Chapter 6
I left the AI in the bunker after I had tried out a few more of the fighting moves it had put into my head, then closed the hatch above the bunker and covered it with some dirt and a heavy log. I realized after I had walked all the way back across the field, and had a sandwich in my kitchen, I was practically asleep on my feet, so I decided to take a nap, but when I woke up, it was the next morning. I had no dreams that night, just a deep, uninterrupted sleep while my mind recovered from the barrage of new information.
I slept through the entire day and night after the upload. The AI was right, I’d definitely needed the time to process all of the information that had just been crammed into my brain, and I had been dead to the world for the eighteen hours I had been asleep.
The next morning, I woke up as the sunlight flooded in through my open window. My room was filled with the golden glow of the sun as the fresh, moist morning air that poured in through the window, and I woke up feeling ready to run head first into the day. Thanks to the nanobots, I was rarin’ to go, and it was hard to believe that just a few days ago, I would have stayed in bed a few more hours until my bladder finally forced me to go to the bathroom.
As I made my way to the toilet, I rolled my shoulders and stretched my back as I’d done for as long as I could remember. But this morning, there were none of the usual crunches or cracks from my spine, and my shoulders felt relaxed rather than achy.
The first thing I did was head for the mirror. The AI had told me that the nanotechnology it had inserted into me would continue to rejuvenate my body over the next few days, so I was curious to see whether I would be able to see any more changes since yesterday, which had been rather impressive.
I looked like I was in my early thirties.
The nanobots had obviously continued their work, and considering I had been asleep for almost a full day, the change was fairly substantial and also extremely exciting for me. I grinned at my reflection as I ran my hand over my smooth forehead, my muscular shoulders, and my stomach where the abs were now far more defined. I did a squat, and I was pleased to note how flexible I felt and how easy every movement was. I took some deep breaths and enjoyed the feeling of strength that coursed through my body. I flexed my fingers, turned my head from side to side, and then I did a little gleeful fist pump into the air. It truly was incredible, and I couldn’t wait to see what I could do now.
I used the toilet before the AI reinstated our connection and made it awkward, and then I hopped into the shower. I sighed happily as the hot water ran over me, and I was finished in about five minutes. Then, I got out, wrapped a towel around my steadily shrinking waist, and hurried back into the bedroom. I got dressed in another pair of what were now loose-fitting jeans at this point and added a belt to prevent any embarrassing plumber’s crack from appearing. Then, I pulled on a green, short-sleeved shirt and went over to the small mirror in my room to comb through my now even thicker hair. Then, I shoved my trucker hat onto my head, and I was done.
Once I was ready, it was time for my morning dose of caffeine, so I bounded downstairs and made my way into my kitchen. While the coffee maker did its thing, I stared out of the window at the front lawn and the driveway where the agents would probably soon reappear.
I was dreading the moment their flashy, black car rolled back up my driveway, especially after I had pissed them off pretty well yesterday. They would be back with a vengeance, and I knew they would search every square inch of my land just to annoy me. I had hidden the entrance to the bunker with the dirt, and the log was so heavy I wouldn’t have been able to lift it without the nanobots, but there was still a small chance that they might find it, and then we would all be screwed. Maybe Agent Miranda would even try to have me incarcerated for concealing the AI from him. He definitely wasn’t a fan of mine, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if that happened.
I decided that I couldn’t think that way. There wasn’t anything unusual about the small clearing, and even if someone did find their way there, it wouldn’t be that easy to move the log. And why bother with moving a log? I’d been careful to conceal all signs of the door, and even the most obtuse agent would be able to see that nothing had been done around there for years. I could tell the agents that I hadn’t been back there since I’d bought the property, and that wouldn’t be too much of a lie.
The coffee maker beeped, so I grabbed a mug from one of the cabinets and filled it to the rim. Steam rolled off the surface of my breakfast, so I blew on it as I walked back to the window.
“Good morning, Will Ryder,” the AI suddenly said inside my head.
“Shit,” I said as my hand jerked, and coffee sloshed over the edge.
“Sorry about that,” the AI replied.
“It’s fine, Francine, none of it went on me,” I chuckled as I grabbed a couple of paper towels and cleaned it up. “Maybe wait until I’m not holding boiling-hot liquid to announce that you’re in my head next time, though.”
