SOPHIA - Age of Intelligence

by Mike Donoghue

CHAPTER THIRTY

  SAMANTHA looked over Simon’s shoulder and joined him in staring at Colonel Dynes’s business card. “DARPA,” she stated.

  An impromptu meeting had been quickly convened around Simon’s elevated workspace. Derrick was seated on the opposite side of the desk, but he seemed preoccupied with seizing the opportunity to appraise Samantha’s form fitting business attire. She had experience ignoring unwanted gazes that befell her, however. “Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?” she added.

  “Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,” Simon stated. “They report directly to the Secretary of Defense.”

  “What do they do, exactly?” Sam asked.

  “Only the most technologically relevant projects of all time,” Derrick responded. “The Internet, the Global Positioning System you depend on so much. All the things you wouldn’t dream of living without, they’ve had a hand in inventing them.”

  “Wow,” Sam stated, straightening up. “These guys rock. What do you think they want with us?”

  Simon spun his chair slightly and looked up at Sam. She quickly recoiled. “Wait, did I just say that out loud? They need us, right? It’s the super genome they want.” She glanced between Simon and Derrick.

  Simon found the humour in Sam’s recovery. “Don’t worry, Sam. I don’t expect you to keep yourself abreast of everything we do here.” Simon instantly wished he hadn’t used that word. It wasn’t his style to let loose something so unprofessional.

  Samantha’s head snapped to the right; her unmistakable glare locked onto Derrick. “Did he just say, abreast? Does anyone even use that word anymore?” As soon as Samantha asked that question, she realized her wit had just exceeded her better judgement. In Derrick’s smile she could see the mistake she had made.

  Simon put his left hand over his eyes and sunk into his chair. As he apologized for his remark, Derrick couldn’t help himself. “Freudian slip aside, Darling, the dress is smashingly décolletage. Although some might consider it better suited to say ˗ a romantic dinner. Present company notwithstanding, of course.”

  Simon shook his head and offered Derrick an expression of utter disappointment. He also sensed Samantha’s frustration and took the opportunity to interject: “I hope you don’t mind me asking, Sam, but how much did they tell you?”

  “Nothing,” she said, sternly. Her eyes were still focused on the man whom every woman in the office knew to be a notorious philanderer.

  “That’s good,” Simon stated. “Because the less you know about some of these matters the better.”

  Samantha was perfectly capable of holding her own, but she also knew that with every witty response so would the stakes be raised by the irrepressible womanizer. It was better to disengage and exit with dignity. She also knew that Simon could always be counted upon to be a conduit to more gentlemanly behaviour.

  “You understand what I mean, don’t you?” Simon said.

  “Of course I do,” she responded. “If it weren’t you saying it, I’d have reason to take offense.” She glared at Derrick again and inferred she wouldn’t take it from him.

  Simon pressed on. “If you don’t mind, Sam, I still have a few things to tidy up here. Would you mind telling Colonel Dynes I’ll be with him shortly?”

  Samantha made her way toward the door, but she turned after closing the distance by only half. “You know, I think those DARPA guys would be glad to have me join their team,” she announced.

  Simon got up from his chair and caught Samantha only several steps from the office door. He stood between Sam and the door’s threshold so that her back was facing Derrick. He knew she loathed appearing vulnerable to him “Look, you know my standing offer: I’ll double any compensation proposal.”

  “I know,” Samantha said, bowing her head slightly. She had no illusions about how complicated her work environment could be; some days female coworkers could be more derogatory than her male counterparts. It was not in her nature to run from trouble, but sometimes you had to be pragmatic in order to look out for yourself. “It’s just,” she said, lowering her voice. “Maybe you could let me know when that creep is not working from home. I’ll take a day off, or something, if he’s coming in.”

  “I’ll see if I can’t keep him out of your way for the rest of the afternoon,” Simon said. He smiled with a desire to revive that joie de vivre in his Executive Assistant. “You’re irreplaceable, you know that, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, well you know what else?”

  “What?”

  “You are too!”

  With that comment, Samantha quickly left the room. Simon paused and took a moment to regroup. The unexpected compliment added an appealing dimension to their otherwise professional relationship. Suddenly, he saw Samantha in a different light. He ruminated over their pleasant exchange while returning to his desk and, when he sat down, he couldn’t help doing so with an invigorated impression of Samantha’s attractiveness.

  With the expectation of civility now gone, Derrick couldn’t help indulging himself further. Sexual innuendo always lurked just below his tidy exterior. “I know of a few women who would be happy to see her switch teams.”

  Simon didn’t appreciate having to return to reality in such a distasteful manner. “God you’re crass, do you know that?” he blurted.

  “A bit touchy today, are we?” Derrick reeled.

  Simon looked at his Director of Operations straight in the eye and said: “You know I’d sooner replace you than her.”

  Derrick attempted to back off. “No need to get bent out of shape, Mate. Should we try to do this some other time?”

  “No, we need to take care of this now.”

  “Alright, then. Let’s see that video you were mentioning.”

  Simon tapped away on the lit keyboard superimposed onto his desk and pulled up a poor quality video on the monitor overhead. He turned it toward Derrick in order to provide a better view, before asking: “Is that you seated at the gaming table?”

  Derrick squinted and then reached into a shirt pocket for a pair of glasses. “It sure looks like me, doesn’t it?” he said, after putting them on.

  “And would that be your favourite Fifth Avenue Casino?”

  Derrick hummed and hawed. “It does look familiar, although they’ve done something with ...”

  “Is it, or isn’t it?”

  The image was studied more closely. Derrick even got up out of his chair in order to get a better look. “It would appear as though it is. So what does all this mean?”

  Simon waited for Derrick to sit back down and take his glasses off. “I’ve got reliable intel that names this casino as the conduit for the sale of proprietary information ˗ PurIntel information.”

  “I see,” Derrick said. “And by proprietary information you’re referring to the existence of Sophia’s super genome.”

  “I am,” Simon agreed. His pulse quickened with each revelation.

  Simon and Derrick both knew that the original breach of security only divulged the existence of the super genome and not the super helix itself. It was a painful irony that Sophia’s impenetrable cyber defenses ultimately made Jennifer’s abduction necessary in order to retrieve the entire super genome soft copy. They stared at each other as if the video was irrefutable proof of who was responsible for not only the PurIntel security breach but the subsequent kidnapping of Jennifer as well.

  “So this video is intended to implicate me, is it?” Derrick asked. He looked at the video again. “It would appear as though I’m at it again, wouldn’t it?

  “I think it would. You’re plowing through money and would do anything, sell anything to feed your addiction.” Simon’s heart began to race at the thought of finally catching the person responsible for his family’s misery.

  “Well then,” Derrick stated, sitting back. “It appears you have your man!”