by Nick Cook
‘That sounds like an excellent idea,’ Carlos said, smiling as he stood up.
As the two men headed away, I put my mojito down and looked expectantly at Jack and Mike. ‘Okay guys, I’m dying to know what your day was like?’
‘It was a lot less exciting than yours, but we managed to get all the probes planted right around the island and the network patched into Delphi on the X103,’ Mike replied. ‘The moment any monowave seismic activity hits we should be able to get a pretty accurate fix on the epicentre and hopefully from that, the location of the micro mind.’
‘That’s great news,’ I replied, noticing once again just how animated Mike looked. I just hoped that he would still feel that way by the end of this mission.
Jack’s gaze tightened on me. ‘But getting back to what happened to you guys. So not happy that you and Tom nearly got taken out by a damned grenade.’
‘Not as much as I. And neither of us would be sitting here now if it hadn’t of been for Ruby.’
‘Hey, right person, right time, and thankfully right place as I managed to get my WASP to you in time,’ she said. ‘And talking of which, just for peace of mind after what happened, I’ve got three WASPs patrolling the grounds here in case we get any unwelcome visitors.’
‘I think that’s a wise decision,’ Tom said. ‘We still have no way of knowing if that agent was acting alone.’
‘You still think he may have an accomplice?’ Jack asked.
‘It’s certainly possible, so we all need to be on guard,’ I said. ‘At least we got lucky this time and they weren’t able to report in, especially as the agent was able to identify me.’
‘So much for wearing a disguise,’ Jack said, scratching under the neckline of his wig.
‘The Overseers have obviously got some very sophisticated biometric software running that they are supplying directly to their operatives,’ Tom said. ‘Short of everyone wearing a latex mask, I think our days of wearing disguises in the field are probably over.’
‘Oh thank God for small mercies,’ Jack replied with a thin smile.
‘Not a fan of dressing up then, big guy?’ Ruby said, grinning.
He shook his head. ‘That’s the understatement of the century.’
My Sky Wire warbled and I glanced at the screen to see that I had an incoming call from Lucy.
‘Aha, hopefully this is news from Lucy about Raúl’s underwater video footage,’ I said. ‘I sent it through to her to analyse and maybe give some idea of what that glowing, dart-shaped crystal was.’
‘If definitely looked like some of Angelus tech to me,’ Mike said.
‘We should hopefully know for sure in a moment,’ I replied, putting my Sky Wire into speaker phone mode. ‘Lucy, are you there?’
‘Yes, but getting bored out of my mind mooching around the lab whilst you crazy kids are off having a great time on Cuba.’
‘I’m not sure I’d call it all a great time. But that aside, did you manage to analyse the video I uploaded?’ I asked.
‘Yes, and the good news is that I’ve been able to identify that glowing light. Based on the footage I’d say we are looking at a Guardian patrolling those waters.’
‘And what’s a Guardian when it’s at home?’ Ruby asked.
‘A level three AI semi-autonomous drone, that like it says on the tin, was designed to guard something. Of course, micro minds like me are level one AIs and if you’ll excuse me blowing my own trumpet, we are far smarter. But more basic level AIs like Guardians are often used to protect significant installations.’
I sat up. ‘What sort of significant installation?’
‘There I have no idea because of the massive holes in my substrata memory matrix, thanks to that damned Kimprak virus. But the sound picked up by the camera’s microphone during Raúl’s dive was definitely coming from that Guardian drone. It would also suggest that there was a micro mind awake somewhere in the vicinity controlling it.’
My eyes widened. ‘If that means that this is confirmation of an active micro mind then it sounds like our mission has already struck gold.’
Jack set his drink down. ‘So then, how about cutting to the chase and just sending it a message, Lucy? Maybe just tell it to come and merge with you and save us a whole lot of time trying to track it down?’
‘I would if I could,’ Lucy replied. ‘The strange thing is that even though the micro mind is evidently awake, I’m not picking anything up from the quantum communication system that active micro minds normally use to stay in touch with each other. The last time I encountered anything similar was with Red.’
