Jake called out the six-digit electronic code just before Peterson punched it in.
“How did you know that?” he asked. “They just changed it this morning.”
“Lucky guess,” Jake said and smiled at Laney.
They followed Peterson up the wide stairs onto the lower roof area. Peterson led them across to one corner, then used a key to open the double doors to the air conditioning unit.
“There it is,” Peterson said, pointing to the cylinder that was just over a foot in diameter and eighteen inches high. On the top end a large black hard rubber cap hid the valves and radio gear that controlled the release of the contents.
“Your people put that one back the day before yesterday. They told me it was inert, and that I should ignore it and not say anything to anyone about it.”
Jake examined the mounting. A wide strap held the unit securely in a professional looking installation. If he didn’t know otherwise, it could have been a legitimate part of the equipment. The tank looked to be a couple of years old, with cosmetically placed scratches and marks in the paint. The tank was positioned so that the vented contents would be picked up by the intake to the AC unit and spread throughout the building.
“How many AC units does this facility have?” Laney asked.
“Eight,” Peterson replied, “but only four of them had tanks like these installed.”
“Show us one of the others,” Jake asked.
Peterson led them across to another corner, and opened another set of doors. They could have been looking at the same piece of equipment, except this one had a large splotch of paint on the ducting and, as Peterson had implied, no conspicuous tank.
Laney asked the predictable questions. Who had access? Who knew the codes? Who worked in the facility and might be able to break in?
Peterson explained the codes were changed remotely. They were controlled by some government office downtown. They controlled the access to all of these buildings. Supposedly the doors were monitored and the official logs should note when the doors were opened. Their coming up here would be noted. However, Peterson had overheard some of the other agents talking. The official records showed no unusual trips to the roof during the past month. Somehow those records had been purged.
Jake suspected the cleaning crew or someone who pretended to be a part of the legitimate work force. The large barrels they pushed around on wheels could easily have hidden one of the tanks. A sufficiently skilled hacker could have gotten them past the locks.
“You were asked to check all of the units every morning I understand?” Laney asked.
Peterson nodded.
Laney handed him a card. “Contact me if you see any change. It doesn’t make sense to me that those other units weren’t modified. I don’t think these people are finished here.”
Jake smiled to himself. Laney’s instincts were good. Peterson would contact him in a couple of days and it would yield an important lead.
“You were showing off with the code,” Laney said as he and Jake headed into the parking lot.
“Trying to demonstrate I have some advance knowledge of what is coming,” Jake replied. “I need you to understand my ability is real.”
“But you can’t do it now?” Laney asked.
“I don’t know for certain. I’m feeling better about the possibility, but something in my head is warning me to stay away, at least for now.”
“But you remembered the code? If I believe what you’ve said, it has to have been more than six months in your reference since you saw that code. That’s a long time to remember something like that.”
“I have a good memory. Exceptional, actually. Memories are the only thing I can carry back with me, so I’ve developed the skill of recalling details.”
Laney was silent for a bit, then asked. “You saved Kerns, didn’t you? Why did you use the Mathews name that time?”
“I hadn’t been able to reach Carlson. I wanted her to realize what had happened. It was a calling card for her.”
“You could have called me. You said we’d worked together a lot by that time.”
“Then, as now, you don’t recall any of those times. You wouldn’t have known who I was or believed any more then than you do now that I had advance knowledge. I couldn’t count on your taking action.”
“You save Kerns, but as Mathews you killed all those other people. Carlson and I chased you for years.”
“They were mass murderers. Go through the reports sometime and think about