Chapter 12

                Elder Loomis was not a very patient person.  He’d been waiting for his driver to bring his vehicle around to his transport deck for almost ten minutes now.  He couldn’t comfortably stand like he used to so he sat on one of the padded benches placed in a semi circle near the landing pad.  He used the time to devise a plan to obtain the information he was going to need to mitigate the damage already done by a Probe that he had personally written off.  His benefactor was right as far as she went with her thinking.  They didn’t need this thing coming back to stir up an investigation but more importantly, Loomis could not afford to be exposed as the opportunist he was.  He didn’t need the entire hierarchy of Elders as well as the Center’s Directorate finding out how he had secured his position on the council.  Melman was Kenfer’s gopher and Loomis was sure he could get most of the information he needed easily enough, if he guised his request in terms of emergency analysis.  The gentle whine of lift fans alerted Loomis that his transportation was about to settle on the roof.  He looked up and followed it down with his eyes, still in deep thought about the damnable meeting to come.  As he climbed into the back seat of his transport his implant alerted him to an incoming call…….

                Melman was glad he had included Benson in his plans.  He needed a confidant that could investigate on the sly and report back to him with information as soon as he had anything of value.  He knew Benson well enough to know that if put on the scent of a mystery, Benson wouldn’t let go until every avenue was explored.  The OIC Code Melman had stumbled on had to be tied into Probe 4’s problem, he just knew it. 

                Back in his office, more of a cubicle really, Melman tried again to reach the last hold out everyone in the conference room was waiting on. 

                “Loomis here,” Boomed the elder statesman, “who is this?”

                “Forgive me Sir, this is Directorate Kenfer’s personal assistant, I spoke with you a little over an hour ago.  The Directorate Manager is patiently waiting to begin his briefing about the suspect circumstances surrounding Research Probe 4’s shut down and apparent automatic process of refurbishment.  Your fellow committee members, Elders Lantz, Weller, Marcus, Connor and Becks have all been here for some time.  They are, as we speak, receiving an overview of the facts at hand.  When we last communicated you expressed that you could get here in an hour using your own driver and vehicle.  Director Kenfer has instructed me to find out if you might have run into some problem that  we might help you with.  Is there anything we can do to expedite your arrival?”

                “I’ve just lifted off from my home and will have the towers of Central Command in view shortly.  Please have an escort waiting for my arrival and if possible could you have an outline of the mission file waiting for me?  I might as well make good use of my time while traveling up to Centrals Control Tower Stronghold and read the basic high lights before I get to the conference table.  Nothing like hitting the floor running I always say.” Loomis wanted Melman to get used to him asking for information and if he started out with general nonspecific queries he could gradually increase his demands without suspicion. “I’ll also need a reader and access to the latest transcripts that flagged Probe 4’s emergency situation to the evening shift workers.”

                “No problem at all Sir, all the information that you have requested has already been assembled for the entire group of conference attendees.  You’re materials will be waiting.” Melman didn’t particularly like having to prepare a separate presentation of materials that were already available if his high and mightiness would just get with it and stop being so demanding.

                Loomis knew that what he had asked for was probably all just general information that everyone would be privy too and what he didn’t really care about, but he could sense that Melman was ever so slightly resentful about his special requests.  This played exactly into his plan.  Keeping him off balance ever so slightly with negative emotions would allow Loomis to start requesting more sensitive material the moment Melman thought he had absorbed the obvious information he provided to him.

                When his flyer touched down Loomis was still on the com.  A second call had come in from his loyal henchman.  The call he had placed just before leaving his manor house, was just a formality he always had to go through to contact him.  This return call was his only opportunity to offer up what he needed and find out if the assignment would be accepted.  Even though the escort sent by Melman, heavily laden with documents was waiting at the door with an expression of anguish on his face, Loomis had to stay in the soundproof isolation of his flyers passenger compartment a little longer.  He had to find out who the woman was that had sent his life into this tail spin, who was her puppet master and what could be so dangerous about a Probe Director that cost him his life.  The loss of a Probe was truly a priceless piece of technology and all these thoughts spun in the Elders head as he was rushed up to face the music…..