The Night’s Journey

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The Night’s Journey

It was a slow Wednesday, a typical hump day at Allied Magnetic Corporation; the talk of

the day was gossip of co-workers and events planned for the coming weekend. Most days

had a lazy routine, but as of late, energy was finally in the air with rumors of a special

project. This company had been around a long-long time, as typical with older

companies, things seemed slow to change.

Production work had slowed down due to the lack of innovation. Competition was

overstepping older products and the loss of old customers seems the norm. The

management of Allied had been so reluctant to chase new ideas; many of the young

bright engineers left for more progressive companies. The buzz now inside the stogy walls

were about the new top secret project underway. Wages had been frozen in place for a

while; many inside the place still held hope that there may be some hope on the horizon.

Only a few knew about the pending announcement of a new technology development

that would forever change Allied Magnetics. The research department, lead by Bill

Farmer had just reached the final testing stage in the development of revolutionary

devices in Industrial Magnetics. It was a hard fought battle to develop a prototype and

even harder to keep things under rap, secrecy was critical. Only a handful of people knew

the full technical developments. Bill had sectioned off parts of the project to each group

so they would not see how it all fit together. Only now as the final stages of putting the

prototype together could the secret be revealed. Only the most trusted engineers and

technicians were allowed for final assembly.

The key to secrecy was that no one thought this old stogy company would come up with

this kind of development. No one was going to waste time spying here! To do this kind

of development you would need far more advanced lab equipment than was available at

Allied. What almost no one knew was that much of the work had been done far early

while Bill, the head of development worked in government research. The technology was

not available at the time to make a prototype but the core research had paved the

beginning concepts and methods to start.

That research sat in a secret archive that no one would ever see except for the researcher

who developed much of it. His name was Bill Farmer. During this time Bill worked in a

secret location far from viewing eyes. The Governmental agency doing the research was

so deep under cover that they did not even have a governmental agency name. Far below

the FBI or CIA. These secrets were developed in far off places with little if any laws.

These rough and wild areas were enforced with an iron fist. Secrecy was paramount to

development of things most people could only dream about. The team had to not only

work in the labs doing the research, but also patrol and control security.

In Black operations everyone does every job. The more help you use, the larger the circle

of security threats. If something had to be done; it was done by the research team, not

anyone else. If the security perimeter was broken by anyone, justice to the trespasser was

fast and swift! Too many bad memories caused Bill to end his relationship with the

government. His trail was dark enough that he was able to pass back out of his secret

operations and return to private industry to work.

The government had a good trust that Bill would remain silent about the projects he

worked; disclosure would be the end of Bill Farmer. He had enough of a black history to

finish him if he disclosed anything. Bill was more than a bit nervous about using some of

his research on this project; many years had passed and he could see that 30 years from

now the research would come forward. He was going to speed it up while being quiet

about how he came up with the ideas for a workable device. It would be dangerous but

he was willing to take the risk. Reopening this project caused Bill to wake up at nights in

cold sweats from his dreams; working on old ideas brought back more than just the

research; It brought back some of the collateral duties that were required to be

administered as part of security. This was an unwelcomed consequence to opening old

memories.

Bill, head of research and development, was tall, a little gray showed in his sandy colored

hair; his clothing consisted of old and a bit tattered gray suits, a white shirt and red tie; he

always wore highly shined shoes. His look was dated but Bill found it to his liking. His

hair was thinning and showed signs of age and stress; however, he was fit and thin.

When entering a room, he would just fit in. Bill was comfortable in conversation with co-

worker, management, and well liked by all who knew him.

His social life suffered from long hours and few interests outside of work. Weekends

were spent reading and writing about work topics. His last pet was a cat; it was not

entirely well cared for and was not missed by Bill when it passed. Work consumed much

of his spare time.

Bill had few close friends. He would work long hours, studying and read, leaving little

time for others. Co-workers always greeted him warmly and would invite him to events,

he never came. He had lived an interesting life, full of travel and new experiences; now

he simply found contentment with his work. Relationships had long past being the

center of his universe.

He often wondered “If only I could be left to do my work!” It wasn’t that he was anti-

social; it was his age and life experience. He had an interesting past, working in cutting

edge technology with the government, travelling all over the world. Now he found joy in

developing his ideas and time to simply do his work with little attention from others.

Bill did most of his work out of the development lab at Allied Magnetics, he was well

versed with technology, his work areas and tools were kept in immaculate conditions.

Work reports and papers were never out of place. If he had demands of those who

worked under him, it was for organization in all things. He was a fair but demanding

boss; underlings normally meet his strict expectations or found themselves transferred to

another department.

One thing that was critical to his research was his work from home. Company lawyer

always were nervous about company research leaving the lab. It was Bill’s practice to

listen but do his own thing. He used the Internet and retrieved past studies from his

government work to help develop his new technology. He had developed ideas before

practical electronics devices existed to turn his ideas into workable products. He would

laugh and think about what Edison or Telsa would have built it they lived in today’s

times.

Bill had been with Allied for almost 15 years. A very long time for people who worked in

this type of industry. Movement from one company to another was the norm in most

high technology companies, Bill liked where he worked and was very patient in

developing his ideas and new products for the marketplace.

His prior experience before Allied Magnetics had been in military research. Working for

the government had a number of frustrations and problems for Bill. The bureaucracy of

government frustrated him the most. Bill had decided to leave his secure government job

and work with a small company where he could have some freedom to develop his ideas

without the constraints of multiple copies of the same paperwork and following the

chain. He wanted some freedom to push his ideas. Allied Magnetics was a perfect fit.

His new position paid a great deal less money, and had its own set of frustrations, but Bill

was happy with it, so he stayed. All his ideas were not meet with enthusiasm, but he was

able to bring some to market, and they made good money for the company.

One area of development that had always interested him was magnetic theory. When he

first proposed his new theory on Magnetic Field Propagation, there was widespread

disbelief by fellow engineers and scientists that in Basic Magnetic Science, new laws of

physics could exist. His research papers were out there but buried within classified area

of the government, out of sight except to governmental agencies. Little would come from

the research inside the government; he still had the knowledge and some access to his old

research through past associates. He would go back to it often, knowing that today he

had more devices to test his ideas.

Bill argued over and over again that his ideas would bear fruit, make the company a major

player in industry. He just needed some money to build the electronic circuits and

devices. Everyone at Allied Magnetics respected him, but these ideas just seemed way out

of reach and unrealistic. He was still confident that in time he could manage to get the

funding for his project.

He was driven by a calling that started long ago; his ideas in theory were ahead of the

electronics that would have to be invented to make these theories work. This didn’t mean

his ideas were wrong, just that he was born too soon. Bill knew if given the opportunity

he could prove his theories, with enough funding he could make his ideas come to life

within his lifetime.

Bill would often say, “All science was science fiction at one time, you just have to be

willing to find the pieces to the puzzle.” Again and again, he would come to the

boardroom to ask for funding. He would always get the same reaction. “If it is not

making a product that we sell, we can’t afford to spend money on it!” Finally, the Board of

Directors of Allied Magnetics after constant requests agreed to fund his most sought after

project.

At the meeting, Bill stated, “The laws of physic that we will change are not my theory,

but natures, these laws exist. Look at Hydrogen Fusion and Black Holes; they exist in

nature just not here on Earth.” “We cannot recreate them now but in the future who

knows.” “What I am proposing is a small project to prove we can create the physics of my

ideas in a lab environment, and then we can then do more to develop devices and

products that have economic value to our shareholders. We can license our technology

to others to expand our market base and recoup our costs of development.” The board

was not entirely willing to go along with his ideas, but somehow he managed to convince

them. If you go to the well often enough you will eventually find water.

During the meeting CEO Joseph Black asked, “Bill, did you carry this idea from your

governmental work done before you came to Allied?” Bill was a bit aggravated by these

constant questions about his past but answered patiently, “Yes, I tried to develop it with

the government, but my ideas were shot down. The advances in electronic devices did not

exist at that time; the technology then would not have allowed the development of a

prototype. I believe we can do it here and now, my old research papers are still in the

government achieves, others may have looked at them, but no one else would had

developed them! You can be sure we would have heard about it if they did, it would

change everything in technology we use today.”

“Hell, I know you’re right about that, your ideas are revolutionary! That’s my concern

right now.” “If your ideas are out there and no one else worked them, why should we

believe in you?”

Farmer added, “Give me 6 months with my proposed budget, we are between projects

now, this is the perfect time to do it!” “Worse case, we advance the features on some of

our current devices were have on the market.”

Black stated “Bill, I will recommend it to the board for approval, that’s the best I can do

for you. I don’t see you succeeding with this project; maybe you’re right about recouping

our investment with new features on our current devices. It has been a long time since

we developed anything really “New”.

Bill seemed happy to at least move the idea to the next level for consideration. This was

more than he had ever gotten from the board president in the past. The board room was

always a dark and bleak room, dark mahogany walls with outdated furnishings. No

wonder those who met there were opposed to new ideas. He wondered how people work

day-to-day in such places. Joseph Black did present Bill’s ideas and the board reluctantly

agreed to the limits on the funding of the project. They were not thinking he would be

successful, but maybe something of value would emerge. We needed a new thing, the

company stock price had been on a downward sloop and needed a little buzz to get it

back up again.

Bill’s theory was that the basic laws of how magnetic fields work in nature could be

altered with intense concentration of magnetic energy, and he would be able to show it in

a lab environment. The basic rules of magnetism were going to change if all worked as

planned. This force has been felt by child playing with magnets for generations, the

concept that magnetic fields would either attract or oppose.

Bill believed that positive to negative charges could be converted to behave in completely

different ways based on Quantum Physics rules. He reasoned that magnetic fields exist in

nature in different forms; such as within Black holes, where even light cannot exist. If he

could replicate some of this nature of the universe in the lab he could use it with practical

devices, he planned to compress magnetic fields to an immense energy band, he would

modulate magnetic fields with laser beams. The beams of light would be focused within

a magnetic field to a point where the light would be concentrated in an energy band a

couple atoms wide. The beam would be scanned to change the magnetic properties of

matter.

Magnetic energy is the fundamental building block of everything in nature. He thought if

he could change the nature of magnetic energy, he could convert mass to energy and

back again in a different magnetic configuration. He knew in his heart that it could be

done; now he had to prove it could be done in the lab.

If this theory was proven correct, members of the development team could be rich

beyond their wildest dream. If proved wrong, then the company should at least get some

improvements in existing devices. Everyone had nothing to lose and everything to gain

from the venture. It was felt that the shareholders would benefit and the board would

be seen in a positive light for their efforts. Hopefully, to spread some new light into that

dark bleak boardroom.

Bill was given six months of time and an adequate budget, if nothing was developed

within that time, the research project would stop. His final report to the Board of

Directors would be due Wednesday, on June 15. He was expected at a minimum, to

produce something of economic value to justify the expense of the research. Bill knew

this was his last shot at developing this idea, failure would mean no second chances at

Allied Magnetics.

He would devote all his time to the project under extreme security. His team was trusted

and knew how to keep work under the vest. Past ideas had been lost to competition

because of slack security; this time too much was at stake. All steps taken were directed

by Bill so that he would be responsible if it got out. He keep all research under lock and

key and was extremely private in discussions with others. His only breech was taking

work home. He had to use care to see that it was always under lock and key in his home

vault when he was not there.

The days that followed were busy, time always moves faster when you have a deadline.

Little sleep was had by the research team. The teams were broken into small units so that

each group was responsible to produce a section of the final prototype. Only Bill had the

complete plans, this would help to ensure that confidentiality would be maintained. The

original theorems were tested; Bill was surprised by the mathematical formulation of his

ideas. He just had to repeat the finding with real devices.

It was late on a Friday; his lead team finally provided the quantum formulation to

mathematically back the idea with current devices. This in itself was a major victory and

would re-write science. He now had confidence in a successful outcome. The problem for

the team was making the math work in a real product. Another problem was making the

final device small enough to fit into the room. The idea worked on paper, making a

working prototype was another matter.

Time was running out and money was about gone. Bill managed to borrow sections from

other projects to keep the costs within budget, there was still hope. The biggest obstacle

was that once the mathematical proofs were made public, then another company with

more research capital would beat Allied Magnetics to a sellable product. The final day of

development produced the final result Bill was waiting to see, the thing really worked.

No one but Bill knew he had a workable product.