‘Please tell me we’re not dealing with another rogue AI?’ Mike said.
‘No, not necessarily. In Red’s case he chose to disconnect himself from our network, as he treated everything external to him as a threat. But there is a strong possibility that this micro mind suffered some sort of partial technical failure, meaning that even though it’s operational it can’t access the network. And if that’s true, it may also mean that it was never infected by the Kimprak virus.’
My eyes widened. ‘Are you saying that for the first time we may be about to discover a micro mind with a fully intact memory?’
‘If you could see me now, you would be able to see me grinning from ear to ear because that’s exactly what I’m thinking, Lauren,’ Lucy replied. ‘An uninfected micro mind would change everything.’
But Tom was holding his hands up. ‘I appreciate your enthusiasm, everyone, but please slow down for a moment. There are a lot of maybes in play here rather than any definites. The one thing that has become an even bigger priority after hearing this is that we need to locate this micro mind as fast as possible, wherever it is.’
‘Absolutely, and because of that, I say we call it a night now and get as much sleep as possible,’ I replied. ‘We need to be as sharp as possible, because apart from the micro mind, the presence of a Guardian suggests a very important structure as well, which could make this our most important mission yet.’
Tom nodded. ‘Absolutely. I agree we should draw things to close here.’
‘Well in my opinion you two are both total buzzkills,’ Ruby said.
‘I think that’s part of my job description,’ I replied.
‘Apparently so,’ Jack said, smiling at me.
And of course it was at exactly that moment that Glenn and Carlos returned with a fresh bottle of rum.
‘Oh you’re going to like this bottle, it’s very special,’ Carlos said as they reached us.
I made a T-shape with my hands. ‘Sorry guys, you’re going to need to put that on ice for now but maybe bring it with us to the ship tomorrow, because I’m hoping we’ll have something to really celebrate if everything goes according to plan.’
Glenn raised his eyebrows. ‘Oh really?’
‘Really. We’ll brief you tomorrow,’ Jack said, discreetly gesturing his chin towards Carlos, before draining the rest of his glass.
The sun still hadn’t risen as we stood on the shore, watching the approaching helicopter’s spinning blades getting steadily louder as it swept over the ocean towards us. When it had still been a speck in the distance, Tom had somehow already correctly identified it as an Airbus H155, which according to him was capable of carrying up to eight passengers.
We stood there free of our disguises, with our bags of kit at the ready. Of course I’d had to explain our sudden transformation to Carlos, saying that we’d been working undercover investigating the organisation that had sent the agent to break into his house. He’d immediately fired a dozen questions back at us, that so far I’d been able to sidestep by telling him that he just needed to trust us. I knew that explanation was going to get old rapidly, but for now it was better for his own sake that he didn’t know the whole truth.
Carlos stood with Glenn, shielding his eyes from the coral sand being kicked up by the helicopter’s rotor blades as it came in to land. Ruby, who was a little further away, was keeping her eyes on a live feed from one of
the WASPs overhead.
‘No other aircraft in the area,’ she said through my earbud over the roar of the slowing rotors.
‘Good and you’re all set here when we take off?’ I whispered, so Carlos wouldn’t hear next to me.
‘Yes, Glenn is going to give me a lift back. I’ll be sticking to you like glue and no one will know I’m there.’
Jack, who’d also been listening in, gave her a thumbs up. ‘I for one will be much happier knowing you’ve got our backs covered.’
‘Always, if I have anything to do with it,’ Ruby replied.
As the rotors slowed to a stop, a guy with a full beard and a long ponytail to rival Jack’s old wig emerged from the helicopter.
The man was wearing a blue shirt and shorts, and had a red snood around his neck. He had something of the look of a roadie, based on his muscular build and wide shoulders. The guy also had arctic blue eyes, which immediately latched onto mine like some sort of heat-seeking missile and gave me an immediate uncomfortable vibe.
‘Leon, good to meet you at last,’ Tom said, sticking out a hand.
