by Bob Blink
There was the briefest of hesitations, then the voice said, "Wait a minute."
After a bit, Pam's voice was heard, and a second later her image appeared on the screen. She looked and sounded a bit miffed by their unannounced intrusion.
"You," she said. "What do you want?" although Mark and Jessica were both quite certain she was very much aware they had come because she hadn't followed through on the contact they had attempted to organize. "Couldn't you have simply called?"
"I don't think we should talk about our business here in the open," Jessica suggested. "We didn't have a secure phone contact, and there have been developments which you need to know about."
The cool brown eyes seemed to study them from the small video panel.
"All right" Pam said after an unusually long pause. "Charles will show you in."
With that, she terminated the connection.
"Great to be welcome, isn't it?" Mark said wryly.
Several minutes passed before the door opened to reveal an older gentleman, somewhat formally dressed. A butler, Mark guessed. At least two employees, probably a maid and the butler. He wondered if one of the two doubled as a cook for the privileged Miss Chou. She clearly didn't mind showing off her wealth. Mark couldn't see why a young woman living alone as she did, needed such domestic help.
They were escorted inside, and as they walked toward the large greeting room, Mark changed his mind about the need for the maid at least. He wouldn't want to have to keep this place clean. Full time help was warranted to keep the richly furnished mini mansion looking good.
"Can I get you anything?" Charles asked as he prepared to leave them. "Miss Chou will be here in a few minutes."
Both Mark and Jessie declined the offer, and roughly five minutes later, casually dressed and looking very comfortable on her home turf, Pam stepped in, closing the door behind her. She didn't waste any time showing her displeasure.
"I thought we left all this up to individual discretion the other day. Clearly you have decided that you need to put pressure on me after my lack of follow up on your plan."
Mark studied her, a bit surprised that the diminutive woman would be as forceful. Jessie, however, must have anticipated the greeting, and charged right in.
"And you have decided to alert your boss, the Senator, of the events of the other night, if you haven't already."
"And what if I have? I think it's important that someone in authority be aware of the strange events we have become embroiled in. I would have told him yesterday except he is out of town, and I didn't think it was something to be spread even on secure lines." She glanced at Mark. "Who knows how secure anything is these days with NSA poking into everybody's private business."
It appeared they now knew where Pam stood on the matter. Only the fact Senator Conroy was out of town had kept her from revealing matters to someone already. At least the woman was smart enough to refrain from blabbing about the situation over the airwaves.
"So you plan on telling him about Johnson's death tomorrow?" Mark asked.
"That and everything else about that strange place we all have been going to," Pam agreed, "although it will have to wait until Wednesday. He won't be back until then."
Mark mentally sighed in relief. At least they had a couple of days.
Pam continued on unaware of Mark's momentary relief. "You're aware that keeping quiet about a crime like we witnessed, the killing of another person is a criminal act. We all could be placed in jeopardy. And if you are thinking of denying that anything happened after I reveal the killing and the authorities come to speak with you, that's even a more significant issue. You could get jail time."
"That's what Jerry Marshall believes as well, but I don't think it is really the case," Jessie disagreed.
"Actually it is the case," Pam disagreed. "While I haven't taken the bar in order to practice law, I completed the course work at Yale in order to prepare myself for a career in politics. I looked it up the other night when I returned home. Especially in a Federal Area such as Washington, D.C., an individual is responsible for reporting a killing such as we witnessed. Lying about it if questioned by the authorities is an even more significant crime. You can be charged with "misprision of a felony". That would not be a good thing given my future plans. I give you fair warning, that you will have to make a decision in a couple of days after I have spoken with Senator Conroy what kind of risks and violations you are willing to chance. Given your positions in the intelligence world, you might be at even greater risks for concealing what happened."
"There have been further developments," Jessie said calmly, seemingly not bothered by the threats the diminutive woman had just made. "You might find yourself embarrassed at best, and accused of misrepresenting a crime at worst, should you report this situation to your Senator friend."
