'Deception Point Page 60\r'

'â€Å"Ms. tench?” the transp atomic number 18nt voice on the cable system give tongue to. â€Å"William Pickering, here. To what do I owe this revere?”\r\ntench could hear the television in the background-NASA com custodytary. She could already sense in his looking at that he was still reeling from the insistence congregation. â€Å"Do you ingest a minute, handler?”\r\nâ€Å"I calculateed youd be busy celebrating. preferably a night for you. Looks like NASA and the prexy be back in the fight.”\r\ntench heard stark amazement in his voice, combined with a tinge of acrimony-the latter(prenominal) no doubt on deem of the mans legendary distaste for hearing good luck news at the same measure as the rest of the world.\r\nâ€Å"I apologize,” tench said, trying to build an immediate bridge, â€Å"that the dust coat habitation and NASA were forced to lionize you unapprised.”\r\nâ€Å"You are aware,” Pickering said, â€Å"that the NRO detected NASA activity up on that point a couple weeks ago and ran an inquiry.”\r\ntench frowned. Hes pissed. â€Å"Yes, I know. And however-â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"NASA told us it was nonhing. They said they were streak or so kind of extreme milieu training exercises. Testing equipment, that sort of thing.” Pickering paused. â€Å"We bought the lie.”\r\nâ€Å"Lets not border it a lie,” tench said. â€Å" more than of a necessary misdirection. Considering the magnitude of the discovery, I trust you understand NASAs need to keep this quiet.”\r\nâ€Å"From the public, perchance.”\r\nPouting was not in the repertoire of men like William Pickering, and tench sensed this was as close as he would get. â€Å"I only if view as a minute,” tench said, working to retain her dominant position, â€Å" save I thought I should mobilize and warn you.”\r\nâ€Å"Warn me?” Pickering waxed dry momentarily. â€Å"Has Zach Hern ey settle downd to appoint a new, NASA-friendly NRO director?”\r\nâ€Å"Of course not. The President understands your criticisms of NASA are apparently issues of security, and he is working to plug those holes. Im in reality calling about one of your employees.” She paused. â€Å"Rachel sacristan. demand you heard from her this evening?”\r\nâ€Å"No. I displace her to the loot-living House this morning conviction at the Presidents request. Youve obviously kept her busy. She has just to check in.”\r\nTench was relieved to concord gotten to Pickering first. She took a drag on her exclusivelyt end and spoke as calmly as possible. â€Å"I suspect you may be getting a call from Ms. sacristan sometime soon.”\r\nâ€Å"Good. Ive been expecting one. Ive got to tell you, when the Presidents press convention began, I was concerned Zach Herney might induct convinced Ms. sacristan to participate publicly. Im cheering to see he resisted.”\r \nâ€Å"Zach Herney is a overnice person,” Tench said, â€Å"which is more than I place say for Rachel Sexton.”\r\nThere was a keen-sighted pause on the line. â€Å"I foretaste I misunderstood that.”\r\nTench sighed heavily. â€Å"No, sir, Im agoraphobic you did not. Id prefer not to talk specifics on the phone, but Rachel Sexton, it seems, has decided she wants to undermine the credibleness of this NASA announcement. I have no judgement why, but later(prenominal) she reviewed and endorsed NASAs information in the first place this afternoon, she has suddenly pulled an about-face and is spouting some of the most improbable allegations imaginable of NASA deception and fraud.”\r\nPickering go baded intense now. â€Å"Excuse me?”\r\nâ€Å"Troubling, yes. I abhor to be the one to tell you this, but Ms. Sexton contacted me two minutes forwards the press conference and warned me to cancel the all in all thing.”\r\nâ€Å"On what gro unds?”\r\nâ€Å"Absurd ones, frankly. She said shed found serious flaws in the data.”\r\nPickerings want silence was more wary than Tench would have liked. â€Å"Flaws?” he finally said.\r\nâ€Å"Ridiculous, really, after two full weeks of NASA experimentation and-â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"I find it very hard to deal someone like Rachel Sexton would have told you to postpone the Presidents press conference unless she had a damn good reason.” Pickering sounded troubled. â€Å"Maybe you should have listened to her.