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next Monday.” Thurston looked relieved. He sat back in his chair and waited for Mark to finish.
    Now it was Mark’s time to do his stuff. “First, I’d like to take a minute or two to go over my fees. My rate is one hundred twenty-five dollars an hour plus expenses. The minimum for the job is thirty thousand dollars with ten thousand as a retainer. Any sub-contracting costs will be billed at my hourly fee. I invoice on the first of each month, due upon receipt. Within ten days of the completion of the project I will issue a final report. At your request, I will not retain any record of my specific findings or of my direct dealings with you personally. I will invoice for consulting fees only.” He stopped for a moment to see if the fees made any noticeable impression. Thurston took it all in stride, not even taking notes. Mark continued, “As a practice, I do not require a written contract. A verbal agreement and a handshake works for me. Well, that’s about it. Do we have a deal?”
    Thurston rose from his chair and walked around the desk to hand Mark another file and to shake hands. “We do, Mark! Everything you need to know is in this file. You will also find an expense retainer for fifteen thousand dollars. I’m confident you won’t let me down.” Suddenly his tone changed, “I prefer that this be our only face-to-face meeting. If you need any additional information, you will contact my secretary, Mrs. Barth. Her private number is in the file. I want you to direct all invoices and your reports to her as well at the address shown in the file.”
    Mrs. Barth! So Miss “Prim and Proper” finally has a name.
    â€œIf that’s all,” Thurston concluded, “thanks for coming in. I look forward to receiving the information soon.”
    With that, they shook hands again. Then he put his hand on Mark’s shoulder and escorted him to the elevator. He stood quietly as the doors closed. Thurston smiled as he returned to his office. He picked up his phone and signaled for his secretary.
    â€œMrs. Barth, get me Prentiss at Defense.” Moments later, he was connected. “Matthews just left, he is on board.”
    He listened for a few minutes and hung up the phone.
    * * *
    Dennis Peterson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI office in Cleveland, received a call from Marlin Prentiss at the Department of Defense informing him that the investigation of the NRBA had advanced to phase two. He was not used to these end-around operations, preferring to control such investigations solely with his own agents, but Justice was the guiding hand in this, so he had had no choice but to cooperate to the fullest by assigning his top technician, Susan Harrigan to the case. Mark Matthews was just an added factor in the equation. He returned the handset to its cradle and said quietly to himself, “I sure hope to God this works.”
    * * *
    Susan Harrigan was in her early thirties. She graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia with an MBA in Computer Science. Her thesis was titled “Contemporary Data Base Theory and Design.” Her unique talent for coding created quite a stir in the scientific community and attracted many job offers, including one from the Defense Department. She joined the “Hide & Seek” team at the Pentagon as a Computer Science Specialist. By the time she left the team, she had grown technically and had made major contributions to the team. Her development of “LEECH”, alone, would have been worth multi-millions in the private sector. For the Pentagon, it meant getting access to computer records that they needed to shut down scores of illegal operations here and abroad. Her software and technical know-how made her an extremely valuable commodity in the cyber world.
    Susan’s parents passed away when she was a teenager, so when the administration changed in Washington she joined an associate in San Diego doing