CHAPTER 25 JULY                                                       ‘It's the Head's Conference,’ said Marylin. ‘Gets like that this time every year. Sprouts fangs and grows fur on his face.’          Willie Tomasco had just lost his temper - demanding action and reports finished on time.          Allan was given a plastic folder containing lists - lists of speeches, lists of visitations, lists of reports. It also had a map of the complex, the conference program and brochures about local tourist attractions. He studied the list of visitors and found Rosa's name and Halpern's too. There were even photographs. Rosa's picture was about as flattering as a photo-booth passport snap. He suspected that that was exactly what it was.          The visitors arrived, flags fluttered, the complex was alive with golf-course buggies and then everything went flat. The visitors disappeared into the Shower Tower and absolutely nothing happened. No tours of inspection, no pompous speeches, no grillings by technical experts. They stood about and waited. Huddles formed to exchange exaggerated stories of wish fulfilment.          ‘Did you hear about the visit to the Halvorne? The machine went berserk and failed to do its stuff. Olafsen has egg all over his face.’          ‘Sam Oronsay in Documentation was torn to shreds. He'll never be the same again.’          Then, the following day, little groups of bored visitors began to trail round behind liveried guides with clip-boards. One or two asked questions but Allan got the impression they didn't want to hear the answers.          On the second day, Rosa and Halpern came into the department as members of a dejected bunch of visitors. Rosa lifted her hand in silent salutation when she saw Allan. Willie was there sweating profusely in his best suit and trying to talk them through the work of his department. No one asked any serious questions. There was some complaint about the standard of the documentation but that turned out to be another department's problem. One of the visitors, a thin young man in an Italian suit spent some time in the Games suite.          Later Willie came back alone and had a hurried and bad tempered conversation with some of the section heads. He warned them that someone was coming who would ask them about ( Allan did not catch the word) and they should have (something) ready. Still later word came that the second visiting group had been delayed by an hour. The group didn't come at all but Rosa did. She wandered back into the lab alone and found Allan typing half-heartedly at the keys of his terminal.          ‘Now don't work too hard,’ she said.          ‘Hello Rosa. It's been a hell of a boring day.’          ‘You should talk.’          She pulled a brown envelope out of her crocodile handbag and said, ‘Your sister Jean gave me this for you.’          He put it in his pocket.          ‘Jean doesn't write letters,’ he said.          Rosa said she would phone him that evening after the visits were over. Perhaps they could have a meal or a coffee.          ‘I'd better warn you though,’ she said in a low voice. ‘We may not be alone. I can't get rid of Wensley. He's sticking to me like a leach. He's a changed man.’          And at that moment Halpern put his head round the door and saw them. He shook Allan's hand and said how glad he was to see him, and why wasn't he with Olafsen's team, and he was sorry to hear that, and so how was he getting on with Willie Tomasco's boys. The bounce was gone. The superior executive was gone and in its place was a man self-consciously acting the part. Several times he looked about anxiously without listening to the answers to his stock questions as if he was waiting for his name to be called. Then the clip-board person arrived and took them both away.          ‘Have you ever seen such a God-awful waste of time?’ said Jake. ‘I could have done something important.’          Marylin said, ‘Like reaching the fifth dimension in the Alternative Reality Game?’                            *      *      *      *      *          He walked round to the lake, found a bench under a plain tree and opened the brown envelop.          Dear Allan, I hope you are well. Uncle Roddy has taken a turn for the worse and was admitted to the Royal on Wednesday with flu and suspected pneumonia. They say he will probably be ok but he looks and sounds very bad. I am well enough although I find it difficult to get away to visit Roddy in the evenings and do my marking as well. He is very understanding and does not expect me to go in every evening.          