Read Online The Media Candidate by Paul Dueweke - Free Book Online

Fin program; that is, he was given access to
whatever classified information he needed. With these tickets, he
learned much more about COPE applications such as reconnaissance,
intimidation, and burglary. But he knew there was more. He and
Jenner were principal members of the small team that took the most
advanced robots from contractors in Silicon Valley and developed
the first fully independent COPE espionage spider. They had worked
together for several years refining these operational soulless
agents without being certain exactly what the objective of the
robot was.
     
    * * *
     
    One day, the AD for Special Projects, the Asp as
he was known informally, called Sherwood and Jenner into his
office. The office was a many-walled setting comforted by windows
on two sides. The view was bucolic with grass, trees, and flowers
gracing some unseen summit. Potted plants abounded within, each
seeking a freedom it could sense only through glass. The decor was
upbeat with oils and watercolors.
    The Asp was silvered by a subtle wave ascending
from his forehead. He spoke articulately, but not pedantically. His
successful career had placed him in a position of extreme
importance, in fact, one of higher authority in some respects, than
his boss, the Director of COPE, and even her boss, the Secretary of
the Electorate. He was just shy of tall and dressed classic, but
comfortable. A dimple in his chin competed with formal ebony
eyes.
    He remained standing after seeing his guests
seated, then walked to the window behind his desk where he stood
with his hands behind his back. Shortly, he turned to face them.
“As you can see, I’m sidestepping the chain of command, but I need
this flexibility to cut through the bureaucracy when national
interests dictate. I’ve been tasked by a high authority to
discretely solve a problem that could affect the hard-won order of
our society.” The brightness of the window behind him washed out
his features, creating an almost ghost-like figure. Jenner squinted
and turned her head slightly to adjust to the scene. Sherwood
watched squarely, eyes wide open, allowing his pupils to adjust for
him.
    “I try to keep track of the efforts of my staff,
especially in such critical areas as Dorsal Fin. Frankly, I’ve been
more than a little dazzled by the work you two have done. I think
you’re a team—and a damned impressive one. I’ve called you two here
to invoke your help for the final step in the robot development—to
put teeth into the program, so to speak. What we need to do now
can’t be done by contractors because of its sensitive nature, and
the two of you together, I believe, can make it happen.”
    His left hand reached for and found, with no
visual help, the cord of the blinds above him. With a smooth pull,
the blinds descended silently behind him, eliminating the
background glare and returning the natural contrast to his anatomy.
He walked away from the window toward the two, past them, circled
around behind, and then back in front of them again where he pulled
another chair like theirs to a position between them and the walnut
overhang of his desk. Without a word, he sat back, being careful
that he not visually favor either of his guests. The darkened
window panel now lay squarely behind him, and his features leapt
forward in the intimacy of his new setting. Jenner changed her
position, first crossing her legs at their ankles, then at their
thighs. A quick glance toward Sherwood revealed a granite figure,
breathing shallowly, focused.
    “What I want done is not a job for wimps, nor
for anyone who can’t completely forget what they’ve been doing all
day when they go home. It’s a tough and extremely sensitive job,
and it must completely absorb you, and you must agree up front that
you’ll keep the strictest confidence about every phase of it. I
feel the security surrounding this program exceeds the highest
level thus far created by COPE. That’s why I need to extract this
special promise from