Hunted

Chapter 6: Frame

The elevator ride to the top of Syntek's headquarters didn't seem nearly as slow or nerve-wracking to Wayne Gilger as it had the previous morning. Gilger even noted that today the dim hallway to Robert Clark's office had less of a cold, ominous feel. While he still wished he could tell Clark they had eliminated Haley and retrieved the lost Space-Time Beam, he had a comfortable feeling that his boss would be pleased with what had been accomplished already. For the most part, the initial response plan and its completion were the work of Kevin McDade and his highly trained, secret squad, but Clark needn't know that. McDade wasn't in a position to toot his own horn, not after his two best lost an STB to a guy emptying trash cans, and Gilger wasn't going to be shy about letting Clark give him credit for what had happened since.

Clark wordlessly offered Gilger a chair, finished signing a few papers, then methodically put them aside. He recapped his pen and placed it in his pocket, straightened his suit, then nodded for Gilger to report.

"I wanted to update you on the Jack Haley situation, sir."

"Good," Clark said evenly. "You have him, I assume."

Gilger was thrown off balance for only an instant, his confidence that he would be complimented on his early efforts shaken. But twenty-six years at Syntek had taught him a great deal about how to behave around superiors, and the last seven, with only Clark over him, had honed that skill to near perfection. Because of this, he knew there was no sense in stumbling about for a reply that would come across as a group of lame excuses and a sign that he might not be in full control of the situation. "No, sir," he said smoothly. "But we have taken prompt, significant actions to bring about his capture."

Clark leaned back in his chair with a slight scowl on his face. He rocked back and forth slowly while looking up at the ceiling with tightly pursed lips. Whether he did so in thought or frustration, Gilger couldn't say.

Clark leaned forward, clasping his hands tightly and placing his elbows on his desk, and returned his heavy gaze to Gilger. "Go on," he said without any sign of emotion.

"While the search teams continued their initial sweeps, I decided we should know as much as possible about Haley. So I had Dobson do a much more thorough background check on him. A lot of extraneous information, of course, but we found something that has proven to be extremely useful, which is why I requested the work be done in the first place. It turns out Haley had a severe addiction to alcohol as recently as two years ago. He's on the wagon now, but his past has served our purpose as well. A team went into Universal using the STB and planted a pulse gun and a bottle of scotch in his locker."

Clark stony facade cracked enough to let through a brief smile, one that told Gilger that Clark was impressed. "That explains what I saw on the news last night. Swift work."

"Yes, sir," Gilger replied casually, trying to imply that his focus on the task was such that the compliment meant little to him or had simply passed unnoticed. "As you said, this is our top priority. We also found a wonderful use for some of Syntek's newer, private technology. We were able to take Haley's fingerprints from the trash container and place them on the gun and bottle, so the police have some very strong evidence to use against him. Additionally, we located a security guard and convinced him it would be in his best interest to say he saw a drunken Haley leave the building just after the murder. He thought he was talking to a Universal executive, and did exactly what we wanted, especially when we started to ask some pointed questions about why he hadn't seen Haley's escape and how a pulse gun got through security."

Clark absorbed the new information, steepled his hands in front of his chin and mouth, and nodded a slow, thoughtful nod.

"You know, sir, it strikes me that our initial plan's only real flaw, though we all decided we had to accept it, was that Morris' death would have been a great mystery, and mysteries tend to make people ask a lot of questions, even years after the event. Now fate and a bit of research has allowed us to remove that mystery, in the eyes of the public and the police, and replace it with a very convincing frame of Haley. Perhaps his interference will be to our benefit in the long run."

Clark immediately grimaced and shook his head. "Only if we recover the STB and make sure he's out of the picture. Until then, nothing good comes of deviations from the plan."

"Of course, sir," Gilger agreed swiftly, trying to soothe Clark's displeasure. He decided against trying to clarify his comments as referring to the future and quickly returned to the subject of the frame. "The news media is playing into our hands. They've all but convicted Haley, even before the police reported his fingerprints were found on the pulse gun and bottle. And they're portraying Morris as some kind of saint, a responsible, contributing member of society, gunned down by a lunatic for no apparent reason."

"I'm not sure I like that so much," said Clark with a sneer. "Jonathan Morris was no saint in my eyes."

"He's dead, sir. He'll be a thorn in your side no longer."

"True enough," Clark said, letting a soft sigh escape his lips with the words.

"My point is that the public is being made very aware of Haley, and the police will be feeling growing pressure to find him. In the meantime, we continue our own search. What the frame will do is give us a lot of help. Soon there won't be a public place in this section of the galaxy that Haley can safely show his face."

"Are you comfortable with the notion that the police might find Haley first?" Clark asked with a scowl, telegraphing his own feelings on the matter.

"I'd prefer, as I know you would, that we find him. But if the police do locate him first, it will still serve our needs. Once in custody, it would be simple to send a team in to recover the STB and eliminate Haley."

"Assassinating Morris was simple," Clark said gruffly.

Gilger nodded, understanding his boss' concern. "We are doing, and will continue to do, all we can to find him ourselves."

"Such as?"

"You already know about the search teams and the monitoring of local hospitals and his home. I'm also working on a plan to use his family to help us catch him. If he contacts them, I want to be able to find out where he is, at the very least. And if things go as I hope, we might even be able to use them to deliver him to us."

"Do whatever you have to," Clark said, adding a quick bob of his head that indicated to Gilger that he understood what he had in mind.

"I will, sir. One last thing," he said, trying to swallow without it being noticed. "I think it's only fair that I repeat that Jack Haley may be dead. He was wounded and has no idea how to use the STB."

"He used the STB once, and he may use it again," Clark said, waving away the concern with one hand. "Regardless, we have to find that unit."

"I understand that, sir. But if he's dead, it may take longer than we'd like."

"We have less than a month until the conference. I want all the STB units in our possession well before that time."

Gilger knew better than to let the whine of protest in his mind escape through his mouth. "Yes, sir," he answered briskly.

"That's all for now," said Clark. He pulled another document from a small pile to his left and started reading it.

Gilger stood formally, turned, and went to the door. Before it closed behind him, Clark called his name.

"Good work so far," he said, without looking up from his papers. "Keep it up." The door slid shut between them to end their conversation.

Gilger turned away from the door and proceeded back through security and down the elevator with a look of grim determination etched on his face. Only when he was alone in his office did he let the triumph he felt within blossom into a smile. But he knew the victory would only be temporary if Haley wasn't found soon. He set to work on his next plan, ordering his computer to access Syntek's highest security data files.

Rubbing his hands expectantly, he said, "Information on Sarah Haley."