On reflection, you decide against forging or backdating your own membership. Perhaps if you'd taken that course on forgery, you'd feel a little more confidant, but the risks do seem a little high. None of your contacts are admitting to any involvement with the Glasser project, but it’s a big bureaucracy, so you think you may need to be more specific.
After reviewing the "Colm" file, you report the lack of media interest to Hames and he shakes his head sadly. "We claim to have a free press, but, as I have discovered time and again, it is remarkably difficult to make yourself heard if you have an unpopular view. I think that you should draft a letter to distribute to the main newspapers. It may not do any good, but we can at least try."
Your FBI contact (Isaac "Cowboy" Cohen seems to be manning the phones, as the rest of the team have headed off to Boston) reports that the phone number is owned by a computer software company, "Forthright Data Protection", who have been at the address for about a year. The phone number is an Indiana number, so you elect not to take a swing past the neighbourhood! Ever efficient, Cowboy also notes that he has heard of a couple of their consultants, and they are "quite good, but not up to my standard". As a private company of less than a year, there are no readily available financial records. You give them a ring, using the Review phone number. A neck wringingly cheerful voice replies:
"Forthright data protection. How can I help you?"
"Good morning. I'd like to talk to one of your managers about a client of yours."
"Please hold the line." Vivaldi's four seasons blasts out of the handset and you move it slightly away from your ear.
After some discussion, which amount to "we'll call you back when we've checked your credentials" they offer to send you an information pack. It arrives a couple of days later. Glossy, with a fairly heavy technical section, you realise that these guys are for real. Admittedly they don't advertise the "killer zombie" option, but they do go into some detail about physical and software protection of data. They do contract installation work and also offer maintenance contracts including regular security checks and data back up of client systems. All rather impressive. A couple of days later, as you are working on the media flyers, the phone rings. After the initial pleasantries, the man on the other end of the phone gets to the important bit.
"I have spoken to Dr Glasser's lawyer, and he is happy for us to provide you with technical assistance in exchange for certain information. If this proves to be adequate, we are authorised to place you in contact with Dr Glasser's sponsors. Our background checks on you suggest that you have governmental contacts. Dr Glasser was provided with certain prototype electronics to assist his work, but the outlet he used has been closed down since his untimely imprisonment. We wish to locate the prototypes that the authorities captured or to locate a new supply. They are the key to the project."