by Gini Koch
“And Serene was identified and used by our enemies within six months of his death. Ronaldo was activated around that time, too, if we pay attention to the timelines of how various Operations played out. So, my bet is that Leventhal Reid, who we all agree was the first Apprentice, had that Little Black Book and used it once Yates was dead.”
“Does that mean the current Mastermind has it now?” Doreen asked.
“Give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. My bet would be that the Apprentices were charged with legwork in finding the Yates Offspring. Our current Mastermind was better at this than Reid, or else Reid was more motivated to ID these people once he became the Mastermind. But that would mean they likely have detailed information on every one of the Yates Offspring they’ve managed to find.”
“They got what they needed from me the most before I was captured,” Mahin said slowly. “I helped break Russell out of Israel, and my skills were truly what allowed them to get him. And I was convinced you were all dangerous and evil when I attacked you in the desert.”
“And you really almost killed us,” Christopher said.
“I note that you’re sitting here, alive and well. Thanks to my skills that you constantly want to run down, Mister I Can’t Actually Fly A Plane Myself But Love to Backseat Drive One.”
“If she’d killed any of us she would never have been allowed in,” Jeff said before Christopher had a chance to come back with anything other than Patented Glare #3. “So if that had worked, then they’d have had Mahin with them forever, because she wouldn’t have had any options.”
“Which is why they gave her the coordinates,” Tim said. “So she could get back to them and they could retrieve her if she was successful.”
“So they win either way,” Chuckie said.
“Right. Especially since there was no way they were getting Chernobog’s cooperation without Russell freed and in a position to collect on the YatesCorp prize.”
Everyone gave me shocked looks other than Mom, Buchanan, and Chuckie, who all nodded. “Based on the intel Olga gave us,” Chuckie said, “that’s absolutely accurate. Chernobog hasn’t been this active and obvious in at least a decade.”
“That’s an interesting point I don’t want us to forget, but I want to get back to the whole Mahin issue. I realize our thinking just confirms that the Mastermind is back, bigger than ever, but I think what they did and didn’t do with Mahin is hugely key. Because if they were always figuring that the odds were that they’d lose Mahin to us, what else were and are they already banking on?”
“Everything you did from the point you and Gladys got to Guantanamo,” Christopher suggested.
“Maybe,” Reader said. “But I have a question we didn’t have time to ask before now. Mort, why was Mahin held at the Air Station, instead of over at the Detention Camp? And why were all these other prisoners there at all?”
“They were scheduled for release,” Uncle Mort said. “Politically, we’re being cooperative and moved them over to the Air Base, where it’s more pleasant and better for photo ops. Realistically, they’re all likely to be terrorists, but we do have to play nicey-nice for the politicians. No offense,” he added to Jeff.
“None taken,” Jeff said. “What country are they associated with?”
Chuckie’s eyes narrowed. “You think they were or are part of the overall plan?”
“I think it’s possible,” Jeff said.
“Me too. Because Mahin was at the Air Base the whole time, right?”
Uncle Mort nodded. “Yes, but that was so it would be less unpleasant for your father and Mister Buchanan to question her. And to answer Jeff’s question, the rest of the prisoners there are from a variety of countries. Most are considered low-level threats. I could get you a full roster if you need it, Angela, Charles.”
“Yes, we’ll want that.” Chuckie rubbed the back of his neck. “The complexity just keeps adding in, doesn’t it?”
“The Mastermind knows us,” I pointed out. “And that means Mahin would have been put at the Air Base regardless, because someone from Centaurion Division or the P.T.C.U. would have been questioning her.”
“But they left me there for days,” Mahin said. “And no one contacted me before today.”
“Uncle Mort, when did the release orders for those prisoners come down?”
“Within this week.” He looked grim. “You think they’re connected to all this business, don’t you, just like Jeff and Charles do?”