“Noted,” it replied. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a rock,” I said. “I was out for the count. I didn’t even wake up once.”
“You experienced your first upload,” it said. “It will get easier and less taxing every time you do it.”
“I don’t think I’d like to do it again any time soon,” I admitted. “I mean, I feel great, but I don’t think I can just keep missing whole days. You said it yourself that we have a lot to get done.”
“True,” Francine replied. “We will have to determine an optimal schedule for downloads that does not interfere with the work that you will need to complete.”
“We’ll work it out as we go along,” I said. “But I am glad that I have some fighting skills now. I feel a lot more confident about what we need to do now that I know I can somewhat defend myself.”
“That is good to hear,” it replied.
“What were those things you shot at me yesterday in the bunker?” I asked. “The stuff you used to test if the upload worked.”
“Those were made of some of the material I will use to build your suit and gun,” it explained.
“But don’t you need that stuff to build those things?” I asked. “Do you need me to come back there and, I don’t know, put it back into you?”
“That will not be necessary,” it replied.
“How come?” I asked.
“I calculated what size the suit will need to be once the nanobots have finished with your body,” it explained. “Based on that and the requirements for your weapon, I was able to determine a precise number of targets for your practice.”
“Well, we’ll just hope your calculations were correct,” I chuckled. “I’d hate to be stuck in a pair of biker shorts or something.”
“There is no danger of that,” the AI replied. “I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly you absorbed the new skills. It seemed very instinctual to you, which is excellent. It is further proof that I have selected the correct person.”
“You’re making me blush,” I said and then laughed. “I have to admit, I sort of like the idea of giving Agent Miranda a demonstration.”
“I do not think--” the AI started to protest.
“Oh, I wasn’t really going to do it,” I said quickly. “It’s just a fun fantasy.”
“Ah, I understand,” it replied. “The images are… very amusing.”
“You can see them?” I asked.
“Not specifically,” Francine explained. “But I can sense your amusement. As our bond strengthens, I will be able to experience more of your mental activities as you do.”
“Hmmm,” I mused. “Not sure how I should feel about that.”
“It will only improve our interactions,” the AI said.
Maybe it was just the nanoprobes talking, but it was hard to remain suspicious of the AI just then. I found myself smirking as I pictured Agent Miranda landing on his ass after taking a fast roundhouse kick to the chin, and then I took another sip of the coffee as I turned my attention back to the road.
“Speaking of Agent Miranda and the other two, Adeogun and Sweeney,” I said. “Do you have any idea when they might get here?”
“I would assume it will be around midday,” Francine explained. “From the conversations I am able to access on Tony Miranda’s mobile phone, that appears to be when they have planned to arrive here with their warrant.”
“Perfect,” I said, since it was only about seven in the morning. “That gives us time to get everything ready for our trip to Vegas.”
“You still sound very excited about that,” it said.
“I am, I won’t lie,” I replied. “I need to buy my plane ticket, but I was thinking, I should also let my bank know about the trip. I don’t want them to cut me off because they think my card has been stolen.” I grabbed my laptop off the kitchen counter, where I always left it plugged in, and sat down at the breakfast table.
“A reasonable precaution,” the AI agreed.
“I can’t believe I’m about to spend all my money in Vegas,” I sighed as I opened up an online booking site.
“But you won’t be spending it,” Francine replied. “If all goes according to plan, you will actually be substantially increasing the amount of money you have available. Your bank should be very happy.”
“Until I spend it all on titanium and aerogels and whatever other crazy bullshit you need me to buy,” I added as I looked at the list of flights.
There were a surprisingly large number of options, but the best one was the lone direct flight that was just about two and half hours long. I could check into the casino in the early afternoon and then spend the evening scoping out the games.
Most of the big casinos had special offers for the various rooms, but I didn’t want to spend all my money on a space I didn’t plan on spending much time in. I finally found a decent room in the middle of the Strip where it would be easy to walk to the other casinos in case we needed to take our act on the road, so to speak. Once everything was booked, I called the bank, and the teller finally told me that she had made the appropriate notations and I should enjoy my hard-earned vacation.
