by Terry Schott
He winced. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not my name.”
“I don’t know your name, and every time I ask what it is, you refuse to share it.”
“Still. I would prefer a different name.”
She blinked, then mouthed, ‘Harbinger’, raising one eyebrow as his eyes widened and he pursed his lips.
“Absolutely not.”
“Well then.”
He looked out over the parlour, then sighed and shook his head. “Fine. Call me Hector.”
“What brings you to tea this morning, Hector?”
He reached into his black spring jacket, withdrew a large manila envelope, and placed it on the table, sliding it toward her. “More work for you.”
Linda leaned over and reached into her purse, withdrawing a small black box. She placed it on the table and turned it on.
“What’s that?”
“Scrambler.”
Hector frowned. “How good is it?”
“So good that it doesn’t officially exist.”
“Where’d you get it?” She took a sip of tea and he laughed. “I can’t get over the contacts you and Fay have.”
She shrugged.
“Can you get me one?”
“You can have this when you leave.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know how they haven’t picked you up and put you deep into a hole already.”
He smiled. “I’ve got contacts too.”
“Fay has a theory that you are operating on a third web.”
“That’s interesting. The feds think I’m using social media.”
“No. I think Fay is right on this one.”
“No such web exists.”
“You’ve managed to hide it.”
“How would I do such a thing?”
“You’ve hacked the satellites and made certain they can’t ‘see’ your hidden web.”
Hector blinked, then grinned. “Tell Fay she’s correct. No one can stop me because no one can see or access the new network I’ve built.”
“From what I hear on the news, everyone will be able to access it soon. You are offering a faster, more secure, internet service to anyone interested, right?”
“I am.”
“For zero dollars a month.”
“That’s right.”
“Mighty generous of you.”
Hector smiled and spread his arms. “It’s a downfall of mine.”
“Please.” Linda snorted. “You’re a selfish boy, Hector.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re wiping out debt, and now offering free internet service. What’s next? Affordable water, food, and healthcare?”
“Those are too complex.” He looked around. “Will a waitress come and take my order?”
“No. This is a private teahouse. Only members are served. They let you in because they couldn’t stop you, but they won’t ask to make you a drink.”
He shrugged. “I was thinking of free energy in hopes that people will find ways to take care of each other in the areas of food and water.”
“Do you actually believe the things you are saying, or are you trying to get a rise out of me?”
“Oh, I believe them.”
She laughed and shook her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your plan is too big.”
“It is not.”
“Yes, Hector, it is.”
“Maybe when you look at it in the wrong light. I see it as a very attainable set of goals. I agree that the entire picture appears . . . overwhelming, but when you break it down into small bites, you can eat anything over time.”
“Whatever.” She retrieved a cookie from the plate in the middle of the table, took a bite, and gestured for him to try one. Hector nodded and grabbed a biscuit for himself. “Point is that you’re not going to succeed, Hector.”
“Then why are you helping me?”
She popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth and considered him as she chewed. When she had swallowed, she sniffed and raised her cup once more. “We are helping you for two reasons. Number two, you pay us very well.”
Hector laughed. “What’s number one?”
“Both of us agree that this world is not in good shape as it currently exists. We’re of a mind that a little chaos would help spur people to become better over time.”
“True followers of the cause.”
She shrugged. “Our own cause which happens to be on the same path as yours. For the moment.
“Good.” He tapped the envelope. “Ready to cause a bit more mischief?”
Linda smiled. “Absolutely.”
34
Victor leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled and resting against his chin as he watched Aleksy read the dossier. “So?”
Aleksy rubbed his face, looked up, and shook his head. “I agree with you. Searching for Ariel is a waste of time considering everything else that is on our plate at the moment.”
“Do you believe the report that she’s dead?”
The younger man took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows as he exhaled. “We all know they put a tracking chip into us when we sign up for this gig. Others have successfully removed it before.”
“We can tell if it’s inside a body or not.”
“Really?”
Victor nodded. “The chip pings a signal. Flesh impedes the transmission strength. If it gets pulled out of the body, we see the signal become much stronger and know that it has been removed.”
“Is that the case with Ariel’s?”
“No. Her chip is sending a signal from inside a body around one hundred feet below the surface of Cass Lake in Michigan.”
“A body?”
“That’s right. Until we make a positive identification, it isn’t her.”
“You want me to go do it?”
“No. I want you to tell me you’re too busy to do it.”
Aleksy frowned. “Why?”
“We are spread too thin at the moment. The readout from Ariel’s chip is consistent with blunt head trauma and death. There is a slight spike in the ping signal, which we always see when an agent gets something heavy slammed into their head as they die. I need a second opinion to agree with me. If you don’t, then I’ll send you there.”
“I am supposed to be heading to the nuclear silo to make certain they are intact and the computer hardware running them is no longer connected to the web.”
