NO, THAT IS UNFORTUNATE. ELIMINATE HIM. AND MAKE SURE THAT TROUBLEAUX IS TAKEN CARE OF. HE MUST NOT SPEAK TO ANYONE.

He is in a coma.

PEOPLE WAKE UP. I DO NOT WANT HIM TO WAKE UP.

It will be done. I promise you.

I DO NOT WANT PROMISES. I WANT THEM BOTH DEAD. TROUBLEAUX MUST NOT BE PERMITTED TO SPEAK TO ANYONE. IS THAT CLEAR?

Yes, it will be done.

FOR YOUR SAKE I HOPE SO. I DO NOT TOLERATE SLOPPINESS.

>>>>>

h.o.m.osoto dialed his computer again, to a number inside Germany.

The encryption and privacy keys were automatically set before Alex Spiradon"s computer answered. To h.o.m.osoto"s surprise, Alex was there.

MR ALEX.

Yes.

CONGRATULATIONS. RICKFIELD IS BEING MOST COOPERATIVE.

He has many reasons to.

MILLIONS OF REASONS.

We merely gave him the incentive to cooperate. I do not expect that he will maintain his position for very long.

YOUR HANDLING OF HIM HAS BEEN EXCELLENT. I HAVE NOT SEEN A U.S.

NEWSPAPER. HOW DO THEY REACT TO HIS COMMITTEE?

He took a small beating from a couple of papers, but nothing damaging. It"s the way Washington works.

WHO IS SENATOR DEERE? SHE COULD PRESENT A PROBLEM.

I don"t think so. Between her and Rickfield, the sum total will be a big zero. There will be confusion and dissension. I think it works in our favor.

I WILL FOLLOW THE PROGRESS WITH INTEREST. WHEN ARE THE HEARINGS TO CONTINUE?

Next week. One other thing. You asked that I get to Scott.

Consider it done. You found a most attractive weakness and he succ.u.mbed instantly. But, I should say, I don"t think it was necessary. He is doing fine on his own.

I THINK IT IS NECESSARY. IT IS DONE?

We have a conduit.

KEEP THE PIPELINE FULL.

>>>>>

Sunday, January 10 New York City Times

What"s wrong with Ford?

by Scott Mason

Ford is facing the worst public relations disaster for an automo- bile manufacturer since the Audi acceleration problem made inter- national news.

Last month in Los Angeles alone, over 1200 Ford Taurus and Mer- cury Sable cars experienced a total breakdown of the electrical system. Radios as well as anti-skid braking controls and all other computer controlled functions in the automobiles ceased working.

To date, no deaths have been attributed to the car"s epidemic failures.

Due to the notoriety and questions regarding the safety of the cars, sales of Taurus"s have plummeted by almost 80%. Unlike the similar Audi situation where the alleged problem was found in only a few isolated cases, the Taurus failures have been wide- spread and catastrophically sudden.

According to Ford, "There has never been a problem with the Taurus electronics" system. We are examining all possibilities in determining the real cause of the apparant failures."

What else can Ford say?

Chrysler Struck by Ford Failures by Scott Mason

Chrysler cars and mini-vans have been experiencing sudden elec- trical malfunctions . . .

Mercedes Electrical Systems Follow Ford by Scott Mason

Mercedes owners have already organized a legal ent.i.ty to force the manufacturer to find answers as to why so many Mercedes are having sudden electrical failures. Following in the footsteps of Ford and Chrysler, this is the first time that Mercedes has not issued an immediate "Fix" to its dealer. Three deaths were reported when . . .

Sunday January 10 National Security Agency

"What do you make of this Mason piece?"

"I"d like to know where the h.e.l.l he gets his information," said the aide. "That"s what I make of it."

"Someone"s obviously leaking it to him," Marvin Jacobs, Director of the National Security Agency, said to his senior aid. "Some- one with access to a great deal of sensitive data." The disdain in his voice was unmistakable.

Even though it was Sunday, it was not unusual for him to be at his office. His more private endeavors could be more discreetly pursued. A three decade career at the Agency had culminated in his appointment to the Directorship, a position he had eyed for years.

"We have specialists who use HERF technology," the aide said.

"It"s more or less a highly focused computer-gun. An RF field on the order of 200 volts per meter is sufficient to destroy most electrical circuits. Literally blow them up from the inside out."