It was Wednesday, June 15; the time had come to show the results of his research. Bill’s

emotions were hard to keep in check. His team had put so much time and effort to meet

the deadline, they had worked almost to exhaustion, Bill’s hair had grown much grayer

from the effort. He understood that once the new information was provided, the entire

world would learn about this new technology. He had managed to keep it all under

wraps, the team was very good with secrets, and it helped to keep them in the dark most

of the time.

This was going to be a very busy, long hard week. Bill thought to himself, “Now how bad

can it really get?” Little did he know what was to come. His personal history was full of

stressful events, he was confident about his abilities; he worried most of the ability of

others in the company, especially in the board room!

That morning started out gray, the overcast sky and mist in the air left a cold feel inside

of Allied Magnetics Conference room. The same dark walls and bleak environment was

highlighted by a large machine that was assembled in the center of the room, wires for

power were lying around the floor and down the hallways to the basement. The place

looked disorganized and unprofessional. A pile of interconnected junk!

Bill entered the room and looked around, all the Board members were seated, a dark

shadow stood in each corner; the darkness of the morning did not allow its light to fill the

room. The word had gotten out that day that something big was in the works; this

helped to add some energy to the room. Bill sat quietly at the far corner of the large

conference table. Looked around and thought that a picture of this room would never

inspire anyone. It was hard to believe it would be the start of a revolution in science.

The CEO Joseph Black greeted Bill, “Good morning Bill, it appears you have good news for

us today by the look of the place!” Bill stated, “You know the importance of keeping the

findings I am about to present confidential, if released to the public we could lose out on

the chance to fully develop devices before others, they will use our research. We must at

all costs keep the news as confidential as legally possible”. “I have prepared the patent

and trademark information, but it still will have to go though our legal department.”

The Board chairman reminded Bill, “We are a public corporation, we will make all

findings known to our shareholders, and we will disclose any information that could have

a bearing on company operations and profits.” “You seem in a hurry to start your

presentation; I will try to keep an open mind to what you are saying but we will follow the

law. The board awaits your findings, quit wasting our time and get to it!”

Bill shrugged, he knew this information would never remain a secret but did hope they

would not hype it up too much… How could these guys know the full picture, they could

not know how this is going to change everything.

The theory Bill then proposed to the board was a simple one; it was that the rules for

magnetism, how magnetic energy behaves can be seen as cause and effect. This science

as used in today’s devices caused an effect on one object based on the force of magnetism

being applied to it. For example, a motor turns because a magnetic field caused a force

on parts of the motor, these parts then moved. This basic principal was used with radio

waves, and sound. The basic principal used by all magnetic devices.

Bill continued, “Our Corporation creates devices for sale using these basic magnetic

principals. These laws of physics exist and have been used by man for centuries. When

you applied a magnetic force against another object, there was a reaction from that force,

simple rules of physics.” “Those rules are no longer valid, we have proved through a

mathematical process a more reasonable and efficient method.” “What we have

developed is an effect - cause relationship.”

We create the effect by focusing lasers and magnetic fields to compress certain materials

that combine to create a breakdown of the structure of the atoms of the materials, this in

turn has an effect on the bonds to fuse the materials in a way to disrupt the natural

atomic structure of the material, thus giving us the effect of transference for the materials

through a magnetic tunnel to another location where we reverse the effect to cause a

return of the matter to its original structure.” We create an environment inside the

material that is found in fusion, then defuse the material back to its original state.” To do

this we found a new law of magnetic property based on Quantum Physics principles.

Our prototype is huge and impractical at this time but it does give us a road map towards

future development.” “Well let me show you, don’t miss it when I throw this switch.”

The switch was pushed, a large grunt was heard, and nothing seemed to change. No

flash, no boom! Everyone in the room looked at each other. Eyebrows were raised,

whispers were exchanged. Bill let the room settle and eyes return to him before he

started up again.

Bill then said, “My new technology does not disprove any of the currently held laws of

physics, I have found a new law, I have just shown it to you today.” Bill let the room rest

and thinks about what he just said. “I have found a new law, one that is not seen or felt”.

Bill continued, “The premise of the new law is simple and complex.” “Energy of any form

can be changed, converted to some other form, energy can become matter or matter

energy.” “During the change in state, energy exists in both forms simultaneously, both as

energy and matter” “In a worm holes, magnetic fields are so strong that even light cannot

be seen.” I will prove to you today that magnetic energy can be made to take another

form, be changed from one form of energy to another physical form” “The key to

understanding this is to know that during the change of form, the material can be

transported from one location to another.”

Bill’s research assistant set up a glass on the other side of the room, then placed a device

behind the glass and stepped out of the way. Bill then went across the room to another

device that looked like a large black box the size of 5 refrigerators; he indicated that at the

count of three, he would fire a magnetic bullet at the glass. The board members did not

look pleased; Bill assured them that they would be safe from the impact. “Just wait and

see the results of this demonstration, you will all be amazed.” “It is perfectly safe; it

worked well in the lab.”

He counted to three; no sounds were made, nothing seemed to change. The board

members sat looking confused, “What just happened?” was heard, no sound was made,

the glass still stood where it was, no indication that anything had happened. Bill was

ecstatic. He said “Now I wish you to come and observe our glass!” When examined a 1

inch hole was cut through the glass with no other apparent damage.

Bill enjoyed seeing the strange looks as the glass was examined. “The chairman of the

board was puzzled, “OK so what did we just see?” said Joseph. “Go back to your location

and look at the center of the board room table.” Bill stated in a firm voice. They returned

to find a 1 inch piece of glass sitting in the exact center of the table. It had not been there

before.

Bill went on the explain to the confused group “The large sending unit that looked like 5

refrigerators has for the last 10 minutes been converting magnetic particles from a wave of

magnetic energy into a concentrated ball of magnetic solids, when projected, it traveled

through the air until it went through the glass.” He added, “When contact was made with

the glass, the glass’s 1-inch section mass of materials were converted into energy and

became part of the ball of magnetic energy; a collecting device behind the ball returned

the energy ball back to its sending unit.” “It then transported the energy band to the table

where its particles returned to a mass.” “What the charge has done is move from one

point to another, both unseen and unfelt. Anything in its path becomes part of the

energy ball, it did not blow a hole through the glass, the glass section became part of the

energy mass. Given enough distance from the device, eventually the field energy reverses

and separates into a separate magnetic field and returns again to a solid mass.”

Bill looking around the room saw that his explanation was not helping. He added, “The

process seems simple in theory; but in practice, it is very complex. With this device all

forms of manufacturing, signal transmission and medicine will change.”

Bill went on to explain that by controlling the size and shape of this energy mass,

transmissions of data could be encoded into a ball and instantly sent to another location

at a fraction of the energy needed today. All forms of communication would change,

Magnetic resonance scanning technology would change from looking for a tumor to the

absorption of the mass as part of a magnetic ball and transmitting it out of the body,

every cell has unique magnetic characteristics, and these could be collected and removed

from human tissue.

“Now the problems… The location and shape of the ball varied, we cannot control the

device completely. It changed the matter but also damaged the structure or both the

glass and the piece removed. We also radiated everyone in the room a little… Not so

much to hurt you but don’t get near this machine too often. One exposure is OK – 100

exposures and you may start to develop problems. We have a lot of expensive work to

do.”Bill continued “it’s now going to get really expensive.”

Bill further explained that what you see here today is a crude application of this new

science. I demonstrated it works, to be practical, a complete new technology has to be

developed; this will require a massive influx of capital. What is needed now is to move on

to the next step as quietly as possible.” Bill looked for some feedback, what he got in

return was more blank stares. It was always this way, he saw the big picture, and other

did not. Mankind does not accept change very well, and those who bring it to mankind

are never appreciated. Bill was soon to find out how true this was.

The Chairman still looked confused, “Look Bill I don’t get it. What can be made from

moving something around a room!” Bill had a hard time not laughing out loud. “Look –

we just brought physics from space into this room. This device can change everything we

know and do… He looked and still saw blank stares.

The one question bill was waiting to hear came. One of the other board members who

saw what this device could do said “What are we going to do with all our old technology-

with this no one will want to invest in what we now build!!” “You are correct; we need an

influx of capital now.” Returned Bill. I believe the cost of development will take years

and much more resources that we have. We need to keep it quiet until we have things in

place. Others have more resources and can develop a useable device way before us.”

The company’s lead Lawyer said, “We cannot keep this quiet, our shareholders must

know of it all. Bill you should have given us less to see so we could privatize the company

and keep things out of the press, by showing us this we must make it public now. You

screwed up Bill, now we have no choice but to tell our shareholders how this will hurt

their share price. My God Bill, what the hell have you done to us! All bill could do was

just shake his head in amazement.

Code 13

The Baltic company had been around for many years and always found something new

when needed to stay in the black. Making money seemed easy. It was held in private

hands with overseas operations that held the corporate part of operations. The share

prices of their public companies were keep extremely high so only a select few owned the

corporate side of things. For over 100 years Baltic was a feeder for its other operations.

Secrets were kept hidden until it was time to bring them out when money was to be

made. New developments in technology were brought out when old products no longer

had profits. Profits existed based on selling until a new market was needed. This is how

life had always been inside the walls of Baltic. No one else could be first if it was

avoidable.

It was middle week, hot and muggy, the office environment was stressful. Company

management changes the last few months have resulted in new rules, higher levels of

scrutiny and increased workloads on everyone. Technology developments of other

companies were so much harder to stop, steal, or slow down these days. Emerging

markets made life difficult for everyone at Baltic. Things were falling through the cracks.

Life was so much easier when the United States invented most new things.

The management style was much more rigid now; upper management didn’t accept

failures with a soft hand. When a mistake did occur, change came fast and hard to the

poor soul caught in the cross hairs. The causalities were not mentioned in casual

conversations; however, in the dark recesses and quiet spaces, whispers could be heard

between trusted friends. The organization was very demanding in the past, but never to

the extent being felt now. Events were beginning to become overwhelming;

communication was getting more difficult between departments. Mistakes were

happening more often. The last big one 6 months past, created a major shake-up in

operations.

Suddenly, the main computer screen started to flash Code 13! A Code 13 call indicated

that a major break in the security of company operations had occurred, unseen and

undetected by Central unit 5. It is the responsibility of this department to ensure a Code

13’s never happened. Now everyone had to spring to life; in all cases this Code indicated

really bad news. It would now be the team’s responsibility to fix the problem. It had been

almost a year since the last Code 13 call. These call did happen, how they were resolved

was a key factor of any consequences that resulted from the occurrence. It was the job of

this office to ensure that Code 13 calls did not take place, or if they did to resolve them

quickly and quietly; the consequences on each employee in the office now depended on

the outcome from its resolution.

The one golden rule at Baltic was that its highly paid people were to ensure that Code 13’s

did not occur. A code 13 indicated that large amounts of hidden and secret technology

was about to be made public from another source. Millions of dollars of secrets would be

obtained by others, years or decades of research may be lost. Two questions started a

Code 13, #1. Did someone take Baltic’s hidden technology or worst #2. Someone was

neglectful in not seeing this one coming. It would be the responsibility of this

department to resolve this problem quickly. If it was an inside job, the consequences

would include a very painful death along with the secrets placed back under cover. If it

was an outside development, the technology would be slowed down, purchased, or taken.

Helflex Teller was the agent in charge to resolve Code 13’s; he would receive help from the

office’s black operations personnel. Their ultimate fate was in Helflex’s hands. Everyone

in this department was responsible for this mess. They would provide for his needs as

required to resolve the issue at hand. Upon successful completion, a review would be

conducted to find out why a Code 13 happened. Those who failed to see it coming were

sweating in their boots, to run was worst than to stay and face what may come of it. The

last agent that ran was caught, brought back to company headquarters. The pictures of

what happened to him were vivid enough that no one would ever follow in his footsteps.

A quick bullet to the back of the head was better than what happened to this poor soul.

A good resolution was still possible. If taken care of properly life could go on. It was up

to this department to ensure life returned to normal. Helfex was the tip of the arrow, and

the bow was bent and ready to fire. He had a great track record, never lost a case, always

subtle and quiet during operations. Age and stress were starting to show on Helflex’s

face. Deep lines formed around the eyes showing a lack of sleep and abundance of stress.

He worked out and was fit, dressed well but not so much as to stand out in a crowd.

When the Code 13 sounded he jumped a foot, closed his eyes, and then took a long deep

breath. He said to himself – Not again!