“I do. The Mastermind has pull.” Pull I was sure wasn’t going to be traceable back to the Mastermind, of course, but I was getting used to that by now. Besides, all it took was finding the end of one thread in the tangle to unravel it. As long as we could find a thread, let alone an end to it.
“What would be the point?” Randy asked. “They didn’t do anything.”
“They utilized manpower,” Joe replied. “That might have been reason enough.”
Hughes and Walker both nodded. “And there was nowhere to put them, since the detention area was blown up,” Hughes said.
“If we hadn’t come back when we did, they might have done something as well,” Walker added. “They tried, Christopher just stopped them in a way that ensured they didn’t want to try again.”
Thought about what Hughes had just said and where Ronaldo and the others had been running. “Uncle Mort, why were you at Guantanamo?”
“We had a high level terrorist in captivity.” He nodded toward Mahin. “I was on site to ensure things remained . . . calm.”
“Who knew you were there?”
“Only your mother. Top Brass wasn’t advised. Neither was the base commander.” He grinned. “In these kinds of cases, I use a gate to come and go. Much easier that way.”
“So it’s very likely that the Mastermind didn’t know you’d be at Guantanamo. Which makes a lot of sense. So, let me ask this—let’s say that you hadn’t been there. The base commander was mind controlled, but that was only one part of the plan. Where would someone like, say, Lieutenant Pierce have ultimately taken the prisoners?”
“There would have been no prisoners left alive if not for your Poofs,” Uncle Mort pointed out.
“Yeah, but I was always supposed to be there—remember, Gladys said she thought Ronaldo had sent her the dream to ‘come’ to him. So the expectation was always to catch me and the Poofs. And I’m sure the related expectation was that Jeff and some others would come after us. You were the wrinkle in their plans, not me or the others. So, Uncle Wrinkle, tell me where they’d have taken those prisoners, because I have a guess and I’d like to know if I’m right.”
Jeff and Christopher both sat up straight. But Mahin spoke first. “They’d have been taken to those old buildings, where the helicopter crashed, right?”
Uncle Mort nodded. “I don’t know why you children ask questions when you already know the answers.”
“Because we like to keep you oldsters on your toes. So, the idea would have been to have a riot far away from the main area, or even to have a prison break where they all got to head right into Cuba and be likely welcomed with open arms. This would follow right after Guantanamo bombed our Science Center. I’d say that a war between the U.S. and American Centaurion, let alone however many other countries, would seem likely.”
“It would take the Pontifex being in agreement with Alpha Team and the Diplomatic Corps for that to truly happen,” Reader said.
Looked at Naomi and Abigail. “Paul has a breaking point, and I’d have to guess that seeing his brother murdered and then having most of his people blown up by the United States military would send him well damn past that point.”
Naomi nodded. “Hell yes. I’m sure he’s close right now, but that? That would send him and the rest of us over the edge. If there were any of us left that is.”
“Yeah,” Abigail agreed. “Jeff and Christopher, you know what you’d do.”
Jeff nodded. “It’s all too easy to see. Even if we believed the attack was an a
ccident, that’s a direct act of war.”
“We’d be looking to move,” Christopher said. “We’d want to pull the rest of our people out of U.S. territories, go somewhere we felt was safer. Maybe leave the planet, if we could. We have options now that we didn’t have before, ACE or no ACE.”
“Where are those prisoners now?” Mom asked.
“Had to send them back to the Detention Camp,” Uncle Mort said. “And now I’m glad of that. Kitty, do you really think the goal is war? And why war with American Centaurion?”
Chuckie’s phone rang. He looked at it and groaned. “Horn’s calling. I’m sure he wants to know where we are on finding the new superdrug.”
Stared at him. “Oh. My God. I know what the hell is going on, all of it. And why.”
CHAPTER 76
“DO I TAKE VANDER’S CALL OR NOT?” Chuckie asked.
“Take it and tell him you’re in a meeting, making progress, and that you’ll call him back. And hurry. I’m saving this until you’re done.”
