by Alexa Davis
"Then why don't you give him a signal that you're interested?" she asked.
"I can't believe we're having this conversation," I sighed as I got out of the van and headed for the front door of the recruiting station. I turned and yelled, "Be right back!"
The station was just opening, and I realized that it was only seven in the morning. It was unlikely that Commander Donnelly was in his office already, but I decided it was worth a try. At the very least, I could get someone to tell me when he was expected in the office.
I raced up the stairs and found a pretty little brunette sitting behind the desk in the outer office.
"Commander Donnelly?" I shouted as I headed toward her.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" she asked. The look on her face was one of surprise and then horror.
"I'm fine! Where's the Commander?" I said more urgently.
"He's...he's...he's not in yet," she stammered as her eyes grew wider. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, why?" I said irritated that she'd ask such a ridiculous question when I was trying to find the Commander.
"Ma'am, you're covered in blood," she whispered. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I looked down and saw that my shirt and pants were soaked in Ryan and Butch's blood. I looked up at her and then reached up to touch my face wondering if it, too, was covered in the same blood. Then I started laughing.
"It's not mine!" I laughed as she reached for the phone. "No! Don't call anyone! I'm fine! I don't have time to explain, but I'm fine and I haven't done anything wrong. I need to find the Commander and deliver something to him personally."
"Ma'am, why don't you leave whatever it is here with me and I'll give it to the Commander when he comes in?" she said with wary helpfulness.
"No! I have to give it directly to the Commander," I said shaking my head. "No one else."
"Um, okay," she said without taking her eyes off of me. It suddenly occurred to me that I looked like someone who was trying to harm the Commander and that she might have already alerted security.
"Look, I'm not crazy and I don't want to harm the Commander," I said seriously. "I have a package for him from Dr. Alan Powell and I was told that it has to be given directly to Commander Donnelly and no one else. Okay? Can you tell him that I have this package for him?"
"Yes," she nodded as I headed back out the front door of the office. As I entered the stairwell, I heard her yelling, "Who are you?"
I didn't have time to stop, so I trusted that if she told Commander Donnelly what I'd said, he'd know exactly who I was.
#
"He's not in," I said as I got back into the van. "But I gave his secretary a message."
"And a heart attack?" Cece asked as she looked me over.
"Why didn't you tell me I looked like a stabbing victim?" I asked.
"You didn't exactly give me time to evaluate your fashion sense," she said dryly. "What now?"
"Back to my place and clean up?" I suggested. "Otherwise we're going to have a ton of problems over at the hospital."
"Yeah, they'd probably throw us on gurneys and haul us into the ER," she said as she shifted the van into drive and headed toward home.
"More like they'd immediately know who we are and toss us in a cop car," I said. "Cece, did it ever occur to you that they think we did it?"
"Why would they think that?" she replied.
"Reason number one, we left," I said. "They're going to be looking for us."
"Then we need to get the hard drive to the Commander and be done with it," she said. "But first, we clean up, and I need to get the van back to my guy before he puts a price on my head!"
Two hours later, after having cleaned up and returned the van, we were in a cab on our way to Bellevue.
"Why don't we stop by headquarters first and drop off the hard drive?" Cece asked as she looked out the window.
"Because we're going to get stopped and questioned," I said. "And I want to see Ryan before we do."
"Ah, yes, lover boy," she grinned as she turned and patted my head.
"No, he's a good guy," I grumbled. "I just want to make sure he's okay after everything he did to get me out of there."
"Mmmm hmmm," she nodded still grinning. "You keep telling yourself that and maybe one day it'll be true, chica."
"Why are you pushing?" I said shifting away from her and feeling irritated.
"Because it's so obvious that the two of you have the hots for each other, it's painful to watch," she said. "I can't figure out why you both keep denying it."
"Because he's not interested in me!" I said more forcefully than I'd intended.
"Uh, okay, I wouldn't agree with that," she shrugged as she moved back. "But obviously you know best, chica."
"I'm sorry, Cece," I said looking out my window and sighing heavily. "I've tried."
"Try again, chica," she said softly as she reached out and squeezed my hand as we pulled up to the front door of the hospital.
Cece went to the information desk and asked where Ryan was, but the receptionist told her she wasn't allowed to give out patient information without permission. Cece tried working her magic on the woman, but she wouldn't budge.
"Give me a minute, I'll figure something out," Cece said as she stepped outside and made a call on her cellphone.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" the receptionist called from across the lobby. "Are you Echo Frost?"
"Yes," I replied before I realized that maybe answering this question wasn't the best idea.
"You can go up and see Lieutenant Powell, ma'am," she said. "The nurse said he's asking for you. Room twelve thirty."
I motioned to Cece to come back inside, but she waved me off. So I told the receptionist to tell here where I'd gone when she came back in and headed to the bank of elevators off of the lobby. As I stood waiting I felt a presence behind me. I started to turn around when I felt something hard and sharp being jabbed into my back.
"Don't turn around," the familiar voice hissed. "And don't scream or I will slide this knife in and twist."
