A Tortuous Trail

By Robert Fisher

Among the most sinister aspects of WW11 was the rush by all parties to develop chemical and biological weapons. Towards the end of the Pacific War, the American spy organization, the OSS( Office of Strategic Services) discovered a Japanese laboratory located in a remote part of China involved in the development of such weapons. Hideously they were using locals as human guinea pigs in their search for new weapons and had succeeded in developing the most virulent and the fastest acting biological weapon ever known.

As the war was drawing to a close the American President feared Japan may use this weapon to kill Millions of Americans in a last ditch effort to win the war. He ordered an elite force to capture this laboratory and secure this development. The elite force did capture the laboratory but to the horror of the President, reported the formula was no longer there. It had been stolen.

The President mandated that the best possible man be sent to find the formula. It was recognized by his War Cabinet the skills necessary for such a mission were very rare and the candidate would be faced with lethal danger at every twist and turn of this trail. His chances of surviving this mission were slim. Nevertheless it had to be attempted.

The candidate would encounter a tortuous trail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728333656

Robert Fisher

Robert Fisher taught for over twenty years in schools in the UK, Africa and Hong Kong before becoming professor of Education at Brunel University. He has published over thirty books on education.

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© 2019 Robert Fisher. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  11/01/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3366-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3365-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019917265

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Four

Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Seven

Chapter Thirty Eight

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CHAPTER ONE

Late in 1944, New York’s weather was typical for the time of year – cold and blustery. People hustled along the streets on their way to work with upturned overcoat collars. Inside one office in a well known skyscraper the heat had been set at a pleasant sixty-seven degrees. The people sitting contentedly around the long table for the daily briefing had no inkling they would soon lose their sense of ease and instead become very uncomfortably hot. It was not until the meeting reached item three on the agenda that the explosion erupted.

A rumor from China.

Chinese in North China said to be dying from a mysterious illness. Mongolian newspapers give no details on the cause. No other publications carry information on this rumor.

What the bloody hell is this? Is this all we can discover concerning this matter? Three lines! Don’t we have people out there who should be giving us a helluva more detail on this? roared the man at the head of the table.

The nickname, ‘Wild Bill’, was an accurate description of this man given to him due to his audacious, sometimes reckless actions and his famous short temper. He was a powerfully built big man and he now stood erect with his neck muscles straining at his shirt collar and his face becoming decidedly tinged with red. Many of the others around the table were visibly trembling. It was as though the building was undergoing an earthquake.

He continued to glare at them one by one waiting for a response. Finally one member of his staff had the courage to answer.

We don’t have people anywhere close to that area, Sir. Our nearest assets are in Peking, that’s several hundred miles away. And as this initial report was so vague we didn’t rate it as a priority. We have requested Peking to ascertain all possible further information.

The man continued to glare at his subordinates in a menacing fashion then his voice dropped to low whisper.

Then let’s make it a priority, shall we? he hissed as his face turned a deeper red.

Everyone recognized that tone and instantly knew William J Donovan was not merely annoyed, he was really really angry.

Yes Sir! chorused the group.

William J Donovan was the head of OSS or Office of Strategic Services, which was the rather grandiose name given to America’s overseas spy operations. It was formed in June 1942 under the orders of President Roosevelt. It was no gentleman’s club. Given the imperative nature of their onerous mission few questioned the methods they employed. Roosevelt had become seriously concerned over the lack of coordinated American intelligence. On more than one occasion he had received conflicting reports from various Government departments, each with a finger in the espionage pie. He realized this situation must be corrected if America was to win the war. Therefore he had sought the advice of his friend, William Stephenson, head of British Intelligence in the western hemisphere. British Intelligence was coordinated under a group called SOE; Special Operations Executive. The OSS was loosely patterned after the British SOE, another organization that was no gentleman’s club.

The OSS became known for its ‘no holds barred’ approach to intelligence gathering. It was determined to achieve its purpose of protecting America, no matter how this was accomplished. This was the antithesis of the reason for disbanding a much earlier spy decoding operation operated by the State Department, named MI-8, and run by Herbert Yardley. It was closed in 1929 by Secretary of State Henry Stimson because he considered its activities to be undiplomatic. He used the well known phrase, now often derisively repeated by members of the OSS, - ‘Gentlemen don’t read each other’s mail’.

