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  Sandy was smiling. “We brought the most powerful ones, sir; we didn’t want any of them feeling like a battle.”

  We carefully climbed through the remains of one of the ground floor windows and soon had all five safely cuffed. I left Sandy guarding them. Gregor and I took the key from one of the guards and let ourselves into the cellar. The stench was disgusting. It was pitch-black until we threw the switch. The poor guy was sobbing, lying curled up in a foetal position on the cold, damp floor. Thanks to Xanasa’s instant translation, I was fluent in Spanish and was soon able to calm him with reassuring promises. We wrapped him in a warm blanket and our drone delivered him to his family in Santiago a few minutes later.

  As we climbed into our hyperloop pod, I was on the point of collapse due to exhaustion. I asked, “How can we guard these guys on our way back to CRC?”

  “No problem, sir. Sandy and I have already taken amphetamine. We’ll be fine; you take this tablet and we’ll make sure you get home safely.”

  I woke in my bed with no recollection of how I got there. Jas said that Gregor had carried me in.

  There was a brief trial the following day at CRC. Carlos Santos was sentenced to life in the maximum security prison. The henchmen, who were the guards at his residence, were also coerced by threats of violence to their families. They were given community service and were warned that they would be closely monitored for the foreseeable future. They were escorted home, along with the three ‘saboteurs’ of the factory who were not charged at all.

  I was given a week off. Jas gave me an enquiring look as she handed me a note that had been delivered by a girl from the nearby village. I opened it. It was typed: Meet me, usual time and place tomorrow. I wondered how Petra knew I had time off, but I really didn’t care. I was thrilled to think that she still wanted to see me.

  As I forced my way through the undergrowth, I started to worry. I now knew how easy it was for Max to observe where my chip was located. Once I was underground, we would be safe. Petra embraced me as soon as my feet hit the ground. I so longed for us to be able to meet without all this subterfuge. When we finally disentangled ourselves, I told her my fears.

  “As long as Mom doesn’t suspect you, she won’t be looking. Even she can’t watch everyone! But she might set Xanasa a task of seeing if anyone repeatedly comes anywhere near our home. I think we’ll have to find a different place to meet up. I can’t say when, but I’ll let you know.”

  With that, we parted, and I made my way home, wondering when the next secret message might be delivered. I was really enjoying my new life, but I’d been dealt a duff hand falling in love with someone I was forbidden to see. I spent the following week hanging out with Charco, telling him about the exciting life that was waiting for him once his Xan-link was working.

  I was apprehensive when Max asked to see me as soon as I arrived back at CRC. I prepared my excuses and decided that I would promise to never see Petra again. Sweating nervously, I frantically tried to come up with some plausible explanation as to why I’d been hacking through the jungle near her home. I was shown into her office, which was flooded in light which came pouring through large windows, giving a bird’s-eye view over the forest canopy. I was blown away by the beauty; so different from the artificial views that were used to brighten our offices. She was frowning as she read a report behind her large polished teak desk. I hated the way she controlled Petra but, for a moment, I felt sorry for her as she looked overburdened with worry. As I waited, I noticed a quiet hum at a frequency that I knew I’d heard before. Eventually, it clicked; it was the sound of the motors that pumped the blood around Xanasa’s brain. We must be near Xanasa, and perhaps Max had a secret passage through the rock so she could reach Xanasa in an emergency.

  “Thanks for coming in.”

  She wasn’t shouting and didn’t look angry. I didn’t relax, as I’d heard how devious she could be.

  “Should you ever breathe a word of what I’m about to tell you, including to your Mom and Dad, it’ll be considered high treason. Do you understand me?”

  “I do.”

  I began to relax as this didn’t sound like a preamble for a dressing-down.

