by D. B. Goodin
“From the looks of it, if I had to guess, I would say that someone owns this island. And . . . did I mention the array of large satellite dishes?” Jony continued.
Alexei, Viktor, and Dahlia were behind Jony looking at his screen.
“Access to the net has been spotty for days now. How do you secure a reliable connection outside the region?” Nigel asked.
“My connection’s been stable for hours,” Jony said.
Did the DDOS attacks stop? Nigel thought.
“That settles it. We need to send a team to Africa!” Mr. Tage said.
No one said anything for a long time.
Nigel texted John Appleton.
How’s my mother?
“She’s still in a coma,” John texted back.
Please let me know when you have an update! Nigel responded.
Will do, kid.
Then Nigel called Milo, who picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, Nige,” said Milo. “Have you found anything useful?”
Nigel gave Milo a quick update.
“Wow—she has traveled halfway around the world. I’m sure she has some interesting stories,” Milo said.
“Well, I just want her back home! Can you do something for me?”
“Just name it.”
“Is it possible to find all radio waves on a map for all islands near Nigeria?”
“Several scientists around the world monitor and publish information about radio waves all the time. There are also a lot of hobbyist sites with that sort of information,” Milo said.
“See if you can find an island in the region that has the highest concentration of signals,” Nigel said.
“I’m on it, Nige. I will call you back when I have something.”
“If I don’t pick up, send me a secure message.”
“Got it! Hey, you heard anything about your mom?” Milo said.
A single tear formed in one of Nigel’s eyes. “Yes . . . she’s the same. Hey, I need to go, Milo.”
Nigel hung up. Need to stay focused, he told himself.
Eight hours later
Nigel was getting restless, he had never been on a plane and had to move around, which helped him think. Everyone except for Hunter looked tired.
“If we come into contact with Delta, she might be difficult to deal with. How do we defend ourselves against her cybernetic shell?” Nigel said.
“April suffers from aquagenic urticaria. Bacteria in certain water compounds could harm her,” Melissa said.
“I wonder if her transformation into Delta changed that,” Nigel said.
“We don’t know, but it’s information worth having in case things get rough,” Melissa said.
“So why don’t we just spray her with some water and watch the computer melt down? Sounds easy enough,” Hunter said.
Melissa gave Hunter a contemptuous look.
“If someone of Nigel’s expertise can hack into Leviathan’s mainframe, we can lock Delta out!” Melissa said.
“An AI that powerful will have protections in place,” Nigel said.
“Not to mention a lot of blokes with guns,” Jony added.
“Leviathan has a manual override. I found information on it when I was snooping around my father’s office,” Melissa said. She produced a flash drive from a compartment in her jacket and handed it to Nigel. “It’s all on here. Good luck!”
Nigel gave Melissa a smile. “Thanks.”
“My ride is at Newport International. It can hold seven passengers,” Alexei said.
“I don’t even have a passport!” Nigel protested.
“That’s not a problem,” Natasha said.
“We have three open seats. Who will accompany us?”
Upon entering the lab, Jet screamed as she tripped over Ash’s body.
“What the fuck! Is that Ash? Where are her eyes?” Jet said.
Jeremiah just nodded.
“There is little time. Put Delta on the table,” Leviathan said.
“Lev, run a full level-five diagnostic,” Jeremiah said.
“From this point forward, I will require dual consent for matters related to Delta 51,” Leviathan said.
“Why?” Jeremiah demanded.
“Delta enacted Directive 557 before she went offline.”
“What the hell is that?” Jeremiah asked.
“It’s a fail-safe that Ash programmed into my neural net. Delta 51 was required to activate, which happened moments before you brought her back into this lab,” Leviathan explained.
“What will the diagnostic do?” Jet asked.
“Delta 51 will need to be taken fully offline, and there’s a 48 percent chance that she may not ever come back online. Do you wish to proceed?”
“No,” Jet said.