Helflex ran quickly to his private office and opened his laptop, signed on and set the

proper security protocols. The laptop screen came to life and provided detailed

information about a new discovery in magnetic science at a company called Allied

Magnetics. His jaw fell; he thought to himself, “Shit, this one’s a big one!” After a second

deep breath – he shouted – “O Shit!” “What is going on, less than a year and another

one?” Helflex wondered how this development could occur without notice. His team had

become too fearful of management, this would have to end. His ass was on the line again.

This was a major failure in surveillance, once out in the public, as it was now, it would be

hard to undo the damage. From every Code 13, Helflex knew the Corporation was

watching and planning behind closed doors. Baltic had already developed new

technology and had been keeping it from the public, now a competitor had found the

same technology! There was timing to these things. A thought came to him that

technology was moving too fast today. “I wonder if I can ever retire from this place.” As

he moved around the office and get his materials for the job, he kept shaking his head

and saying Shit, Shit , Shit – An indication of the trouble he was in. Normally he would

approach these jobs with a calm demeanor, Recent changes in top management were

worrisome, he knew inside that this one was going to be hard.

The company belief was that you milked the last drop out of old technology before you

replace it with new devices. Once made public you had to use what you invent or

someone else would. You needed a complete product line ready to go, and then you

owned it all. Share it and you lose. It was the job of his department to stop the

advancement of the Baltic’s hidden technology by competitors. Someone had missed this

one and it was a big miss. Heads would roll if this one was not handled correctly. Helflex

did not like the looks of the Allied Magnetic story. He always found it hard to understand

how willing companies were to share good new, and then lose out on the financial

rewards of their effort. Never made much sense to him!

“Tell me why this went under our radar, what do we pay you guys for”, said Helflex.

Everyone knew that the heat would be spread around, so all remained quiet but one brave

guy, there is always one, said “We know you will fix it.”

Helflex stopped and gave him that look, the one that makes you shake in your boots, and

said “You remember the last one we just did, you see a couple people missing from our

operations! Then quietly he said ”We don’t have a retirement plan.” “Don’t bother trying

to cover your ass, management will bury you with it.” On his way into his personal

assistant office he said with a bit of smile, “You poor souls have a great fucking Day!

The phone rang, it was quickly passed on. “Get on a plane now!! “Any thoughts to this

one, what do you know”, Helflex said nothing in response, his team had nothing yet.

After a short length of time that seemed long, he finally said “ This one went completely

under the radar, I will get out there and let you know once I find out the basic facts.”

“These small companies are always easy to work, we didn’t see it coming.”

The voice on the other end of the phone simply said, “Take care of this quickly, or don’t

look behind you.” “I will be watchin’ this one closely, fail me and don’t come back, just

hide really good if you understand what I mean!” He knew the consequences of failure,

he had managed the last Code13 and there were no three strikes rules here. Helflex’s new

boss was promoted after the last code 13, his instruction\ in dealing with his previous boss

upon returning were still disturbing to him. It was violent and vicious; his new boss knew

that he did not want to meet Helflex on these terms. He thought “If I ride him hard he

will know who’s in charge.” The first mistake was normally tolerated, few got two

warnings, Helfex was tired of taking it out on his coworkers. This one was a big one,

maybe no second chances here.

The job of this division was to keep the company informed on any technical

developments that would threaten the operations and hidden technical developments of

the company. The Magnetics division had developed far-reaching advances in products

and devices that it has so far kept off the market. They had planned to wait for just right

time before patenting methods in order to maximize profits. Now Allied Magnetic had

introduced their technological breakthroughs to the market. This event should have

been stopped before it reached this point. Steps could have been taken to slow down or

stops development if it was on the radar screen to act upon. Once this information was

made public, the profile of actions would require a more delicate hand. The Code 13 was

authorization for all actions needed to resolve the issue and return ownership of the

technology back to Baltic where it belonged.

Helflex was thought to be good at this, the last time he had a Code 13, three deaths were

needed, and the technology ended up lost to cover up the deaths. He had gotten sloppy

and was seen doing the killing; so to keep it from looking like Baltic was involved, they

had stopped the plans to buy out the company. Helflex thought to himself, “be careful

this time, talk first, kill second.” “use a little patience.” The plan had been to buy out the

other company right after the killings, but due to the investigation, they had to stay clear

of the purchase. This resulted in the head of operations being disposed of in a way to let

everyone know to not screw things up again!

Helflex was the special agent in charge during the operation; his job was the prevention of

technical development in Central Region 5 by any competitor. The second part of his job

was to deal with breaches of technology security; he would be the one to fall for this

mistake, if not resolved. After one screw up he knew better than to make the same

mistake again. Any developments that infringe on the banked technology of Baltic would

need to be stopped or at least slowed down. No more killings that resulted in a loss of

revenue and information. He had been very good at his job and expected to leave no trail.

As he had aged, he was now getting a bit sloppy.

When Helfelx got off the phone he yelled to his personal aid Kim, “My ass is really on the

hook now. This is going to be a long day.” Kim replied quietly, “ You know this stuff falls

through to cracks all the time. Besides, who would think that the company crackpot’s

ideas would hold water anyways.” “Well, I know who catches blame when this shit falls

off the radar”, replied Helflex. Kim just smiled, she knew his ass was not the only one in

the fire today. Helflex was normally not so vocal about problems. The new changes in

management had shaken everyone up; there was little trust that mistakes would be

forgiven. Someone’s head would fall for this one and Helflex knew his was waiting on the

chopping block.

Kim said, “ Your travel plans are booked as normal, be at the airport in 30 minutes to pick

up your tickets under your normal code name” He relied, “I have my Id, but need some

cash, nothing bigger than 20’s, about 3 thousand to start, have the rest of what I need in

place on site.”

Kim looked a bit worried, “Be quick with this one”

“It will take about a week from start to end” Helflex returned, he thought to himself “ One

week one way or another!” He took one more deep breath to help him relax, and without

any further delay he had his gear packed and was off to the airport for a quick ride east to

try to put some closure on this event. It would be a delicate matter now that it was in the

public. The last thing the Corporation needed was to start another conspiracy theory.

Who hasn’t heard of the water powered 150-mile per gallon car? That was an oversight in

his department he survived. That one was a hard fix. The drive to the airport was quick;

Helflex took the time on board the plane to get some rest. He did not sleep well; his

mind was on what happened to his predecessor who was slow on the switch. His death

was not an easy one, Helflex knew well of the event, for he had been the executioner. He

knew it was just another part of the job, but it was his boss’s intolerance for mistakes he

worried about most.

He wished he could give this assignment to someone else, but they like to keep the

circles of knowledge small, so it fell to him – no help on this one. Frank had been well

liked in the department; he thought it was funny that no one ever talked about him when

he was gone. He wondered if the same might be in store for him, forgotten, never to be

talked about again. Now he was in the hot seat and knew he better get to get this one

done right and quick.

Before getting on the plane he had changed into a type of dress that blended in with all

those on board, he had taken a seat in coach. He was tall and had gained weight, signs of

getting old. This current lifestyle was a luxury he knew he could not afford without the

job he held. Many of his peers were not so lucky to reach his age. His sleep was

constantly interrupted even though he was tired in the cramp quarters of the plane; he

wished he was on the normal first class flights that he used for routine travel. He now

needed to keep the lowest possible profile, so he suffered through the flight. He would

make up the sleep when he arrived at the hotel; flying east though did take more hours

from him. Jet lag was always a problem for travelers who lived on the west coast, he

always could tell from the look of traveling passengers which were from the east or west.

He always tried to fight any appearance that would indicate anything about himself from

others. Getting some sleep hide where he traveled from. With age this one was harder

and harder to hid, he had to start thinking about retirement, Helflex wondered if his

employer would allow him to just leave and give up his work. He knew the answer but it

kept coming into his head anyways.

After landing, the hotel room was a welcome recluse from the crowded airport and plane

ride, here alone with his thoughts, Helflex decided to wait to finalize how to approach the

problem at hand. Was it was better to rush in and handle the matter with blunt force or

take each step with careful measure? The latter was decided upon, he felt it would be

better to rethink an approach after a long rest, so without a shower, he found his bed and

made good use of it. He slept well, with no thoughts of his on-going problems. He

awakened late in the day; he was still on west coast time and knew he would need to

adjust quickly to his new time zone.

First Contact

The morning sun arrived with a bright cloudless sky and with it the waking of Helflex.

He was always slow to rise when on a mission; today was no exception to the rule.

Rolling around, warm and still tired, there was an unwillingness to start his day. The

light was bright falling off the stark white walls of the room. With a moan and a resolve

to start the day the covers were pulled back and shower started.

Today would be first contact; the results of the afternoon meeting would determine the

direction of future events. Showered, shaved and dressed; Helflex took time to think

through the plan of action for the day. He was still a bit sleepy due to jet lag from last

evening’s flight; he had to really work to focus on the day’s plan.

The stress of this trip, combined with thoughts of how this thing went undetected really

pissed him off. He threw his towel off the bed and into the bathroom floor. Too many

things have been slipping through the cracks this year. The new management style was

unforgiving, so no one seemed to be willing to stick their necks out. His age had started

to bring impatience, he was losing his edge. In this game that was not a good thing to do,

every step needed to be planned to the smallest detail. He was dreading finding out who

screwed this up when it was over. If it was in his division, hell would be waiting when the

job was done. Helflex knew who would be the devil, he would be the one to ignite the

flame. These thoughts soon passed and it was time to get to work.

Helfex said to himself, “ I will contact this Bill Parmer and see if we can come to an

understanding, he may be willing to bring his skills to work for us, at the least I can find

out how much of the technical knowledge he has written down or passed on to others.”

In the past he found it an easy job of convincing these guys. They were all stubborn at

first, but would crack when the real pressure came. Everyone will save their necks; he just

had to apply the force. He felt a little sorry for his victims, they never saw it coming.

The phone rang in Bills office and was not answered, it seldom was, the machine picked

up, “Hello Bill, this is Roy Page, I work at another company who has been working on a

prototype, it’s the same device that your company has just announced, we were surprised

to say the least that you has been developing this same technology. We are a small

private company and are just now patenting our findings; we need to meet privately, of

course this is just informal, you are welcomed to bring counsel if you wish, - I will not.” “I

will be in the area at 12:00, at the diner across the street, just ask for Roy, the waitress will

see you to my table.” “ Just a little informal chat between engineers, nothing to worry

about.” “You do eat lunch and so do I, what’s lunch between a couple guys.” “I hope to

see you at lunch, really looking forward to seeing you again.”

Helflex laughed to himself at the thought of the look on Bills face after hearing this call.

He had used the tactic before and it always worked well. Bill being more of a scientist

than a businessman would not be able to resist the meeting. He knew that if he asked

management about the meeting, he would be told No by legal. Then he would think – he

said “Seeing me again” - “I don’t remember a Roy?” Oh, what’s the harm in a little lunch!

The plan was in action.

When meeting with Bill, Helflex had to dress the part, not too rich but also inviting and

interesting. A business suit, it would look well worn, a bit crumpled, glasses and a little

scuff on the chin, expensive shirt and shoes. He would have the look of someone who

had traveled and was on the road. Helflex played this part a lot, and was good at it. It

was the balance of the whole thing; you had to add subtle details to make it believable.

As the phone rang in Bill’s office it was ignored as normal, too much work to get done

today. Getting coffee a bit later he reviewed the message. He listened to the message,

and then abruptly hit the replay button. The lab was open and the message resonated

around the room. He replayed it many times to be sure of what he heard.

Bill thought to himself, “Now what is this, can it be real?”. He ran all the different options

in his mind, “If I call legal this thing it can really get screwed up”, “the more he thought it

over the less inclined he was to get anyone else involved. “What do I have to lose by

talking to him? It is just a little lunch between fellow engineers.” “Sounds like we met

before, but I sure don’t recall a Roy?” ”What’s a little lunch, need to eat anyways.”

His mind was made up, but first he tried to trace the origin of this call, Star 69 did not

work, no Caller ID. “Hmm” thought Bill. “Now what”, Maybe I’ll keep an eye for Roy

about 15 minutes prior to his arrival and see if I can get a look at him coming into the

diner. “This is a new wrinkle I did not expect.”

“The time was 1130 am, let’s get this plan started”, Helfex said to himself. He called the

front desk at the Hotel and asked the clerk if she would call a cab, he said “I will be down

to meet it in the lobby at 1145 am.” On the way out the front lobby Helflex looked towards

the wall as he exited the Hotel, no reason to leave a trail with the desk clerk, he then met

his waiting cab.

He looked very different from the way he look upon his arrival. He made sure the lobby

clerk did not see his face as he passed the front desk. When using a Cab he was careful to

not stand out.

