Complete Fiction (Jerry eBooks) by George Harry Stine

Author:George Harry Stine [Stine, George Harry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-15T04:00:00+00:00

Alfred M. Dewey sighed and looked at the pad of notes he’d just made during the telephone call from his boss, the Assistant Secretary of State. He didn’t like what he saw. And he didn’t relish the nasty job that had just been dropped in his lap . . . with full authority to do whatever was necessary, but please coordinate with the Assistant Secretary to make certain that no diplomatic protocol got crossed up in the process.

In spite of the fact that Dewey was a State Department specialist in high technology interfaces with South American nations, he still had an ancient wood-cased vacuum-tube intercom set on his desk. He flipped two switches down, pushed the talk handle, and said. “Miss Fisher? Mister Sullivan? Please come into my office immediately. This is reasonably urgent, so drop whatever you’re doing. And please bring something to take notes with . . .”

In the hallowed corridors of what was called Old Foggy Bottom, that simple understated request amounted to something that would have been classed as an immediate order across the river in the Pentagon. Joyce Fisher and Nash Sullivan walked into Dewey’s office less than two minutes later.

Youngsters’. Dewey thought with some disdain. What was State coming to? These two had been the bane of his existence since they’d come aboard in June following their graduation from MIT and Cornell respectively. The seasoned State Department administrator had immediately found himself on the defensive when they’d been assigned to his office staff, not because they were young, but because they were both bright and aware of current technology.

Sullivan was a tall, gangling redhead who might have been more at home on a basketball court. The young man was, instead, an electronic engineer, Phi Beta Kappa, and summa cum laude. Unlike many young technical people, he’d picked up a minor in political science. To some extent, Dewey felt threatened by Nash Sullivan in spite of the fact that the young man had a very pleasing personality and no apparent willingness to play the little games of internal politics that went on around him. His puppylike eagerness showed in his greeting to Dewey, “Hi, boss, glad you called. I just worked out a solution to that Honeywell computer deal in Argentina . . .”

“It’ll have to wait a bit. Sit down, please,” Dewey told him.

On the other hand, Joyce Fisher disturbed Alfred M. Dewey as she followed Sullivan into the office. She had disturbed him ever since her initial interview with him. He’d wanted to tell Personnel he couldn’t use her, but he’d found himself confirming her for one of the two slots he had available. As a bachelor in his middle years, Alfred M. Dewey had either found women unattractive and therefore unstimulating . . . or so overpoweringly attractive that he was afraid of them. However. Joyce Fisher affected him as no other young woman had. It wasn’t that her dark-haired sultry appearance was provocative or even exceptionally beautiful. And it wasn’t her soft voice that spoke Spanish was well as English.

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