“More important than looking at a bloated corpse, in my opinion.”
“Yeah.”
Victor raised his eyebrows.
“I agree with you,” Aleksy said. “She’s dead at the bottom of a lake. I see nothing to make me doubt that.”
“Good.” Victor opened a drawer and withdrew an envelope. He slid it across his desk toward Aleksy. “Your pass and credentials are in there. Let me know when the silo is secure.”
***
“Any messages for me, Rita?”
The receptionist was already smiling when she turned to face Aleksy. “Not today, sexy.”
“Okay. I’ll be gone a few days. Any civilians call, I’m in Kentucky on insurance business.”
“Gotcha.”
Aleksy headed toward the door, then stopped and turned. “Say, are there any unclaimed messages for Ariel?”
“Let me see.” Rita flipped through the pages of her notebook, tracing a line down each sheet before turning it over. “Nope, nothing for her either.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“I hope she’s okay. Haven’t heard from her in a while.”
“I’m sure she’s fine.” Aleksy turned and resumed leaving.
“Haven’t heard from her famous author boyfriend in a while. He was looking for her but then stopped calling in. Maybe they are holed up, somewhere having fun.”
Aleksy froze mid-step. He turned around. “Ariel has a boyfriend who’s an author?”
Rita smiled and nodded. �
�That’s right. Curtis Tremaine.”
“And he’s been calling in?”
“Looking for Ariel. Yeah.”
“Show me your call log, please.”
Rita laughed. “You know I can’t do that without a requisition. There’s a lot of sensitive information in here, Alek—”
“I don’t have time for that.”
She shrugged. “You know the rules, man. Breaking them will get you in a bit of trouble. They can get me fired.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Look, I know procedure is a pain. Can you go on what I already said?”
Aleksy considered her for a moment. “There’s nothing else in the book about it, is there?”
“I can’t tell you that.” She nodded as she spoke.
“I guess I can. Thanks, Rita.”
She smiled and waved as he left the room. “Good luck.”
***
Aleksy knocked on Victor’s door and waited to be invited in. Victor closed the notebook in front of him and frowned. “Why are you still in the building?”
“Change of plans.”
Victor raised one eyebrow.
“Ariel had a boyfriend.”
“Okay.”
“No. Not okay. He’s an author.”
Victor pursed his lips as he began to type on his keyboard. He scanned the screen and he looked up. “Curtis Tremaine?”
Aleksy blinked. “How did you get that so fast?”
“We send her lists of authors to check out and eliminate if they are a threat. The last name she was sent before she disappeared is Curtis Tremaine.”
“Dammit.” Aleksy rubbed his chin. “She’s still alive.”
Victor nodded. “When you find her, do your best to keep the author alive.”
35
Scout pointed at the monitor. “What are those?”
Fay’s keyboard stopped clicking. “Scout?”
“Yeah?”
“You just touch my screen?”
He shook his head, but his pale cheeks flushed. “Sorry, Fay.”
She frowned and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “Linda!”
“What?” The other woman’s voice came from the kitchen.
“Scout touched my screen.” She shook her head and looked at the teenager. He sat there, looking at the screen, his lips pursed.
A few seconds later, Linda emerged from the kitchen, holding a tray with bowls of nacho chips, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. She surveyed the scene and chuckled.
“It’s not funny.”
“It is.” Linda set the tray down and grabbed a chip. She dipped it into the guacamole and popped it in her mouth.
“I bet you wouldn’t think it was so funny if his grubby little paws were slapping fingerprints all over your screen.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. That’s not the funny part.” She went to the couch and grabbed a blue microfiber cloth. She made her way over to her grandson, dropped the cloth in his lap and tussled his hair. “After all these years, the little things still bug us. How many times did older people tell us we would calm down as we aged, yet we didn’t. We’re still twenty-five-year-olds in our heads.”
“Speak for yourself.” Fay stretched out an arm and nudged Scout. When he looked at her, she pointed at the screen. He nodded and went to work, using the cloth to buff out the fingerprint. “I’m definitely no older than twenty-one in my mind.”
Linda laughed. “I was always the more mature one.”
Fay smiled. “I’m not gonna say sorry, Scout.”
“Why would you?” His eyes were intent on the screen. “I hate fingerprints on my screen, too. I know better. That’s why I apologized.”
“I forgive you. But if you do it again, I’m going to half-eat a handful of prunes and lick your laptop screen from all four corners.”
Scout and Linda laughed. Fay scowled. “Oh god, did I just say I would eat prunes? Where the hell does stuff like that come from?”
They all laughed and Linda pushed the tray of snacks toward the other two.
“What is that on your screen, Fay?”
“The green dots?”
He nodded.
“Balloons.”
“They are all over the globe.” Scott dipped a chip into the sour cream.
