However, things were a bit different for one of the future astronauts. Like François, Ladli had stayed at the complex. Born an orphan, she had left her second foster family on her eighteenth birthday and never looked back. The following years had been challenging for the Irish girl. Moving from job to job and having one bad relationship after another, she had also been left to deal with an abortion on her own when her fiancé had left her for a co-worker three weeks before the wedding; something she never talked about. That same year, she had met Patsy, her first lesbian experience. Several months later, Patsy had broken her heart too. That’s when Ladli had thought of enlisting for the MSF, Médecins Sans Frontieres, an international humanitarian organization, in the hope to be sent to another country altogether, but she had abandoned the idea soon after. A chance encounter with an old high school girlfriend in a book store had been the catalyst for her interest in continuing her education. Eventually securing a good job as Lab Assistant for a large corporation, while taking night classes at the University of Dublin, Ladli had finally obtained her MA in 2013 and applied for the Mars First contest the very same year. After having been selected as one of the twenty-six in late 2014, she had sold her one bedroom flat and left Ireland for good. She had never returned to civilization after that, always finding a good reason to stay at the Mars First headquarters. This time, she could have gone with Tendai to visit his friends and family. He had asked her to, but she could not deal with that much social stimulation anymore and had preferred to stay put. For the past ten years, the Mars First complex and its residents had been her home and family, and the redhead, green-eyed woman had no real urge to go anywhere.
Chapter II
Twenty-three days before lift-off
Lars walked into the lobby, his daily report in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. Don Arnold, Mars First's operation manager, was sitting in a low-back chair, facing the chief mission controller. The two men were deep in a technical conversation when Lars interrupted them.
“Don, I need to talk to you. Can you come to my office?”
With those words, Lars passed the two men without looking at them and disappeared through a door at the other end of the lobby. A sign, “Authorized Personnel Only” hanging from the door, squeaked a couple of times as it rebalanced itself.
“Sure Lars. I'll be right there! Sorry, I guess we'll have to continue this discussion later.” He got up and left the room.
Don entered Lars' office with a smile.
“What's the word, boss?”
Lars was leaning back in his office chair, looking at Don with a frustrated look. He dreaded what he was about to say, in a way. He never liked lying, no matter the reason, but it wasn't the first time he had had to make decisions that didn't please him, or the people around him. It was part of the responsibility that came with his position as CEO of Mars First.
“I want to address a few things with you. Have a seat.”
Don wasn't quite sure how to take the comment. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, he turned to the small counter against the wall, where the coffee machine was. “Mind if I grab a coffee first?”
“Go ahead.”
While he was pouring himself a cup, Lars began, “Don, I'm afraid we may be facing a few complications we had not counted on. I just talked to Robert Carone at the Swiss embassy. The mayor's office is putting some serious pressure on him to have access to our portfolio. I’m not sure why or what they are after, but we can’t have our sensitive information fall into the wrong hands. I just don't trust anyone these days.”
Still listening, Don came back to Lars' desk and sat down across from him.
“What do you mean?”
“I talked to our security adviser, Michael Blem. He is worried about the daily traffic we have with the media coming in and out, and employees changing shifts and doing the same. He thinks we need to lock down the facility sooner than we had planned.”
“How soon?” asked Don, sounding concerned.
“Now.”
His jaw dropped.
“You mean today? Right now? Then, I… I need to go home and tell my wife, see my kids. I mean, I can't just leave without telling my family what's going on. I need to take care of a few things first. It wasn't supposed to be for another two weeks, at least. What's going on, Lars?”
Don was getting worked up and somewhat alarmed at the possibility of being stuck inside for the next twenty-three days, the number of days left until the launch.
“I know. Believe me, I don't like it any more than you do, but we are facing some serious challenges and we cannot let anything go wrong. Too much is at stake. That's why I wanted to talk to you first. I know we can't just lock everybody in like this. I wanted to give you a head's up. I'm going to call an emergency meeting in the next hour. We have no choice, I'm afraid.”
While talking, Lars was also observing Don's reaction and facial expressions without letting him notice. In fact, Lars and several high ranked board members believed someone was leaking very sensitive information and documents to the outside. The name, Don Arnold, had made it to the top of the suspect’s list, and some board members were convinced he was a spy. If that turned out to be true, he was most likely working for one of the big corporations that had tried to get involved with the Mars First project, but had been turned down.
Of course, judging the man solely by his reaction would not be proof of guilt, especially given the situation, but unbeknownst to him, Don was now going to be monitored around the clock. Cameras had just been installed throughout the entire complex, and the small one right above Lars' head was currently feeding a live account of the conversation to the security office in another part of building. What Don didn't know either was that the “lock down” story was just an excuse to see what he would do next if he was given only one last chance to leave the Mars First complex.