The only person openly questioning Donovan’s methods was the head of the FBI. However the FBI’s authority only extended within America and not to international territories therefore his criticism went unheeded. Also Donovan was held in high regard by many due to his exemplary military service. He was the only soldier to have received all four of America’s highest awards; the Medal of Honor; the Distinguished Service Cross; the Distinguished Service Medal; and the National Security Medal. He was also the recipient of the Silver Star and the Purple Heart as well as decorations from a number of other nations.

Most senior Government Officials had readily spotted the lack of empathy between those two organizations created by the animosity existing between the heads of both agencies and they tended to sympathize with Donovan. This was enhanced by the OSS being given great credit for the importance of the intelligence it had gathered on German positions prior to the much heralded successful invasion of Europe earlier that year. Donovan was a hero, much to the chagrin of the head of the FBI.

Now as he again read item three on the agenda his foreboding feeling about it increased. He was worried that no one else had the same gut reaction as he. Yet he was convinced he had a right to be concerned. Something deep inside him was telling him this was serious – terribly serious. Manchuria had been the first part of China to be occupied by the Japanese back in1931 when they set up the puppet state of Manchukuo. And now Japan brutally controlled most of China. Perhaps the most heinous act by Japan took place in December1937 and was still referred to as the rape of Nanking. Japanese troops had invaded Nanking, the then capital of China, and had massacred over three hundred thousand Chinese, raping the women before killing them.

The war against Japan, while still raging in the Pacific, was now turning in America’s favor. Donovan was privy to the analyses taking place of the ways to finally end this war which had been started by the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Military High Command was convinced Japan would never willingly surrender. The Imperial Japanese Army would consider this a betrayal of their revered Emperor. Therefore, the High Command was preparing contingency plans for an invasion of the Japanese mainland. The main deterrent to such plans was the known fanaticism of the Japanese military and of the Japanese people themselves. The United States Army had calculated that such an invasion could lead to as many as two million American deaths.

Donovan recognized it was probably his knowledge of a possible all out invasion of Japan that made him hyper-sensitive to anything happening in any Japanese controlled territory such as Manchuria. This was probably why he was so insistent on finding out much more on the rumor of mysterious deaths emanating from there.

Shortly after Donovan’s order to give greater impetus to uncovering the rumored situation in China, OSS began seriously investigating by sending several of their Chinese agents to Northern Manchuria. It took considerable time and patience to ultimately identify Harbin as the center of the rumors, and an agent was sent there to conduct an investigation.

The local population was very wary of strangers, knowing the Japanese brutal manner of dealing with people who talked too much. Consequently, they were disinclined to offer information. However, as the numbers of deaths increased, fear for their own lives overcame reticence to discuss this matter. Yet they would only talk in clandestine meetings which took an agonizing time to plan and convene. But bit by bit the OSS agent pieced together information on the mystery.

All rumors revolved around an old lumber mill on the outskirts of Harbin. It did not take too long to find out this facility was no longer in the lumber business. It had been converted into something entirely different. Something deadly! The agent bribed a young woman of uncertain virtue to solicit sex with a homesick young Japanese man who worked there. From this source he learned the Japanese called this facility by the innocuous name, ‘nana-san-ichi Butai’ - Unit 731.

At OSS Headquarters, the piecemeal reports were creating heightened anxiety as Donovan’s staff was becoming increasingly convinced their boss had been right all along and something terrible was taking place. An instruction was sent to Peking to stop at nothing to find out the truth. This message was forwarded to the agent in Harbin. He used the young lady he had bribed to set up another meeting at her home with the now besotted young Japanese worker. The young man was drugged then severely interrogated for several hours. From this the agent learned the old lumber mill was now a chemical and biological laboratory. This news did not shock OSS headquarters as it was well known virtually every major power was experimenting with such things. Ever since the Germans used chlorine gas to kill thousands of Allied soldiers at Ypres during the First World War, combatants were rushing to develop their own versions of such terrible weapons.

The gathered information on Unit 731 was reported at a regular meeting of the President’s War Cabinet which included the Director of the FBI. The thought of this Japanese weapons laboratory was still on his mind when some time later he was visiting his office in Los Angeles, run by an old friend Special Agent Tom Chambers.

Tom, am I correct in recalling you have an agent fluent in Japanese?

That’s right, Sir. He’s the one you just approved to be promoted to Special Agent for his outstanding work in rooting out the Hawaiian spy network. His name is Jonathan Smith.

Yes, yes, I remember now. He is a remarkable young man. You said he’s probably the best agent you have ever come across.

