The Centauri Conspiracy Read online

Chapter Four

  The crew

  In the middle of the next morning after sleeping late and enjoying an hour of exercise in the 27th floor gym; a relaxing steam bath; a visit to the barber; a long refreshing hot shower; a leisurely breakfast of pastry, strawberries, and coffee; and attired in a new green tunic and jacket Duncan Bakman stepped into the elevator. Tapping 20th floor on the down panel Bakman heads down to see the people that will help him gather information. According to his floor’s computer screen among the staff assigned to him was all of his old team. This both surprised Duffy Bakman and pleased him.

  The elevator stops and as the door opens he sees what looks like a cross between an office and a repair-shop. Parts are scattered around a full floor-wide office. Duncan Bakman spots a bushy reddish pile of hair that he recognizes. As he steps forward Emmert Barbbre, whose code name is M, steps forward with a loud belly laugh to shake hands.

  "Barbbre."

  "Bakman," answers Emmert Barbbre for all of his people call Duncan Bakman by his last name, leaving off the mister, title, and first name.

  "I hear all our people are here?"

  "And working,” Barbbre adds smiling. “We've almost got a list of scientists put together for you, fifteen possibles with six space engineers on the list." Emmert Barbbre reports, moves one-step to his left, and returns with a small gold-colored disk.

  Accepting the disk Bakman nods and slips it into his coat pocket. They both know Bakman will study it later.

  "Show me around," Bakman asks.

  Emmert Barbbre flips back his long tan sleeveless work coat and presses his belt recorder’s “on” button to have a record of Bakman’s orders as he always does when talking to the boss. "This one and the full four floors above us are Mister OpDyke's information gathering centers, except on the 25th . . . we loose Harry’s office space. We ask for information and they send it down. We check public records for other information; for more we contact our sources. It's all on the disk—theirs and ours."

  In detail Emmert explains his operation to Bakman. They walk along a long row of computers, digital storage units, printers, copiers, and recorders. All are intermixed with locked old four-drawer filing cabinets.

  "This is a little old fashioned, Maag calls it “Ancient” and others on this job call it “Medieval” even Middle History, but we need to collect a hard copy of our work. It saves time in the long run even if it is difficult from a security stand point to hand-carry paper, show, and then shred. If you stop to delete even single disk files on a computer memory unit, any file, and with the right equipment it can be retrieved. A piece of paper burned or slipped into an office or any home garbage cross-action shredder and it’s gone."

  Stopping in front of one cabinet Emmert’s finger points at a name on the drawer front saying, “This one for example . . . Dr. Cole Deckstine Jennings." His fingers unhook a large ring of plastic cards from his belt, turns the cards until the card number is the same as the cabinet, flashes the card through a slot, and the lock pops open. His fingers pull open the first drawer, the second drawer, the third drawer, and the fourth drawer in a stagger staircase pattern.

  Explaining to Bakman his information system Emmert points to the top drawer; "General information about his or her life and family"; pointing at the second drawer, "Achievements, recognition, and awards"; pointing at the third drawer, "Things he or she has said and/or written"; and pointing at the fourth and last drawer, "Damaging things for possible blackmail if needed." Smiling Emmert closes the drawers, pushes in the lock, and listens for a click.

  “Harry has twenty-two teams of six retired detectives supplying some extra material for these drawers.”

  Standing silently for a long moment Bakman looks at the rows of file cabinets, nods, and knows that everything in them will be useful to check on the final list of people he selects.

  Waving his hand at the other cabinets Emmert Barbbre indicates they are all the same. Emmert only said, "All one hundred and eighteen top scientists or engineers in each of our ten topic categories."

  Nodding and smiling Bakman knows that Emmert did have the same information collected on every person that might help or harm the project. With a frown and in a serious tone Bakman switches topics and asks, "Do our people have good quarters and enough pay?"

  "Yes. Three hundred thousand a head per year, below 6th level half that, and that does not includes free-living quarters if the worker wants it. On the 27th floor, meals, haircuts, clothing, gym use and other things are free to twelfth level management and higher. Lower levels get the same things free on half of the fourth floor. Everyone can be trusted, but if any doubts or problems develop I'll let you know."

  "Emmert as of this moment your salary, whatever it is, is doubled and add two hundred thousand to that. On this job you’ll earn it. And, tonight I want you to throw a party for the crew. My treat . . . so send me the bill."

  His chief of staff Emmert Barbbre nods and adds, “Thanks Boss.”

  Bakman takes a small maroon hardcover book, The History of New England, out of his left pocket and hands it to Emmert. "This is yours, a just encase. Look at page 233." His fingers opened the book to that page as he hands it to Barbbre. Duffy looks down and puts his fingers above a set of numbers and then looks back up at Emmert Barbbre.

  "A numbered account worth one million dollars for you to take care of yourself and our people should this thing blow up on us. If nothing happens it’s your bonus. This money is not traceable or taxable. You will memorize that number before you burn that page. Okay."

  "Yeah … Boss."

  "If we need to payoff anyone, buy anyone, bribe anyone, buy equipment on the sly, or purchase information I have upstairs nine hundred ninety-eight other books just like this one. Let me know when you might need one. Traud, Sullivan Traud, is still our front man to make contact with people. Each scientist that agrees to serves on our group will appear to do it free of charge for professional reasons, but each one will get one of these books for his or her service. Send Traud out and around. Have him see me, Dee, Vee, or Zee on the 26th floor for the necessary books before he goes. We want ten good names, the best names."

  "Traud could sell day-old fish to a fisherman living on the beach."

  "We'll put something together to say Traud represents me. I'll Come down tomorrow with a short list and then we can get started. Both the Bakman Report and the Old West Clubs are being put into action as of today, operations start as soon as possible. For your information Emmert, today Harry OpDyke is going to give the United Nations a money transfer for 200 billion to build a spaceship large enough to carry 300 people and cargo to Mars every fourth year. Put Dinnel and his group upstairs gathering every scrap of information about this project. Have Prizo our public-relations leader put a nice small short note down in the society pages about my marriage to Dee Dae Iversen—no pictures. No one will notice it. No one reads that stuff except to look for pictures of friends and family."

  "Will do, but our people will sleep in late tomorrow. Tonight, you remember is a party celebrating your release. Sorry, we’re a day late but we won’t forget to bill you. Come down after lunch tomorrow or join us for the party tonight."

  "Until after lunch tomorrow then," Bakman tells him not wanting to intrude on his team’s private times. Emmert and Bakman shake hands and they walk back to the elevator. At the open elevator door Bakman stops, turns with a thoughtful frown on his face, and orders.

  "Tonda … put her on collecting everything on cloning. Morgana is to start working up ideas for Old West Club places—up to three hundred all the same . . . maximum budget one billion. Tell Morgana, she’ll be in charge. Maag works on computers, mechanicals, and mechanical programming. Woodin and Algrin are on space travel and the new spaceship. Is Seckeland still head of our security?"

  Emmert nods Seckeland is and that all of it would be done.

  That nod told Bakman that Breen Seckeland still protected them. “Oh! M. See to it that we double Seckeland’s and Taud�
�s salary and do the same for all team leaders. I want these pay rates to be from the day hired. Next payday a lump payment to get even and before we’re through they will earn every penny and more. This thing is taking off. Everyone will be busy.”

  As the doors to the elevator opens, Emmert pushes the “off” button on the recording device to end the session.

  Finishing his turn for the elevator Bakman also nods to end the meeting before stepping inside.