Chapter 4
“Shit,” I sighed as I went over to the bathroom window for a look at the interlopers. “Armed? Of course, they’re armed. Um… but where are they?”
“They are still a few minutes away,” Francine replied.
“Okay,” I muttered as I turned away from the window. “So I’ve got some time to come up with something…”
“Do not panic,” my AI companion said. “My review of various reports indicates that the best way to approach such a situation is to remain calm. This is less likely to result in injury or death.”
“I am calm, actually,” I said, which was surprisingly true. “I’m just a bit surprised that I’m so alert and awake without having a cup of coffee yet.”
“Ah, yes,” it mused. “I’ve learned that many adult humans are dependent on caffeine.”
“Yes, we are,” I said. “Any idea who the armed strangers are yet?”
“I am attempting to identify them,” it replied. “I am still familiarizing myself with the various components of the… internet. Those sections deemed nonpublic will require more time. I do not want to trigger any security alerts.”
“Nonpublic…” I muttered. “Shit. What exactly are you trying to access? No, wait. Don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to know.”
“Very well,” the AI replied.
“I should probably get dressed,” I said as I glanced back at myself in the mirror and my newly altered body wrapped in only a white towel. “I don’t really think that this is the right attire for this. Although, what are you supposed to wear to meet a bunch of people with guns that are about to turn up on your doorstep?”
“There doesn’t appear to be a dress code,” the AI agreed. “Based on the information I have at my disposal.”
I chuckled at this as I left the bathroom and crossed the hall into my bedroom. I was surprised by how confident I felt about the whole thing, but I told myself that I probably had a false sense of bravado thanks to my new appearance.
Francine had told me that the nanotechnology wasn’t even finished with improving my body yet and that it would take at least a few days to take full effect. However, if the changes were as impressive as they had been this morning, then I was about to be the only person on the planet who was lucky enough to receive a new lease on life courtesy of alien technology.
I knew that people would have killed for the regenerative technology that the AI had put into me last night, and I had unwittingly gotten it without even asking. Even though it had seemed a strange and slightly gross concept as the alien goo had seeped into my body through my hands, I decided that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hadn’t felt this good, this strong, this alive in years.
In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so awake and ready to take on the day. Aches and pains that I had learned to put up with over the last few years were gone, and despite what I’d told the AI, my brain felt clearer as well. I couldn’t even imagine how great I would feel once the nanobots were done, though my happiness dimmed a bit when I remembered what I would be expected to do once this phase was finished.
And that also meant that there really was an alien race heading for Earth with the intention of invading and taking control over it. That was a terrifying thought, but I had to push that aside for now and focus on the more immediate danger of armed people that were heading to my home.
I pulled on a light-blue sweatshirt, a pair of boxers, and some jeans from the back of my closet. The sweatshirt was big now thanks to the nanobots, but I could still get away with wearing it. The boxers were loose as well, and I sent up a silent thank you for the elastic waist that just about managed to keep them from slipping down around my ankles. The jeans fit perfectly, though they’d been too tight for more months than I was willing to admit.
Seeing as it was particularly sunny that day, I grabbed my old trucker hat to shield me from the sun when I went outside. It had my old company’s logo on it with a red background, and though it was a bit scuffed after years of wear and tear, it was still in pretty good condition, considering its age.
I supposed the same could be said for me these days, thanks to the AI.
“Well, damn,” I said.
It was very hard not to break out my Tom Cruise impersonation and dance into the kitchen, but I made do with humming Old Time Rock & Roll instead. Even the mess from the night before didn’t dampen my spirits. I set the chairs upright again, swept up the shards from the broken glass, and then mopped up the puddle of water.
After that, I added water and coffee to my old-fashioned coffee maker and leaned back against the counter as the scent started to fill the house. Maybe it was just the nanotechnology that was swimming in my blood, but my morning joe had never smelled so delicious, and I found myself growing impatient for the percolator to finish.
“Any updates, Francine?” I asked as I sipped on my first cup. “You made it sound like they were practically here already.”
“The first vehicle stopped down the road out of visual range,” the AI replied. “Other vehicles joined it at that point. They are now continuing to our location and will arrive within the next five minutes.”
“Do you know how many people there are?” I asked.
“Based on the number of cellular devices, fifteen,” it replied. “I have the identities of seven individuals in one of the larger vehicles--”
“You know what, it’s fine,” I said as I took a steadying breath. “I think I have an idea of who it is anyway.”
