Polar Quest

27

‘Good morning, Nolan,’ Loretta Quinn said as Kilkenny entered the MARC executive suite. ‘You can go right in, they’re expecting you.’

‘Thanks.’

Kilkenny walked into the main conference room. He didn’t recognize the woman his father was talking with. On the wall monitor he saw Jackson Barnett seated at a conference table at the CIA’s campus in Langley. ‘Good to see you again, though it’s a bit of a surprise.’

‘Oh, really?’ Barnett said.

‘According to the memo I got, my father and I are supposed to be meeting with a new business partner.’

‘That’s right,’ Barnett confirmed.

‘Nolan’s been thrust into a hands-on management situation at one of our companies,’ Sean Kilkenny explained. ‘It’s keeping him pretty busy, so he’s been out of the loop on our previous discussions.’

‘Nolan,’ Barnett said, ‘I’d like to introduce my associate, Roxanne Tao.’

Tao offered her hand. ‘A pleasure to meet you,’ she said with cool formality.

Nolan guessed Tao to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She was dressed in a stylish blue suit and little makeup. A mane of glossy black hair ran straight down, six inches past her shoulders, framing an oval face whose most striking feature was a pair of intense black almond-shaped eyes.

‘Let’s have a seat,’ Sean said.

Tao sat opposite of Nolan and though she faced him, he got the impression that she was looking beyond at the winter landscape outside. Her body language signaled her displeasure at being here.

‘Nolan,’ Barnett began, ‘I’m sure you recall that after that business with your physicist, we had a brief discussion about developing a working relationship between the CIA and yourself — an arrangement that would provide the agency with a means of acquiring an understanding of rapidly evolving technologies without compromising your position here at MARC.’

‘I remember that conversation,’ Nolan said.

‘A few years ago, the CIA financed a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley for purposes similar to what we discussed. That firm has done quite well and is currently self-sufficient. After a few exploratory conversations with the partners of that firm, we decided the best course would be to open a one-person branch office. Of course, the key to success here would be finding the right person for the job. Roxanne, if you please.’

Tao pulled a thin titanium wallet from her blazer and extracted two business cards, which she handed to Nolan and his father. The glossy red cards were oriented vertically, with Tao’s name and contact information listed in crisp black type. The upper half of the card contained two large black letters — Qi.

‘Is this pronounced cue-eye or key?’ Kilkenny asked, admiring the card’s graphic design.

‘Key. It’s Chinese. Are you familiar with the term?’ Tao asked condescendingly.

‘It’s the body’s inner energy.’

Tao nodded.

‘The name is also something of a double entendre,’ Barnett admitted with a smile. ‘The letter i stands for intelligence, which is what Roxanne is to gather. Q is in honor of Ian Fleming’s master gadget maker.’

‘So, how’s this going to work?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Qi is going to partner with us on some of our investments,’ Sean explained. ‘Their small stake will provide them with the ability to independently assess evolving technologies and the players in various fields of research and development.’

‘These assessments will be the product Roxanne provides to the CIA,’ Barnett added.

‘And this can be done without violating any of our confidentiality agreements?’ Nolan asked.

‘I’ve run this past the Attorney General and, as long as Roxanne’s assessments stay within certain guidelines, there’s no legal problem.’

‘Nolan,’ Sean said, ‘given your preexisting relationship with the CIA, you’re obviously going to be our interface with Qi. I’ve already made lease arrangements for Ms Tao — she’ll be moving into the office next to yours.’

‘I believe that about wraps things up,’ Barnett said. ‘Sean, it has been a pleasure doing business with you. Nolan, I’ll leave Roxanne in your capable hands. I’m certain you will find her to be an intelligent and resourceful collaborator.’

After Barnett signed off, Tao turned to Kilkenny. ‘Why don’t you show me my office.’

‘All right,’ Kilkenny agreed. ‘I’ll even throw in the nickel tour of our building.’

‘The price sounds about right.’

Kilkenny eyed Tao for a second, looking for a hint that her somewhat snide comment was actually a joke. All he found were a pair of angry black eyes and tightly drawn lips. He motioned down the main corridor and she walked beside him. In heels, Tao stood about half a head shorter than Kilkenny. She nodded politely when he pointed out a feature of interest, but hardly slowed as if hastening the tour to its end.

‘This is our computer center,’ Kilkenny said as he swiped his key card through the reader and opened the door. ‘In addition to our internal network of various types of machines, we have a pair of super computers that we lease time on to various researchers.’

Bill Grinelli stepped out of his office with a thick computer manual in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He was dressed in jeans, hiking boots, a black T-shirt, and an embroidered satin tour jacket from his brief stint as a roadie for The Pretenders. The jacket sleeves were rolled back to his elbows. His graying brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his goatee trimmed to a neat point beneath his chin.

‘I thought I heard voices,’ Grinelli said warmly.

‘You mean other than the usual ones?’ Kilkenny asked. ‘Roxanne Tao, this is Bill Grinelli — he’s the guy who keeps all our computers running. I think you’ll find him to be one of MARC’s most valuable resources.’

Grinelli walked up to Tao and smiled. ‘Just call me Grin.’

‘A pleasure, Mr Grinelli,’ Tao replied, deliberately avoiding the informality.