I swallowed hard and nodded as I closed my eyes and hoped that Cece would show up before this ghost of a person got me alone in the elevator. I tried to keep my wits about me and think ahead, but the knife in my back made it extremely difficult to think. The doors to the elevator slid open and my captor shoved me forward.
"Don't turn around," the voice repeated. "You know what I want, so give it to me and this is over."
"I don't have it," I said trembling as I heard the ghost push a button and then pull the emergency stop lever. The elevator was immediately filled with the sound of the ringing alarm.
"I'm not kidding," the voice said as I felt a hand tightly wrapping around my neck and cutting off my air. "I want that hard drive and if I don't get it, there will be consequences."
"I don't have it," I repeated as I suddenly realized that if this was the same person that had held me hostage and attacked me in the lab, they had been weakened by the shot that Cece had fired. I couldn't remember which arm it had been in, but by the strength of the grip around my neck I was guessing it wasn't the right arm. I quickly formulated a plan and hoped I was right otherwise...I didn't want to think about otherwise.
"You stupid little bitch," the voice hissed as the owner pressed the knife into my back. The sharpness of the tip made me cry out as its holder squeezed tighter around my neck cutting off my air supply. I knew I had only one shot at this.
"Don't call me a bitch," I growled as I quickly pulled my right elbow forward and then slammed it backwards as hard as I could into the knife-holder's arm. My instincts had been right as the scream that came from the mouth of my captor rose above the sound of the alarm. What I hadn't counted on was the strength of the hold on my neck and the next thing I knew, everything went black.
#
When I came to, I was staring up at the ceiling of the elevator car as the door opened and someone screamed. Soon I was surrounded by nurses and staff who lifted me up onto a gurney and raced me into
the ER.
"Fine, I'm fine!" I croaked. "Cece, where's Cece?"
"What happened, honey?" a nurse asked as she took my vital signs and asked another nurse to find Cece. "Do you remember what happened, honey?"
"Kidnapper in the elevator," I said as she took my temperature and then started an I.V. "Oh God, Ryan! Ryan! Twelve thirty! Call the room!"
"Honey, calm down, slow down and tell me what's going on," she said as she slipped the needle into my arm and taped the line to my skin.
"Get Cece, she needs to know," I cried. "Get Cece!"
"Echo! Where are you?" Cece yelled followed by an angry, "Get your fuckin' hands off me! I'm not even kidding!"
"Cece! Cece! The kidnapper was in the elevator," I said as my words tumbled out. "Wants the hard drive. Tell them to check Ryan in room twelve thirty! Tell them!"
Cece turned and ran to the desk and quickly told the duty nurse what needed to be done before returning to me. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly not saying anything.
"Cece, tell them to check the ER for someone with a shoulder wound," I whispered. "You shot the kidnapper. I nailed him with my elbow in the elevator before he choked me unconscious. Tell them to check. He might still be here."
Again, Cece ran out to the desk and, in low whispers, told the duty nurse what I'd said before returning.
"They'll be on the lookout," she whispered. "Ryan's okay. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I said taking a deep breath and wincing as I turned my head. "I need to get out of here and get the hard drive to Commander Donnelly. Can you get me out of here?"
"Can I get you out of here?" Cece grinned. "Chica, don't you know anything about me by now?"
I smiled up at her knowing that if anyone could figure out how to smuggle me out of an ER, it would definitely be Cece.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ryan
I thought I was still dreaming when I opened my eyes and saw Echo hovering over my bed. I closed my eyes again trying to hang on to the image of her face, but when I felt something brush my arm, I opened my eyes again and found her still there.
"Echo?" I said groggily reaching out. "Is that you?"
"Yep, it's me," she smiled as she slipped her hand into mine. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked exhausted. She leaned in closer and whispered, "I was so scared, Ryan. I thought we were all going to die."
"All okay?" I mumbled. "Where's Cece? She okay?"
"I'm fine, Seal," Cece said from her spot by the door. "Listen to Echo, we don't have much time."
"What's going on?" I said trying to focus on Echo's face.
"We need to find someone, Ryan," she said. "We need to get your father's hard drive to Commander Arvin Donnelly. Do you know him?"
"Yeah," I said as my eyes tried to force themselves closed again. "Commander. Just here."
"The Commander was here? Visiting you?" she asked. I could hear the surprise in her voice.
"Mmm hmm," I nodded as I winced.
"Where is he?" Echo asked again. "We need to find him, Ryan."
"Headquarters," I said as the pain in my side started its sharp march across my side. "Went to HQ. Go there."
"You heard him, Cece," Echo said as she turned toward the door. "We need to get back to HQ. Can you get me out of here?"
"What's going on?" I asked and then winced again as the pain tore it's path across my body. Echo reached out and hit the medication button. The last thing I remembered before I went under was Echo's lips softly brushing across mine, and then I was out cold again.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Echo
I took the steps two at a time as I raced toward the Commander's office. Mentally, I kicked myself for not just staying put and waiting for him to return, but I'd needed to see Ryan with my own eyes and make sure he was still alive.
The Commander's secretary, the cute little brunette, was at her desk and waved me in as I approached her.
