Chapter 44

Thursday, March 1, The US Secret Service plays into our hands for the PR campaign. They raid Steve Jackson Games, a company that produces role-playing, card and board games. The Secret Service claims that one person involved in the company is engaged in hacking and that one of the games, GURPS Cyberpunk, teaches people how to hack computers. To start with, teaching people how to hack isn’t illegal. Even if it were, Cyberpunk is a complete work of fiction and has no basis in reality. In the game, to hack a computer, a player pretends his character sticks a wire in his head, and then a dice roll is made to see if he is successful. On top of that, the Secret Service doesn’t just complete its search and seizure. It deletes files and e-mails. It is a clear and very public breach of civil liberties.

Friday, March 16, I don’t ride to school with the BFF Club. Instead, Paul drives me. On the way, he asks, “Are you sure I can’t talk you out of this?”

“I have to go, and you know it. You’re sure Jane and Gun are ready?”

“Ya. They will be parked out front in a red Suburban at 1300. Why’d you want red? I thought you wanted to hide.”

“Black and grey aren’t common colours for vehicles. Red is the most common colour, and we don’t want to stick out.”

Paul is exaggerating a bit. The Suburban we found is red and grey. The entire top half is grey and little red can be seen from the front so it can be hidden. In any event, it isn’t something that will stand out, even though it is new. The GMC is also one of the few domestic four-door SUVs.

“Grey is a common colour for a Land Cruiser or Range Rover.”

“They are imports and would stick out like a sore thumb. It’s too late now, anyway.”

“It’s a ballsy move, taking on the Mennonites like this.”

“As I explained before, I’m not taking them on. Somebody else is. I just need to be up there to make sure that things play out.”

“Well, good luck. You’ll need it.”

We stop in front of the school, and I get out saying, “Thanks, we’ll see you when I get back.”

When lunch ends, there is a tear-filled goodby. This is the first time since we started dating that my girlfriends and I will be apart.

Before I say goodby to them, I turn to Jen and say, “See you after the holiday.” Her eyes tear up, and she pulls me in for a hug. She holds me tight for a while before saying, “You come back safe, or I’ll kick your ass.”

“I’m only gone a couple weeks.”

“Moira told me why you are leaving.”

Looking over her shoulder, I scowl at Moira. Jen lets me go, and I hug Moira next.

“I thought I told you not to tell anybody?”

“What was I supposed to tell Jen. She is practically one of us now.”

“Give her some time. She isn’t there yet.”

“She is closer than you think.”

“Damn it, did Dahlia suck her into one of your lesbian love-fests?”

“It wasn’t only Dahlia.”

“I thought I told you girls to be patient and not rush things?”

“It didn’t take much of a push.”

“We’ll sort this out when I get home.”

I save Dahlia for last and hug Carol.

Quiet enough that only Carol can hear, I say, “I’m trusting you to keep your sisters distracted. I’m only gone for two weeks and will call regularly, but you know how emotional Dahlia and Moira get.”

“I got it, Boss.”

On occasion, all of my girlfriends jokingly call me boss. I find it comical because they regularly boss me around, and the only time I boss them around, it is at work.

“I trust that your training is sufficient that you can kick ass if any boys sniff around my girls.”

“I think my sisters are experienced enough to deal with it themselves.”

I save Dahlia for last because she is the most emotional of my girlfriends. Everybody else has left for class, and she is still hugging me as the bell to start classes is ringing.

“You had better get to class.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I worry that you won’t be coming back.”

“Dahlia, there is no reason to worry. I am not doing anything myself. I am getting others to do it.”

“I know, but I still worry.”

“Listen, I haven’t told anybody yet, and I don’t want you to either. I haven’t brought it up for a reason.”

“What is it?”

“Do you remember me having to get tested because something strange was happening to my body?”

“That is what all the medical equipment is at the gym. You had Paul test you in secret.”

“I have been keeping up with the tests without people knowing. I wouldn’t say I am superhuman or anything, but I would guess that I am close to the peak of human capabilities.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I can’t beat the world record for strength for a person my age, nor am I the world’s fastest runner. The strongest person doesn’t have much cardio, and the person with the best cardio doesn’t have much for strength. I have both. Yes, I have some fat, but if I lost any more, I wouldn’t be as endurant.”

“So, you are close to being a super person without actually being a mutant.”

“That is about it. I also tested my IQ using the Stanford–Binet test. The Wechsler test is more accurate but ends at 160. I was higher than that before. I test even higher now. I don’t know why my body changed, but it did. I think I am now the perfect specimen for a 16-year-old boy.”

“How high did you get?”

“Scores above 140 tend to be inaccurate. That reminds me. You were supposed to take the Mensa entrance exam.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Promise me, you will get your sisters to take the exam when I get back, and I will tell you.”

“Ok, now what is it?”

