doing
these days?”
“We’re
working on some pretty interesting stuff in the mobile area. Now we can pinpoint
a cellphone’s location within two seconds.” Andrew obviously took a lot of
pride in what he did. “The goal is to be able to tell where someone is – in
real time – as the person walks through…let’s say a mall or a large office,
like this one, from where a communication signal isn’t all that great.”
Doerr
was thinking through his next plan of action. He desperately wanted to talk to Lazarus.
But he was sure if he told that to Andrew, he would not agree and might even
escort him out.
Doerr
followed Andrew to his cubicle. The table was strewn with at least fifty mobile
phones. Old Nokia phones, Samsungs, an iPhone – all kinds of phones. Andrew
showed him a printout of the white paper he had written.
“It
will be published in Discover magazine next month,” Andrew said proudly.
“I
thought all the work you guys do is confidential.”
“It
is. But sometimes we collaborate with outsiders, such as researchers in universities,
who are desperate to publish their work. So we allow them to publish, but they
have to withhold any stuff that directly concerns us.” Andrew held up the
printout. “This will be published under the name of Professor McClusky of Yale.
He does a lot of work for us. I never get any recognition for the work I do,”
Andrew sighed, “at least not outside the agency.”
“We
never get any outside recognition for anything,” Doerr said.
They
carried on their conversation a while longer. “Let’s go for lunch,” Andrew
said. “It’s 12:30.”
They
headed for the cafeteria. Doerr picked up a grilled chicken salad and a bottle
of Diet Snapple. He finished his lunch quickly while Andrew munched his
sandwich.
Doerr
suddenly stood up. “All right. It was so nice to see you. I must be going.”
Doerr
pushed his chair back, took one last look at Andrew’s bewildered face, and
without giving him a chance to reply, he walked away briskly. He felt bad using
Andrew to gain entry into the CIA office. But he had to do it, and Andrew wouldn’t
be in any sort of trouble for letting him in.
Doerr
walked through the wide door out of the cafeteria and into the marbled walkway
that connected to the main building. He took the next turn and then another, so
Andrew wouldn’t be able to see him, if he was following.
He
walked to the area where Lazarus’s office was located. On the way, he watched the
antennas outside that were capturing signals from satellites orbiting two
hundred miles above.
Doerr
took the elevator to the third floor and then walked straight to Lazarus’s
office.
The
door was wide open. Two monitors lay on the glass-covered table, and Lazarus was
talking on the phone, holding a pen in his right hand. His face was pointed
away from the door, so he didn’t see Doerr at first. There was a book rack in
the room, holding at least a hundred books and some thick folders. Doerr knew
some of those folders held secret information about the world’s most notorious
men. On top of the rack were four world map globes. On the other side there
were six big clocks hanging on the wall that indicated local times in different
parts of the world.
“How
are you?” Lazarus greeted Doerr. A thin, cautious smile showed on his face. “I
will have to call you back,” he said into the phone and hung up.
“I’m
good.” Doerr took two steps inside and said, “How are you ?”
“Good.
What brings you here?”
“Listen,
Lazarus, I’m in trouble,” Doerr got to the point quickly. He rested his hands
on top of the high wood chair.
“Oh
yeah, I got your voicemails.” Lazarus looked at him, and then his eyes veered
away. “But I’ve been busy. I was about to call you.”
Doerr
knew his old boss was lying, but he played along. “It’s okay.”
“The
thing is, Max, Samuel doesn’t work for us anymore. He left us a year back, I
think,” Lazarus said. “I don’t know
these days?”
“We’re
working on some pretty interesting stuff in the mobile area. Now we can pinpoint
a cellphone’s location within two seconds.” Andrew obviously took a lot of
pride in what he did. “The goal is to be able to tell where someone is – in
real time – as the person walks through…let’s say a mall or a large office,
like this one, from where a communication signal isn’t all that great.”
Doerr
was thinking through his next plan of action. He desperately wanted to talk to Lazarus.
But he was sure if he told that to Andrew, he would not agree and might even
escort him out.
Doerr
followed Andrew to his cubicle. The table was strewn with at least fifty mobile
phones. Old Nokia phones, Samsungs, an iPhone – all kinds of phones. Andrew
showed him a printout of the white paper he had written.
“It
will be published in Discover magazine next month,” Andrew said proudly.
“I
thought all the work you guys do is confidential.”
“It
is. But sometimes we collaborate with outsiders, such as researchers in universities,
who are desperate to publish their work. So we allow them to publish, but they
have to withhold any stuff that directly concerns us.” Andrew held up the
printout. “This will be published under the name of Professor McClusky of Yale.
He does a lot of work for us. I never get any recognition for the work I do,”
Andrew sighed, “at least not outside the agency.”
“We
never get any outside recognition for anything,” Doerr said.
They
carried on their conversation a while longer. “Let’s go for lunch,” Andrew
said. “It’s 12:30.”
They
headed for the cafeteria. Doerr picked up a grilled chicken salad and a bottle
of Diet Snapple. He finished his lunch quickly while Andrew munched his
sandwich.
Doerr
suddenly stood up. “All right. It was so nice to see you. I must be going.”
Doerr
pushed his chair back, took one last look at Andrew’s bewildered face, and
without giving him a chance to reply, he walked away briskly. He felt bad using
Andrew to gain entry into the CIA office. But he had to do it, and Andrew wouldn’t
be in any sort of trouble for letting him in.
Doerr
walked through the wide door out of the cafeteria and into the marbled walkway
that connected to the main building. He took the next turn and then another, so
Andrew wouldn’t be able to see him, if he was following.
He
walked to the area where Lazarus’s office was located. On the way, he watched the
antennas outside that were capturing signals from satellites orbiting two
hundred miles above.
Doerr
took the elevator to the third floor and then walked straight to Lazarus’s
office.
The
door was wide open. Two monitors lay on the glass-covered table, and Lazarus was
talking on the phone, holding a pen in his right hand. His face was pointed
away from the door, so he didn’t see Doerr at first. There was a book rack in
the room, holding at least a hundred books and some thick folders. Doerr knew
some of those folders held secret information about the world’s most notorious
men. On top of the rack were four world map globes. On the other side there
were six big clocks hanging on the wall that indicated local times in different
parts of the world.
“How
are you?” Lazarus greeted Doerr. A thin, cautious smile showed on his face. “I
will have to call you back,” he said into the phone and hung up.
“I’m
good.” Doerr took two steps inside and said, “How are you ?”
“Good.
What brings you here?”
“Listen,
Lazarus, I’m in trouble,” Doerr got to the point quickly. He rested his hands
on top of the high wood chair.
“Oh
yeah, I got your voicemails.” Lazarus looked at him, and then his eyes veered
away. “But I’ve been busy. I was about to call you.”
Doerr
knew his old boss was lying, but he played along. “It’s okay.”
“The
thing is, Max, Samuel doesn’t work for us anymore. He left us a year back, I
think,” Lazarus said. “I don’t know
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