator in Seattle asked the same question when you left the Marine Corps and turned your back on MIT to become a cop.”

“So you know the answer.”

“You told them it was none of their damn business.”

“And I’m telling you the same thing.”

“I’m surprised they took you on after that answer.”

“I guess what I had to offer outweighed what the investigator thought was an impertinent answer.”

Kane smirked. “I see things have not changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Still trying to be a loner. Disobeying orders. Getting into situations without any backup. In short, you’re still impertinent.”

“Is that a problem for you?

“Not at all, my b—” Kane caught himself. “Not at all, Gerrit. In fact, you’re just the kind of man I want. Willing to think on his feet and take chances.”

Kane began pacing the room. “Clarke thinks you’ll be watching his back while in Vienna. That dummy thinks his backside’s worth protecting. Personally, I could care less if a terrorist caps him. But babysitting this jerk will give you a legitimate reason to be in Vienna. We have another mission for you. Another
opportunity
.”

“Opportunity?”

Kane returned to his desk. “Exactly. I want you to steal something for us without getting caught.”

Lawton rose. “I think I’ll be off, gentlemen. Don’t think you need me to discuss these details.” He shook Gerrit’s hand before turning toward Kane. “Richard, I know you’ve picked the right man. Let me know when you’ve knicked this thing. If you run into any trouble, I will be around in Vienna. Let’s just try to keep this operation between friends, shall we?” He nodded before leaving.

Gerrit’s stomach tightened as he watched the British agent leave. Whatever they wanted him to do, Lawton wanted to be able to say he was not part of this conversation. That he was never present when Gerrit got his marching orders.

Plausible deniability.

G
errit turned toward Kane as soon as Lawton left. “You brought me all the way over here to be a thief?”

“Cool down,” Kane said, as he returned to his seat, leaning back before continuing. “Let me preface all this by saying national security really is at the heart of the matter. There are some documents we need to get our hands on that an American scientist is concealing. If we go snooping around his office back in the States, we might ruffle some feathers over at DOJ.”

“You mean spying on American citizens on U.S. soil?”

“Exactly. Even under the Patriot Act, we’d be hard-pressed to explain why we’re snooping around this guy’s research facility.”

“But on foreign soil, the rules somehow change?”

“Not exactly, but at least it’s not on U.S. soil. And we’re using foreign operatives that can get us the kind of access and information we need to pull this off while building layers between us and—”

“Foreign operatives? Do I look like a foreign operative? And what do you mean by
access
? Are you talking about—?”

“This guy is not willing to level with us. He believes he has a mandate from God to share his findings with the world. That, my friend, would not be in our country’s best interests.”

“What exactly does he want to unleash on the world?”

“A way to make the Internet virtually unprotected. No secrets. No privacy. No way of shielding governments from the prying eyes of their enemies.”

“You mean computer technology and data open to the world? Like Internet banking?”

“Exactly. This moron—like those whackos from WikiLeaks—believe that all communication and data storage should be available to the world community. Everything open to gawk at. They want to curtail commerce to on-site transactions, for example.”

“How do they expect to achieve this?”

“They’ve almost achieved it. By combining recent research in quantum computers, finding the flaw in the latest bio-inspired cyber security, and by linking recent developments with nanotechnology—we believe they may have reached their goal.”

Gerrit shook his head. “There is no way one scientist was able to accomplish all that. He’d have to—”

“Conspire with a core group of scientists with the same goals. That’s exactly what this idiot did. Joined forces with other do-gooders in interrelated fields to break down our security.”

“What’s their objective? Destroy the country?”

“Naively, they think by exposing all governments to world scrutiny, this will somehow bring about world peace.”

“I can see some merit to that. But total exposure?”

“Exactly. This is why I detest weak-minded academia. No offense, Gerrit. Unlike you, they never lived in the real world.” Kane stood. “It would be absurd to be that open in the kind of world we live in. Look at the dangers we face in the intelligence community alone.”

Gerrit nodded. “Has our government sanctioned this operation?”

Kane raised his hands palms up. “Let’s just say the government would like to see us succeed.”

“What makes this guy so important? Can’t you put pressure on him to back off? The feds ought to be good at that.”

“It gets worse, Gerrit. This guy hacked into a closely guarded server the government maintains that stores every known operation—military and intelligence—throughout the world. Names, dates, times, resources, covert scientific projects, and a list of operatives and scientists in each of these operations.”

Whew!
“And he intends to publish this?”