Undercover - Chapter 10

0932 local
Thursday
Indian Head NSWC

Harm checks at the gate.

Gate officer – Welcome, Commander. They've been expecting you.

Harm – Thank you, officer.

Harm parks in front of a building. A Lieutenant JG welcomes him.

Lt JG, saluting – Commander Rabb ? I'm Lieutenant JG Donovan. I'm to escort you around the base.

Harm, saluting back – Thank you lieutenant. Could you find an office where I can do my interviews ?

Donovan – Of course Commander. Follow me, please.

They enter the building, get to a room. Harm puts his briefcase down on the desk.

Harm – Could you get me Master Chief Petty Officer Mattews, Chief Petty Officer Adams and Petty Offcier Jones ?

Donovan – Of course, Sir.

Lt Donovan fixes to attention and returns a few minutes later with a man.

Harm – Please give me your name and rank.

SC Adams – Adams, Lionel J., Chief Petty Officer .

Harm – At ease, Chief Petty Officer. Were you on duty sunday night ?

SC Adams – Yes, Sir.

Harm – Hoes does the tour of the fence go ?

SC Adams – Well, I was with Corporal Jones. We tour the building, check locks, and if there's the slightest anomaly, we report with the Lieutenant who's on duty.

Harm – And who was on duty sunday night ?

SC Adams – Lieutenant Patterson. But there wasn't anything to report. Everything was normal.

Harm – No night exercise ?

SC Adams – No, Sir. But there was some monday night.

Harm – What kind of exercise ?

SC Adams – Helo drops, Sir.

Harm lifts his head up, interested. He scribbles on his notepad.

Harm – Thank you Petty Officer. That'll be all for the moment. Please send in Petty Officer Jones.

SC Adams – Aye Sir.

He gets up, snaps at attention and leaves. Enters a young black woman. She fixes at attention.

PO Jones – Jones, Valerie, Petty Officer 2nd Class.

Harm – At ease, Petty Officer. Take a seat.

PO Jones – Thank you Sir.

Harm – You were on duty with Chief Adams, on sunday night.

PO Jones – Yes Sir.

Harm – Please can you tell me everything that happened that night ?

PO Jones – Well, after dinner, at 1930, we checked with Lieutenant Patterson. Then we took the K9 units, the torches and we left.

Harm – K9 ?

PO Jones – Dogs, Sir. They have better hearing and smelling capabilities. They detect problems or intruders quicker than us.

Harm – Yes, Petty Officer. I'm aware of the dogs capabilities. Please continue.

PO Jones – Sunday night was ICR pattern.

Harm – ICR ?

PO Jones – Inverse Clock Rotation. It's the code we use for the tour we make.

Harm – And how long does the tour take ?

PO Jones – The small tour, buildings and hangars is one hour and fifteen minutes. The fence tour takes about eight hours.

Harm – And do you take the fence tour often ?

PO Jones – No, Sir. The fence tour is for... initiation purposes.

Harm, smiling – For the rookies ?

PO Jones, smiling back – Yes, sir.

Harm – So during your tour of duty, you take the small tour. And how many times a night ?

PO. Jones – Three times, with a fifteen minutes pause inbetween. The rotation plan changes every time.

Harm – You have a definite order for the round ?

PO Jones – No, Sir. We decide at the moment. With the lieutenant on duty.

Harm – So Lieutenant Patterson decided what pattern you should take ?

PO Jones – Well, we checked what patterns had been used during the last few nights and we chose those which hadn't been used lately.

Harm – And how many patterns do you have ?

PO Jones – Eleven, Sir.

Harm – And you combine them in random order. Nobody knows in advance.

PO Jones – No, Sir.

Harm - Did anything seemed strange or suspect that night ?

PO Jones – Not that I can recall, Sir.

Harm – All right, Thank you Petty Officer. That will be all.

Petty Officer Jones stands up at attention and leaves the room. Harms stays silent.