Chapter 19

Io

"Io, we need to stop in Phoenix until 10 A.M.," Artemis said, just after we left Phoenix for northwestern New Mexico.

"Go back?" I replied. "Why?"

Artemis turned to Zeus, who was still groggy after sleeping most of the way from San Diego to Phoenix. "Because I know how we're getting everything into Mexico. And so does Martinez. He's the one who said it. We're flying into Mexico. We have to go back, because the store that sells ultra-lights doesn't open 'till 10. That's 1000 hours to you."

"Huh? I've never been in an ultra-light, before," Zeus said.

"So what?" Arti said. "You never drove in an auto-magic car before, you never caught a robber before, I never swam to the bottom of a lake before, or shot at a kidnapper before, or ... or ... or a bunch of other things.

"I looked it up on the internet. Ultra-lights are safe, have a decent payload, and there's a two-seater model, so we don't have to both learn how to fly."

"Oh yes we do. If hanging around you has taught me anything, it's that you have to learn to do stuff, too," he said. "Scuba diving is one thing, but if I get injured, I'm not going to rely on your 'native' flying skills."

"Good. Then it's settled. I thought I'd have to fight you on this."

"WHAT!? I haven't agreed to anything, yet."

"Sure you have. You just don't know it yet."

"That does seem logical," I said. "Based on your prior statements, you assumed that Artemis might have to fly. Therefore, therefore there was something in which she might have to fly. Therefore, you had an ultra-light aircraft. Q.E.D."

"Prefect feminine logic," Zeus grumbled.

While all this was going on the H2 had done a U-turn via an exit, almost by itself, and was aiming back at Phoenix.

"Artemis, there seem to be two stores that sell ultra-lights in the Phoenix area," I said. "Which do you have in mind?"

"The one that's located near the small airport in North Phoenix. If you check their web page, they have lessons that promise 'two hours to get you in the air.'

"Zeus," she continued, "I figure we'll need to take some clothes and a bedroll each, plus the rifle."

"Um..." clearly he was still discombobulated "We can live in the same clothes for a few days. I'm assuming that they are called ultra-lights because they don't have a lot of room for payload. We'll take just the bare essentials."

Maybe Zeus was getting more 'combobulated' every second, because that sounded like a practical implementation plan. I did not think that 'combobulated' was even a word – but it should be. Its meaning seems clear. It's that state of mind before 'discombobulation' sets in ... English is a very strange language. Arti and I had a brief discussion about discombobulation, combobulation and recombobulation.

"Huh?" Zeus said.

He was clearly in the discombobulation stage again.

"Don't worry about it, dear. It's just girl talk," Arti laughed as she patted his head.

That motion, slight as it was, must have sent a strong 'pain' message through Arti. She pulled her hand back and actually said "OW." She unhooked her seat belt, lifted her shirt, exposing her breasts and a softball sized bruise that was turning black and blue. She proceeded to rub in some more Arnica Montana.

"I thought your miracle cream was going to make that bruise go away," he jibed.

"The Arnica? No, it makes it heal faster, but it's not a 'miracle cream, ' just an aid to..." By then she saw the amused smile on his face. " ... You just want to see the girls for a bit longer, don't you? Typical male." And she pulled her shirt back into place.

"How much longer to the nearest place we can get breakfast, Io. I'm tired of eating hard boiled eggs and carrot sticks," she harrumphed at her avatar.

Zeus laughed.

"Well, there's a bagel shop near the next exit," Io said.

It was just after 0800 hours when my companions were done with Papa Murphy's Kosher Bagels, and got back to the Hummer.

"Anything new, Io?" Arti asked.

"Well, not much. There's been a quiet sell-off in the stock markets. Goldman Sachs trading has been shut down, and I am about to cash two chips for a billion and a quarter," I said calmly. "Oh, and Las Vegas and large parts of the southwest are having an electrical emergency. The interstate grid is really under stress."

"Well, POTUS said he didn't need our help... your help," said Zeus. "I take it that didn't work so well for him."

"At least JPL has managed to take the computer running the sensitive data off line," I explained. "So that's not compromised. Goldman lost 480 million in the first hours of trading, and their hard disk data store has been trashed. They are going to have to go back to their backups, from last night, to get rid of the malign intrusions. They are going to look to other parties, and the exchanges, for a record of their trades, today. It is going to take the rest of the week and part of the weekend to get their trading machine up and working. And they still do not know how they were infiltrated.

"Wait a moment, POTUS is on the line. I'll pipe the exchange in here, but mute your microphones."

"This is the President of the United States," said Mr. Wentworth.

"Yes, I know, you are the only person who can call me on that number," I replied, using a slightly accented, male voice.

"Your phone and internet routing is giving the FBI fits, you know. They can't trace it at all."

"That is as I expected..."

"Use more contractions, Io," said Zeus. "It sounds less artificial."

" ... What's the purpose of your call?" I continued, implementing Zeus' suggestion.

"Well, I need to get the electrical grid back to normal and get Hoover Dam back online. JPL has had to shut down all their outside access, so they are operating on a limited basis."

"I know. I've been monitoring the situation," I said.

"So, as of now, you are hired to protect all our installations from this kind of attack," POTUS said. "State and CIA are still of the opinion that you have somehow orchestrated this as a blackmail ploy, but I'm inclined to go with the geeks from Homeland and GSA. They say nobody can do what you have done; that if you wanted money, all you had to do was tap into the Federal Reserve and take some. As of now, I don't want to authorize a counterattack."

"I wouldn't steal from the Fed," I protested. And then, in my 'normal' voice, only to Zeus and Arti: "Unless the Fed Chairman was dirty. Hahaha."

"Anyway please proceed. And I'll want an update on the state of the attacks, and data on any other significant attacks that may occur. You can forward the bank account information through the usual methods."

"You can trace it if you want. I'll save you the trouble. I'm giving it to charity, so it will be easier to trace. I don't want to make things too hard for the FBI, after all," I said to him.

"I'm sure they'll appreciate that," he answered with a chuckle. "In another matter, Stanley Morris of Goldman Sachs is on the other line and wishes to speak to you."