“You do?” it asked.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “It’s probably some agents from the government. I’m not sure which agency they belong to, but I’m sure some scientist in some lab somewhere detected your arrival last night. Obviously, they didn’t think it was a Russian satellite or something, or they would have been here a lot sooner, but they’re curious enough to want a look.”
“You are probably correct,” the AI agreed. “They will probably ask to see the meteorite I arrived in.”
“That seems like a bad idea,” I sighed. “It was pretty obvious that something was inside, and then they’ll want to know what I did with it. They’ll want to search the house, the barn, and anywhere else on the property where I could hide something, because they’ll think I took a piece of the meteor for myself… which I did.”
“This is bad,” Francine said.
“They’ll take you away and do who knows what to you,” I added. “Then the whole planet would be screwed.”
“Screwed?” it asked. “Ah, yes, you are using the slang definition. Screwed is an apt description.”
“This is not how I expected to start my morning,” I sighed. “And I can’t say that I have a lot of experience turning fifteen-plus government agents away from my doorstep. But hey, how hard can it be?”
“You can do this, Will,” the AI assured me. “I chose you for a reason, remember?”
“Right,” I said. “Yeah, I can do this. It’ll be fine. I’ll just smile and politely ask them to fuck off and go back to whatever scary, secret, underground, government bunker they came from. That’ll be easy enough. Piece of cake.”
“Your imagination is very entertaining, Will,” the AI chuckled.
“Well, it keeps things interesting,” I sighed. “Okay, I feel ready now.”
“Good, because someone is at the door,” the AI replied.
“Just one?” I asked.
“Just one,” the AI confirmed. “Perhaps an advanced scout? The cars are still far from your home. The presence is smaller in size and seems to be carrying a container.”
“Huh,” I replied. “That’s weird. Well, maybe they know more about you than I thought.”
My pulse picked up as I listened to the sound of footsteps outside, and I nearly jumped when someone knocked loudly on the front door.
“You can do it, Will,” the AI repeated as I let out a long, shaky breath.
“Yeah,” I replied as that newfound confidence found its way back into my body again.
I stepped out of the kitchen and into the hall. The front door opposite me looked almost eerie in the dim light of the hallway. The translucent window at the top of it allowed some light into the corridor, and I could see the faint silhouette of a person’s head through it, but not much more than that.
As I walked toward the door, I was acutely aware of all of my surroundings. The floorboards underfoot creaked each time I took a step, the clock on the wall ticked monotonously every second, and the kitchen faucet dripped every so often. Outside, I could hear the wind rustle the leaves on the trees, though it reminded me more of rattlesnakes right at that moment.
It felt like hours had passed by the time I placed my hand on the door handle, but I knew that wasn’t right. It couldn’t have been more than a minute since someone had knocked on the door, and there hadn’t been a second knock yet, so it probably hadn’t even been that long. I took a deep breath and then yanked the door open with more force than was really necessary.
However, I felt my adrenaline plummet when I saw my neighbor instead of a line of agents. She was a petite and attractive lady with long, light-blonde hair and a kind face, who always wore a set of dungarees, a plaid shirt, and a pair of binoculars around her neck because she always wanted to be ready for a bit of birdwatching. She was also known in the area for being very friendly with all of the neighbors that lived near her farm, as well as her nosiness. She was nice enough, but right at that moment, I actually wasn’t all that pleased to see her.
“Oh,” I said as I checked behind her for any other arrivals. “It’s you.”
“Morning, Will,” my neighbor, Billy-Rose, said, and I noticed then that she had an honest-to-God basket filled with eggs in her hands. “I brought you some eggs. My chickens seem to have had a good week, and I’m up to my knees in the damn things. I was pretty sure you weren’t one of those vegans, so I thought you might make use of them. I know you don’t have any animals yet, so I thought you might like some of these.”
“Oh, um, yeah, s-sure,” I stuttered as I tried to shift gears. “Thank you.”
“No problem, neighbor,” she chirped.
I reached out for the eggs, but just as I was about to take them, she pulled the basket away and took a step closer to me. For a moment, I thought Billy-Rose might actually be in cahoots with the government guys, and that she had lured me outside with her eggs so that they could take me away.
