Event

'Nowhere. We just may have figured out that however he's paid, we won't be able to trace it back to those people who are rewarding him with these items,' Ryan answered.

Jack stood and stretched, then turned and walked to the glass wall and looked in at the now still robotic loading system that fed programs into Europa.

'Doc,' Jack said while he was still looking at the interior of the clean room, 'can you bring up his military record again and see if he had any service time at an embassy or consulate in the States?'

'Yes, I think we still have it out, let me see.' Robbins typed in a command. 'Yeah, the program's still up.

'Europa,' Jack said.

Yes, Major Collins. The screen flashed the words in blue script.

'File, Farbeaux, Henri, Colonel. Question, any correlation between his duties in the French army and visits or duty in the United States?' Jack looked at the others, who were watching the screen.

The screen went blank.

'That would be too easy, Jack,' Everett said.

'Maybe, but it's worth a try.' Robbins looked at Everett. 'I think the major may have asked something we just assumed would be covered up, but something like that could easily be overlooked.'

The screen flashed back to life.

Five clandestine visits, 2002-2005. Discovered by FBI file examination of United States Customs videotape. One military assignment February-December 1996, Europa typed out in blue letters.

'I'll be damned,' Carl said as he leaned over the desk and wrote down the dates.

'Question. Duties involved with military assignment in 1996?' Jack asked before Robbins could.

Military Attache, French Embassy, Washington, D.C., then assigned to French Consulate, New York, New York, September-November 1996.

'Question. Available diplomatic or public record photographs or reports filed by Colonel Farbeaux while conducting diplomatic business in Washington and New York?' Dr. Robbins asked.

Suddenly the robotic loading system sprang to life behind the glass, and the arms loaded at least eight new programs in a matter of a few seconds that would dig into every newspaper account, pilfered report, or tapped phone call the U.S. government had recorded on the Frenchman.

The screen went blank and then almost as fast came back on.

All NSA reports classified security sensitive and destroyed. All CIA reports classified security sensitive and destroyed.

'Now that's covering your tracks. Think he had friends somewhere?' Robbins asked, looking at the military men around him.

Jack looked at the screen but remained silent. The loading system placed one more program, then came to a stop.

Several pictures started to show up on the large screen. They looked as if they had mostly been gleaned from newspapers and looked to be coverage of the same event. They were pictures of Farbeaux, not dressed in a military uniform but in a tuxedo, but he was obviously not the subject of the photographer's lens. In almost every picture there was a dark-haired man, smiling almost arrogantly into the cameras lens; the Frenchman was always nearby.

Coverage is copyrighted material of the Washington Post.

'Question. Subject matter of the article?' Jack asked Europa.

Reception for the newly installed Centaurus Corporation CEO, in thanks for two-hundred- million-dollar endowment for the arts in Washington, D.C.

'Question. Name of Centaurus Corporation CEO, please?' Robbins jumped in.

Charles Phillip Hendrix II, Europa answered.

Jack was thinking back to the story the senator had told of the crash in 1947 in Roswell.

'Europa, any information on the Genesis Group, and what is the business of the Centaurus Corporation?' Jack asked.

Genesis Group, Strategic Military and Corporate Technologies Advisory Group to the United States Intelligence Community, United States Armed Forces. Centaurus Corporation, Advanced Electronics and Optics, Divisions in Aerospace, Communications, Genetics, and Optics. Current contractual obligations with NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Bell Laboratories--

'Europa, date of the founding of Centaurus Corporation?' Jack asked, interrupting the lengthy response of the computer.

Corporate papers filed in New York, New York, February 3, 1948.

'With contracts with companies like that, why haven't we ever heard about Centaurus? And I've never heard of a think tank called Genesis,' Robbins said aloud.

'I don't know why--,' Jack started to say.

'Europa, is there any listing for board of directors, Centaurus Corporation?' Everett asked.

The monitor cleared all the previous answers from the screen, and the system started reacting to the question, flashing newspaper filings and corporate reports.

No information filed publicly on sixteen-member board of directors, Centaurus Corporation.

'We need access to the Centaurus mainframe. Think you can do it, Doc?' Jack asked.

'I think she can, yes,' Robbins answered.

'Hurry, Doc, things are moving too fast around us and we're running out of time, we need to catch up. I think the senator's right, I'm getting bad vibes about this encounter, and now we have these bastards to contend with.'

'Europa, access Centaurus database,' Robbins ordered.

Accessing, she said, then the screen went blank. Unable to comply. Security system is unknown at this time, Centaurus mainframe inaccessible.

'Incredible,' Robbins said. 'Europa, access Genesis Group, either mainframe or personal computer.'

Accessing, Europa said, and then the screen suddenly came alive.

'Excellent, they have all that security for the corporate end, but they either didn't care or omitted the same standards for their think tank,' Robbins said.

Ten personal hard drives found.

'Access Hendrix, Charles,' Jack asked.

Hendrix, Charles. Program headings:

Defense at Sea.

Air Defense.

Subsurface--Offensive.

Viable Hybrid Aluminum.

Biowarfare--Altered Human Species.

Optical Warfare--Particle Simulations.

Wormhole--Opening the Gate-- 1947.

International Space Station Defense Platform.

Plastic Aluminum Composite Armor Pla--

'Stop!' Jack said, making the others jump. 'Access Wormhole Program.' He leaned over and watched the screen intently. 'Synopsis of study?'

Evidence of wormhole travel, Southern Hemispheric Gate. Study indicates all UFO activity originates at 90 degrees south, 0.00 degrees east. Project Genesis confirms craft of same type as 1947 Incident. Photographic proof indicates use of wormhole corridor by enemy for planetary access, project code-named Crossroads. Air Defense Study, offensive operations by United States against attacking force.

'Good God, the bastards found out how they're getting here,' Jack said. 'They're actually formulating a plan for attacking them at this gate they've discovered.'

'Just where in the hell are these coordinates?' Everett asked. 'They sound familiar.'

Robbins asked, 'Europa, identify coordinates ninety degrees south, zero degrees east as noted in study file