Chapter 9
It was hard not to like the men. Corey’s lighthearted attitude seemed to permeate the entire group. She quickly had them unpack the bits and pieces she’d brought home. She set it all up on her main workstation. Then she led them to one of the large cupboards she used for storage. She opened the doors, relieved to see all the parts she needed for her work. Maybe they could pull this off.
“The initial order was for fifty drones. After that, if they were pleased, we’re to manufacture two hundred more. But that was just in discussion, not in the contract. It’s the fifty drones that we have to deliver in less than ten days. I have the bulk of the plastic here. We had a problem with a couple coming through with cracks. Quality is very important when we do our testing.”
She led them inside the storeroom where everything was neatly organized and labeled—shelves stocked to the left and right. At the back of the room she showed them the racks of sheets of plastic and the machinery to do the cutting.
“This is just the plastic.” She looked over at them. “You understand that, right? I use the term loosely.”
The men nodded.
“We read up on your work,” Easton said. “These are state-of-the-art materials, superlight, no reflective shiny surfaces for the sun to illuminate. Almost textured nylon.”
“And bulletproof,” she said quietly.
The men’s gazes zoomed in on the material.
She nodded. “It’s one of the reasons why these are state-of-the-art. It’ll require a rocket launcher to take them out. Sure, a bullet might send it off course, but that’s why I’m working on the software. Because once targeted, they should be locked on, and any deviation of their position should be automatically corrected.”
The men looked at each other, smiling in anticipation. “We need these babies,” Easton said.
She nodded. “I’m doing my best to get them for you. But when I say that screwing up on any of these is big money, you know what I mean.”
The men turned with a whole lot more respect and studied the stacks and full shelving.
“Well, okay then. Let’s get to work. Anybody here good with software?”
Ryder nodded. “I’m not bad. Easton’s good too.”
“And when I say, good, I need to know, can you program web languages? Would you consider yourself an expert, intermediate? If not, you get to work on hardware.”
She tried to keep ego out of the question because she understood that often programmers became extremely competitive. Hackers lived in a subculture, and often the challenge for them was beating their own or somebody else’s work. She was hoping a couple were in this group. But they would have to own up to how good they were, because she couldn’t let anything less than an intermediate programmer or a solid hacker touch her babies.
“I’m good,” Easton said. “I can hack but I’ve never tried to do anything too extreme.”
Ryder took a minute before he answered. “I’m slightly below that.”
“Good to know. Hardware.”
Both nodded.
She turned to Devlin and Corey. “And you two?”
“We’re okay with computers,” Devlin said, “but in terms of operating—not fixing or hacking.”
She reached behind her and pulled out two screwdrivers. “Your tools.”
The group cracked up.
“You two will start with the bulk and frames. These have to be 100 percent aerodynamically sealed units. Let me show you.”
She went through the process of building the starter drone. It took her ninety minutes, start to finish, but then she’d been working on these a long time.
When she was done, she looked up at them and asked, “Any questions?”
Devlin shook his head. “We have it on video. If we have any, we’ll ask. And yes, we promise we will destroy the video before we leave.”
She nodded. “It may not matter, if we don’t get these done on time.” She turned to the other two. “If you follow me, I’ll put you to work on the boxes.”
“Boxes?” Ryder asked.
She took them one table over, a completely different space.
There was an odd Plexiglass wall with a series of doors and walls. She undid the security, opened it and let them in. “This is a dust-free zone. I do the best I can to minimize any interference. You’re to build the computer boxes. I had all fifty. However, the chip sets were faulty, and every one needs to be switched.”
Easton said, “You do the first. We can handle the rest.”
She looked at him, and with the reality and truth of his statement, she felt something inside her settle. “Did I say ‘thank you’ yet?”
Ryder smiled, nodded at Easton. “You can say it when we’re done. Let’s just get at it. We don’t have any time to waste.”
Two hours later she let herself out of the room. She walked over to check on how Devlin and Corey were doing and realized they’d set up an assembly-line system where they each did one part. She watched for a moment and smiled. “You guys are used to working in teams, obviously.”
“Teams have saved our ass more times than we can remember,” Corey said. “One can only go alone in life for so long.”
She nodded. “Although I work through the night, I can’t expect the same of you guys. So I figure we’ll call it in two hours. Then I’ll take you upstairs for some dinner and show you to your rooms.”
Corey brightened. “Food! She’ll feed us too!” He reached out and smacked Devlin on the shoulder. “Damn, man, we are lucky.”
Devlin grinned. “You do realize the guys are kind of big eaters?”
“You do realize I am too?” She smiled right back at him.
She’d already warned her upstairs housekeeper, Carmelita, that four men would be here for dinner and to bring on the beef. Bristol needed to check on her father, but that would wait a little longer. She’d said two hours, and she meant it. She didn’t dare waste time.
She walked over to what she had left from the testing and quickly ran through it, checking for damages. They all appeared to be working. That was something—not a whole lot though. She set her security to do a full sweep on every laptop and locked away the drones. They would need a whole lot more work. But she didn’t have time for that now. After dinner she’d come down and tear that drone apart. She had an idea what had gone wrong, but had to prove it. And that could be a lot more difficult.