So this was Leon, the wealthy French explorer – not that you would have realised it to look at the guy. The only major giveaway of how much money he was worth was the helicopter he arrived in, complete with Leon Dupont Oceanic Exploration Group on the side.
’Tom, I presume?’ he said, shaking Tom’s hand.
‘The very same. Good to meet you. I’d also like to introduce my associates, Lauren, Jack and Mike.’ He gestured towards Carlos. ‘This is Mr Fernández, the father of the two people whose boat that we’ll be looking for on the seabed.’ He gestured towards the others and finished making the introductions.
Leon shook everyone’s hands, but when he was introduced to me, he took my hand in his and then kissed it. ‘I’m charmed to make your acquaintance, Lauren Stelleck.’
I felt a blush creep across my cheeks. To be honest, the guy was rather good-looking, at least if you’re into chiselled features and a sexy French accent.
‘You too, Leon,’ I replied, trying to ignore the barely supressed scowl Jack was giving him.
‘Well my dear Lauren, we will need to get a move on if we want to begin the search for this boat today. A storm front is moving in and I am keen to get my submersible launched as soon as possible before we lose our window.’
Glenn turned to us. ‘Then this is where we say goodbye for now.’ He stepped forward and shook Carlos’s hand. ‘Good hunting, my friend. I hope this expedition brings you the answers that you deserve. But do make sure you look me up when you get back, because I have a lot of fine rum to be sampled and I think I may have discovered a new best friend.’
‘You can count on it,’ Carlos said with a broad smile.
With pats on the back and hugs from Carlos, we bid our own farewells before leaving him behind with Ruby as we headed off towards the helicopter.
‘I have a feeling that Leon is quite the ladies’ man,’ Jack said, giving me a pointed look.
‘Hey, I’ve done absolutely nothing to encourage him.’ I said.
‘Ah yes, about that,’ Tom said. ‘Leon does have something of a reputation with romancing women, if you catch my drift.’
‘Way too clearly,’ I replied.
‘Don’t worry, he’s mostly harmless,’ Tom said, as a smiling Leon held the door open for us and we boarded the helicopter.
As the H155 roared into life, Leon handed us all headsets. The moment I put mine on, the active noise cancellation kicked in and the bellow of the rotors was muted to a whisper. We’d barely strapped into our seats as the craft began to rise into the air.
Compared to the magic carpet flight of the X103, this craft felt prehistoric by comparison. The whole helicopter shook and rattled as though it was starting to tear itself apart. But thankfully, that bone shaking vibration began to subside when the pilot levelled off at about five hundred feet above the sea. We began to swing back towards the shore.
We flew over the others on the beach, waving up at us, and then started to climb over the island until the opposite shore and the shimmering sea of the Caribbean beyond became visible.
Carlos was craning his head to get a view of the island speeding past beneath us, his eyes drinking in every detail.
Leon smiled across at the old man. ‘Something tells me you haven’t seen your home from the air before, is that right?’
The old man nodded. ‘This is actually my first time flying ever. Cuba looks even more beautiful from up here.’
‘Oh I think it’s pretty special from ground level too,’ I said.
Carlos beamed at me. ‘That we can certainly agree on, Lauren.’
Within ten minutes we’d already crossed the island and were speeding out over the ocean towards a large island to the south. Beyond it, in the far distance, lay the thin neck of South America.
Carlos gestured towards the sea below us. ‘We’re flying over an area now that was once the playground of pirates back in the sixteenth century. The seabed is littered with wrecks of the Spanish treasure ships that they plundered.’
‘Who in turn plundered the Aztecs and relieved them of their gold and silver,’ Jack said.
‘That is also true, my friend,’ Carlos replied with a smile.
Just to the left of the nose of the helicopter I could see a white foam carving the way through the crystal sea.
I pointed it out, my stomach already knotting, because it might be another Russian sub. ‘What’s that?’
But Leon turned to me with a wide smile. ‘That, my dear, Lauren, is a Bryde’s whale. On the way here we detected considerable activity around many different whale species.’
