James Weir stood there frozen, looking at the bodies, armored up figures and his acquaintances. He made no move to step out and looked over at the control panel. He'd have pressed a button again to go away if Jeff hadn't waved him forward.
"Come on Weir, come to April's apartment and we'll explain," Jeff promised.
James was understandably dubious, but to his credit went with them.
Jon made a motion to his men they were dismissed and followed, still hoping he'd be welcome to stay and hear what James had to say.
* * *
They arrived at April's and all sat around her table to talk. Gunny put the bags by his feet and started unloading them on the table. Heather was introduced to James as a partner.
"I'll listen to your proposal, but I'm constrained by my partnership," James started.
Jeff cut him off with a chop of his hand and a glaring look. "I didn't call you."
That left James gap mouthed, astonished.
"One or both of those idiots laying back there on the ground, dead, called you. They used a computer generated avatar, a CG image to spoof the call as from me to draw you in to a meeting. I'm sure they intended you nothing good. Jon was on to them and was going to intercept them and arrest them, but they had the bad luck to have Gunny here get on the elevator with them."
"What did they do on the elevator?" James asked Gunny, still not following it all.
"I was getting off the same level as them, so I interfered with them gearing up in the elevator. They had armor and probably face coverings to put on, then come down here and wait for you, in the lock I'd imagine. It's regulation full locks have to offer shelter in case of a pressure drop if the cubic they serve isn't occupied. They didn't know the kids were home and the corridor hatch would be locked," he said nodding at April, Heather and Jeff. "They disarmed me and cuffed me to the rail in the elevator. Obviously I couldn't let them out to make trouble. I didn't know who were aimed at. But they weren't Homies and I knew they were up to no good." None of them made an issue of him calling them kids. He was older and there was too much affection both ways to get huffy about it.
"I have your. . . I mean, I have their call on my pad. It's quite believable. Would you care to see it? Any of you?" he asked, seeming to belatedly realize they weren't all the same team.
"Put it on the screen if you want," April invited. "I for one was amazed you could be fooled and would like to see it. I hate the sort of avatars people use as answering machines."
"Please, I'd very much like that, and perhaps even a copy," Jon requested.
James fiddled with his pad and April allowed him to link to her screen.
Jeff appeared, speaking earnestly.
"Zoom in tight on his face and let me see some detail," April demanded.
It was right, down to the individual eyelashes.
"I suspect this is technically correct, right down to the iris scans," Jon said. "But the lighting is odd. There aren't any distinct shadows, as if he's in a portrait studio."
"And totally unbelievable to anyone who really knows him," Heather said.
April nodded agreement.
"The word choices are not his," Jon said. "This is a con man speaking with his voice. Jeff rarely qualifies anything without attaching probabilities. He never reaches up with his hands in the video, like Jeff does all the time to play with his collar, and he doesn't do Jeff's little head tilt for emphasis at the close of a statement."
Jeff looked at him, a little distressed, and held his hands together like he was controlling them. He did however tilt his head each way like he was cracking his neck.
"I know his office and where he goes on the moon," Gunny said. "I know the walls here and in the cafeteria and at Dave's. He wouldn't be sending something like this except from a secure location, and that plain off white wall behind him is unknown to me. Besides, he'd have one or both of the girls with him and even if they didn't stand right behind him he'd look every once in awhile when they moved or just to check on them."
Jeff couldn't help himself, he checked on his women when reminded, as accused.
"Some of the face movements are his," April agreed, "but they don't match his words."
"As if Jeff would ever say, I have a proposition for you," Heather said. "He doesn't use that word. He'd think it sounded risqué. That's an Earthie language pattern. He'd say proposal or business opportunity or even a contract. The image could be done with one good three hundred sixty degree scan, but these people must not have enough hours of audio to do accurate word choices and patterns."
"I'm touched you all watch me so closely," Jeff said. He didn't look touched, he looked like analyzing all his mannerisms made him uncomfortable.
"Then. . . you aren't offering me any business deal?" James still asked Jeff to confirm.
"Nope. You can propose something if you wish. Our general consensus ," Jeff said, making an inclusive wave at Heather and April with his hand returning to his own chest. "Is to keep our business partnerships with Earthies to a minimum. We probably have too many already."
"They alluded to a device in that video," Jon said, looking at James. "Is this something to do with the space ship drives you told me your company is working on?"
James looked from Jeff to April and then back to Jon, as if he was waiting for one to blurt out what they knew.
"Don't look at me," Jeff said. "It's not my place to speak about your business."
"I'm sadly not used to this much in the way of ethics in business," James admitted.
"Ethics is a social construct," Jeff said. "I don't always get social things, but that's why I have partners. April in particular teaches me when I lack social graces. Unless there is something we don't know about you. . . my best guess is the two recently dead gentlemen were going to act very unethically with you. Perhaps kill you or kidnap you to coerce you."
"But how do they know anything about my. . . business?" James asked suspiciously.
"We've been watching these two since they came on station," Jon said. "They are from Earth and we haven't been able to backtrack their travel or financial links sufficiently to know who they work for. Wherever the leak was I'd say it was on Earth. If I'd been able to arrest them I intended to put them under the helmet. We have no silly laws against it."
