Chapter 254 -- LFN Storyboard 2

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Date Posted: 02:44:08 08/09/12 Thu
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-58-161-98-169.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 58.161.98.169
Subject: Chapter 254
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "Back on board at last !!!!! ... The Rising Dragons continuted" on 04:08:59 07/22/12 Sun

Chapter 253

Section was deserted except for Comm. It was peaceful and quiet and Birkoff had the perfect time alone to do his searching task on Belinda and others in Med Lab without being disturbed by anyone. It was just how he liked it especially when he was faced with the problem of doing something without anyone looking over his shoulder. However, just as he was about to pull up Belinda�s profile, Walter and she appeared in Comm., so he shut down the link before his friend came any closer and could see what he was accessing and changed to another innocuous file. Walter and Belinda had been by earlier in the day after their announcement but now they were dressed for the outside, obviously heading out on a date to celebrate their engagement and pending marriage.

As they were making their way over towards Birkoff, Belinda suddenly stopped and spoke to Walter.�Oh � I�ve forgotten my jacket � I�ll be right back.�

�Okay honey � I�ll just wait over with Birkoff.�

She gave him an indulgent smile then left to go back to her quarters to pick up her coat.

In the meantime, Walter walked over to where Birkoff was sitting at his station. Noticing that he was working on something on his computers as usual, Walter stood next to him totally absorbed in his own agenda and asked in an eager voice. �Did you get my stuff yet?�

Birkoff kept on working but he still answered his friend. �What stuff?�

�The stuff I sent.�

However, Birkoff didn�t have a clue what Walter was taking about. �No?� he replied somewhat flummoxed at his statement.

In Walter�s frame of mind it was as if the whole world revolved around him and Belinda and he couldn�t quite understand why Birkoff knew nothing about the message he�d sent to him just a little while ago. �You must know.� He strongly clarified; shocked that Birkoff hadn�t read this important memo from him. Walter elaborated for his buddy�s obvious oversight, �Belinda! ... Why, Belinda, of course!�

Birkoff looked at his friend conveying in his glance that he�d had more important things on his mind lately than correspondence from him. �I've been a little busy, Walter. I haven�t even told you what happened in the White Room.�

Walter brushed off his comment, �No need ... you survived � that�s all I need to know.� He was too wrapped up in his own feelings to ask any further questions and before Birkoff could reply Walter continued, �Hey, it�s her birthday tomorrow. I need to get her something that she really likes.�

�Why don't you ask her?�

At Birkoff�s reply, Walter came to stand in front of the computer and looked at his young friend with an incredulous look on his face. �You ..., ah ..., don't know women very well, do you?�

Birkoff looked up at his friend and met his gaze, before breaking into a grin then a laugh at the twinkle he saw in Walter�s eyes. �Right now?�

�Yeah ..., right now.� He grinned in reply. �Before she gets back.�

It was so glaring obvious that Walter was in love. His friend had never looked happier and Seymour was very pleased for him. Having never seen Walter this way before, Birkoff took pity on his lovesick pal. He pulled up Belinda's profile knowing that he would have to do it at some stage to see if she was linked to the passing of Intel to George from Med Lab. He was a little hesitant that something might pop up that Walter shouldn�t see, but once her data appeared on screen he only read out the pertinent information to him.

Sitting back in his chair he began to read aloud Belinda�s profile. �Let's see what we've got. She plays the piano ...�

Walter accessed this piece of unknown information about his beloved. �Nice,� he replied eager for more titbits of her accomplishments.

�... is fluent in Czech and Russian.�

The admiration for his fianc�e was heart-warming but Walter could only manage a suppressed �Mmmm� when Birkoff relayed this piece of information.

�... broke her leg when she was twelve ..., got thrown from a horse.�

A sudden image of Belinda as a child flashed through Walter�s head of her riding her pony. �Really ..., huh ..., it�s great stuff.� Breaking from his reverie he asked, �What else?�

Then something appeared in her file as Birkoff was reading it that gave him pause. Unfortunately Walter noticed the change in expression on his face and asked a little anxiously. �What is it?�

Leaning closer, he tried to view Belinda's profile, but Birkoff quickly darkened the screen before he noticed anything. �Nothing. That was it.�

�Well ..., th ... that's enough. Horses, right? Horses!� He repeated as an idea suddenly formed in his mind for a present.

�Yes � that�s right.�

Walter gave Birkoff a happy nod knowing that their collusion had paid dividends, but he was quick to curb his enthusiasm as he looked up and saw Belinda approach them.

Comfortably linking her arm through Walter�s, she asked, �You ready to go?�

�I guess you know I've missed you �� he replied holding her gaze.