Within the cab he gave detailed instruction to the driver, “Drop me off at the corner of 5

and Broadway on the North side”. No other words were spoken, Helflex wanted nothing

to be remembered with this encounter, just another fare, he was sure to tip the customary

15%, nothing to arise the interest of the driver. He walked the two blocks south to the

Diner. The heat of the day was felt off the building, he was ready to add a bit more heat

to Bill’s day.

As he went into the Diner “Roy” made sure to look at the window of Bill’s office, and gave

a little smile. He knew Bill would be watching. Upon entering, Roy asked to speak to the

manger; “Hello Sam” said Roy, the Manager a guy named Sam, as printed on his shirt

returned a customary “Hello”. “Sam, I have a meeting this afternoon to be conducted

with my lunch, do you have a quiet area where we will not be disturbed”. Sam indicated

to the waitress to sit him at Table15. On the way to the Table Roy asked if the seating

waitress knew Bill Parmer, she said, “Bill comes in once and a while”. “Will you let him

know I ‘am at Table 15, my name is Roy”. He gave her a 10 dollar tip and asked to be left

alone after he arrived for about 15 minutes, we need to talk a bit before lunch, just give us

this time to get our business done. She smiled and said “Yes” as she pulled the tip into her

front breast pocket.

The waitress’s tag said Jill, but who ever knew if the tags were real, she looked the part,

the uniform a bit too tight, they may shrink in the wash but never get replaced. You

could tell a lot from the conditions of a uniform. Too new and well fitting was normally a

sign of bad service and inexperience. Jill’s uniform looks like she had been there a long

time. She would be good, a 10.00 tip to start would insure her help with Bill.

He requested two of whatever Bill normally orders with lunch. He said to put it on Bill’s

tab. She said “OK”, The initial tip keep everything going according to plan. He had to

smile a little; Helflex wondered how Bill would like being left with the tab for lunch. It

would provide the time needed for a swift departure without being followed after the

meeting. Everything was planned.

Lunch

The sun was high in the sky and hot, no breeze to break the waves of heat. A stiffing day

to be outside, Bill’s walk was slow; he was in no hurry to reach the diner. Bill thought to

himself one more time “Maybe I should talk to legal before I talk to this guy.” “No, I will

just have a short talk with Roy and see what his angle is.” Bill had developed much of the

basic premise of this technology while in the military, but who could have gotten that

research, and if someone had developed a practical use of it, why wasn’t there news or

products on the market. Bill had worked hard on developing ideas; he was determined to

find out what this guy named Roy was all about. If he did find his old research, maybe he

was just fishing for information. He was going to make the conversation short and get

back to work. He was determined to get the lowdown on this guy, forget about lunch!

Upon his entrance to the diner, Jill said, “Hello Bill” he acknowledged her, she smiled and

then escorted him to Table 15, after Jill left, Helflex said “Hello Bill, I am glad you decided

to take some time to talk to me today.” He looked pretty ordinary to Bill, he didn’t look

much different than most of the engineers and scientists Bill worked with everyday, a bit

younger than his dress would indicate, but that was not out of the ordinary. A lot of

younger engineers took on the look of their bosses. He sat down carefully, looked at the

table and saw two cold ice teas, both untouched. “Bill, I ordered you an Ice tea, thought

you might like one on this hot day.”

“Look Roy, I don’t have much to say, what is your angle with this?” Helflex waited

a few seconds then said “Sit down please.” “Bill I am here out of respect for your work,

you have found an important new concept, however, I am here to help, not hurt your

efforts.” Bill reluctantly took a seat, he was starting to feel like he was making a mistake,

but he was in too far to stop now. Bill slide into the booth.

Roy said “I work for a company that has already developed your ideas into marketable

products.” Bill was starting to turn red, “Come on Roy, do you think me a fool!” “Look

Bill, I know what you have found and know what you have not found yet. It is really very

simple. You found a way to modulate the magnetic energy signal, you have focused the

band of energy into a tight wave that can change matter into energy and back into

matter. “Now you need to develop its use in a commercial product” Given enough time

and money you may find the answer, I will show you where you have went wrong so far,

that should reassure you I am not here to scam you.” Roy continued “What I give you

must be return to me, but after looking at it you will understand that I am telling you the

truth.” Helflex handed Bill a manila folder for his review. Bill opened it carefully, he laid

out the papers on the table.

Upon review of the materials, Bill did not look good, “If you had this technology why in

hell is it not on the market.” Bill said loudly. Roy added, “It‘s simple, what is the result of

this new technology on our existing technology? “ “It makes much of today’s technology

obsolete.” Helflex knew it would take some time for Bill to see what was at stake. “Bill

this is not making for a good week for you but you need to understand, the organization I

work for does not want this technology on the market for some time yet, you will need to

stop your development now.”

Bill hesitated for a few seconds and then stated “There is no way to stop what we have

found, the world knows about it.” “Bill it’s really simple, you don’t need to stop the

research, just slow it down, we can make some arrangements for your comfort” If you

work with me no one will know and things will go smooth for you. I know this is a lot to

take in but things are moving fast, what is your answer!”

“Roy there is no way in hell that I will stop this project, if you put a product to market

first, go for it, we have started the patient process and would hold your company liable for

any use of it without our licensing of your use, you should have followed through on the

registration of your findings before we did.” Helflex smiled inside, but was careful to hide

his emotions, everything was working as predicted, Bill didn’t realize what was coming.

Helflex took back his folder from Bill and then gave him a smile and said on his departure

“Bill, we will meet again.” He left the table, giving the waitress a $20.00 tip for its short

use; he then said to Bill, “Don’t forget the pay Jill for the tea!” He left and walked around

the corner up a couple blocks, entered another Diner for a real lunch before he returned

to his Hotel. He had started the ball rolling, now was time to put the rest of the plan into

action.

Chapter 5

Action on the company

Hellflex arrived back at his Hotel, very satisfied; he always gained an appetite when on

the hunt and was satisfied with the meal he ate after the meeting with Bill. He took a

drink with lunch and was relaxed and ready for the next step upon his return to his room,

he opened his cell phone and dialed the office, “Hello Kim, this is a very fine day.” Kim

replied, “Everyday can be a fine day.” This was the response Kim and Helflex used to

ensure the conversations were private with no worries about noisy ears listening.

“Kim what additional information do you have about Bill Farmer?” “be careful Helflex,

he’s a straight shooter, no dirt, reliable from the start, never late to work, very loyal to his

company. This guy is going to be tough to turn.” Helflex said, “I don’t plan on turning

him, it has gone too far for that, what I plan to do is to discredit his work, then eliminate

Bill, the quiet type, it’s always so unexpected.” Kim laughed lightly, she’s heard this type

of talk before and diffidently did not want to hear details! “This one will take a while

then?”. Helflex smiled and replied, “Find me a safe house, and let the Corporation know

that I have it under control, but we need to get as much stock of Allied Magnetic as

possible after our news break tomorrow.” “I will cause the stock to drop 20%, then the

Corporation can act like the hero and save the company by buying in big.” “Set it up, text

message the address of the safe house”. “Make sure they wait till it drops at least 20%.”

Helflex then took his afternoon sleep; he did most of his work at night, sleeping all day

had become a habit; this sleep would be better than the previous day. The lunch drinks

helped relax him. His plan was formulated and now just needed to fill in the blanks. The

night was quiet and upon his wake, a text message on the location of the safe house was

waiting in his secure e-mail. He saw the location, smiled broadly, took a hot shower,

dressed and was feeling ready to take the next step.

Bill Farmer was having trouble falling into sleep; his meeting with Roy keep running

though his thoughts. “Why was he so calm, if it was me I would be all upset.” Why no

legal action and what company did Roy worked for?”. Bill was now thinking of all the

question he should have asked! Why did he talk to Roy?” If legal found out he would be

in for it.” Bill tossed and turned trying to relax and fall asleep. Finally, with enough effort

and time Bill was able to forget the day’s event and fall off to a deep sleep, uninterrupted

until the next day. He was unaware of what was waiting for him in the morning.

Upon his wake his mind again turned to the previous days meeting. He smiled to

himself. Made a strong coffee and got dressed and ready for work. He thought – now

what will this day bring.

The night was filled with activities for Helflex, time to put actions in motion. The early

evening was dark, the moon was but a sliver and the overcast left heavy shadows of black

all around. The safe house was at the end of a road a few miles south of the city. Close

enough for access, but far enough out so that his activities would go unnoticed. The

rooms were small but the computer and phone worked, even an attached garage to store

the rented car. Everything in place, Kim was good at her job and Helflex knew she would

be hard to replace. Her position was in the open; he feared she would do too good a job

one day and blow her cover. He liked Kim and would hate to have to hurt her.

The first call was to the media contact of the Corporation, “Hello Jim, this is Hellflex,

how are you tonight, ready to earn your wages again?” “ This one’s a high priority, and

you need to stay in deep cover through the whole thing, filter the information down

through our most trusted channels.” “Bill Farmer of Allied Magnetic, get a story out

about their recent press release, that their new development has some fundamental

technical problems, that Bill is seeking to share the technical findings with another

corporation which has been provided all technical aspects of the development and will be

making some important news about the technical development of products using similar

technical developments of Allied Magnetic technology.” “Include that sources say that

Bill Farmer has been sharing his technical findings outside of Allied Magnetics. He is

thinking of leaving his current position, and a legal battle is sure to follow.”

“Jim you must keep this story low key, just get the word out Bill Farmer has provided

information to another company for further development of the technology.”

“Helflex, this stuff is going to explode when it hits the press; I will be facing legal action if

I can’t back this up.”

Look Jim, we don’t use you often but I have you covered on this one. A word of warning,

we will be taking over Allied Magnetics, stay clear of the story after this first news release,

pass it to another reporter.”

“OK Helflex, I will do this one with a soft touch, but you are going to owe me big time, I

catch the liability for the story and can’t reap the benefits when the story hits big.”

“Good-by Jim.”

With the start of the story there was nothing else to do for a while, time to get a little

sleep. He slept like a baby. Everything in place until tomorrow, He thought that he could

tie this one up in a couple days. The suicide would be staged as normal, and he even

thought about attending the funeral. He smirked before falling into a deep sleep.

The morning sun broke through a hazy gray sky, the start of another full day for Bill

Farmer. As he approached his car he thought he heard a voice, it was inside himself. It

sounded a warning; he just felt that today would be very stressful. Bill wondered if Roy

would contact him again. He looked out the car window and thought “A day like this I

could have stayed in bed and sleep all morning”, it had been a hectic couple of weeks,

outside of his normal routine. Bill was a person of habit, each day awaking at the same

time and following a pattern that was very predictable. All this stress and worry was

throwing off his normal rhythm. His thoughts kept returning to his meeting with Roy the

previous day, wondering what today may bring.

He stopped for coffee as he entered his work office; his routine was to look at the front

page of the Billing Express. He looked with amazement at the story on the front page,

how could it had gone so wrong, now he knew instantly why Roy was so calm, how could

he have been so stupid. Why didn’t he talk to legal before his meeting, how could he say

that this guy he talked to already knew and had developed the new technology. No one

would believe him, he was in big trouble.

The phone began to ring; Bill did not want to pick it up. What to do now, He looked at

the door, on the floor passed under the door was an envelope, within the envelope was

cash and a sort note from Roy, “Thanks for the information, let me know if this is enough

cash for the help you provided. “ Salt in the wounds” one last insult to seal the trouble Bill

put himself in. How could he have gotten access to his lab? The place was to be sealed

tight with security. Shit he said, as he unlocked his work area. He threw the envelope in

his pocket, we would look it over closer later, for now he needed to think about how to

get out of this mess!

The story in the paper told how Bill Farmer had leaked technical information to a rival

company. His bank account would show large deposits from an unknown source, money

that Bill could not identify the source. He knew he was set-up good and it would take a

lot to get him out of this trouble.

During the ride to work, Bill had kept trying to think of a way out of this mess. He was

looking down the hall and saw approaching a security officer was now at the door

awaiting him. Bill looked at the security manager and said, “Why are you here, this story

is not true.” The Manager a long time employee of Allied Magnetics, always liked Bill

Farmer, Bill was always polite and never a cause for oversight. “Look Bill the board just

told me to escort you to legal; they just want to talk to you before this situation gets any

worst.”

On the fourth floor, the doors to the legal department look bleak, it was located down the

end of a dark hallway, a place to be avoided at all costs. Nothing good has every come

from this office. Bill shuttered to think of how things were about to go, he knew the set-

up was complete.

