Paul Gillebaard - USSR Hoax

With that comeback, Tom knew he had his guy. He stared directly into Chris’s eyes without blinking. “Try me.”

Not saying a word, Chris turned and walked over to the conference table. He calmly laid his briefcase down and took a seat. Resting his arms on top of the case, he said in a cocky tone, “Yes, I do have the LRL canister.”

“Give it back!”

Chris patted the seat next to him. “Sit down, Tom. Let’s discuss this.”

Taking any kind of direction from this asshole was the last thing Tom wanted to do. But he sucked in his pride and took a seat. “You don’t want to get involved in this. Give me the canister and I’ll forget you took it.”

“Not until I get some answers. What the hell are you doing with moon rocks anyway? I’m pretty sure it’s a felony offense and you could go to prison.”

Tom had prepared a story. He drew in a sharp breath. “The canister is empty.”

“Bullshit. I know that when these things are sealed with a small weld they contain lunar samples. Besides, the label on the side is officially signed, stamped and dated, stating the rocks are from Apollo 11. You can’t fool me.”

Tom was caught. He never had a chance to study the canister. He had to come up with another story, and quick. “Okay, you’re right.” His mind started racing. “Yes, it has lunar material in it.” He inhaled deeply as he looked toward the front of the conference room, trying not to stumble over his words. “Someone in the lab owed me a favor and got me the sample in secret at my request.” Suddenly a light flipped on in his head. He turned with confidence. “I have been dying to know if there is water on the moon, and I’m not convinced NASA will make the information public. So I wanted to inspect a small sample with my microscope at home. I planned on returning the material early tomorrow morning to my friend so it won’t be noticed missing.”

Chris studied Tom for a moment. He didn’t look convinced. “I doubt you’re telling me the truth, and to be honest, I really don’t care. I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you back your precious canister and won’t say anything, on one condition.”

Tom was stunned Chris was trying to proposition him. The man was in no position to negotiate. Tom fought the impulse to raise his voice in anger. “What’s that?”

Chris sat back. “You split whatever is inside with me.”

What? Chris is asking to steal moon rocks? Tom was shocked. How could a NASA astronaut be thinking of such a crazy scheme? “I can’t do that—you know they keep track of all the lunar material down to the milligram. They will know some is missing, which will lead to a major investigation. There is no way we could get away with it.”

“You already stole some, which is supposedly impossible. I bet you and your friend could figure something out.”

Tom looked at Riddick like he was insane. “You’re crazy. It’s out of the question. Both my friend and I could go to jail.”

Chris’s green eyes stayed defiant. “Looks like you already took that risk, doesn’t it?”

Growing impatient, Tom said in a commanding voice, “Forget it. There is no way I’m doing it. Besides, if I were caught, I promise you, I would implicate you. So give it up and pass over the canister.”

Chris looked toward the chalkboard for a moment. “Okay, then you have to do something for me. Since your part of management, I want you to get me into the rotation. Otherwise, I’ll spill the beans.”

First Chris wanted to steal moon rocks, now he was threatening blackmail. Tom already had a low impression of the man, but the ass just hit an all-time low. Tom still had to make certain the sleaze didn’t talk. “Okay. You hand over the canister and I’ll talk to Dick and see what I can do. But you have to promise me not to tell anyone about this.”

“You have my word as a friend.”

Friend? Are you kidding me? You’re the last person I would call a friend.

Chris continued. “But I need to have proof you’re working on my behalf.”

“How do I know I can trust you? Especially after telling Anne about the blonde I took into my hotel room.”

A flustered look crossed Chris’s face and he said apologetically, “Sorry about that. It accidently slipped out when I bumped into her. She seemed to suspect it, and I tried to convince her otherwise, but she eventually caught me in a lie. I did my best to cover for you. Regardless, you can trust me. You take care of me and I’ll take care of you.”

Tom didn’t believe a word the man said. “I’ll talk to Dick and somehow you will get your proof.”

Chris opened his briefcase and slid the canister over. “Sounds like we have a deal.” He winked. “I’d be curious how your little study goes.”

Snapping up the cylinder, Tom shoved it into his briefcase. Just before leaving he turned and glared at the conniving man. “By the way, stay away from my wife.”

“DID YOU GET IT?”

Tom watched Dick walk back to his desk after locking his office door. “It wasn’t easy. Nothing went as planned.”

Dick fell back hard into his chair. “What happened?”

“There were three guys, not two.”

Dick shot him a surprised look. “Really? You should have called it off right then.”

“I considered it, but things eventually worked out. I have the canister in my safe.”

“Good, I knew I could count on you.”

“But we have a problem.”

Dick leaned forward. “What’s that?”

“Chris Riddick knows I have the canister.”

“How?”

“Long story, but he found it in my desk drawer.”

“Did he quiz you on it?”

“He did. I came up with a lame excuse, but I doubt he bought it. I don’t trust the guy.” Tom looked at the door before turning to his boss. “You should know he wanted to extort some of it. He even threatened me, saying he would tell if I didn’t give him half of the contents in the container.”

Dick’s eyes widened until they were as big as saucers. “You’re kidding me. Chris wanted some of the lunar material?”

“It shocked me too. I told him no way in hell.”

Dick looked out his window over a long, silent beat. He slowly turned back to Tom. “I can’t believe one of my men would seriously consider stealing from NASA. Are you sure he wasn’t joking?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then we do have a problem. I would fire him on the spot, but we can’t risk him telling anyone, and there is no way I am assigning him to a mission now.”

“Well, then you have another problem.”

Dick clenched his jaw. “What’s that?”

“I had to make a deal. I promised I’d talk to you about getting him into the rotation. Otherwise he said he would talk.”

Dick started shaking his head. “I can’t believe this. Man, he had me fooled.”

“You weren’t the only one.”

“How can I assign him to a mission now? I don’t trust the guy.” Dick swiveled his chair and looked back out the window. The soft taps of his fingers bouncing on his desk were the only sounds. Finally, Dick turned with a determined look. “I know what we can do. I just learned how we plan to pass over the stolen material to the Soviets. We’ll announce that a future joint space mission is being considered between the two countries. The plan is for you to meet with some cosmonaut in a neutral country to hype up the idea, and that’s where the transaction will take place. Maybe I’ll tell Chris he will be a part of that mission since I doubt it’ll ever happen.”

“So I’m going to pass the lunar material on directly to a cosmonaut?”

“That’s the plan. Now that you have it in your possession, I should be getting the full details soon.”