Page 104 of Steinbeck
“Why infiltrate anexhibit?If Alan Martin and the Bratva are behind this, wouldn’t they use the AI for something more deadly?”
More impactful?
The vertical banner outside the closed door of the exhibit hall caught his eyes.
Princess Imani of Lauchtenland, Britta White, daughter of the US president, Princess Madeline of Montelena, and a number of others he didn’t recognize—a panel of female youth leaders.
And the door was shut.
He ran over to it.Locked.The terrible buzzing inside congealed, turned to ice.
“Logan—can you get ahold of Secret Service?Make sure they have eyes on Britta White?”He stepped back and his gaze fell on a fire-extinguisher cabinet, and the axe inside.“Guys, Declan’s dogs weren’t the target.They were thedistraction.I need you in Exhibit Hall 3right now.”
Then he broke the glass and grabbed the axe.
ELEVEN
She knew it.Just...knewit.
“Get down, Britta!”
Emberly stood close enough to the female secret service agent to hear the thrum of urgency in her voice.The woman positioned her body over Britta’s as water splattered down into the exhibition room.They’d retreated to the back greenroom area.
Okay, so no time to congratulate herself on her brilliant instincts—which had resulted in obsessive sheet-twisting insomnia—last night as she’d sorted through Logan Thorne’s story and pieced it together from different angles.
She just couldn’t believe that attacking Declan’s exhibition would rattle national security.So what if a billionaire inventor’s creation had glitches or even infiltration into his AI program?Sure, that meant that some rogue government could attach a virus to the AI program, thwart its intended target’s national security.In fact, that had been her mission—to secure the world from the threats of Axiom.
Except...Luis.What if he’d been using the Swans all along?He’d been the one to suggest the creation of the virus over a year ago.Had been the one who offered to create it if she could get her hands on Axiom.
It all fit—but she’d been too focused on the Skynet/Terminatorangle to see the fine details.
No wonder Tomas had come after her following her little foray into the ladies’ room with Princess Imani—who had told her about today’s event...with President White’s daughter, Britta.
Now, Emberly stood in the hallway to the back exit, garbed in the staff security uniform she’d nicked from the rental-security’s staging area.
She’d gotten lucky too—found the badge of a woman who looked enough like her to pass scrutiny.Dark hair—the wig from last night, now cut shorter and under a cap—and a uniform that included a stun gun.She’d passed all the checkpoints and taken up a position against the wall, watching the panelists take the stage.Princess Imani, Princess Madeline, and of course Britta White.The panelists also included a woman from Nigeria and another from Thailand.
One by one, they’d given short inspirational speeches behind a podium, then taken their places at a long sturdy table, answering questions from the audience.
When chaos had erupted, the table had been pushed over by one of the secret service agents, an attempt to protect the ladies before herding them into the greenroom.
Funny, all the comms coming off her walkie focused on the chaos in the other exhibit hall.And yet, inside the greenroom, Pippa and the other security, especially the Secret Service, were on their phones, calling for assistance.
Tomas had somehow gotten past all the security the team had set up around Declan’s exhibit.It didn’t surprise her, really.Luis would have figured out a way to get past the shutdown of the Internet.
“We need to evac.”This from Pippa, who joined Emberly at the back entrance.She glanced at Emberly, then at the door and back again.
“Phoenix?How’d you get here?”
“I figured it out.”
Pippa frowned.
“Later.This door leads out to the back hallway and stairs that go down all the way to the service area.”
Pippa’s hair was plastered to her head, the water dripping down her face onto her black suit.She leaned into her cuff mic.“Fraser.For the love, come in.”
“If you’re connected via the Wi-Fi, it’s out.”
