by Ellen Clary
He pulled up the DNA of a recent test subject whom he had personally met. The person was darker than he was, but not excessively. He wrote a script to run some general estimates of the geographic origins of the DNA. As Sarah promised, it was a rat’s nest, pointing everywhere except for the polar regions.
“My heart strings are reaching out to you—” sang the lonely tenor on the radio. Adam thought the guy was a dweeb, but he could definitely sing.
Adam tried with his own DNA. His family had intermarried much less than normal, and while the darker nations were there, his DNA was overwhelmingly from the areas that he and his peers considered the lighter nations.
He could do this, he was sure of it. If he used percentages, he could target the problematic darker nations, whichever method they chose to use. He decided against telling goody-two-shoes Sarah, who would, no doubt, make a strong case for why this was a bad idea, and decided to go straight to Tomas.
LATER, ADAM caught up with Tomas outside.
“Brother Tomas, may I walk with you for a bit?”
“Brother Adam, I would be delighted. Come, let’s walk over to the farm.”
They walked down the dirt access road, the air rich with sheep manure, which was being used as compost for the corn, beans, and what hay they could manage to squeeze in for their own use. Tomas had bought the land very cheaply because it was producing poorly, and that reality hadn’t changed much, though the sheep manure helped. His farm manager was struggling with the competing goals of needing to produce more hay for their sheep while needing to grow enough corn and beans to sell at the marketplace. If their land produced better, they could switch over to being one of the profitable, government-sponsored organic farms that grew a huge variety of crops.
Once they had gotten out of the earshot of everyone else, Adam said, “I’ve been looking at the older ancestry DNA software.”
Tomas, who had been looking into the distance and had nearly tripped over a gouge in the road, responded, “Really?” His eyebrows were lifting.
“I know that the usefulness of them is less, with people having now moved around a lot.”
Tomas smiled, “And the diagrams resemble decorative knotwork.”
“But I started running percentages of lighter versus darker nations and you can still do that with our DNA here.”
“The lighter nations being our own definition.”
“Well, yes.”
“Seems a little risky. Go on.”
“Well, someone like me whose family didn’t intermarry much is only about 20% DNA that has origins in the darker nations. It can go as high as 30%, but there’s a definite pattern.”
Tomas stopped and looked at Adam, whose eyes had a certain eureka intensity that one gets with discovery. He could see where this was leading and he wasn’t sure what to do about it, if anything. “Okay, and what are you concluding from this insight?”
“The darker nations are causing this overpopulation problem.”
Tomas, who was taller, inclined his head down and to the side a little. “Probably.”
“We can target them with whatever we come up with, especially once we get the transmission and the replication problems addressed.”
Tomas inhaled and looked at the distant horizon. This intensity was exactly what he wanted, but he didn’t know if Adam was the right person for it.
“Adam, this amount of initiative and creativity is admirable. We might be able to use this information to fine-tune our target audience, and we could also use it to exclude other groups if possible.”
“Thank you, Brother Tomas,” Adam said in a noncommittal tone.
“But there’s something else you wanted to say. Isn’t there?”
“We could make a big difference with this.”
“Yes, we could.”
“Wouldn’t this speed our project up?”
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves, Adam.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We have other problems to address first.”
Tomas patted him on the shoulder. “Good man. I’m happy that you’re on our team; you can make a real difference here.”
“Thanks, Tomas.”
“And thank you, Adam. May God light your path.”
“And walk beside you,” Adam responded.
Adam turned to go, leaving Tomas contemplating the beans, corn, and hay, and what to do with Adam.
CHAPTER 53:
Adam and Sarah Head Down South
ADAM LOOKED at the road and idly wondered how they ended up there.
Brother Tomas had asked him and Sarah to hand deliver a package to an associate of his down south. It was heavy and felt like equipment, but Tomas apparently didn’t want to say too much about it. Tomas asked him to put it in the trunk. He had asked if it should be on the back seat, where it would be better protected, but Tomas didn’t seem that concerned about it and said that it would be more secure out of sight.
The data units that had been sitting around for so long were no longer around and he had a guess that they were in the carton, but Tomas deflected questions about it, so Adam didn’t press.
The trip was kind of long but uneventful, traveling out of the flat-with-small-hills area where they lived to more green areas, then over a mountain range and into green rolling hills. The conifer forests had faded into the occasional lone oak. They had passed a lake and now were paralleling a river as they headed into town.
Sarah said, “They asked for an afternoon delivery, so let’s stop for a bite first.” Sarah punched some buttons on the console. “How about a taqueria? I could really go for a good carne asada taco.”
Adam agreed reluctantly, as he worried about the food in the taquerias.
“Oh, come on,” Sarah said, sounding a little exasperated. “We don’t get down here that often. You can just have a bean and cheese burrito with no salsa if you want to be bored.”
Adam sighed. “Okay.”
Later, as Adam was cautiously eating a burrito with Levi at his feet and Sarah was blissfully devouring her tacos, she said, “You have to get out more often. We tend to get into our own little world up there.”
Adam looked up. “Well, isn’t that sort of the point? To draw away into a God-honoring community?”