As planned, Lars added, “I have arranged for the whole complex to be sealed by 2200 tonight. Make sure to be back before the curfew. I suggest you take advantage and take the rest of the day off. Go home. Spend a few hours with your wife. You won't see her again for several weeks. Send her my love. Just be sure to be back before ten, alright?”
Leaving the coffee cup on Lars' desk, Don got up, “Ok, thanks Lars,” and exited the room quickly.
The trap was set.
As expected, the Mars First operation manager first went straight to his quarters. The place had already been bugged but he did not make a phone call, as expected. Instead, he hurried to grab some clothes, put a few documents in his briefcase, and exited the room, locking the door behind him. But rather than head towards the front of the building, as he would normally do to leave the building, he opted to go back to the training quarters in the opposite direction, making sure no one was following him.
Although no one was, he was being monitored by several cameras placed all around the complex, some barely visible, hidden in strategic locations by the security team.
Lars had also left his office, but not to follow Don. He had gone straight to the security office.
“Where is he?” asked Lars as he closed the door behind him.
“Looks like he's heading for lab number two,” replied Michael Blem, a heavy-set man seated in front of a long, curved desk. He was facing an array of monitors on the wall in front of him and had his hands on a video controller, allowing him to switch various camera views in the building.
“Do you want to sit down, sir?” asked the woman standing to his left.
“No, I'm OK, Sylvia. Thanks.”
Lars was staring at the central screen. The view from a camera above was showing Don ruffling through a series of drawers, clearly looking frantically for something.
“What is he doing?”
“I'm not sure, Sir, but he's obviously looking for something...” replied Michael Blem.
Lars walked around Sylvia and moved a bit closer to the screens, trying to get a better look at their suspect.
The man they were watching s
uddenly stopped his search, looking attentively at a couple of documents he had just found in a drawer.
“Can you zoom on that?” asked Lars.
“Sorry Mr. Bruininck, those cameras don't have that capability,” replied Michael.
Don Arnold opened his briefcase and inserted the documents in a side pocket. He then closed the briefcase shut and randomly spun the rollers of the coded lock. After replacing the rest of the file, he shut the drawer and hurried out of the room, carefully making his way back the same way he had come, through the small maze corridors. Still attentively followed by the spying cameras, he soon reached the garage level.
Pressing the side button of his radio on his uniform, Michael Blem called out, “Unit two? The subject is leaving the garage in his vehicle. You should have a visual in a few seconds...”
“Yes, we see him,” responded a man's voice.
“Please engage pursuit but keep your distance. We don't want to arouse his suspicion.”
Leaving the garage in his blue 2021 Volvo Boog, Don was too preoccupied to notice the black 2023 Mercedes Sapphire SUV following, less than fifty meters behind. After passing through the guard's gate, the blue Volvo veered south. Following from a safe distance, the black SUV's crew started relaying its whereabouts to the security desk.
“Yes Sir, he just turned south.”
“So, he is not going home... OK. Don't lose him!” replied Michael Blem.
“We need to find out where he is going, but we cannot let those documents leave his car,” said Lars Bruininck, addressing the security chief.
“I know Mr. Bruininck. Don't worry, my guys have their instructions. They will not let that car out of their sight.”
In the black SUV, the passenger next to the driver was following the Volvo with a long-range zoom.
“Looks like he's about to make a phone call on his cell.”
Having heard what the man had just said through the monitors in the security room, Lars asked, “Can we hear the conversation?”
“Sorry, Mr. Bruininck, we don't have a tap on his cell, and we couldn't bug the car in time,” replied Michael.
“What about tracing the call? Can we do that?”
“No, sorry, we don't have the capability to do that either. Only the police or the AIVD can.”
“Darn! That's OK. Let's hope he takes us to his contact, then,” replied Lars.
Michael Blem got back on the radio, “Unit two, what's your location now? Still on N227? Any change?”
“We just entered Doorn, sir. He is slowing down. Looks like he's about to turn right at the next intersection... Yes, he just turned on Dorpsstraat, heading west. Looks like he… Wait. Now he's turning left on a small side street. I think he's about to park...”
A few seconds passed…
“Well? Where is he now?”
“He just parked. We kept going to make sure he wouldn't spot us. We just made a U-turn a bit further down the road. We're coming back now. I still see him. He's still in his car and... He just got out. Hanz, park there. No, no, right there, so he won't see us...” he added, talking to the driver of the SUV, while pointing at an empty spot in the parking lot.
“Unit two, did you say he left the car?”
“Sorry, sir, we're parking. Yes, he’s walking now. I have him in sight. He just reached the back of the building. We are pursuing on foot.”
“Ok,” said Michael.
“Are we gonna lose them?” asked Lars to Michael.
“No, they have in-ear communicators. They should be able to stay in contact with us and relay what's going on, as long as they don't venture too far from their vehicle.”
A few seconds later...
“Huh... Mr. Blem? He just walked past the building where we parked. Now, it looks like he's heading straight for the big church in the back.”
“A church? Why is he going to a church?” said Lars dumbfounded.
