"Sir, what we've gathered so far is this: there have been some disturbances near Bell Labs, with plenty of signs of gunfire, and a lot of evidence that can't be explained. Everything points to our allies."
"Hah, this guy again, let me guess, no one got hurt, and no one was caught."
"Yeah, just warnings."
"This guy seems to be in over his head; he's looking to drag someone down with him."
"The question is, how much is he willing to share?"
Even though William White was not in the U.S., his legend still loomed large here. The FBI was in a bit of a bind; the material in their hands was too hot to handle, and they didn't know how to deal with it.
From their experience, there were just too many traps inside. They could easily find themselves ensnared.
...
William White was having a grand time in Hong Kong, while Bell Labs lost its former tranquility.
Though they were allies, that was only within certain limits. Showing up uninvited to steal things was just plain bad manners. The worst part was that the guy had the media on his side.
"Your Excellency, the situation might not be as serious as we thought. There are too many peculiarities in this matter. I believe our so-called friends are indeed planning to steal something or at least want some specific information."
"Well, Henry, go on."
"Okay, I checked the site, and from a security consultant's perspective, both parties were extremely unprofessional."
"Come on, that kid's security company is made up of all elite types."
"So, this looks like a deliberate setup or a way to rattle us. It seems our friends might need to seek collaboration."
"This punk."
"Let's not be too hasty; if they really captured someone, it would just be a business act. You wouldn't even be able to pinpoint the responsible company, driving them away would be the smart play."
William White was unaware that his little schemes weren't clever, and that others had already pieced things together. But that didn't really matter.
It's all about framing; what could you do?
If the real information came out, everyone might feel a bit embarrassed. William White believed that any competent politician would make a reasonable choice.
He wasn't Motorola, there was no way he would stubbornly pursue some analog signals.
The usually unreasonable U.S. immediately notified Europe. Everything else needed explanation, and what was this GSM nonsense? Staying independent was fine, but stealing was pushing it too far.
"Damn it, we just wanted to get a look."
Fine, whether to speak on this or not didn't matter; evidence was just nonsense, only the weak needed that. As a powerful party, as long as the logic of their evidence chain was sound, that's solid proof.
Once things reached this point, there was nothing more to say; it was time for negotiations to resolve the issue.
...
The old man from Motorola was puzzled; did someone really intend to steal something?
"Sir, currently it seems William White has a handle on their pace, which is a bit amusing."
"Hah, it's not like it's the work of one country; information leaks aren't surprising. But does his intelligence department really have that much capability?"
"We can't say for sure. These guys seem to mind their own business; most external info is usually purchased. Trying to keep something from him is becoming increasingly difficult."
...
The world was a dangerous place, so William White certainly needed to be cautious. Dividing security and intelligence was meant for mutual checks and balances.
"What, Motorola wants to know about our research progress?"
"Filson, tell them that's impossible; if they want to invest, I welcome it, but if they want to see specifics, let them ask if they could replicate the Star Wars Plan data for me."
"Okay, sir, in the past couple of days, many have shown interest in Bell Labs."
"Tell them the lab isn't going to be open, but we can share research outcomes which would entail them owning a share of the lab based on the varying levels of research difficulty, but no more than 10%."
"Got it. They will definitely be interested."
They would indeed be interested; in fact, the consortium only needed William White's attitude. They wanted to see if this guy dared to hoard it all for himself.
Well, the old men were overthinking; William White was still young, with plenty of good life ahead, and no reason to put himself in danger.
On his own, he was certainly no match for Europe. There was too much at stake, and others wouldn't easily let go.
The only comfort was that the companies on stage were not Alcatel or Siemens. Had it been those two, then it would just be a matter of confronting them directly.
...
The French and Germans were dissatisfied; they didn't like partnering with the Yanks. That crew of uncultured cowboys was thoroughly annoying.
It was a pity that among them was a traitor. The Brits didn't see any disadvantage in collaboration; more importantly, William White had expressed goodwill through special channels, agreeing to Barclays Bank's investment.
This made them a stakeholder; what reason did they have to defect? If you all have your own companies and aren't financing with us, why should I help you? Give me a reason first.
Friendship in this world has to be tied together with interests effectively; William White was well aware of this. And, of course, he had no intention of alienating Europe.
In fact, when they took over the materials from the FBI, they immediately sensed something was up.
You talk about framing?
Maybe there was some of that; they just integrated what you had been doing over the years. That means they knew everything about the previous espionage attempts; the reason they ignored it was simply that you hadn't gone too far. Now that you'd stepped on their core material, naturally, they were upset -- that's just normal.
*****
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