Haughtily, Pam glanced at Jessie and shook her head.
"You can't trick me on this," she said. "I know I'm standing on firm ground."
"Bud Johnson showed up at work in New York Friday," Mark said softly, and was pleased to see the sudden widening of Pam's eyes.
"Impossible," she said.
"I had lunch with him," Jessie assured her. "I could show you a couple of pictures, but you'd probably just deny them as well."
"It had to be someone else," Pam argued.
"He looked identical to the Bud Johnson we spoke with Thursday morning before the meeting, and he recalled that conversation in detail," Jessie argued. "He was also unhurt in any way."
"We saw him killed," Pam said, continuing to deny their claim.
"So we thought, but if you go and report him killed, think how ridiculous you will look when the police investigate and find him at his desk as usual."
Pam examined the two of them carefully. "You're lying," she said after a moment."
"No, I'm not," Jessie replied, "although there is more to the situation. While the Bud Johnson I spoke with was completely aware of events prior to the meetings, he was totally unaware of what happened that evening."
Pam considered the information, then said, "Perhaps the man at the meetings wasn't the real Bud Johnson. An imposter was there with us and later killed. We still need to report the crime. Maybe even more so. Johnson might be at risk."
"That wouldn't explain how the man Jessie spoke with was fully aware of the private discussion he and Jessie had the morning before the meetings," Mark pointed out.
"There's more disturbing information," Jessie said. She explained what she had learned about the building where they had gone for the meetings.
"You have to be mistaken about this, on both counts," Pam insisted.
"I can provide more details, and have a plan to have a closer look at the facility that has been condemned, but you should see that there is more going on than any of us realize. It is in your best interests, as well as the rest of us, to come to the get together we have scheduled for tonight. Everyone else will be there."
Jessie reached into her bag and pulled out the second of the extra phones she'd come prepared with.
"Since you haven't seen fit to get one yourself, I brought you a phone you can use for our private conversations. If you decide to come tonight, don't bring your personal phone." Jessie catalogued the risks that could be associated with the phone the woman used normally.
Pam took the cheap cell phone uncertainly. "I still think I need to inform the Senator," refusing to agree to keep the events secret, "but I'll think about what you have said. Maybe I'll come to the meeting tonight. Maybe, no promises."
Mark attempted once again to convince her that the events were too mysterious to reveal, but could see that she still had doubts.
Grabbing her purse and standing to leave, Jessie spoke the words that Johnson had used just before he'd been consumed the night before. She spoke the strange sounding phrase twice, and was reassured to see a slight glazing in the back of Pam's eyes. The phrase had some effect, perhaps not as much as she'd hoped, but the woman wasn't immune. If it did c
reate a resistance to revealing events, maybe she'd just helped their cause.
"That doesn't work on me," Pam said, very much aware of what Jessie had been attempting, but she sounded just a bit less certain of herself.
"She's going to be a problem," Jessie said as the two returned to Mark's Explorer out front.
"Do you think she will come?" Mark asked.
"I'd give her less than fifty-fifty odds. I don't think she believes us, and for some reason she isn't as affected by Johnson's strange phrase as the rest of us."
"If she doesn't come?" Mark asked.
"Then we have only a couple of days before this is going to blow up on us," Jessie said unhappily. "That's not nearly enough time."
Chapter 10
Jerry Marshall was the last to arrive, his tentative knock at the door to the hotel suite coming eighteen minutes after the previous late arrival. Of course, Pam Chou wasn't there, so he could still be spared the title of last arrival, but no one expected her any longer. Jessie and Mark had both bet against her appearance, and it appeared they had called it right.
"Glad you made it," Mark said, greeting Marshall and escorting him into the room.
"Nice suite," Jerry remarked as he stepped into the large open area.
