by Andrew Watts
“I am. Thanks for asking. Will you attend the funeral this weekend?”
“Weng’s? Yes.”
“She’ll be missed.”
Colt nodded. “Any word on Russian repercussions?”
“There will be payback. Both official and unofficial. Petrov will never travel again to a country with a US extradition treaty. We’ve kicked out half of their Houston spies. They’ll return the favor, but probably let us keep a few extra to even the scorecard.”
“Please don’t talk like that. Like it’s a sport.”
Wilcox shrugged. “Whether or not I want it to be true, that’s how the system works.”
Colt said, “Is there any progress on Kozlov’s death?”
“The FBI’s official investigation will take several more months. But I spoke to the SAC and I have a guess on where it’ll end up. The lead theory is that a rival intelligence service is responsible. Either Kozlov stumbled onto them, or they stumbled onto him. Whatever happened, they decided killing him was their best course of action.”
“Who?”
“China, probably. Although we also know of another intelligence service that had an operative inside Pax AI. Have you heard from Ava lately?” Wilcox asked.
“Not since last week. Something tells me Israel isn’t going to want her speaking to any Americans for a while.”
“I would have to agree with that. There are those in Washington who are downright livid that Israel was running this operation without giving us a heads up.”
“Well, they were also quite helpful.”
“I tend to agree. And I’ve argued on their behalf. The White House is going to overlook it. They asked the prime minister to slap Mossad on the wrist.”
“That’s laughable, considering they work for him.”
Wilcox nodded. “Yes, well.”
“So now that my non-official cover days are over, I guess I’m going to have to start filing papers if I want to go on vacation overseas?”
“Yes. And since you’ll be working for me, I’ll be double-checking that paperwork to make sure Tel Aviv is not a destination.”
Colt chuckled.
Wilcox said, “Funny thing about the Israelis, though.”
“What’s that?”
“They said nothing officially. Unofficially, they said all the right things. Their director of Mossad came to visit Langley and briefed the directors of the CIA and the DNI personally. And the Israeli prime minister called our president. Things are smoothed over, but . . .”
“But what?”
“Well, we asked them to confirm all the members of that operation. Unofficially.”
“And?”
“They gave us a list.”
“So what’s unusual?”
“Ava wasn’t on the list.”
“What’s that mean?” Colt asked.
Wilcox shrugged again. “Probably just that they plan to keep using her as a covert operative.”
Colt said, “Did you speak to the FBI about Rinaldi?”
“Oh yes. I had a lot of discussions about him. Many under polygraph.”
“What happened to that guy, Ed? Why would he turn?”
Wilcox shook his head. “I wish I could explain it.”
“Who was his Russian handler?”
“FBI counterintelligence thinks it was Petrov.”
“You don’t?”
“Too little evidence. Any potential contact between Petrov and Rinaldi was very recent.”
“Who do you think recruited him?”
“If I had to guess, I would say Sheryl Hawkinson.”
Colt said, “And she’s gotten off scot-free from all of this.”
“It makes me sick to say it . . . but there is no evidence tying any of this to her or her family.”
“And she still owns a piece of Pax AI.”
“Yes, but that company is a shell of itself. The government contracts were shut down, and as you know, investors have walked for the most part.”
Colt frowned. “I am not so sure. I wouldn’t count Jeff Kim out. There’s something about that guy. I think he’s playing the long game.”
54
San Francisco
Jeff Kim sat in his soundproof meditation room, watching the sunset through the window. The clock reached the top of the hour, and the incoming call lit up his phone screen. On time, as usual.
“Hello,” Kim answered.
“That was quite a risk you took,” Liu said. The Chinese intelligence officer did not sound happy.
“A necessary risk,” said Kim. He stood and walked over to his computer, making sure that the scrambling software he used to keep his communications anonymous was active.
“My superiors do not agree.”
Kim said, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
The line was quiet, and he imagined Liu was restraining his anger. “We saw the greatness in you before anyone else. Years ago, when no one believed in you, who helped get your seed funding? I did. I have always been your champion. For all the bravado and confidence my nation shows in its scientists and engineers . . . I know that if given the chance, you would beat us all. You will win the race. You have a once-in-a-generation intellect. And our goals are aligned.”
Kim heard the talk, knowing what it was. The same sweet song as always. But he knew his Chinese support came with a price.
Liu said, “You have destroyed your research facility.”
“I will rebuild it,” Kim said.
“Your investors have fled.”
“Not all of them,” Kim said.
“You shouldn’t place your trust in Sheryl Hawkinson.”
“I don’t trust her.”
“Then why did you do what you did? In Capri?”
The words hung in the air, and Kim wondered whether Liu was fishing, or whether he really knew everything.
Kim made his choice, guessing that Liu only knew a part of it. “I used Ms. Hawkinson to flush out my spies and mislead my competition. She helped me to gather the players together. It forced everyone to show their hands.”
“Including us?” Liu meant the Chinese. He was clearly angered at being lumped in with the others. “Did you order the gas attack?”
