“You’ll need lab technicians, assistants, clerks-”
“No,” Dawson said. “So long as Ogden has the computer- and a complete data file of his past research-he can handle everything himself. For ten years he’s had a full lab staff to do the drudgery; but most of that kind of work is behind him now.,’
“If he quits at Brockert,” Klinger said, “there will be an exhaustive security investigation. They’ll want to know why he quit-and they’ll find out.”
They were talking about Salsbury as if he were somewhere else and unable to hear them, and he didn’t like that. He moved away from the window, took two steps toward the general and said, “I’m not leaving my position at Brockert. I’ll report for work as usual, five days a week, from nine to four. While I’m there I’ll labor diligently on a useless research project.”
“When will you find time to work at this lab Leonard’s setting up for you?”
“In the evenings,” Salsbury said. “And on weekends. Besides that, I’ve accumulated a lot of sick leave and vacation time. I’ll take most of it-but I’ll spread it out evenly over the next year or so.”
Klinger stood up and went to the elegant copper and glass bar cart that a servant had left a few feet from the easy chairs. His thick and hairy arms made the crystal decanters look more delicate than they actually were. As he poured another double shot of brandy for himself, he said, “And what role do you see me playing in all of this?”
Salsbury said, “Leonard can get the computer system I need. But he can’t provide me with a magnetic tape file of all the research I’ve done for CDA or a set of master program tapes designed for my research. I’ll need both of those before Leonard’s computers are worth a penny to me. Now, given three or four weeks, I could make duplicates of those tapes at Brockert without much risk of being caught. But once I’ve got eighty or ninety cumbersome mag tapes and five-hundred-yard print-outs, how do I get them out of Brockert? There’s just no way. Security procedures, entering and leaving, are tight, too tight for my purpose. Unless . .
“I see,” Klinger said. He returned to his chair and sipped at his brandy.
Sliding forward to the edge of his seat, Dawson said, “Ernst, you’re the ultimate authority for security at Brockert. You know more about that system than anyone else. If there’s a weak spot in their security, you’re the man to find it-or make it.”
Studying Salsbury as if he were assessing the danger and questioning the wisdom of being associated with someone of such obviously inferior character, Klinger said, “I’m supposed to let you smuggle out nearly one hundred magnetic tapes full of top-secret data and sophisticated computer programs?”
Ogden nodded slowly.
“Can you do it?” Dawson asked.
“Probably.”
“That’s all you can say?”
“There’s a better than even chance it can be done.”
“That’s not sufficient, Ernst.”
“All right,” Klinger said, slightly exasperated. “I can do it. I can find a way.”
Smiling, Dawson said, “I knew you could.”
“But if I did find a way and was caught either during or after the operation-I’d be dumped into Leavenworth and left to rot. Earlier, when I used the word ‘treason,’ I wasn’t tossing it around lightly.”
“I didn’t suppose you were,” Dawson said. “But you wouldn’t be required ever to see these mag tapes, let alone touch them. That would be a risk that only Ogden would have to take. They could convict you of nothing more serious than negligence for permitting or overlooking the gap in security.”
“Even so, I’d be forced into early retirement or drummed out of the service with only a partial pension.”
Amazed, Dawson shook his head and said, “I’m offering him one-third of a partnership that will earn millions, and Ernst is worrying about a government pension.”
Salsbury was perspiring heavily. The back of his shirt was soaked and felt like a cold compress against his skin. To Klinger he said, “You’ve told us that you can do it. But the big question is whether you will do it.”