agencies. By using phone taps, he had also recorded the agents making access calls to their computer centres, and by combining these information banks with his own computer, he had both visual and verbal contact with them.
It was a marvellous hobby.
And it made the Magician one of the most dangerous people in the world.
Having explained his wonderful toy, Rothschild sat down and spread his hands. How about that?’ he said proudly.
You mean you can plug into the base computers for the CIA, the KGB, like that?’ O’Hara asked.
Mostly on a level-two basis, but in some cases I can even tap their top-secret files.’
Where did you get this thing?’
‘Miami. Anybody can buy them. It’s learning to use them that’s the secret. Let me show you how it works.’ He slid a picture on the wall to one side, revealing a large wall safe. He spun the dials and opened the safe. It was filled with cassette tapes and floppy disks and video-tapes. He took out a cassette deck and three disks.
He put a disk in each of the gates, and the cassette in the small tape recorder. ‘These disks store information,’ he explained. ‘The first one has the program on it. That’s what makes all this work. The cassette has the phone access information on it. Once I get the computer on the line, all I need is the proper access code and I can get a visual print-out on the screen.’
He picked up the phone and dialled a number.
‘I hope the phones are working today,’ he said. I’m calling the access line at Langley.’
‘The CIA computer?’
‘Yeah.’
Joli nudged O’Hara. ‘He spends so much time in here, that is why he needs help to run the business,’ he whispered.
Rothschild punched the speaker phone buttons. O’Hara could hear the phone ringing. The connection broke and a voice said, ‘This is Langley Base One. Your identification, please.’
Rothschild put the phone in the cradle attached to the keyboard of the computer and pressed the ‘Play’ button on the tape deck. A recorded voice said: ‘This is Oscarfield, C-One clearance, two-level.’
Rothschild pressed the ‘Pause’ button on the tape deck.
The voice said: ‘Voice ID complete. Access, please.’
Rothschild pressed the ‘Play’ button again: ‘Two-level, file access.’
The voice answered: ‘Tracking, two-level, file access.’ There was a pause and then: ‘Proceed.’
He pressed the ‘Play’ button again. Oscarfield’s taped voice said: ‘Modem readout, two-level.’
Pop! The monitor screen was filled with questions and blank spaces. Rothschild filled them in:
Access identification: OFLD
Agent sector: FIELD
Agent access: L-2
Agent clarity: B-532
Subject name: O’HARA, FRANCIS
Subject agency: PRIVATE
Was subject formerly attchd? Yes x No
Previous afltn: CIA
File Level: BASE
Photos: YES
Other info: NO
Accessing file.
The light on the side of the computer began to blink. After two or three seconds it stopped and a message appeared on the screen:
Press code key to continue...
Rothschild pressed two-three-five and the screen cleared for an instant and then O’Hara’s file flashed on- screen.
‘I’ll be damned,’ O’Hara said.
‘It is truly magic,’ said Joli. ‘The whole world speaks to him on this machine.’
Rothschild pressed a key and the small white cursor moved rapidly down the screen. He stopped at a listing for ‘Current assignment’:
Subject is on special assmnt. Deep storage.
No contact anticipated for several months.
‘The Winter Man really covered his ass, Sailor. As far as your current report goes, you’re a fuckin’ mole