"He is very special. I’ve never seen anyone even close to his capabilities."

Hmm. Interesting. By chance does he have any knowledge of chemical or biological weapons?

Tom Chambers had known his boss for many years and immediately understood this was not an idle question.

Not that I know of but he is presently attending Princeton University and someone we both know, Professor Lily Hallywell, works very close to Princeton and she is renowned as one of the leading experts in that field. I’m certain she could give him a crash course if required.

Make it happen, Tom and quickly! was the terse order that ended the conversation

The head of the OSS office in Peking was instructed to inform his agent in Harbin to ‘risk everything’ in order to infiltrate Unit 731. Through the use of copious bribery he was able to secure a position as a janitor. Once inside he initially was extremely careful not to pry but only to stick to his duties. The Japanese guards were not stupid and a recently hired nosy Janitor would soon be discovered. However after several weeks he was well entrenched and was surprised to discover his initial impression was incorrect. In actual fact the security measures were not at all highly efficient. While cleaning the laboratory areas he was able to discover documents in unlocked drawers which gave him a complete understanding of what was happening. He was truly horrified to learn that thousands of local people and prisoners of war were being tied to stakes and subjected to the experimentally developed biological and chemical weapons. Even more terrifying was the information those human guinea pigs were then the victims of evisceration before death in order to analyze the full impact of the weapon on vital human organs. This revolting technique was used to further increase the potency of the weapons. One weapon was so potent that the victims screamed in agony for many hours before dying. Upon reviewing this agent’s reports, the OSS became convinced the Japanese were likely to launch those highly infectious weapons upon either American soldiers or American cities. However they were puzzled by the confirmed reports from their agent that no bombs housing those terrible diseases were being stockpiled. Instead only one bomb at a time was manufactured and tested on the unfortunate local population.

The OSS could not know that at that very time Japanese Generals were aggressively pushing to deploy such weapons as the war was not going well. It was only the refusal of the Emperor to permit this which saved tens of thousands of American troops from a horrible death.

Due to the possibility of an imminent deployment of such weapons the Army, in coordination with the OSS, set up a special unit of elite forces, ready to be dropped into Harbin at a moment’s notice to capture this facility. There were two triggers which could set this in motion. Either the OSS agent would report a stockpiling of weapons, or, the war would come to an end. It was the latter which first occurred. Scientists imbedded with the special unit of elite forces reported their analysis of documentation found detailing the horrific results of these tests. Results so sickening they brought tears to the eyes of those who read them. However the report of no weapons being stockpiled proved inaccurate. One bomb was found; under ‘intense questioning’, the OSS euphemism for torture, one captured Japanese scientist confessed that four days ago they had received instructions from Tokyo to destroy three other bombs. It took two days for the American scientists to dismantle the remaining bomb and remove two vials of a greenish yellow liquid. Even under further ‘intense questioning’ none of the other Japanese scientists would admit to knowing the formula for the liquid in the vials removed from the bomb. All they would confess to was the Director of the Laboratory, a scientist named Kaneko kept all formulae locked in his safe, and none of them had seen Kaneko since the three bombs were destroyed. The safe was opened by one of the Special Forces but proved to be empty. After a thorough search of the facility it was determined the formulae were missing and presumed taken by Kaneko. The unavoidable conclusion was whomever Kaneko was working for would either attempt to set up manufacturing elsewhere, or more likely, he would sell the formulae to foreign powers wishing destruction on America.

Upon receiving this frightening news the heads of the army and the OSS knew they had to report it to the President, who immediately called a meeting of his war cabinet. After a terse briefing, it took less than a minute for the President to issue an order in his rapid fire manner of speaking.

Well don’t just sit there gentlemen. Somebody find the sonofabitch who took the formulae and get them back. Put your best people on this and do whatever it takes. If everything you have learned about those weapons is only half true, millions of American lives could well be in grave danger.

He paused for effect; then one by one, stared into the eyes of everyone in the meeting room.

All of you are privy to the information I received from friendly missions in Tokyo indicating the Emperor is finally close to issuing a notice of unconditional surrender. I fear that will only put further time pressure on this matter. Whoever holds those formulae may decide to act before that. So - Get going gentlemen!

With that he stomped off to the oval office.

Members of the group stared at one another, uncertain how to proceed. No one wanted to be presumptuous enough to speak first thereby appearing to take command over the others. Finally the chief of the Armed Forces spoke.

