Takoda felt yet another urge to speak with Hawkeye. Maybe he has the chip, too, or knows more about Hoot’s, or why she kept it a secret. His thoughts were interrupted by Yon’s voice.
“I’m sure she must have had a really good reason. It seems ludicrous to believe she would have risked so much to rescue Billy if she thought her GODD chip could help us find a cure for JS.”
As he pondered her comment, a new thought formed. He looked at Yon and said, “You know, maybe it is as simple as that. Her chip was defective. Or maybe she considered it obsolete. It was twenty-five years old. The puzzling part is why she just didn’t say so.”
“I don’t know, but we’re not going to solve the puzzle here and now.”
“Good point. Guess you’re going to be the one to solve it, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re splitting us up. Hoot’s replacement has ordered me to go to Thunder Bay. Apparently, the new head honcho, Hawkeye, has a different assignment in mind for you.”
Yon pulled back. “What? No way. I’m coming with you.”
Takoda shook his head. “Believe me, I want you to come, but it’s probably not the best idea. Someone needs to analyze Hoot’s chip and her DNA. I assume that’s what they have in mind for you. Cassidy wouldn’t tell me.”
“Cassidy?”
“Yeah, apparently Hawkeye has anointed Cassidy as his go-between, though the way she talks, it sounds like she’s the one calling the shots.”
“Is that a good idea? Putting an android in command?”
“Not if you ask me,” said Takoda. “Guess who she’s sending to Thunder Bay with me? That NASF major.”
“You’re joking.”
“Wish I was.”
“But he’s NASF! He’s not one of us.”
“I know. I know. I don’t like it one bit, but Cassidy said Hawkeye received a tip that NASF was sending commandos to Thunder Bay. She says the major knows their tactics, so he’s the right person to go with me.”
“But how can she trust him? How can this new leader, Hawkeye, trust him?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll tell you this. Cassidy made a big deal about Hawkeye wanting to compartmentalize what each of us is working on, and I understand his logic, it’s no different than Hoot’s way of doing things. He doesn’t want to risk NASF getting to one of us and leading them to the rest of the team. But I want to keep a line of communication open with you, especially given the major’s my sidekick for the trip.”
Yon sat up and nodded. “Absolutely. We have to be in contact. You’ll need to know the results of the lab work on the DNA Sarah gave us, as well as anything I find out about Hoot’s chip. And when you find Mariah Bloom, we’ll both need to talk with her, exchange notes.”
“Right, but Cassidy’s made it clear I’m supposed to communicate through her. I’m assuming she’s going to say the same to you.”
“The hell with that,” Yon said. She once again cupped Takoda’s cheek. “You need me, you call me.”
“Same goes with you.” He kissed her hand and stood to leave. “I’ll come back and check on you before I leave. I need to track down Spiers. Make sure we’re on the same page before we head out.”
Palace of Prefect Munoz
Minneapolis, Lakelands Province, New Atlantia
With the Carapach ambassador now off his back, Prefect Munoz could relax and enjoy another evening of decadent role play. As he finished changing into his safari hunter costume, the door chime to his quarters signaled a visitor had arrived. Looking at the clock on the holonode atop his dresser, he frowned. His android guests were ordered to arrive at midnight, an hour from now. Has there been a mix-up? Munoz wondered. He knew it could not be Jordyn. She had messaged him not but ten minutes ago from the NASF command center, several miles away.
Munoz spoke to the holonode. “Find out who’s at the door.”
“Right away, Your Grace,” the device’s sultry female voice replied.
Seconds later, the voice informed him the visitor was Sir Atwell. Munoz stiffened. Atwell was the most prominent member of the Evvie Guild residing in the Lakelands province. He’s here because of Rodrick Hearns, thought Munoz. NASF officers in Chicago had detained Hearns an hour prior and his evvie attorney had quickly contacted Munoz to demand his release. As promised to Jordyn, Munoz declined to intervene.
“Send a valet to invite Sir Atwell in. Settle him in the drawing-room. I shall be there shortly.”
“As you command, Your Grace.”
Munoz quickly changed out of his costume and back into his prefect robes. This will be a delicate conversation, he thought, but surely Atwell will understand the necessity of the interrogation.
