Free Intelligent Design: Revelations to Apocalypse by J. M. Erickson

he’s connected to Reich and get some leverage on him,” Harper explained.
    “And that leverage is you, Director Riesman,” Lee said. “He did ask you to join him for Thanksgiving, right? He said there would be some friends there.” The question was rhetorical. Riesman focused on Damon. Dry sweat stuck to her clothes, and a chill ran down her back. Processing the information had drained her, but she managed to pull some moisture into her mouth and croak out some words.
    “You … want me to spy on Anthony and his guests at Thanksgiving?”
    Exposed and confused, Riesman waited for Damon to respond to her directly. Based on everything that had transpired in the past twelve hours, it must have been evident that she wanted some answers. It took Administrator Damon a moment to answer, albeit carefully and slowly.
    “Roberta, Drs. Perez and Nakamura were the best minds this country had ever developed. We as a government and as a country invested time, money, resources and access to classified data so they could advance the human race. And just when the deliverables are within reach, they disappear and die. Behind all of this is one woman—a German national, private industrialist and financier, Christine Reich. A woman of multiple talents, heavily resourced and thought to be the wealthiest woman in the world. And yet the world’s best intelligence agencies can’t even get a picture of her, nor can we find any record of her past, school, church, parking violations, nothing. Now we have an opportunity to connect all the players. And you are the one person he seems to trust. If we have an opportunity to get them all together, including even a chance of meeting this mystery woman Reich, then the answer is yes, you will be spying next Thursday on Thanksgiving. It will be for flag and country. But if it helps, we are not interested in Perez, just his guests and some answers.”
    It took a moment, but Riesman nodded as if she acquiesced. Her thoughts and heart were still with Hiaki
—
his warm smile and soft eyes.
    “All right.” Judging by the quick looks they exchanged, her answer had taken them by surprise.
    “All right then, Director Riesman. I assume you know this is classified at the highest levels and is not to be shared with anyone outside of this room,” Agent Harper said.
    “Yes.”
    “We will be in contact with you, starting on Monday, to go over questions and fit you with wires for tracking and listening,” Lee said.
    “Yes.”
    The room remained silent then, so she stood with her bag, nodded and waited to be dismissed.
    “You know your way out, Roberta,” Damon said.
    “Thank you.”
    Riesman turned and walked slowly to the door. She noted, as she passed through the administrative assistant’s office, that the assistant was also elegantly dressed and manicured. After leaving the antechamber, she walked in silence down the series of hallways, mechanically producing her badge, bag and herself for inspection at the several checkpoints throughout the Homeland Security building. Fifteen minutes later, she sat in the back seat of her car, with a different driver and protection team, all of them immaculately dressed with similar accessories and manicured hands. Riesman looked out the window with multiple thoughts running through her head. Every time she rewound the conversation, she got stuck on the same couple of things.
    Why is the Department of Defense involved? A weapon? What do Hiaki and Anthony have to do with all this?

Chapter Six
Entrapment—Earth
    When anger rises, think of the consequences
- Confucius
    What's happened to you? You’re not this man. I don’t know this guy.
    Riesman stared at the primitive artifacts scattered on Perez’s walls and tables. She moved closer to the mounted spears, easily seven feet long with heavy-looking metal tips and different colored feathers at the other end. The level of detail was impressive. After close inspection of other edged weapons, Riesman stopped and