"You didn't give them your, "Howdy I'm the sheriff hereabouts and I have my eye on you," lecture?" James asked.
"When they come in, trying to not appear associated with each other, and skulked about asking dock rats and low lifes about buying guns instead of just walking in and buying them across the counter, I knew an honest approach would be wasted. I wasn't sure if they were dealing in something like drugs, that they couldn't believe wasn't prohibited, or were more spies. But their whole demeanor spoke to deceit and dishonesty."
"More spies. . . " That phrase didn't get past James.
"Maybe we still have a leak Earthside," James admitted. "I'll talk to my partners about it."
Neither did Jeff miss that qualifier, still.
"I do what I can, but it's your butt. You better watch it yourself and not depend on me to always see somebody laying an ambush for you. Maybe get some private security. April here keeps Gunny as a bodyguard," Jon explained. "And Jeff has. . . people."
"Where, would I find somebody of similar. . . ability?" James asked, but looking at Gunny.
"Well I'm obviously tied up most of the time. Besides April I do little side jobs, but I have some senior partners who can devote time to the level of protection you seem to need. I'll introduce you to Christian Mackay if you wish. The man is just absolutely frightening," Gunny said, but said it as a very positive thing. "Shucks, I can call now and get him or one of his boys to escort you when you walk out the door here if you want."
"I need that. And as much as I didn't like seeing so many publicly armed when I got here, I better avail myself of it. That's permissible from what you said?" he asked Jon.
"If you know which end to grab," Jon said. "We get a lot
of new people who got their gun knowledge from videos. They're more a danger to themselves than any protection."
"No, not a problem. I grew up on a ranch. I had to know guns, long and short."
"In that case pick one if you want," Gunny offered. He stood and took two pistols out of his side pockets. He looked at them carefully for the first time. "They appear to be the same. Take them both if you want and wear a brace of 'em. Can you do two handed mojo?"
"I don't know, I never had opportunity to try," James said looking puzzled. "You carry extra pistols around in your pockets, and you aren't even aware they're the same?"
"They belonged to the gentlemen in the elevator who assaulted me," Gunny said. "I took them away after they had no further need of them. I have my own, set up the way I like them. They look brand new, but you might have a competent smith check them out for you."
"Could I have the serial numbers before they're gone forever?" Jon asked.
"Thank you," James said, after Jon was satisfied. He checked them for loads and got them in his own pockets without sweeping anybody with the muzzles or blowing his foot off.
Maybe he'll do OK, Gunny thought.
* * *
After one of Mackay's men arrived and escorted James away, Jon stayed on and chatted.
"I get the strong feeling James thinks you know much more about his business than he revealed to me." His eyes swept them all to show he wasn't just talking to Jeff.
None of them seemed inclined to volunteer anything.
"Don't you think I need to know much more about what he's doing if it's creating security concerns for Home?
"It's a trade secret at this point," Jeff said. "I don't think it will impact our military standing for quite some time. When that happens it will be both public and obvious. I can't advise you if the agents after him were from a government or a commercial rival. . . or what. I have very little of any practical value to you to reveal."
"You're not a commercial rival of his?" Jon asked.
"Not yet."
"Are you going to try to find out if we don't tell you?" April asked Jon.
"Of course! I think I need to know, even if you don't. I won't promise not to investigate."
"Jon may be misguided in this, but he is an honorable person," April said. "The two of us do have a formal agreement to be allies. If we tell him, in very general terms, what James' company is working on, and he agrees to hold it very closely, it would save a lot of man hours and harm nothing."
"How closely?" Jeff asked. "I won't harm James."
"Just him," Heather suggested. "That's sufficient for him to direct anything needed."
"All right. I can agree to that," Jon decided.
Jeff thought about it and nodded.
"James has invented a superluminal space drive which propelled an unmanned drone from the solar system. We suspect it went to another star, but we don't have absolute confirmation of that. The probability is however very high."
"Do you understand how it works?" Jon asked.
"Yes," Jeff said with no hedging.
"Can you make the same thing yourself?" Jon wondered.
"Yes, we know how, but we're not going to do so," Jeff said, as an absolute again.
"But he hasn't sent a manned vessel?"
"One assumes that is the end goal of the whole project, but there are a lot of obstacles, dangers, and unresolved design problems before that is practical."
When Jon looked like he was trying to find other questions Jeff cut him off.
"That's all I intend to say about it. That's sufficient to your need to know."
Jon nodded and saw it was time to leave, rising. He looked at all the things Gunny had removed from the dead agent's bags and laid out on the table. Nothing seemed all that striking. If there was something there he needed to know about he'd have to trust his friends to tell him. He wouldn't beg and he sure as hell wouldn't meet Gunny in the North hub corridor.
"All that raises more questions than it answered," he complained before going.
Jeff looked surprised. "Jon, that's a feature of life, not a bug. Everything is interesting."
