“Here comes the doctor now,” he said to his cohorts. “Did everything go alright?” he asked the Doctor.

  “Fine. No complications at this point,” he answered.

  “I’m glad to hear that. Then we can proceed with the transaction as planned.”

  “I’ll set up the viewer,” The Doctor said.

  Remembering what Jerry had told me a few weeks ago about the original documents in the files being substituted with worthless words on paper, eased my mind somewhat. The documents looked very real and drawings of the weapons were logical steps in the process. None of which had anything to do with the actual weapons being developed. The laugh would be on Heinman and the Russians, once their officials determined that the pieces didn’t fit.

  “I don’t want to be here longer than is necessary,” one of the Russians determined.

  “We’ll get right to the viewing then.” Heinman reacted, then taking the film from, a plastic container and inserting it in the projector.

  I could see the screen with my binoculars and hear the sound of clicking as each frame was individually put into place. I could also hear one of the Russians saying, “Next......Next......Next”, after having a few moments to read the contents. After thirty minutes, Heinman said that the last frame was on the screen now.

  “Excellent,” said one of the Russians, as I heard two distinctive clicks, like the sound of a briefcase opening.

  “You’ll find that all the money is there,” said another. “Do you wish to count it?”

  “That won’t be necessary, since I still have one last drop off to make to you. If you short changed me now, the last exchange will not take place,” Heinman said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “Of course......I understand.” was the answer. “We’ll make the exchange now if it is alright with you.”

  A few minutes later, the three Russians departed the house, got in their car and drove out of sight. As the door closed, Heinman and the doctor’s voice could be heard.

  “Just think, the next trip will be our last for this project, and I’ll be glad about it.” Heinman said.

  “I’ll be glad also, when all the business is completed. “It’s depressing to know that we murdered all those girls and had to keep them drugged for all that time.”

  “We’re doing this for one reason, and that’s money.” Heinman said abruptly. “A lot of money.”

  “Yes, we are doing it for the money. Dirty, filthy money. I really didn’t think I could do such a thing. This whole mess turns my stomach.”

  “But you did go through with it and there is just one more meeting to go.”

  “And I’ll go through with my part of it. I’m in too deep to stop now. It’ll be difficult to live with myself after all this.”

  “Think of the money and all you can do with it.”

  “Yes, I’m thinking of that. But there is one thing it won’t buy.”

  “There isn’t anything that money can’t buy, period,” Heinman said.

  “It can’t buy you self-respect, and I’ve lost that forever.”

  “You and your nurse can get away after this is over and then you’ll forget all about this.”

  The Doctor looked at him and in a resoundful way said, “She and you are alike......both of you have a built in resistance to the respect for human life. Mine is supposed to be the opposite, to save lives and to heal those who need it.”

  “You’re beginning to frighten me a little. Like I can’t trust you anymore,” Heinman said skeptically.

  “You don’t have to worry. Like I said, I’ve gone too far to do anything but continue. I was just telling you what my personal feelings are about this whole thing.”

  “Just so you don’t fall apart on me now. I need you to keep going for one more exchange.”

  “You know, Heinman......there is one big difference between us. I know what I am......you don’t have the slightest idea what you are. When I came into this thing, I didn’t know exactly what was happening until that first trip, when you told me to give those girls the fatal dosage of drugs. But you......you knew what was going to happen.”

  “That’s enough, Doctor. Just take care of the girls as you have in the past or I’ll......”

  “You’ll kill me. Is that what you were going to say, Heinman? It wouldn’t matter much anymore. But, I’ll do as you ask, because I’m just as much a good-for-nothing bastard as you.

  There was complete silence in the room now, as the Doctor opened the door and stepped outside walking slowly through the garden with his hands in his pockets and a bewildered look on his face.

  Three days later, they all departed for the airport with one of Jerry’s men with them. When they arrived in Los Angeles, two other agents took over and saw the same pattern taking place at the resort, with the Doctor and nurse arriving, probably to give them more drugs and then waiting for the final exodus to hell.

  The three of us returned to Los Angeles the same day. Knowing that we only had a week to finalize our plans, we started putting the pieces in place. With what had happened between Heinman and the Doctor, we felt more confident that skepticism was taking over. We suspected that Heinman would surely run to Mead, telling him what happened and that would light some fires. Getting Mead out in the open was our goal now and Heinman was doing that for us. But, I felt he needed a little nudge. I wanted to get him nervous enough to come out of hiding and may be that would delay everything for a little while.

  “When we start working on Mead, I want it to be laid back at first, and then let him have it with both barrels.” Jerry remarked.

  “I could put some of that pressure on him.” Bill interjected.

  “We don’t want him to go to pieces all at once,or he’ll close up shop.” I added. “What about the girls? It won’t be long before they’ll be heading out.” I said.

  Jerry thought a minute, then said, “Tighten the arm on Braxton. Tell him you want to see Jill and that you won’t take no for an answer. I’m pretty sure that he’ll have to check with Heinman before giving you an answer. It’ll start them thinking about what to do next, since he hadn’t had intervention before.

