Create a New Forum Admin Login Member Login Contribute to Voyager Search VoyForums Help Desk VoyForums Exchange VoyForums Directory/Categories VoyForums Homepage VoyForums News FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 04:13:15 08/10/12 Fri
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-58-161-98-169.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 58.161.98.169
Subject: Chapter 255
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "Back on board at last !!!!! ... The Rising Dragons continuted" on 04:08:59 07/22/12 Sun

Chapter 255

The next morning Birkoff was busy, as usual, at his computer collating any last minute details in his report for Operations and Madeline about the mole. He’d been exhausted when he’d eventually left Comm. last night, but he’d certainly slept well knowing that what he had to show his superiors today would be most pleasing to them. Hopefully the Intel would also help reverse Belinda’s evaluation status. He was totally convinced that his data would be just what Operations and Madeline were looking for.

Absorbed in his task Birkoff was unaware that Walter had walked up behind him. The first indication that he realised that he was not alone was the sound of something being dropped onto his desk and a familiar voice saying, “Open it.”

After the initial shock of being crept up on registered in his brain, Birkoff looked down at his desk and saw a hard plastic case containing a computer CD. He picked it up and immediately his eyes light up when he realized what he held in his hands. Birkoff couldn’t contain his excitement. “No! … No way!”

“Yes.”

Seymour was chuffed at the gift as if Walter had given him the most precious of items on the top of his wish list. “Oh ..., this is awesome! An I-440!”

Walter in turn was delighted at his friend’s reaction to his surprise gift. “First off the line ... and you can retrain the array ... as much as you want.”

“Oh, wow! Thanks.” He replied unable to stop looking at the gift Walter had given him.

“No ... no, thank you,” Walter answered back thinking that it was the least he could do to repay his friend for all the help he had given him.

“For what?” Birkoff asked realising that no favour he might have done warranted such an awesome gift of thanks.

“For Belinda. Things went great last night. I also saw this little ... rocking horse jewellery box ... and I know she’ll love it. I couldn't have done it without you.”

Suddenly, Walter looked behind him when he heard footsteps and saw the woman they were discussing approaching. “... Speak of the devil's mistress.”

Belinda watched the two friends deep in conversation and saw the look on Walter’s face which told her that he’d asked Birkoff to do something for him. She could tell by his expressions as he was an open book for her. She gave him a warm smile and finally came closer. “There you are.”

“Hi.”

Severing their gaze, Belinda then looked down and smiled at Seymour. “Hi, Birkoff.”

“What's up?”

“Nothing ..., I just stopped by to say hello … and to tell you what a great time we had last night.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“Oh, and I also found this in Med Lab,” Belinda said handing him a small contraption. “Walter thought it might be important for you to check out.”

Birkoff’s brows knitted somewhat when he saw the small device in her hand. “Where did you find this?”

“I was preparing one of the beds for a new patient and found it under the gurney in ICU.”

“Where Michael was?” Birkoff asked nonchalantly, not wanting to raise any undue concerns.

“Yes it was actually. Why?”

“Oh nothing … I’ll check it out and see if it’s anything significant. Did you find any others?”

“No … that was the only one.”

“Thanks I’ll look into it.”

As they were talking, Walter happened to look up past Belinda and saw Operations approaching so he brought the conversation to a swift end whispering to Birkoff, “Okay. I’ll see you later. We have a whole day of downtime.”

“All right. I really have to finalise my report for Operations and Madeline. See ya.”

The two operatives quickly slipped away not wanting to confront their superior especially when they had better things to do on their day off.

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

Birkoff was busily watching the departing couple and didn’t realize that Operations had walked up to his station and had joined him at his desk. He was a little startled that Section’s leader had approached his station at this time, especially when he was to report to Madeline’s office shortly. He was also a little miffed too that he’d been caught unprepared for his briefing because Walter and Belinda had taken up his time and he hadn’t realised that he was indeed late for the meeting.

“Birkoff … Madeline is expecting you. What is the hold up?”

“Nothing sir. I was just collating any final points for the briefing. I didn’t want to miss anything,” Birkoff nervously replied. “And I was just handed something that I must check out as well. It might be an important piece of the puzzle about the mole.”

“I see … very well. I’ll inform Madeline that you’ll be another thirty minutes.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Bring all your data to Madeline’s office as soon as you can then. We’ll be interested to hear your report.” However, Operations was thinking about a different assignment, “But first I want you to upgrade another Mission ... the one we're running in Somalia.”

“I'll pull the file.”

Birkoff swung around and accessed the information from another computer. Operations then started to give him a quick sketch of what he wanted done. “The Profile calls for an Abeyance Medical Team of five, to infiltrate a terrorist compound where insurgents are wounded to gauge the Intel we require on the health of their leader. The Primary Team will carry out the Mission to destroy their headquarters and all medical facilities if he is found to not be there. Send the Abeyance Ops to Walter to get their inventory.”

“What's the survival likelihood of the Abeyance Team?”

Operations gave Birkoff a “that's a silly question” look, before answering. “Zero.”

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

Once Operations had left his station, Birkoff was left with a problem. Belinda's standing would automatically place her in the Somalia mission. He pulled up her profile and stared at the abeyance standing flashing on the screen. He couldn’t send Walter’s fiancée to her death on this mission. Not now … not when his friend was so happy. He had to do something. Making a decision that Birkoff hoped would give him enough time to find a way to repeal her termination ranking, he speedily changed her status to the highest level of eight then quickly exited her Profile.

He then took the small gizmo Belinda had given him and ran it through his system. To his delighted surprise it came up trumps.

“BINGO!”

