The 22nd Secret Read Online Free PDF Page B

e x plain e d in some w a yotherthanad e f e c t i on. W h a t nu m b e r c a nIr e a c h y ou a t ? ”
    Tom look e d up to s e eB e t t ystandingin t hedo o r c onn ec t i ngt h e ir o f fi c e s a n d sm i l i ng a s hepr e ten d e d to w r i t ed o wn thenumbe r . “ I ’ll k e e p in t ou c h ,”hes a id as h ehungup t hepho n e. “ W h a t ? ”He a sked B e t t y ,sm i l i n g .
    “ Th a t w a s ni c e , the w a y y o u h a nd l e d that. P oor k id m ust be s ca r e d to d e a t h .” B e t t y w a lked ov e r toala r ges a fe a nd pul l e d a n a t t ac h é c a seou t . “ I g u e ss we g ot s ome w o r k to d o ,”she s a id w a lk i ng b ac k to h e ro f fi ce .
    Tom pi c k e d up the phone a nd dial e d a n e x tension.
    “ This i s Tom W a lker.I n ee d to sp ea kwith Dir ec t o r J ohnson.”Th e rew a sab r iefp a use while T om l is t e n e d, “ Y e s , in t e r r upt h i m . I t’s v e r y i mport a nt.”Tom tapp e d h is desk with a p e n while hew a i t e d to be c o nn ec ted. “ Dir e c t o r J ohn s o n . This i s Tom W a lke r . I h a vejustb ec o m e a w a r eof aposs i ble d e fe c t i on ofa L osAl a mos s c ientist t o theChines e .”
    “ Oh r e a l l y ,I ca n ’t talk now,” J ohnson said, mask i nghis co n ce rnf r om t heo f fi c e f ullof Con g r e ss m e n in t hero om . “ You g otan a me ? ”
    W a lker a bsent l yshuf f ledsome p a p e rs. “ An inte r n a t L os A l a mo s , a y ou n g g irl n a m e d – ” hesm i led a s he shu f fl e dsome morep a p e r s , kno w inghe w a s build i ngthe s uspe n s e . “ H e reiti s . N a m e’ s P a t t y L a w r e n c e . ”
    Dir e c tor J ohnson shot upin h i s ch a ir. “ Come a g a i n ? W h a tw a s that nam e ? ”A fe w oft h e Con g r e ss m e n n e a r him tu r n e d to l ook a t h i m.
    “ P a t t y L a w re n c e. B ut t he rea l problem is H e n r yLo m a y a lso be involv e d.”
    J ohnson slow l y r e coi l e d in h i s ch a ir. H e b a r e l yk e pthis c omposu re . He c o u ldn’t b e l i e ve wh a t he wa s h ea ri n g .
    “ Iw a nt a c omp l e te r e porton th i s b yto m o r rowm o rnin g ,” h esaid. “ B ein m yo f fi c e a t8 a m sha r p.”
    “ Y e s, sir I ’ll w o rk a llnightif n ece ss a r y . I ’ll g e t e v e r y th i n gI ca n on th i s.”
    “Th a nk y ou. Good b y e .” B oth m e n hu n gu p .
    “ You g ot t h a t r e port on t he L a w r e n c ed e f ec t i on re a d y y e t? ”Tom a skedton g u e - in -c h ee k a s he s a t down in t he c h a ir justto t hele f t of B e t t y ’ s desk. H espe n t as mu c ht i me in th i s ch a ir a s in the onein h i s own o f fi ce , g oi n gov e r thepi l e s o f r e s e a r c h s h edid forh i m. The foun da t i onof e spion a gew a s d i g g i n g u p the d e tailed f a c ts andB e t t y w a s the b e st ope r a t i on a l assistant in t he C I A. H e h a n d - pick e d h e r f ifte e n y e a rs a g o to h a n d le the e ndless bure a u c r a t i c p a p e r wo r k a nd r e s e a r c h p a rt ofhis j ob. S he c ould d i gup som e th i n gon a n y o n eor a n y t hi n g . S hew a s the b e st at wh a t she did, b a r - none a l thou g hshe look e d l i kes h eshould behostingh e r o wn c ookingsh o w, g r e y i n g , sl i g ht l yplu m p a nd a l m ost alw a y s s m i l ing.
    B e t t y c losed the lid of t h e a t t ac h é ca s e , h a vi n g a d d e d the Br a dl e yt r a nsc r i p t she h a d just t y p e d. Ot h e r th a n the t ra nsc r ip t , the re ports a ndf i les h a d b ee nmethodi c a l l yg a t h e r e d o v e r the last f e w months in pr e p a r a t i onforth i s me e t i n g . I tw a s a sl a mdunk.
    “ Th e r e y ou g o ,”she s a id wi t h the s a me ton g u e - in - c h ee k tone. I t ’s a ll r e a d y .Ho w ’s th a t for fa st ? ”
    “ Not b a d. How a bout some dinn e r?O r d e r us up something f rom the c om m is s a r y . I ’m b u y i n g .”
    B e t t ystood, w a lked o v e rto t he c o a t r a c k , a nd