“We need to figure out the extent of her damage,” Jeremiah demanded.
“What less-invasive diagnostic levels are there?” Jet said.
“A level-three diagnostic should be sufficient. I calculate that Delta 51 has a 98 percent chance of recovery,” Leviathan said.
“Then let’s run that instead,” Jet said.
“Do you agree, Dr. Mason?”
Jeremiah nodded.
“I require a verbal response!” Leviathan said.
“Yes!”
Jeremiah glared at Jet.
I’m not backing down, not anymore! Jet thought.
Jet found some blankets in a supply closet. She covered Dr. Ash’s body.
“Hey, a little help, please,” Jet said curtly.
Jeremiah helped Jet move Ash’s body to a walk-in refrigerator where other scientific supplies were kept. Order seemed to be restoring in the lab. Leviathan muted the alarms, and the lab workers resumed their posts. It’s a good thing that these workers didn’t see Dr. Ash’s body, Jet thought.
Four hours later
Still in the lab, Jet sat next to what was now known as Delta 51. She was keeping a keen eye on Jeremiah.
I don’t trust that bastard, she thought.
“Diagnostic complete!” Leviathan said.
“What are the results?”
“90 percent damage to her empathy receptors, so I suggest running a bypass using a local circuit. This should keep Delta 51’s decisions from being too . . . emotional.”
“How do we replace the circuit?” Jet asked.
“I can perform the work with Dr. Mason assisting,” Leviathan said.
Jeremiah reluctantly agreed to the makeshift operation. A set of robotic hands appeared from an apparatus behind the back of Delta’s bed. They went to work immediately.
Six hours later
“Jet!” Delta said excitedly, waking up.
She sounds like April again! Jet thought.
Jeremiah looked exhausted and disappointed. He walked out of the room.
“I’ve checked all of her neural connections, and they are running at 95 percent efficiency. Delta 51 is back to acceptable levels of efficiency,” Leviathan said.
A loud clacking noise emanated from the lab.
“An unauthorized plane has landed at the airstrip. How do you wish to proceed?” Leviathan asked.
“Can you show me?” Jet said.
Several monitors came to life around the room. Jet could see people exiting a private aircraft, but she couldn’t make out any details.
Who are these people?
“Hostile intent detected. I suggest that we put the facility on lockdown,” Leviathan said.
“Do it!” Jet said.
“Verification required!”
“Authorized,” Delta said.
“Sorry, cannot comply without Dr. Mason,” Leviathan said.
Did Lev’s voice sound different, somehow?
Jet left the lab as the technicians were securing workstations and hastily putting away projects. Jet ran around the entire level of the facility. Jeremiah was nowhere to be found.
She tapped her visor.
“Leviathan, can you locate Dr. Mason?”
“Hello, Je
t!” a familiar voice replied.
“Delt . . . April?” asked Jet, shocked.
“Yep, it’s me, silly! April! I’ve assimilated—I mean, integrated—into Leviathan. Things are more efficient this way!”
“Where’s your grandfather?”
“Oh, I took care of him!” Delta said in a cold voice.
Her voice just changed again. Am I still speaking with April . . . or Delta?
“Show me!” Jet said.
Jet’s visor came to life. She could see Jeremiah from above. He was in a small metal container.
An elevator? Jet thought.
As she watched, it became apparent that it was malfunctioning or being controlled. The elevator halted, and Jeremiah fell to the floor. Then he seemed weightless as his body rose and then fell. The camera zoomed in as Jeremiah reached for the control panel. The elevator door opened, and a cleaning robot entered. Then the robot rammed into Jeremiah’s face with the force of a sledgehammer. Jeremiah held his hands over his head, but the robot kept coming. This repeated until a dark puddle formed around Jeremiah’s head. Jet covered her mouth.
I’m going to be sick . . .
Chapter 26
It took six hours and two SUVs, but the group of seven got to the private terminal of the Newport airport.