This earned me a dirty look, but Chuckie got up and walked out of the room as he answered. “Vander, it’s been so long since we talked. What, half a day?”
“You’re really going to make us wait until he’s back in the room?” Christopher asked.
“Yep.” Took the opportunity to eat some more and get my thoughts into a semblance of order. “Len, Kyle, we need Adriana. Can you guys see if she’s free?”
“Mister Joel Oliver’s at the Romanian Embassy,” Len said. “Olga asked him to stay. You want him, too?”
“Could my saying no actually keep him away? Besides, he’s always good for insights. And of course if Olga wants to come over and see if any of us have caught up or caught on, she’s always welcome.”
Len and Kyle trotted out. Without calling or texting anyone. Had a feeling Adriana, Oliver, and Olga were already all on standby and just waiting for their official invitation.
Uncle Mort got up. “I’m going to send in an order to keep all those prisoners at Guantanamo. Some politicians won’t like it, and I’ll be sure we note which ones. I’ll be back when Charles is.”
“While we wait for you to actually tell us what you think is going on, Kitty,” Stryker said from Hacker Headquarters, “you want what we got on Chernobog?”
“Yes. She’s in Cuba, near Guantanamo, maybe actually physically on the American side, and absolutely using their computer systems.”
All five Hackers had clearly been taking glaring lessons from Christopher, because I was getting a full pantheon of glares from them, even Omega Red.
“Way to steal a guy’s moment,” Stryker grumbled.
“Part of my charm. Why pick Guantanamo unless someone they needed to work with was there? There are plenty of bases around the world, hell, they were at Home Base originally, so that one had to be chosen for more reasons than Mahin being taken there.”
“Fine, still don’t see how you made the leap that Chernobog’s on the American side,” Stryker said.
“That’s because you’re convinced I’m a moron and I rarely waste time trying to convince you otherwise. As for the rest, they had too easy a time getting onto the base and running around it. Hyperspeed’s great, but that’s an active base loaded with personnel—someone was going to spot a bunch of civilians they didn’t know and ask questions. Meaning our gang was staying somewhere close to the Air Station but not necessarily right on the base. However, being on the American side means access to all that great equipment and energy, and, let’s face it—Chernobog’s an old woman by now. Why would she choose to rough it if she doesn’t have to?”
“She wouldn’t,” Olga said as Len and Kyle returned, confirming my suspicion that Team Romania had been waiting at their front door. Well, better to have allies who were eager, right?
Chuckie and Uncle Mort came back. “All taken care of,” Uncle Mort said as they seated themselves.
“Vander wants more than platitudes, Kitty,” Chuckie said. “So I want to know what you figured out, and I want to know now.”
“Dude, was only waiting for your Secret Agent Ears to return to the War Room. And that’s what this is all about. Not so much the war, but what Gaultier, Titan, and YatesCorp gain by us being at war.”
“Titan makes weapons, so I can see that one,” Uncle Mort said. “But I hope you have more than just good guessing.”
“Et tu, Uncle Wrinkle? Et tu? Of course I have more. We were more than halfway there earlier, when we were discussing what we’d have done if the Guantanamo attack had worked out how the Mastermind wanted. We’d be in chaos and running scared. We’d be looking for a new safe haven. It’s amazing how your morals shift when you think the country you swore allegiance to has betrayed you in the worst way possible.”
“You think we’d join with our enemies?” Jeff sounded appalled. It was always endearing when the reality of how basically decent the majority of A-Cs were waved at me. The humans in the room were all nodding their heads in agreement with me. The A-Cs looked shocked and uncomfortable.
Mahin, however, had been raised as a human. “Kitty’s right. Enemies of the United States would be lining up to give you all a new home base.”
“You tip the balance of power. You always have. But there’s more. If they’d succeeded in destroying the Science Center, we’d have lost, what, half of your people? And most of your women. Jeff, you’ve said this to me before—having a choice of interspecies marriage is one thing. Having no choice in the matter is another. So we’d be very open to options. And, you know, you, Serene, and Christopher are all okay, right? And Jamie and Patrick are advanced but not freaks, right?”
