Williams on the other hand, while overweight, was always dressed perfectly. He knew who to talk to and what to say. He'd gotten this far by playing the game and had come to dislike those who didn't want to follow the rules.

“You remember that request we got to confirm that data from West Coast U?” Waldorf asked.

“Yeah. If I remember, you said we were going to check it out but it was probably just a bunch of overeager university types who got their calculations all screwed up,” replied Williams.

“Well, that isn't exactly how I said it, but that's what I thought. I was sure it was a huge waste of time and resources. In fact, I considered trying to find a way to ignore the request. The only reason I didn't, was the fact that the people making the request were the same ones who control next year's budget. I mean these weren't the young pups you're supposed to be dining with now, if you know what I mean,” explained Waldorf.

“Okay, okay, so what's new?” said Williams, his irritation starting to show.

“It seems those university types didn't screw up their calculations – in fact, they were right on. Their readings were exactly the same as the ones we got. Their discovery was accidental, and we probably would have never noticed unless we were intentionally looking for that type of radiation, which we'd have no reason to do,” said Waldorf.

“Has this been confirmed?” Thomas snapped.

“Yes, Tony Jackson and I are working on the details. But there's no doubt that the comet we've been tracking is emitting hard radiation, and it'll pass way too close,” said Waldorf.

“How is this possible? Comets aren’t radioactive.” Thomas cringed, knowing he hadn't managed to hide the fear in his voice.

“Don't know. We've never seen anything like this before, but the radiation is clearly present and detectable, even at this range. As of now it still looks like it'll pass between the Earth and the moon.”

“I want this kept quiet. There have been many false reports like this over the years, and the last thing I need is one which can be traced back to this office.” Thomas warned.

“How long are we going to keep this quiet? This needs to be reported. Also, there might be others who happen to figure it out. The Europeans and Japanese, as well as half a dozen other nations, will eventually detect this and then word will get out fast,” argued Waldorf, with concern in his voice.

“I want it kept quiet until we have all the details. Remember, those university kids found this by accident. It was a fluke that they even detected it, and it took us over two weeks to verify it. We have some time. When I take this up the ladder, I want to have all the answers ready. We'll let them release it as they see fit.”