  “Xanasa believes there’s been a security leak. Ever since we discovered the secret to nuclear fusion, she has scanned all internet messages for the words europium sulphate. To begin with, there were occasional scientific references about the strange structure of this compound, but these gradually dwindled as supplies ran dry. This is thanks to our agents buying all the europa as soon as it comes on the market. Xanasa has just intercepted an encrypted email from the CIA asking the director of science to secure some europium sulphate ASAP.”

  She continued, “I guess that could be innocent, but why send it encrypted? Somehow, the CIA have got wind of how we’ve cracked fusion power. It’s impossible for a foreign spy to have accessed this building. The only way in is via the hyperloop with its tight security. The jungle surrounding CRC is mined, and anyway, these are the only windows and they don’t open. Drilling the rock would show on our seismograph recordings. There are turbines in the air vents but these are constantly working, and the air tunnels are monitored for movement by laser sensors. All the corridors are covered by CCTV. Water only comes through small-bore high pressure pipes. The cooling water for the fusion reactor which then takes away the slag never enters the building. It is sampled via a two-cm diameter channel which has been drilled through solid rock. Our sewage is liquefied and pumped out under high pressure through a ten-cm channel, also drilled through the rock.”

  “My conclusion is that someone with access to information about our fusion reactor has passed this on to the CIA. As you’ve only just joined us, you’re the only person who couldn’t possibly be involved. Hence, I need you to investigate this and try to work out who the traitor is. I’m the only person you can discuss this with. I’ll adjust your Xan-link so that you’ll have total access to Xanasa and all her surveillance. Any questions?”

  “Do you have any suspicions?”

  “Not really. I mean, what motive would someone have? All Commissioners have built their architect-designed houses with no expense spared. They’ve access to anything they want when they’re off duty. No one has to worry about money or inheritance. Frankly, I’m at a loss to think of a motive. You’ll work in the office adjacent to mine.”

  With that, I was dismissed and went next door to ponder this impossible task. There had to be some motive that Max hadn’t thought of. Initially, I narrowed my suspects down to the engineers, researchers and the Board. They were the only Commissioners who had access to the fusion reactor plans, and without these, europium sulphate would be worthless. This still left 25,000 people so it really didn’t help much. It occurred to me that the information must have been delivered face-to-face or at least by a handwritten note as otherwise Xanasa would have picked it up. I asked Xanasa to check which of the 25,000 had visited the USA last year. This reduced the number dramatically to 556. I then removed visits that were specifically for family funerals and I’d whittled it down to eighty-six.

  The following morning, I told Max my line of thought, hoping she might be impressed. If she was, she hid it well. Ignoring my conclusions, she said, “I remembered last night that there was one person outside of our organisation who knew about europa. But I don’t think he ever knew about the need for the sulphate compound. Anyway, you’d better check it out. He was the president of Costa Rica in 2035, Juan Gonzalez.”

  Xanasa informed me that he was in an old people’s home, apparently suffering with dementia. I needed to confirm this in person. He was a charming, smiling little guy and, to begin with, I thought the nursing home ploy was a smokescreen. I soon changed my mind as he kept repeating the story about how he’d entertained Commander Spitzen in his garden. The nurses said he’d been seriously demented for five years. This put him in the clear.

  I reported back. “We can forge
t Juan as he’s been nursed with dementia for five years. I’ve had another idea. Suppose someone wanted to stage a coup? They might sell secrets to the USA in return for them invading CRC and killing you. They have enormous firepower, and their bunker-busting bombs would smash your bulletproof glass windows as if they were made of rice paper.”

  “Nice try! I should have mentioned that once Xanasa was fully functional, I contacted the US President and said that I would like to demonstrate her ability without causing any loss of life. He was intrigued and I suggested that he fire a ballistic missile into the Pacific and I would ask Xanasa to destroy it. He knew how far we were from Seattle and was confident it would land in the ocean before we could hit it. It took off and within a hundred metres it turned into a fireball. The video and explanation went viral. No country has ever threatened us because they know Xanasa can hack into any control system whatever cyber-protection and clever firewalls they’ve used.”