“I know where you’re going with this,” Jeff said. “You think we’d okay giving the new version of Surcenthumain to our people.”
“Well, you’d have to. Because regular humans would already be taking it, and that would mean they were catching up to the A-Cs. Junkies and criminals and experimental teenagers and casual drug users would all be super powered. Then, once they didn’t all drop dead, soldiers would be taking the drug.”
“Soldiers on all sides, by the way,” Tito said. “The drug replicates and continues to expand powers.”
“And it’s addictive,” Christopher added. “Very addictive. You want more because of how it makes you feel, and then you want more because of how it changes you.”
“I’m betting the new stuff is even more addictive. So self-defense and preservation would say that the A-Cs would need to bulk up in turn, so to speak.”
“You’re talking about an arms race but with drugs, versus weapons,” Chuckie said.
“I point to Exhibits A, B, and C.” I indicated Serene, Jeff, and Christopher. “What Christopher, in particular, could do after he shot up Surcenthumain for a while was nothing short of amazing. Imagine what we could do if everyone had the new strain running through their veins.”
The room was quiet for a few long moments. Amy broke the silence. “So, short of burning Gaultier to the ground, how do we expose what they’re doing?”
“I don’t think we can expose anything, Ames. Gaultier’s got too many ties to too many different yet important places. Same with YatesCorp. Hell, Titan was proven to be building freaking supersoldiers that they sent against the President of the United States and all of Congress, and yet there they are, back in business, and everyone’s acting like they just had a little run of bad management.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Naomi asked.
“We’re going to go very Old Testament on their butts.” This earned a lot of blank looks, though Mom put her head in her hand and Uncle Mort grinned.
“Mind explaining that?” Jeff asked.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We’re going to find their drugs and destroy them, along with the formulas and all their data. Sorry, Ames, but we’re going to run your father’s company out of business.”
“Fine with me,” Amy said. “I can always rebuild it, this time without secret levels of evil and align
ing with every maniac in the world.”
“What does YatesCorp gain out of all of this?” Mom asked. “Their connection isn’t clear, and you can’t convince me that Amos Tobin wants to add on anyone else to their Board, let alone a bunch of unknown Yates relatives.”
“He doesn’t, I’m very sure. There’s a possibility he’s willing to add on a whole bunch of yes-men and -women to gain a stronger power base. There’s also a possibility that he’s not involved and the Yates Gene Project is being driven by Gaultier or Titan or both, so that they can gain more control of YatesCorp. There are other possibilities, too.”
“Here’s one,” Tito said. “The Yates Gene is corrupted, because of his combining with the Mephistopheles parasite, meaning the only pure samples of his DNA come from Richard, Gladys, or Lucinda.”
“Assume they have a sample from Gladys. If they wanted it, they’d have gotten it from her using mind control.”
Tito nodded. “So, based on what we know they’ve created—androids and supersoldiers and copies of every male of influence in Centaurion Division—my bet for their next steps would be cloning. The bait given to the genetic samples may be to get a seat on the YatesCorp Board. But the goal of those behind the plan may be to clone another Ronald Yates.”
“Or another Mephistopheles,” Tim suggested.
“Tito Hernandez, put on your cape and join Team Megalomania and stand right there next to Megalomaniac Lad. Because those sound like winner ideas to me. So to speak. So, we pretty much need to ensure we wipe every piece of data Gaultier has, except possibly the information on their baby wipes.”
“I wouldn’t trust those, either,” Reader said.
“Kitty, that sounds like a great plan,” Stryker said. “But you’re forgetting one thing. Chernobog is working for the other side. That means they’ll have protections in place that, frankly, we probably can’t hack.”
Looked at Olga. “But we have the best leverage in the world. And I’m not afraid to play hardball. Olga, what’s the best way for us to contact Chernobog in a private manner she’ll respond to?”