Belinda merely just smiled before turning her attention to Birkoff. �Would you like to join us Seymour?� she asked in a gentle tone wanting to include Walter�s best friend in their happiness �� To help us celebrate?�

Under the circumstances Birkoff knew that they would want to be alone. �You don�t need me there to celebrate. Thanks � but no.� Three was a crowd and he would only be the third wheel, nevertheless Birkoff was touched that he�d been invited. �Have a great night.�

�We will.�

The couple didn�t take much persuading and Walter quickly hustled Belinda off impatient to be out of Section where they could have some privacy. �Okay � Let's get out of here ... quick before Seymour changes his mind.�

They�d both smiled and happily left him alone at his station.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

However as soon as they were out of sight, Birkoff pulled up Belinda�s file once more, to reread her profile. As he read her details and scrolled down her data, he was suddenly gob smacked at what appeared on the monitor � it was the flashing last line that held his attention.

STATUS: EVALUATION UNSATISFACTORY

TRANSFER TO ABEYANCE

TERMINATION RANKING: 2

This Intel shocked him to the core, especially knowing that Walter had finally found some happiness in this hellhole, even though it looked like it may be fleeting. But now he was faced with a dilemma. Should he tell Walter about Belinda's new status or let him enjoy the time they had together? This news would be devastating for his friend. There must be some mistake that Belinda�s evaluation was unsatisfactory, he thought. How could that be and why had she been scheduled for cancellation? Birkoff was flummoxed as to how she had come to get such a rating. Her skills in medical seemed to be above board and she appeared very dedicated to her patients. However, everyone in Med Lab was under suspicion, but he couldn�t see how they would have the means to set up hidden surveillance or the motive to do so. Given Madeline�s directive, Birkoff had always been worried that he would have to do this check on Belinda and those in Medical including Dr Johnson but he never thought he would find anything.

On the other hand this was not a surprising outcome as everyone in Section was expendable. No one was immune to the life that was Section One. Things could change in the blink on an eye. Nobody ever knew how long they were for this world especially in the line of work people did, and it wouldn�t take much to put an operative into abeyance if it was decreed by the powers that be that they were unsatisfactory as like what had happened to Belinda. But this just didn�t make sense. Operations and Madeline already knew that Belinda had failed her evaluation. Why did they want him to do a cross check on her? Were they just trying to join the dots and link her to George too, to warrant the cancellation? This was getting more complicated by the minute. Birkoff hoped to god that he could find something that may change their minds. It became more urgent now, knowing that he didn�t want to see Walters�s happiness shattered before it had begun. His buddy deserved to be happy and he would do everything in his power to find some anomaly in this decision � for Walter�s sake.

Birkoff decided that he would do a thorough check of all Med Lab staff first before concentrating on who he thought was a prime suspect � Greg Hillenger. Hopefully he would find something that would incriminate him and perhaps at the same time find some Intel that would get rid of the unsatisfactory tag and cancellation notice on Belinda. Birkoff knew that he was now racing against the clock to find something ... anything � to exonerate her and he had less than the time he�d been set.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was late. Madeline had given him twenty four hours to come up with something and so far there was nothing of interest that they didn�t already know. Dr Johnson and Belinda appeared to have taken no part in transferring Intel to George, so that left him with his gut feeling that Greg Hillenger was somehow involved. He just needed a bit of luck to find a connection.

Tiredly Seymour removed his glasses and sat staring at his monitor hoping that the new parameters he�d just typed in would reveal something. It didn�t take long until a wall of numbers began scrolling up the screen in a never-ending progression. He studied the numerals and mentally tried a number of ways to go about deciphering them but couldn�t put his finger on what would be the best way to go about it. The monitor mounted above him showed the same image but he numbly stared at the screen unable to get a handle on the code. Frustrated, Birkoff got up, to stretch his legs but he was restless and rubbed his hand over his head. He�d attempted several tried and true methods but nothing had worked so far. He was getting nowhere fast for everything he�d tried came up a dead end. Birkoff started to pace back and forth as one idea after another popped into his head that he could try to solve the puzzle. This code was obviously hiding something or someone and must have been deeply encrypted, but he would find the way in. At least it was a glimmer of hope and something he could take to Operations and Madeline in the morning.

Birkoff took a deep breath. It didn�t make sense. This code was layered and multifaceted. There was only one name that came to mind capable of inventing such a thing � his arch-rival and prime suspect � Greg Hillenger. If anyone was able to produce such an encrypted code it was Hillenger. He was the only one that Birkoff could think of that had the means to design something buried so deep that it would be too difficult for a layman technician to find. His suspicions were heightened once he found that code. He was having difficulty decoding it and only Hillenger had the expertise to invent such a thing. His suspicions grew all the more that he was indeed a mole for George. But he needed to solve this code first or else all his theories were just guesses about Greg, so Birkoff typed in a code to access Greg�s file, which after a while hit a stumbling block. It was then that the penny dropped that Hillenger could very well be implicated and had buried important files from detection. If it took all night Birkoff vowed that he would get to the bottom of whatever it was that Greg was trying to hide.

Operations and Madeline would need proof and concrete evidence. So far all he had was supposition about an operative and one he didn�t like that much.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on text from � Fuzzy Logic, Open Heart

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