Brave New World_A Sam Prichard Mystery

by David Archer

  Sam turned to Ron. “What do you think?”

  “I’ll have Mom print him up an ID right now.” He got up and left the room.

  “That only leaves me,” Becky said. “He’s not going anywhere without me.”

  “Now, Becky,” Pat began, but the look in her eyes was enough to shut him up.

  “Look, I’m at least partly responsible for this whole mess,” she said. “Maybe I don’t know about triads, but there’s one thing I do know. Whoever this is, they want me. I say we dangle me out as bait.”

  There was an uproar as all of the men at the table objected, but she stood her ground. “Come on, listen to reason. You want this guy Fei? Well, he wants me. If you take me out there and let me be seen, then we send word that I have something he wants, he’ll try to grab me. That could let you find out where he is.”

  Sam shook his head. “Becky, I appreciate the offer, but I could not allow you to put yourself in danger. I think it best you stay here, safely out of harm’s way.”

  “And I think you’re a male chauvinist pig,” Becky said. “You’ll take Pat, because he’s a man, but you won’t take me because I’m a girl? Come on, I’m making sense and you know it. I’m not saying we have to let him grab me, I’m saying let’s use me as bait to draw him out.”

  Sam looked at her for a moment, then turned to Ron, who was just coming back in. “Ron? How big is the airplane we use?”

  “We use NetJets,” Ron said. “We’ve got a special deal, so I can get a plane within an hour that can carry up to fourteen passengers. Why?”

  “Because I want to take Rob and his crew along.”

  Ron nodded. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll call them in.”

  *

  Fa Ling Bioengineering’s research and manufacturing facility was actually located in Petaluma, some distance north of San Francisco. The building was large, covering almost 15 acres. Denny Cortlandt had come directly from the airport, determined to get the lay of the land as quickly as he could. The sooner he got into that building and found the proof they needed, the happier he would be.

  He parked his rental car a block away and studied the building through binoculars. It was made mostly of concrete, with a front office area that was built entirely of steel and glass. That comprised almost ten percent of the building, but the rest of it was without windows of any kind. He had driven around it twice by then, and while he had seen a few doors around the back, none of them looked like easy entries.

  He put down the binoculars and reached into the back seat, picking up a large, leather-bound case. He opened it up and picked up the remote control drone inside, checked the charge on its battery and set it on the roof of the car. His phone, one of those that was almost a small tablet, was set up to operate as the remote, and would let him see exactly what its camera found. It took only a moment to get it powered on and launched, and then he took it up several hundred feet and sent it over to look down on the top of the building.

  As he suspected, there was a helipad on top. Staying above the building so that the drone wouldn’t be noticed easily, he dropped it down to just a few feet over the surface and rotated the camera to look ahead rather than down. In this configuration, he was able to get a close look at the door that led into the building from the helipad, and a smile spread across his face. There was a simple electronic lock, with a standard keypad and a slot for swiping a card. Neither would be any problem for someone with his level of training and experience.

  It was still far too early to attempt an entry, so the drone rose into the sky once more before making its way back to the car. He held out a hand and caught it as it landed, shut it down, and put it back into its case. He might need it again before the night was over, so he plugged the charger into the power port on the dashboard and set it on the passenger seat.

  He was just about to drive off in search of dinner when his phone rang, and he glanced to see that it was the office calling. “Oi, mates,” he said as he answered.

  “Hey, it’s Ron. Just wanted to let you know that you got some company coming your way. Sam, Darren, and a bunch of others. It’s probably going to be about half an hour before they take off, so maybe two hours or so before they arrive. How are things going on your end?”

  “Pretty good,” Denny said. “Got my date all lined up for tonight, and I was just about to go have a bit of dinner before I get all dressed up.”

  “Okay. How soon are you supposed to pick her up?”

  Denny smiled. Ron had caught on quickly. “Oh, she’s got to work a bit late,” he said. “Won’t be seeing my dear girl until around eight or so. Want me to catch up with your boys before then?”