But there was still no sign of the convoy, and Billy-Rose didn’t back away like she was expecting federal agents to charge the porch. In fact, she had leaned in closer and was peering at me with the same intensity I imagined she had when he worked on her crosswords at night with her husband, Maurice. She looked me up and down, and I stood there awkwardly as she took in every inch of my being as though she had never seen me before.
“Um, Billy-Rose?” I said after a while.
“Huh?” she replied as she stared at my face intently. “Did you say something?”
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“Sorry, Will,” she said as she took a step back and rubbed her eyes. “It’s just… Jeez.”
“What?” I asked.
“You look… really good this morning,” she replied as her cheeks went red.
“Oh, well, thank you,” I chuckled.
“Excuse me for asking, but did you get some work done?” she asked. “Because whoever you got to do your Botox, I mean, wow… they did a damn good job.”
“Oh, uh--” I began. “Well, I…”
“It’s amazing,” she continued as she reached for my face and began to paw at it with her surprisingly soft hands. “Not that you looked bad before, by any means, but you look really good now, if you don’t mind me saying. I mean, you look about fifteen years younger, maybe more. And look at your arms. Gosh, they’re very… Have you been working out?”
“Um…” I said.
“Oh, and I see you dyed your hair as well,” she said as she looked closely at my head. “Smart. It really adds to the overall look.”
“Um, thanks,” I replied.
“How much did all of this cost you?” she pressed. “It can’t have been cheap, judging by how well your doctor did it. You must have gone to one of the celebrity ones, right? I had no idea there were doctors that good outside of Los Angeles or Miami, let alone in Kansas. Still, I’d love their contact info. I’m not one for plastic surgery myself, of course, but if I knew someone was going to do it that well, then maybe I’d get rid of a couple of my laugh lines. And Maurice would probably go for it as well if he saw you. After all, he’s older than me. I mean, things are fine between us, but… you know… he’s slowed down a bit. We had these extra eggs, so I thought I’d bring them over and maybe have coffee, but now that I’m standing here. I’m super babbling right now. Is it hot out here?”
“Right--” I began as I fought to get a word in edgewise.
“I’ve never even considered it until now,” she continued. “Getting work done, I mean. But you really do look fantastic. I’m actually blown away, Will. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, for me and Maurice, I mean, but he always ignored me. I mean, regular guys don’t do that kind of thing, right? But here you are, and I’ve gotta say, it’s pretty damn amazing. It looks so natural. My husband would probably love it if I went for it. But who cares about him? He doesn’t even care that I come over here to bring you eggs and have coffee. You’re really twisting my arm here, you know, stud.”
My mouth was hanging open as she vomited out her flirty words, but then I remembered that I had an alien-spaceship-artifact in my barn and feds on the way, so I needed to get her out of here.
“Maybe you should ask him,” I replied. “I mean, I don’t really think you need it, Billy-Rose. Plus, I mean, you should probably find out what Maurice thinks about it first--”
“I will,” she said. “In fact, I’ll have to bring him over to see you. He won’t believe what a difference it makes unless it’s right in front of his eyes. I mean, I’m looking right at you, and I can’t believe it myself.”
“Yeah, it’s… great,” I said as I tried to head off any future dinners with Billy-Rose and Maurice. They were nice enough, but Maurice talked even more than his wife did, and I had no desire to get in the middle of whatever issues they were having with their boring sex life. “Um… but… I might be out of town for a while--”
“I’ll call you later to organize it,” she said happily. “I’m sure he’ll be very excited about the idea once he sees you. He’s a very visual person, and the facts are right there on your face. Your doctor is practically a magician! Again, I’m not saying that your face was bad before, not at all, but it looks great now, and I want whoever they are to work their magic on me, too.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
“Who did you say your doctor was?” she asked.
“They’re almost here, Will,” the AI said suddenly.
“I didn’t,” I replied to Billy-Rose as I felt my heart start to pound in my chest again. “And, um… he’s very exclusive and has a very small client list, so I’m not sure I should just tell you…”
“Oh sure,” Billy-Rose nodded. “Someone that good would have to be careful about who he’d let in. Well, maybe you could find out if he’s taking on any new clients, and if he is, maybe you could put in a good word for your friend Billy?”
“Will do,” I replied with a nervous laugh. “Well, if that’s all, I have to--”
“Silly me!” she said as she shoved the basket in my direction. “I almost forgot about your eggs. Here.”
“She should leave,” the AI warned. “We do not want her involved.”
