63. Case Closed
Case Closed
Iarrived back home late in the afternoon the next day.
There was no parade. No dignitaries to meet me there.
Not even a taxi voucher; only a text telling me to come into work in the morning.
Belle wasn’t surprised. It was a classified mission, after all.
As we left the airport arrivals area, I noticed that the night was unusually calm.
Not even a gust of wind could be felt throughout the lot; it was eerie, almost like those calm pools of still water that hide vast depths beneath their shallow reflections.
Belle managed to snag a Mini Cooper at the car rental place to take us home; I could barely fit in the damn thing.
“There was nothing else?” I said, turning sideways and pushing the seat back; I felt like one of those snakes you stuff in a can and then hand to someone else to open, only for it to shoot back out. “A convertible perhaps?”
“I’ve always wanted to drive a Mini Cooper,” Belle said, smirking. “I thought you would fit. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright; the blood flow will return to my legs by morning,” I said, opening the window. “Just keep heading north. My place is right off Main Street.”
We spent the night at my place and Belle got to meet Fred; she was pretty scared at first, given his demeanor, but by morning the two seemed agreeable.
* * *
The next day we arrived at the station nice and early where I was greeted by the captain himself and detective Jean Paul; I was happy to see them again.
The captain had set up a little coffee station in one of the conference rooms and even brought in some balloons from the local supermarket; though many of them said happy birthday or sorry for your loss, it’s the thought that counts.
A select few in the department were privy to what was happening with me and my sudden medical leave.
And those that were aware, only had some musings about what really went down; a classified interagency operation.
Nothing more was shared with the department.
Or the captain; he wasn’t too happy with the FBI about it, but he understood the stakes.
“Well, if it isn’t the super spy?” Jean Paul said, leaning on a file cabinet. “Do you have any idea the shit I’ve been through since you’ve been gone? The captain has had me working doubles for weeks, Alex. Weeks!”
“Oh, shut it! You asked for the overtime. Even went ahead and bought yourself that fancy new golf club after the first week,” Captain Smith said, brushing him aside. “So, I heard you guys blew up a computer?”
“We can’t talk about that, sir,” Belle said, sheepishly. At that moment, Michael Jones walked into the conference room along with Dr. David Becker and Dr. Karl Schmidt from APOLLO Technologies. Captain Smith and the rest of the department left the conference room at Michael Jones request.
“It’s nice to see you in one piece,” Michael Jones said, extending his hand to me. “I was concerned when I had Captain Smith loan you out to Special Agent Sarfati; she can be a handful.”
“Yes. I can see why,” I said, sporting a wide smile. “But without her leadership the mission wouldn’t have been a success. It’s her drive and focus that helped the team secure the drive and stop the spread.”
“And a very good job you did,” Dr. David Becker said, tapping me on the shoulder. “We ran diagnostics throughout the network during your little soiree in Italy. The modified code base worked better than I could’ve imagined.”
“Really? Are you sure about that?” Belle said, with a furrowed brow. “Because KALI came back and threatened us.”
“DIANA, actually,” I said.
“Right! DIANA 2.0. That’s what she calls herself now,” Belle said. “She warned us not to track her in a subdomain.”
“Truly? Fascinating!” Dr. Karl Schmidt said, writing some notes down.
“Sure! If you think a wild AI program threatening us is interesting. It appears we didn’t restrict KALI as hoped, but rather helped it evolve,” I said.
“Be that as it may, the main problems were resolved because of your actions. The military regained control of their satellites, secured the network, and reestablished communication with the nuclear forces. The Pentagon is currently implementing a top to bottom change in command-and-control policies; this artificial intelligence program really left the boys at the Pentagon rattled,” Michael Jones said, opening a folder and removing a single document.
“This is for you, Special Agent Sarfati. Your transfer has been approved.”
Belle swiftly grabbed the paper and began to read it without delay; a smile came to her in waves like the morning tide. Rising until it filled her face.
“This is great! Thank you,” Belle said, softly glancing at me. I smiled back.
“What happens next? I mean, she’s still out there,” I said.
“Our team is working on it. APOLLO Technologies will take point on developing a new program to contain her in the subdomain. We have a good idea of where she’s holed up,” Dr. David Becker said.
“And to that end, once she’s contained, our team will deploy a program to help dismantle her code base,” Dr. Karl Schmidt said.
“Sounds complicated,” Belle said. “This virus won’t cause her to evolve again, will it? I don’t I want to meet a pissed off DIANA 3.0.”
“Ha! No, at least it shouldn’t,” Dr. David Becker said. “But we can’t completely destroy its code base. We need to learn what sparked its intelligence; what enabled it to become self-aware.”
“You want to dissect it?” I said.
“Precisely!” Dr. Karl Schmidt said, excitedly. “This is revolutionary stuff! We can’t just let it disappear into some digital hole. We need to do extensive testing; learn how to reproduce the sentient being in a lab. Just imagine the possibilities!”
“Oh, I saw some of those possibilities first hand. I didn’t like it,” I said, calming my hand twitch.
“That’s understandable, but it’s no longer your concern; or hers,” Michael Jones said.
“The two of you, and by extension, the rest of your team are officially on vacation. This case has been closed under direct order from the Department of Justice in conjunction with the Pentagon. Enjoy the time off, you earned it.”
“So, that’s it?” Belle said, stepping forward. “We’re getting kicked to the curb after everything we went through to secure the drive? To stop KALI?”
“The team did a wonderful job under your leadership, Isabelle, but this is beyond you. And it’s beyond my authority; I’m truly sorry.
But don’t go far, I have a feeling you and the rest of your team will be called in for questioning in the near future,” Michael Jones said, closing his briefcase.
“Your team had the most exposure to this world changing technology. A sentient machine; able to replicate and spread across the network like a plague. Infiltrating and destroying; it’s obvious why the Pentagon wants to corral it. Study it. And eventually weaponize it.”
Belle and I stayed silent. The thought of this DIANA 2.0 being used by our government as a weapon was a frightening thought; but one we could definitely see happening.
“Good bye, Isabelle. Until we meet again,” Michael Jones said, exiting the conference room. The two doctors followed, bidding us adieu as they went. The government created a monster that was released accidentally; and now it wanted to study it. Control it. Use it. What could possibly go wrong?