Ten minutes before she was ready to call the time, her phone rang. It was Carmelita. “You’ve got more company. I let them in the compound.”
Mystified that she’d do that, Bristol glanced at Devlin. “Are you expecting anyone?”
Devlin pulled out his phone as it rang too. Answering it, he turned and looked at her, nodding. “Looks like you have more help.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Really? Capable help?”
He gave a crooked smile that made her heart tilt. “Oh, yeah.”
She rapped on the window for the guys in the computer room and called time. They laid down their tools and walked out. With everyone in together, they went upstairs to the main floor. She headed to the front door, unlocked and opened it. And burst into tears.
“Bristol,” Tesla cried, then threw her arms around her. After she hugged her, she asked, “May we come in?”
Immediately everyone inside moved back to allow entrance for the new arrivals.
Bristol shook her head, now understanding Carmelita’s actions as her housekeeper knew Tesla well. Bristol wiped her eyes but clung to Tesla’s hand. “I can’t believe you came.”
“Of course I did. I can’t believe you took that damn contract. I told you not to.” But no hate was found in her voice. She’d been in that situation and understood.
Bristol smiled up at her, then studied the new arrivals.
The first man stepped forward. “I’m Harrison.”
The next man did the same. “Rhodes.”
She glanced at Devlin.
“We owe you guys.” The two men shook hands with Devlin.
“You talk to Levi about that. As far as we’re concerned, when one of us goes down, we’ll always be there to help.”
Bristol understood the sentiment; she just didn’t know what she’d done to deserve it. “Come in, please. Welcome to my home.”
Tesla looked around the place. “It’s still the same.”
Bristol smiled. “Of course it is. It’s home.” She led the way toward the dining room. “You’ve arrived at dinnertime.”
Harrison said, “We didn’t mean to disturb your meal.”
She sent him a sharp glance. “Does that mean you can’t eat?”
He grinned. “Ma’am, I can consume food at any time of the day.”
She glanced at Rhodes, already rubbing his tummy. She shook her head. “Let’s go.” As she led the way into the massive dining room, she motioned to them and said, “Grab a seat. I just need to check in with my housekeeper.”
She walked away, disappearing into the kitchen, and found Carmelita bustling around. In a low voice, she said, “Three more arrived. I’m sorry.”
Carmelita laughed. “No worries. I have lots.”
Relieved, Bristol turned and headed back to the dining room. Her father’s place at the end of the table was empty, as was the spot beside his chair—waiting for the presence of her and her father.
She nodded to the men and said, “Excuse me while I get my father to join us.”
She turned and walked away again. She felt the surprise of the group behind her and knew it would only compound while she was gone. But she lived with this reality. She went into the library to see her father dozing.
She gently patted his arm. He woke with a startled look at her and frowned. “Its okay, Father. It’s dinnertime.”
She helped him to his feet and led him into the dining room. Devlin stood and walked around the table, pulling the chair back for him.
Her father looked at her, Devlin, then back at her and asked, “Do I know you?”
She smiled sadly at him. “Yes, Father, you do. Come and sit down. Your meal is coming.”
He sat down. With a look of thanks at Devlin, she took her own seat.
Before any need for conversation, Carmelita pushed in the food cart. Devlin hopped back up and helped her. He lifted platters laden with roast beef onto the table. More were full of vegetables, a huge salad, and Carmelita’s favorite addition to any meal, rice.
She pushed away the empty cart and came back with a single plate, which she placed in front of Bristol’s father.
Bristol reached over and stroked her father’s hand. “Father, your food is in front of you. Please eat.”
He looked at her and frowned. She placed the fork in his hand, and in a very shaky motion, he spooned up some of the soft food on his plate. But he ate. And for that she was grateful. With a close eye on him, she motioned at the others with a smile and said, “Please serve yourselves.”
The men dove in. She put a little bit on her plate, with her eye forever on her father. It was so damn upsetting how he didn’t recognize her. He didn’t miss her when she was gone and didn’t know her when she returned. She’d been living with this for the last few years. And it was getting worse. She would do something more permanent soon. But she hoped to keep him home as long as she could.
If she didn’t fulfill the contract, she’d lose the house and also the ability to care for her father. With tears rising, she forced herself to finish eating. Her father dropped the fork and it clattered to his plate. She studied the amount he had eaten and nodded. It was about as good as it would get.
Carmelita appeared almost instantly. “I’ll take him back to his room.”
Bristol nodded and stood. With her father on his feet again, she reached over, kissed his cheek. “Have a good evening, Father.”
But he didn’t acknowledge her in any way. He hadn’t for a long time.
As soon as they were gone, she took a deep breath, swallowed hard and sat back down at her plate. She took several bites to regain control and then glanced at the men. They’d been watching—of course they had—but they were all eating now.
Devlin asked in a quiet, understanding voice, “How long?”
