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went blank, flickered, then died. He tapped it lightly, causing it to flicker once more, and then he banged it harder and it went completely dead. He was unable to revive it. He shook his head in resignation.
    “Okay my friend. Perhaps I’ve worn you out.”
    Closing the lid, he unplugged the cable and placed it on the shelf under his computer desk. His back ached from sitting bent over for so long, and after turning off his computer he stood up and stretched, then went to bed. Tomorrow after work he would take a look at the download. 

    ***

    Norbert looked worriedly at his screen, then up at Mason, who had recently acquired the habit of hanging around the computer center.
    “Mr. Mason, something’s not right here.”
    “What is it?”
    “Slocum’s palmtop authenticated to our data stream,” said Norbert.
    “I thought that was impossible with the security you have in place.”
    “It is. Unless…” Norbert stared through the display. “I can only think of two scenarios in which security could be broken, and so quickly. Three.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “Number one, some other agency has the device and has figured out what we’re doing.”
    “Continue.”
    “Number two, the unit was somehow broken. It’s conceivable that if the logic module was damaged, it might be possible to bypass certain security protocols.”
    Norbert seemed a little too sure about this.
    “Certain security protocols? Are you kidding? How could that happen?” asked Mason.
    Norbert nervously cleared his throat. “A small number of our palm units were known to have a susceptibility under extreme conditions.”
    “What are you talking about? When did this happen?”
    “Before you took over. It was only manifested during test regimens, and even then it was only under a very limited set of circumstances.”
    “What circumstances?” demanded Mason.
    Norbert shrugged. “Exposure to extreme temperatures, physical damage to the internal components, or some combination of these or other conditions. It’s a highly improbable scenario, but possible.”
    “Why weren’t the units replaced?”
    “The risk involved in acquiring new units was deemed too great. These things are custom built, and anyway, the chances of something like this happening are remote.”
    “What was your third scenario?” asked Mason.
    “We’ve got a traitor on our hands.”
    “Any other theories?” As Norbert shook his head in the negative, Mason nodded towards the computer screen. “Then tell me what’s going on here.”
     “Simple,” said Norbert. “Someone used Slocum’s palmtop to tap into the Internet data stream and download one of our daily manifests.”
    “Would that include any of my private transmissions?”
    “Probably not, unless they were deliverable to external entities.”
    For a brief moment Mason’s face lost its color. He quickly recovered. “If you know that the palm unit is doing all this stuff, why can’t you tell where the damn thing is?”
    Norbert shook his head. “That part of the security is working. The palmtop is shielding its location. It’s built in, you know.”
    Mason was becoming irritated. “Okay, okay. Just keep trying to get a fix on it.”
    “What about the next profile?”
    “Yeah, right. That has priority. Work on this when you can, but maintain the timetable for the profile. I’m going to investigate your other scenario.”
    Mason left the computer lab and returned to his office. On the way he stopped at his secretary’s desk. “Get George Pampas. Tell him to come up here.”
    “Right away, sir.” Ten minutes later Pampas walked into Mason’s office. Mason gestured for him to have a seat.
    “George, I think we may have a problem.”
    “Which is?” Pampas crossed his legs as he sat back on Mason’s leather couch.
    “What do you know about Robert Slocum?”
    Pampas shrugged. “Good man. Hard ass. Gets the job done. You know the type. Why?”
    “He claims his palmtop was stolen, that much you