> "We never know who was the leak. Certain groups wanted the technology to be > made public, including its origins, while other groups wanted the whole > thing hushed down. Yet others had other plans for it. There are even > non-government bodies with plans for it. I'm sure you know why am I here, > Agent Stern."
> "Let me take a completely wild guess. You wanted to take it back to its > hush hush laboratory."
> Carol laughed softly.
> "Your guess is too far off, Agent Stern."
"What do you mean?" Jordan asked puzzled by her answer.
"As I said, there are various groups within the Government that have different plans for this technology. There are groups that you have already encountered that want this technology back so they can control it. They believe that by controling it they can keep this nation, and perhaps, this planet safe."
"Safe from whom?"
Carol shrugged, "From ourselves mostly, I suppose, but there may be others."
"You don't sound convinced. You don't think this technology should be controled."
"I do believe that it needs to be safe guarded, but I also think the public needs to know," she paused as if searching for the right thing to say, "needs to know about certain unusual incidents that have occurred in recent history."
The waiter walked over and placed a pizza in front of Jordan and a salad in front of Carol. Who orders a salad in a pizza place, Jordan thought as he bit into the flaky cheese and sauce covered crust.
"So you're in a sharing mood," Jordan finally said after eating for a few minutes.
"I guess you could say that. I think that man kind will benefit most if this technology is widly studied. That's where the holy grail lies," Carol replied.
Jordan's head jerked up to look at her, suddenly suspicious, "When we talked on the phone, you said you had something to trade. Why would we need to trade anything if your intentions are altruistic?"
"I had to get your attention somehow, Agent Stern. Would you have come if I hadn't offered you something that you might want?"
"So you don't really have anything to give me in return for a device that is obviously highly sought after."
"On the contrary, I do have something to trade," Carol reached down and lifted her purse on to the top of the table. She opened it and for a brief instant Jordan thought that she might be intending to pull a gun an kill him. He dismissed it because she clearly knew the rest of the team was close by.
After a momentary search, Carol pulled out a delicate gold bracelet and handed it to Jordan. He took it, looked it over for a moment, and said, "It's nice, but don't you think a gift like this is a bit expensive for the first date?"
Carol smiled and said, "This isn't a date and it isn't for you, check the inscription."
Jordan turned the bracelet over and he saw inscribed on the back of the gold links nearest the clasp, 'M to E'.
"I don't understand," Jordan said.
"You will, and you won't even have to send it off to the lab in Washington for analysis first." She pulled a pen from her purse and picked up a napkin. She wrote down a phone number on the napkin and pushed it across the table to him. "Call when you want to talk about trading."
Jordan picked up the napkin, folded it an put it in his pocket, "You seem very sure I will want to talk about a trade."
"I am very sure," she replied. Carol stood, and said, "Thanks for dinner, Agent Stern. Maybe we'll have a real date some day."
Jordan sat and watched her walk toward the door. Her purple skirt swayed back and forth with her hips. If she weren't the enemy, Jordan thought, a date would be a very pleasant thing.
"Dessert, sir?" the waiter's question broke Jordan out of his self imposed trance.
"Uh, no," Jordan replied digging out his wallet. He pulled out two $20s and handed them to the waiter, "Will that cover the meal and tip?"
"Yes," the waiter replied and based on the look on his face, it more than covered the meal.
"Great," Jordan said heading for the door. As he walked he dropped the bracelet in the pocket of his coat.
***
Jordan walked out in to the night air, aware that Leo and Vanessa were still inside paying their bill. They would be out in a few minutes, but he really didn't feel like standing around waiting for them. He began to walk along the busy street toward where he knew Zenya had parked. It took about 3 minutes to make the walk, and he slid into the back seat as Zenya started the engine.
"So how did it go?" Tom asked.
"Kinda like being on 'Wheel of Fortune'. I got a prize just for being a contestant," Jordan replied pulling the bracelet from his pocket.
NRPG:
Krister: 'M to E' - Get it?
Sau Woon: Did that box that was taken from the Boston field office contain what I think it did? Our little toy?
Respectfully submitted,
Alton Reich
SA-4 Jordan Stern, Team Leader ZULU
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