Angelo clicked off the two recording devices he had and grinned. A short time later, he was seated on the floor of his favorite hideaway, reading the file and giggling.

Three hours later, Mr. Lyle came back , grabbed the file and left. Angelo just grinned.

***
Midland, Michigan:
About that time, in a motel room, three prints were popping out of a printer. The PC next to it had a great deal of information, of interest to the owner, downloading onto it. He popped the last piece of chicken nuggets from the last of four cherry red cardboard trays next to him, and typed ‘Received and appreciated!’, in the reply window. Within an hour, he was on the road and headed for Canada.

***
Ironwood, Wisconsin:
9:00 PM: He picked up his cell phone and pressed the button that would re-route his call. When the person answered on the other end, he had a question ready.

“Why is the Center getting interested in aliens again?”

The slow voice on the other end replied, “Jarod. You mean immigrants? They haven’t that I know of.”

“I know they have re-opened the Pretender program and now they are coupling it with some of the studies you have been doing with special talents. Shall we say they are interested in ‘very’ special talents?”

“I will certainly look into it. Jarod, can you tell me any more?” Sydney knew with a sinking feeling that just such a project could have been started without his knowing of it. Lyle or Raines? Lyle had been looking a little smug lately. And Raines had been snooping into impossible corners. Lyle it was.

In another room, in the Center, a well built flashing eyed brunette was pacing. “Broots….”

The man at the computer console looked nervously up over his shoulder. She gave him a withering look, one eyebrow raised.

Broots hunched his shoulders a little and went back to the task at hand. He had the dual task of trying to unscramble the voice signal on one hand, and attempting to trace one of Jarod’s convoluted calls. Ms. Parker, however, was fast loosing patience. ‘God she’s beautiful when she’s angry.’ He thought. ‘Of course I don’t usually see her when she isn’t….’ “Got it!”

She was bent over his shoulder in an instant. “Where is he?”

“No, uh, I meant the unscrambler is doing its thing.”

“Its... thing… Broots?” He started to turn around again and she hit him on his shoulder.

“Uh… yeah,...just now, about. Yeah here it goes.”

Jarod was speaking again. “Dig around a little. I’m sure if you look in the dirt pile, you will find all the dirt you need.” He looked down and saw the tracer alarm blinking. He smiled, knowing where the trace would lead them. “Sydney, do you like the Three Stooges?”

“Yes, a delightful trio.” Sydney rolled his eyes. He was used to such unusual calls by now. He could see from his tell-tales, that someone was tracing this call. He also knew that wherever it led it would not lead to Jarod.