Chapter 47
Aboard the Oregon
Cabrillo was in the armory loading semi-auto magazines for tomorrow’s security mission with President Olmedo when Eddie Seng burst into the room, his skin still pale from his recent bout with Zika.
“Got a sec?”
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
“Dr. Huxley cleared me for duty.”
“Somehow I doubt that. What’s up?”
“You asked me to check out Murphy’s girlfriend.”
“Let’s have it.”
“Just got a text from one of my mainland sources. Linlin’s story checks out…mostly.”
“What do you mean, ‘mostly’?”
“The firm she said she worked for? Zephyron Dynamics? She was right, it is secretly owned, at least in part by the CCP. What she didn’t say was that the CCP had a controlling interest in it.”
“Sounds like an illegal tech transfer operation. We need to notify the DOJ and Europol.”
“Already have.”
“But that’s not your main concern.” Juan rammed home another string of bullets.
“What if Zephyron Dynamics is actually a full-blown Chicom intelligence operation?”
“You think Linlin’s deeper into it than she let on?”
“It crossed my mind. She was a project manager for her company’s AGI program.”
“Murph told us that.”
“Did Murph know she got the job because her boyfriend-boss went fins up in a diving accident in Aruba?”
“He didn’t mention it.”
“Or that she was with him when it happened?”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I don’t know. I just found it interesting.”
“Anything else?”
“Her parents.”
“What about them?”
“According to Murph, they both got sick when she was still in the U.S. She left Murph to go back to China to take care of them.”
“But they’ve since died.”
“They died all right,” Eddie said, “but not in a hospital. They were both in a high-security prison for crimes against the state when they passed.”
“So the question is, did the Chinese turn her into an anti-government crusader for killing her parents…or was she a superpatriot that ratted out her own blood to the Chicoms?”
“Either makes sense. I’ve got another feeler out there. I hope to hear back within the next twenty-four hours. I don’t want to start pointing fingers until then, if you’re okay with it.”
“Which way are you leaning?”
Eddie pawed at the back of his neck, thinking.
“She’s a little hottie for sure. Way out of Murph’s league. I kinda don’t get it.”
“You know what they say. ‘The heart has reasons of which reason knows nothing.’ ”
“Let me guess, the Smiths?”
“Nope.”
“Radiohead?”
“Not even close.”
“Selena Gomez?”
“Weirdly close. But no, Blaise Pascal.”
“I couldn’t shake the feeling she was x-raying me with those innocent eyes of hers. She’s at least as smart as Murph, and that concerns me.”
“If she’s in trouble, I want to help her out. But if she is trouble, we’ll have to deal with it. Good work.” Cabrillo checked his watch. “Team room in twenty, right?”
“See you then.” Eddie sped out of the room.
Juan pulled his magazine carrier and began stuffing mags into the pouches when his phone buzzed. Another call from Overholt. He’d already briefed him on the day’s events and the mission tomorrow. Why was he calling back?
“Problem, Lang?”
“More like an opportunity. I know you’re tied up with President Olmedo tomorrow but Linc and Raven are still in Panama if I’m not mistaken.”
“Correct. Why?”
“I just received a disturbing contact from a hacker identifying himself as ‘Eidolon.’ He claims to know where there is an AGI computer that is about to be launched any day now.”
“You think he’s legit?”
“He displayed incredible skill breaking through my own security systems. How he found me is beyond comprehension. It’s not like I’m listed in the Yellow Pages.”
“Sounds like a scam to me. He’s either a Nigerian prince or a thirteen-year-old Romanian girl. Nobody’s close to achieving AGI anytime soon.”
“Apparently someone is.”
“And you believe him?”
“If it was a scam he would have asked for money.”
“Then what does he want?”
“He needs to be rescued from his current location in the Darién Gap. Immediately.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Only the people Eidolon stole the information from. He believes they’re dispatching a snatch team to get him even as we speak. Your people are nearly right on top of his location. They’re his best chance of getting out of there alive.”
Overholt was right. The terrain was too rugged to parachute into or drop in by helicopter. The only way to reach the heart of the Darién was by foot.
“I’m sending you the coordinates now. Pass them along to your people.”
“Doesn’t sound like you’re asking.”
“Do I need to? You fully understand the implications of AGI falling into the wrong hands.”
Cabrillo hesitated. It would be a cataclysmic disaster if the Chinese or the Russians acquired AGI first.
But he’d already put Raven and Linc through the ringer. No telling what condition they were really in, and what kind of oppo they might encounter on this snatch and grab.
But Linc and Raven were pros. They knew the risks that came with the job, and they’d understand the stakes. They’d also realize they were this guy’s best chance to survive—and likely his only one.
“I’ll issue the order. Tell your hacker friend Eidolon my people are on the way.”
“Excellent. Keep me posted.”