We will provide all possible support for this mission. But what we need is the best tracker available with the requisite capability to follow the trail and secure the formulae. I have some very good men but frankly their skill set may not be up to this task. We need a veritable Sherlock Holmes.

All eyes swiveled to fall on the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who quickly responded.

You all know that by law we are restricted to operate within the United States. Overseas is the purview of the OSS.

Oh to hell with that, barked Bill Donovan. You needn’t worry about a turf war as far as I’m concerned. I clearly heard the President say no matter what, we have to find those formulae before some bastard launches them on America. If you have the right guy for this mission I can assure you of the complete cooperation of the OSS. I’m certain everyone here will agree with you taking the lead.

All heads nodded, as everyone looked intently at the FBI Director.

All right then, to do that, I will require the full support of all of your organizations, stated the director of the FBI forcibly.

They all continued to stare at him waiting for him to elaborate.

I don’t have to tell you how this town works. For every supporter of the President in Congress, he has at least one detractor. God forbid something should go wrong with this mission. But if it should, you can bet the politicians will waste no time in finding someone to blame. I don’t want my man to have such a burden at the outset. Whoever is behind this theft is a member of a very slick organization. I won’t sugar coat this mission for whomever I choose. My gut tells me his chances of his coming out alive are slim at best.

That put solemn looks on all faces.

"I will make this earnest plea to the President and to all of you. Do not divulge my man’s name unless absolutely necessary. I’ll work out a cover story for him, one you can pass on to your people. Agreed?"

The Director then looked at the head of the navy.

As they say in your branch of the service, Admiral, Loose lips sink ships.

Everyone nodded and each said distinctly, Agreed.

The Director went straight to the President’s desk and picked up a telephone. He dialed a number from memory.

Yes? was the gravelly response, from Special Agent Chambers, Chief of the Los Angeles Branch of the FBI.

Tom, do you remember our last conversation in your office?

Very clearly, Director.

Did you arrange the education program?

I did.

Then have your man stand by to be called to your office at a moment’s notice. And I want you to get to my office here in Washington ASAP.

Yes, Director.

Chambers hung up the phone and immediately called out to his assistant.

Andy, contact Jonathan and tell him to stand by for a call to my office. And tell the plane to be ready for an immediate take off, destination Washington. And bring me a sweetened coffee, please.

Andy McGuire quickly fetched a mug of steaming coffee and added a generous amount of brandy to it. When the boss asked for sweetened coffee something big was in the works.

Those were Chambers’ thoughts exactly. He and the director went back a long way. Every time the Director called he never failed to ask after his health and that of Mrs. Chambers — except once. And that was to inform Chambers of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Whatever the reason for this urgent visit to the Director’s office it must be of the highest national priority. That caused the grizzled veteran to slightly shiver as he sipped his sweetened coffee.

Immediately after touching down in Washington, Chambers was whisked away in a black limousine to the headquarters of the FBI. He had to jog to keep up with the Assistant Director who met him at the entrance.

Don’t look at me Tom. I’m not yet in the loop, was all he said by way of a greeting. They forewent the courtesy of knocking on the Director’s door and went straight into his office.

Come in, Tom, come in and have a seat. Thanks for coming so promptly. Will someone get Tom a coffee! he instructed loudly.

Yet again the Director had not asked after his health or that of his wife.

This combined with the strained look etched on the Director’s face confirmed his suspicions that something calamitous had occurred.

He sat right on the edge of the chair opposite the Director. He did not slouch; his back was erect as he waited for the bad news.

I won’t mince words, Tom. America is facing a crisis of immense proportions. I’ll give you the unvarnished facts as far as they are known.

When he finished the strained look on the Director’s face had been transferred to that of Tom Chambers.

Good God in Heaven, were the only words to come out of his mouth. Then without taking a breath he added. That’s almost unbelievable.

Now he sucked in a deep breath and sat back in his chair. He had had a gut feeling of foreboding when he first heard of Unit 731. That’s why he prepared Jonathan Smith to travel there at the end of the war. But he had never in his wildest dreams imagined the extent of the destructive power of the weapons developed there, or of the possibility of some foreign power using them against American cities.

Almost instantly he sat forward again and gazed intensely at the Director.

You’ve been nominated to catch whoever stole the formulae, retrieve them and bring them back safely to Washington. Right?