  “What if he refuses to let me see her?”

  “Go through with it anyhow and take her to dinner or something.”

  “Well......that should get things going. From what I hear, he isn’t used to people disobeying his instructions.”

  Glancing at Bill, Jerry asked, “Do you think you could have Heinman brought to your headquarters on some small thing for questioning?”

  “What kind of small thing?”

  “I don’t know......maybe a maritime violation. You’re into that. Make it a minor infraction of the law.”

  “I can do that, but I won’t be able to detain him long with trivial crap. His lawyer would probably be there before he knew what we wanted.”

  “Now here’s what I’d like you to do,” Jerry continued. “After he’s seated in your office......have one of your men barge in with a report that a young girl has been brought into the morgue and that she washed up on the beach.Then you two talk back and forth a little, excusing yourself a minute. Your man will go on about it and then he’ll say that the only thing he knows right now is that her name is Barbara. And that came from a bracelet she was wearing. Then lower the boom......by saying that the autopsy report would probably be ready in a day or two.”

  “That should make his ass hole pucker,” I said, with Bill agreeing.

  “I hope not too much,” Jerry remarked. “We don’t want it to sound odd to him in anyway. Right? So have your man include that he thinks it’s just a drowning victim, because everyone on the beach was warned about rip tides that day. After that, we’ll sit back and see what our little rabbit does and how fast he runs.”

  Bill wanted to know, “When do you want me to bring him in?”

  “Let’s give Harry time to see Jill first. Then you can do your thing after that.”

  “You’ll let me know a little ahead of time so I can get set up, right?”

  “Yeah. We’ll get together before that and set it all up.”

  “I’ll get started with my thing, tomorrow night.” I said. “I don’t think I’ll start it till about six o’clock. We’ll see what happens after that.”

  “Be careful, Harry. Heinman is a greedy son-of-a-bitch and would stop at nothing to finish this deal and get his money,” Jerry said instructively.

  “Don’t worry, I will.”

  Late the next afternoon, I walked into Braxton’s office and asked to see Jill, just like we planned. He said he had no objections, but would have to check with Heinman first. Just like we expected him to do and actually wanted. Picking up the phone, he dialed Heinman’s office, but found out that he had left for the day and wouldn’t be in till morning. I told Braxton that I wanted to see her that evening and if Heinman had any objections, he could take it up with me the next day. Braxton seemed a little upset at my arrogance, but said he couldn’t stop me if that is what I wanted to do. He mentioned that he thought I should have the right to see her. Braxton was suspicious of what was going on, but I didn’t think he actually knew and was left in the dark on many things.

  Picking up Jill at the resort, we drove to a little restaurant along the coast. Ordering a drink and dinner, we sat talking, but she was still pretty much in and out of a daze. Although she knew where she was, she didn’t react to the conversation as much as I had hoped. After dinner, we went to my apartment. When I opened the door, she hesitated for a moment, then went inside. Looking around the room, she walked to the couch and sat down. The tears ran down her checks as she began to cry with deep sobs. I knew it was from the drugs. Putting my arms around her in a comforting way, she leaned her head on my shoulder and in a few minutes, she raised up.

  “I’m sorry, Harry. I don’t know what is happening to me lately. Half the time I don’t know where I am and can’t remember where I’ve been or what I did. I just wake up and don’t know what happened to the time. Just being with you makes me feel secure from all the things that put fear in me.”

  “Everything is going to be alright. Nothing is going to hurt you as long as I’m around.” I said reassuringly.

  “I never used to be like this. Maybe I’m losing my mind or something. It’s very frightening.”

  “You’re not losing your mind. Could be you’re just working too hard lately.”

  All I could do at this point was comfort her and try to keep her mind on other things. She leaned over and kissed me on the lips very gently and I could feel the tension leaving her as she leaned against my shoulder again. Soon, she was asleep and I realized that the drugs were taking their toll again. I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the bedroom, undressed her and pulled the sheets over her. I lay there beside her, just looking at her face and wondering what thoughts were going through her mind. It had to be horrifying for her, I thought. I fell asleep and woke the next morning as the bright sun peered through the window. She was still asleep and as far as I was concerned, that was probably good for her at this time. The sheet had slipped down to her waist. As I was glancing at her, I noticed something was different. As I looked closer, I saw a scar under her breast. Gently, I turned her over on her back so I could see the other breast more clearly. There was an incision under each one about three inches long. Sitting up abruptly and looking straight at the wall across the room in complete astonishment, I couldn’t believe what my brain was trying to tell me. Looking at the incision marks again, I noticed that they were not completely healed. I got to my feet and made my way to the living room, picked up the phone and dialed Bill. Keeping my voice low, so not to wake Jill, I asked him if he could meet me with the autopsy reports of the two models. We set up the meeting for three o’clock that afternoon, in the park.

  Jill woke a short time later, got dressed and wandered into the living room. I had gotten dressed a short time before and was waiting to take her hack to the resort. I made an excuse that Heinman was planning some sort of work for me and needed me at his office.By her reaction, after I said I’d drop her off at the resort, I could tell she didn’t want to return. She really didn’t say anything, but I could sense it. As I stopped the car at the cottage, and letting her out, one of the guards came to the driver’s window and said that Heinman wanted to see me in his office right away.

