Category Five by Philip Donlay Page A

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Jonah
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    â€œInternal Investigations has already keyed in on Donovan Nash. Give it to me straight, Lauren. What do you think happened out there?”
    â€œI think the person who was at the accident site took my computer, then replaced it with a destroyed one of the same type. I highly doubt that Donovan Nash was the one who did it.”
    â€œWhy?” Calvin said quickly.
    â€œBecause had I died, it would have taken days to discover that it wasn’t my computer at the accident site.”
    Calvin nodded, “So you don’t think there’s any tie-in with today’s events and the fact that eleven months ago, Donovan Nash landed a plane full of classified communications equipment on Russian soil?”
    â€œI do not,” Lauren said flatly. “If there had been any proof ofDonovan’s wrongdoing, Eco-Watch would have been shut down. Am I right?”
    â€œProbably,” Calvin said. “But in light of what happened in Bermuda…all bets are off. This second incident is too strong to ignore.”
    â€œI’ll agree there’s a coincidence. But in my opinion it ends there.”
    Calvin lifted a sheet of paper from his desk. “This is the preliminary examination of the computer you gave us. A secret internal code that identifies each DIA computer is missing—as in not installed. The computer is definitely a decoy. Despite the condition of the case, they lifted two sets of fingerprint—yours and Mr. Nash’s. The hard drive is scrambled gibberish. It’s believed to have been intentionally sabotaged to make it appear that all of your data was lost.” He let the report fall back to his desk.
    â€œDonovan did touch the computer, right before we boarded the plane. It would follow that his prints would be on it.”
    â€œI’ll buy that. Now back to the question at hand. I’m concerned that this mysterious person was at the scene so fast. You said it was only a matter of minutes? How could someone engineer this theft if they didn’t know the car was going to crash?”
    Lauren felt the blood drain from her face. If what Calvin was saying were true, then the accident was rigged and someone had tried to kill her. Her eyes grew wide as she looked across at him.
    â€œI think you survived an attempt on your life,” Calvin said solemnly. “The same person or persons also killed Kenneth.”
    â€œMy guess is whoever took the computer is still on Bermuda.”
    â€œI think they’d have to be.” Calvin said, getting out of his chair. He began to pace. “You were the last plane out, and leaving on a ship would be improbable given the storm. But they could download the information and e-mail it anywhere in the world by now,” Calvin said, a tinge of hopelessness in his voice.
    â€œThey have to get into it first. Bypass all the passwords and safeties. I think that would take them a while.”
    â€œTrue.” Calvin pondered her words. “All we can do is alert the Bermuda authorities and have some field people on the first plane to Bermuda. I’ll need your help in determining when that might be.”
    â€œOf course.” Lauren had no idea what was going through his mind. Could he really shut down all avenues of escape from Bermuda? A slight chill came over her as she decided she didn’t really want to know what all Calvin or the U.S. government could or couldn’t do.
    â€œThat’s all for now. Go get some rest. You must be exhausted.”
    Lauren nodded. “I’ll plot a window for you to fly to Bermuda. Though I don’t think it’ll be for at least the next eighteen to twenty-four hours.”
    â€œI’ll be waiting for the information.” Calvin’s eyes darted around his office until he found what he was looking for. “Before I forget, they sent you up a new computer. You’ll have to reset all the passwords and protocols. The