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

Birkoff gathered up his evidence on Greg Hillenger and made his way to Madeline’s office where he knew that Section’s leaders would be waiting for him with his Intel and a progress report. With a strong belief that the Intel he’d found last night and especially from the device so unreservedly given to him without fear of any consequences, he just might also have enough information to change Operations and Madeline’s minds about sending Belinda on the Somalia mission. Birkoff hoped that what he’d found would please them about the mole in Section and give him some leverage to place a case for Belinda’s reclassification and change their minds about her abeyance mission. He had a slim chance but he had to try for Walter’s sake.

Last night he’d combed the whole system trying to find a connection to any of the operatives in Med Lab and any associated with Michael and Nikita over the past few weeks of the Rising Dragons’ mission. The fact that he’d been able to find anything or anyone who had passed the Intel to George and how, was a miracle. Greg Hillenger had certainly hidden his tampering extremely well and had gone to great pains to cover his tracks, but Birkoff had managed to find the link and what Belinda had given him would certainly be the final nail in his coffin. Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together had not been easy but it was a good thing that he had, because Operations and Madeline were both vulnerable if Intel keep leaking to Oversight. It seemed strange to Birkoff that George would be keeping tabs on procedures in Section One when he had been debriefed on several occasions, however with a little further digging he’d come to establish a reason why he’d enlisted Hillenger’s expertise in doing so.

Oversight was the board and the only entity Operations had to answer to. It was all tied up in the Rising Dragons’ mission and Oversight’s perception as to how expediently Section was dealing with the triad. It was well known that George and Operations were rivals and there was little love lost between the two adversaries. Perhaps George was displeased that things were not moving as fast as he had hoped, but then again in his search Birkoff had also stumbled across a communiqué from George to Mr Jones which was very revealing as to his motives.

Birkoff knew that Operations and Madeline would be pleased with what he’d found. He had managed to solve the conundrum of the mole in Section … the ghost mole actually … as the person responsible was not physically present in Section but had still managed to pass on Intel surreptitiously.

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

An apprehensive Birkoff stood on the threshold of Madeline's office with the information firmly in his grasp. She was talking to Operations who was there as well, but when they saw him they motioned for him to enter.

“So Mr Birkoff I trust that you bring us good news.”

“I’ve made some progress.”

“Excellent.”

“We’re listening,” Operations stated pricking up his ears in the hope that the mystery would finally be solved.

“Please inform us to your findings. What did you discover?” Madeline instructed leaning on her desk.

Birkoff nervously began his briefing to Operations and Madeline on his results and gave them a status report on his findings. “I ran an inventory of all the possible people who may have been involved as a possible mole in passing Intel to George at Oversight and I checked out all the people on your list as well.”

“And?”

“Zero … Dr Johnson and Belinda came up clean and although both had tremendous access to Med Lab, there is nothing to indicate that they were involved.”

“Hobbs and Ames?”

“Likewise.”

“So you’re telling us that all of them came up clean?”

“Yes … I was also unable to find any surveillance cameras or listening devices in Med Lab.”

“I thought you said you had something for us … this is not what I hoped you would find.”

Before they could protest some more, Birkoff continued, “But I have now come into the possession a small mechanism that was discovered in Med Lab by Belinda. I have just run it through the system. It confirmed my suspicions and gives us concrete evidence of the perpetrator. Without Belinda finding the device I only had my gut feeling and supposition to go on. She was invaluable and is, I believe, totally loyal to the Section or else she would have disposed of the mechanism instead of handing it over to me,” he added glowingly for extra clarification.

Operations heard his statement about Belinda but chose not to respond to it, instead he stated, “Go on.”

“It was a listening device and camera that was attached to Michael’s bed in ICU. I ran a fingerprint on it and I found something very interesting.”

“Get to the point Birkoff.”

“I said I’d found no one suspicious but … there is one exception. The fingerprint showed up a match. I narrowed it down to one prime suspect.”

That information whetted their appetite. Operations was all ears. “Who?”

“A person no longer in Section.”

“Cut to the chase Birkoff … who is it?” Section’s leader insisted as if he had little time for the mundane facts he’d given them already. He wanted something concrete … and he wanted it now!

“Greg Hillenger,” Birkoff blurted out.

“Hillenger?”

This was certainly a surprise. Madeline took a seat behind her desk thinking that Hillenger had had little contact with medical or the Rising Dragons mission since he was transferred to Oversight just before Michael and Nikita arrived back from the retrieval Mission.

Operations looked at his second in command. “Didn’t George specifically ask for Greg to be transferred?”

“He did … and we were only too glad to see the back of him. Do you remember?” Madeline added.

“Yes … I do.” Operations stated with distain. He was livid at the underhand tactics George had used. He realised that his adversary must have planned this all along and was just waiting for his chance to discredit them by using Hillenger as his mole especially given his knowledge of Section.

Birkoff waited and listened to the exchange between the two leaders before continuing with his findings. “I raked the system, all of it and I cross-correlated every piece of data on Hillenger. Once I was able to solve the deeply hidden channel code that I discovered, it all made sense that he was the person responsible.”

“How is that possible when he is no longer at Section?”

“He was my main focus because he is the only person who could manage to infiltrate sensitive files about operatives and then pass this Intel on to George.”

“But why him? Why Hillenger?”

Ever pragmatic Madeline gave Operations the answer. “Several reasons Paul. Think about it … Greg has a number of personal motives for being George’s mole and he had the expertise to pull off such a coup. He has the computer knowledge on the same scale as Birkoff and he has ulterior reasons to find George’s proposition advantageous to seek retribution against us.”

What Madeline said made sense. They now had to come up with a plan to put a stop to it.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on test from …. Open Heart

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]



Replies:

• Hey Taurus -- Hannah, 12:07:35 08/12/12 Sun