I don’t even want to know how Natasha made this passport. I just hope I don’t get caught! Nigel thought, looking at his forged document.
Alexei, Natasha, Nigel, and Viktor got out of the lead SUV. A few minutes later, the vehicle containing Dahlia, Jony, and Hunter arrived.
“It will be close quarters, but I didn’t want to waste any more time preparing at the Manor, so I suggest that we work on the plane,” Alexei said.
“We will need to hurry when we land. I don’t think security on the private island will appreciate our invasion,” Natasha said.
“I expect some resistance, but with our team backing us up, it should even the odds,” Alexei said.
Natasha sized up Jony. “Are you any good in a fight?” she asked.
“I grew up in Camden. If you don’t know, it’s a rough-and-tumble area,” Jony said.
“I’m not talking about a street brawl. Have you seen any real combat?”
“No, love, but I know how to handle myself. Had plenty of knock-ups when I was a nipper.”
Jony gave Melissa a nervous glance.
Nigel looked at Hunter. “What combat training do you have?” Nigel asked.
Hunter moved over to Nigel with the prowess of a predator.
“I’ve gutted more than my share of worthless swine,” Hunter said.
A pang of fear washed over him. Where do I know this guy from? Nigel thought.
“Enough! Now, let’s get moving. Another storm front is brewing,” Alexei insisted.
Thirty minutes later, they were in the air. The private jet featured tables and large, comfortable chairs. Nigel agreed to work with Jony during the long flight. Their objective was simple: shut down Leviathan before Delta could integrate into it.
“Do you have the AI’s specifications?” Jony asked.
Nigel gave him a flash drive with Melissa’s pilfered documents. Jony took a moment to examine the documents.
“That’s our in?” Jony asked as he showed Nigel the laptop.
“According to the documents that Melissa provided, Leviathan’s interface is protected by crypto-algorithms that have known vulnerabilities. Just last week, the Ninex community patched the elliptical curve cryptography mechanism that allowed an attacker to piggyback on the existing certificate,” Jony said.
“All we need to do is write a piece of malware to exploit it,” Nigel chided.
“Not a problem. I have the latest version of Hally Ninex Exploit toolkit on my laptop,” Jony said.
“Good—you write the malware, and I will write the delivery mechanism,” Nigel said.
“Agreed,” Jony said as he typed away.
Natasha curled up with a pillow, but Hunter kept sharpening one of his many blades.
“Do you need to do that now?” Natasha asked.
“Oh, I like it when you get angry,” Hunter said.
“I’m not angry . . . yet!”
“I want to be prepared. No sense in having dull throwing knives!” Hunter said.
Natasha looked over at Nigel. He had his earbuds in and didn’t seem to be paying attention to their exchange. Hunter followed her gaze.
“After our mission, if you want to have some fun, we should hang out, see who has the best aim,” Hunter said.
“Darling, you’re not my type. And besides, you’re just a boy!” Natasha said.
Hunter shot her a murderous glance and pointed a knife at Nigel.
“He’s the only boy here!”
Natasha hit Hunter in the throat, and he dropped the knife. She snatched it up. Hunter started wheezing.
“Stop it!” Dahlia yelled at them.
Everyone was looking at the pair now.
“Little boys shouldn’t play with grown men’s toys!” Natasha said.
“You crazy bitch!” Hunter snapped.
Dahlia pointed at a chair near the front of the aircraft. “Go, sit there and stay out of trouble,” she ordered.
Nigel gave Natasha a worried glance. She patted him on the shoulder and then disappeared into the back of the aircraft.
Several hours into the flight, Jony and Nigel tested the malware and delivery system using a walled-off testing environment called a “virtual sandbox.”
“All we need to do is plug this baby in!” Jony said.
“We should make a duplicate, just in case,” Nigel said as he produced several more flash drives. Now that they had completed the work, Nigel felt exhausted, and he allowed sleep to take him.
