Although she had been avoiding it, she was going to have to get closer to Zach Berman. With security at Nano as tight as it was, as evidenced by iris scanners and armed guards, his house was possibly the weak link. She assumed he had a home office, even if she hadn’t seen one when she’d visited with George. A few minutes in his home office could probably answer all her questions. The question was, how to arrange it? Pia felt her pulse quicken as her mind shifted into high gear. There was a way to do it, but it involved considerable risk.

Chapter 18

18.

NANO, LLC, BOULDER, COLORADO

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2013, 6:09 A.M.

Ensconced in his private Nano office, Zach Berman nursed a mild hangover as he waded through online editions of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and select German and British papers. Nano paid for subscriptions to a number of Chinese publications, and Berman entrusted that part of the morning ritual to Whitney Jones, whom he didn’t expect to see until considerably later in the day. Outside it was still dark.

Berman had spent the previous evening entertaining his Chinese guests, who had been pleased with their early-morning tour of Nano’s facilities and had worked the rest of the day in the restricted areas, watching their compatriots being tested and put through some basic, and safe, exercise routines for the dignitaries’ benefit. For the celebratory dinner, he again used his imposing home as the venue. He found it impressed Chinese visitors far more than the fanciest restaurant in either Boulder or Denver. It was also easier to arrange for a bevy of escorts at the house than at any restaurant.

By now, Berman was familiar with the long rounds of toasts that always accompanied such an occasion. Although he usually drank wine or beer while eating, with Chinese visitors he drank whiskey, which was their preference, hence the hangover, thanks to the number of toasts. Yet the meal had been a great success.

After dinner, Berman had made his formal PowerPoint presentation, detailing how nanotechnology was poised to become a global medical phenomenon, and how, through mutual respect and cooperation, Nano, LLC, and the People’s Republic of China would be able to capitalize on the unlimited potential they would soon unleash together. Everyone in the room had heard the spiel before in some previous iteration, but Berman’s bravura claim on this occasion had turned the last toast of the evening into the loudest and most emotional, requiring Berman to toss back an entire shot glass of scotch. Within minutes, as he reclaimed his seat, he had already felt the dull throb of an oncoming headache. A half hour beyond that, citing the need to get at least a few hours’ sleep, Berman had excused himself as his guests began playing poker in his living room with the escorts.