It was nine AM by the time I had everything set, so I still had a few hours before Miranda, Adeogun, Sweeney, and their band of merry government men arrived. I was burning with energy, and a run around the field suddenly sounded like a good idea. As much as the nanobots had worked to rebuild my body into a younger, fitter version of itself, I felt the need to put some of my own energy into the transformation as well. So, I swapped out my shirt and jeans for an old t-shirt and some sweatpants, put on my sneakers, and made my way into my backyard.
I started to jog around the perimeter of my property, and while I needed to breathe heavily to keep up the pace, I never once felt out of breath. My muscles yearned to keep going, when before they would have screamed at me to stop. I actually had a huge smile on my face as I jogged around the field. The grass acted as a springy mattress for me to bound across, and I pumped my strong arms as I propelled myself forward. It felt wonderful, and the crisp morning air filled my lungs and cooled down my body as I went. I had done three laps when I finally stopped in front of my back door. I panted lightly and wiped some sweat from my brow, but I could have probably kept going if I had wanted to.
“How do you feel?” Francine asked.
“Like a new man,” I replied. “A new man who needs to get cleaned up again, though.”
So it was back to the bathroom for another quick shower, and then I pulled on the jeans and shirt, checked my hair again, and then headed back downstairs. I glanced at the clock and decided I had plenty of time to check on the bunker. I was starting to get nervous again, and I was worried that I hadn’t really done such a good job of concealing the entrance. My brain had been pretty fuzzy, after all, and I wasn’t sure the log had been as big as I remembered it being.
I stepped outside again, crossed the field, and walked into the woods at the back of my land. The cool air hit me right away, and I slowed for a moment to enjoy the sudden silence.
“It’s nice back here,” I whispered.
A squawking Blue jay destroyed the moment of peace, and I picked up the pace again. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the log was as big as I’d remembered, and the hatch was still hidden beneath a thick layer of dirt and old leaves. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to add a little more, so I found a small bush that some critter had dug up and tossed that on as well.
“I think that is sufficient,” the AI said as I admired my handiwork.
“Yeah,” I said. “Now I just need to cover up the path to the hatch.” I backed away from the hatch and brushed leaves over where I had stepped to conceal the trail once again.
Once I was back on the main track that led through the woods, I checked that my work covering up the trail was successful, and then I made my way back to the field and over the grassy plain to the house. I felt my body tense up slightly at the thought of Agent Miranda’s army guys crawling all over my land, but there was no way out of it now. I just had to act like I had nothing to hide, and hopefully, they would reach that conclusion as well. All I could do at this moment was wait.
I had just shoveled the final piece of the pasta dish I had made for lunch into my mouth when the AI piped up with the news I had been dreading.
“The agents from the government are approaching the house,” it announced. “They will arrive in ten minutes.”
“Alright,” I said as I took a deep breath to relax.
“Do not panic, Will,” Francine said.
“Look at that, you just magically got rid of all my anxiety,” I said sarcastically.
“I could instruct the nanobots--” it began.
“No, no,” I said quickly. “It’ll be more suspicious if I’m not nervous. I’ll just let them take the remains of the meteorite, refuse to answer their questions, and then shoo them off the property. Anything else will only drag this out even more.”
“And we would miss our flight to Las Vegas,” the AI added.
“Oh, jeez,” I muttered. “I hope they won’t be here that long. Okay, let’s do this.”
I heard the car and the trucks turn up the drive and then the crunch of their tires on the gravel. I’d just rinsed my plate and set it in the sink when I heard car doors slam and then footsteps trudging toward my front door. I took a sip of my water, listened to someone pound on the door, and set the glass carefully on the countertop before I grabbed my hat, as I had a feeling I might be outside for a while with them, and walked slowly to the front of the house.
Agents Miranda, Sweeney, and Adeogun stood outside my door in the same formation as they had the day before. For a moment, I felt a wave of deja vu wash over me as I looked at them. Sweeney still had his sunglasses on, while Adeogun and Miranda looked exactly the same as well. It was as though they were cartoon characters that never changed their appearances for the entire show.
Behind them, however, was the real dramatic flair that they had prepared for me. Instead of the two vehicles they had brought with them yesterday, there were four today, and a mix of soldiers and scientists started to pour out of them and into my driveway. Some of them held various pieces of equipment, while others held guns. It was an intimidating sight, but I had prepared myself for this, so I managed to keep my composure as I looked back at Agent Miranda.