“Right, yeah, the eggs,” I said as I snatched the handle. “Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. I can’t wait to try them. But I really have to--”
“Of course, you’re busy,” she replied as she started to back off from the door. “And here I am, yammering away.”
“No, don’t be silly,” I said politely yet impatiently. “It was good to see you, Billy-Rose, really. You, Maurice, and I have to have dinner again at some point.”
“Ah,” she said with a girlish giggle. “You’re too kind. Let me know if you need any more eggs, okay? I don’t mind popping around here again soon.”
“Okay,” I replied as I started to close the door.
“We’ve got enough eggs to feed an army.” She laughed hysterically at that, and I joined in slightly awkwardly.
“I will,” I said. “Thanks again, and--”
I never finished my sentence. A lone black car had turned onto the dirt drive that led to my house, and a moment later, two of those large military personnel trucks that always appeared in movies about World War II followed close behind it. The tarps were up, so I couldn’t see how many people were riding in the back of each truck, but I guessed that the armed personnel were probably there. It was all very overly dramatic, and I imagined that it might have been some kind of intimidation tactic, and although I could see right through it, it did still work to some degree.
“What the…” Billy-Rose asked in surprise and then turned to look at me.
I shrugged innocently as though I had no idea why these people were even here, and like I didn’t know that there was a massive meteor in my backyard that they were here to look at. I must have been pretty convincing, because she moved closer to me as I stepped onto the porch, and together, we crossed our arms and watched as three men got out of the shiny black car.
The three men who walked toward us were wearing similar dark gray suits and black dusters, though one guy had added a pair of sunglasses despite the overcast day. The guy with sunglasses had blonde, nearly white hair like Billy-Rose’s, while the tall black man next to him kept his hair so short that it almost counted as shaved.
But it was the last guy who held my attention. Even though he was the shortest of the three men, he was clearly the one in charge, and they didn’t dare go in front of him as they walked toward us. He oozed authority as he led the way, and he surveyed my property as if he were the owner. He had a high hairline, immaculately clean clothes, and his coat seemed to float around him as though gravity was as scared of him as everyone else was.
The trio approached me in formation and stopped just a few feet away. The one with the sunglasses pulled out a tablet and handed it to the leader, who looked at it for a moment. He looked up at me, back down at the tablet, and then back up at me again. His brow furrowed, and I saw him zoom into something on the touchscreen. Eventually, he looked up at me again.
“Will Ryder?” he asked with a trace of suspicion.
“That’s me,” I replied with an innocent smile.
“You look older in your ID photo,” he commented as he looked down at his tablet again.
“Oh, yeah, I suppose I do,” I said as casually as possible as I winked at Billy-Rose. “Thanks for pointing that out.”
He said nothing, but continued to look at me with an extremely suspicious expression on his face.
“I had… Botox,” I added.
“Huh,” he replied with the judgment clearly written on his face. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as the kind of guy who would get work done. But, to each their own, I guess.”
“Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked.
“I’m Agent Tony Miranda,” the leader replied and then pointed to the two men behind him. “These are Agents Dennis Sweeney and Alexander Adeogun. We all work for NASA, and we are very eager to talk with you, Mr. Ryder.”
“Well, this all sounds very important,” Billy-Rose gasped.
“Sorry, who are you?” Tony asked him.
“This is my neighbor, Billy-Rose,” I explained.
“I live a couple of fields over,” Billy-Rose added helpfully.
“Is there any reason why she’s here?” Dennis with the sunglasses asked.
“I was just dropping off some eggs,” my neighbor pointed to the basket of eggs. “Is that against the law these days?”
“No,” Dennis replied and cast a quick look at his boss.
“Well, Billy-Rose,” Agent Miranda added in a condescending tone. “I’m sure you have lots of work to get back to.”
“Actually--” Billy-Rose began.
“After all, farms don’t run themselves, do they?” Miranda continued, and it was clear that Billy-Rose had met her match, as she could hardly get a word in edgewise.
“No, they do not,” my neighbor agreed. “Not that you would know anything about hard work, you patronizing prick.”
“You’re right,” Agent Miranda said. “That’s why I’m gonna do my job, and you should go back to doing yours.”
“But I’ve got time--” Billy-Rose argued.
“No, you don’t,” Agent Miranda cut in.