  Feeling humiliated, I went back to my room to think how I could pin it on one of the eighty-six suspects. The drug veritax was of no use as it only brought up memories from the last three days, and the leak had occurred prior to this. I could interrogate them, but it would be impossible to know whether they were lying. The evidence that lie detectors are effective is dubious.

  That night, I thought of another possible motive. Could someone want to leave CASAR because of a terrible crime that was yet to be discovered? They might persuade a foreign government to give them asylum and a new identity in exchange for valuable information.

  I suggested this to Max and for the first time I saw a glimmer of a smile! “I think you might be onto something there, Zig, check it out with our justice department. Take this signed letter to give you full access.”

  It was a small department. Crime in CASAR was rare, perhaps due to the intense surveillance. I spoke to the judge in charge of the Supreme Court. I showed him the eighty-six names and asked if he had any suspicions about them. He glanced through the list. With a quizzical look, he asked me how on earth a young lad like me was looking into the affairs of these important Commissioners. I told him I was not at liberty to say. At this, he left me, and I heard him speaking on the phone: “Max, have you really given this lad authority to investigate so widely?” I couldn’t hear her reply.

  “Very mysterious,” I heard him mutter as he returned. “I’ll keep this list overnight under lock and key. I’ll ask my colleagues if they’ve heard any rumours and will let you know tomorrow.”

  The next day, he called me in.

  “Not much, I’m afraid. One of your list was accused of murdering his wife, but there was no evidence. His alibi seemed sound, and anyway, that was four years ago. None of the others have ever come before the judges. There are rumours, but I must stress nothing more, about the head of our secret service who is also on the Board. Have you heard of Karl Johansson?”

  “Is he the tall fair-haired guy who rather fancies himself?”

  “You’ve got him. He travels around CASAR picking up information from informants. There is talk of him taking very young girls back to his hotel. They are always just over sixteen, so nothing illegal. There are no rumours about anyone else on your list, which, by the way, I would like you to take away with you.”

  I mentioned Karl to Max. She dismissed it. “He may be a creep, but he’s the second most powerful person in CASAR. He owns half of a beautiful island. He would never do anything illegal. I would be very careful if you’re planning to watch him; he’s extremely clever and if he discovers you’re investigating him, he’ll never forgive you.”

  Then we had a breakthrough. What looked like a routine report arrived in the diplomatic bag of our embassy in Washington. The clerk had spotted that the typed letters weren’t as sharp as normal and had sent it for analysis. A microscope revealed numerous random characters that were hidden within each alphabetical letter. We gave this information to Xanasa who quickly cracked the code. The symbols were Mayan glyphs. The decoded letter said, I have the detailed picture/design. I will bring this when I come for my grandfather’s funeral. Meet me there.

  Only the Board have access to the diplomatic bag. So it didn’t take Xanasa a moment to inform me that Gretchen Holloway was the only member whose grandfather had recently died. However, that didn’t give her a motive. She’d worked with Xantec from its inception and was now head of research. Max said I must check her out but thought her an unlikely suspect. I asked Xanasa to investigate her relatives in the USA to see if any of these were in trouble, in case that explained her treason. She discovered that a nephew was in gaol following an armed robbery to fund his cocaine habit. Gretchen could be planning a plea bargain to get him freed. I felt I had enough and asked permission to have her arrested. Max reluctantly agreed. Gregor, Sandy and I arrived at her house as she was sitting down for breakfast. She invited us in for coffee. I gave the reason for her arrest. She looked absolutely flabbergasted. She was either a remarkable actress, or I’d made a terrible mistake. Without any attempt to escape, she came with us but demanded to see Max. I’d anticipated this and Max met us at CRC and took Gretchen into her private office. Afterwards, she readily agreed to take some veritax and be scanned. To my surprise, there was nothing to suggest that she’d written the encrypted letter, although she’d been making arrangements to go to her grandfather’s funeral.