Jessie and Mark had stopped and stocked up on a variety of alcoholic beverages, from beer to some of the whiskeys in hopes of mellowing out their companions. They had also had room service provide a well-stocked assortment of snacks, so everyone could choose what appealed. The others were chatting, gathered around the table and filling paper plates with assorted goodies.
"You and Jessie are staying here?" Jerry asked, eyeing Mark and re-evaluating their possible relationship. Mark could sense the older consultant was still uncomfortable with the whole matter, and was likely to become more so in a bit when he learned what Pam had promised to do.
Mark shook his head.
"We rented this today as a meeting place," he said. "We didn't think it wise to hold any detailed discussions or large gatherings at one of our homes. Jessie has run a preliminary scan of her place, and she ran a cursory check of yours while we were there, but we really don't know what technology might be in play here, so this gets us to a clean location to talk. You didn't bring your phone with you, did you?"
"Just the phone Jessie gave me when you dropped by," Jerry explained.
"Good. That one is okay. Why don't you fix yourself a drink, and I think we'll get started. I don't think there is any point in waiting longer for Miss Chou."
Jerry nodded and made his way over toward the small bar that had been set up. Mark noted he made a point of striking up a conversation with Monica Parker, the engineer from the aerospace group and Glen Taylor, the Air Force officer. He decided that probably made sense. Monica's company presence here in Washington was geared toward military contracts, which meant mostly the Air Force.
Jessie was talking quietly with Stephanie Brewer from AT&T. Mark knew that the Homeland Security agent wanted to see if she could get some technical help to examine their phones for anything unusual. They were treating them as a possible link into their situation, but at the moment they didn't really know.
"Maybe we should get started," Mark said as he walked over toward the others, indicating the comfortable chairs and sofa in the living area. He would be doing most of the talking, while Jessie watched the others during the discussion.
Once everyone was gathered, crowding into the available seating, Mark took a couple of minutes to bring them up to speed.
"Jerry has heard some of this a bit earlier," Mark began, and Miss Chou, who elected not to come tonight has as well. We'll discuss Miss Chou's plans in a bit, but for now the rest of you need to hear about what we have learned. Then we'd like to hear from the rest of you if you have anything to add to the situation."
Mark took ten minutes, walking through his and Jessie's adventures since they had parted, noting the surprise and concern on a couple of the faces of his listeners, especially that of Stephanie.
"Johnson's alive?" Glen Taylor interrupted when Mark told them about his surprise appearance in New York. Glen wore civilian clothes, but his formal military bearing couldn't be completely hidden by being out of uniform. The casual slacks and the polo shirt fit perfectly, and were almost military neat. He sat straight, his powerful frame somehow conveying how uncomfortable he was with their situation. He was trained to deal with a threat, but here he had nothing to focus on.
"Someone was there," Jessie replied for Mark. "He looks like Bud, and Mark described the unusual nature of what he seemed to know and didn't. He was in excellent health, with no sign of the gunshot we all saw occur."
"I don't like this at all," Monica admitted. Dressed in a loose fitting, casual sweater and well broken in Levis, with gray NuBalance tennis shoes, she looked more attractive and less heavy than she had in her formal work clothes. She confessed to having done little other than buy the cheap phone, which was almost an afterthought, having picked it up while shopping for other items. The whole matter was confusing to her, and her attention since that night had been mostly focused on a proposal effort for her company, which had forced her to direct her thoughts elsewhere. She really couldn't believe she might have done something wrong, but was admittedly confused by the lack of memories about what had happened at the meetings. And now the confusing matter that someone she'd seen killed might be alive was more than a little disconcerting.
When Mark described the unsettling visit with his family, it was Glen Taylor from the Air Force who spoke up.
