“Is there room on the chip for all that software?” Todd asked.

“Almost,” the man said. “We’ll have to write some new compression code.”

“Well, then,” Todd said, “that’s my suggestion. How long will it take you?”

“A few weeks,” the man said, looking doubtful.

“And what about the battery capacity? Is it going to be sufficient for transmitting in HF?”

“If it’s fully charged, and the message is brief, but if it’s plugged into an electrical outlet, your transmitting would be unlimited.”

“And what about the antenna?”

“It’s contained with the original antenna, but you’d have to send from outdoors or near a window.”

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“Then find a way to supplement that antenna so that we can send from indoors. Sounds like you’ve got a lot of work to do, gentlemen,” Todd said. “Find a way to do it in a few days.” He stood up. “Thank you very much. We’ll see you here, same time next week, and we’ll expect a bug-free working model. And if you’re going to make the battery smaller than the original, you’d better print something on it that indicates that it’s a Mark Two.”

Everybody got up and shuffled out of the room. Todd’s phone was still vibrating.

Once out of the room, Todd checked the phone; his old number two was calling. He pressed the number to return.

“Yeah? Todd?”

“Don’t call me on this phone,” Todd said.

“But I’ve got something important to tell you.”

“All the more reason not to call me on this phone.” He broke the connection and returned to his office.

IT WAS NEARLY SEVEN O’CLOCK when Todd finished his summary of what he had seen at the tech presentation, and he was very tired. All he could think of was a large scotch, a TV dinner, and bed. He left his office and took the elevator to the garage, where he had a favored parking spot. He drove out to the gate, checked out there, and headed toward the apartment he had rented.

As he hit the main road he saw a car’s headlights appear in his rearview mirror. It was some distance back, but he reacted the way he’d been trained to. He accelerated, and the headlights disappeared, then the cell phone on his belt vibrated.

Todd looked at the calling number. “Yes?” he said into the phone.

“There’s a rest stop ahead. Pull into it.”

It was number two again. Todd pulled into the rest stop and got out of the car, his hand on the pistol under his jacket.

A black SUV pulled in behind him and switched off its light?off its s, then the door opened. “Relax,” a voice said, “you know who I am.” He got out of the car and approached, his hand out.

Todd ignored the hand. “You’re breaking protocol,” he said. “The rule is no contact.”

“You wouldn’t talk on the phone,” the man said. “This is the only way I could reach you, and it’s important.”

“What’s so important?” Todd asked. “And this better be good.”

“It’s about Teddy Fay,” the man said.

Todd turned and started back toward his car without a word, but the man caught his arm and spun him around.

“Am I going to have to fight you to stop this nonsense?” Todd asked. “You know that’s a dead issue.”

“Listen to me, then do what you like,” number two said.

Todd’s shoulders sagged. “All right, what is it?”

Tags: Stuart Woods Stone Barrington Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net