Vermeer Interrupted

Chapter 1: Opening Gambit

Winston-Winslow. Tuesday, September 4, 2007.

When Neal passed Peter's office, he stopped in his tracks. "You're not supposed to be here," he said, stepping inside. "You're still on paternity leave."

Yesterday, Neal and Sara had supplied a picnic to celebrate Labor Day with the newly enlarged Burke family. Danny Burke was now two weeks old.

"El shooed me out of the house," Peter admitted. "Yvonne and Rosaline came over to discuss the event schedule. Aren't you supposed to be at Columbia?"

"I'll spend the afternoon and evening there." This was the first day of classes at the university. Neal was scheduled to mentor visual arts undergrads. He enjoyed the role and was fond of the perk it brought—the retention of his university art studio. "With Sara out of town, I'll probably spend all my evenings there," he added.

Peter smiled in sympathy. "She and Diana have already left for Amsterdam?"

"Their plane departed an hour ago. It seems odd that they're conducting a diamond sting, and I'm not with them. If this weren't the first week of classes, I would have gone along."

"They'll be fine," Peter said. "Those jewel heist boot camps you ran were the talk of the company."

"They were successful, weren't they? I felt a glow of pride when I saw investigators picking each other's pockets in the lounge. Henry was so pleased he's asked me to run regular refresher sessions." He adopted a serious expression. "You got off the hook because of Danny but I've already signed you up for the next one."

Peter smiled. "I'm looking forward to it. Will Mozzie be in Amsterdam too?"

Neal shook his head. "He's rushing through last-minute modifications to Red Sands before the rocket launch. That's only a little over two weeks away. Not even a diamond heist can compare."

This would be Space Horizons' first test of the rocket they hoped would eventually propel astronauts to Mars. Stefano Prestini, the founder of Space Horizons, had contracted with Scima Gameworks to develop a video game about Mars.

Prestini had been present at a sci-fi convention last winter where he heard a presentation on the yellow-faced bee project. He challenged the bee team to duplicate their success with the goal of generating more interest in a manned mission to Mars.

Neal was a concept artist for landscapes but mainly he served as a sounding board for the others. Initially he'd been dubious that they'd be able to come up with something within the time constraints Prestini demanded. But after reading Mozzie's script and seeing the creatures Richard had created, he was convinced Red Sands would be a winner.

Prestini had invited the team to watch the launch at the complex in southern Spain. They would fly to Spain a couple of days ahead of the launch date which was projected for Saturday, September 22. Before then, they had a video game trailer to produce. While Sara was gone, Neal planned to spend every free minute at Scima Gameworks doing last-minute adjustments to his art.

"The diamond sting should be concluded well before the rocket launch," Neal added. "Sara hopes to join us in Spain."

Something in his voice caused Peter to look at him sharply. "You know, I'm planning to work half-days this week. This would be an excellent time to hold the boot camp Henry requested of me."

"Which one's that?"

"On how to manage stress when the team members you're responsible for are in dangerous situations. It's an area I have a lot of experience with."

Neal made a face. "When did Henry make the suggestion?"

Peter stroked his chin. "A certain BASE-jumping incident comes to mind." He paused when his cell phone buzzed with an incoming text message.