Page 45 of Never Enough

Waters frowned. “Still, this feels not only purposeful but personal somehow.”

Nemo looked over his shoulder at his twin. “Midas? When was the last time Cerberus was active?”

Midas clicked a few keys on his laptop. “Nova, what is the last record of activity surrounding the ecoterrorist, Cerberus?”

The polished female voice piped through the computer’s speakers. “Hello, Midas. The last record of Cerberus’ activity is from June twenty-second, 2021. Cerberus was given credit for damaging an oil rig in Bahamian waters. He was believed to be working with the environmentalist group SafeSeas to stop drilling in that area as they believed the rig’s production was poisoning the coral reefs.”

Waters stared at Midas for a moment before speaking. “I didn’t realize you were so far with the program. It almost sounds human.”

Midas smiled. “Needs a few tweaks yet, butshe’scoming along. Go ahead.” He gestured to the computer screen and sat back in his chair, a smug smile on his face, preening like a proud new father. “Ask her what you want to know.”

Waters asked, “What’s its name again?”

The voice answered for itself, “Good afternoon, team leader. I am called Nova.”

Waters froze in surprise at the direct address, then proceeded to shake his head as if to clear it. “Nova, how did Cerberus attack the rig?”

“I am happy to supply the information you requested, Waters. Cerberus attacked the rig using a yacht, which he programmed to function similarly to a drone. Using a home video game apparatus and the rig’s own WiFi system, he deployed the craft and directed it to crash into one of the support struts beneath the rig. The blast was a low-yield explosive, meant to stop production, but not destroy the rig altogether or create pollution to an already damaged area.”

Everyone stared at the computer.

Someone whistled.

Midas beamed. “Right now, she only recognizes Waters,Nemo, and me. I haven’t finished uploading the voice samples into the system. When that’s done, she’ll recognize all of you, Cherry, God, Kubrick, and Flame as well.”

Demon shook his head. “That’s kind of creepy.”

“Kind of?” TB echoed.

Waters pushed forward with his questioning. “Nova, were there any casualties?”

The computer responded, “Three rig employees were treated for second-degree burns they received when attempting to extinguish the flames from the explosion. There were no fatalities.”

“And what is the current status of the rig and its operations?”

“With the attack on the rig, SafeSeas achieved their goal, which was to shut down drilling. However, it is only a temporary work stoppage. At this time, the only individuals on the rig are a skeleton crew working to complete repairs before the oil company can resume drilling. Current estimates put oil production recommencing in March of 2023.”

“Steel and Midas are right,” Nemo declared. “There’s no way Cerberus is responsible for today. What cause would motivate him to hit a Rodeo Drive coffee shop in its peak hours of operation? Protesting the use of whole milk?”

There was a chuckle around the room.

Waters glanced at Nemo. “We need her to start talking.”

TB asked Nemo, “What has she been doing in there by herself since you recaptured her?”

Nemo scowled. “I didn’t ‘recapture’ her. She was never a prisoner.”

TB rolled his eyes. “Let me rephrase. What has she been doing in there by herself since you brought her back to the gilded cage of the conference room?”

Nemo decided to ignore TB’s taunt. “Nothing.” He shrugged. “Drawing.”

“Drawing?”

“Drawing.”

“Drawing…”

“Yes, Turd Blossom, drawing.”

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