Chapter 3

Monday, August 6, 2007 San Luis Obispo, California

Dan Steele

My car was waiting for me at the car park, an Aston-Martin DB5 with standard modifications and right-hand drive. I drove to the address given by the GPS system, a large ranch house that had been purchased for my use on the assignment. I had an hour to kill before I needed to register for classes, so I poured myself a scotch and soda and idly leafed through a book I'd been reading.

I drove to the school and presented myself to the secretary at the central office.

"Hello, I'm an exchange student this year. I'm supposed to register for courses today."

"Alright, Mrs. Heilman will be the second door on the right."

"Thank you." I proceeded down the hallway and knocked on the appropriate door.

"Come in." I entered. "Are you registering for classes today?"

"Yes. The name's Steele, Dan Steele."

"Let me just look you up on our computer. Alright, you are Daniel Ian Steele, date of birth July 14, 1992 ... so that would make you a sophomore, previous school attended ... St. John's College, Cambridge. Is that a Christian school?"

"Errr ... Yes."

She laughed slightly. "Well, you'll certainly find a few differences here."

"No doubt."

"Alright, fill out the classes you want to take on this sheet." I selected the courses my target was taking.

"Ok, and I'll need to speak to your parents ... who are deceased. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, no. It's quite alright. I'm legally emancipated, I don't know if that works the same way in the United States."

"I think so ... so you can sign documents on your own behalf."

"Yes."

"Then would you like to participate in The Naked in School Program?"

"Why not?"

"Great, then just sign here." I signed the permission form and returned it to her. She entered my information into the computer, which had been pre-programmed to assign myself and Ms. Slick to participate in The Programme the second week of the term.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Have a nice day."

I proceeded down the hallway to a classroom where Grant Hardcastle was waiting for me, along with Dirk Michaels, an FBI agent who was overseeing the operation disguised as a maths teacher.

Grant shook my hand. "We've figured out that they're stealing the centrifuges from the train right before it pulls into the facility and then taking storing them in the houses."

"What about the school?"

"Our job this week will be to figure that out. Once classes start, your job is to get inside your target's house and find the centrifuge. When you do that, you'll attach a tracking device to the centrifuge. We'll allow this shipment to get wherever it's going, and then bust the thieves on the next shipment."

"Any radiation precautions?"

"We're pretty sure they've left the transport shields on. If they haven't, you won't live long enough to get the tag on, so use the dosimeter in your watch."

After the briefing, I followed Michaels and Hardcastle to a local delicatessen, where we met up with Anastasia and David to plan our examination of the school. Michaels had acquired a map of the school and a master key, we would let ourselves in and each take a floor. I would take the ground floor, Hardcastle the first, Anastasia the second, and David the basement, while Michaels kept watch. After lunch, Anastasia and I repaired to her house until nightfall. She showed me to her bedroom and I sat down on the bed.