I had a visitor the other day who was asking for you. She was a Mrs Sinclair. She said that you did not know her but you had once saved her son from a cliff on some mountain and she wrote to you at the time. Perhaps you remember. Anyway the reason for her visit was to ask me to send you a message from her brother - an Inspector Chalmers. It seems that he died tragically three or four months ago but she says that just before he died he was anxious to get in touch with you. She would have got in touch earlier but did not know how to until recently when she came across your name and this address in some papers of his. She said that her brother was very anxious to tell you that there was no way he could now help you and that you should (quote) look after yourself and get out of it as fast as you can (end quote). I hope this makes sense to you. It makes no sense to me at all. Mrs Sinclair was a bit hysterical. She was crying a lot about her brother. There is another bit of the message from her brother (quote) it is everywhere and it goes right to the top everywhere (end quote). That's exactly what she said. She didn't know what IT was. I hope you understand. She said it was very important. She was very insistent that I should not write to you directly but find some way of getting the message to you secretly. I don't understand what it is all about but it sounds very alarming. I hope you haven't been getting into something you shouldn't. It would kill your uncle if you got into trouble or there was any scandal. I intend to go and see your Rosa Telman woman and see if she knows a way I can get this to you other than by post. I hope it is worth it because I really haven't the time for all this jookery-pokery.          I think you should try to get back here to see your uncle before it is too late.          Love Jean                   *      *      *      *      *          He was staring at the trees across the lake and was only vaguely aware that someone had sat down on the bench beside him.          ‘Not bad news I hope.’          It was Halpern. He had one leg crossed over the other, ankle on the knee, and one arm stretched along the back of the bench.          Allan shrugged. ‘My uncle is ill. But he's very old. It's what you would expect.’          ‘Was he close?’          ‘Yes. He brought us up when my mother died. Like a father really. My real father died before I was born.’          ‘I'm sorry. Will you go back?’          ‘I'd like to but there is so much to be done here. And not much time left.’          ‘What is it that is so important?’ Halpern was smiling like an indulgent uncle.          Allan looked at him conscious of the tears that were trying to form. Did Halpern know? Did he suspect?          ‘Just something. It's important to me,’ he said and looked again at the trees.          ‘A girl friend?’          Allan thought for a while and then said, ‘Yes. There is a girl involved.’          ‘This is a nice spot,’ said Halpern. He was looking at the trees too. ‘Amazing what they can do in the middle of a desert isn't it?’ After a pause he said, ‘I was intending to ask you a favour.’          ‘I haven't been able to get at the Labyrinth op-system yet. They've been keeping me away from it - so far.’          Halpern waved a hand dismissively. ‘It doesn't matter. That problem has been overtaken anyway. I've got something else in mind..... Rosa tells me that you've been roaming in the mountains.’          ‘Yes. Weekends. I couldn't exist without a break in the hills every now and then.’          ‘Quite so. What's it like? How well do you know the area?’          ‘I know little bits and there are maps, not very good ones, but I get by. It's very dry. The biggest problem is getting enough water - and shade.’ He gave a little sardonic snort. ‘Not problems I had much experience of in Scotland.’          ‘How far is the border?’          ‘From here? Maybe fifty miles. A bit more in some places. Chile is only about a hundred miles wide at the most.’          ‘And about two thousand miles long. Yes. An amazing country isn't it? Tell me. If you had to, could you find your way over the border?’          ‘No bother. There are tracks.’          ‘How hard would it be if you were trying to avoid being seen?’          Allan looked at Halpern for a long time before he replied. The man was still staring out across the water.          ‘It could be done but it would be much harder. You would need to go high and on foot and that means carrying water. Quite a lot of water.’          Halpern at last looked round. His gaze was very level and direct. He said, ‘Would you be willing to take someone across the border for me?’ He added ‘I'd pay you well.’          Allan puffed air between his lips like a deflating balloon. ‘Who is this somebody? You?’          Halpern looked away. The fingers of the hand on the back of the bench were drumming gently on the wooden spar.          ‘Would you do it Allan?’          ‘What's your game Halpern. Planning to do a disappearing act?’          ‘Something like that.’          ‘Have they rumbled you? Are they going to do the same to you as they did to John Seaton.’          Halpern looked round at him very sharply.          ‘You know a lot more than you've been letting on. You could be in danger yourself Allan.’          ‘Yes,’ said Allan. ‘I know that.’          ‘Then we are in the same boat. Why not join forces?’ said Halpern.          ‘What's in it for me?’ said Allan.          ‘Fifty thousand US dollars,’ said Halpern slowly.          ‘That's just about one year's salary,’ said Allan. ‘If I take you over the border I have effectively resigned. Do you think that's a bargain?’          ‘It is if it also saves your neck,’ said Halpern. ‘One hundred thousand. That's as far as I can go.’          ‘Cash?’          ‘Used notes.’          ‘I'll think about it.’          A helicopter swung low overhead towards the local landing pad.          ‘Don't think too long,’ said Halpern when the noise had abated. ‘If you agree then we have to act quickly. In three days time we are due to go to the ranch at El Paso for another riding lesson. They do it every year. This time I am going to fall off my horse and disappear, missing presumed dead.’          ‘And I am supposed to be waiting somewhere nearby to collect the dead man and take him over the border.’          ‘You've got it,’ said Halpern.          The sun was striking through a gap in the foliage above. He shaded his eyes.          ‘When would I get paid?’          ‘I'd bring it with me. A hundred grand is not a big bundle if the denominations are high.’          ‘Where are you heading? Paraguay or Argentina?’          ‘Argentina I thought.’          Allan shuffled sideways into a more shady patch.          ‘There's one thing I have want to know. Did you know about Jack Thornley?’          Halpern sighed.          ‘I suspected that you were involved with him. He was very silly. I learned about it afterwards. If I had know before hand I would have tried to prevent it. I was just told there was a security leak somewhere on site and I had to give approval for counter measures. I didn't know what kind of leak it was. Once the person concerned is identified the evidence is handed over to the legal department and I expected to be consulted about legal action to be taken in the local courts. Next thing Jack was dead and I was told to forget about it.’          ‘And you did.’          ‘What was the point of making a fuss after the event?’          ‘None of course,’ said Allan allowing a hint of sarcasm to get into his voice. ‘And making a fuss might have drawn attention to your own dabblings in the Tokyo stock exchange.’          For the first time Halpern was startled. His coolness gone for a moment.          ‘What ... how do you ... ?’          ‘I'm not the only one who knows. I was told about your share dealings by someone else.’          ‘Who are you talking about? Did Dianne ...’          Allan shook his head. ‘No, not Dianne and that's all I'm telling you. I just know you're living on borrowed time which is why I'm taking your plan about going over the border seriously.’          Halpern was now sitting straight with his hands restless on his knees.          He said ‘Will you do it?’          ‘Probably.’          ‘When can you let me know?’          ‘Soon. I have to talk to someone first.’          Halpern's hand went to his inside wallet pocket and pulled out what looked like a gold topped pen.          ‘I've got two of these,’ he said. ‘I'll lend this one to you.’ He handed it to Allan.          ‘What is it?’          ‘It's for debugging a room. Just press here ...’ He demonstrated. ‘... and then sweep with the pen. If there is a bug nearby the red light on the cap comes on. I wouldn't like you to be discussing my plan with someone where you could be overheard.’          Allan took the gadget and looked at it.          ‘How do I know this isn't a bug itself.’          ‘You don't. But it's not hidden. You can use it to sweep a room and then put it away somewhere out of range. Don't lose it. It was expensive.’          After a long pause Halpern said, ‘Well I suppose I must be going. When will I hear from you?’          ‘Soon.’ Allan turned the pen-debugger in his hands.          Halpern was talking to the trees across the water. ‘I would have suggested that you come to my room in the conference centre but you would need to show your id-card to the security guard on the door. It's probably best if we are not seen together too much.’ He thought for a moment. ‘There's a swimming pool in the basement which has free access. I'll go down there at midnight for a dip. I usually do. We could meet there.’          ‘I might not make it tonight.’          ‘I'll go each night until you come.’          ‘What is the number of your room - just in case.’          ‘802’          Allan put the debugger in his pocket.