"I recall my flying days as a younger officer with certain pride and nostalgia," he began. He looked around at the others who were wondering what relevance this might have as if uncertain he wanted to reveal what he had on his mind. "This weekend for reasons I couldn't explain to anyone, including myself, I went to a nearby airport intending to take up the plane I own with several others, just to experience the joy of being alone in a plane by myself again." He looked embarrassed by what he was about to reveal, but after talking a deep breath, continued. "I don't know how to fly," he said softly. "I got into the plane, something I know I've done hundreds of times before, although not recently. I have kept my physical up to date, but my BFR was long overdue, so technically I wasn't qualified to fly alone, but it was unlikely anyone would check since I was in my own plane. As I sat there, my thumb rubbing the pilot's wings I wore in every combat mission I had ever flown, looking at the instruments, and trying to think through the checklist, I realized that any knowledge of the Cessna I was sitting in was gone, as was any knowledge of the fighter I'd flown so many times in combat."
"How could that be?' Jerry Marshall asked.
Glen just shook his head, a sad look on his face.
"I have no idea. I was totally stunned, and more than a little embarrassed. I had to get out and walk away, shocked by what a fake I appeared to be. I've wondered what could have happened to me since the last time I flew. And now, I hear what Mark discovered. What is going on with us?"
"That's why we are getting together again," Jessie explained. "Clearly something odd is up with all of us, and we need to understand what. Those of us who have checked have found that our lives are not what we expect, and Glen's experiences are another example of what I mean. Steph, how about you?"
The ATT engineer shook her head.
"My family is long gone as I explained the other night, so I put little thought into examining my background. Maybe I should, but from what I'm hearing I might not like finding out I'm not exactly who I think I am, and I don't see how it would add anything to solving our mystery. I did, however, take our discussion the other night to heart, and have passed my personal phone off to one of our better techs, a friend I can trust, and have asked him to look at it with a critical eye for anything that might be out of the ordinary. I didn't explain what I was concerned about, just that I had reason to believe it might have been compromised. I will get the SIM back in the morning, and will place that in anothe
r phone I have for the time being. Like you, I have a disposable for our contact."
"What about Pam?" Monica asked. "Why isn't she here tonight."
Mark glanced at Jessie who nodded.
"She's intent on disclosure of the entire situation to the authorities," Mark explained. "Whatever reluctance the rest of us might have as a result of both the oddity of the situation, and the strange words spoken by Bud Johnson just before he went up in that strange fire, doesn't appear to have had the same effect on her. We hoped she might change her mind after we met with her this afternoon, but it appears not."
"She also claims that we could all be in serious legal trouble by concealing the crime," Jessie pointed out, glancing at Jerry as she spoke. She could see that mention of Pam's concern had struck home. "She has some legal training and if you recall works for Senator Conroy, and plans to speak with him when he returns to Washington on Wednesday."
"What kind of trouble?" Glen Taylor asked, beating Jerry to the question.
"Large fines and potential Jail time," Jessie replied.
That caused Jerry to curse and the others to interrupt.
Jessie raised a hand.
"I did some checking myself. "It's not as straightforward as Pam claims, and while there is a 1944 case, U.S. vs Brandenburg, that addresses the matter, and which has been amended over the years to focus mostly on concealing information under questioning, and not on the matter of initial reporting of a crime. A lawyer I know and a federal cop both claim it is very unlikely such a course of action would be pursued."
"Unlikely, you say! But we could still be in trouble by holding back what we know?" Jerry asked, his concern from earlier in the day reappearing. "Sounds like you don't really know what our status could end up being."
"With lawyers and judges involved, who really knows?" Mark added dryly. "These days the written law appears to matter far less than the personal take of some activist judge who has forgotten he is supposed to follow the existing statutes."
"Even under normal circumstances, it is unlikely there would be any real problem," Jessie replied, speaking to all of them, attempting to reassure the group. "But in this case, consider the problem Pam would be faced with. She claims Johnson was shot and killed, yet any investigation will find him healthy and at work. She will look foolish if this gets investigated, but it remains imperative that we all stick together and don't support anything she says."
