Chapter 72

Befuddled, Jasira exclaimed, “You knew!”

Carly started giggling, “Sister, I may not have known Zeke very long, but I do know that he has eyes and ears everywhere. He is crafty, tricky and a very lovable son of a..., um, doting mother.”

Carly looked at Zeke as she spoke, “He told you how he knew. Flash emails. That sweet little virus probably collected the login data of the user. Knowing him, it vid verified who was logged on.”

Grinning at Zeke’s little smile and twinkling eyes, Carly then speculated, “I bet it checked every email, text, file, and document with his name or your name in or on it in your system, and then everyone you communicated with.”

“He probably added the words Z4, Z6 and runner, just for fun. I would have. Then, his virus flashed the data to him for verification of what it could delete. He did say he only deleted his property. I trust him. Even so, he would have had to view all that data.”

“Yeah, but what else did he learn while looking for his lost property?” Lindsay asked with raised brows.

“Carly is correct. I have not kept anything that didn’t belong to me. That would be unethical. Although, I was intrigued by what I did learn, despite my virus being very specific.”

“Mildred Anders, our accounts and contracts manager at Mars Minerals, taught me about that little law to protect intellectual property. She even helped me to write the virus, so it stayed within the law.”

“You have no idea how many data thieves and hackers are out there. Admittedly, I became cynical at a very young age. I have my stepfather to thank for that. So, yes, Lindsay, I knew two days ago what the Generals were up to.”

Carly grinned, “Damn, I am never playing poker with you. You played them expertly. Bravo.” Carly clapped her hands.

Poor Travis and Jasira had no idea what they were on about, so they had to explain.

General Shatner’s eminent demise was still being discussed by the UNSEC Council.

As far as they were concerned, Zeke had hung, drawn, and quartered her. If she had tried to ban imports made by any company Zeke was associated with, it would have been a declaration of war with Mars. Many of them were shocked by his holdings that were on public records.

The SSG and UNSEC knew Mars hadn’t been idle in the last seven years. They couldn’t stop them from declaring independence once the original James Space Station had been blown up by mercenaries hired by the SSG, posing as UNSEC soldiers. Their so-called Sol Security.

While Mars still supported UNSEC, they had become more outspoken each year. These days, Earth relies more on Mars than it did on Earth. They took fewer imports but exported a lot, particularly to the other colonies. They were heavily into mining, electronics, food production and shipbuilding.

The Council still didn’t understand Zeke’s motives for going into business with Burnie Bolt. While Burnie would be using parts from Mars, his Z4s would be made and serviced in Earth space, keeping the locals happy. It was going to be profitable for all concerned.

Zeke wasn’t a man they wanted to or could afford to have pissed at them.

“Um, Zeke, what are you going to do now?” Jasira asked.

Zeke focused on her for a few moments. “Jasira, while I have my property back, you still sold me out. If it wasn’t for the fact that I respect your father so much, I’d have let you be caught.”

“Even so, you have damaged my relationship with him. I could ask him to never discuss me or my business dealings with you. However, it would drive a wedge between you two and more resentment toward me. What do you think I should do?”

The hurt and sad look on Travis’s face nearly broke Zeke’s heart. Carly gently squeezed Zeke’s thigh in sympathy.

Jasira looked at her father as silent tears streamed down her face. It had all gone wrong. She had just wanted to design the ship. How had she talked herself into doing what she knew was wrong? Jasira wiped her face.

“Zeke, can you tell if someone has been spelled? I mean, I’m not saying that I didn’t do the wrong thing. But I don’t know, this all feels so wrong. I get obsessed when I’m working on a project. I think my judgement has been compromised.”

Zeke tipped his head and looked at Jasira thoughtfully. “Has anyone given you something to wear, like a ring or bangle, since I left here?”

Jasira looked at him blankly. “No,” she intoned flatly.

Travis slapped the table, making them all jump. He stood and went to Jasira.

“Give me your right hand.”

When she balked, he grabbed her hand and put it flat on the table but didn’t let go of her wrist. He pointed to the ring with his left hand.

“Who gave that to you?”

Jasira opened and closed her mouth several times as she looked at the ring. It had a simple gold band with a small topaz and what they all recognised as a small DeRay crystal mounted side by side on it.

Travis grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. “You must tell me the truth, Jasira. You know you can’t lie to me. You have never been able to lie to me.”

“Daddy, Erica sent it to me. Her note said that she was sorry she acted so jealous of me when Paul was talking to me. I’m not even sure why I’m wearing it. I thought I took it off.”