“I don’t know. As I said, anything above 140 is difficult to test. Wechsler only goes to 160 and Stanford–Binet 170. Here is something funny. Right now, in the Guinness Book of Records, they have Marilyn vos Savant as the person who scored the highest on an IQ test. She was tested on the Stanford–Binet scale that ends at 170. How do you score 228 out of 170? Then there is Ainan Celeste Cawley. In the future, they claimed he had an IQ of 263, but they hadn’t developed a test to go beyond 180.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“In the other timeline, I would max out on most tests. Now, I still max out, but it is easier. It is to the point where I am running out of ideas from the future to patent, and I am going off of intellect, not memory. Some of the tech for the Solar Eclipse are things that are legitimately my inventions.”

“With your added abilities, have you discovered what happened to you?”

“I’m not sure, but I have theories. I still can’t make sense of why I ended up back in a younger version of my body. That is only partially true. I ended up in a hybrid of my old and younger body. That is why I have the cells of an old man and a young boy. I don’t understand why the two merged, but I got the best of both bodies.

“The point is, I’m more capable than you think. If things go wrong, I can deal with it. We’ll all talk about this later. You need to get to class, and I need to get to the ferry.”

We kiss one last time before she lets me go. I admit that I miss my girls even before setting foot in the SUV. As soon as I take my seat, I clear my head and get down to business.

“I don’t mean to treat you like children, but this is important, so I have to be sure. You both brought untraceable 9 mils and your legal handguns?”

Both Jane and Gun answer at the same time, “Yes.”

Jane continues, “Your bags are in the back, and we are ready to go. And, no, you can’t have a firearm.”

“Good, cause I don’t need one.”

The ride to the ferry is short, so there isn’t much said. It is mostly just small talk. The ferry ride is shy of two hours, but we can’t talk about my plans since we are in public. It is a peaceful ride, and once we hit the Strait of Georgia, we come across the pod of whales that I had mentioned to Adm Cub. Jane has never seen whales before and is quite excited. Gun doesn’t like it because Jane wants to remain on the upper decks, outside, but that is where the biggest crowd is, and they are supposed to be my bodyguards.

Once we are back in the Suburban, I start letting them in on my plan.

“I told everybody that we were going for two weeks, but we should be back here in half that. I just didn’t want anybody to worry if there were unforeseen circumstances.

“I kept the plan and our cover story simple. You are just my bodyguards, and we are going up there for a visit to see my old friends. I don’t have any, so there will not be a problem with people complaining that I didn’t stop by.

“This is about more than Grace. We will use this trip to finish eliminating the corruption in Fort Grand and free her at the same time.”

“Doesn’t that seem a bit ambitious,” asks Jane.

“Don’t worry about it. I have it worked out. It hinges on one kid, though. If he doesn’t take the bait, we’re screwed. He is an 18-year-old pusher. Currently, he is selling crack, hash and coke to kids in the Jr high schools. Ya, that is right. He is selling hard drugs to 13-year-old kids.

Gun is disgusted, “I hope he ends up dead. It’s bad enough going after the high schools but Jr high. That is just sick.”

In my past life, he got caught by the RCMP. The second in command of the police station is his church leader and gets him off scot-free. In exchange for turning in his dealer, he got two years probation in Kelowna, one of the nicest places to live in the entire country. When his probation is up, he moves back and starts stealing from the less fortunate. The guy is a real scumbag.

“His name is Jason. His entire family leaves a lot to be desired. They are a prime example of why people are starting to believe that churches are what is wrong with the world. They go to church for the criminal contacts, and almost everybody in their congregation is a slippery bastard. We aren’t here for them. Most of them are just petty criminals.

“Once I get Jason’s ear, I tell him where to find the Meno Mob’s stash of drugs and money. They bring the drugs through Alaska, and just north of Fort Grand, they split the shipments and send them all over North America.

“We will send them to two different Mennonite colonies that have shipments in that night. Hopefully, that will be enough to get them to pull some of the guards off of the colony that has Grace, and we can go in and get her.

Gun interrupts, “Wait there one second. There is no way that you are coming with us to rescue Grace. The chances are there will be gunfire, and Paul will have my head if he knew I led you into a gunfight.”

“There is no way I am letting you go without me.”

Jane stops me, “We have no intel on this place, how do you even know which colony she is in? We need to sit down and plan this out like a proper op.”

“I already did that. You and Gun are trained to clear a house, so you go in and clear the garage. That is when the second team comes in and searches the garage for the secret entrance into the basement where Grace is.

Gun states, “It sounds like you already have a team on the ground. Who are they, and can we trust them?”

“Friends of Paul. I have no names, and I have little trust for them. The only reason I trust them is because I am working another job with them that will earn them a lot of money and they are mercenary. They wouldn’t double-cross us because they would miss out on the other payday.

Jane says, “You have multiple illegal operations going. I thought you were a good kid. What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing too immoral. I’m just trying to right some wrongs and minimize the damage caused. This op is different. There will be shootouts in multiple locations but away from innocents and only involving despicable people. If anybody is killed, then the world will be a better place. None of it can lead back to us.”