by LS Hawker
“Then I will shoot you,” the man said.
Jade believed him.
“Start the car and drive it to the Compound. Now.”
Olivia obeyed, and the other men got out of the way and let Olivia drive past more men in fatigues, and one farmer. Or a man who looked like a farmer.
Jade’s head thrummed. She had a sudden urge to tell Olivia to keep driving, to stay away from the Compound.
Don’t talk to county law enforcement?
Who were these people?
Chapter Ten
Jade couldn’t seem to catch her breath as Olivia pulled the Volt into the garage. A metallic clanging under the hood sounded like the engine had a busted fan. They got out of the car and Jade nearly fell over, dizzy and disoriented.
Her thoughts were jumbled, bouncing around like tennis shoes in a dryer, her brain unable to retain anything for very long.
Jade and Olivia held on to each other, as much to stay vertical as for comfort.
A Humvee parked in front of the house, and two men in fatigues carrying rifles got out of it. “Come with us,” one of them said.
Jade and Olivia obeyed silently, arms still around each other, and followed the soldiers to the fitness center. Jade glanced over her shoulder and happened to see Elias peering out one of the house windows and beckoning frantically to her. She looked ahead to the fitness center’s entrance, where Martin and Greta stood, their arms crossed, then back at Elias, who seemed to be mouthing something she couldn’t make out. She shook her head at him.
Martin opened the door, his face strained, his lips in a thin line, and Greta looked nonplussed as well. Jade’s stomach bottomed out. Disapproval. They were not happy. Why? Because they wrecked one of the Volts? Or was something else going on?
As they approached, Martin snapped, “Come inside.” They followed meekly behind him and Greta. Now Jade’s head really began to throb with pain and fear.
Martin and Greta led them into the clinic, which Jade hadn’t even known existed, where bright fluorescent lights shone, and a male nurse in scrubs asked them to take a seat.
Olivia said, “You’re bleeding,” and touched Jade’s face. Her fingers came away with clotted blood and small glass shards. Jade was only now aware of the stinging pain on her forehead. But this didn’t interest her as much as the fact that soldiers with guns had herded them into their place of employment.
“Mr. Felix,” Jade said.
“We’ll talk after you’re patched up,” Martin said in a clipped voice.
“You can’t keep me here!” a man’s hoarse voice croaked outside the clinic. Then he made an oof! sound as someone must have jabbed him in the gut.
A door off the hall outside opened, feet shuffled inside it, and the door closed again.
Jade glanced at Olivia, who looked as scared as Jade felt.
They each sat on a cot, and the nurse examined them. Pupillary response, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, oxygen uptake.
“Who is that across the hall?” Jade asked.
“I don’t know.” The nurse removed the pulse oximeter from Jade’s finger, then closely examined her forehead. “You’re going to need a few stitches.” He opened an alcohol swab and cleaned up the cuts, the stinging pain making her eyes water. He gave her a shot of Novocain and then stitched her up.
“What’s going on?” Jade said.
“I don’t know,” the nurse said.
“What do you know?” Olivia snapped from the other cot.
“I’m just the medic,” he answered, then turned back to Jade. “Do you feel sore anywhere?” Jade moved her shoulders and elbows, rolled her neck, which was indeed sore. The nurse palpated her joints, her neck, and vertebrae. He did the same to Olivia and then said, “I don’t think either of you broke any bones, but I want you to come back tomorrow morning in case we need to x-ray you. We’ll see if there are any residual problems. Martin wants you to meet him over at the office building.”
Outside the fitness center door stood another man in fatigues Jade had never seen before, who silently led them to the office building. Jade had a sudden urge to run.
But she wouldn’t get far, not with all these men with guns around.
“What is going on?” Jade whispered to Olivia. “Who are all these people? Is this a military takeover or what?” She wanted to look at her phone and search for any world news she should know about, but of course now that she was on campus, the Internet was blocked so she wouldn’t be able to find out anything anyway.
They got into the elevator and went up to the third floor conference room. Berko sat there looking bewildered and trying to appear brave. Elias, on the other hand, was on red alert.
Martin stood at the head of the table and Greta sat at his right looking grim.
“Have a seat,” Martin said.
They did and waited for him to speak.
“Are you two all right?”
Olivia and Jade traded looks, and Jade touched the bandage on her forehead. She didn’t trust her voice, didn’t trust she wouldn’t burst into noisy, wet sobs, so she just nodded.
“Yeah,” Olivia said. “A little banged up. What are all these soldier-types—”
Martin held up a hand. “What exactly did you two do in town?” He crossed his arms.
Jade wondered if she should explain about the grocery store near-abduction, since she wondered if one of the guys in the vehicle that drove them off the road was her would-be kidnapper.
But Olivia spoke up first.
“We went to the bar in town,” Olivia said. “There was a problem with some locals. But I really don’t think—”
Martin waved his hand, effectively cutting her off. He turned to Jade. “Did you see anyone you knew there?”