“Will,” she said as she glanced at me with a very flustered look on her face. “I can stay. It never hurts to have another witness whenever some mystery guys like these lovely gentlemen turn up.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “I’m sure this won’t take long.”
“Are you sure?” she stage whispered. “Because I don’t mind staying. I don’t like the look of these men. Are they really from NASA? They look like spooks.”
“Really, it’s fine,” I replied. “Thank you, though.”
“Alright,” she said. “Well, you know where to find me if you need me.”
“Thanks,” I replied because I knew that my nosy neighbor would probably watch everything with her binoculars anyway.
Billy-Rose gave the trio a dirty look before she marched off down my drive. She muttered to herself and turned back a few times, and the three men waited patiently until she had disappeared down the road before they turned back to me.
“You need to get rid of them,” the AI said inside my head.
“I know,” I replied.
“What?” Tony asked.
“I know… that was a lot,” I said as I hurriedly covered up my mistake. “She loves to talk.”
“We can see that,” Tony huffed.
“So, which Men In Black movie are you guys from?” I asked, but none of them laughed or even cracked a smile. “Right. Read the room, Will.”
“You’re probably aware of why we’re here,” Tony said.
“Am I?” I replied a little too fast.
“You mean you’re not?” Tony asked. “You heard what I said, didn’t you? About where we work? NASA…”
“Yes, I heard you,” I replied. “But my neighbor was right. I’ve never heard of NASA guys dressed like the CIA or feds. I take it you guys aren’t aerospace engineers?”
“We’re part of NASA,” Miranda replied.
“Sure, you are,” I said. “Space program?”
“Right.” Miranda frowned. “So, about last night…”
“Get them to leave,” the AI said.
“I’m trying,” I muttered.
“What?” Tony asked.
“I’m trying, uh, to work out why you’re here,” I said.
“Seriously?” Miranda snorted. “Wait, let me guess. You slept peacefully all night, and you haven’t even been out to check your back fields yet.”
“Sounds about right,” I agreed.
“So you don’t know about the meteorite that crashed into your backyard,” Tony added.
“What?” I chuckled as I fiddled with the egg basket in my hands. “What meteorite?”
“So, you did see it land in your backyard?” he asked.
“Well, something made the house shake,” I replied with a casual shrug. “But I just figured it was another flight out of McConnell. Those Air Force guys are always shaking things up around here. Something they don’t tell you when you buy a place.”
The four of us stared at each other for a long moment, and I could tell Miranda was itching to do something more than just ask questions. But I smiled and shrugged again, like it was no big deal that something had crashed into my backyard and set some trees on fire.
“Right,” Tony muttered. “Just to confirm, something did land on your property last night?”
“Well, I didn’t leave the house, you know, because it was so dark,” I said. “But if you are telling me something fell in my backyard, I’d think it was a piece of a jet or some blue ice. You know, my other neighbor had a chunk of blue ice fall onto his property not that long ago, so I sort of figured it was the same sort of thing. I mean, he still talks about it. I think he plans on suing the government… or whoever it is you’re meant to sue for that kinda thing.”
There was another awkward silence as we stared at each other again.
“And you didn’t think to report it?” Miranda finally asked.
“Report what?” I asked.
“That something landed in your yard!” Tony groaned.
“I didn’t know anything landed in my yard,” I forced a laugh. “You three are telling me now. Even if something did land in my backyard, I wouldn’t know who to call. It’s not like they advertise what number to call when something lands in your field, is it? I suppose I would have had to check with my neighbor to see who he rang up when the blue ice landed in his field, but like you said earlier, farms are busy places. He’s probably still out with his hogs right now, actually. It would be a while until I could get a hold of him.”
“Uh-huh,” Tony muttered, and he didn’t even try to hide that he disliked me at this point. “Okay, here’s the deal. We suspect that a meteorite landed on your property.”
“Really?” I said in what I thought sounded like genuine surprise. “Well, that’s certainly a lot cooler than blue ice or a piece of a jet.”
“It is,” Tony said and gritted his teeth. “We’ve been sent here to retrieve any pieces that might have survived the trip through the atmosphere. We think, judging by the size we believe it to be, that there might be a substantial amount for us to investigate.”
“Oh, I get it,” I said and nodded.
“Good,” Tony replied and tried for something that was probably supposed to be a smile, but he actually just looked like he was in pain.
