No Man's Land

44

PULLER LED ANNE Shepard outside where there were still people in line waiting to get in. He waved to Rogers as he passed by, and the latter waved back.

“Thanks again,” said Rogers.

“No problem.”

Puller escorted Shepard to his car and they climbed in. “Am I really in trouble?” she said.

“That depends,” said Puller. “We’ve actually been watching Atalanta Group for a while now.”

“Why?”

“Irregularities.”

“What kind of irregularities?”

“How long have you worked there?”

“Four years.”

“Well, Building Q has been operational since at least the 1980s.”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“How is the work coming?”

“Are you read in for this?”

“Shepard, I wouldn’t be here talking to you if I weren’t.”

Her face fell. “Okay. Well, we’ve made big strides.”

“Any issues?”

“Not really.”

“Management treating you okay?”

“Mr. Quentin is supportive and he gets whatever we need.”

“Quentin?”

“Josh Quentin. He runs the program. He may own the company for all I know. I’m not at a level that needs to know that.” She looked across the seat at Puller. “Just so you know, he was at the bar tonight too. He goes there a lot. It’s how I found out about it.”

“What does he look like?”

“Tall, young, handsome. The ladies really go gaga over him. You might have seen him going up the stairs to the second-floor room.”

“I did. What goes on up there?”

“I’ve never been up there. Only Mr. Quentin and his group are allowed up there.”

“Are the people coworkers?”

She laughed. “Did those women look like science nerds to you?”

“So what are they, hookers?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it. Josh is young and rich. He can get women without having to pay for them.”

“Okay.”

“Were you referring to Mr. Quentin when you mentioned ‘irregularities’?”

“Why?” When she didn’t answer immediately he added, “Shepard, if you have something to say, say it. The Army does not pay me to waste time.”

“It’s just that Mr. Quentin doesn’t seem to have much of a science background. I mean, when he comes around to check on things the questions he asks are pretty basic. I would have expected him to know more, that’s all.”

“Maybe he’s just a business guy.”

“But every project I’ve ever worked on the leadership are serious scientists in their own right.”

“So maybe this project is different.”

“Maybe it is.”

“What part of the project do you work on?”

“Are you really read in for this?” she asked nervously. “I don’t want to get into trouble.”

“You’re already in trouble. And I’m trying to save your ass.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just freaked out.” She took a deep breath. “I work on the exos and liquid armor programs.”

“Exos?”

“Exoskeleton hardware. Lightweight systems worn on the outside of the soldier’s body, powered by lithium batteries. It increases their strength multifold. And we’re working on a concept that would increase that multiple dramatically. A lot of this research was done by DoD starting in the 1960s, but the science and materials weren’t there yet. The exoskeleton suits back then reacted unpredictably. I heard some people were even hurt.”

“Is that right?” said Puller. “And the liquid armor?”

“Armor that’s flexible until the impact of a bullet triggers it to instantly harden into a shield as impenetrable as steel. Then it repairs itself after being damaged by enemy fire.”

“Sounds like a Marvel movie.”

“Only our version isn’t special effects. It actually works.”

“So you’re basically building the super soldier?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re funded by DARPA, right?”

“Yes, although I think our direct link is DSO, the Defense Sciences Office. But they report directly to DARPA’s director. Before I came to Atalanta, I worked at another contractor on TMS projects.”

“TMS?”

“Transcranial magnetic stimulation. There’s also its counterpart, transcranial direct current stimulation. The differences are pretty much outlined in their names. One uses magnetic fields, the other electrical currents.”

“And the goal?”

“In the military, to increase alertness and make the soldier in the field think better and faster in adverse conditions. It’s well past the concept stage. It may be near deployment.”

“I was in combat. I could have used that.”

“Well, it’s coming.”

Puller considered all of this. “I’m going to need your help, Ms. Shepard.”

“What can I do?”

“You can be my eyes and ears on the inside. We’ll exchange contact information and you can report to me at regular intervals.”

She looked panicked. “I…I don’t know if I can do that. They might charge me with spying or something. Or treason. I…could be executed.”

“Just calm down. Nobody’s getting executed. You have the weight of the CID behind you. We take care of the people who help us.” He paused and considered another tack, because Shepard did not look convinced. “Let me lay this on the line for you, Shepard. There is something going on at Atalanta Group that smacks of espionage.”

“Holy shit! Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise. You noted it already. Your suspicions about Quentin? His lack of scientific background? His coming to this place and going to that room to do what? You telling me that’s not making you think twice?”

She nodded slowly. “You’re right. It doesn’t add up.”

“And if a spy ring is going on over there, we need to stop it. If you help me, your back is covered. If you don’t there are no assurances and it might very well be guilt by association when the hammer comes down. Then you’re on your own.”

“Omigod!” she exclaimed and rubbed a drop of sweat off her forehead.

Puller reached over and gripped her hand. “This is not my first investigation like this. I know what I’m doing, Shepard. You just have to trust me, okay? You’ll find out I’m a good friend to have. So, will you do it?”

She finally nodded. “I’ll do it.”

They exchanged contact information.

Puller said, “Now go home and hit the sack. And don’t go back to that bar.”

“I won’t. I swear. Thanks.”

“Are you okay to drive?”

She nodded. “I am now. I don’t think I’ve ever been this sober in my life, actually.”

Puller watched her hurry across the street, get into her car, and quickly drive off.

Puller was about to get out of his car when he heard it.

Screams and gunfire.

Coming from the vicinity of the Grunt.

He jumped out of his car, pulled his weapon, and, like he always did, sprinted toward, not away from, the violence.