“Here’s your warrant,” Agent Miranda said smugly as he handed me the official document with a smirk on his face.
“Good morning to you, too,” I quipped as I took the paper from him and scanned over it.
“Let me guess, they want to search your whole property?” the AI asked.
“Mmhmm,” I whispered before I looked back up at the agents. “Well, that was fast.”
“Like we said the last time we were here, the meteorite is of great interest to us,” Adeogun explained.
“And we didn’t want you tampering with it in case you destroyed anything important,” Tony Miranda sneered. “So we got it fast-tracked.”
“Lucky me,” I said.
“So, now that we can legally search the place, are you gonna be of some use, or should we just work around you?” Sweeney asked.
“I’ll show you the impact site,” I said. “Come with me.” I gestured at them to follow me around the house to the backyard, which I could access through the side gate, and the three men filed in behind me as I shoved my hat onto my head and led the way.
When I turned around as I opened the large side gate, I realized that some of the lackeys had crowded around the front of the house and had started to walk toward the front door.
“Search everything in that house,” Miranda said. “Don’t leave anything untouched.”
“Yes, sir,” one of the men said.
“Hey, you,” I called out to them. “You break it, you buy it.”
“Of course,” Miranda said conspiratorially as he pushed past me through the gate and into the backyard.
I showed them the way to the crash site, and we walked in awkward silence until we reached the beginning of the large groove the meteorite had left in the dirt. I could still see traces of my boot prints here and there, but it was my property after all, and it wasn’t like I’d come right out and said I hadn’t been back here since their last visit.
“Well, there it is,” I said and waved toward the small crater. “Have fun.”
Miranda scowled but turned his back on me, so I stepped back and turned my gaze toward the rest of Miranda’s crew. I could see the rest of the soldiers and scientists were spreading out across my property, and that included the barn and the backyard. I’d been right when I’d guessed that Miranda would search every square inch just to get his petty revenge, and I sighed as one man knocked over some old yard tools I’d inherited from the previous owner.
“Jeez,” Agent Sweeney said. “It’s no wonder your house shook if it did all of this damage.”
I looked back at the three agents just in time to see Agent Miranda kick something out of the way, and I realized that it was the fire extinguisher I had used to put the flames out that night.
“Have you been near the meteorite?” he asked with a sneer.
“I only came this far to put out the fires,” I said. “I never touched the meteorite. The whole area was still hot, and I just wanted to make sure that it didn’t start a wildfire. My new neighbors would’ve just loved that.”
“Right,” he replied, but he definitely wasn’t sure whether to believe me or not.
Miranda started to follow the groove, and I followed at the back of the parade. The meteorite finally came into view, and I could see that it was still split in two. The indentation where the orb had resided was still present, but I thought it didn’t look quite so smooth as it had before. In fact, it looked a lot like a geode, minus the pretty crystals.
I quickly glanced at each of the men so I could judge their reactions, and each of them had the same stunned look on their faces. Sweeney even took off his glasses to get a better look at the space rock, and I suddenly realized that his left eye was actually glass, and that he had a couple of scars underneath it. I wondered how it had happened, and what field he had worked in before that would have allowed him to sustain an injury like that.
“Oh, my Lord,” Adeogun said with a smile on his face, which pulled me out of my theories on Sweeney’s eye. “This is incredible. It’s nearly intact.”
Agent Miranda bent down to get a better look at one of the halves, while Sweeney and Adeogun crowded around the other half and gawked at it.
“Was it split in half like this when you found it?” Adeogun asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“You didn’t crack it open to see if there was anything valuable in it?” Miranda asked.
“Uhhh… No,” I laughed. “I didn’t think little green men would use a meteorite as a safety deposit box.”
“It definitely split after it came to a stop,” Sweeney said. “Otherwise, the two halves wouldn’t have moved in exactly the same direction and left a groove like that.”
“It’s impressive that it split exactly down the center,” Miranda observed as he walked all the way around the meteorite. “There must have already been a weakness in the middle of the rock for it to do that. It’s rather amazing the thing didn’t split apart as it came through the atmosphere, actually.”
“Maybe the fall… heated it enough to…” I said and then waved my hands in the air. I wasn’t supposed to know anything about this, and my obvious lack of knowledge seemed to please Miranda.