She didn’t think Rodney counted, but she wanted to give all the information she had. “A guy there recognized me.”
“Did you know him?” Martin nearly barked out.
Greta leaned forward, as if this would somehow compel Jade to spill whatever beans they thought she had.
There was none of Martin’s usual bumbling about tonight. His movements were as precise and controlled as they normally were clumsy and goofy. And it occurred to Jade then that the awkward act may have been just that—an act.
But why?
“No,” she said, taken aback, nervously rubbing her tattoo. “But he knew who I was.”
Martin paced, Greta watching him, and it seemed to Jade that he was trying to decide how much to tell them.
Jade, Olivia, and Berko all traded mystified glances. But Elias stared straight ahead. He knew something, all right.
Martin zeroed in on Jade again. “Did you . . . tell anyone what we’re working on here?”
“Me?” Jade said, stunned.
“You didn’t tell, say, your autistic sister because you didn’t think she could understand what we’re doing, did you?”
Jade sat straighter, this peculiar allegation raising her hackles. “No, sir. And she could understand it. If I told her. Which I didn’t. And I don’t appreciate your insinuation.”
Berko looked toward a clearly seething Elias then back at Martin.
“Are you accusing her of corporate espionage?” Berko said. “Is that what we’re talking about here? Because—”
“No, it’s much more serious than that. Much more serious.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Elias give a tiny nod. As if to say, You’re damn right it’s more serious.
“Will you quit being so cagey and tell us what you’re talking about?” Olivia burst out. “What the hell is going on here?”
“If one of you violated the NDA,” Martin said. “The consequences will be severe. Do you understand?”
Olivia opened her mouth to say something but Jade placed a silencing hand on hers.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Martin said. “You will all stay on campus for the remainder of the project. No one will leave here until our work is complete.”
Everyon
e started talking at once. But Elias gave a shrill whistle and silenced every voice.
“Are you going to tell us why?” Elias said, enunciating every syllable.
“We can have no more slips,” Martin said.
“You can’t keep us here,” Olivia said.
“It’s in your employment contract, and if you’d actually read it, any of you, you’d know that. In case of emergency, you can be sequestered on the Compound grounds.”
“And that’s all you’re going to tell us,” Elias said.
“That’s all I can tell you,” Martin said. “According to what you’ve all told me, it shouldn’t be much longer anyway. And then you can leave whenever you like.” He smiled around at them. “Everything you need is here, so it’s not so bad, is it?” He departed the room, and Greta followed him.
Why had she even been in the room? She’d never attended any of the meetings in the office building before. And she’d added nothing to the interrogation.
Everyone stared around in disbelief. Except Elias, who drummed his fingers on the table. And then he left the conference room.
“What is up with Elias?” Olivia said.
Elias returned and sat in his chair. “Martin’s gone down to his office,” he said. “I watched the elevator stop on the first floor.”
“Okay,” Berko said. “So . . .”
“Yeah, I’m not going to beat around the bush like old Martin there. I’m going to tell you exactly what I found after dinner. Berko wanted to read, so I was on my own, and I decided to go to the lab.”
“And?” Olivia said.
“This is going to sound crazy.”
Olivia and Jade glanced at each other and then at Berko, but his eyes were fixed on Elias’s pale face.
“I found some hidden directories on the servers.”
They all looked at each other again.
“How’d you do that?” Olivia said, skeptical.
“I scanned the system for vulnerabilities with a utility I designed when I was an undergrad. You know, for fun.”
“For fun,” Berko said. “That’s what you do for fun.”
Elias ignored him. “I found a vulnerability and ran a fuzzer to find hidden files. The fun of breaching a vulnerability is just knowing you can do it.”
Jade understood. It was just a smarter-than-thou exercise, harmless if the person doing it didn’t have nefarious motives. She trusted Elias.
Didn’t she?
But why would he be looking for vulnerabilities now? He’d been here for twelve weeks.
“So you were spying on SiPraTech?” Berko said.
“Not spying. Snooping. It’s harmless.”
Berko’s expression said he didn’t think it was so harmless. But he listened, his mouth set in a rigid line.
Elias took a deep breath and said, “This isn’t just some random tech company we’re working for.”
“No shit,” Berko said. “I kind of picked up on that after the militia descended.”
“Who are we working for, then?” Jade said, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Elias looked around at everyone.
“The National Security Agency.”
Chapter Eleven
Jade felt all the air rush out of the room.
“That would explain why they won’t let us leave,” Olivia said.
“And all the military people out there,” Berko said, giving what sounded like an involuntary gulp.
“And how they can get away with holding us virtual prisoners here,” Olivia said.
“Ain’t nothing virtual about it,” Berko said.
“I didn’t sign up to work for the federal government,” Olivia said. “If the military’s involved, then they’re going to militarize Clementine. It’s like we’re in a bastardized version of Ender’s Game.”
“Why though?” Jade said. “What would they use it for?”
“To infiltrate terror cells, maybe?” Berko said.
“And why build this campus in the middle of Kansas and pretend to be something they’re not?” Jade said.
