Chapter 24 #2
“I know it’s not my place to pry as your boss, but you also know that our relationship has been a bit unconventional. You don’t have to tell me anything, but if you want to talk, I’m here.”
She couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to give him something.
“My boyfriend stayed over last night, and I forgot to bring my phone up to charge,” she blurted.
Miles’ eyes went wide at the revelation.
“Oh,” he said, blinking rapidly. “I…well. Now I feel like an ass.”
“It’s okay. I told you about him. I just didn’t mention how serious it had gotten.”
“I know you won’t tell me who he is yet, but he must be an amazing man for you to have chosen him,” Miles said with a nod.
“He is,” Alex said, smiling.
“Let him know that I will kill him if he hurts you, and there will be a line after me with Jack, Logan, Mercer, Gabe, Ry—”
“Okay! Okay! I’ll tell him I have a group of overprotective men at my beck and call.”
“Good,” Mile said, standing. Alex did the same. “Oh, and Alex?
“Yes?”
“Try to be on time the next time he spends the night.”
She giggled, but before she could give a retort, an alarm sounded on her phone. One blared on Miles’ phone at his desk.
“Bryant,” he answered.
Alex did the same and heard, “We have confirmed Conglomerate movement at the Sims Center. A large semi pulled up to the back and is delivering cargo. Confirmed Conglomerate security is there. We need to move and intercept.”
“War Room. Now,” Miles stated. He looked at Alex. “Come on. I’ll need help coordinating.”
She swallowed hard as she hung up the call. It was difficult to ignore the text that was flashing on her phone.
Blue Eyes: New mission from John. Close to home. Warn me if GT goes anywhere near the Sims Center.
She muttered a few curse words as she began texting him back, wondering how badly this would blow up in their faces.
? ? ?
“Sally, will you go psychotic on me if I give you the data on this USB key?” Nate asked, holding up the thumb drive he had stolen from the Conglomerate lab.
It had been forgotten since Sally had come into the picture, but now that Nate had time to process everything, it was the next task on his list. He needed to see what the Conglomerate was up to in that lab.
He hadn’t told Alex about the horrors he had seen just yet.
They could go over that tonight since she had some time to come to terms with his sentient suit.
“Why would I do that? I care about you, Nathan.”
Nathan massaged his temples, a headache beginning to form. He hoped he was making the right decision.
“I need you to go through this data. I was looking, and there were thousands of files. I have no idea where to start. You could collate this much more easily.”
“Correct. However, I cannot guarantee the timeframe this endeavor will take, as I do not know if I will run into encryption.”
“Noted. So, can you do that for me?”
“Absolutely. I’m ready when you are.”
Sighing, Nate plugged the thumb drive into the port in the back of his suit and waited. Sally said nothing, and he wondered if he should start on another task while he waited, since he had no idea how long this would take. However, Sally began chattering again a few moments later.
“Oh, Nathan. This is not good.”
He cringed.
“How bad is it?”
“Bad. The contents of these files document a Conglomerate experiment nicknamed Project Gaslight.”
“Project Gaslight?” he asked, his eyebrow raised.
“Yes, based on the context, I’m assuming it’s based on the verb gaslighting, which was taken from the 1938 play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton, where a husband manipulates his wife into believing—”
“Yes, I know what gaslighting is,” Nate interrupted. “What does that have to do with this project?”
“It appears to be a brainwashing program designed to make a person forget who they are and become completely loyal to the Conglomerate and their cause. The methods being used combine drugs, electroshock therapy, hypnosis, and behavior modification techniques—both positive and negative types.”
“Holy shit,” Nate mumbled.
This was huge and needed to be exposed. As soon as his mission was complete, he would give this to Alex, so she could turn it over to Gray Tower. They needed to stop this. It didn’t get much eviler than this.
“They can’t get any more recruits?” he muttered darkly.
“Not quite,” Sally told him. “They can’t get the type of recruits they want who are one hundred percent loyal.
There’s a document that explains they’ve captured people with specific talents they want, but those people have been difficult to manage as they are working against their will.
The Conglomerate wants to take these people with special skill sets, brainwash them, and make them one hundred percent loyal. ”
“That would be convenient. How many have they successfully converted?”
“None. Well, technically one. The first was done before the program started and was the basis for the program. The program itself has been a complete bust.”
“That’s a relief. What about the first person? What happened to them?”