‘Roxanne’s leasing that office next to mine,’ Kilkenny said. ‘When do you think you can get her hooked up?’

‘The phones and data are already done,’ Grin replied. ‘Are we supplying the computer hardware?’

‘No, but I’ll let you know when my equipment arrives.’

Grin caught Tao’s eyes dropping to the tattoo that he sported on his left forearm of a mythological Pan seated on a crescent moon scattering pixie dust.

‘Do you like my art?’ Grin asked, turning his arm to give Tao a clean view.

‘I’m not really a fan of that sort of decoration. Is there any significance to it, or is it the result of a drunken bet?’

‘This was a gift from my lady, and it has great significance to me,’ Grin replied, his voice cool and steady. ‘It’s a reminder that there’s still some magic left in the world, despite the efforts of those who try to take the fun out of life.’

Taken slightly aback, Tao locked eyes with the MARC computer guru, but offered no further provocation. Kilkenny wondered what kind of person would go out of her way to antagonize someone as warm and congenial as Grin.

‘I think we’ve taken enough of Grin’s time, Roxanne,’ Kilkenny interjected. ‘Shall we move on?’

‘Yes,’ Tao replied icily.

As Tao turned toward the door, Grin gave Kilkenny a puzzled look that asked ‘What’s her problem?’ Kilkenny shrugged his shoulders — he honestly didn’t have a clue. Grin pivoted on his heel and retreated to the semicircular console in the center of the room.

‘Good luck,’ Grin said as Kilkenny followed Tao out the door.

‘What did he mean when he wished you good luck?’ Tao asked as they walked down the corridor. ‘I hope it wasn’t some remnant of adolescent bravado.’

‘I’m sure he was just wishing you well in your work here,’ Kilkenny lied. ‘Your office is the next door on the right.’

The sign beside the door bore the Qi logo. Kilkenny opened the door and let Tao enter first. The room was empty except for a phone that sat on the floor. Tao walked up to the window and stared out at the gently falling snow.

‘If you like, I can arrange to get some furniture in here on loan until you get things sorted out,’ Kilkenny offered.

‘Thank you,’ Tao replied, her gaze still fixed through the window.

Kilkenny closed the door and walked over to the window. ‘When Barnett and I spoke last week, he mentioned that he was sending you. Care to discuss the ground rules?’

Tao faced Kilkenny. ‘The structure of our working relationship is very simple — I’m your control. I run the show.’

‘No.’

Tao’s eyes narrowed. ‘No?’

‘That’s right, Roxanne, I said no. With regards to me, you aren’t running a damn thing. I’m not an agent. I don’t work for you or the CIA. Whenever I come across something of interest to the agency, I pass it on to you. That’s why you’re here.’

‘You seem to have an overinflated opinion of your worth to the CIA.’

‘I’d say my opinion reflects fair market value, but if you want another, just ask Barnett.’

Tao glared with icy silence and Kilkenny realized he’d struck a nerve. Her problem wasn’t with him, but with her new job as his liaison with the agency.

‘You didn’t volunteer for this, did you?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘No, I did not,’ Tao replied bitterly. ‘Who in their right mind would want to come here? I was in the field for nearly seven years and now I’ve been sent to a midwestern college town to write reports.’

‘Barnett picked you for this job because of your field experience, not your typing skills.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘You spent the past week in California learning how to be a venture capitalist, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good, because that’s ninety percent of what you’ll be doing around here.’

‘What’s the other ten percent, filing and dictation?’

‘Barnett asked me to tell you about that when we had some time alone.’

Kilkenny then briefed Tao on the attack at LV Station, the effort to recover evidence from the ice-locked wreckage, and his journey back home by way of Moscow.

‘Do you have anything on this arms dealer who bought the Russian launcher yet?’ Tao asked.

‘Barnett’s heard of Agabashian,’ Kilkenny replied, ‘and he’s got some people trying to get a fix on his whereabouts.’

‘So, we’re in a hold on that.’

‘The other lead I want to check out is the planes. The major running the crash investigation was pretty sure it was a Hercules, but without the plane’s ID plate he couldn’t verify it. Did you know over sixty countries fly C-130s in one form or another, and that most of these planes are still in service?’

‘Which means it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to know just where the two used in Antarctica came from?’

‘Maybe. The version we’re interested in is the LC-130. According to the guys currently flying these planes, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to land something that big on the ice. Also, Lockheed only built a few LC-130s, and the U.S. is the only country to fly them. Since there aren’t that many of these planes, there can’t be that many experienced flight crews.’

‘What are you getting at?’ Tao asked.

‘Simplicity. The people behind the attack could have modified a C-130 and trained a crew, but both of these jobs would have taken a lot of time.’

‘What’s the alternative?’

‘Hire two experienced crews and acquire a pair of real LC-130s. The navy used to have a squadron that flew these planes in Antarctica. It was disbanded a few years back, but those pilots are still out there somewhere.’

‘And the planes?’

‘I got a line on those,’ Kilkenny answered, ‘but it’ll require a trip to Waco and Tucson to check it out. This kind of thing is the real reason Barnett sent you here. It may not be as glamorous as whatever you were doing before, but it’s damn important.’

‘My previous posting was a lot of things, but only in rare instances would I have ever used the word glamorous.’