In the closing months of World War II top secret experiments in stealth were conducted at the Philadelphia Naval Yard using Einstein's Unified Field Theory. When a research vessel mysteriously disappeared from its dock with more than 40 souls on board the Navy surreptitiously declared the ship lost at sea with all hands missing. As the Second World War drew to a close, work on these experiments was discontinued and the government quietly let them fall into the dust bin of history. Some 65 years later, metallurgist David Albright, makes a startling discovery. A crucial piece of evidence in the ship's disappearance leads him to a new love and a conspiracy at the highest levels of our government. Spurred on by co-worker and bio chemist Colleen Gilmore, their race toward the elusive truth about the doomed ship and escape from the relentless pursuit by government agents is a love story filled with heart-pounding drama and shocking twists.

FRAGMENTATION

By Gregg Cameron

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Gregg Cameron
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-1032-4

Chapter One

Philadelphia, PA, Farrell Laboratories: Friday, June 1, 6:10 PM Present day.

Metallurgist David Albright sat glued to the screen of his electron microscope on a hot Friday night in June. Much of what he viewed at Farrell Labs was mundane. However, this was different.

As a droplet of sweat traced its way down his forehead and lodged in his left eyebrow, he mumbled to himself then suddenly blurted out, "George."

"What?" George Quinn, senior metallurgist and the only other person still in the lab answered.

"Where did this sample come from?"

"Jesus, David, it came from the DeCosta Scrap Yard; an old ship being scrapped by the Navy. "Why?"

"I think I have a situation here. Take a look at this."

"David, you always have a situation. Do you have any idea what time it is? It's after six David, time to go home."

"I know, I know, but there are some peculiar molecules in this sample; things that just don't belong in metal. It's as though they are locked in some sort of bond with the iron and nickel molecules. No, no wait; they are more like stuck in between them, kind of jammed into the lattice. That can't be, can it?"

"Let me have a look. George walked over to David's desk and studied the screen. "Okay. Organic molecules and – possibly a DNA helix." He looked up at David. "I'm no expert when it comes to organic chemistry. Maybe a rat fell into the crucible when they were making the alloy. Anyway, it's Friday night, it's late and I'm going home."

"But George, a rat would have been incinerated and completely vaporized, if it fell into the molten metal."

"Vaporized it is then. Our job is to report on what we find, not to decide how it happened. I'm leaving and you should too." As George locked up his desk, David returned his attention to the screen.

"David, you've got to get a life," said George as he headed for the door. "Don't forget to lock up. I'll see you on Monday."

David continued to study the sample. The strange molecular structure of the sample made no sense. How could organic molecules be intertwined with the steel molecules of an old ship?

After twenty minutes of rubbing his eyes and looking at the sample, David began to tire. Maybe George was right. Maybe he should get a life.

Reluctantly, he gathered up his things, closed up the lab and walked out the door. The sultry Philadelphia evening hit him in the face. A layer of still humid air covered the entire town like a blanket. His car stood like a lonely sentinel in an otherwise empty parking lot. He stared at it for a moment, slid inside, started the motor and turned the air conditioning on full blast

"Get a life." That's what George said. The words weighed on him as he put the car in gear. At thirty years of age, work had become David's mistress. Although not as exciting as the opposite sex, it satisfied him in other ways. Not quite six feet tall, with his sandy brown hair, many women had found David attractive. He remained oblivious to it. A self-described nerd, he graduated in the top ten percent of his class from Georgia Tech. After a brief stint at Ford Motor Company in Atlanta, he moved on to Philadelphia and Farrell Labs.

As he flowed with the evening traffic, George's "Get a life" brought his thoughts to Colleen Gilmore. Colleen, who worked in the Biology Department at Farrell, was twenty-eight, single and as Irish as they come with red hair and freckles. David smiled thinking of her. They met over drinks at the office Christmas party six months ago and hit it off well. He thought about calling her, but every time he worked up the courage, something came up. Then, too, he worried she might turn him down.

Driving along the Delaware River he thought once again of the puzzling sample. Maybe Colleen would know something about it. Just the reason he needed to give her a call.

Now, after sipping a Coke and staring at the walls in his apartment for another twenty minutes, he finally sweated up the nerve and dialed her number.

"Hello."

"Colleen, this is David, I mean David Albright. I work in the Metals Lab at Farrell." Pause. "We met at the Christmas party."

"Oh yes, David Albright. Hello."

"I was wondering if you had some time to look at a very interesting sample of metal I have."

"A sample of metal? Is this a joke, David? It's Friday night."

"Well no," he stammered, "it's not a joke."

"Well David, I'm a biologist. I know nothing about metals."

"This sample is very interesting Colleen and it is not just metal." This is not going very well, thought David.

"What did you have in mind?"