When Bill entered the office there was a chair waiting for him to occupy, sitting in the

center of the room alone, chrome arms and a rigid black seat. Not like the nice leather

seat the interrogator occupied across the room. There were three people in the room, the

head of the legal department, the Human Resource Director, and the Chairman of the

Board of directors.

The head of the legal department name was Clarence Bender, he had been with Allied

Magnetics for many years, this was the first time Bill had the misfortune to meet with

Clarence. He had heard of him from other employees and attempted to avoid him at all

costs. “Sit down Bill, I am going to ask you some questions, do not tell me anything you

do not want on the record, we will be recording our conversation, if you choose you may

elect to bring in counsel before we begin. Do you understand what I have just said.” Bill

thought, “This is going to be a really bad day.”

“Look, I don’t have anything to hide, I don’t need counsel, I did nothing wrong.” “I ‘ve

been with this company a long time and think you guys should not be treating me like I

did something wrong.” Clarence looked worried, “Look Bill, you understand that

anything you say may be turned over to Federal Security Commission officers, or if

charges are filed within State or local jurisdictions, you may be liable to civil or criminal

actions.” Bill look bleak but said, “I understand.” The light in the room appeared to fade a

bit.

“Bill, did you meet with someone and pass on confidential company files?”, Bill said, “

Well yes I did meet with someone called Roy, and no I did not pass on company

confidential files.” “ I got a call for this guy who stated he had information about our new

technical developments and asked if we could meet for lunch.” I know I should have

checked with legal first, but I just went across the street for lunch, I did not take any

documents, and our conversation was very short.” “ I provided nothing to him.”

“Bill, all of our technical information is out there now; the paper even said we still have

major technical issues to overcome. How would this Roy know so much if you did not tell

him?” “OK, now this is the hard part, I hope you trust me enough to try to believe what I

am about to tell you because it is the truth.” “Roy brought with him, information that

showed our new developments have already been discovered by others and all of our

pending technical issues have been resolved by Roy’s company” a silence filled the room,

Clarence coughed lightly, adjusted his tie, took a deep breath and said loudly, “Bill you

are not telling us the truth, what you are saying is impossible, if you had this information

why did you not share it with us yesterday after your meeting! “This puts us in a very bad

situation, our stock price had gone up 80% since the news of our development made the

press, it now has nose-dived, It looks bad to our investors, there will be civil liability and

the company can ill afford those expenses now. “ We have lost the 80% and have lost

another 10% by this morning” “ Are you kidding me, this is ridiculous”.

The Time has come to tell the truth, I will advise you one more time, “Do you want your

own legal counsel here Bill” Bill stood up, looked at the floor, gave one last look at the

three, and said nothing” Just stood there waiting for something to come to him – he was

blank and numb”.

Clarence waited then said, “You will be escorted out of the building until we can resolve

these issues. Now about this Roy, give us the Corporation name and how to contact him.”

Bill knew he was done for now, he simple smiled and headed for the door. How stupid he

was, he never bothered to find out much about Roy, he was caught off guard by the

conversation they had and never bothered to get more details.

On the way out the door, Bill was informed to not call the office or have any dealing with

company business until he was contacted by Clarence. A soft rain began to fall, the start

of an interesting day. He headed out for his car after returning his company keys and

credit card to the security chief at the door. He watched the floor to cover his shame as

he was escorted back to his car. No one he passed said a word, and avoided his path as he

moved through the building back to his car.

Chapter 7

Roy’s Return

On the ride home, the local news was on the story; the day’s story was the fall in the value

of the Allied stock price. The company spin machine was at work trying to justify how

the new developments of technology would turn into products. They stated that all new

technology takes time to make into the market and the loss in the value of the company

stock would be offset by a rise in value down the road. Bill knew inside he has lost this

battle.

The phone calls were constant when he arrived home, the answering machine was full,

Bill then unplugged the phone, a simple solution to his problem. The day was full of

stress, the knocks at the door were ignored, and an afternoon nap did not help. After

supper Bill decided he needed to get some air but not anywhere he would be recognized,

he drove across town to a busy bar where he could just grab a bar stool and blend in,

unseen. He was happy to see his first beer buy the third his neck was relaxed and he could

unwind a little.

“Hello Bill”, Bill turned and looked to see Roy standing behind him. “Roy! You need to

give me some answers.” “All in good time Bill, just relax, I am here to help you.” The dark

room filled with smoke and noise added to Bills confusion and anger. “Roy !, you better

have some answers for me or else!!”. “Look Bill let’s take a walk, I can help you if you

want to find a way out of your mess.” The parking lot was dark but much quieter, Roy

began, “You made a good move today, being honest about our meeting, I can help you if

you want to be helped, do you want help Bill?” Roy what I want is to know who you are

and who you represent, tell me that and I’ ll be helped, anything else and you can go to

hell.”

“Helflex said , “Bill, Here’s the way it is going to work, Allied Magnetics is now in the

middle of a hostile takeover, the company that takes control of it will pay you well for

your stock, your regulatory problems will soon go away, your job is not coming back, you

are finished with Allied Magnetics.”

Bill was having a difficult time understanding what he was hearing, how could it all go

away? He added “You are going to be the fall guy for this mess Bill, your friends are going

to lose a lot of money and hate you for it, because after the takeover Allied Magnetics and

all its business is going to be moved into the takeover corporation, few jobs will move

with it, all top management and research is gone. I can give you two choices, one is to

follow the research and become part of us, or to not become part of our team, and the

second choice will result in a short life span.” “Are you ready to make a choice Bill.”

Bill said, I have made a choice earlier today. You refuse to tell me who you are, you have

screwed up everything about my life, and now want to make it better. I know you Roy,

and I know what comes next.” “What you don’t know is that I to have a plan, do you

want to hear it Roy?” Helflex was a bit concerned, he had planned on moving Bill to a

remote location before the suicide would take place. A pause then a single gunshot

sound was heard.

The bar music was heard outside; the shot went unnoticed, just another noise of the

night. A body lay in the center of the parking lot, a single bullet hole in the back of the

head. The body in a heap, crumpled straight down in a pile. Shortly after a car was heard

speeding off. A quiet fell back over the parking lot. Dull thuds of poorly played rock

from the 90’s crowded out the other night sounds. A short time later a women’s scream

was heard, and people on the street came to see. Cell phones called 911 and a siren was

heard in the distance.

Closer and closer, the whine of the sirens grew louder as did the crowd around the

heaped body lying in the parking lot. Some just gawked, many whispered. Others

watched in silence.

The body looked normal other than the position, almost like the victim was simply asleep

except for the one bloody bullet hole in the back of his head. The contortion of it showed

a quick death. Police tape was stretched around the scene, black cases opened, coffee was

shared and radios blared into the night. It was going to take awhile for the collection of

evidence. Dead drunks with friends and the walking drunk carefully got in cars and left

the area. Police officers turned a blind eye to those they knew should be calling cabs.

More important work at hand and no one wanted to miss the show.

The first inspection of the body reveled little, no ID was found on the body. A money clip

held money but no other cards. No rings, tattoos, or other distinctive markings. The way

the body fell showed no one searched him before the police arrived. The lead detective

called in for his supervisor to come to the scene, this one was odd. The man’s dress was

out of place for his age, no ID, and the nature of the killing seemed to be completely out

of the normal robbery, dispute, or family connection.

Chapter 8

A turn of fortunes

The phone rang at the safe house with no answer, the check in time for Helflex was

overdue, an unusual event. Kim never knew him to not call on schedule; in this case

protocol called for a wait of 30 minutes, a return call, then shut down his operation and

calls in support. As the time passed, Kim ran through her mind what could have went

wrong, Helflex was to follow up and make second contact with Bill tonight, if he did not

leave his apartment, he was to break-in late and have a little chat, it was still much too

early for that, he must be on the road, or talking to Bill now. She knew that a call would

be made if he was delayed, wondering to herself, “Shit, what now!!

Another call went unanswered. Shut down of the current operation was signaled. Kim,

receiving verification, headed for home, she was going to hit the bar first, she needed a

stiff drink. On the drive Kim was talking to herself. “Now Helflex, what in the hell is

happening with this place! I hope to hell he’s OK. The more they drop, the closer it gets

to me.” “Why the hell did I get started with this job!”

The police search of the body found no ID, no cars in the vicinity, the victim had a money

clip, and so he was not robbed. Finger prints, DNA checks showed no match. This guy

was a closed book; local media would have to be called for assistance. If the word got out

quickly maybe someone could help with the investigation. New media reported the

findings, and other sources were checked. The bar owner saw nothing. The bar, did not

have any camera for fear of liability of letting the drunks drive home, or an occasional

hook-up arranged in the back. No one questioned saw anything or if they did were not in

the mood to help the police. It was a dead case before it started.

Bill’s head was a bit groggy from the day’s events, first the morning meeting with legal

and now this. He held the 9mm pistol in his hand and started the disassemble process,

first step disassemble the gun to its basic parts, soak each part in mineral spirits, wipe

each part clean and then dispose in separate locations, each part without traceable

numbers, the serial number section would be destroyed separately. Bill thought to

himself, “time to turn the tide of events”. He had at first felt like going back, but the

more time passed he understood, it was the course of events. He had to start controlling

what was happening. For the first time in the conflict he felt in control of things.

The evening was very dark, with overcast and rain. The moon but a sliver, with a cold

wind blowing. The weather looked as he felt inside. Mumbling under his breath sounds

of regrets for his first meeting with Roy. It was not of his doing, but he should have been

smarter, this world is a cold heartless place.

Bill had killed once before, at that time he was sanctioned by the government during

military service, he wondered if Roy did his homework before their second meeting. Bill

had used the earlier part of his day to examine how he got into his current situation and

then time to develop a planned way out. He knew that if Roy’s organization did not want

his expertise he wouldn’t have had his earlier meeting with Roy, he’d already be dead.

Bill’s plan was to pick an out of the way bar, he knew he would be contacted again, this

time he would control the events of the day. The death treat he was given was real, he

thought it might come; only he had turned the tide of this situation.

His plan was to try to reason with Roy first, but if he was sure that it had to come down to

violence, he would be ready. Bill reasoned that he could be left alone, or be followed and

then turned to be part of their plan, or eliminated if he refused to help. Helping would

speed the process up and keep the publicity at a lower level, but if death had come to Bill

it would have to look like he did it himself. Spending time in a bar after the fact become

public would be a good starting point for a suicide. The later seemed to be the choice of

action and Bill reacted first.

Kim contacted the head of special operations and informed him of Helflex’s lack of

contact, she was soon to learn of a murder in that town of a body with the physical

characteristics of Helflex, the body was found with no ID or traceable way to identify the

victim. This problem was getting very complicated. A code 15 was sounded. All hell was

about to break loose. Kim would be with this case of a while now. She mumbled under

her breath – “Holly Shit”

The night sky was dark and overcast and Bill was not going to be found in his apartment

tonight, he knew until he solved this problem, he was going to be on the run. On the way

to the airport a short stop, a change of clothing from a super center store; he would burn

his old cloths, then clean the gun residue off his skin from the gun blast and change into

new clothing stored in the trunk of the car. The cold weather was a sting to his skin as he

changed and cleaned; the small fire he started lighted up the sky, and provided much

needed warmth. The alcohol from the cleaning solution applied to his skin really made

him cold. The shivers were causing his teeth to chatter. Bill felt remorse about the events

with Roy, but realized how close he had come to being the target. Off to the bus station,

he had parked his car in long-term parking; he then walked across to the station, bought

a ticket with cash, off to a safe place to finish the work at hand. He would have to stay in

deep cover for a while.

He would rent a car out of town then change the plates. Paying with a credit card was a

problem, so he would leave the card as a deposit for damage, but pay in cash. Tracking

his card would be really hard without charges. He had thought our most of the details,

but when on the run who knows what could come up. On the bus, he avoided looking at

others; buses were full of all kinds of odd ducks. He felt he would blend in OK, the cloths

he bought were pretty basic stuff, khaki pants and a pull over shirt, a light jacket and a

ball cap. His feed had loafers, good to fit in with casual dress, for a person of his age. He

was hoping to fit in and not be noticed.

The ride was slow and allowed him time to think of the events of the night. It had

become the longest couple days of his life.

Days he wished he could forget.

