The more Noble thought about it, the more the professor was convinced it must be true. Frey hadn't pressed for the story about why she was working at the government. He had dropped it almost immediately.
He genuinely didn't seem to be after Fireshing either. The reporter had gone to a lot of trouble just to speak with Noble. So what was his motive?
Frey must have been trying to tip her off. But why would a journalist willingly give up a source?
The only reason she could think of was: Frey thought the man or woman was a hazard.
'That's not ominous at all…'
During the walk to headquarters, Noble tried to hold on to every word that Frey had said during their exchange. Even one of the gatekeeper's cryptic riddles when Noble entered the government compound did not keep the professor from her train of thought.
Noble was so laser-focused on getting to Fort and telling him what happened that she almost missed the beaming smile on his assistant when she arrived.
"Hello, Professor Noble!" Teddy beckoned the woman forward while staying in her seat.
"It is good to see you, Teddy. Is my husband in?" Noble looked past the assistant to the shut door behind her.
"In the building, yes. In his office, no. I think he went looking for you." Teddy twisted her body side to side with a wide grin.
"Why would he be looking for me? I only just arrived." The professor pursed her lips. "He could have messaged me. That doesn't make sense at all..."
"Don't look at me. Wait! That is exactly what I want you to do!" Teddy pushed her chair away from her desk and twirled in it like a sitting ballerina.
Noble let go of her quest for a moment as a smile formed on her face. "You got your spinning chair!"
"Deputy Director Fort says it is my reward for being the best assistant he has ever had. Well, he didn't use those words, but the way he said 'here' really said it all!" Teddy spun again, releasing a happy sigh. "My life is complete."
"I am glad you are happy," the professor could feel the joy emanating from the ecstatic assistant.
"I know I owe you for putting the idea in his head. I will never forget this. Never!" Teddy leaned over one of the arms and spun so fast that her hair flew outwards like the tail of a comet.
"Enjoy yourself," Noble backed up slowly. The young woman was having too much fun, and the professor saw no reason to dampen the mood.
"Yooooo!"
The sound faded as Noble closed the door and headed back into the hall.
'Now where could Fort be?' Noble's workspace was on the floor below this one. Because Fort wanted to be able to help his wife, he kept her as close as he could.
That was convenient at times like this. Noble typed a message to him on her communicator as she headed for the elevator.
She was still looking down when the alloy doors opened.
"Oh!" Her body bumped into another's as she hurried to get into the moving box.
Noble's momentum was enough to knock Fort back into the wall of the elevator. As the doors shut, he was still getting his bearings on what had just occurred.
"If you had wanted to have a romantic moment in the elevator, you could have said so," he joked as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Some romantic moment! I am sure this place has microphones and cameras covering every centimeter." Noble furrowed her brow. "I am so sorry! Did I hurt you?"
"I'll be fine," the Deputy Director waved off the concern. "I was hoping to bump into you, of course, but not like that. I need to speak with you. Shall we go to my office?"
"I just came from there. Teddy was showing me her new chair." Noble smirked.
"I know I am an old softie, but you said she would enjoy it. I just didn't realize how much..." Fort went from rubbing his head to the back of his neck.
"It's only her first day. The excitement will wear off, surely." The professor gave her husband a short kiss on the lips. "Should we go to my workspace instead? I need to talk to you as well."
"I would prefer to use the security measures of my office if you don't mind. We won't bother Teddy if that is your worry." Fort pressed the button for the doors to open. Thankfully no one else had needed the elevator in that span of time, so they had remained where they were.
Down the hall, Fort stepped back as he opened the door to his office. "After you," he allowed Noble to pass.
"You are back!" Teddy greeted them.
She was trying yet another improbable trick while sitting on her new toy. This one involved balancing something on her hand while she spun.
"Don't worry. My break is almost over, and I'll be right back to work. And look, Deputy Director! I haven't broken the chair yet. Aren't you proud of me?"
Fort graced the young lady with a chuckle. "I am very proud of all the excellent work you do. Your chair acrobatics is not likely something I am going to brag about to my colleagues though."
"Understood," Teddy saluted. "Back to work I go." Pulling her legs to her chest, the assistant opened her datapad and became very still. Her fingers flew across the screen as she completed her first task.
Closing his office door, Fort confirmed Noble's confused stare.
"When she is in the zone, her work is unmatched. She gets more work done in five minutes than most of my previous assistants could do in a day." As he spoke, Fort activated his security protocols, shrouding the room in an invisible shield. "Now we were looking for each other. Do you want to go first?"
"Would you believe this is the second time today someone has activated a cone of silence around me?" Noble sat down opposite the Deputy Director.
"I would, actually,' he responded. Sliding his datapad across the desk, Noble came face-to-face with a picture of herself and Sarai seated across from the reporter Frey.
Noble blinked at the screen. "How did you…?"
"That's a famous journalist. Did you tell him anything important?" Fort's voice overlapped her own.
"Only about how wonderful the duelist Fireshing is." Noble studied the picture more closely. "Is this from the security camera? Are you watching me?"
"No, nothing like that. You were eating across the street, and one of my subordinates saw some sort of scene you made. He recognized the reporter and thought I should know." Fort sighed. "I am glad to know it was something innocent."
"It was and it wasn't," Noble admitted. "Frey's initial question was to ask me what I am doing for the government. He insinuated that he did not believe what the public records showed."
"Why would he be suddenly interested in what you are doing? How would he even run across that information?" The Deputy Director stopped his fidgeting hands.
Noble did not need to see them to know he was growing uncomfortable with where this was going. "Frey said he had a source tip him off. In fact, he followed me all the way from the Academy just to ask me what I was doing for the government. After I recited what the public record said, he dropped the matter entirely. It felt like he was trying to give me information, not get it."
Fort considered his wife's words. "You think he was warning you? Or just trying to make you paranoid?"
"Frey didn't show any sign of deception. He was quite open, especially for someone who digs for secrets." Noble gave her honest opinion. "Anyway, there are far easier ways to make the government paranoid than approaching a lowly contract worker. The journalist seemed to know he had stumbled on something important."
"Well then, I will make quiet inquiries to find out who could be feeding the press information. If there is someone, we will find them. The last thing we need to get out is that the government knows about a coming doom but not when or where it will be." Fort pinched the bridge of his nose.
Clutching her bag, Noble nodded. "Agreed. Once we have a location and course of action, we can tell people what they need to do. Until then..."
"Until then, you should get back to work. How much of your father's notes have you gotten transcribed?" The Deputy Director asked for his progress report.
"I completed another three pages yesterday. Translating it and then comparing it against existing data as well as the new data gathered each day is making for slow progress." Noble lowered her gaze.
"You have help. You don't have to do it all yourself."
"And I don't!" The professor defended herself. "But I do like to check what is done. Someone should have all the information to manipulate and study. I don't particularly trust the technology to do that alone. The information on the government servers can be changed or erased...especially if someone is feeding that data to reporters as Frey suggested."
"You worry about getting all the information from your father's notes. Let me worry about a possible mole. I love you. Don't overwork yourself." Fort smiled, making Noble's heart skip a beat.
"I would say the same for you. Take care of yourself. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Noble blew her husband a kiss. "I love you too."
Catching the invisible kiss, Fort tucked it neatly in his pocket. "Say hi to your team for me." He deactivated the safety protocols for her to leave.
Noble nodded. "I'll see you tonight."
Opening the door, Noble heard a resounding crash.
"I'm ok!" Teddy announced. A small wheel rolled and hit Noble's foot. "You don't happen to have a screwdriver, do you?"