  Someone must have planted this letter as a wild goose chase to distract us, but who? All the other Board members had unblemished records. When Xanasa checked, none of them had any relatives in trouble in the USA. I couldn’t officially investigate Max. Might she be double bluffing by asking me to investigate, thinking that such a young, naïve guy would never dream of suspecting her?

  I asked Jas to arrange for a girl to take Petra a bunch of orchids and to deliver a note as she handed the flowers over. The following Saturday, with great anticipation, I landed on the floor of her sinkhole. She was obviously thrilled to see me. As we separated, instead of a relaxed smiling face, I noticed she was frowning.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m worried that Xanasa will have spotted the same chip disappearing in the vicinity of my mother’s house on three separate occasions.”

  “Petra, each day, I think of you countless times. I lie in bed thinking of where we could go on holiday and how I would like to marry you and have children. Finally, I’ve decided that I don’t care if we’re discovered.”

  I thought she would be thrilled that I cared so much and had in effect proposed to her. Instead, she was frowning and her lips started to quiver. I spotted a tear running down her cheek.

  “What’s up?”

  “Mom will ruin everything. I should’ve told you. I once had a boyfriend before. He was working on the same research project as me. Mom had him banished to Argentina to work in the embassy there. She can be much harder than you might expect. I’m afraid for you, and if we’re lucky this time, please wait for me to contact you in future.”

  I enfolded her in my arms and gradually she calmed. Her tense muscles relaxed and for a while she seemed to melt into me as we became one.

  “What should we do?” I whispered.

  “I don’t have any answers. I love you more than you realise. Something will work out. I have to join her for lunch now. I’ll arrange to see you soon.”

  I didn’t want to break the spell but I just had to ask before I left, “I’m so sorry if I’ve messed everything up by coming again. Before I go, may I ask if your mother has any relatives left in the USA?”

  “There’s only Grandad, her father. Since my grandmother died, he lives alone in a mansion near Santa Barbara. I visit him occasionally. He’s a lovely old boy with a wicked sense of humour.”

  “He doesn’t sound a bit like your mom. I hope we can see him together one day.”

  I left feeling utterly demoralised. I shouldn’t have suspected Max, and now I’d put my relationship with Pet
ra at risk. I was making a terrible hash of this investigation and wished I’d never been forced to take it on.

  I asked Max, “I’m getting nowhere; could someone with more experience assist me? If that’s impossible, please could I have a few days’ holiday as I feel I need to recharge my batteries?”

  “Zig, I would if I could. The trouble is that I can’t trust anyone who was already a Commissioner when this leak occurred. If you really want someone to help, you could take Charco on holiday and get him up to speed. You must tell him it would be treasonable to talk to anyone else about the operation. At the end of the holiday, if he’s still interested, you could work as a team.”

  -----

  Two days later, Charco and I arrived at Cuidad Del Carmen, which is the tourist half of the Mexican island where Karl Johansson lived. He owned the eastern half and had put an electric fence across the isthmus that links the two. We had booked a private pod in the hyperloop, and before we arrived, we put on latex head masks that we’d borrowed from my local theatre. These extremely realistic masks made us look like two young Mexicans so that we could blend in with the tourists. That evening, there was a fiesta. We had a drink in our room and then donned our masks. At the end of the parade, we invited a couple of young men to join us for a drink at a bar. After they’d had a skinful, I asked if they thought there was any truth in the rumour about Karl Johansson and young girls. They stared at us, looking terrified. It was obvious we had hit a raw nerve that spelt danger for them. We apologised, paid up, and retreated to our hotel.

  We had to eat breakfast wearing our masks, which were rancid from yesterday’s sweat. As we finished, we were told someone was waiting at reception. It was one of the lads from the previous evening. He asked us if we’d like to go for a walk in the park. Once out of the hotel, he said that the hotel had ‘ears’. He’d followed us there last night to check that we weren’t Karl’s spies.