Yes! Tom. To do that I need the absolute best man in the entire FBI. And from all you’ve told me, Special Agent Smith is that man.

Chambers sat back in his chair once again and for the first time took a sip of the coffee brought to him a bit earlier.

‘Great minds think alike’ was the proverb that raced through his head.

You’ve known me a long time, Director and know I don’t give praise easily.

Despite the seriousness of the subject, that forced the Director to smile. That was the greatest understatement he had ever heard. ‘Grouchy Chambers’ as he was known behind his back was renowned throughout the Bureau as someone who expected nothing less than excellence from his agents and believed one’s pay was sufficient reward for that. Words of praise were seldom heard to escape from his lips.

Tom Chambers would have grudgingly admitted to this trait. That is until he met Jonathan Smith.

In my time with the bureau I’ve met some talented men, he continued. But, I’ve never met anyone who comes even close to Special Agent Smith. He has a rare gift. That’s the best way I can describe it. Just look at the way he followed the trail of the Japanese spy network on the West Coast, and went even further by following its leader all the way to Hawaii and ultimately exposing him. And somehow during that process found time to uncover a long time deeply imbedded German spy ring working here in America.

He paused to take a breath.

If you have to pick someone for this mission, Director, he’s your man.

The Director of the FBI listened as ‘Grouchy Chambers’ uncharacteristically lavished praise on his agent and could not help but feel a sense of remorse.

But Tom, he finally said.

I know, Director, The chances of undertaking this mission and coming out alive are very low. Isn’t that what you were about to say?

I would guess, very, very low indeed. I’m sorry Tom.

I understand. Nevertheless the job must be done. It has been given the highest possible priority by the President himself. Now if you’ll excuse me Director, I had better get the ball rolling.

The Director looked at the ramrod straight back of the man leaving his office and said two silent prayers.

The first was one of thanks, for the privilege of working for so long with such a true patriot as Tom Chambers. And a second, for the young man he knew only by reputation. The one he had just sent into extreme jeopardy.

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CHAPTER TWO

The call to Jonathan finally came. He was to report to Special Agent Chambers immediately. He stood outside the door after knocking. During his period of waiting for the call, he had tried, but failed, to think what could be so urgent. However something in the way he had been summoned seemed extraordinarily ominous to him and an alarm bell began a soulful tolling inside his head. As an agent in the FBI he was used to danger. Yet somehow this was different; exactly why it troubled him so much, he could not put his finger on. He was about to find out.

Come in, Smith.

Chambers words were too formal. That set off more alarm bells in his head. After entering the office he held open the door for Andy McGuire. Andy always attended meetings held by Chambers. Yet this time he stood back as he was obviously not invited.

Close the door behind you and take a seat.

The alarm bells clanged deafeningly as he lowered his six feet one inch lithe frame into a chair.

Chambers had struggled with an appropriate way to break the news. Finally he decided to take a page from the Director’s book and launched straight into the subject.

Jonathan listened in silence not once interrupting his boss. The small scar close to his right ear was pulsating red at his rage. At the conclusion of the briefing his hazel eyes usually warm and welcoming were cold and stony. He bowed his head and whispered vehemently.

Those bastards!

I agree, Jonathan.

Special Agent Smith raised his head.

I didn’t call them bastards for attempting to develop superior biological or chemical weapons. Even America is doing that. But they most definitely are for experimenting with the results on helpless human beings. And then cutting them up while still alive to get the best analysis of how successful they had been. That’s an act of absolute barbarism. He paused for a few seconds to regain control over his emotions before asking. Have we succeeded in analyzing the contents of the vials we taken from the bomb?

Some of our best scientists were sent in with Special Forces. From the reports on the results of the human tests they have no idea what was used. They estimate it will take at least one month, probably two, to determine the composition of the liquids in the vials. They say the installed equipment at Unit 731 is of the highest caliber. It was manufactured in Germany. This will allow them to retain one vial at Harbin and start work on its analysis. The second will be transported to our best laboratory in America for analysis. It will be a race against time. That’s why it is absolutely imperative we track down the stolen formulae quickly.

But why give this responsibility to the FBI? Both OSS and the Army have highly skilled investigators. And since they have been in this from the beginning it would make sense to let them continue to carry the ball. It is never a good idea to change horses in mid-stream. And dare I mention, without seeming petty, those organizations are not known for their brotherly love towards each other and certainly not towards the FBI. I sincerely hope this is not a political move on their part to avoid criticism should they not succeed. Anyway I bet we have some of the best scientific minds on earth so surely it would make sense to give them some time to analyze the vials before rushing in?