Chapter 9

Code 15

A code 15 flashed on the pager of Special Operations Agent Ralph Hernes, Ralph was a

large man, too large for the suits he normally wore, he did not fit in well, his was not the

job for finesses, but brute force. When a Code 15 sounded it was time to place a final

action on a person or thing. Code 15 was used to eliminate a problem; this day’s problem

came with the name Bill Parmer.

When Ralph saw the flashing code, he said to himself “Damn it, this week is going to hell,

why now!” He didn’t mind most of the codes he received on his pager, but a code 15, it

would be damage or death to someone or something. Over time these events became

harder to deal with, each one seemed to haunt Ralph for months after the event ended.

He did know that as each new code 15 came to pass, he could put the last one to rest. He

would carry the memory of what he did; the ghosts of those he dealt with would stay with

him until a new person took the place of the past victim.

As time went on, victims blended in with the living. When Ralph would see similar

looking people, the memories would flash in his mind, A short jolt of panic would come

but pass quickly. He often thought about the path of destruction his life created for

others. Early on he would get a rush out of the hunt, and was happy with his trophies.

But just as the hunter learns to respect his prey, so had Ralph over time learned to respect

the lives of those he ended.

The previous code 15 had required Ralph to clean house in the corporation. This made

Ralph a marked man within the company for a long time. Memories were slow to forget

the disappearance of a co-worker, no matter their relationships. Rumors were the glue

that maintained company security of secrets and processes. He could see the fear in the

eyes of the people he had to deal with inside the company. Everyone seemed to have a

secret; they seemed to wonder if he was there to see them. When he would say “Hello”

and the response he got back was a fearful, “Heeello”. He could sense the watching of his

back as he moved down the hallway or out the door. He took no joy in this aspect of his

work, but it had to be done, and it was his place to do it. He was very good at his job.

Bill opened his eyes to look out on a nice lazy sunny day, it was hot and stuffy; he was

sleeping in the cramped quarters of a cheap motel but he felt relief. The bus ride was

long and the car rental took awhile, the clerk had to get special permission from the

clerk’s boss. After the day he had he sleep in late this morning.

Today he would move to better quarters, the previous night had been hectic, cheap

motels accepted cash without questions. No credit cards to trace his location. Bill had

the cash he needed to get through the events to come. He thought to himself “This was a

one-way ride, that he would either find a way to solve or wind up like Roy, dead.”

When Bill was in the military, he had killed only once, but somehow once you lived

through it, over time you came to accept it. He thought about the events of the previous

night, “Could I have done anything else?” He knew that unless he took efforts to change

the flow of events he would either be dead, or discredited and ruined for life. He could

live with being discredited, but he had the feeling that the first option was a more

realistic chain of events. Not until the last moment had he decided to go through with

killing Helflex. In the dark parking lot, his hair was standing on end, waiting to get a shot

in the head, when he turned and fired his gun into the head of his adversary. He was

surprised at the last instant as the gun fired, the look in Roy’s eyes. He knew he would

forever see those eyes in sleepless nights the rest of his life.

The solution to his design problems were provided when Helfex showed him the

developments by his company; it provided the insight needed to solve the final problems

with his new magnetic theories. With the information to solving many of the barriers in

Allied Magnetics work, came the insight that he would not be allowed to have the time to

develop them. Bill always held information close to the vest; never telling everything you

know was his motto. He had wanted to be open with “Roy” at the meeting at the bar

about how things were to end, but instead planned to allow event to unfold and not be so

stupid this time. He felt if he could solve the final problems, and then make them public

in a way that even Roy’s corporation could not hide, his problems would be solved. This

would take time he did not have. Then there would be no reason to go after him or Allied

Magnetics.

The second problem was getting patents on the work; if the corporation had control of

Allied Magnetics they would still reap the benefits of his work. So the second problem

was how to stop them from buying out the majority shares of the Allied Magnetics. He

felt that that could be fixed by getting the price to rise. If he could get the information

out that problems would be solved.

The afternoon started out hot and dry, dusty roads made the day feel hard. He was

hungry mostly from all the nervous energy from the last couple days. He ate quickly,

eager to get on his way. After a quick lunch, Bill stopped at a local auto junkyard; upon

walking into the store, he asked the clerk, “Know where a guy could buy some license

plates around here?”

The clerk look Bill over closely, “Why would you’re want some plates mister?” “I an’t got

no old plates, only the ones that come on the cars that got junked.”

“Look”, said Bill, “I got a DUI, just need a plate with this year’s sticker on it for a couple

weeks; I will get rid of it after I am done with it.” “I got fifty bucks for you, if you can keep

your mouth shut.”

Bill made sure his plate was gone before he drove in, he place the new plate on his car,

Bill thought, “ I feel better now, I am sure there’s a lot of people out looking for my plate

number.”

The sales clerk looked a bit wary about giving up the plate, “If yous get caught with the

plate I am saying it was stolen, guy! “

Bill smiled, “I am not going to cause you a problem, anyone could come in here and

snatch a plate.” “I gave you 50 to just keep your mouth shut” He smiled and Bill was

quick in the car and off down the road, he would put the plate on out of site.

Even with a rental car he was sure the rental company charged money to his card, just in

case he was a dead beat. He was sure to cover all his bases. The corporation has a long

arm, trumped up charges about an employee that stole from the company most likely.

Ralph opened the file folder, “Man, how do they expect me to find this guy, nothing to go

on.” No credit card or bank use, no one had identified his car, His phone records showed

no calls over the last couple days. This guy disappeared, Ralph knew Helflex, he knew

that anyone who got the better of him would be a tough catch, but everyone makes

mistake, Ralph had time on his hand.

He had a lot of experience chasing, much more than most of his victims had at running.

He would make the mistake they all did, they could not just stay hid, they always had to

be on the move. As he thought out his plan he got his gear and headed to the airport.

The airplane ride had lot of turbulence, Ralph’s large frame never helped in the small

cramped chairs on airlines; he would rid first class except it provided too much exposure,

just blend in with the masses. Upon landing he was sure to get a rental car with some

room. The rental car was much better than the plane ride and by the time Ralph reached

Bills apartment he was feeling much better.

The door to Bills apartment opened easily, a quick look inside reveled too much

information. An impression on a notepad of travel arrangements, personal records and

photos, in open exposed areas, Ralph was large and not well versed in English; however,

he was exceptional at his job as a terminator. This chase was getting much easier. The

stale smell of drying plants and old laundry told how long Bill had been gone. Dust on

counters, unpicked up mail.

Ralph laughed at what he found, Bill he said to himself, you are too clever, I “ll be a lot

more careful than Helflex was with you.” “Ralph knew from what he found, Bill withdrew

a large amount of cash, he was driving his car, and he had a plan. He also knew that Bill

would avoid friends, avoid any transaction that would show his whereabouts, and he

would not be anywhere near where he left hints behind.” An inventory of the apartment

showed the use of a computer, none was to be found. He would trace his whereabouts

through his Internet connections. Ralph chuckled to himself, “Bill you just made a fatal

mistake.” “ I will make up for the loss the Helfex.”

Ralph understood what Bill would do next, Bill took his laptop, he would use it, and when

he did the ISP connections could be traced to the number where the use took place, he

would be close by, Bill would soon be found. Upon exiting the apartment Ralph was

careful to leave with nothing disturbed, no one could tell the apartment had been

entered.

Upon exiting the building and driving to a nearby parking lot, Ralph called in his findings

and arranged for the trace on the Internet ISP. He also told them to report any car

sightings, only to check for expired license plates from junked cars. He asked where was

the closest junkyard. The nearest junkyard was 48 miles out of town, If Bill killed Helfex

late, and left town he would have to find a motel fairly near to this town to get a room

that late at night. 48 miles was just about right. Every journey needs a starting place, and

he had his.

Upon arrive at Jims Junkyard he could feel he was right, this has to be the place he got a

clean plate. Upon entering Ralph looked around, the place was a mess; he only hoped

they keep records so he could get the number of the plate. “Hey there, how can I help

yous”, Ralph looked the guy over, he had to be careful and not spook him too much, “I am

looking for something and I know you will help, you would like to help me out won’t

you?”, as Ralph asked he reached for his money clip and pulled a $50.00 bill from the top

of the stack, then he pulled another, Jim watched and did not respond to the question,

Ralph said again, “ I need to know one thing, and I ‘ll be sure to pay you well for the

service, the guy you gave a plate to earlier this day, what was the state and plate number,

give me the answer and you’ll have a good payday.” Jim looked at Ralph, he was big and

did not look like the type of guy you said no to, “I don’t wants no trouble, I have to look

it up, our records are kind of a mess!” The early evening was starting to set, this chase

was going according to plan.

Ralph smirked to himself, he began to think he was on the trail now, this one would be

easier than he first thought. After a bit of digging, Jim found the information and passed

it to Ralph, he was watching the two $50.00 bills in Ralph’s hand, his head dropped when

he saw the Big guy reach his hand back in his pocket and pull out the money clip, Ralph

knew he was causing Jim a bit of stress, he slowly opened the clip and pulled out two

more $50.00’s to add to the two in his hand.

“Look you helped me out without any trouble so I am helping you out with a warning,

here is $200.00, you found the money in a junk car, you never saw me or the guy earlier in

the day, you don’t want to see me again, you understand!” Jim was smiling now but knew

he better listen, “Ok, I get it, you are a ghost after you leave, I have a very short memory.”

Jim knew he would not want to cross this guy, he left the dusty parking lot in a cloud, it

was hard for Jim to even make out the model of car as he left. He knew tough guys, and

he just had a close call with a bad one, Jims memory quickly faded all thoughts of his day.

Bill Parmer had gotten through the first step of his plan, now for the next step. He had

driven a long way but knew driving away would not solve his problem. He just wanted to

be far enough away from anyone who would know him, and be in a safe location blend

into the surroundings, he picked a city with a medium population, staying in an industrial

area where businessmen paid with cash and asked for blank recipes at hotels and

restaurants, a way to squeeze a little more from their company expense accounts.

The night was setting in and he was tired and hungry. The dew was starting to form in

the air and the heat of the day was now gone. Time to get a good night’s rest and stay

under cover. He exited the expressway and found a moderate private motel named the

Shady Night Inn. He parked out back of the motel, out of sight. He stretched, walked

into the front office and met a older women at the counter, with not much happiness to

share. She says “Need a room?” Its $69.00 a night! Bill asked “I like to pay cash and get a

blank receipt for expenses, can we do that?

She smiled and nodded OK, took the cash – gave out a key and a blank receipt. She

turned and walked back into the office. This was a game she knew well. Bill just smiled

and thought to himself, everything is going a bit too easy.

His plan now was to leak information on the Internet to get a buzz around Allied

Magnetics, boost the stock to prevent the corporation from buying a majority share of the

company. The earlier newspaper leak had really hurt the stock price and time was

important, with him on the loose, the corporation needed to stay away from taking over

Allied Magnetics until he was gone, and too many loose ends with him around causing

trouble.

What was most frustrating for Bill was the insight he had on how his new technology for

magnetic energy would change the world. He knew that a lot of current technological

devices and processes would be made obsolete, he could understand the resistance to

change that would flow from his new ideas, but to hold off introducing life saving devices,

was in his mind the most cruel evil.

When Bill first found out that his ideas and theories have already been found, he was a

first devastated, then a slow anger formed in his mind and a determination to set things

right. Bill knew the nature of the corporation and what they would be capable of doing

to himself and Allied Magnetics. Now he must share the technical details so they will not

be hidden from the outside world. If he was found, he would be killed, his work, much of

it held within his lab and office at Allied Magnetics, would be sidelined when the

cooperation took control of the company. The technology would be then brought into

the marketplace at a time when the corporation would best use it to get further control of

other company’s assets.

Bill checked into his room and pulled the shades, he backed his car into the parking lot to

make identification of his license plate a little harder to see. He took a long hot shower,

he needed to take a rest, the last two days had been extremely stressful, he knew this was

going to be a bad week but he never could imagine how events were turning. Remorse

was setting in for the killing of Helflex, he knew he had little choice, earlier in his life he

had killed for the government as part of his military service, he was now reliving the guilt

and hardship it took to get past those days. This event was bringing back those past

events as well, if he just could shut his eyes, the world would look better in the morning.

He was safe here, no way to track him, he could rest now.

