Since he did not have a printer, there was no way he would jeop- ardize his livelihood for a comfort so small, he read his E-Mail by copying the messages into Word Perfect, and then reading them at his leisure. All E-Mail was encrypted with the Public Private RSA algorithm, so he had to manually decrypt the messages with his private key and save them unencrypted. When he was done, he erased the file completely, to keep anyone else from discovering the nature of his work. Alex's first message was dated two days before he returned from Hawaii. It was actually cordial, as far as Alex could be considered cordial. After their first meeting in Athens, Alex had taken on a succinct if not terse tone in all communications. Sir George: Welcome back. I hope you had a most enjoyable holiday. It was well deserved. We now enter phase two of our operations. We place much faith in your ability and loyalty. Please do not disrupt that confidence. As in the past, you will be given daily lists of people to call. They are some of the people whom you have called before. As before, identify yourself and the nature of your call. I am sure your last call was so disturbing to them, they will take your call this time as well. Then, once you have confirmed their identity, give them the new information provided, and ask them to follow the instructions given, to the letter. Please be your usual polite self. Alex The second message was more Alex-like: Sir George: If you have any problems with your new assignment, please call me to arrange your termination. Alex. * * * * * "Hello? Are you there?" Sir George Sterling spoke with as much elegance he could muster. "This is John Fullmaster calling again for Robert Henson." Sir George remembered the name but not the specifics. "One moment please," Maggie said. "Mr. Henson?" She said after dialing his intercom extension. "It's John Fullmaster for you. Line three" "Who?" "Mr. Fullmaster. He called once several months ago. Don't you remember?" He thought. Fullmaster. Fullmaster. Oh, shit. I thought he was a bad dream. Goddamn blackmailer. Never did figure how he knew about the Winston Ellis scam. Good thing that's been put to bed and over. "All right, I'll take it." He punched up the third line. "Yeah?" He said defiantly. "Mr. Henson? This is John Fullmaster. I believe we spoke a while back about some of your dealings? Do you recall?" "Yes, I recall you bastard, but you're too late. The deal closed last month. So you can forget your threats. Fuck off and die." Henson used his best boardroom belligerence. "Oh, I am sorry that you thought I was threatening you, I can assure you I wasn't." Sir George oozed politeness. "Bullshit. I don't know how the blazes you learned anything about my business, and I don't really care . . ."