The Justar Journal: An AOI Thriller

by Brandt Legg

  It took just over four minutes for Miner to initiate the transfer of funds and for them to be received and verified on Blaise’s end. “If only this is true,” Miner said, as he ended the second zoom with Blaise and opened a series of VMs and issued orders to Pharm-Force leaders all over the Pacyfik region. Once everything was in motion, he and Sarlo boarded a jet for Oregon Area. The rain continued to pour across the Amazon as their plane punctured the sky.

  “With any luck, he’ll be in custody by the time we arrive,” Miner said.

  “I still don’t believe it. All these years, Grandyn Happerman has been hiding in the AOI, undercover, as an actual AOI agent . . . what’s the name he’s been using again?”

  “Ander Terik.”

  Chapter 63 - Book 2

  The soldiers were not AOI, he knew that for certain. They had violated AOI protocol on no less than eight occasions since his arrest. On top of those violations, he found it curious that he had not been searched for a neuro-cap, which he did, in fact, have in his mouth. He was encouraged that he hadn’t already been executed and, if they didn’t know enough to prevent a neuro-cap brain-erase, perhaps he’d live through the day.

  Ironically, his capture had come on the edge of a great forest, just far enough in that he’d thought he’d be safe, but he should have been more careful. The soldiers had somehow been tipped off to his whereabouts. Who had betrayed him? He tried to think. It could only have been one of four people who knew what Terik had been doing.

  They shoved him to the floor and removed his blindfold and restraints. Before he could react, they’d sealed him in the tiny cell. Not really a conventional cell. The room, the size of a small walk-in closet, had three glass walls. He looked out onto what was clearly a research lab at a large corporation. There were medical disposal containers, glass beakers, and test tubes, and based on the INU VMs left monitoring heating and cooling containers, it was clear this was a PharmaForce facility. That answered his question: the soldiers had obviously been from the “P-Force.” He’d learned about PharmaForce’s private army while at the AOI. The agency sometimes worked with the Force, but mostly they were a concern for the AOI leadership. The Force had been tolerated only as a counterbalance to Lipton’s BLAXER army.

  A man approached the glass wall. Grandyn recognized him immediately. He’d even passed him in the hallway at AOI headquarters in Atlanta once, a couple of years earlier. The PharmaForce CEO was a well-known public figure. A hero, even.

  “Funny how much you resemble Ander Terik,” Miner said, pointing to a projected image of the AOI agent. “You really don’t look a thing like Grandyn Happerman.”

  “Torgon off.”

  “Hmph,” Miner laughed. “According to records I’m privy to, the AOI has executed six people in the past three years who claimed to be Grandyn Happerman. Doesn’t that make you feel just awful?” Miner gave him a hard look before continuing. “I know if friends of mine had died so that I could live, I’d have a hard time sleeping at night.”

  “I doubt you ever have trouble sleeping Miner.” Grandyn squinted at the man he had long considered to be the face of evil. “I mean, really, how do you sleep knowing your family killed billions of people so that you could live in obscene Pharaoh-like luxury?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You have no idea how bad the world was and how it came to be so good.” Miner scowled. “You hear rumors and believe propaganda concocted by rabble-rousers and scalawags bent on destroying the utopia we’ve created.”

  “Save your lies for your doped-up public. I know the truth.”

  “You’re a foolish young man.” He stared. “Don’t you wonder how we cracked your identity? Aren’t you curious who betrayed you?”

  “I don’t think anyone betrayed me. You just have better technology than we do.”

  “Really? Better than the List Keepers?”

  “Let me out of here!” Grandyn yelled. “Face me like a man, Miner!”

  “Grandyn, I don’t bother with people like you.” Miner tapped the glass with his silver dollar. “You see, you’re replaceable. You’re just another cog in the wheel of the pharmaceutical economy. We require only four things to power this great society: people to be born, to grow into workers slash consumers – earning and spending, to get sick, and finally . . . to die.”

  “You make me sick!”

  “Yes, well it’s a little late for that. I think you missed some of your shots. Come to think of it, you never grew into much of a worker or spender. We don’t tolerate loafers like you not doing your part.”