"The Commander has been waiting for you, Miss Frost," she said. "Please go right in."
I walked through the door and then stopped short.
"Please come in, Miss Frost," Commander Donnelly welcomed me. "Don't be alarmed, we're all here to help."
He quickly introduced me. I shook hands with Vice Admiral Kelly and the Commander before he asked me if I had the hard drive. I nodded, pulled it out of my bag and handed it over.
"If that's all you need," I said standing up and turning toward the door, “then I'll just get back to the hospital."
"Miss Frost," the Vice Admiral began. "Do you know what this hard drive contains?"
"I know that it has Dr. Powell's work on sentient artificial intelligence on it," I admitted. "But I don't really have any idea what that actually means in terms of real world application because I wasn't involved in the research process."
"But you were involved, Miss Frost," the Vice Admiral said. "You just didn't know it."
"I don't understand," I said looking back at Commander Donnelly.
"Miss Frost, Dr. Powell involved you in his research process by having you write code for him, did he not?" he asked.
"Yes, he did, but I wasn't privy to the information he gathered in his lab," I said. "I just wrote programs that he asked for. Things that organized information."
"Actually, your programs were fueling Dr. Powell's research," the Commander said. "He relied on your ability to code in order to continue pushing forward with his project."
"I don't understand," I said again.
"Miss Frost, Dr. Powell was working on developing a sentient artificial intelligence that would allow the military to eliminate the need for human soldiers on the battlefield," the Vice Admiral said and then sat silently as the information sunk in.
"Wait, what?" I replied uncertain that I'd heard what I thought I heard.
"Dr. Powell's research would make it possible to replace human soldiers with machines that contain sentient artificial intelligence," he repeated. "We would never again have to send young men and women into battle to be killed."
"That's unbelievable," I whispered. "That's just in movies and science fiction novels."
"No, actually it's not," the Vice Admiral said. "There's a company in Boston that's created a humanoid capable of moving across rugged terrain and there are three other countries that are in various stages of developing similar technology. Dr. Powell came to us knowing that his project was just a blip on the radar."
"Why would he come to you?" I asked. "Not to be rude, but shouldn't this go through the Pentagon or the CIA or something more secretive?"
"That's just it, Dr. Powell's research wasn't taken seriously," Commander Donnelly said. "He'd tried selling the idea to the Joint Chiefs, but they'd told him he was out of his element. And at the time, he was. His project wasn't well organized nor was it well executed."
"So, why are you taking him seriously now?" I asked.
"Because it seems that your presence and your programs are what turned the project around and made it viable," the Vice Admiral said. "Without you, he never would have made progress nor would he have come as far as he did in the past two years."
"Two years?" I asked. "That's since I graduated."
"Yes, we know, Miss Frost," the Vice Admiral smiled. "Your education was an excellent one, and we'd like to offer you the opportunity to continue it, if you're interested."
"What would I have to do?" I asked suspiciously. "Am I going to have to sell my soul to the devil or something?"
"No, Miss Frost," the Vice Admiral chuckled. "We're not the evil empire. There's no soul selling involved in our business. We would simply like to offer you the opportunity to learn more about the process of coding for SAI and continue Dr. Powell's research."
"But I'm not a biochemist," I said. "I'm a computer programmer. I don't know anything about the biological or chemical processes of Dr. Powell's research."
"That's why we want to pair you with the staff that Dr. Powell worked with and have you continue to write the programs
they'll use to continue his research," Commander Donnelly said.
"How will they know what to do?" I asked. "Dr. Powell is dead."
"That's why the hard drive was of vital importance," the Vice Admiral said. "We believe it contains the research methodology and plans that Dr. Powell had laid out for the next three years. We believe that if we can get that map, his lab associates will be able to puzzle out the next steps he was planning to take."
"And you want me to help?" I asked.
"We believe that your programming skills are what will enable the lab researchers to take the next vital steps toward fully developing the SAI that Dr. Powell envisioned," the Vice Admiral said.
"I don't know that I have enough programming knowledge to go that far," I said looking back and forth between the two men.
"That's why we want you to enroll in a graduate program at Cornell and learn what you need to keep programming," Commander Donnelly said. "We will pay all of your expenses, plus you'll earn a salary from TriCorp for running the lab."
"Wait, you're sending me back to TriCorp?" I said. "I don't think Julian Baines will allow that."
"Julian Baines is no longer in charge of TriCorp," the Vice Admiral said in a way that told me it would be unwise to ask questions about why that was so. "There will be a new CEO in a few weeks, and we see no reason why your employment would be problematic."
"I'd just like to say that my father always taught me that if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is," I said warily. "What's the catch?"
"There's really only one catch," Commander Donnelly said handing me a card with two numbers on it. "You are never ever allowed to tell anyone what you are doing. The only people you will be allow to talk with about the project will be a board from the Office of Naval Research, and the Vice Admiral and myself."
"I can't talk to anyone else?" I asked making sure I'd heard him correctly.
"No one," he said solemnly. "Not your friends, your professors or even TriCorp's new CEO, once he steps in."
"So, basically what you're saying is that my work will be conduced in total secrecy," I said.