Chapter 25

                As Loomis watched, smoke drifted up from the broken windows of the Center’s main high rise.  The waves of heat from the burning fires buffeted his flyer about and the engines wined from the strain of holding the flyer in a fixed position.  He had received notice to leave the building only minutes before the explosions and smiled realizing his choice of a subcontractor proved to be the right one.  This overt act may have been extreme but necessary if he was going to protect the source of the Probe debacle and disrupting the communications department would do for now.  Loomis only risked remaining in his present position long enough to finish recording the events of the last few minutes and as he checked to make sure his video recorders were operating his com demanded his attention.

                “Loomis here,” He said without emotion, “this is a private line and I don’t recognize your transmission code.”

                The voice that greeted him was instantly recognizable from previous conversations and caused a chill to run the length of Loomis’ spine. 

                “You remember me don’t you Mr. Loomis.  I talked with you only a few days ago.  Our benefactor appreciates your attempt to derail efforts to uncover who is really behind the missing Probe.  Unfortunately my information suggests that the damage suffered today was not serious enough to guarantee our goal.  The technician assigned to ferret out any and all information leading to the Probes loss, already had most of the Center’s priority mission communication records downloaded to personal non-network comps for analysis.” She continued in a soft but serious manor. “When the main information storage was disrupted by your attack, the cork was already out of the bottle.”

                Loomis hesitated before speaking. “You might not know everything that’s going on.  I’ve contracted with someone who has worked for me in the past to deal with the technician you speak of and any friends that he may have recruited to help him.  I happen to know the information analysis has not yet been completed and there is still a chance I can stop any results from being distributed.”

                Loomis’ mystery woman had more news. “There is one more complication that no one expected.  The probe has signaled that it has regained mission readiness and is waiting for orders from the Directorate Manager by way of his personal aid.  This information was costly and we must act swiftly to deal with this new threat.” All pretense had fallen from her voice.

                Loomis was stunned, this could not be happening.  His actions were supposed to have been a no brainer.  The Probe was simply going to disappear without a trace, or so he was told.  How could he possibly fend off the return of the Probe now?  It does after all, operate outside the normal time line and can be inaccessible for as long as it chooses.  If so ordered, it will simply arrive at the receiving facility inside the Center where it cannot be touched until it is debriefed.  The protection or destruction of the directive codes he had sent covertly would be a mute point if the actual Probe itself became available to investigators.                          

                “A thought occurs to me,” Loomis said softly as if unsure of himself. “I have access to one of the only two miniature prototypes built to test the time travel technology.  It is stored off the main company campus in a seldom used laboratory complex.  All of the facilities equipment still remains in tact.  The theory, back when research was being slowly moved to the main Center complex for convenience, was to leave everything in place to use as a backup facility for overflow project work.  This could work in our favor.  I would need a couple of bodies to act as op techs but it is possible that our problem Probe might be intercepted and dealt with once and for all.”

                There was silence on the other end of the line and Loomis thought he would have to ask if his friend was still a party to the conversation, when she again spoke. “That is an interesting proposition.  Do you really think you could find and neutralize our problem child?”

                “You advised that the Probe has initiated a dialog requesting orders.  In so doing the Probe must have provided its coordinates in space and time to the Center communications reception center.  A validation process is automatically done by the reception center to confirm that the communication received is genuine.  The record of that initial communication, with these coordinates, can be obtained easily by anyone with my security clearance.  What we need to do is deliver a communication to the Probe using those same coordinates, that it will think is the answer to its request for orders.  Our message must be received before the real message from the Directorate Manager is sent.  In our fake message we can advise the Probe that it must meet with an intermediary at a time and place of our choosing, claiming it is necessary before it comes in for debriefing.”

                “Do you think you have the time to accomplish sending the message and getting the prototype machine ready before the Centers people can communicate with the Probe?” The woman sounded hopeful.

                “I can get the message out quickly enough.  I won’t have the hurdles posed by the Elders Commission and Center protocol to deal with and I can have a program in place that will allow the real message to be entered but not really sent to the Probe without a password from me.” Loomis was starting to believe his plan might actually work.

                “I will get you the people you need to man the equipment at the lab but the message is your baby.  I’ll pass your plan on and pray that you are successful.  When do you think you will be ready to make the trip?

                Loomis knew he now had control of the situation and his female partner in crime would have to wait for him to contact her. “You can expect our falsified message to go out by this evening but the interception mission will depend on how good your people are and in what actual condition we find the lab and the Proto-Probe.  Oh and by the way I’ll need an explosives expert to come with me on the mission.  All Probes have hull sensors that record any damage.  They automatically eject an emergency buoy when damaged beyond repair or are destroyed.  We want the information buoy to indicate that it exploded.  An unexplained explosion is more readily believed than any other form of attack.” Loomis ended the call with directions to the laboratory and its entry security codes.  He followed up with a scan of the Center’s activity logs to see if anyone from the science department had accessed the lab recently.  No one had passed through its doors for several months.

                Repair drones began swarming around the damaged Center spire as Loomis’s flyer gained altitude to depart the area unnoticed.  Sitting back in his seat he viewed the video he had just made while his flyer headed for his home and secure office.  He could orchestrate the message transfer to the Probe from there without anyone being the wiser.  Only one more thing was needed, the new Probe coordinates currently in the Center data base.  He needed to remove them secretly and replace them with fakes.  He thought a moment and keyed in Dorey’s com code.

                Dorey was in a meeting with the Director of Government Services when her com began to vibrate.  Looking at its screen she recognized Loomis’ personal code and excused herself as if she needed to use the restroom.  She punched the receive button at the same time the office door clicked shut.

                “Hello Mr. Loomis what can I do for you today?” She knew he wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important.

                “I’ve got to have some information that just came into the communications center.  I need locator coordinates that accompany every Probe communication during a mission.  The coordinates are from the missing Probe that has just reestablished active communications with the Center.  When retrieved they must be replaced with believable fakes.  Time is critical and risk warrants a bonus as soon as they are in my hands.  I’m sending a secure com code where they can be forwarded.” Loomis could almost hear the wheels turning in Dorey’s mind.

                “Ok, I’ll get a hold of my inside agent at the Center and should have the information you need before the day is out.” Dorey ended the call with pleasantries and placed a new call to Bella West.  She had never failed yet and she would offer to split the bonus if she hurried…….