The morning light was slipping through the edges of the closed curtain, Bill could tell

that he had had a long rest, the noises of the rooms nearby being cleaned, the light of the

sun shone high in the sky, it was late morning. Bill looked at the clock face on the desk

and saw it was 10:30. Time to get to work, he got out of bed and placed the do not disturb

sign on the door. Started a pot of coffee, got dressed, and loaded up the car. His plan

today was to use the room phone outlet, connect to the Internet. Bill knew that where he

connected made little difference; the use of the Internet would not be safe, his ISP would

be detected and traced back to the motel, he had already paid for two days in advance

with cash. When he was done with the Internet connection, he would move on to

another motel in the area. Play cat and mouse, they would search the area but if his car

was spotted he would have a different license plate number than they would be searching

for.

His first step was to write a long letter explaining what was happening with Allied

Magnetics, the interference by another group, and an attempt to manipulate their stock.

He told how his ideas and theories would be made public and where on the Internet to

find the technical details of the developments discussed at the recent press conference

held at Allied Magnetics. Bill knew that he would be giving away many trade secrets; the

patenting process had already started so even if they knew, no one else could steal his

developments. In his letter he detailed that he was on the run, and that he would be

posting more details over time. The letter was sent to regulatory agencies, the news

media, work associates and friends. With the send button he instantly released hundreds

of messages over cyber space; he then down loaded his technical findings to his group of

internet sites for public postings. Signed off the computer, he loaded his car and left the

motel.

As he left, his thoughts were on how much life had changed in such a short time. He

knew that in his wildest dreams he could not have been more wrong to celebrate his

success early that week. At least now he was in control of events.

Chapter 11

The Call

The cell phone began to ring in the dark black car of Ralph Hernes, he was smiling when

he opened the phone and pulled to the side of the road. He sensed it would be good

news, “Yes”, “We have a location, Ferndale, a Motel called Sunset Motel, located at 154

Industrial Drive, the connection was made at 12:09 pm” “What is your ETA”. “I was

looking the wrong way, I thought he would head to a less populated area, with less police

coverage.” “He thinks he’s covered with the new car plates”. “It will take me a couple

hours to get there, have the local police check the area and motel for his car, you know

the new plate number, be sure they check for his original plate too.” “ If they find him,

have him arrested, we will “Talk to Him” “ when they release him from custody”

The voice on the other end of the phone had one more thing to say, “He has released a lot

of details on the Internet, you need to make this problem disappear.” Ralph answered

with a pause and then “I understand”. He then cursed under his breath, always cleaning

up other people’s screw-ups.

Ralph was thinking on his way to Ferndale, this guy is smart, he has a plan, my only edge

is the license plate, not much to go on. Why would Bill go on the Internet into the

second day at a Motel? The answer was simple, he knew that Bill would know that they

could track him there; he was gone, but to where? The Ferndale area is large, he could

blend in and be very hard to find, but everyone had a pattern, Ralph’s best skill was to

understand patterns, he was well practiced and finding a pattern then finding the person.

Bill’s pattern was his logic, he would set out a plan and stick to it, what would be his next

step, he was using cash to keep tracking his location to a minimum, His car was common

enough to blend in to a large city area with a lot of traffic of similar models and colors.

Then Ralph smiled, he figured out a pattern, he knew where to find Bill, he added some

speed to his car as he headed for Ferndale, and time was short.

The University of Ferndale had a large technical library on electrical engineering, just the

spot for Bill to work on integrating the ideas Helflex showed Bill. Bill had been trying to

find the missing puzzle in a few basic flaws in his design, when Helflex showed him the

details from the Corporation’s developments, the lights went on, now was the time to

finish the work while it was still fresh in his mind.

The work paid off, it was hard for Bill to think about the technical details of his work with

so many events occurring, but he was able to develop some mathematical models that

showed signs of success. The day was getting long, supper and rest, he needed to get

settled into a new Motel. He would try to find something local, the less driving on the

road the less exposure. The night sky was hazy and gray, early evening with the sunn just

setting. The parking lot was almost empty except for Bill’s car. Upon its observation Bill

said to himself, “I should have parked it in a more populated area”. Looking around he

say no one, a large black car sat near his but other than that car the lot was pretty much

empty. Bill stopped and looked for a few minutes before he hurried to reach his car, in

the back of his mind he was troubled, he stayed to late in the library the open parking lot

had high visibility. As he reached for his key and focused on the door lock, he fleet a

shadow encroaching around him, as he looked up a large hand grabbed his face, the prick

of a needle was felt embedded into his neck, his head filled with fog, and his body relaxed

into darkness.

Holding Bill up while he opened the car door was a bit of a balancing act for Ralph, he

opened the driver door, took a look around and with one sweeping motion tossed Bill

across the front seat head first he then bent his legs down and climbed into the car. Ralph

waited a minute and watched for any activity, seeing none, he started Bills car and started

out for the open highway. On his belt, he pushed a button on the page attached,

activating the next step with a Code 15. Before Ralph could finish his Code 15 assignment,

he would wait for final instructions.

Chapter 12

Bill’s Situation

Bill awoke to a bright light and foggy vision, his head was throbbing, he felt a burning on

his wrists and feet. His arms and legs were bound tight; he was lying on a cold stone

floor. His mouth was dry from the dusty floor, his back was cramped, as was his

shoulder. He had never felt so much pain everywhere at once in his life. His first

reaction was to yell out, but he held the urge to speak and quickly tried to look around

with his eyes. He saw a pair of eyes looking into his. “Hello Bill”. Bill’s spirit fell, he

knew he was in a bad situation, not knowing what to do next he said nothing in return.

“Look Guy, I kind of respect how you got out of that trouble with Helflex, except he was a

good friend of mine.” “We don’t have many in this kind of work, so I tied you up a little

tight, sure hope it hurts a lot!’ Said Ralph, showing a smile with his words. “ I am not

asking who you are or why you have not killed me yet, I just ask that you to be quiet”, Bill

said in return. “ Well Bill, I can help you out with this one, I just wanted to be sure you

woke up from the little medication I gave you, I have had some that didn’t”. “I need to

dump your car and get mine, be back soon, I would have made you more comfortable but

you don’t sound very apologetic to me”. “ I’ll just leave you on the hard floor for a couple

more hours, I need you to sleeps so here’s another dose of the stuff.”

“Ok, OK, I’ll be anything you want just don’t give me anymore of that stuff!!”, stated Bill.

A loud laugh was heard before the pain of the needle was felt in Bill’s neck and the lights

went out once again.

The car was cleaned, removed to an isolated location and burned, arrangements were

made to retrieve the black car, when completed Ralph returned his call, “I have taken care

of the situation, what do you want me to do with the problem?” The answer on the other

end of the phone was not the answer Ralph wanted to hear. “ The problems was not

taken care of as we directed, now we need to stand this operation down, we are going to

leave the problem and deal with it another way. The problem has not seen you or us, so

we can make a drop and move on with our plans”. The caller said, now Ralph knew in his

heart how this one would end, “let him go” was never a scenario, but he did have firm

instruction to make no contact with Bill. Ralph knew in the Corporation you did not

make mistakes, he had to think of a quick way out. Ralph said, “I understand and will

take care of matters”. He then hung up the phone. “Shit! He said to himself, how would

he let Bill go after he had seen him.

On the way back to Bill Ralph went over in his mind what choices he had, he thought if

he gave him an overdose, this would be a big problem but how would the Corporation

deal with it, if he released Bill and he went to the police, provided detailed information

about Ralph, the Corporation would eliminate him, they seldom left open strings on

operations. He was told not to make personal contact with Bill. Looked like only one

solution to this problem, and he would have to take it.

Chapter 13

Bill’s Revenge

When Ralph entered the room, he could smell urine and puke, it was very unpleasant.

He looked at Bill lying in on the floor, breathing heavy, in a pool of slop. He was awake

but groggy; he would drag him outside and hose him off. Hose down the floor and wash

it outside, the hard vinyl floors would be easier to clean this way.

After the clean up he untied Bills hand leaving his feet tied up, he did not want to have to

chase him through the woods. He then looked at Bill and said, “Bill I am about to deal

with you, you got anything to say?” Bill knew his time was up. “Look just do what you

have to do and stop talking to me, I got nothing to say to you.” Ralph cocked the gun

aimed at Bill’s head and said, “Good by Bill” and pulled the trigger. The last thing Bill felt

was the sound of a bullet passing near his head, he never heard the gun shot. He opened

his eyes and saw Ralph standing in front of him. Ralph said, “This is how this could end,

it’s up to you, I work for an organization that does not accept mistakes, they deal with

mistakes, the way I should have dealt with you just now, except they don’t miss.” “I don’t

want to be on the other side of the gun; I need your help to keep me from being there.”

Ralph hated to ask for Bill’s help but he had few choices. “I was told to not make any

personal contact with you, the Corporation was working out the damage you caused with

the release of all the technical details you put out on the Internet, the stock price of Allied

Magnetics went up so high, they did not buy the company out, and now they are busy

putting in additional patents and trademarks on the technology before someone else or

Allied Magnetics can do more.” “You are not a threat now, but your work is lost to the

Corporation.”

Bill was happy to be alive but the words just clouded in his mind, the medication had not

worn off yet, Ralphs words just brought out more rage in his mind. Bill said,” I don’t

know what to think now, I need to sleep” he sleep for 12 hours.

When he awoke, Ralph was watching over him, “Good morning Bill, here’s some coffee, I

have some food when you feel like eating”. Bill looked at Ralph, “Look, I am happy to still

be here, why did you shoot at me yesterday if you were not going to kill me?” Ralph

looked sternly at Bill, “What makes you think that it is over?” “Look Bill, I could’ve made

it look like the medication I used killed you, I may have survived that problem with the

Corporation, you must understand, I was given instructions to make no personal contact

with you. I was to keep you out until I was given further instructions, if you describe me

to the police, I will disappear forever if you get my meaning.” “They don’t leave loose

ends.” Ralph always looked to minimize risk, his thought was to convince Bill to go

along with his idea and get them both off the hook.

Bill’s head was throbbing, he did not want to receive any more shots, “look, I just don’t

see any way out for me, I ‘ve given out information that will get me into hot water

without a reason for me to have done it.” “How do I get things back on track, I can’t just

go back and act like nothing has happened.” Ralph’s large face had a big smile, “Here is

how you get out of trouble, I will give you information developed and held secret within

the Corporation that could only have come from my boss, he will catch the blame, your

corporation can then license the technology. You make some money and get off the hook

for giving away some developments, and my boss will be my next assignment. Both our

problems will be solved.

Chapter 14

Bill’s Return

It was late when Bill opened the door to his apartment, the damp air held a lonely smell

of abandonment. A pile of mail lay on the floor, answering machine full; he would have a

lot of questions to account for with his return to town. He put his future fate in Ralph, he

wondered if he was just setting himself up for another trap. He knew he had no choice

now; this would be his only way out. He poured a few fingers of scotch in his glass,

opened the window, kept the lights out and sat in his favorite chair. It had been a very

long week. The mellow flavor in the glass melted his tension but did little for his fears.

The Morning sun was showing in the window, he had fallen to sleep in his chair, his

muscles ached, and recovering from his ordeal was not helped from hours of sleep in an

upright chair. Upon his wake, he struggled to get up, he made a strong pot of coffee, took

a hot shower, and looked at the morning news, and the local feature was about him.

Allied Magnetics taking head was on TV to explain why their technical developments

were being released on the Internet from their engineer Bill Farmer. Their answer was

that the release of the information was not authorized and answers would be

forthcoming. The news that company already had licensed the technology was asked

about, the spokesman for Allied Magnetics indicated that although other corporations

were using and working on the technology, that the basic science would open up new

avenues for product design, and Allied was far ahead of anyone else with practical

designs. Bill smiled for he knew this was not true.

He picked up the phone and called the office, his plan was ready to be put in place. After

a quick chat with his department head, he talked to the legal department and requested a

meeting with the Board of Directors and CEO, in private. It was set up for latter in the

day, at 4 pm. He was to come in the back door. He knew this was his only way out of this

mess, Ralph better come through or he was finished.

At 1 pm he arrived at the secluded located, it was a dark area, hidden from view, he made

sure that he was not followed, would Ralph show up as planned. Bill felt a hand touch his

shoulder, he turned quickly to see Ralph, without saying a word, he was handed a stack of

Chapter 15

The Meeting

Upon his return to the apartment, drapes pulled, checking the CD’s proved more valuable

than Bill could ever imagine. Within the disks were data developed from working

prototypes, detailed instructions, and years of research. This data was extremely

confidential, it will save Allied Magnetics. Now he only had a couple hours to put it

together for the meeting with the CEO and director.