“This is the captain speaking. We will be hitting some rough weather as we descend, so please buckle up for your safety.”
How long was I out? Nigel thought as he looked at his watch.
“We’re landing now. Be prepared for anything once we land,” Alexei reminded everyone in a loud voice.
Nigel looked around the cabin of the plane. From the look of it, everyone was already awake.
The plane’s descent was rocky. Nigel looked at Jony, who had a death grip on his seat.
“Scared of flying?” Nigel said.
“Not of flying, but crashing is another matter!” Jony replied.
All the bumpiness didn’t seem to faze Dahlia. She just stared at Nigel. Hunter seemed uninterested, looking out the window. Nigel looked to see the island; he could make out a set of islands if he moved his head close to the window. They were close enough to the water to see whitecaps form on the waves. The plane lowered its descent, and within minutes Nigel could see the tops of trees. They were coming in low! The plane dropped. Nigel’s heart seemed to get stuck in his throat. He held his breath. Seconds later, a loud slamming sound reverberated out, followed by several bumps. It felt like the plane was jumping on the runway.
Viktor, Dahlia, and Natasha seemed glued to their windows, looking for signs of trouble. No other planes were in sight.
“There!” Viktor said.
Natasha jumped out of her seat to inspect. Several vehicles were driving to meet them.
“Military?” Nigel said.
“They look the part,” Alexei said.
“I will do the talking,” Dahlia said.
“What you going to do? You can’t take them all on! I don’t care how badass you are,” Natasha said.
“What do you suggest?” Dahlia said.
“I have an idea. Follow my lead,” Natasha said.
Natasha went to the back of the plane. A few moments later, she came back dressed in a business suit.
“Whoa, who are you supposed to be?” Nigel asked.
“Gretchen Lewis, solar panel inspector,” Natasha said as she put her glasses on.
Dahlia smiled as she attached a whip to her belt.
“What! They will never buy that,” Hunter said.
As soon as the plane was parked, Natasha palmed a clear patch that contained a nerve agent which enhanced her ability to persuade. For a brief moment most affected people would follow her orders. Combined with her natural charms, it gave her a slight advantage.
She opened the outside staircase and walked down with her hands up. She looked like a businesswoman, surprised by the “strange” welcome. Dahlia followed close behind; she looked like an assassin . . . or perhaps a bodyguard.
“Stop!” a large man said. The man was tall and wide. He wore a red beret. His uniform was clean and pressed. He looked like the man in charge.
“Don’t shoot!” Natasha said, trying to sound frightened.
Dahlia surveyed the layout of the airstrip. She counted five all-terrain vehicles with no less than three people in each.
They had the advantage of having the sun at their back.
“Who are you?” the large man asked.
“Gretchen Lewis, inspector from Sunlight Solar,” Natasha said as she cowered.
“Oh, you’re way overdue. The inspections were supposed to happen weeks ago! And . . . you are not what I was expecting,” the man said.
He signaled for his men to lower their weapons.
“I’m Mani Akintola, and I’m in charge of security on this private island,” the man said.
Natasha walked over to him and held out a hand. Mani took it and gazed into her eyes. “You’re trembling, my dear,” Mani said as he gripped her hand. She applied additional pressure, ensuring firm contact, and Mani’s smile grew.
“What can I do for you, my dear?” Mani said.
“You can provide safe passage for my bodyguard and me to the main complex. I will also need to fetch my intern,” Natasha said.
“Anything . . . okay,” Mani said.
“Nigel, you can come out now!” Natasha said.
Nigel emerged from the plane.
“Now, take us to the site!” Natasha said to Mani.
“I will leave some men with your plane, for protection,” Mani said.
“Very well, but they must remain outside,” Natasha said.
Mani nodded as he drove Natasha, Dahlia and Nigel to the main complex.
Alexei watched Mani and some of his men leave. He noticed that six men stayed behind.