  “Open this door and I’ll show you how I work, you bastard!”

  Miner shook his head slowly. “No, not going to be your luckiest day.” He made small moves with his fingers on a VM. “I guess you’ll never know how I found you.”

  A slight hissing sound filled the tiny space and Grandyn quickly discovered the source, six small vents in the floor. He could feel the forced-air streaming in, and although it was odorless and colorless, he knew where he was, a PharmaForce lab, and he knew he wouldn’t be leaving alive.

  Grandyn pounded the glass. “You’re a torgon coward!”

  “I’m sure you see it that way. I prefer to think of myself as efficient.”

  “The Aylantik and AOI are doomed, even without me. It’s too late, Miner. You’ve already lost!”

  As the gas filled the space, Lance, with a slight smile on his face, looked and found Grandyn’s eyes. He spoke into the microphone one last time. “Say hello to your mother and father for me.”

  Grandyn looked away. He had done his part. Grandyn always said being a fighter, brave and true, was more important than living a false life. It was true. The lost TreeRunner bit into his neuro-cap and crumpled onto the floor, finally free.

  Miner didn’t immediately report Grandyn’s death, knowing Deuce would find out the minute it hit the AOI system. He needed to review Grandyn’s brain scan and learn the secrets of the last Happerman. Miner expected a wealth of information from the TreeRunner’s mind. After all, he’d been involved since the start of the Doneharvest, and he had skirted the uprising on both sides.

  After all the hunts and false deaths, Miner couldn’t believe he had finally taken Grandyn out. He had the body to prove it. It had been the best money he’d ever spent buying that information from Blaise. Only the two of them knew that Grandyn Happerman had been Ander Terik, a star AOI agent. What would the Council think? And the Chief? He could hardly wait to leverage all this. The great TreeRunner was dead.

  He stretched out on an over-hold. The furniture instantly contoured from a chair to a gliding sofa and applied massage and aromatherapy. His mind fought for focus. There were so many pieces, so much at stake. He was excited for the test results. Grandyn likely knew the location of important rebel bases, and his Said-scan could lead them to Chelle and Munna. Miner rubbed his hands together, smiling.

  The pressure had been taking its toll for years. He longed for an ending, and that was finally in sight. One of his five great enemies had been destroyed. Now, only Chelle Andreas, Nelson Wright, Munna, and Deuce remained. Munna couldn’t live much longer, and Deuce would soon be cornered by his own actions. As the rebels gained ground and war grew closer, the A-Council would no longer be able to ignore Deuce’s flagrant support of the opposition groups, but Miner was freshly optimistic that war could be avoided.

  Chapter 64 - Book 2

  “Ander Terik is dead. Neuro-cap deployed. Mind erasure complete.” The cold voice from her INU caught Fye by surprise, and it felt like she was being strangled until a primal “ohhhh” escaped her lips, her eyes instantly wet with tears. Fye fought the emotions so as to not upset the baby growing inside her, but it took a while to deal with the shock. Even though she’d always known it could happen, the realization that the AOI had discovered that Terik was an alias of Grandyn meant more than just the loss of their greatest asset. It meant there was a leak somewhere, and it could only be from Blaise or one of his infallible “K
nights.”

  “Ah, Fye, looking loving as always,” Blaise said, smiling as he answered her zoom.

  “Wipe that torgon smile off your two-faced face, Blaise!” Fye clutched her Eysen as if it were his throat.

  “Back up love, you look like a fish when you get in that close,” Blaise said, smiling wider. “Anger becomes a woman, but the wrong angle never does.”

  “You smug bastard,” she said swiping at his holographic image projected less than half a meter away.

  “Are you trying to saw me in half? Because I’m working on technology that might make physical contact possible over a zoom. Would you like that, kitten? All kinds of naughty applications.”

  She shook her head, resisting the urge to spit on his avatar. “Ander Terik is dead!”

  “Yes, I thought that might be the reason for your call. Really, such a shame. Such a damn shame. I imagine you’re upset. He really was quite the man, but not much use now.”

  “How did you get this way?”