Chapter 17
"You do know he will run your statement through verifying software?" April asked
"He's welcome to do so," Jeff said. "I meant every word I said. I can't speak to the future, but what I said is exactly what I plan at the moment."
"But you already built a drive based on the same math!" April objected.
"The math describes a very complex reality," Jeff said. "Our drive depends on a completely different manifestation of natural law described in that math. This is like saying if you invented the telegraph you also invented the radio. Not true unless you wildly stretch your definitions."
"I'm not sure you shouldn't have been a lawyer if you can argue that," April said.
"The difference between a quantum star drive based on the electric force and one based on gravitational force is more than theoretical, it is quite a practical difference using radically different hardware and engineering."
Gunny looked from one to the other, shocked. "Hello? Is there something you forgot to tell me? You were speaking to Jon of superluminal drives. Correct me if I'm wrong but that means faster than light, right? And now you are saying that besides whatever James made you have another flavor that should work?"
"Yes, but it's secret," April said. "You can't tell anybody."
"The normal process is, you swear somebody to secrecy before the big revelation," Gunny said. "That way they can decline to receive the secret if it would be burdensome."
"Well, you either agree to keep it secret or we cut you off, right now, before you've heard all the best parts of the secret, and the whole story about how it happened," April threatened.
"There's more? Lots more? Where did you learn to negotiate like this?" Gunny demanded. "Though this pushes the line between negotiate and dictate under duress."
"It's her fault," April said, pointing at Heather. "The lunatics at Central are terrified to go to her court and present a case. They go in all full of righteous indignation and emerge broken."
"It does cut down on the number of frivolous cases I have to hear," Heather objected.
"But if I agree I get the whole thing? Not just little pieces of it like Jon?" Gunny asked.
"Gunny, you not only get the whole story, you get to go with us," April promised.
"OK. I want a ticket. Tell me."
April turned to Jeff. "You start with the boring science stuff first. I'll make us lunch."
* * *
"We're shorthanded today. Aaron didn't come in, and no message either. You may have to pick up a little of the slack. I'll try to cover as much as I can myself," Cook promised.
That didn't fill Karl with the utter dread it would have in the first week. Cook didn't yell at him anymore. He had a lot less reason Karl had to admit. Also he would likely pick up an astonishing amount of the slack, since his efficiency still amazed Karl.
"We'll do two entrees for lunch instead of three. Maybe I should cut off custom breakfast for the morning," Cook said, frowning at the idea.
"Just double the special order price on the board this morning," Karl suggested. "Tag it as a temporary thing. That will keep most people from demanding something special."
"Good thinking," Cook agreed and keyed the change in the menu screen. That was extravagant praise from Cook to actually say something and not just nod. "Go ahead and get the breakfast buffet started and I'll work on prepping lunch."
Karl checked that the grill was up to the right temperature, tossed frozen hash browns on the hotter side of it and went to the freezer to get chopped peppers and onions.
Aaron was in the freezer, arms behind him, staring at the door. The look on his face was one of despair. What really creeped Karl out was his eyeballs were open but frosted over.
Karl lost all track of time again, standing at the open freezer door, staring at him. Cook came up behind him, announcing he'd fl
ipped his hash browns in a somewhat irritated voice, and then stopped.
"Oh crap." Cook reached past and pushed the door shut hard. "Come over here and sit down," he ordered, took him by the arm and walked him to the chair at his desk. He actually shoved him down with a hand on his shoulder or he'd have just stood there, all locked up.
Cook leaned past him and worked the com. "I need a security officer in the cafeteria kitchen, and an aide from medical that can handle somebody in emotional shock."
He gave Karl what was probably meant to be a supportive double pat on the shoulder, and went back to move the hash browns to the holding side of the grill.
* * *
"So, you think we can keep this as a trade secret and use it instead of selling the tech for vast sums of money?" Heather summarized.
"Yes, the Earthies don't have the tech to modulate gravity. They know we have something, but not what. My dear step mum's discovery was pretty serendipitous, people may go a long time and never make the same accidental discovery she did.
"I will hold this as close as the gravity lance or the compensators on our ships. I'm willing to lose a vessel to keep it a secret, and we've upgraded our self destruct systems. If the Chinese stole a ship now it would never get to the point where I had to bombard it on the ground to destroy it, like before. I'm confident of that," Jeff said. "But I have to take issue with the idea we could make 'vast' sums of money licensing this."
"It seems like you could name your price," Heather said.
Jeff shook his head no. "Ignoring the fact we'd have to reveal the nature of my mum's quantum fluid, which I'm sworn to protect, this is the sort of secret that's too big to expect anyone would respect patents or licensing agreements."
"Well the Chinese will steal anything, if that's what you mean," Heather allowed. "The scum even sell it as your genuine product with your patents and trademarks printed on it."
"Not exactly. This isn't a new computer chip or nanotube desalinization. What we have here is closer to the bomb at the end of the First Atomic War. If the US had patented the idea of the fission weapon what would have happened? Do you think the Soviets, that's the Russians of the time, would have paid royalties on the tech? Or any other nations?" Jeff asked.
A Sudden Departure (April Book 9) Page 21