“I... I don't know,” replied the security manager, just as surprised.
“Does he have the briefcase with him?” asked Sylvia Kaarzeev, who had just returned from getting herself a cup of tea.
“Yes, Ma'am!” replied one of the men in pursuit. “He just entered the church.”
“What is he doing in a church?” asked Sylvia completely taken back, staring at Lars.
“No idea!” he replied, shrugging.
A very soft whispering voice came through the monitors a few seconds later, “We're inside. He is talking to a priest at the other end of the chamber. Wait... They just went through a small door in the back. What should we do?”
“Follow them!” replied Lars. “Don't lose him.”
Quickly making their way to the other end of the large room as quietly as possible, the two men soon reached the door and entered a much smaller space that was completely empty, except for a small bench. Across, another door was ajar. They slowly made their way to it. On the other side, voices could be heard.
“Father, we have to act now. They plan on locking the complex down tonight. The security will be too tight if wait. You need to send your men in, now!”
“We don't have enough information. We still need the layout of the station. We can't just send them in blind.”
“I got the plans! I had to act quickly, there was no time. That's why I'm here. I just left the compound, but I must return within the next few hours. Give these to your men. It shows all the security points of the complex, and how to access the lab. They need to act quickly!”
Don handed the documents to the priest.
“You've done well, my son. The Lord will be pleased. Walk safe and may Jesus be with you.”
“Thank you, Father.”
As Don turned around to head back, he came face to face with the two agents, standing in the doorway.
“Put the briefcase down, Dr. Arnold! And stay where you are, Father! I'll have the plans back now, please,” said the driver of the SUV in a strong voice, while gesturing for the priest to give him the papers. Completely in shock and overreacting to the situation, Don tried to force his way between the two men, using his briefcase as a shield, but only managed to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Trying to take advantage of the confusion, the priest rushed towards the other end of the room, but the driver was on him before he had even reached the door.
“Don't hurt me!”
“I'm not gonna hurt you, Father, but I still need those papers.” Taking the documents out of the priest's hands, he simply added, “Thank you.”
A few minutes later, four police vehicles were stationed in front of the religious edifice and Don Arnold was taken into custody. The priest had pleaded not to be taken in with handcuffs in front of all the passersby and agreed to voluntarily follow the officers to an unmarked vehicle the police had dispatched and parked a few blocks away. Both he and the Doctor were taken in for questioning.
#
Two days later, Lars and several of his associates were gathered in the main conference room of the Mars First complex, talking via Skype to several members of the board.
“We do not know yet how much information was gathered by the group, but we know they call themselves the 'Goddelijke Rechtvaardigheid Broers' or GRB for short, a small group of religious extremists who believe that sending people to Mars is going against God's wish. It appears, from what was found in the church where both men were apprehended, that their intentions were to infiltrate our premises and place explosives around the base to destroy our labs. I had a long talk with my security officers this morning. We all agree that we may see more attempts in the future, not only by the same group of fanatics, but also by others like them. We have received numerous threats over the past few years. Now that we are only weeks away from the first launch, I'm afraid things will only get worse.”
Sylvia, sitting next to Lars, was impressed by the calm in his voice. She was truly shaken by what had just happened. Don had not only been a coworker for years, but a close friend as well. This could have had a very tragic outcome. Som
eone could have died. And how could they be sure he was alone on this? What if he had an accomplice? Someone else on the base, maybe in this room right now! She scanned around the table, looking at every face, trying to imagine if one of them could be a traitor...
One of the board members responded from one of the screens on the wall.
“We agree, Lars, we think it's time to tighten security and limit access to the compounds to an absolute minimum. The board has agreed to your request for more security systems and guards. Get whatever you need. More equipment, cameras, dogs, whatever your team feels is necessary. We cannot take any chance now. Too much is at stake. We would also like to get a complete report on everything the police found on this religious group and Dr. Arnold’s involvement as soon as possible. Have you decided on a replacement yet?” finished the man.
“Yes, Mr. Zakawi. We went through our list of candidates, and my team and I would like to bring in Doctor Ivaylo Kovachev, from Bulgaria. Dr. Kovachev has extensive experience with astronaut training. My assistant just uploaded his file to the system. You should have it. He worked for the Russian space program from 1992 to 2004, and then transferred to Antarctica's station Blokov, one of Russia's research stations, where he worked on survival studies in extreme environments. He applied to join our program four years ago. I had a phone conversation with him last night. He sounds highly motivated, and I feel confident he would be a great asset and a perfect replacement for Dr. Arnold's position,” concluded Lars.
“Very well, then. Make the necessary arrangements to get him on board as soon as possible. We cannot afford any more delays. The launch window is too short, and time is money. Oh, and Lars, thank you, to you and your team for doing such a great job. Just make sure we have no more incidents like this one.”
Kahnu (The Guardians of Tomorrow Book 1) Page 5