To anyone else this could sound like a frightened man attempting to get out of a truly perilous mission but this never entered Chambers’ mind. He knew his man too well for that. He knew it was only Smith’s keen analytical brain at work. Jonathan continued to voice his analysis by suggesting two reasons why this mission was not appropriate for the FBI.

Firstly, he argued correctly, I am certain Japan is not the only nation working on such weapons. I bet Germany, Britain, Russia and America are also doing so. And if we are in fact doing so, I would also bet we have developed detection devices and possibly even antidotes to mitigate any such attack.

This insight had not astounded his boss. Chambers more then any other person, knew the highly developed intellectual analytical ability of Jonathan.

That’s true. But there is one fly in the ointment of your argument. We already have the knowledge of Germany’s research. We captured it at the end of hostilities in Europe. This combined with Britain’s and our own gives us an extensive knowledge of this subject. The fly, Smith, is the results of the Japanese tests on human beings are unlike anything we have seen on our own tests and all other countries’ tests Of course all those tests were made on animals. The Japanese have devised something far more hideous and rapid spreading than anything of which we are aware. Theirs is more deadly and we have no quick way of either detecting it or counteracting it. Therefore we absolutely must track down the person who has the formulae and secure them.

He paused to let that settle in.

Now what is your second reason?

Forget it, boss. I can no longer claim I am not equipped for this mission; since during my time at Princeton University you craftily arranged for me to study biological and chemical warfare under one of America’s best experts in this field, Professor Hallywell.

Chambers only smiled in return.

Then Smith rallied as another idea struck him.

But surely with the OSS and the Army’s experts chasing down this person who stole the formulae, the FBI doesn’t have to get involved?

Chambers just stared at him and that well known glare told Jonathan he had lost the debate.

Do you really believe either the OSS or the Army has the investigative capability of The Federal Bureau of Investigation? he demanded imperiously.

I don’t see why not. They will have one or two very capable investigators.

Okay, I’ll grant you that. But they do not have anyone to match the very best in the FBI. And like it or not son, America desperately needs the very best the FBI can offer. And that’s you!

I see, he responded, not knowing whether to feel highly complimented or to be as terrified as any sacrificial lamb would.

Good. Thanks for volunteering, said Chambers, not waiting for another comment from his agent.

But there was no triumph in his tone. He knew how dangerous this mission was. If he had another choice he would take it. This young man had already served his country indefatigably and with distinction. He deserved time to recuperate. But that was a luxury the country did not have. Special Agent Jonathan Smith had just landed another mission.

I need to mention one last thing, Jonathan, added Chambers looking worried. I don’t quite know how to express this, but something about this entire affair troubles me like an itch I can’t scratch.

Chambers was not in the least surprised to see Jonathan nod in agreement.

Me too, Sir. Whoever stole the formulae must have had a plan for its future use. And that plan had to have one or more accomplices. Whether it was intended to manufacture viral diseases or to sell the formulae; there had to have been a plan. So why wait until the very last moment before escaping. The thief must have realized we would send everything we had to catch him. He must have known time was critical. Therefore why wait. He should have been long gone.

Exactly!

Once again Chambers was not surprised that Jonathan was ahead of his own thinking.

So? was the question he posed.

Special Agent Smith did not immediately respond. He unfolded his large body out of the chair. His hazel eyes were no longer stony they were thoughtful, but only for a minute before he spoke.

The thief is not in control of the overall plan. Someone else is pulling the strings and the thief just did what he was instructed to do. Which means finding the thief is not enough. Chances are the formulae will have been passed on. I have to find the mastermind to complete this mission.

Well done. Therefore my final piece of advice is, trust no one. Whoever is behind this is capable of spinning a web of deceit. And we have no inkling how wide that web extends.

I agree, Sir. There will be many twists and turns along the path towards the mastermind it will not be an easy one to follow.

"That’s correct, son but even though it will be a tortuous trail, with few clues along the way, trust your instincts at every twist or turn. They are excellent and they will get you through. This mission has turned into a race against the clock to recover the formulae before they can be turned into weapons to annihilate millions of Americans. I’m very sorry you must carry it out on your own.

With your permission, Sir, I would like to take someone with me. That is if he is willing to take the risk.

Chambers head rocked back.