Tentatively he replied, "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No I haven't. David, are you asking me out to dinner?" "Well no, not really, I mean - I yes, yes I am. You see, I have this piece of metal."

"You already mentioned the metal David."

"Yes, but I believe it has some organic molecules in it and they are trapped between the inorganic ones kind of in the lattice and I thought you might be able to help me out on this." fumbled David.

Colleen rolled her eyes and said, "Lets back up a bit, did you or did you not just ask me out to dinner?"

"Yes, yes I did."

"Good, that sounds nice. Now, where and what time?"

"Well, I, that is, if you like Italian food, I thought we might try Florintino's. Would that be okay?"

"I love Italian food. What time do you want me to meet you there?" "Would eight o'clock be okay?"

"Yes David, I'll see you at Florintino's at eight tonight. It is tonight isn't it?"

"Yes, tonight, I'll see you later, thank you."

"Yes!" whooped David when he hung up the phone. For months, he had agonized about asking Colleen out. Now they were going to have dinner and it was all because of a curious piece of metal. Maybe he could "get a life".

Chapter Two

The restaurant was about eight miles from David's apartment and with a little speeding; he was able to make it there with a few minutes to spare. Florintino's was a typical Italian restaurant found in the northeast. As you enter, the sweet smell of garlic and soft mandolin music teased your senses. A small bar with a half dozen stools catered to those waiting for tables. Hand painted murals of Italian scenery covered the walls while red linen tablecloths and white napkins complimented the plates and silverware. Lighting was subdued, with a soft orange hue giving the room a Mediterranean ambiance.

Florintino's was always busy on Friday nights and they did not take reservations, so David put his name in with the host and found a seat at the bar.

Within ten minutes, Colleen entered the restaurant and scanned the crowd for David. His skin flushed with excitement when their eyes met and he waved her over to the bar. As she walked toward him in heels and a light blue knee length summer dress her hips gently swayed while her red hair bounced softly off her shoulders. Somehow, she seemed even more attractive than he remembered.

"David, I'm sorry I'm late, but there was some kind of utility work going on in the middle of Ben Franklin Boulevard and it was closed. With all the one-way streets over there, I think I wound up going around the same block at least three times before finding my way here. Anyway, I'm glad that you asked me."

"You are?" sputtered David, "I mean I'm glad you could come. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, a glass of Chardonnay would be fine."

As David ordered two glasses, she inquired, "Now, what's all this about an unusual piece of metal?"

"Well, today I was doing a routine alloy check on some samples of steel from an old ship for the De Costa Scrap Yard, you know, that big place over on the south side of town. Just the sort of normal boring stuff we do every day. What I found was anything but normal, which is one of the reasons I called you. Colleen, these samples of steel normally contain iron, carbon, nickel and a trace of several other compounds in varying amounts. This sample contained all the normal stuff along with what I thought were the molecules of organic compounds. These molecules were not actually a part of the metal itself, but rather, they are somehow locked in between the steel molecules, not a part of them, but just kind of next to and all around them. Actually they are kind of stuck in the steel molecular lattice."

"David, I'm not exactly sure that's possible, because of the heat required to smelt the steel. At those temperatures, the organic molecules would be destroyed or at the least broken down into atoms and not recognizable for what they originally were."

"That's just what's so confusing about this. They do appear to be whole and I'm sure, recognizable molecules of something organic. It is almost as if they were squeezed in after the metal was made, if that is possible."

"That would indeed be difficult to do, more like impossible. Do you want me to look at them?"

"Yes, could you?"

"Sure."

"I'm glad you could come tonight. I know it was on kind of a short notice, but it was late in the day when I discovered this and I immediately thought of you."

"You immediately thought of me?"

"Yes."

"Is that the only reason you asked me?"

"Well no, not exactly. I've wanted to ask you out ever since we met at the Christmas party."

"Why didn't you then?

"Well, I don't know, it just took a while and I thought you probably had plenty of dates."

"David, I am glad you asked me and I don't always have plenty of dates. In fact, I haven't been out on one in a while." The host called David's name and escorted them to a small table in the corner. They each ordered a second glass of wine.

"So David, tell me a little about yourself. You're not from this area are you? I mean, you seem to have a southern accent, but I can't quite place it."

"I'm from Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta called Alpharetta. My parents moved there from Michigan before I was born. I guess I have a cross between a Southern and a mid-western accent. I will say `Ya'll,' and `You bet,' as well. I went to Milton High School and then to Georgia Tech. I am a dyed in the wool Techie and hate the Bulldogs, the University of Georgia that is, in a good-natured way. I was on the swim team in high school and at Georgia Tech during all four years. After graduation, I worked for the Ford Motor Corporation at their plant in Georgia for almost a year and then took the position I have at Farrell Laboratories here in Philadelphia.

"I've never heard of Alpharetta. What is it like?"