“Two years. It’s been that long since he last knew who I was.” She settled back to eat. “Just one more reason why this contract is so important.”
“And a very long two years,” Tesla said with sympathy. “He was such a vibrant man.” She glanced around the table at the others. “Bristol and I did a stint at MIT. I came here a couple times on holidays. Her father was fascinating. He had his fingers into a million different designs. He was doing everything from computer programs to chemical warfare.”
“The trouble is, I didn’t realize over the last five years how he was already sliding,” Bristol said. “So when he started into the chemical warfare—and a few other adventurous things—it got a little scary.”
“I’d say.” Corey shook his head. “Chemical warfare is a science all on its own.”
Bristol smiled. “And yet my father has several PhDs.”
Stunned silence filled the room. Then Ryder groaned. “This is where I get to say I’m probably the most uneducated person seated at this table.”
“You might be,” Devlin said, “but you’re the best at reading people, and you can’t be taught that from a book.” He glanced at Bristol. “Ryder’s gotten our asses out of trouble just based on that alone.”
“Interesting,” Bristol said. “That’s a fascinating concept.” She shrugged. “I really suck at that. But I can tell when people are hungry, and your plates are empty. There’s lots of food here, so please help yourselves to more.”
Several of the men did. But ten minutes later Ryder stood and said, “Thank you, ma’am. That was excellent, and I’d like to get back to work now.”
All the other men rose and followed suit. Bristol glanced at Tesla, who was grinning like a fool. She leaned forward and said, “Yes, they mean it.”
Bristol stood then and said, “Well, I’m not one to stop the work train. Let’s go.” She turned and led the way back downstairs. Only this time, Tesla was at her side. And damn, it was good to see her old friend.
*
Downstairs the two previous groups of men returned to their assignments. Rhodes looked at Bristol and said, “I’m here to help you build the drones, but both Harris and I are pros at finding hackers and security breaches.”
Her eyebrows shot up. Devlin grinned. He had been listening but didn’t know if she believed it or not. “Bristol, that’s what I said originally about these two.”
She nodded. “I’m torn between having you tear apart my system to figure out what is going on or having you help with the software I need to build.”
“Both,” Harrison said. “Let’s do what we can on the first, see if there is a leak, and if so, we’ll plug it. That way nothing else goes wrong. We can’t have anybody knowing you have all this help, with the potential of making your contract good. Because they are likely to up their agenda. Let them think you’re a limping duck today, heading for the slaughter.”
Devlin winced at the analogy but saw she got it.
She nodded. “What do you need from me?”
“Permission to access your system.”
This time Bristol winced.
Tesla reached a hand over and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “I know exactly how you feel. But you need to do this.”
She nodded. “I’m not sure exactly what you need access to. The laptops on the table were all over Afghanistan at the training session, and my main server is through that door.”
Harrison turned toward the server.
Devlin stopped what he was doing, walked to Bristol and said, “You’ll need to let them into the server.”
Her breath rushed out with a whoosh and said, “Fine.” She opened the double doors.
Devlin trailed behind. He halted when he saw the banks of servers. “Really?”
But Harrison was in the middle of the room, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “Oh, I do love it when people put money where it belongs.”
Rhodes whistled. “This is nice.”
“I’m glad you approve,” Bristol said. “It took a lot of money to do this. The trouble is, for all I know, someone is coming in the back door to hurt me hard.”
Harrison looked down at his watch and said, “You’ve got a lot more going on here than I expected, so I need a few hours. I also need you to logon, and let me and Rhodes work.”
Devlin held his breath. It was a huge moment of trust for Bristol. But given the situation she was in, she didn’t have much of a choice. If she didn’t trust these men—the ones who could potentially help her—then there was no way to save her. But if she could, then she just might make this happen.
She stepped forward, dropped the keypad onto its lower level and quickly typed in her password. Instantly a four-wall bank of monitors turned on.
She glanced at Harrison and asked, “You do know what you’re doing, right?”
“I’ll be fine. Let me just go take a peek.”
She shook her head, and with a shudder, she turned and walked back out. At the doorway, Devlin wrapped an arm around her and tugged her in for a hug and kissed her temple. “Trust. Remember that.”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide, confused. “A little hard right now.”
He nodded. “But you’ll lose everything if you don’t let us help.”
She nodded, and he dropped his arms and returned to Corey, who’d been watching them with interest. Devlin turned to look back at Tesla, taking Devlin’s place, wrapping her arms around Bristol. It was obvious the women were close.
It looked to him like her life revolved around her work and father. Colleen would’ve been a mainstay. And with Colleen murdered, well, it appeared one more support post was gone in Bristol’s life.
Her father. Her contract. And the thought of somebody sabotaging her—that would’ve finished it for most people. But Bristol was strong. Her back was straight, and she was already back to business. Tesla was at her side as the two examined the drone. He wished he were over there, learning, listening. The bits and pieces he did hear made no sense to him. They were talking at a level way above his knowledge. He was damn glad Tesla had joined them. Bristol needed her. Hell, she needed all of them.