  “I think it might be a good idea. There are some new developments, things we don’t want to talk about over the phone. Sam can fill you in when he gets there.”

  “That so? Cor, then I best meet them at the airport. Don’t want to keep Sam waiting, now do we?”

  Ron chuckled. “Good idea. Talk to you later.”

  “Righto,” Denny said, and then he put the phone into its holster on his belt.

  New developments? He wondered if they were going to interfere with his plans for the evening. He hoped not, it had been quite some time since he had been able to use his burglary skills. It wouldn’t do to get out of practice, he knew.

  He started the car and headed back south, toward the airport. At least there were some excellent restaurants out that way. The drive would take him almost an hour and a half, so he decided to wait and invite Sam and company to dinner.

  24

  Someone had managed to retrieve the car Summer and Jade had been forced to leave in Chinatown, which pleased Jade, since her bags were still in the trunk. The two of them took the car and went to the new hotel Steve had arranged, taking the opportunity to get another shower and get back into their own clothing. They were supposed to meet Steve and Walter in the restaurant at six, so they both had to hurry in order to get dressed and ready.

  Fortunately, the bathroom had a large double vanity. They were both standing at the mirror in bra and panties, putting on makeup, when Summer’s phone rang. She hurried into the room and grabbed it off the dresser, then answered as she went back into the bathroom.

  “Summer Raines,” she said. “Hello, Ron. I’ll bet you wish this was a Skype call right now.”

  Ron, who wasn't always quick on the uptake with her humor, asked the inevitable question. “Why?”

  “Because Jade and I are standing here mostly naked together. We’re getting ready to go meet the guys for dinner. Now, what can I do for you?”

  “You can stop being such a tease, for one thing,” Ron said. “The reason I called, though, is to tell you that Sam and Darren and several more are on the way out there. Denny is going to meet them at the airport, but you want to talk with him as soon as you can. We think we may have a lead on who is trying to get that chip, and I suspect you’re not going to be happy about it.”

  “But,” she said, “for security reasons, you’re not going to tell me over the phone. Am I right?”

  Ron chuckled. “You know you are. Which only goes to show that I can do some teasing of my own. Bye, girls.” He hung up.

  “What was that?” Jade asked.

  “Me, teasing Ron. He thinks I don’t notice the way he looks at me, and he loves his wife too much to ever make a pass at me, but it’s a lot of fun just to watch him squirm. He was calling to tell us that Sam and Darren are on the way out, and they’re bringing others with them. Something about knowing who it is that wants the chip.”

  “Oh, so that’s what he wouldn’t tell you?”

  “Yep. What do you bet it turns out to be that jerk, Prentiss? I don’t think anybody has noticed that he’s about the size of the guy they’re looking for, the accomplice. Who else could get access to a master key card better than the guy who runs the joint?”

  Jade scowled into the mirror as she plumped her eyelashes. “I don’t think so,” she said. “He’s probably got the money, b
ut did you listen to the guy today? He’s an absolute evangelist for this technology. He really seems to think this is what’s going to save humanity from itself.”

  “Hey, it might. I’ll be honest, I wouldn't mind having the power of the internet inside my head. That could be pretty awesome, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know. Me, I’d be worried about whether I’d still really be me. I mean, I guess that’s kind of silly, because it would really just be me with access to a lot more information, but it seems like every experience we have either adds something or takes something away from who we are. What would it be like when you have the ability to have thousands and thousands of experiences all tucked away inside your head? What effect would that have on who you really are?”

  “You might have a point. I mean, just a few years ago I was a sweet, innocent little high school girl. Now look at me, I’m an investigator with a high-powered security company, I use my looks and sex appeal to drive men crazy so they give me what I want, and now I got a bullet hole in my boob. Some of those were experiences I could live without.”

