CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“We deployed the AI ad,” said Katelyn, walking toward the others. “Now, we wait and see if anyone clicks on it and, more importantly, if they respond to it.”
“We’ll be able to track their location and figure out in real time where they are. It only takes milliseconds,” said Chelsea.
“Luke? I got a call this morning requesting a conference call video meeting with the Deputy Director of the CIA,” said Georgie. “Enzo Bruloni has been an issue for us here at G.R.I.P. for a while. He replaced the old deputy director about two years ago and has been increasingly demanding about contracts and exclusivity, which we refuse to give him.”
“What does he want now, Georgie?” he asked.
“He wants to discuss a technology that a contract employee was working on for us and suddenly disappeared. He says we are in violation of federal law if we’re hiding her,” smirked Georgie. “I thought you might want to be on this call with me.”
“Oh, I damn sure do,” said Luke. “I’m going to assume that we never offered a contract on the technology, never offered exclusivity, and probably never gave any detail to him about what Katelyn was working on. Did I assume correctly?”
“You bet your sweet ass you did,” smirked Georgie.
“I want all of you in the room but only Georgie and me on the screen. AJ? Make sure you’re recording the whole damn thing but prevent him from recording at his end. The last thing we need is him manipulating anything with some other version of AI.”
“Got it,” he nodded.
“Hiro? What do we know about Enzo Bruloni?”
“Nothing yet. I’m working on it, but there’s nothing that comes up immediately on him. No military records, no tax records, nothing.”
“What the fuck?”
“He’s a spook. He could have easily hidden all of it if he wanted to,” said Hiro.
“Not at that level. Someone must have hidden it for him after they appointed him. Was he appointed by the new POTUS?” asked Luke.
“No. He was appointed by the previous one, but everyone seemed to favor him. The new POTUS didn’t want to rock too many boats at one time, so he left him in place,” said Georgie. “He was a high-ranking official in the agency prior to becoming deputy director.”
“Alright. Make the call,” said Luke. Georgie sent the request to connect, and a few seconds later, Enzo’s pinched face was on the screen. He stared at the two people and frowned.
“Mrs. Robicheaux, I believe I requested a meeting with you and only you. Apparently, I didn’t make myself clear.”
“Well, aren’t you lucky? You get two for one. And just for clarity, I always follow instructions when they make sense and serve a purpose. Your request did not. You may or may not know my brother-in-law, Luke Robicheaux.”
“I’m aware of him, although I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him in person,” he frowned, looking down at something on his desk.
“What is it you wish to discuss?” asked Luke.
“You had a contract employee working on a delicate project for the agency, and now she’s disappeared. She is an enemy of the state, and I have to tell you that if you’re hiding her, you will be prosecuted.” Georgie laughed, shaking her head.
“Mr. Bruloni, don’t be absurd, and please don’t insult our intelligence. Miss Smith, of whom you’re speaking, was not a contract employee. She was and is a full-time employee. She was working on a technology owned, patented, and copyrighted by G.R.I.P. of which we would determine who gets access to it for lease, purchase, or other. She is not an enemy of the state, nor is she a traitor.
“As of 0912 today, we filed a counter suit in federal courts, with the express knowledge of the POTUS. We will be suing the agency, specifically you, for attempting to kidnap our employee, steal our technology, and attempting to destroy the careers of the three Rangers you manipulated to be in your control. If evidence surfaces, as we expect it will, you will also be charged with the murder of one of those Rangers.”
His face turned an unhealthy shade of purple as he squirmed in his seat.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” he murmured, leaning toward the camera. “I will ruin you.”
“Will you now?” smirked Luke. “Like you’ve ruined those children in your special schools? Like you tortured them, injecting their brains?”
He continued to glare at them, his breathing now rapid and unnatural.
“You’re not the only one capable of being covert and digging up information that others thought was hidden. Let me ask you something. Did you send these kids to Russia? Maybe Italy or Germany. Or was this just a fun little experiment to amuse you?”
“Mr. Robicheaux, I think you forget what I have at my disposal. An entire agency and, potentially, an entire army.”
“And you forget what we have at our disposal. The military won’t follow you. They hate spooks as much as anyone. You have no control over them, and given my recent conversation with the POTUS, you’re being watched. Closely.” Luke stood, leaning toward the camera, so close you could count the hairs on his chin.
“One more thing. We’re coming for you, and if one child was harmed, if one child was lost, sold, killed, I will personally peel the skin from your body and feed you to a very hungry group of hyenas, film it, and release it on the internet.”
“I will destroy you!” yelled the other man. “I’ve recorded this entire conversation, and I will destroy you all!” There was an abundance of laughter, so much so that he thought it was an echo.
“You really are slow,” smiled Georgie. “Your recording abilities were disrupted the moment you answered our call. We have, however, recorded you and will be releasing this to the POTUS and Congress. If you don’t tell us where those other children are, we will be sending this to the whole world with a few tweaks of our own. We’ve got magic at our fingertips.”
The screen went black, and Luke looked at Georgie.
“Well, that was rude.”
“We’ve pissed him off, Luke. You gave a lot of information that I wasn’t prepared to tell him yet.”
“It’s alright. We’re going to send the conversation to the POTUS. He’ll be forced to do something if he hasn’t already done it. But I need him to tell us where those kids are. If we can’t find them on our own, which will be a monumental effort, I need to know what happened to them.”
“Luke!” He frowned at Georgie, and they turned to see AJ at the door.
“Why are you yelling?”
“Because we did it. They did it!” he smiled. “We’ve had ninety-three responses so far. Men and women. They got the message. They got it!”
“Damn,” he smirked, staring at Chelsea, Katelyn, and the others. “Well done. Let’s make sure they’re all okay and don’t need any help.”
It took more than twenty-four hours to speak to all of those who had responded. Their stories had been similar. Taken from their schools and moved to other temporary locations, most were coming off their drug-induced stupors and able to escape on their own. Apparently, although they were breeding geniuses, they didn’t expect them to actually escape and find their way out on their own.
Those who were young children found help from authorities, making up stories of lost, dead, abusive families, memory loss, or any other story that would keep them free. Some were adopted. Others were able to be placed in foster care.
The older children survived on their own, creating fake identifications and believable histories, finding jobs, homes, and new lives for themselves. After all, they were geniuses.
“We’re still missing some,” said Katelyn, “but it appears that most of these kids are doing alright. Many are over eighteen now and surviving on their own, working at jobs they enjoy, and providing for themselves. We’ve given them contact information for us should they need anything.”
“Those in foster care are being visited by Keith, Ashley, and Jane to ensure their health is good. If they need to be removed from the system, we’ll bring them here,” said Chelsea. “I never in a million years thought we would find all those children.”
“I have to be honest,” frowned Cam. “Neither did I. It was a risk, but your message was unbelievably successful. There still may be some who were transported to other countries, sold, even killed, but without a complete list, we won’t know that for sure.”
“How do we get a list?” asked Luke.
“That’s the hundred-thousand-dollar question. No one seems to have a complete list, even Bruloni.”
“Speaking of,” said Tanner, joining the group. “I found his records, or at least some of them.”
“I’m not going to like this, am I?”