Nano Day end of day 6 - Working Title: Cantata

[joegoda]

I have to get up at 6 am. UGH.

"Sarah, get Director Hamilton's secretary, please."

"Very good, Herbert."

Wells heard the sounds a number connecting, and then "Director Hamilton's office."

"This is the office of Herbert Wells, Quality Assurance Administrator." Sarah's voice was butter soft this morning. "He is wishing to speak to Director Hamilton. Is he available?"

"I'm sorry, but the Director is in a meeting at the moment. What is this in reference to?"

"Director Hamilton is supposed to have a luncheon with Administrator Wells. We are calling to confirm this."

Wells smiled as he could imagine the woman on the other end trying to figure out who had the upper hand in the conversation. There wasn't an office administrator alive that could out intimidate Sarah.

"Let's see," the voice on the other end said. The sound of pages being flipped was audible, though Wells knew that schedules were kept in the computer. It was an obvious stall tactic.

Sarah cut in, "Dear, the schedule should be right in front of you on the screen. We haven't used an appointment book in... Oh, I don't know how long."

A quiet harrumph could be heard on the other side, and the sound of pages being turned stopped. When the voice came back, it was colder, more professional than before.

"There is a lunch scheduled with H. Wells at 12:30. Is this the appointment you were looking for?"

"Yes it is. Thank you." Sarah disconnected the call seconds before the Hamilton's secretary did.

"Sarah?" Wells asked.

"Yes?"

"Are you... feeling all right?" Wells asked.

"I am operating perfectly, Herbert. There are times when strategy is more important than diplomacy. I did not want to play from a weak position, therefore, I didn't."

"Ah." Wells was still smiling. "There may come a time, Sarah, when I may have to start to refer to you in human terms."

"That would be perfectly all right, Herbert. I am, however, still a machine, and such references would be pointless."

"True." Herbert placed the folder with the documents to be examined on the table. "Did you find any more correlations between the Giannis and the shadows? Kaylee and the Underground? White slavery?"

"What is the password, Herbert?"

"Cantata"

"Thank you, Herbert. Password verified." Sarah paused briefly while scanning its memory. "There have been three hundred cases of suspected enslavements so far this year. In the past seven years, there have been eighteen hundred, both male and female, with the females far out weighing the males."

"Kaylee Gianni has only a minor connection to the reports, and that connection started in the year 2001. She began to advocate for investigation from the local authorities in that year. In the years that followed, she had prompted investigation from higher and higher sources. She has filed appeals with the world court, and spoke her case before the NATO council in November of 2003. She has never been arrested, and there are the indications that she was working with the Yugoslavian Underground have turned out to be groundless. She appears to be uninvolved in any form of undercover activity."

"Laura Gianni has connection with the Yugoslavian Underground. She is a major financial supporter of them, in the areas of refugee relief. She does nothing to try to hide this fact, and has been quoted as saying that the Yugoslavian Underground does only good works, assisting refugees and victims of the Kosovo conflict. Other than that, there are no connections. Laura Gianni has also traveled with her daughter when Kaylee made her appeals."

"In short, there appears to be no correlation between the Giannis and any operation the Shadows may be planning. There is nothing to substantiate."

"Curious." Wells said. "Sarah, any more background on Director Hamilton?"

"There is a bit, but it is very weak. In April 1997, he was moved to post in Rijeka, Croatia. He spent three years there as part of the Shadow forces, supporting the NATO peacekeeping initiative. He had thirty-two unconfirmed takedowns. In April 2000, he was moved to Zagreb, the capital. He worked at the United States Embassy there, guarding visiting officiates."

In June 2001, he was promoted to lead operations engineer..."

"Sarah," Wells interrupted, "didn't you tell me that he was a sniper for the three years prior to his promotion?"

"Yes I did. That information came from the most current file on him. As I pulled older files, I noticed the discrepancy; crosschecked the files on the Shadow Forces and the US Embassy in Zagreb. For some reason, and there is no mention of why it was done, his time at the Embassy was removed and the time line concatenated."

"Interesting." Wells mused. "Sarah, is there any pertinent data linking Hamilton to the Giannis?"

"None, Herbert. There are no records indicating any meeting between Hamilton and either of the Giannis. Geographically, the closest he was to any of them was..."

"I'll take your word on it. Thank you, Sarah. Do let me know if you find anything else, please?"

"Very good, Herbert. Same password?"

"Yes, please."

Wells turned to the folder on his table and opened it to the first document. He sighed and looked at his watch. It showed to be just past 7:30 am. It was going to be a long morning.