“Well boy, I guess we can have it out here if that is what you think is best. But, neither one of us is going to come out of it in good shape,” he said more to himself than the animal. Though he hoped there was some sort of understanding, he stood his ground, and held his knives firmly in hand.
The wolf snarled at him revealing an extensive set of fangs. Bishop stood firm. In the next instant, the great wolf turned, made a few quick strides, jumped on top of a boulder at least nine feet high, and disappeared behind it. It was an exhilarating time for Bishop. It was a new world, his world. It had both beauty and danger. It was necessary to look at things in that light. Nothing was similar to his past, nor should it be considered in the same way. He felt alive. He also felt alone, but he could accept that, and in fact preferred it that way in his new circumstances.
On a not too distant hill, the men who set the trap looked on as their prey was set free. Not only was it set free, but it also left without attacking the human who freed him. It was unnatural. They remained still, as they considered the direction this newcomer was traveling, and made sure that the great wolf was out of the immediate area.
Three men were seated in the boardroom. At the head of the table was Frank Bishop; to his left was Trent Gibbs, and to his right sat Martin Maddow. They had just finished questioning Lisa Walker, an employee of Dr. Maddow, and close friend of Terri Bishop. They determined that she was most likely telling the truth about what little she knew about why Terri wanted to talk to her husband in relation to the historical records he had accessed for her. It was also agreed that she knew nothing of what Terri had found within their department. She had been quite nervous during the interview, but that was to be expected. She was informed that she could return to her assigned duties and thanked for her cooperation.
The next person they interviewed was her husband Greg. Through a process of elimination, it was ascertained that he was the one who defeated the security measures to retrieve the information on project Artifice. He was escorted into the room by two security personnel. Once he had taken a seat, they left the room. He tried to look as calm as possible. He had an idea of why he was here, but he did not think it was
“Mr. Walker,” Frank Bishop began, “It has come to our attention that you decrypted information on a secret government file on a project entitled Artifice. Is this true?”
“It is,” he answered.
“What did the information pertain to?”
“It involved government funding generated from revenues collected from hospitals, universities, and other sources relating to the medical community.”
“Did you share this information with anyone?”
“Can I ask what this is all about? I am cleared for…,” he started saying before he was cut off.
“We’ll ask the questions for now. If you haven’t done anything wrong, then I would think you can answer our questions openly and honestly.”
He was torn between his loyalty to a friend, and to his own interests. He could draw his own conclusions as to why Terri wanted the information, and he also knew she was the Director’s daughter-in-law. He decided to tell the truth as he thought they already knew more than he did anyway. After a brief hesitation, he answered, “I accessed the file for Terri Bishop. I never knew it existed before then.”
Greg decided he made the right choice. Not one of the men before him registered any surprise at his statement. He thought it would be a formality now. Have his ‘ass chewed,’ or maybe face some disciplinary treatment for information security violations, or at most, be relieved of his duties and forced to work somewhere else. He feared this the most, as he loved his job, and there was no one better at it than he was.
“How many copies of the records did you make?”
“Just one.”
“Who, besides you and Mrs. Bishop, read it?”
“I don’t know. I guess she could have shown it to anyone?”
“And you?”
“No one, just her. I’ve seen files like that before and they don’t have anything to do with me.”
“Not even your wife?”
“No, especially her. We keep work out of our relationship.”
Frank Bishop sat there considering his statements. He turned and nodded to Gibbs, who then took his radio and called his men back into the room.
“Mr. Walker,” Frank Bishop said, “You will be confined until we have reached a decision in this matter. You will be notified when we have done so.”
As he was standing and preparing to walk out of the room, he turned and asked, “Am I being charged with some crime?”
“Good day Mr. Walker,” Frank Bishop said in reply.
When the door closed, Frank Bishop turned to Gibbs and asked, “What was on the file, and what do you think this is all about?”
Gibbs sat there, considered the question, and said without any emotion, “There were medical files and military files. Some from the doctor’s department,” he said gesturing toward Maddow, “and others which were obviously top secret. Whatever was on them is sensitive enough that you were willing to sacrifice the life of your son and his wife, and will do the same to these two. If I were to guess I would say it is something that either involves some type of bio hazardous weapon, or something which involves so many people that you cannot afford to let it be found out.”
Frank Bishop regarded him for a moment before replying. “Close… very close. It is important that some secrets remain so. Are you not the least bit curious as to what it is?”
“Mr. Bishop, I’ve worked for the government my entire life. I’ve done things most men could not do. Am I curious? To a degree; but I’ve found that when things don’t directly involve me, it is only an added burden to spend my time on them.”
“Mr. Gibbs, two things. First, you have demonstrated your trustworthiness to us. You will continue to carry out your current responsibilities, and in the future, you can be assured of greater ones. Second, what you said about the Walkers, make it so with as little attention as possible.”
Gibbs nodded in acceptance of his orders, and left the room.
“I still don’t like him,” Maddow said.
“But he is useful….Have you figured out how to explain the loss of yet another staff member?”
“I’ll just say she was requested by and assigned to assist Mrs. Bishop.”
Frank Bishop indicated he thought that would suffice, and believed they had averted an unnecessary crisis. The excitement of leaving the facility had diminished considerably as time passed. People were now a little more apprehensive giving consideration to what awaited them outside. The last thing they needed was a mutiny or any other serious distraction. Frank Bishop was determined to keep things on schedule at all costs.
What Bishop originally thought was a forest, was actually a section of woods surrounding a series of meadows. Some were filled with tall grass others contained the same large boulders that he had just passed through. He fashioned a spear out of a small tree, deciding it was time for a little more protection.
He walked into another section of the woods that had fewer trees, but contained many of the large boulders. He heard a padded noise behind him similar to what a four-legged animal would make while walking on the leave- strewn ground. He was still trying to master his acute senses. Sometimes he thought he was imagining things, but it often turned out that he had recognized the presence of something, or someone, long before he should have under normal conditions.