She happily licked a bit of salsa off her lips. “I know Gregory and Candice cook fine, but they could expand their horizons a little more. For one thing, add a little heat and spice.”
He gesticulated with his fork, which he wasn’t using to eat with. “And no one but you would eat it.”
“Tomas would. You might, with a little more exposure.”
“Well, okay,” he said noncommittally, inclining his head some.
Adam, amazed that they hadn’t talked about it before, looked quizzically at Sarah while reaching down and stroking Levi on the neck and asking, “What do you think is in that box?”
“Some sort of technology, I imagine. Is there something they are going to be testing for us? Something too sensitive to send over the net?”
“Remember those data units that Tomas didn’t want us messing with?” He was back to speaking with his fork.
Sarah took a sip of her drink and said, “That’s about the right size.”
“Maybe they belong to the people we’re taking them to.”
“Seems a lot of hassle, if that’s all they are.”
After they were finished and had settled the bill, they were walking out of the restaurant when Levi suddenly took off running and barking. “Levi!” Adam shouted and took off running. “Levi come here! Come, you stupid mutt!”
AMY AND Steve were debating about catching lunch at the burrito place when a golden retriever charged up to them. Pearl was unimpressed, but Lars jumped up and down in excited greeting.
Amy just stared, open-mouthed. “No way.”
Steve said, “No way what, or is that the dog’s name?”
“This cannot be the dog I’m seeing.”
“Say what?”
“This
dog lives in Choran.”
“Say WHAT? Come on, lots of goldens look alike.”
“No really, this is Adam’s dog. And …,” looking up to see Adam running up to them, “here comes trouble.” To Steve, she said, “I’ll take the lead while I figure out what to say.”
“All yours,” said Steve. “Do I get to keep my own name?”
“Yes,” Amy quickly said.
Adam said, “Levi! Levi, come here. I’m so sorry, I don’t know what got into him.”
“Well, I have a guess,” Amy said.
Adam slid to a stop and looked up from focusing on Levi. His shock was exactly like Amy’s. “Amy?”
“Hi, Adam. Fancy meeting you here.”
Adam looked completely nonplussed. “Er, hi.”
She decided to forge ahead. “This is my friend Steve.” After an awkward pause they shook hands. “Since you’re probably wondering, I transferred from Choran to Evergreen here. I’m still studying psychology.”
Adam nodded. He had that stuck-for-words look.
Looking down at Adam’s leg, where the golden had positioned himself, Amy asked, “And how is Levi doing besides happily throwing you into awkward situations?”
Adam smiled and spoke to the ground vaguely in Levi’s direction. “Oh, he’s alright, I guess.”
“I see that Levi is introducing you to the locals,” came an approaching voice.
Adam glanced over and said, “Yes, he is, Sarah.”
Sarah looked the picture of poise that Adam wasn’t. Amy noticed that she moved with a well-practiced grace despite her heavier frame, her black hair flowing around her.
Adam looked over to her and she gave him that prompting, introduce-me look.
Adam, catching himself, said, “Oh yes, Sarah, this is Amy. I know her from the Charon dog park. Amy, this is Sarah, who also lives on the farm where I live.” They shook hands.
Amy, deciding to help, said, “And this is Steve.” Sarah and Steve shook hands.
Amy, realizing who was in charge, told Sarah, “I used to attend Chorcy and have recently transferred here.”
Sarah put her hands together. “And you are experiencing the wonders of the taqueria.”
Amy smiled, nodded, and looked at Steve, who nodded too. “Without question—worth transferring, just for that.”
Sarah gave Adam a look and put a hand on his shoulder. “Our boy is reluctantly sampling the local cuisine—I think he’ll survive.”
Adam gave her that patient-but-put-upon look.
Steve made that I’ve-got-a-message body movement and looked at his handheld. Amy hoped that Sarah and Adam couldn’t tell that it was completely fake. “Would you excuse me?”
“Your new boyfriend is messaging you again?”
“Yeeesss,” he said with a quick, mischievous smile as he stepped away.
Amy also hoped that they could not tell that he had just taken their picture and was no doubt sending it to Central.
Still hoping that Steve could hear her, Amy asked, “So what brings you this far south?”
Adam’s facial muscles tightened a little and he looked at Sarah.
Sarah said, “Tomas, our leader, asked us to bring down a couple of packages to an associate of his.”
Amy smiled, “Wow, you are all couriers, too?”
Sarah laughed in what felt to Amy like a genuine laugh. “Rarely. I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s fragile and he’s concerned about it getting smashed by delivery professionals playing catch. It’s a long enough trip that it’s nice with two people.”
Or one to keep an eye on the other, Amy thought, but didn’t say.
Steve reappeared.
Amy grinned. “He hasn’t left you yet?”
He shook his head in a slightly superior manner. “Nope.”
Amy said, “Well, Sarah, it was very nice to meet you.”
Sarah inclined her head in acknowledgement.
Adam looked up suddenly. “Could I get your contact info?”
Her heart skipped a beat. Shit, think fast, thought Amy.