“That’s our new web.”
“Some of them are yellow, and others red.”
“Yeah. The yellow ones are sinking, and the red ones are out of helium and going down. They will be replaced with new floaters soon.”
“There’s so many of them,” Scout said.
“Too many,” Linda said. “And they aren’t going to be replaced when they sink.”
“What?” Fay frowned. “Why not?”
“We’ve found a better way to keep the signals drifting through the skies.”
“We did?”
Linda reached into her pocket and held up a jump drive. “Someone did, but it’s our job to get it online.”
Fay shook her head. “He’s giving us too much work. It’s getting harder to hide all the money we’re making.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Okay.” She grabbed a small handful of chips and dipped one into the salsa before crunching on it. “Still, this is a lot of delicate work for two old broads.”
“Complain when we have nothing to do, then you complain when we are busy.”
Fay smiled. “See a pattern?”
Linda shook her head and tossed the jump drive to her grandson. “Drones.”
“Pardon?” He inserted the drive into an available USB port.
“The balloons are being replaced by drones. They’ve outfitted them with solar panels and heat gatherers which allows them to collect sun and reclaim the heat the engines put out.”
“Clever.” Fay nodded.
“Apparently the things can stay airborne forever. Or at least a few years.”
“Who do they belong to?” Fay finished the last chip and dusted the crumbs off her hands, then turned to face her laptop.
“If you can use the program on the jump drive, they belong to us in less than ten minutes.”
Fay grinned and her fingers danced over the keyboard.
“Scout,” Linda said. “Come over here and I’ll show you a new way to hide some of this money that Fay was complaining about.”
“How much you moving?” Fay asked.
“Couple million. Figured it’s time to make another donation to the Lord.”
Fay chuckled. “Every time you say that I think you’ve found religion. That scares me.”
“Don’t worry.” Linda moved her seat so that Scout could sit closer to her as she began to work. “The General is the only Lord getting any of our money. He will put it to good use.”
Fay nodded. “Hallelujah.”
36
Victor reported to the White House, was fast-tracked through security, and escorted to the presidential living quarters. After a brief wait in the living room, the double doors opened and a man entered. Victor stood at attention, careful to hide his confusion. I don’t recognize this man.
“Hello, Victor.” The man smiled and gestured toward the couch. “My name is Nathan. Please have a seat.”
The stranger was a fit, clean-shaven, tanned man with short brown hair. He wore a white cotton dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, custom tailored and expensive judging from the way it hung on his frame, and black pants that were also of the highest quality. His left wrist sported a very sharp watch—likely platinum—and he wore a large signet ring on the ring finger of his right hand. He sat and stretched one arm along the back of the couch, appearing very much at home in the president’s quarters.
“Let me give you the bullet points.” He held up one finger. “Leaders from each major political party continue to be assassinated at irregular intervals. The chain of command is being destroyed, should the president be eliminated.” The man shook his head and held up a second finger. “Mortgages no longer exist in most o
f the top ranked financial countries. Recent action makes it seem as if credit card debt will also soon disappear.”
“That’s a problem for the banks.”
“Indeed.” The man’s voice sounded like a panther growling. “This is a problem specifically for the Central World Bank, which I control.”
Victor raised one eyebrow. Is this guy a Bledsoe?
“I am Nathan Bledsoe.”
Victor’s face suddenly felt warm. “It’s a great honour to meet you, sir.”
Nathan ignored the comment and held up a third finger. “The regular web has been brought down, which we expected to cause a certa—”
“How is that possible?”
Nathan scowled. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does.”
“Then put it on your list of items to investigate.”
Victor took a breath, paused, and then nodded. “What about the Shadow Web?”
“It still works. Plus there is a new web which the Harbinger is offering to the public for free. He’s named it, ‘Fire’.”
“There’s no way a global-wide network could exist undetected by our espionage equipment.”
“We suspect that it is being broadcast by everdrones flying at high altitude.”
“The only drones capable of such performance belong to us.”
“Past tense, Victor. All contact was lost with our everdrones some time ago. When we scrambled fighters to bring them down, we could not sense them. The Harbinger altered the cloaking function to hide them from our specialized equipment. We’ll never find them on purpose up there.”
“They are weaponized as well.”
Nathan nodded.
“I can’t believe this guy keeps getting away with this stuff.”
“It’s a big planet, and he executed his plans very well. One small fire to draw attention, followed by another small fire as soon as the first is extinguished. By the time most looked up, they saw they were not alone in fighting fires and the tiny incidents had become an enormous blaze.”
“It’s maddening.”
Nathan laughed. “So far, one of his medium-sized fires has resulted in wiping out the mortgage and credit card debt of over one hundred fifty million people like this.” He snapped his fingers. “Tens of billions of dollars gone with the click of a mouse.” His lips pursed and he sniffed.