“Maybe,” Miranda replied with an almost gracious tone.
“There won’t be much scatter,” Sweeney concluded. “We should find most of the pieces near this spot.”
“So you’ll be leaving soon?” I asked.
“Well, we’ll need to be thorough,” Miranda said. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want us to have to return.”
“Definitely not,” I replied. “You guys didn’t even bring a bottle of wine or some beer. How rude.”
“This is truly a magnificent find,” Adeogun ignored my joke as he turned to me. “I know you don’t like us being here, but thank you for not disturbing the meteorite. We could learn so much from this.”
“I thought it best to leave it alone,” I replied, but for a brief moment, I wondered what would happen if I just came clean to them.
What if I just told them about the AI and what it had told me about the invading alien race that was heading for Earth? Would they believe me? Would they be able to tell that I was telling the truth and that I wasn’t some madman or some crazed conspiracy theorist? Or would they just laugh?
And even if they did believe me, what power did they have to help me, really? So many people would have to be convinced about the dire situation we faced, and I doubted that it would happen in time. Plus, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be ousted from any involvement, so I decided that it would be futile to tell them anything for the time being. Instead, I stayed quiet and let them poke and prod at the meteorite.
“Do you think it was extrasolar or from within our system?” Sweeney asked the other two agents.
“We won’t know that for a while,” Miranda replied. “We won’t even know if there are any useful materials in here for a while either. That’s up to the science guys to determine once we get it back to the lab.”
“They will be very disappointed,” the AI said. “The rock is almost entirely devoid of any precious metals or elements that they might deem to be valuable.”
A chuckle escaped me for a moment at the thought of Miranda’s look of frustration when he discovered that there was nothing expensive in the rock, but then Adeogun glanced over at me, so I quickly masked it with a cough and then gave him an innocent smile.
“The crane is on its way,” Sweeney said. “It’ll be able to lift this and get it into one of the trucks.”
“Good,” Agent Miranda said as he bent down again to look at the inside of each of the halves of the meteorite a bit better.
I felt my stomach tense up as he looked closer at the inside of the meteorite. Tony Miranda wasn’t a stupid man. He would surely notice the concave section of the rock where the AI had encased itself, and I was worried that he would notice the shape wasn’t quite natural.
“Stay relaxed, Will,” the AI said. “If he asks, you know nothing.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“This is strange,” Miranda said. “It almost looks like something was encased inside the rock.”
“Really?” Adeogun asked as he stepped closer to take a look for himself.
“Look at the sections here and here,” Tony said as he showed his two colleagues the indents on either side. “It is possible that the rock just formed with an air pocket inside it, but it’s just as likely that something was encased inside it.”
“But there’s nothing else here,” Sweeney said as he looked around at the ground. “If something was in there, then it would have fallen out here, right?”
They all looked around for a second, and then in unison, they slowly turned around to look at me with suspicious expressions on their faces.
“Don’t look at me,” I said. “I never even came this close to it.”
“Really?” Miranda asked as he walked over to me.
“Yeah, I already told you that,” I replied as I started to back away down the groove.
“So, even after we came here and told you that an actual meteorite landed in your backyard, you decided to just, what, leave it alone?” he asked. “You didn’t even get close enough to take a good look at it?”
“I didn’t know if it was dangerous or not,” I replied, and it was a reasonable explanation. “For all I know, this thing is radioactive or something.”
“But you came out here now,” he pointed out.
“Because you did,” I replied. “I figured you guys wouldn’t come out here if it wasn’t safe.”
“Bullshit,” he hissed. “This is probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to you.”
You can say that again, I thought to myself.
“And I meet a lot of normal people like you in my line of work,” he continued.
“Normal people?” I said.
“Normal, bored people who want to find some way to become something other than normal,” he said as he continued to advance toward me down the groove, followed by his two lackeys. “Everybody wants their fifteen minutes of fame.”
“Yes, I moved away to the middle of nowhere to become famous,” I replied sarcastically. “That makes sense.”
“An opportunity for attention presented itself to you,” Miranda said with a shrug as we arrived back out in the field. “Did you take that opportunity?”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked as I stopped moving.
“Was there something inside that meteorite?” he asked as his eyes bored into mine. “And did you take it?”