  The plan must have been working, because when I walked into his office, he was pacing the floor.

  He stopped pacing and looked at me in an angry sort of way. “Mr. Silver, I was told that you went to the resort and picked up one of the models......Jill, I think her name is, against my instructions.”

  “I didn’t know of any such instructions,” I said.

  “Mr. Braxton called me this morning and said that you had asked him, but he would have to check with me first. Isn’t that what he told you?”

  “Well......yes. But I didn’t think anyone would mind me having a date with one of the girls.”

  “My instructions were very clear. Get permission. Then, before I could give you an answer, you had already picked her up and were gone.”

  “I really don’t know what to tell you......so I dated one of the girls. It isn’t a big deal.”

  “Well, I know what to tell you, Mr. Silver. I don’t want the models taken out by anyone, especially by employees. And besides, I want them fresh and alert for their jobs.”

  “She didn’t look or seem very alert when I picked her up.” I said.

  “All of them are tired from the France trip.” he barked.

  “When will I be able to see her again?” trying to get a reaction from him.

  “She’ll be leaving in a few days for a cruise and when she returns, she’s all yours.

  “Fair enough.”

  “This makes the second time I had to talk to you,Mr.Silver. Usually, I talk to an employee only once before letting him go. But, I’m giving you one more chance.”

  “I appreciate that, Mr, Heinman,” I said, with a bit of amusement in my sub-conscious. Then thinking to myself, who the hell cares, I’m going to get you......you no good bastard.

  “That will be all, Mr. Silver,” he said as he turned and walked out of the office, leaving me standing there. I left right behind him and headed outside. Getting into my car, I noticed two of Heinman’s men in a dark green sedan parked across the street. As I drove out of the parking lot, and looked into the rear view mirror, I saw them pull from the curb. Now, I thought, I’d see if my driving abilities were up to par, in losing someone on my tail. I started weaving in and out of traffic, but they stuck with me several car lengths back. Since it was a crowded section of highway, I did the next best thing. I turned off the ramp and onto a side street. There was a car wash just a few buildings from the corner and as luck would have it, there were no cars waiting to enter. As I turned off the engine at the rear of the car wash, I saw them scoot by, driving very fast. I paid the lady at the cashiers window and as my car came glistening through the air jets, I climbed in and drove to the park without the escort of those two jerks.

  Spotting Bill, I walked over to the bench where he was sitting. He held a bag of bird food in one hand.

  “Care to feed the pigeons,” he remarked.

  “I’ve been feeding a few today already,” I said with a smile.

  “Anyone we know?”

  “Just a couple of Heinman’s boys, that I gave the slip to.”

  “Well......they say that if you feed pigeons enough, they’ll walk right up to you. Some you can even catch when they get close enough.”

  “I intend to feed them for a few more days and then see just how friendly they really are.”

  “I have the reports of the autopsy for the girls. Is there something we missed that is important or what?”

  “No......we didn’t miss it......we just didn’t pay attention to what we read, that’s all.”

  I scanned the pages and stopped when I came to the sixth paragraph. Barbara’s report and paragraph eight on the other girls. I circled them in pencil and handed them back to Bill.

  “See those two paragraphs?”

  Nodding his head, he said, “Yeah. So what? What’s the connection?”

  “Jill has the very same two scars, at the same place, except hers are not quite healed yet.”

  “I didn’t pay any attention to it before because I thought they were some kind of female uplifting for their breasts. I heard that a lot of models and movie stars do that,” he said.

  “I thought so too, until I saw Jill’s. She didn’t need an uplift and hers were rescent.”

  “Then what are the scars from?”

  “I have the feeling that’s how they got the film overseas without being detected. The Doctor implanted them in the girls and then removed the plastic cases in Switzerland. I’m going to take Jill to a physician to be sure. He can make a few tests to see if there are any traces of plastic.

  “You know......it would only take minor surgery to do that. I was just thinking......that’s why they went on the cruises after the Washington trip. To let them heal before going overseas.”

  “They could check all they wanted to at the airports and not find anything. It’s really an ingenious way to do it. Except, the girls didn’t really know much about it since they were drugged most of the time. At least we know how......now we’ve got to put a stop to this crap.”

  “We’re going to do it, Harry. We will!”

  “By the way, I think I have Heinman on my ass again, and I don’t know how that’s going to turn out. Jerry has some of his men covering Heinman’s every move now and Mead’s also. If anything breaks, we’ll be in touch.

  “Do you want me to keep Heinman’s men off you?”

  “No. Not just yet, anyway. At least I don’t think so. No, you’d better let things as they are for now.”

  “O.K. It’s your neck. Be careful, Harry.”

  As I walked through the park, I couldn’t help but notice how peaceful it was. People just taking their time wondering slowly from one path to another, and seemingly away from the whole mess of the big city life. Tomorrow, it would start again for me.I hoped for the end to this charade.