Ensemble [Book 1: SEKTOR V Trilogy]

Chapter 24: The ICP Check-In

Chapter 24: The ICP Check-In

Maddy was finishing up her morning tea when her assistant handed her the secure phone. "It's Jack Cranston. He tried earlier but you were unavailable," she said in a hushed tone.

"Oh?" Maddy furrowed her brow. Why is he contacting me? That's a first. She took the phone and pushed her hair behind her ear to accommodate the old-style Bakelite communication device. "Jack, your timing is impeccable! I was going to try and reach you later today. It looks like you beat me to it."

"That's fine, Ms. Wilheim," Cranston replied. "I'm sure you've been busy taking care of your own affairs."

"Yes, true enough. Still, I wanted to ask you how your operations were proceeding, especially as they pertain to any Ministry-related activities."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't understand your meaning."

"Since we last spoke, I'm curious if your Organization has given any further thought to possible retaliatory measures. We'd be happy to help you, especially if you require any assistance in deploying the 'special resource' we provided."

There was more silence on the other end.

"Thank you, Madam Director, but I think we're doing just fine in that regard," he said, somewhat awkwardly. "And yes, we do have a plan we're formulating as it relates to the Ministry, and it includes a special use for that special resource you provided us. That much I can assure you."

Madam Director? Really? OK, something's definitely up, Maddy thought. Whatever is going on here, I can play along. Let's see where all this goes... "Excellent, I'm glad to hear that," she responded. "Tell me, what can I do for you today?

"Actually, I'm calling to reach out for some help. Ever since the recent Jump, the Ministry has been cracking down quite hard, both on us and within the metro area more generally. Of course, I'm sure you are well aware of this."

Maddy hadn't heard anything about a crackdown, but it was something she could easily verify later. For now, she wanted to keep Cranston talking.

"Of course, Jack, yes, we're concerned about these recent developments too, especially if it's impacting your ongoing activities. Please, tell me how I can help."

"Well, there is something you may be able to assist us with. I believe it's a strong point of your Organization and something we have very little experience with...advanced technology."

This is getting weirder by the minute. "Please, continue."

"To be perfectly honest, we've relied on your cooperation to keep us one step ahead of the Ministry for too long now. We have some young bright minds and we're hoping you can help train them."

Maddy was intrigued. "How exactly, and what did you have in mind?"

"One particular area we need to get a better handle on is sense-and-avoidance technologies, especially within our most critical areas of operations."

Maddy's intrigue morphed into confusion.

"Jack, correct me if I'm wrong but don't you already have this protection?"

"Yes, we do, but not the very latest technology and we're not secure in all areas. Plus, I would like my Organization to start thinking about maintaining this type of capability on our own, in-house."

This wasn't true, she thought. The Underground was very good about keeping everything up-to-date for the ICPs, and she knew what systems were in place and where. And this support came at no hard cost to the ICPs. Why would they want to give that up? Something else is going on. She decided to cut to the chase.

"In-house. Interesting, Jack.  Can you elaborate?"

"Well, to begin with, we'd like you to train some of our people," he responded. "We'd like them to learn more about the new technologies that can keep us running strong for the foreseeable future. As our partners, we hope you can help us."

Yeah, something's waaay off, she thought.

"Partners?" she echoed. That was not something Cranston or anyone else up the ICP chain of command would ever admit, let alone say out loud! Sure, technically it was a partnership but it wasn't like that. Money, resources, and services were routinely exchanged. It was very business-like, very cut-and-dry. That was the symbiotic, very much platonic relationship they've had for well over a decade. "Sure, we can have people come out on-site or, perhaps, in a centralized location for various types of specific training. I can put you in touch with our ops director who—"

"That's not exactly what we were thinking," interjected Cranston. "We were hoping you had a higher learning center or compound already in place for such purposes."

Dozens of red flags popped up in Maddy's mind. She had no idea where he was going with all this or why he was pushing so hard. One thing was for sure, however...

She didn't like any of it.

Nevertheless, if she were to have any chance of figuring out what was truly going on, she had to let this play out...at least for the time being.

"Interesting idea, Jack. Yes, we do have some resources that could provide such a service. I need to touch base with our technical staff first, however. Let me get back to you regarding the specifics."

"That sounds great. Thank you, Madam Director."

Seriously? Again with the Madam Director nonsense? "OK, Jack, we'll be in touch." She ended the call, then bit her lower lip as she stared blankly at the phone.

Was she just being paranoid? No, not a chance. Years of living in the shadows and hiding from the Ministry's reach had taught her well. When something smelled bad, it usually was bad. And this reeked like the bottom of a hamper filled with dirty athletic socks and underwear. She knew what she had to do next, and setting up training classes for Cranston at the Institute wasn't it...