  “Years in the making. Did you know that many people think I’m an Imp? That would explain quite a bit, wouldn’t it, love? Thing is, I take that as a compliment. But no matter, enough about me, well rarely, but in this case . . . I think you were mourning Ander Terik.”

  “Also known as Grandyn Happerman!”

  “Oh, yes. Really? Hmm. Is that why you’re overreacting to this bit of news? Because it is but one death. You’re aware that the Aylantik killed billions in the Banoff . . . billions. Now that is a number worth grieving over, and yet it is only history now. Deaths as a part of history hardly hurt at all. Have you ever noticed that once everyone has died who knew any of the victims personally, it quite changes the viewpoint on the tragedy?”

  “Shut up Blaise! Just shut up!”

  “You do recall that you initiated this zoom, don’t you?”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “No. Would you like to get drunk?”

  “Yes, I would, but not with you.”

  “Right, you’re too upset. Grandyn Happerman is dead.”

  “You did this, didn’t you?”

  “Well, you know I could never confirm something like that, but yes, of course I did.”

  “Why?” Her anger prevented tears for the moment.

  “Terik, in his position with the AOI, was very valuable indeed, but that very value made him even more valuable as a bargaining chip, and I love to bargain. You knew that about me, I assume. Of course you did. And bargaining is about strategy or vice versa. But my point, luscious Fye, is that we’re days away from the revolution, wouldn’t you agree?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Therefore it was time to use that chip. As highly intelligent as you are, and I do have even higher respect for your extraordinary genius than I do for your remarkable beauty, I wouldn’t expect you to understand the complex strategy of this situation.”

  “You are such a‒‒ ”

  “Wait a minute, love.” Blaise said, suddenly looking concerned and serious. The smile left his face as his image walked over to her and reached up to touch her face. Even though it wasn’t really there, she instinctively batted his hand away as if he were a rapist. “Tsk, tsk. Such anger. A shame you’re spoken for, and pregnant. My goodness, you’re pregnant!” He seemed more pleased with his ability to detect that than with the news itself. “Is the baby Grandyn’s? Because, unfortunately, it isn’t mine, but perhaps you played around, in such poor taste, all those long months when Grandyn was away.”

  She scowled, shaking her head, disgusted. His ability to see her pregnancy bothered her, but it certainly came as no surprise. Blaise, however revolting, was a gifted man. She’d long referred to him as “the wizard” behind his back, never to his face. He would have liked it too much.

  “But that is why this news has you so extra upset.” He stood back and regarded her. “We’ll be in the middle of a full-blown war when this baby is born . . . bad timing, Fye. This wasn’t planned, was it? That’s illegal you know. The AOI will come looking for you.” He laughed at his own humor. “But you do know, don’t you?”

  “What?” she exclaimed, exhausted by his Dr. Seusserisms.

  “About Ander Terik.”

  “I know all about Terik. I sent him in, and I‒‒”

  “Yes. You programmed him.” Blaise nodded. “It just seems strange, even with the pregnancy, that you would be this upset over a CHRUDE. It’s not as though Terik was really Grandyn, or even human for that matter.”

  “Do you know it wasn’t Grandyn?”

  Blaise feigned confusion. “CHRUDEs only seem real. They may act like people, even better than them, but they are not human. They are beautiful in that way. Better than people, but legal to kill.”

  “Grandyn could be dead!” she screamed, exasperated.

  “Terik was a CHRUDE,” Blaise said. “Do you get them mixed up? Have you made love with the machine by mistake? Is it the CHRUDE’s baby? Is that even possible?”

  “Shut up, damn you!” she shouted. “Long before we put the CHRUDE in, Grandyn was using Terik’s identity. It was extremely dangerous. If you recall, that’s why we put the CHRUDE in.”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Terik was a CHRUDE,” he repeated.

  “Maybe, but we don’t know for sure.”

  “Wait, was Grandyn still using Terik’s identity?” Blaise said, showing concern for the first time.

  “Yes. He went into the prison as Terik to see Drast. He didn’t want to trust the CHRUDE, and whenever he had to go to AOI functions, he went himself. He only used the CHRUDE for field work.”