“It’s down for today while stuff gets moved around, but why don’t you give me yours and I’ll contact you when it’s back up?” She took out her handheld and held it at the ready. Adam gave her his contact info. “Perfect—I think it will be up tomorrow. And now we should let you all go to your delivery, and we shall partake in taco heaven.”
They bade each other goodbye, with scritches for Levi, who seemed particularly put out and was chattering meaninglessly to her.
AS AMY and Steve walked into the taqueria, Amy leaned into Steve and said, “Tell me you have a tail on them.”
Steve gave her an innocent look with a hand on his chest. “Moi? Who do you take me for? So suspicious.” After a beat he said, “I sent in a photo of them and their location and requested a discreet tail to see where this delivery is going to be.”
Looking at the menu, Amy sighed. “Too bad it can’t be us.”
“Honey, we are the last people eligible for such a job. You need Joe Forgettable.”
“Who?”
“Precisely,” he said, tapping her shoulder with his fingertips.
Amy ordered a couple of small chicken tacos and looked at her handheld. “I need to request a generic messaging ID that I can give to Adam.”
Steve folded his arms and put most of his weight on one foot with his fingers to his lips. “Let’s see. Let’s call it Amy’s Super Secret Spy Account.”
“Naw, let’s call it Steve’s Clandestine Rendezvous Address.”
With mock hurt, Steve said, “Oh, I wish.”
“Your burrito is ready, you big, secret hunk.”
Steve did a double take. “Already?” Then he recovered, and gave Amy a wry look, “You big tease, that is someone else’s burrito.”
CHAPTER 54:
Amy and Steve Back to Central
AMY AND Steve walked back into Central.
“What the hell?” Harris said, clearly having gotten the message about their meeting Adam and Sarah.
Yolanda, sitting on Harris’s desk, said, “Some people have all the luck.”
“Sorry,” Amy said.
Steve crossed his arms, looking right at Harris. “Okay, Tech Boy, you know more than we do—spill it.”
Harris raised his chin slightly and arched his eyebrows. “Well, if you really care, your friends delivered two packages to our friends at Applied Sciences.”
“Ah, ha!” Steve raised his fist.
Amy said, “What the heck? Are they the data units?”
“Don’t know yet. Looks like they just dropped them at the front desk.”
Amy put her hands on her forehead. “What the heck are they doing?”
Harris said, “Too many choices to even guess. They could be giving up. They could be saying they’ve decrypted them. They could have wiped them and be giving them back as a message, which would be a little silly.”
Steve asked, “Message, like a Mafia message? They don’t seem the type.”
Amy laughed. “They sure don’t, but then again, look what they did to Herman and Lincoln.”
Harris said, “They would claim that wasn’t their doing, even though they made it possible.”
“It was their doing,” Steve and Yolanda said almost at once.
The department head Catherine walked in. “Applied Sciences just called. The special package was the data units.”
Harris said, “Tell them not to touch them, so we can see what DNA is on there, even though we pretty much know what is going to be there already and they’re probably just the innocent workers in this game.”
Catherine went on. “I’m going to have them proceed as they would if we hadn’t gotten involved.”
“Midnight delivery to Nanology by hooded figures?”
“Likely,” she said.
Harris said, “Tell them the same thing about not handling the units much.”
Amy asked, “So, does this mean I don’t have to stay in touch with
Adam?”
Catherine looked at her with something that resembled a ‘nice try’ look.
“Actually, it’s very important that you stay in touch with him and also with Fed Agent Tyson Mulhaney. We still don’t know what this is all about, and Adam seems inclined to trust you. I have arranged a messaging identity for you, and I’ve had the set-up details sent to you. Make sure you keep it entirely separate from your other work.”
After a beat Amy said, “Has anyone tried to find a way to Sarah? She seems sincere, and I’m sure anything illegal would upset her.”
“I think Marcus is working on that. Your story is the same, you’re a student, but you’re now at Evergreen.”
“Here to eat tacos,” Steve said.
Amy flashed him bared teeth while still managing to smile. “At least I don’t have to fly up there.”
Steve started singing an old song about pen pals. He’d actually had to explain the concept to her a while back.
Amy said, “Steve, can you shut up a second while I attempt to do actual work?” To Catherine, she asked, “What am I supposed to say to him?”
“Well, just be his friend, same as before. Tell him how Lars is. How class is going. Talk about your surfing, if you like. If you keep track, you can tell him about how the family farm is doing, but most importantly, ask how Sarah and the others are, and how life on his farm is, and obviously try to get him to talk about his work without appearing to be pushy, which is harder to do in print. Anything you can think of that might make him more comfortable, so he’ll tell you more.”
Amy leaned her head into her open hand, fingers rubbing her furrowed brow.
Sensing Amy’s ambivalence, Yolanda walked over and put a hand on Amy’s shoulder and to Catherine said, “It’s okay, I’ll give her chitchat lessons.”
Smiling, Catherine said, “Thanks.”
Amy looked at her handheld and at her new messaging identity. She wasn’t convinced that this was going to go anywhere.
Catherine said, “It’s very subtle, slow work, but it’s pretty essential. The Feds want to keep a connection to this group without having to directly infiltrate it. You’ve helped them out so much.”