When he entered the drawing room and saw the friendly smile on Atwell’s face, Munoz relaxed. Atwell was cordial, affable, as he greeted the prefect. “Geraldo, so good to see you.”
The evvie clasped Munoz’ hand and shook it with vigor. Munoz bowed and said, “Sir Atwell, it’s an honor. Had I known you were coming, I would have arranged refreshments.”
“Not at all, not at all,” Atwell said, patting Munoz on the shoulder. “I’m sorry for disturbing you so late, but I found myself in a bit of a squeeze and I thought, who can help me? Why, Geraldo, of course.”
Ah, the visit was about Rodrick, thought Munoz. The evvie’s mention of being in a bit of a squeeze was a parroting of Munoz’ entreaty to Atwell during an earlier incident in which the prefect had sought Atwell’s help. It seemed Munoz had made the unfortunate mistake of taking an underage gutant to bed. Even more unfortunate, the assignation had been recorded…by the Guild. Munoz had reached out to Atwell to help negotiate his way out of the scandal. That’s the problem with the Guild, Munoz mused. They play dirty.
“I am at your service, Sir Atwell, as always.”
“Oh, what a relief. I knew I could count on you.” Atwell gripped Munoz’ shoulder with greater force. “I would feel more comfortable discussing the matter privately.”
He looked up at the corners of the ceiling where cameras were mounted, and then at the android valet standing at attention by the drawing room door. Yes, he definitely wishes to discuss Rodrick Hearns, thought Munoz.
“Why, of course, Sir Atwell. I understand perfectly. Discretion is always best when discussing delicate matters.” He turned to the valet. “Be gone.” Looking up at one of the cameras, Munoz said, “Privacy mode. All surveillance devices off.”
The holonode’s sexy voice echoed over the ceiling speakers. “Privacy mode activated, Your Grace.”
Munoz blushed and turned back to Atwell. “Now, then, how may I help you?”
The East Indian evvie stroked the triangle patch of hair beneath his chin. “How about some fresh air? I find it helps one think clearly.”
Atwell pointed toward the French doors leading onto the drawing room balcony. The man is taking every precaution, thought the prefect. He does not believe I’ve deactivated all surveillance. A wise move by a smart man.
“By all means,” said the bowing Munoz. “After you.”
The early summer night’s air was brisk up this high, but the view was magnificent. Set against the bank of the Mississippi River in the northwest quadrant of the city, the twentieth-floor quarters of Munoz’ palace commanded views of moonlit western lakes and the glitter of the city’s business district to the south.
Munoz closed the drawing room doors and asked the holonode to confirm the balcony cameras were deactivated. Then, he turned to Atwell and said, “There, complete privacy. Now, how may I be of service to the Gui—”
The trailing utterance of the word Guild echoed between buildings as Atwell grabbed Munoz and tossed him over the edge of the balcony.
Command Center – NASF Province Headquarters
Minneapolis, Lakelands Province, New Atlantia
Jordyn was engaged in an electronic dialogue with NASF’s lead interrogation android when she received a high priority holocall from Munoz. She cut short the conversation wi
th the interrogator, transmitting, “I must go. Detain and question Sarah Hearns’ parents. If Rodrick Hearns was right, they may know more.”
“Yes, Counselor. What about Hearns’ body?” the android transmitted back.
“Transport it to the crematorium. Make sure nothing remains.”
“And Dr. Thompson?”
“The same. And have someone check into the information Thompson shared about Dr. Wells. It could be of strategic value.” Jordyn ended the transmission and answered Munoz’ call, “Hello, Your Eminence.”
The voice that answered was not the prefect’s. “Counselor? I’m afraid I have terrible news.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jordyn stood on Munoz’ balcony with Sir Atwell. He said, “It was most tragic. I came to tell him of a horrid video the Guild had received showing the prefect engaged in the most disgusting acts with, um, a, well, you can view the video itself.”
Atwell handed Jordyn a holodrive.
“Anyway, he was so distraught, he jumped over the balcony. I didn’t even get the chance to tell him the Guild would make sure the video never came to light. I guess guilt overwhelmed him. So tragic. He was a fine man. Beloved by all who knew him.”
