Point of Contact

“What about me? Don’t I need a minder?” Jack asked.

“You have one. Me.”

Jack half expected a playful smile or a coquettish shrug, but she was all business.

Lian guided them back out onto the main floor and past the kitchen area, explaining that for security purposes, the stairwells were never to be used except in the case of an actual emergency.

They exited the suite and took the elevator to the second floor, which had the same strict security protocols as the first. Lian assured them the protocols were the same on all four floors. Clearly, Dalfan and Lian Fairchild took their security seriously. Jack was glad he wasn’t on a clandestine black-side operation. He wasn’t sure if he could crack this high-tech safe.

Lian introduced them to Dr. Chen Tao, the head of their virtual reality department. Jack couldn’t help noticing the lovely spray of freckles across her nose. For some reason it made him think of a Beach Boys song. They set a meeting time.

Lian then took them to the third floor, where they met the head of their Steady Stare research program, Dr. Mahindar Singh, who assured Paul and Jack of his complete cooperation. Jack made an appointment to see him tomorrow.

“What about the fourth floor?” Jack asked.

“That’s where we keep our mainframe secured. It’s also where Dr. Heng’s department is located.”

“His team is doing some very interesting work,” Paul said.

“Unfortunately, he is at a conference right now. But you can meet him on Saturday if you like.”

“We’re in no hurry. That works for us,” Jack said.

Jack was genuinely looking forward to seeing the demonstrations Drs. Singh and Tao had promised, and what their two departments were developing. From what he saw, it was all cutting-edge stuff. Dr. Heng’s work was harder to grasp but still impressive, judging by the corporate reports. No wonder Marin Aerospace wanted to do this deal.

After the brief tour, Lian escorted them back to their offices across from hers on the first floor and reintroduced them to the young man named Bai from accounting they’d met earlier in the conference room. He would be Paul’s assistant.

Lian also handed both of them security badges and cards that would permit them to enter any room in the building. “Except for the mainframe facility,” she said.

“No need for us to be in there,” Jack assured her.

“I’ll leave you to start your work. Please contact me if you intend to leave the building.”

“Sure,” Jack said. He had no intention of heading out today anyway. Tomorrow? Well, we’ll see, he told himself.

“I hope you’ll both join us for lunch. We have a chef who comes in and prepares a meal for us.”

“That would be great,” Paul said.

“It’s another chance for both of you to get acquainted with our staff and ask all of your questions.”

It’s also another way for you to keep an eye on us, Jack thought. The car. The house. Yeah, it was all so very convenient, wasn’t it?

18

The first thing Paul’s assistant, Bai, did was set up their computers for security, starting with their usernames. He handed each of them a USB drive with digital readouts. Digital numbers already flashed on them.

“What are these?” Jack asked.

“Those security fobs generate passcodes. When you log on with your username, you have sixty seconds to type in the number generated by the fob. If you don’t, you can’t log on, and you must wait another sixty seconds for the next number to generate before you can try to log on again. That make sense?”

“Perfectly.”

“You only get one of those each. Please don’t lose them, and if you do, report it immediately.”

“Of course.”

Bai then detailed the rest of their security instructions. “First of all, you’re free to use your laptops, but as Ms. Fairchild explained earlier, there is no Wi-Fi or cell access in the building, and there’s no way for you to connect physically to our main server without first downloading our encrypted security interface, which is not allowed.”

Bai then pointed at a USB port on the computer keyboard. “You are not allowed to insert your own private USB drive into this port or into any other Dalfan machine. But even if you did, it wouldn’t work. The USB ports are passcode-encrypted, just like the computer.”

That’s not good, Paul thought. How will I be able to load Rhodes’s USB drive if the port is locked?

Bai pulled a USB out of his pocket. “Only a Dalfan-encrypted drive like this one will interface with our machines.”

“Will we be given one of your encrypted USB drives for our personal use?” Paul asked.

Bai frowned. “Not allowed. Too dangerous.” He turned to Jack. “Any other questions?”

“We understand the need for tight security,” Jack said. “We’ll just have to work around your protocols as best we can.” Jack stood. “See you later, Paul. Have fun.”

“You do the same.”

Paul spoke to Bai. “Might as well get my feet wet.” He opened up his desktop as Jack headed back to his office.