Chapter 18: Combined Operations

"It's been a week now and we still don't have any idea where Jordan is," Phil growled. "And who knows what could be happening to Luana."

Charley looked up from the mass of formulas and diagrams he was studying in the office that had been set aside for his use in the Redmond, Washington facility. He had taken over the analysis of the portal mechanism concealed in the Place of The Gods, trying to figure out how it could access two more sets of special constants than Neal Marten's portals were able to reach.

"It's Luana you're really worried about, ain't it?" He shook his head. "I can't blame you for that, but we've got enough people working on it. We've also got lawyers going over Jordan's records and filing damage suits against his backers. A lot of heads have been rolling, back in D.C. We've set off a bunch of criminal actions against some of them, we're setting up treaties with the wolves and the Shadow People, and with a little luck we'll soon have the Aurora Project back on track."

"And that still isn't bringing us any closer to rescuing Luana," Phil griped. "There's got to be more that can be done!"

"If you've got any ideas, I would be glad to hear them." They both looked up as Neal Marten came through the doorway. "We could certainly use a new idea or two right now."

"I can think of at least one thing we haven't done."

Phil turned to face him. "We need to trace Jordan's connections inside your company. He had a way of getting information outside of normal channels, and anyway it makes sense that he would have his sources set up to spy on you here."

"And just how would you go about doing that?" Neal studied Phil's face, as though to find something not too apparent on the surface.

"Just leave it to me. That's just the kind of thing I'm trained to do. Give me access to your personnel records, for a starter."

"You've got it. I'll set it up for you."

Given an office of his own, Phil booted up the state of

the art terminal he'd been issued and punched in one of the passwords Neal had assigned him, undaunted by the scope of his investigation. World Traders was a large enough company to have thousands of employees, but he soon narrowed his investigation down to the few hundred men and women who had access to the kind of information Jordan needed.

"Hey, Phil," Charley rapped on the door of Phil's office. "It's time for your coffee break. You've been at it for four hours straight. You need to take a break now and then to keep your mind fresh."

"Yeah, you're right." Phil leaned back in his chair and pressed a button to save what he'd been working on. "A cup of coffee would go good right now, with maybe even a doughnut or two to go along with it."

"Tell you what, this place has a pretty good cafeteria, so why don't we make it lunch, instead?"

"That sounds even better," Phil agreed, glancing at his wristwatch. "It's three in the afternoon here, and I had a pretty light breakfast this morning."

In the cafeteria, Phil looked up from the remains of his lunch.

"So, how's your work coming on the portal project?"

"Pretty good. I've taken it about as far as I can." Charley was no longer wearing the 'eccentric old codger' face he usually presented to the world. His eyes gleamed

with purposeful intelligence, and his vocabulary was precise and extensive. "I've figured out the circuits that control access to the other two sets of dimensions, but I'll leave it up to our real experts to decide just how they work. How about you?"

"I think I'm on the right track. I've spotted a half

dozen minor leakers, but the main one I've got my eye on is in the Chicago area. In fact, he's a portal operator at our Springfield operation."

"Yeah? Maybe I know him, then. What's his name?"

"Tucker, Bill Tucker. He's been spending more money than his salary accounts for, and his credit cards aren't carrying a big load of debt either."

"Bill Tucker? Can't say that I remember him. He must have been through the school a class or three before me. So, what's your next step?"

"I need to talk to him face to face, that way he can't

hang up on me. He's on the midnight to dawn shift, so I should be able to catch him as he shows up for work."

"How about if I go with you? I'm all done with what I'm doing, and I've turned it over to the real brains. I can shuttle us through our portals, and we'll be there in an hour or so."

"Sounds good to me." Phil shoved his chair back from the cafeteria table and carried his plate and utensils over

to their proper slot. Just lead the way."

Charley's key card admitted them to a discreetly

unobtrusive elevator that carried them swiftly to a sub- basement level. He led the way to an office cubicle set against one wall of a cavernous expanse crowded with portal mechanisms.

"Hi, Frask, how's it going," he greeted the stubby reptilian being seated at a desk. "This is my buddy, Phil Hadley. Hey, we need a quick trip to our Springfield terminal."

"It iss going fine," Frask hissed. "All iss well, or it wass until now. That trouble do you bring thiss time? No, do not explain. I would rather not know. There iss a shipment to Terminal Five in a few minutess, and you can get to Ssprinqfield from there. Portal fifteen, you know where it iss."