Jordyn’s logic module calculated a ninety-nine percent probability Atwell was lying. The most likely scenario postulated by the module. Atwell had assassinated Munoz. She looked at the evvie. “It will be a devastating blow to Lakelanders.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will,” Atwell said, his grief-stricken face looking over the edge of the balcony.
“I will alert the sub-prefect at once,” Jordyn said.
“No need,” said Atwell, “I took the liberty of alerting the president’s office in New York. I believe he intends to appoint an interim prefect with more experience. Sir Tripp, I believe. As I understand it, Sir Tripp is already en route. He will be here in a few hours.” Atwell leaned toward Jordyn and whispered, “I was concerned the sub-prefect would find the video too disturbing to suppress. Tripp can be counted on. He’s very discreet.”
Jordyn performed a quick review of her holosnaps and discovered a message from New Atlantia’s president confirming Tripp’s appointment as the new Lakelands Province prefect.
“Now,” said Atwell. “I wonder if we might discuss a small matter of interest to the Guild? I understand one of our members, Mr. Rodrick Hearns, was taken into custody tonight. I would like him released immediately.”
“I’m sorry, that won’t be possible. Mr. Hearns is dead.”
“What?”
“Yes, it was most tragic. He had a heart attack.” Jordyn paused and then echoed Atwell’s earlier tribute to Munoz. “He was a fine man. Beloved by all who knew him.”
Palace of Prefect Munoz
Minneapolis, Lakelands Province, New Atlantia
In the entry foyer of Prefect Munoz’ quarters, Jordyn watched the parade of the dead ruler’s playdroids leaving. All around her, she heard the sounds of other android workers clearing the quarters of Munoz’ belongings. Though it was impossible for an android like Jordyn to feel emotion, she did experience the dissonance of conflicting data coursing throughout her logic and ethics modules.
Atwell had murdered Munoz and maneuvered to place a Guild member at the head of the province leadership. Her ethics module put forth a recommendation to arrest Atwell and contact the president directly to inform him of the evvie’s ploy. However, her logic module noted there was no evidence to support a murder charge. There was no surveillance data, no witnesses, and no signs of a struggle apparent on Munoz’ body. Also, the holodrive provided by Atwell did indeed include a holovid of Munoz performing illegal acts with a minor.
As Jordyn’s ethics module incorporated these facts, her artificial intelligence-based brain core posed two questions to the logic module. Why did Atwell kill Munoz? Why did he install an evvie as prefect? Of the possible motives formulated by the logic module, Jordyn’s brain core weighed one as more probable than the others. The Guild was fed up with Munoz’ and NASF’s inability to stop Beacon and their rescues.
It was well known the Guild was frustrated by Beacon’s liberation of conscripted didgee surrogates. The logic module suggested the smuggling of a Guild member’s family out of the country was likely the last straw, especially because Rodrick Hearns had approached NASF prior to the smuggling to alert them to it, and to seek their assistance to prevent it.
Jordyn queried her ethics module. “Presume this was Atwell’s motive — if Munoz can’t defeat Beacon, then the Guild will. Does that not benefit the province and New Atlantia, as well?”
The ethics module responded to Jordyn’s “does the end justify the means” query by pointing out four other of New Atlantia’s nine provinces were headed by evvie prefects. And those provinces had far fewer reported cases of didgee liberations. In other words, yes. If the new evvie prefect could produce similar or better results, Lakelands and the republic’s interests would be well served.
As an Olympia-class android, one designed to strip away emotion, niceties and other human frailties, the logic module’s response quelled other dissonant thoughts. Jordyn would support the new prefect, for their goals were aligned. A last question from the ethics module lingered, however. How will the new prefect react to Rodrick Hearns’ death? You ordered his detention and interrogation. You authorized the torture that ended the human’s life.
Jordyn left Munoz’ quarters to meet the new prefect at the palace gates. When he learns of the new information extracted from Sarah Hearns’ father and Dr. Thompson, he will be forgiving. He will understand the ends justified the means.