  Jade closed her makeup case and walked into the bedroom. When Summer came out a moment later, she was pulling a pair of jeans over her pantyhose. Jade selected a skirt and blouse combination, then sat down on the bed to put her own pantyhose on.

  It took only a few minutes for them to finish dressing, and they headed toward the restaurant together. While Summer, with her thick blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect complexion was considered by some men to be the more beautiful of the two, Jade’s exotic Asian looks and athletic body got its own share of attention. They passed several men in the hallway, and smiled politely at the low whistles, which was easier than taking the time to kick them in their faces.

  When they got to the elevators, Jade pushed the button to go down and they waited for a few seconds until one of them arrived. They stepped inside and she pushed the button for the lobby, but just before the doors could close, a hand came through and stopped them. They opened again, and two men stepped inside, smiling at them. They turned and faced the hallway, and the doors closed.

  Both men spun at the same time, obviously intending to attack, reaching out to grab the girls’ throats, but both Jade and Summer had sensed something false in their smiles. By the time their hands made contact, each girl had brought a knee up into contact with the groin of the man in front of her.

  Both men’s faces showed surprise, but only for a few seconds, because that’s all it took for the girls to get them each into a chokehold. By the time the elevator reached the ground floor, both men were unconscious at the bottom of the car. When the doors opened, Jade and Summer stepped out and signaled a bellhop.

  “I don’t know what happened,” Summer said innocently. “They got on with us on the sixth floor, and then they just fainted. I think they might need doctors.”

  Jade rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper in the bellhop’s ear. “They attacked us,” she said softly. “We ruined their day. We don’t feel like messing with the police, so maybe you can just get them to leave. Pretty please?”

  The bellhop’s eyes went wide, and he nodded. “I’ll see to it,” he said. He snapped his fingers and two other bellhops came running. Jade glanced over her shoulder as they were in the restaurant and saw the two men being thrown unceremoniously out the front door.

  She turned to Summer, who had just spotted Steve and was making her way toward their table. “You know that’s not going to stop,” she said. “That’s twice, now. At least these guys didn’t use guns.”

  “Good thing, too,” Summer said. “Mine is strapped to the inside of my right thigh. I’m not absolutely certain I could’ve gotten it out in time.”

  “Mine’s in the back of my pants,” Jade replied, “but it would be quicker to take theirs and use them against them. Trust me on that, these guys never think a girl can do it, so it isn’t all that hard.”

  They got to the table and sat down, and quickly told Steve and Walter what happened. Steve shook his head. “And you didn’t call the police? Shouldn’t we at least find out who they were and who sent them?”

  Summer scowled. “Steve, they’re obviously triad soldiers, which means they aren’t going to tell us anything and it would only end up wasting several hours of our time. Do you really think we have any extra time to spare?"

  “Well, hell. We might want to get you girls out of here,” he said. “Call me old-fashioned, and I know this is going to piss you off, but I just don’t think girls belong in this kind of work.”

  “Oh, Steve, that doesn’t make me mad,” Summer said. “I think it’s sweet of you, but then we have the fact that I could probably break you into several little pieces. You’re a great guy, but you can’t take care of yourself nearly as well as I can. Maybe we should send you home where it’s safer, did you ever think of that?”

  “Ow! Bitch,” Jade said with a smile. She turned to Steve. “Did Ron call you guys?”

  Steve nodded. “Yeah, he did. I guess Sam and Darren and some others are on the way. He told me to make sure we all have rooms here, so I already took care of that. I even talked the concierge into moving a couple of people off our floor, so we’ve just about taken it over.”

  “Good,” Summer said. “Might keep the riffraff out.”

  *

  Sam and the rest stepped off the plane at five thirty, local time, and walked into the charter terminal, where he broke into a smile when he saw Denny Cortlandt standing there. Denny had gone to the Enterprise counter and arranged cars, and he passed out keys as they walked out into the lot.

  “I called Ron back to find out how many of you there were,” he said. “Wasn’t sure how many cars you would want, but I figured four would be enough.”