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, please!” Tench blurted, coughing. â€Å"You saw the press conference. The meteorite data was confirmed and reconfirmed by unlimited specialists. Including civilians. Doesnt it seem suspicious to you that Rachel Sexton-the daughter of the only man whom this announcement hurts-is suddenly ever-changing her tune?”\r\nâ€Å"It seems suspicious, Ms. Tench, only because I run to know that Ms. Sexton and her father are bar ely civil to one another(prenominal). I cannot imagine why Rachel Sexton would, after years of service to the President, suddenly decide to switch camps and tell lies to support her father.”\r\nâ€Å"Ambition, perhaps? I really dont know. Maybe the prospect to be first daughter… ” Tench let it hang.\r\nPickerings tone hardened instantly. â€Å" small ice, Ms. Tench. Very thin.”\r\nTench scowled. What the hell did she expect? She was accusing a prominent member of Pickerings staff of treason against the President. The man was dismission to be defensive.\r\nâ€Å"Put her on,” Pickering demanded. â€Å"Id like to blab to Ms. Sexton myself.”\r\nâ€Å"Im afraid thats impossible,” Tench replied. â€Å"Shes not at the White House.”\r\nâ€Å"Where is she?”\r\nâ€Å"The President sent her to Milne this morning to examine the data firsthand. She has yet to return.”\r\nPickering sounded livid now. â€Å"I was never inform ed-â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"I do not have time for hurt pride, director. I have apparently called as a courtesy. I wanted to warn you that Rachel Sexton has decided to show after her own agenda with respect to tonights announcement. She go out be looking for allies. If she contacts you, you would be novel to know that the White House is in possession of a video interpreted earlier today in which she endorsed this meteorite data in its entirety in seem of the President, his cabinet, and his entire staff. If now, for whatever motives she might have, Rachel Sexton attempts to besmirch the good name of Zach Herney or of NASA, then I swear to you the White House will see to it she travel hard and far.” Tench waited a moment, to be sure her meaning had settled in. â€Å"I expect you to repay the courtesy of this call by informing me immediately if Rachel Sexton contacts you. She is attacking the President directly, and the White House intends to detain her for questioning before s he does every serious damage. I will be waiting for your call, director. Thats all. Good night.”\r\nMarjorie Tench hung up, legitimate that William Pickering had never been talked to like that in his life. At least now he knew she was serious.\r\nOn the top floor of the NRO, William Pickering stood at his window and stared into the Virginia night. The call from Marjorie Tench had been deeply troubling. He chewed at his lip as he tried to assemble the pieces in his mind.\r\nâ€Å"conductor?” his secretary said, knocking quietly. â€Å"You have another phone call.”\r\nâ€Å"Not now,” Pickering said absently.\r\nâ€Å"Its Rachel Sexton.”\r\nPickering wheeled. Tench was apparently a fortune-teller. â€Å"Okay. Patch her through, right away.”\r\nâ€Å"Actually, sir, its an encrypted AV stream. Do you want to take it in the conference get on?”\r\nAn AV stream? â€Å"Where is she calling from?”\r\nThe secretary told him.\r\nPickeri ng stared. Bewildered, he hurried down the hall toward the conference room. This was something he had to see.\r\n70\r\nThe Charlottes â€Å"dead room”-designed after a similar anatomical structure at Bell Laboratories-was what was formally know as an anechoic chamber. An acoustical clean room containing no parallel or reflective surfaces, it absorbed sound with 99.4 share efficiency. Because of the acoustically conductive nature of metal and water, conversations onboard submarines were always vulnerable to interception by near eavesdroppers or parasitic suction mics machine-accessible to the outer hull. The dead room was, in effect, a tiny chamber inner the submarine from which absolutely no sound could escape. All conversations inside this insulated box were just secure.\r\n'