"Well, when I was growing up it was mostly a rural area, with lots of farms and horses. Now, Alpharetta is very cosmopolitan with plenty of upscale restaurants and expensive homes. It is really a rather posh bedroom community. The biggest changes happened in the last ten years, mostly after I left."

Colleen had taken the lead in the conversation and David began to feel more comfortable with her.

"Are you from Philadelphia?" David asked.

"No, I'm from a small New Jersey town called Union."

"Yes, Union City, I've heard of that, it's up near New York, isn't it?"

"Oh no, not Union City, that's a large old blue collar place in Northern Jersey. Union, is a small town of about thirty thousand people, near Elizabeth and more in central Jersey. The two towns are really like night and day."

"I'm sorry. I guess I have offended you."

"No, not at all, a lot of people make the same mistake, especially if they aren't from around there. Union City is quite large and much better known."

"Okay, now it's your turn. What was it like growing up in Union?"

"I'm the middle child of a very Irish Catholic family with an older brother and a younger sister. I even have an aunt who is a nun. My grammar school was Saint Michael's, where they had the strictest nuns and student's uniforms designed specifically to not show the figure. Fortunately, after Saint Michael's I was able to convince my parents to let me attend public schools and I graduated from Union High School. After graduation, I attended Farleigh Dickinson University's Madison campus and received my degree in biology. I was what they called a `Day Hop' and commuted to school from home. After graduation, I attended Rutgers University and received a Masters Degree in biology and, for the last five years, I have been slaving away at good old Farrell Labs. I share an apartment with Angela Ward, a teacher in Philadelphia."

The waiter appeared asking if they were ready to order.

They both looked at each other and Colleen laughingly said, "We haven't even looked at the menu yet."

"We better have a look," urged David. "What's good here?"

"This place smells so good; I don't think we could possibly go wrong with anything. I'm going to have the Veal Marsala."

"I'm leaning toward the Eggplant Parmesan. You know, up until a few years ago, Italian food was very hard to come by in the south. It's only recently that a good variety of ethnic foods became available in the Atlanta area. Of course, outside the more affluent areas, it's still just all biscuits and gravy with very well done string beans."

"Then you've had a deprived childhood with respect to food."

"I guess you could say so, but I'm learning fast."

"Do you ever go down the shore?" asked Colleen.

"Down the shore? Where's that?"

"It's down the shore, silly. That is what we say here when we mean to go to the beach. You know the ocean or the bay. The expression's a New Jersey thing, I guess."

"Atlanta was pretty far from the ocean. We mostly went to the lakes. There is man-made lake about ten miles north of Alpharetta called Lake Lanier. Actually, it's very large, with six hundred miles of shoreline, houseboats and many parties on the weekends. For a number of years my parents had a ski boat, which we took to the lake on the weekends. I learned to water ski and wakeboard when I was twelve."

They placed their orders and continued their conversation.

"My parents have a house down the shore, in a place called Ocean Beach II. It's small, but we just love going there and the house is on the bay where we keep a boat. I was thirteen when I learned to ski and David, it took me forty-eight tries to get up. Can you believe it? My brother and his friends taught me and I was becoming somewhat of a joke among them. I guess it was just a mental block, because the next time I got right up on the skis like it was nothing. After that I was very determined and now I can slalom with the best of the boys."

"Wow, forty eight tries, that has to be some kind of record," laughed David, "I guess you were determined, because most people would have quit long before the forty-eighth try. Now I'm not bragging, but I was able to get up on the first try. A bit of luck was probably involved, but I'm also pretty well coordinated."

Their meals arrived and David ordered two more glasses of wine. The conversation flowed easily and David was amazed at how relaxed he felt with Colleen.

Over cheesecake and coffee for dessert David said, "I really do want you to look at the samples I have, it wasn't just a ruse to ask you out."

"I know, it does sound interesting. Perhaps we could go in tomorrow and have a look?"

"I was afraid to ask if you wanted to do that, but it would be great if you could."

"Sure, I'm not doing anything. Can you pick me up?"

"I'd be glad to, but I don't know where you live."

"Oh, it's easy; I'm in the River View Apartments, just off Bristol Pike. They are actually in the town of Croydon."

"The ones near Neshaminy State Park?"

"Yes, almost right next to it, with a small view of the Delaware River. It's about twelve miles from the lab. We are in Apartment A-12, which is in the A building, on the ground floor and on the left side facing the building; apartment number 12."

"Sounds easy, how about 2:00 PM. I have some errands to run in the morning."

"Works for me."

Afterward, David walked Colleen to her car. She told him she had a delightful evening and looked forward to seeing him tomorrow.

David felt great and thought to himself, "Why couldn't I just have asked her out a long time ago?" He drove slowly back to his apartment smiling the whole way.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from FRAGMENTATIONby Gregg Cameron Copyright © 2012 by Gregg Cameron. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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