  “That’ll be fine,” Sam said. “We need to go somewhere and talk.”

  “Yeah, so I heard. There’s a quaint little restaurant not far up the road. I took a look, seems to be a place we can have a bit of privacy.”

  “Sounds good,” Sam said. “Lead on.”

  Denny went to the short-term parking lot and got his car, then met the rest of them at the exit to the rental lots. The others fell into a convoy, with Sam, Pat, and Becky in the car directly behind him. Darren had Joel and two of Rob’s men, and the rest were split between the other two cars.

  The drive to the restaurant took only a few minutes, and they waited until everyone was parked before they went inside. Denny had been right, there was a fairly private special dining room in the place, but it was closed. Sam promised the waitresses good tips to open it for them and they gathered inside.

  Once the doors were closed, they pulled three tables together into one big setup, and Sam filled Denny in on what they’d learned.

  “So, this Fei, he’s the bugger who wants the chip put in his head? Is he smart enough to know what he’s getting, d’you think?”

  “I’d say he probably is,” Sam replied. “He’s been expanding his power base for the past several months, even to the point of declaring war on the police in Chinatown and threatening the mayor. He must have gotten wind of just what the chip is capable of, and if he’s half as smart as we’re afraid he is, he may have already figured out just how powerful he can be with it.”

  “Only, wait, I heard all that stuff Joel was saying,” Denny said, “but to really make it work, wouldn’t he need one of those robots? The kind he can operate by remote control?”

  “Not necessarily. See, once he’s got it, he’ll be able to get any information he wants, including info on how to hack into everything out there that’s hooked up to the internet in any way. That includes cars, planes, power companies, lots of stuff. With that chip in his head, and once he learns how to use it safely, he could cut all the power to this city or any other with a thought, or he could send a jet airliner crashing down into it. From everything Joel tells me, he could probably bring down a dozen of them at a time, if he chose to. Any idea what that would do to this country?”

  “Cri
pple it,” Denny said. “Nobody’d be willing to get on a plane, even if one of the airlines was mad enough to put one in the air. Couldn’t ship anything that way, either, it’d just be giving him another weapon to use. And I’m guessing he wouldn’t be limited to this country, am I right?”

  “He wouldn’t be limited in any way. Now, assuming getting the chip was his price for acquiring it for Fa Ling or whoever, what do you think the chances are that he’s already made arrangements for robots and anything else he might want?”

  “Bugger all,” Denny said. “Hell, I bloody would, was I him. I’d get me a robot with a great big...”

  “Yeah, well,” Sam said, “he won’t need one of those, not when he can stick it to the whole wide world. And according to Joel, it would be nearly impossible to find him, because the signal can be bounced around the world before it ever gets to wherever he aims it.”

  Denny pursed his lips and looked grim. “In that case, I’d better have a good go tonight. I found my way in, but it means climbing the building. That’s the only weak point in the plan, though. As long as I make it to the top, I shouldn’t have any problem getting inside and finding what I’m after.”

  “Assuming it’s there. We still don’t know for certain that Fa Ling is the buyer.”

  Denny winked at him. “Ever get that feeling, down in the pit of your guts? The one that says you’re about to hit the bloody winner’s circle? I've got it, mate, and it’s singin’ to me. I think we’ve got the right place, and I think I’m gonna find what I’m looking for.”

  “I hope you do,” Sam said. “And one other thing I want you to look for in there is an operating room. If they got a doctor, then they’re going to need somewhere for him to work.”

  “Operating room? A surgery? Hadn’t thought of that, but wouldn’t a place like this naturally have one? I mean, they do work with people who’ve been bunged up, right?”

  “Yes, but only after the doctors are done with them. They make prosthetics, arms and legs and such. They might do minor things like inserting sensors or something like that, but I don’t think they’ve ever needed to perform surgery on this scale. If you find a real operating room, then that’s almost certainly where the chip is going to be implanted into Fei’s head.”