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 Very well, Dr. Bretti. Would you care for some tea?
Tea? How could Bretti think of tea at a time like this? His whole life, his future had just disintegrated
around him like an antimatter explosion. He wondered if he should confess to Chandrawalia, explain
about the FBI agent, his flight, all because the Indian government wanted a secret stash of p-bars. Would
Chandrawalia help him out of this mess?
Bretti knew it would be a mistake to think of this man as his friend.
 No. No tea. Bretti shifted in his chair, setting the heavy suitcase of p-bars on the floor beside him. He
plugged an extension cord from the wall to the suitcase, recharging the lithium batteries.  Things have
changed at the Lab. I need to get out of here today like we planned, but I won t have as much of the&
uh, product as I had promised. I have a more efficient trap collecting particles of antimatter right now. In
less than a week after the excitement cools down it ll have a full sup-ply. When I return, I can make
good on the final deliv-ery.
Chandrawalia s facial expression remained frozen in a perpetual smile.  I am sorry to hear that. Will this
affect our agreement, Dr. Bretti? 
 Mr. Bretti. Call me mister. Bretti screwed up his face. The man knew damned well he was still a grad
student.  I ve got some antimatter, enough for your peo-ple to start their medical isotope project. And
that s the important thing. Now get me out of here.
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 We ve inspected your holding apparatus, said Chandrawalia smoothly.  Your device is making our
se-curity people nervous. They think it could be some sort of sophisticated bomb.
 Just don t x-ray the container. That would increase the antiproton diffusion rate out of the magnetic
bottle. To Chandrawalia s blank stare, Bretti growled,  You ll make itleak faster. It s tough enough
keeping the p-bars contained in this type of trap without agitating them.
Did they really think he was stupid enough to bring a bomb into this place? And what on earth for? Of
course, enough antimatter particles could be as deadly as a bomb as the vaporized substation
proved but this Penning trap didn t hold nearly enough p-bars to cause any damage. Later in the week,
when he returned for the crystal-lattice trap, then he would have enough antimatter to make someone
worry.
 I see. Chandrawalia reached into a drawer, with-drew a folder and slid it across the polished desktop.
 Here are tickets for today s flight to New Delhi. Your passport is in there as well, stamped with our
visa. You leave at five P.M. We are putting your storage device in a diplomatic pouch a container that
can be hooked up to the plane s electrical system during the trip to India. It will not be inspected by your
customs officials.
Bretti scooped up the ticket.  You ve got me flying out on the Concord. Cool. The Indians really
wanted those p-bars. Their stake in major new medical research and opening the process to lucrative
markets supposedly depended on it.
 The program in Bangalore is anxiously waiting for your material. One of my associates will meet you
there. Chandrawalia held up a finger and frowned for the first time in the conversation. The expression
sent a chill through Bretti.  Please remember the need for dis-cretion, Mr. Bretti. This, ah,project is
hardly well pub-licized, or even endorsed by my government. Few people in this embassy are aware of
what we are doing. If it proves to be a success  he shrugged  then things may change and everyone
will want to take credit. But for now, the fewer people who know about this, the better.
 That s the tack I ve been taking, said Bretti sourly. The less said the better, and the less chance any
sort of investigation would finger him. He wasn t even sup-posed to be in Illinois this week.
 Good. Chandrawalia stood, clearly ending the meeting. Placing his hands on the desk, he bowed
slightly.  Please instruct my people as to the care and operation of your storage device. We will then
escort you to O Hare and past customs as my official guest to our country.
 What about my car? Things were moving too fast. He didn t even have a suitcase with him, no clothes,
not even a toothbrush. But if Chandrawalia came through with the money they had promised, Bretti could
buy all he wanted when he got to India.
 It will remain in our garage until you return. For the first time since things had taken a nosedive at the
substation, Bretti actually felt calm and somewhat hopeful again. He allowed a small smile on his face as
he shook hands with Chandrawalia. He just might pull this off after all&
But the official s grip was cold and his expression hard.  Do not forget that your device will be in the
passenger hold. If anything goes wrong, both you and your plane will meet the same fate. Have a nice
flight& and enjoy India.
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CHAPTER NINE
Tuesday, 3:49 p.m.
Fermilab
The dogs strained on their leashes, intent on their job professionals, just like everything else the FBI
used. But Special Agent Schultz didn t expect them to find any-thing. He had already been over the
various substations, searching for some hint as to the cause of the massive explosion that had vaporized
one of the blockhouses.
The handler from the county sheriff s office followed the two dogs to the next substation. They barked
and sniffed, making a beeline toward the heavy metal door. Schultz had a key to each of the padlocks,
and this one looked just as secure as the others had. It would prob-ably be a dud too.
He and his team had been on the scene for two days already, but still had found no clues. His evidence
tech-nicians and crime-scene chemists had narrowed the list of possibilities until nothing remained.
Normal bombs left telltale trace compounds, chemical residue, nitrates, by-products but the fused [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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