“Of course not. The Russians didn’t want to share, I assume.”
“You were never going to let them.”
“They didn’t know that.”
“Don’t be naïve,” said Liu. “You could have been killed. Did you think about that?”
Kim said, “How did you know I arranged the Capri meeting with Sheryl? There should have been nothing leading you to us.”
Liu snorted. “Pax AI? Your company was named after the Roman Peace. The assassins used the Roman emperor’s palace on the cliffs of Tiberius as their ambush location. A palace that Tiberius went to because he was afraid of assassination in Rome. Poetic. But obvious, to someone who knows you well.”
“I will admit to you that I suggested the meeting be held on Capri. But I didn’t have anything to do with the planning or execution of violent acts committed there. Again, I would point you to the Russians.”
“Or perhaps Sheryl Hawkinson?”
“I wouldn’t know. We are no longer on speaking terms.”
“Why?”
“Because things didn’t go like she said they would.”
“You should never have trusted her.”
Kim closed his eyes, sighing. “She promised me a way out.”
Liu said, “The Hawkinsons are untrustworthy. They care only for themselves.”
“It was a lapse in judgment.”
“Please don’t ever have a lapse like that again. We are partners. Together, we will find a way forward.”
Kim could feel the chains. Governments and investors would always try to control him. He wanted to be free. To control his own destiny. But he had to be delicate. “There will be a lot of eyes on me now. More than before. Perhaps it is best if we break off contact for a while.”
“We will adapt our comm
unication methods to avoid discovery. But the work you do continues. We will make plans to protect your future well-being.”
“Thank you.” Kim sighed.
“And please, if you ever make plans with Sheryl or anyone else to find a way out—I hope you know enough not to include us on your list of people to escape from. That could harm my ability to protect what I know is truly important to you. Your company.”
“Liu.”
“Please, let me speak. There are those in my organization who have less faith in you than I do. They think you would betray us and forsake all that we have invested in you. It is hard for me to stand up to people like that if you give them ammunition. They would punish you, if given the opportunity, and make our long collaboration known. If the Americans find out you are beholden to the Chinese government, everything will end. I don’t want to see your precious creation taken from you, or see the Americans lock you up in a high-security prison. Please, keep me informed and be honest with me. Let’s work together to make sure you are protected.”
Kim clenched his jaw. “I understand. Goodbye for now.”
“Goodbye, Jeff.”
The call ended and Kim walked to his computer on a standing desk near the window. He entered his password and scanned his fingerprint while uttering a passphrase. The screen came to life and a box that had been fixed to the desk opened, revealing a small, thin helmet with wires leading out the back and to his computer.
Kim placed the helmet on his head and pressed down, moving it just right until the magnets took hold. Then a short electronic buzz as the electrode needles protruded downward, followed by the tingling, slightly painful feeling on his scalp.
The feeling that told him the connection was made.
Kim typed a few commands and watched the screens around his desk come to life as the AI system began connecting with the synapses in his brain. He began accessing data from his secure servers buried several levels beneath him. His own private research facility, here in his home, where no one could interfere.
He began running experiments, conducting math problems. Writing code. Solving puzzles and testing the AI system now connected to his mind. It wasn’t a great system, and it was far from ready. But he was improving it every day. And it was something only he knew about. A way for him to control his technology. A way for him to expand his capability, and rise to power, without the help of others.
Moving the most valuable research data and AI programs from his secure facility and headquarters had been challenging. It had taken months to get here. Only one hiccup, when Kozlov discovered his illicit activity.
Killing Kozlov had been distasteful. As had reprogramming the weather-prediction algorithm so that the wildfire appeared to Rinaldi to be advancing much slower than it actually was. But whether eliminating a scientist for seeing something he wasn’t supposed to—or leading an FBI agent to his death by showing him a false reality—Kim would do whatever it took. If he had to burn someone alive to attain his goal, so be it.
Great men had to do such things, if they wanted to change the world.
AGENT OF INFLUENCE: The Firewall Spies #2
As the world approaches the dawn of an artificial superintelligence, a group of international spies fight for control.
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Filled with action, conspiracy, and mystery, AGENT OF INFLUENCE takes readers into the next cold war. One where nations and technology companies vie for power in a changing world.
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And the stakes are higher than ever...
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Also by Andrew Watts
The Firewall Spies
Firewall
Agent of Influence
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The War Planners Series
The War Planners
The War Stage
Pawns of the Pacific
The Elephant Game
Overwhelming Force
Global Strike
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Glidepath
The Oshkosh Connection
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About the Author
Andrew Watts is the USA TODAY bestselling author of numerous books, including The War Planners, Glidepath, and Firewall. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2003 and served as a naval officer and helicopter pilot until 2013. During that time, he flew counter-narcotic missions in the Eastern Pacific and counter-piracy missions off the Horn of Africa. He was a flight instructor in Pensacola, FL, and helped to run ship and flight operations while embarked on a nuclear aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East. He lives with his family in Ohio.
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