While waiting for Sir Victor Tripp’s cruiser to arrive, Jordyn scanned the evvie’s bio on New Atlantia’s holonet directory of officials. She learned Tripp was a descendent of one of New Atlantia’s founding families and the son of the country’s vice president. Most recently, he had served as the deputy minister of New Atlantia’s gutant management department.
According to holonet articles she also scanned, Tripp had no scandals in his past. While that did not mean he was devoid of peccadillos, it did mean he was more careful of his image than Munoz had been. She also discovered several editorials written about his performance as deputy minister. Most painted him as an enlightened administrator, while others depicted him as intolerant of the lower castes. In toto, the scanned information painted a picture of Tripp as a polished, yet opinionated, politician with a long history of service and deep ties to New Atlantia. Jordyn reasoned he was an upgrade to Munoz and a human she could ably serve.
That impression was reinforced when they met in the prefect’s audience chamber shortly after his arrival. He opened the meeting by saying, “We must put a stop to the shadow Beacon casts over New Atlantia. As more stories of their rescues circulate among the lower castes, the rats grow in popularity. Indeed, in our nation’s capital, the rising support for Beacon has led to more ardent calls to soften our gutant management laws, including the preposterous suggestion we strike down the laws legalizing didgee surrogate conscription. The voices behind these calls think only of the short-run, as does Beacon. They fail to recognize the only way New Atlantia will achieve long-term stability is by eliminating the genetically weak while bolstering the strong.”
“I agree, Your Eminence,” said Jordyn. “Compassionate gutant laws are inherently flawed. They ignore the lessons learned over millions of years of plant and animal evolution. The strong survive, the weak die. Perpetuating harmful gutations while slowing the expansion of genetically superior humans will eventually destroy the species. Therefore, for the good of New Atlantia, Beacon and everyone associated with the network must be neutralized.”
“Then tell me why I should keep you on as counselor? From what I gather from Sir Atwell, you are just as guilty as Munoz in allowing Beacon to continue to operate in this province with impunity.”
“Prefect Munoz often lacked the will to follow my recommendations,” Jordyn said. “I sense you do not. But I serve at your pleasure. If you des
ire a different counselor, that is your right.”
The evvie paused, then said, “Tell me what happened to Rodrick Hearns.”
“He died during interrogation.”
“You ordered the interrogation, did you not?”
“I did.”
“Even though the Guild protested.”
“Yes. It was necessary to discover whether Mr. Hearns was fully honest about his knowledge of Beacon’s plot. It turns out, he was not.”
The gruff man’s countenance faltered. His eyes twitched. Jordyn’s sensors detected a jump in his heart rate. “Explain what you mean.”
“Mr. Hearns originally told NASF he learned of his wife’s contact with Beacon as a result of a recording he made of a phone call his wife made to her parents. He also indicated he suspected his wife had been in contact with Beacon intermittently for a year but offered no details other than phone records showing sporadic calls to and from a now-defunct holonumber. He lied. He knew much more than that. If he had been forthcoming at the outset about his full knowledge, Beacon’s plot would never have succeeded.
“For example, he knew why Beacon was interested in ‘rescuing’ his son. The boy had received an experimental treatment banned by international law. He knew when the treatment occurred and that Mrs. Hearns’ father had accompanied her and the boy for the treatment. He even knew the name of the person who administered the treatment, a device he identified to his interrogator as the GODD chip.”
The evvie’s heart was now racing. Jordyn could see the gleam of sweat forming on his forehead. Defiantly, he said, “I find that utterly preposterous. Your interrogator coerced him to say what NASF wanted to hear. You’re just trying to make him sound guilty to deflect criticism of NASF’s failures, of your failures.”
Jordyn shook her head. “No, sir. And with the information Mr. Hearns provided, we then detained and questioned Mrs. Hearns’ father. He corroborated much of the information extracted from Mr. Hearns…and…the father provided us with further evidence — the address where the treatment took place. We have NASF officers already on-site, surveilling the address. Later this morning, they will raid the property and take the perpetrator, a woman named Mariah Bloom, into custody and seize evidence related to the GODD chip. So you see, Your Eminence, the interrogation was justified. By nightfall, Beacon’s plot will be in shambles.”
The GODD Chip (The Unity of Four Book 1) Page 23