Kline paused at the front door. Operation Yamato’s success hung in the balance. Command had analyzed the mission notes Henry had provided. They had worked out a scenario that would be difficult for the Union or the local authorities to trace, but it meant gaining access to the spacecraft itself. He pounded on the door. A light came on. Footsteps padded toward the entryway.
“It’s me.”
Henry opened the door and finished tying his robe. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you get what you wanted?”
“Change of plans. Take me to your office.”
“W–what?”
“Your office, Henry.”
His gaping mouth clamped shut. “No. No, I can’t! That wasn’t part of the deal. I got you the reports! It launches in less than two days!”
“Which is why we can’t wait.”
“If we’re caught–”
Kline slapped a manila folder against Henry’s chest and pushed past him into the entryway. “If we don’t do something now we’re going to have three dead astronauts and pieces of spacecraft all over Florida.”
Henry opened the folder. Three fraudulent photographs of his supervisor and a “top secret” report spilled onto the floor. The phony documents were convincing. He knelt and shuffled through them. “What’s this? Is that Kevin?”
“He’s working for the Russians.”
“That’s impossible. He goes to my church! I know him!”
“You know who he wants you to know. We need more evidence—access to his personal files, his workstation. Those astronauts could die. I need access to the Kennedy Space Center now!”
Kline grabbed the car keys and tossed them to Henry.
“You don’t know what you’re asking. I stole those documents for you. Now you want me to take you to a maximum security area? This is insane! I need some kind of protection. I won’t do this without guarantees!”
“Taken care of.” Kline lifted a sealed envelope with Henry’s name scrawled across it.
Henry stared at the envelope for a long moment. When he finally snapped out of his revere, he swallowed hard. “I’ll get changed.”