  “That was a big mistake,” Blaise said. “The CHRUDE could have handled any of that. Have you tried contacting Grandyn?”

  “Of course I have. Nothing,” she said, trying not to cry. “And even if it was the CHRUDE that got killed, thanks to you they’ve linked Terik to Grandyn, and once they find out that Terik is a CHRUDE, it will unravel his whole chain of protection.”

  “Yes, it might. It’s a good thing you’re so smart because, assuming he’s alive, I know you’ll think of another way to protect young Happerman, future father of your child. And . . . if Grandyn really is dead this time, think of me.”

  “You?” she asked, disgusted.

  “Not for sex if that’s what you were thinking, kitten. No, I’m talking about CHRUDEs. My greatest invention, and the AOI doesn’t even know they exist.”

  “But they will now when they dissect Terik!” she yelled, clinging to the hope that the Terik they killed was a CHRUDE. “Why, Blaise? Why did you do it?”

  “I told you. It’s about strategy.”

  “What strategy?”

  “Ever try to teach chess to a monkey? It can’t be done.”

  “Why are you such a pig?”

  “Please don’t insult me, Fye. I have the utmost respect for you, really, in spite of your ill-timed pregnancy.”

  Fye shook her head. “I have a favor to ask.”

  “Anything, love. Ask away.”

  “If he’s still alive, you have to stop your games. You don’t need the money, and you have no reason to put us at risk.”

  “Is that your favor?”

  “Please, please, don’t lead them to Grandyn.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Strategy? How should I know?”

  “Knowing is not the same as understanding.”

  “Is that an answer?”

  “Yes, but not precisely to the question you asked. People seldom ask the correct questions, so I’m forced to edit and rewrite our dialogues in order for any of it to make even a semblance of sense.”

  “I’m just asking you, as an old friend, and on behalf of my unborn child. Don’t let them find Grandyn.”

  “Are we friends Fye? Really? That’s sweet you think so.” His image went to move a strand of her hair. She did not push him away, but the pixels passed through her sandy blonde strands with less notice than the sunlight. “And you might recall, babies make me laugh. They do funny things, but I
’m not sure they are legally allowed to make requests such as this, particularly from the womb. However, I will tell you this, dear woman. I do not currently know where the lost TreeRunner is, but I continue to look for the same reasons as everyone else.”

  “And if you find him?”

  “Again with the wrong question. If someone else is going to find him before I do, then he may have to die. But if I’m the one to find Grandyn, he will be quite safe.”

  “So you want me to tell you if he comes back? You want me to tell you in order to save him? Is that all part of your strategy?”

  “My strategy is not nearly that simple. I see the entire chess match in my mind in less than a tenth of a second after the first pawn moves.” He paused. “You don’t trust me enough to ever tell me where Grandyn is, nor should you, although there may come a day very soon when I’m his only hope of survival. I wish you the wisdom to make the right decision when we arrive there. Until then, take care that no one else finds the lost TreeRunner . . . if he’s even still alive.”

  Chapter 65 - Book 2

  Deuce had a decision to make. He sat in a small room on Ryder Island. The ceiling swirled with a planetarium view of the outer reaches of the Milky Way as Billie Holiday’s voice delivered “All Or Nothing At All.”

  With the prophecies finally in hand, and seeing them on the VMs for the first time in his life, he knew for sure that his grandfather, Booker, and UC were right. There is something beyond what we see, something extraordinary, and with that knowledge came an endless array of possibilities. They could change everything, the Aylantik could be defeated, and maybe without the need for a horrendous war, but what exactly was that power? How could it be harnessed? And, more importantly, how could it be kept out of the wrong hands?

  “How is Munna controlling the INUs?” he asked himself as he stared into faux stars. Deuce missed UC. He would have known what to do. He would have been able to reason with Munna. Maybe he would have been on her side. “Why aren’t I on her side? Because she’s a crazy old lady who won’t even allow anyone to kill a spider. What if there is a way to avoid war and she won’t let us look into the Justar Journal to find it?” he asked out loud.