“So, Mr. Ryder, could you please show us where it landed?” Agent Adeogun asked. “Or at least let us into your backyard so we can look for the meteorite? We can search the area and be out of your hair very quickly. We simply need to extract the object, or what’s left of it, and we’ll be gone.”
“Uh…” I muttered and scratched my chin. “Now, what’s the law in this situation?”
“The law?” Agent Sweeney’s jaw clenched.
“I’m pretty sure anything that lands on my property is mine,” I said.
“This is strictly a scientific expedition,” Miranda snapped. “We don’t care about your property. We only care about the meteorite.”
“Right,” I muttered and glanced toward the trucks filled with what I knew to be armed personnel. “Strictly scientific…”
“They’re just here to help us do a grid search of the field,” Miranda added. “It will make things go much faster with more manpower.”
“Well, as much as I’d like to help you, I’m gonna have to say no,” I replied.
“What?” Tony bellowed. “We’re federal agents--”
“On private property,” I pointed out. “I have the right to turn you away, and if you don’t leave, you’ll be trespassing.”
“What did you say?” Miranda growled.
“You don’t have my permission to be here,” I said as I folded my arms across my chest. “You’re trespassing.”
“Oh, let me guess,” Miranda snapped. “You’re going to run out back as soon as we’re gone, dig up whatever fragments you can find, and then sell them online. Do you know how much scientific knowledge will be lost if you do that?”
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do,” I said. “I didn’t even know it was a meteorite. But I do know that until I decide, I don’t want you weirdos here.”
“Now, you listen here--” Tony Miranda began.
“Sir,” Agent Sweeney said as he checked something on the tablet.
“Yeah, yeah,” Miranda replied as he took a deep breath to quell his anger. “Fine, be a tough guy. But don’t think this is over. We can get a warrant.”
“Then do that, by all means,” I said. “But until you do, you’re not welcome here. I’m sorry that you wasted a trip, but please get off my property.”
Agent Miranda took a step closer to me, but Agent Adeogun caught his sleeve and held him back. Miranda glared at me for another moment and then turned on his heels and marched back across the driveway to the black car they had arrived in. He got some mud on his shiny black shoes as he walked away, which was apparently the final straw, and I watched his hands ball into fists out of rage, and his fists were so tight that his knuckles turned bright white.
Sweeney and Adeogun followed at a safe distance to protect themselves from being in the line of fire, and the pair seemed to have some sort of quiet discussion about who would be stuck in the driver’s seat next to the boss. Sweeney eventually got stuck with the job, and he slipped into the front seat with a grimace and a face like thunder.
The black car turned around in a spray of mud, and the two trucks followed it back down the drive. I stayed on my porch until I couldn’t hear the rumble of the truck engines anymore, and even then, I studied the nearby fields just to be sure that no one had stayed behind to watch me nearby.
“Well done, Will,” Francine said happily when I stepped back into the house.
“That was a close call,” I replied as I closed the door.
“But you did it,” it said. “I knew you would.”
“Yeah,” I said, and a relieved laugh escaped my mouth. “They’ll be back soon, though, unfortunately. Agent Miranda will find a way to get a search warrant just to prove how in control of the situation he is. I’ve bruised his ego now, so he’ll be back with a vengeance, I’m sure.”
“They all seemed very determined to see the meteorite,” the AI said. “They may be suspicious about what really landed and that you might have taken something for yourself from it.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I agreed as I made my way back to the kitchen and set the basket of eggs on the counter by the coffee maker. “And that makes me feel nervous.”
“They can’t find me,” the AI replied. “Our work has only just started, and the fate of the galaxy is at stake.”
“I know, Francine,” I said as I opened the back door, stepped outside into my backyard, and walked toward the barn. “I need to hide you. Somewhere they can’t find you.”
“But close enough that we can communicate,” the AI responded. “My systems are still not at full capacity, so I would suggest somewhere close by. Preferably within the perimeter of your land.”
“That makes the options available to us very limited,” I sighed as I pondered where the hell to hide it.
I thought for a moment. The look in the eyes of the three men had been one of determination and a need for revenge for my turning them away, and I knew that they were going to scour every inch of my property just because they could. I had to find somewhere where they wouldn’t know to look for the orb, but where?
Then it hit me.
“Will,” the AI said. “We really need to--”
“Hold on,” I interjected with a smile on my face. “I have an idea.”
“Yes, I can sense that,” the AI replied.
“Hell, yeah,” I laughed. “My bomb shelter.”