‘Is that not normal for this region?’ Jack asked.
’Not for this time of year it isn’t and certainly not in the numbers that we’ve been seeing,’ Leon replied. ‘It’s almost like they are being drawn to this area for some reason.’
I made sure I didn’t catch Jack or Tom’s eye. It was hard to imagine that this wasn’t something to do with the Guardian’s song that Raúl had recorded beneath the waves.
As the others gazed down to watch the whale, I scanned the sky around us but couldn’t see any distortions in the air to give away the presence of Ruby’s X103 tailing us.
I discreetly powered up my Sky Wire and sent a text. ‘Ruby, are you there?’
Her response came straight back. ‘Hell yeah, a mile out from your port side and tracking you.’
I glanced out through the left window, where I now knew the X103 was but still couldn’t see a thing. The chameleon camo system was obviously doing a great job as usual. It was certainly reassuring to know that back-up was close to hand if we did run into any of the Russian vessels and things began to get interesting.
The large island ahead of us grew steadily closer over the next twenty minutes until a jagged rocky outline became visible. A quick check of the Sky Wire’s map confirmed it as the Isla de la Juventud. Since Carlos had told us that it had once been called Treasure Island, it was easy to envisage pirate ships moored around its many bays.
Because I’d become so transfixed by the spectacle of the island, I hadn’t noticed the growing white dot in the sea ahead of us until Mike pointed it out.
‘Is that your ship, Leon?’ he asked.
I looked down to see a large, white, funnelled ship at least a hundred metres long. It had a long rear deck with a helipad next to a hangar.
‘Yes, that’s Venus, the second love of my life. She has a crew of fifty and facilities of every sort, including a wet lab to analyse the new species that we’ve discovered.’
‘Impressive – and your first love is?’ Tom asked.
Leon gestured towards the rear of the deck, where a bright red mini sub was being connected to a hoist by a team of people dressed in white coveralls. ‘That’s my first love, Neptune, and she’s being prepped for immediate launch. She has a solid titanium hull a metre thick and is capable of diving to the deepest depths of any ocea
n.’
I nodded as I gazed down at the ocean. It was a much darker blue than the aqua green of the shallow sea around the island. What secrets lay at its bottom? I was certainly keeping everything crossed that we’d find the sunken wreck of Raúl’s and Maricela’s boat – and hopefully also their bodies – but also that we might have our own encounter with the Guardian drone.
I glanced across at Carlos, whose eyes were also studying the ocean, his face drawn.
I reached out and squeezed his hand. His eyes met mine and he slowly nodded, before his gaze returned to the ocean beneath us once more.
Yes, this man needed closure – and with any luck, we were about to give it to him.
Chapter Nine
We settled onto Venus’s helipad with a gentle shudder. As the rotor blades began to slow, one of the crew, wearing ear defenders, ran forward and opened the passenger door for us.
‘Welcome to my kingdom,’ Leon said, ushering us out of the helicopter towards the rear of the pad where Neptune was waiting.
The bright red sub had two large propellers at the back and three blister viewing canopies built into the nose of the craft. It sat on two large metal skids and two insect-like arms with pincer hands were built into the nose. Thruster units were built into several places around its hull. The way into the craft appeared to be through a hatch set into its roof, fastened with huge bolts that looked like they might have come straight off of the Titanic.
We approached the team surrounding the sub. ‘Get ready for immediate launch,’ Leon said.
In a flurry of choreographed activity the air and power lines were disconnected from the bulbous vehicle.
‘No safety briefing first?’ Tom asked.
Leon shook his head. ‘No time. Look at that.’ He gestured towards the northern horizon, where a thin band of darkness was just visible. ‘We have a category three hurricane rolling in within the next couple of hours and we want to be back onboard Venus long before that beast reaches us. As far as a safety briefing goes, basically assume the brace position to kiss your arse goodbye if anything goes wrong. We’ll be killed almost instantly at the depth we’re going down to if the hull fails.’