The day was overcastted; even the gray sky could not keep Bill from feeling a surge of

energy. He now had the knowledge that this day would be an end to a long hard week. A

new start for the company and he could regain his position within Allied Magnetics.

He parked behind the building, entering the back door and made his way into the office

of the CEO. He was unseen, except for the personal assistant of the CEO. No welcomes

were given, just the door opened to the boardroom. He was the first to arrive; he sat in

the middle of the large table, opened his folders and tried to focus on his task. The

information would have to be let out piece-by-piece, rational for his past actions this

week. The door opened and first in was the CEO John Forman, followed by the rest of the

Board members, they did not look happy to be there.

The CEO was the first to speak, “Bill, you are here to explain yourself, we have asked our

legal team to not be here today, this is an informal discussion, do not bring up any matter

that would require a legal judgment, do you understand me Bill”. “Yes, I understand, my

function today is simply to explain my actions and lay out a plan for tomorrow, not

anything beyond that.” “The information I will present you with today is simply an

overview of work that will be patented for Allied Magnetics, the full technical details are

held in a confidential location, no one has seen this material.”

Each member present was presented with a folder that contained specific information

that showed the outline of what would be patented. As they read the materials, smiles

showed on their faces, The CEO was first to speak, “Bill how could you have developed

this, our budget was too small for any of this kind of research, it could not have been

done here.” Bill had to handle this question with care, “As you know we have been under

attack by another corporation that has been doing similar research, they have started the

patient process but are way behind our processes, we will need to use care that protection

of our new processes shown here are done in a confidential way. Everything said here

today must remain confidential in the light of current conditions.” The processes I will

patient are our property, the research was done under a deep cover.” Bill was not use to

lying; he hoped he could carry it off. No one on the board of Directors said anything; they

left the talking to the CEO John Forman.

John was concerned about the secrecy, “Look Bill you’ve made life pretty hard around

here with your behavior up to this point, how can we be sure you are not going to screw

us again?” ‘John, you have known me for a lot of years, we have been through some hard

years. You have to trust me on this one, I could have just disappeared and sold this

information, but I am here to insure that Allied Magnetics can use this technology, our

employees and shareholder have been through a rough ride this last week, we are over the

hill with this stuff, give me two weeks and we will have our patient paperwork registered.”

“Bill, I speak for the board, you have your two weeks.”

Chapter 16

Code 20

The last few weeks were slow at the Corporation, Ralph was using care to try to avoid all

talk about his dealings with Allied Magnetics and Bill Farmer. The loss of Helflex was still

a topic of conversation, and the quick way Ralph was able to locate and apprehend Bill.

All Ralph would say was, just routine, follow procedures and things always work out. The

Division Chair for the Corporation was Lester Max, he was in charge of the Allied

Magnetic operation, his weeks had been filled with requests for information about how

this operation got so out of control. How did his agent Helflex Teller loss his man, and

why did he not get Bill Farmer before he published his technical details of his

developments on the Internet.

Over the last couple of weeks the Cooperation had to answer a lot of questions about why

they had not let their shareholders know of their magnetic product developments. Why

Allied Magnetics had published their finding first. Why did they have to abort their

attempt to buy Allied Magnetics? The development of this technology was to be years

away, after the Corporation squeezed every dollar out of their current technology. New

products in the design stages were already obsolete.

Lester Max had a nervous personality, he jittered and jumped with sudden sounds, the

pressure his current situation did not help matters. His hair was thinning and gray, he

looked too fragile. A man with his position had to instill fear, his word needed to be law.

He obtained his position not by strength and cunning, but by backstabbing and

corrosion. The former Division Chair, had developed a drug addiction, it was rumored a

little doping of the morning coffee was one contributing factor. Nobody ever accepted

food or drink from Lester after he obtained his position. A Code 20 was sounded when

word got out about Division Chair’s directors drug problem. Helflex was the assigned,

Lester remembered giving the assignment to Helflex. He was told by Lester, “Make him

suffer before disposal”.

Ralph was happy to keep a low profile, his actions were the only ones seen as following

the orders of the Corporation, someone had to pay for this screw up, he was trying to be

sure he would stay out of the way. In a few more days, Ralph knew trouble was coming.

The phone rang in Lester’s office; he was quick to pick it up.

The phone extension was from the Corporation Director. “Hello Director, this is Lester

Max how can I help you.” “I have one question, who has access to our data files in the

Magnetic development lab.” “Well, the way to the technical papers and data is thorough

my secure workstation, I have to be present and my secret password needs to be used.” “

No one can get the data but through me.”

The Director answered, “that was my understanding “ and hung up the phone.

Lester did not like the question just asked, and the abrupt ending of the phone call was

not a good sign. “I ‘d better check my files”, he thought. As he suspected, during a time

he was out of the office his files have been accesses and a large volume of data

downloaded.

The circle of people who could have hacked into his files was very small, but the pool was

large enough that he knew that finding the guilty party in time to save his own skin

would be very hard. If he left suddenly he would just look more guilty. Lester knew he

had done way too many people wrong to expect help for anyone.

Ralph’s pager went off, the Director was expecting a return call on a secure line. He

found a secure private area and returned the Directors call, “Hello this is Ralph, returning

your call”

“Ralph, I need to talk to you immediately, how soon can you arrive at my office” said the

Director, his tone was telling Ralph it better be soon. “I’ll be there in less than 30

minutes.” “Good by.”

The back entrance to the office was dark, late in the afternoon the sun was on the front of

the building, the lighting was kept intently dark, this entrance was only used when quiet

meetings were held. The pathway was not welcomed by anyone, it always harbored

trouble. Upon opening the door, the Director asked Ralph if he had any other projects

going on tonight, he indicated he did not.

“Here’s the thing Ralph, you are aware of the mess of this Allied Magnetics case, you did a

great job.” “ I can always count on your skills, you found the guy but a bit too late to use

your services.” “Now I find out that Allied Magnetics has licensed our technology, the

files were downloaded by off Lester’s computer using his passwords.” “What do you think

about all this, and who to blame for this mess.”

Ralph knew his questions indicated he had suspicions that Lester was not in this alone, or

that someone had set-up Lester.” Ralph spoke with caution, “I do not want to place

blame on anyone, Lester is not liked by anyone here, and others could have done the

downloading.” “I have the corporation’s best interest at heart, what do you want me to

do?”

The Director was not giving up this line yet, “Tell me, did you make personal contact with

Bill Farmer?” Ralph knew his moment of truth was here, if he lied and was caught he

would be dead, if he told the true, he was unsure of his fate. He said “Yes”. A smile came

across the Directors face, “Ok, good you told the truth, now what is your relationship

with Bill Farmer” Ralph had hoped that Lester would take the fall for the leaked

materials, without question, he was not liked, and was first to be blamed for the entire

mess.” He could tell that the trap was just too easy; Lester would have covered his tracks

and found a way for the blame to fall on someone else. Ralph if nothing else had a code

of honor.

My relationship with Bill Farmer is one of prey and hunter, I hunted him and caught him,

I waited for instructions to terminate him. The instructions were changed.

“Ralph, I am going to ask you one final question and I expect a yes or no answer, did you

leak the materials to Allied Magnetics.” The moment of truth had come; Ralph looked

down and said, “Yes”.

The Director smiled, “Well we finally got to the bottom of this”. What was your next

play? You know this could cost us a lot of money.” I played this the best way to go

forward, Lester is a snake and no good for us, with this play we built an alliance I will use

in the future. Make me CEO and I will bring it full circle. The director shook his head, “I

am glad you work for me.” Make it happen.

Chapter 17

The Final Development

The TV went to a newscast, breaking news of a commuter plane crash, a team of

executives on board a small fixed wing commuter plane died today. The plane they were

flying in crashed during landing at Newark International Airport at 3:45 pm today. The

weather was good, but all indications are that mechanical failures lead to the disaster.

Aboard the plane was Lester Max, Division Chairman for Interlock Industries, also aboard

was a team of developers for the Magnetics development division of the company. This

loss could be a substantial hit for this company; they were in final development stages of

major breakthrough technology in Magnetic science. Company offices have indicated

that Ralph Hernes, former head of special projects would take over the duties for Lester

Max, as Division Chair.

The weeks turned to months at Allied Magnetics, Bill had been busy getting the technical

aspects of the technology obtained from Ralph trademarked and processes patented. He

was amazed at the detail of the work, why they had held this technology off the

commercial market did not seem to make sense to Bill. If he was willing to take a long-

term view of how much the replacement of technology can cost a corporation, he may

have had a different view. The long view was never one of Bill’s attributes. Life was

hectic; a routine was beginning to set in.

When the new first came on TV, Bill did not pay much attention until he heard the name

Ralph Hernes, a picture was shown with the broadcast, Bill shuttered in his chair. He

understood now, Ralph did not give him a full picture of events; he now was in charge of

the division that was a rival to Allied Magnetics.

Later that day the phone rang in Bills office, he picked up the phone, “Hello this is Bill!”

Bill, this is Ralph, you remember me from our recent visit.” “You’re a guy that I would

never forget, I heard the news today, you failed to mention you were in line for your

boss’s job.” Well, it was kind of a surprise to me too, but it’s funny the way things work

out sometimes.” “Bill the reason I am calling is to set up a meeting with you.”

Bill was squirming in his seat, just when he thought things were getting back to normal

he was faced with new challenges. He did not say anything for a while. Ralph waited,

still no comment. “ Look don’t get this wrong, I don’t want to say what I have to say over

the phone, I would ask that you bring your company Lawyer with you, you have won this

battle, we need to negotiate a settlement for the use of shared technology.” “ I have said

more than I should have over the phone already, we will meet tomorrow at the diner at

noon, you know the table!” With that Ralph hung up the phone, he did not wait for a

response from Bill.

Bill understood that this meeting will take place, you do not say no to Ralph, he talked to

the Legal department and the CEO, neither was happy with the meeting after the last

debacle. Bill was able to convince them that with legal representation this would be

positive for both companies, just an initial informal chat. He would arrange a formal

meeting if needed. Bill was a bit worried about how this would turn out; he did steal the

patients and processes of Ralph’s corporation.

The next morning, rain and dew darkened the morning sky. A gray haze sat over the city,

a depressed mood fell over Bill. He was still tired from his ordeal, and did not look

forward to a renewed conversation with a killer who could bring down all the good things

that have taken place over the last couple weeks. He knew Ralph could have killed him

but let him live, that if his purpose was to do Bill harm, he would never know it, his

demise would have already occurred.

At 11:30 am Bill got together with his Layer, Jay Billson. Jay was a likable guy, he wanted

to get the restaurant early before Ralph. He always had enjoyed Jay’s conversations and

wanted to go over strategy before meeting with Ralph. His plans were undone for as they

entered the Restaurant sitting in the table where Bill had meet Helflex earlier, sat Ralph.

He looked and smiled; he knew he outsmarted Bill once more. He arrived early to have

lunch privately and ensure the table would be obtained for their use. He had left an extra

large tip ahead of time to ensure privacy and the tables extended use.

As Bill approached the table, he gave a knowing smile to Ralph, he knew he had meet his

match with this guy. “Hello Bill, you look much better today than the last time I saw

you.” “Well, I have a much clearer head today.” “This is Jay Billson, Our Patient Attorney,

he did the work with the Magnetics developments over the last few weeks”

Ralph reached over and gave Jay a very firm handshake, the kind you don’t forget, it told a

story to Jay. The story, don’t under estimate this guy; he is not what he seems. “ I have

ordered for your both, your food should be here any minute.” That was nice of you, said

Jay but how do you know what we would like, and how did you know we would be here

30 minutes early. “Well boy’s that the point is it not?” “ I am here to propose we do

business, my former CEO and team were not of the same mind as I am, I am sure you

have heard of the tragic event of the plane crash and the loss of this team.” “Our new

team will follow me, here’s how I see it.” “Somehow you got our technology, we are OK

with this, what you did not get we can share.” We are going to make some large leaps

over the next couple years in new product development as you will.” “ I am of a mind to

do it co-operatively rather than as competitors.” Bill felt relief, but based on what has

happened was not about to trust Ralph.

Bill said, “Let me get this straight, you are willing to share your developments with us,

when we don’t have anything to give you!” “You do have one thing of worth to us, and any

sharing would require this one valuable asset of Allied Magnetics.” “If we don’t get this

thing we will have to resort to the old management style of doing business.” Bill looked

surprised, thinking what could this one thing be?” Ok Ralph I give up, what is this one

thing.” “it’s what we always wanted, we just are going to approach it a different way, you

know what it is Bill, it is you.”