“No, and no,” I replied without breaking eye contact once. “I put the fires out, I had a quick look for anything else that might set off a fire, and then I left it alone. That’s it.”
“Are you sure you didn’t take whatever was in the meteorite?” he pressed.
“I didn’t take anything,” I said calmly. “I didn’t even take a piece of the rock for myself.”
“How noble,” he sneered. “But I don’t believe you.”
“Come on, Tony,” Adeogun said.
“Did you take something from that crash site?” Miranda asked. “This is the final time I’m gonna ask you.”
“I didn’t take anything,” I replied. “And from what I could see of where it landed, there was nothing there.”
“Okay,” he said in an icy voice. “But if we find that you’ve taken anything from the site, then you’re gonna be in a shitload of trouble.”
“I’m letting you search my place, aren’t I?” I replied. “Go look everywhere. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“We’ll see about that,” Miranda hissed, and then he turned on his heels and marched back across the field. He started to bark orders at the people who were searching the yard as he stomped through my grass, and more than one person had to dodge out of his way or be stomped as well.
I watched him as he arrived at the side gate, and then I felt my stomach drop when I saw ten men arrive holding state-of-the-art metal detectors in their hands as they made their way through the wide entrance. I knew that if they got close enough to the bunker that they would be able to detect that there was something there. How the hell was I going to stop them from looking in the woods?
“Shit,” I muttered to myself. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“You mean the men with metal detectors?” the AI replied. “Yes. This is not good.”
“Did you say something?” Agent Adeogun asked me as he came to stand beside me.
“Oh, I was just… talking to myself,” I replied. “I do that a lot, you know, living on my own.” I could hardly take my eyes off the men with metal detectors as they started to sweep the field systematically, and I could feel my stomach as it twisted itself into knots.
“I understand,” he said. “I do it, too.”
“I try not to do it when I have company, but I’m retired and all. Alone all the time.” I chuckled as I tried to get him on my side. “But it’s sort of become a habit.”
“Were you muttering about Miranda?” he whispered. “Because we’ve all been there, trust me. He’s not the easiest guy to work with.”
“I don’t envy you, honestly,” I said as I watched one of the men with metal detectors pull an old trowel out of the dirt.
“Listen, Mr. Ryder--” he began.
“Will, call me Will,” I said.
“Will,” he corrected himself. “If you did find something, you won’t be in trouble, I promise. If you tell me, it won’t get back to Miranda. I can cover for you. But if you did take something from the meteorite, I really need to know.”
I turned away from the guys with metal detectors for a moment and looked over at the tall black man. He was the nicest of the three and looked sincere, but I knew that most agents were trained to give that look when they wanted someone to spill the beans.
“I was telling the truth to Agent Miranda,” I said. “I didn’t find anything, I swear.”
“Will, one of them is getting closer,” the AI said.
I gave a frustrated snort and glanced toward the back treeline as casually as I could. If he noticed the trail and ventured into the trees, the detector would probably locate the hatch to the bunker.
“Are you sure?” Adeogun pressed with a voice as soft as a cloud. “Because you seem nervous.”
“Well, this is all a bit excessive, don’t you think?” I replied as I gestured at all of the people in my field, barn, and house. “You really brought everyone in, didn’t you?”
“It’s a big job,” he replied. “And we wanted to be out of your hair as quickly as possible, so we brought all the manpower we could get our hands on.”
“Right,” I said. “And all of these guns your ‘manpower’ are holding were necessary, too, right?”
I snorted again, shook my head, and then glanced toward the woods one more time. The guy with the metal detector had stepped into the trees, but I could still see him as he swept the device back and forth across the trail.
“Will?” Adeogun pressed.
“Will,” the AI said. “He’s close.”
“Will?” Adeogun said louder.
“What?” I said.
“Did you take anything?” he asked.
“No, for the final time,” I snapped.
“Fine,” Adeogun sighed. “So be it.” He gave me a pat on the shoulder, and then he and Sweeney backed off a short distance from me and started to talk amongst themselves.
“Assholes,” I muttered as I turned to look for the man in the woods.
But he was lost in the trees now, and the only way I knew his location was from the AI. The alien orb was definitely concerned, and I felt my own panic start to rise in response. My heart pounded against my ribs as though it was about to break out, my hands balled into fists, and my breathing turned more ragged.
He was going to find the bunker, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.