“We have to confront Martin,” Elias said. “Tell him we know what’s going on. Demand all the details.” He grinned. “And demand more money.”
Shocked, Jade said, “Demand more money? I don’t want more money. I just want to go home. We could have been killed tonight.”
“Don’t you get it?” Elias said. “That’s why they offered us so much money. Because they aren’t going to let us leave. Someone ran you off the road, someone who clearly knows something about what’s going on inside this Compound, and they’re trying to stop it. Which means there are more of them out there, they know who we are and they’re not going to stop coming after us. All of us.”
“But—”
“Our own government has put us in grave danger. They’ve lied to us about what we’re doing. And by God they’re going to pay.”
“But how do we know this is actually the NSA?” Berko said. “Just because you found some files?”
“That’s why we’re going to get Martin up here,” Elias said. “He’s going to tell us exactly what’s going on.”
“What if he doesn’t admit to it?” Olivia said.
“I’ll show him the files, that’s all,” Elias said.
They did need to confront Martin. And also to find out why he believed Jade had breached the NDA.
Elias pulled out his phone and dialed. “Martin? We’re still all up here in the conference room. Yup. We’d like you to come back because we have a couple of questions for you. No, I think you’ll want to do it right away. It could be a matter of national security.”
He clicked off.
“That’ll get him up here faster than shit through a goose.”
Olivia laughed nervously.
“Hey, man,” Berko said, looking at his friend with respect. “Thanks for telling us alone instead of springing it on us in front of him.”
“I knew I had to consult you all first,” Elias said. “Come to a consensus regarding course of action. We’re a team, you know.”
Berko slapped him on the back and shook his hand.
Martin entered the room, a wary expression on his face, the words national security probably still ringing in his ears. “What is it? It’s late, and I have work to do.”
“We know,” Elias said. “But we’ve taken a vote, and we’ve decided you need to tell us who we’re really working for.”
Martin scanned the room. “I don’t have time for this.”
Olivia stood. “Look. Either we get some answers, like, now, or we’re all walking.”
“You’ll be in violation of the NDA,” Martin said.
“I don’t give a shit,” Olivia said. She pointed. “There are men with guns crawling all over this place. We are clearly in danger. Good God, I never thought I’d have to say this sort of movie dialogue in real life, but there it is.”
Elias also rose, as did Berko, and then Jade, even though she was shaky on her feet.
“We’re going to leave, and Jade will take her program with her,” Elias said.
They hadn’t discussed that portion of the threat, but it made sense to Jade. With a bravery and conviction Jade didn’t feel, she headed toward the door. “I’m going down to the lab right now and pulling Clementine off the system,” she said.
Two armed soldiers appeared in the doorway, blocking her way. She turned and Martin said, “Clementine belongs to us now, Jade.”
“Who the hell is ‘us’?” Jade said.
“Martin,” Elias said. “We know who we’re working for. Just say it.”
Martin stood gaping at them, speechless.
“All right then,” Elias said. “I’ll say it for you. The NSA.”
Martin’s expression didn’t change, but his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
“So why don’t you tell us what we’re really working on.”
Martin appeared to be thinking this over.
“Why did you lie to us?” Berko sai
d.
“Like Elias said, it’s a matter of national security,” Martin said. He sighed. “Here’s the situation. We are expecting—reliable intelligence indicates that . . . China is set to attack us.”
Jade gasped and put a hand over her mouth.
“Reliable intelligence,” Olivia mocked.
Ignoring her, Elias said, “A nuclear attack?”
“Cyber,” Martin said. “They plan to bring down our electrical grid.”
“That’s not even possible,” Olivia said, uncertainty creeping into her voice.
Martin addressed Olivia directly. “The Chinese have been working on an AI program similar to Clementine. The program is very good at overcoming obstacles and will be uploaded to the federal government’s servers, and from there it will filter down into the infrastructure.”
“I’m very suspicious of that sort of language—they’re ‘going to,’” Olivia said. “If they are going to, why haven’t they already?”
“That’s a good question,” Martin said. “For one very specific reason. September eleventh.”
Jade traded glances with her teammates. What did that have to do with anything?
“They’re going to attack on September eleventh—”
“Wait,” Berko said. “This September eleventh? Three days from now?”
Martin nodded. “They know if it happens then, regardless of how it happens, the Arab world will be blamed. Once all our systems fail, we’ll be helpless, vulnerable, in chaos. The Chinese will step in and say to the federal government, oh, you’re having trouble with your power grid? We can help. We have this great program that will allow all the stations to operate separately while still remaining connected, just like the systems of the body, so this will never happen again. We’ll have everything up and running within three days. We’ll even bring in some military to help you restore law and order. Just one little stipulation, they’ll say. It’s going to be expensive, transporting personnel, helping straighten out your food and water supplies, shipping, et cetera. And you already owe us a lot of money. So we’d like to cash those loans in for land and tangible assets to offset our costs. And we’d like to help you with your political system, which is a mess.”
