car.
His phone dinged. There were three missed calls and two messages on the cell phone’s lists. They were all from the Director’s office. He deleted them without listening to the messages or calling back.
“ Goddamn it, how could I forget the sunglasses!” he said. “I bet they won’t steal the damned car but they’ll steal the damned sunglasses.” He called the Department’s garage and told them where the car was. They told him they could not go get it until the next day.
He snapped the cell phone shut and said, “Damned lazy bastards.”
He walked the couple of blocks to Paseo de las Fuentes and hailed a cab. “This is the only good thing about this damned city: lots of cabs,” he said to the driver.
He told the cabbie to take him to the University. This time he would arrive unannounced.
Chapter 9 : The Computer Center, Again
Traffic was heavy going down University Avenue. When he finally reached the main campus entrance, Lombardo told the cab driver to drop him off at the Computer Center.
At the reception desk, he showed the girl his badge and said, “I’m Captain Lombardo of the Public Ministry, Investigations Department.”
The girl remembered him from the morning visit and said, “Doctor Delgado is not in his office at the moment. I think he’s left for the day.”
“ Yes, I know,” he said lying. “The person I want to see is in charge of the Computer Center at the moment. Dr. Delgado said it was, uh, the person in charge of...,” he searched his pockets pretending he was looking for something, perhaps a piece of paper.
“ Maybe David López? He’s in charge during the second shift,” said the girl.
“ Yes, I believe that’s the person the Doctor mentioned,” said Lombardo.
The girl picked up the phone and punched in a number. “David? Captain Lombardo of the Public Ministry is here. He says that Doctor Delgado told him to speak to you. (a pause). I don’t know. He just said he wants to speak to you. (another pause). OK, I will.” The girl hung up the phone and said, “He will be right out. Please have a seat.”
Ten minutes later a chubby, pale young man came through the heavy door that had a sign warning that only authorized personnel were allowed to enter. He looked around and seeing Lombardo walked forward with an extended hand, “Captain Lombardo? I am David.”
After shaking hands, they went to the reception desk where Lombardo signed in and was given an electronic pass. At the door, David López asked him to pass his security card over the detector at the side of the door. “This will keep a record of where you are and the areas for which you have clearance.”
“ Hmm,” said Lombardo looking down at the white, unmarked card. David passed the card that hung around his neck over the detector. David led Lombardo down a hallway, the right side of which was floor to ceiling glass. Small and large boxes with wires that hung out their backs and went into the false floor were arrayed in neat rows throughout the large room that was bright with fluorescent lighting. Young men and women moved about the machines, peering into screens, moving a mouse, removing a printout.
“ I noticed that you also passed your card over the detector even though my card had already opened the door. Is that standard procedure?” asked Lombardo.
“ Mostly it is habit. A detector on a door will sense a card within a radius of 3 feet and if you have clearance, it will open the door for you. There are other detectors that only keep track of the movements of your card or allow you to use an elevator.”
“ That’s very sophisticated,” said Lombardo. “I wish my boss could see this. I’ve often complained that the Investigations Department’s doors don’t even have locks.
“ Well,” said David, “it’s the smart building concept. I could give you the name of the company that supplied the
His phone dinged. There were three missed calls and two messages on the cell phone’s lists. They were all from the Director’s office. He deleted them without listening to the messages or calling back.
“ Goddamn it, how could I forget the sunglasses!” he said. “I bet they won’t steal the damned car but they’ll steal the damned sunglasses.” He called the Department’s garage and told them where the car was. They told him they could not go get it until the next day.
He snapped the cell phone shut and said, “Damned lazy bastards.”
He walked the couple of blocks to Paseo de las Fuentes and hailed a cab. “This is the only good thing about this damned city: lots of cabs,” he said to the driver.
He told the cabbie to take him to the University. This time he would arrive unannounced.
Chapter 9 : The Computer Center, Again
Traffic was heavy going down University Avenue. When he finally reached the main campus entrance, Lombardo told the cab driver to drop him off at the Computer Center.
At the reception desk, he showed the girl his badge and said, “I’m Captain Lombardo of the Public Ministry, Investigations Department.”
The girl remembered him from the morning visit and said, “Doctor Delgado is not in his office at the moment. I think he’s left for the day.”
“ Yes, I know,” he said lying. “The person I want to see is in charge of the Computer Center at the moment. Dr. Delgado said it was, uh, the person in charge of...,” he searched his pockets pretending he was looking for something, perhaps a piece of paper.
“ Maybe David López? He’s in charge during the second shift,” said the girl.
“ Yes, I believe that’s the person the Doctor mentioned,” said Lombardo.
The girl picked up the phone and punched in a number. “David? Captain Lombardo of the Public Ministry is here. He says that Doctor Delgado told him to speak to you. (a pause). I don’t know. He just said he wants to speak to you. (another pause). OK, I will.” The girl hung up the phone and said, “He will be right out. Please have a seat.”
Ten minutes later a chubby, pale young man came through the heavy door that had a sign warning that only authorized personnel were allowed to enter. He looked around and seeing Lombardo walked forward with an extended hand, “Captain Lombardo? I am David.”
After shaking hands, they went to the reception desk where Lombardo signed in and was given an electronic pass. At the door, David López asked him to pass his security card over the detector at the side of the door. “This will keep a record of where you are and the areas for which you have clearance.”
“ Hmm,” said Lombardo looking down at the white, unmarked card. David passed the card that hung around his neck over the detector. David led Lombardo down a hallway, the right side of which was floor to ceiling glass. Small and large boxes with wires that hung out their backs and went into the false floor were arrayed in neat rows throughout the large room that was bright with fluorescent lighting. Young men and women moved about the machines, peering into screens, moving a mouse, removing a printout.
“ I noticed that you also passed your card over the detector even though my card had already opened the door. Is that standard procedure?” asked Lombardo.
“ Mostly it is habit. A detector on a door will sense a card within a radius of 3 feet and if you have clearance, it will open the door for you. There are other detectors that only keep track of the movements of your card or allow you to use an elevator.”
“ That’s very sophisticated,” said Lombardo. “I wish my boss could see this. I’ve often complained that the Investigations Department’s doors don’t even have locks.
“ Well,” said David, “it’s the smart building concept. I could give you the name of the company that supplied the
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