Chapter 38 – Issue the Order
Wednesday, July 22, 2308
It was still early in the morning when Stanwood arrived. Fox had come to recognize the sound of his shuttle.
A few minutes later, Stanwood spoke from the other side of the opaque door. "The Attorney General still hasn't signed your arrest warrant, but he will, and when he does, it's not just you. We're closing down everything, all your projects, everything, unless you tell me what I want to know. You can stop all of this. Just say the word.”
Fox opened his eyes. The opaque door was closed.
“Suppose I were to cooperate? I would need you to swear to leave my wife and kids out of it.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“You have to swear.”
“You have my word.”
“Then I guess you’ll want the codes to my secret bases?” Fox offered.
“Yes,” Stanwood said. “To start with.”
“There are three you need to get to rather quickly, seven in total, oh, wait, nine. Just find my Chief Operations Officer, Angus MacPhail.”
“Angus MacPhail?” Stanwood asked.
“Yeah, yes.”
“Where will I find him?” Stanwood asked.
“Glasgow, usually. He’s a security consultant. Schedule a lunch with him and ask about the Manx kipper rouge. You have to get this just right. If you don’t get the code word right, he’s under standing orders to destroy everything. Tell him you heard it was good and ask if you should try it.”
“The Manx kipper rouge?”
“Yes, just like that. He’s got the keys to three units we have in the UK and to all our research material, all my secrets, everything is hidden on the Midway.”
“After that, you need to go see Henry Porter. He keeps rooms at the Anserini-Chen Lodge in Dresden. You can find him any time during the Annual Snipe Hunt, which is all summer basically. We’ve got an industrial park just over the border in Czechoslovakia, Wolpertinger Industrial Park. He’s the only guy who can get you across the check point.”
“Okay.”
“Pay attention, Joseph, you only get one shot at this.”
“Is there anything I need to tell Mister Porter?”
“Oh, yes. Tell him his real name in Charles. Tell him I said Hi and to give you whatever you want.”
“And the third one,” Stanwood asked.
“John Wyndham. You’ll find him in Los Angeles, Chile and he’ll take you to Patagonia and from there onto McMurdo Station in Antartica.”
“Can’t we just go straight there from here?”
“You could, but John has the keys.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve come to your senses,” Stanwood said.
Fox laughed.
“What’s so funny?” The intel director asked.
"Stanwood. You coward, did you touch it yet?”
Stanwood didn't answer.
"You know you're the only one they left out. Everyone else knew. You do realize that, don't you? They've all been interfaced already, all your superiors. Miller, Phillips, Croswell, even the old man himself. They're all on the inside.
“You're the scapegoat. By coming after me, you're doing them a favor. They'd love to see us kill each other.”
"Wake up, Fox, it's you in the cell. You're the loose cannon. But maybe you're right. Perhaps I'm overextended, but you're being naive if you think you're untouchable. From a mathematical perspective, this was inevitable. You have crossed too many lines.”
"I'm just one person, Joe. You can kill me, but you can't control all of mankind. Maybe no one else will frighten you, the way I do, but you've never been of any interest to me. You can't stop evolution. I am insignificant. You are insignificant. You have no real power.
“By the way, I’ve cut off your access to my networks. I found the hole you were exploiting. You won’t access President Conway’s footnote files anymore.”
Stanwood remained quiet.
“You thought I wouldn’t figure it out?” Fox asked.
“Bite me, Andrew,” Stanwood retorted.
"Look at us," Fox continued. "Here I am helpless, locked in a cell, but you're so scared you can't even face me as a man. You need someone else's approval, someone else's permission to shoot me while I'm handcuffed. Tell me, who's the coward here?”
"I'm not afraid of you.”
"Then open the door. If I'm not who you're afraid of, who is it?”
"I'm not stupid, Andrew. We're going to find the prototype, and then we won't need to keep you around. It will all come out in the wash.”
Fox burst into laughter. "You idiot, it was in my pocket! When your men arrested me, it was in my pocket. You're worried about evidence and procedure. There's not going to be any trial. I'm a national hero, you idiot. The cover up has already started, and you, my friend, are not invited to the after party.”
"That's impossible.”
"I think it's more likely your own men don't answer to you.”
“I’m going to check out your info. This will go a long way in your defense.”
“God, what would you do without someone to double-check all your decisions?” Fox laughed as Stanwood stomped from the cell door.
Obviously Stanwood’s number two, Von Kalt, was in possession of the Metachron now.
How long would it take the Metachron’s new disciple to seek him out? Would he even bother?
He might go after Ashley, after all, she has the Micronix now.
Fox could never have predicted the Metachron’s appearance. It could unbalance everything.
To think Astral, Ashley rather, to think she, a mere slip of a girl, could be ready for what Fox knew must be coming. He had miscalculated, terribly. Fox feared the Metachron had entered a transition cycle, like a caterpillar going into a cocoon before emerging as a butterfly.
Fox remembered that Butterflies had horrifically short life spans. They were terribly beautiful for a terribly short period of time.