“We’ve made contact with the mother, through an intermediary. She’s on her way here now,” Christine said from the command center at Mountain Home.

Sahar nodded on the screen from Fairchild Air Force Base, outside Spokane, Washington. Once more, Christine caught the flash of evasion.

But you knew that already.

“I’ll do the initial meeting with her. You can feed me questions if something comes up you want her to elaborate on, but otherwise just listen in. When you finish the Epsilon team interviews, you can do the follow up.”

Sahar dipped her head but made no reply. Christine continued.

“I’m not convinced the Air Force intelligence local sources are providing a complete picture of the militia problems. We should keep looking for any possible connections between that mess and our situation. The timing is just too perfect. The tribal militias mobilization put the Idaho National Guard on alert. Given the increasing probability of escalation, we don’t want to inadvertently destabilize things.”

Sahar frowned. “You think there’s a connection between the local political unrest and the missile breach?”

“You saw the report from the cyber team about the imaging satellites? Someone directed those Blackjack assets to an area near you, outside Couer d’Alene, and it wasn’t authorized users. They are making progress running that to ground, but it can’t be just a coincidence. Have the locals developed cyber capabilities we’re not aware of?”

Sahar pinched her lip, deep in thought. “Why here? Why now? That’s what you are thinking? Maybe the missiles weren’t the point?”

“Stay on it. I’ll see you back here later.” Christine signed off and contacted the Air Force duty officer about the ETA of the air car carrying Michelle Shank.

***

Michelle watched the mountainous terrain rolling beneath them as the air car streaked south toward Mountain Home AFB. Mei sat across from her prepping for the meeting with background.

“The woman we are meeting with is one of the ones focused on the yunk. Her name is Christine Bilyk.” The name was vaguely familiar to Michelle, something in the news perhaps. During their life on the run, keeping up with events and people in the outside world took a back seat to dealing with the immediate threats to her family and well-being. “They will be very interested in what is going on with the yunk. I’ve been instructed to give them nothing. No mention of Adam, no mention of our concerns about his ganglion, especially no mention of what I told you about the efforts dealing with the fragmentation.”

Michelle arched an eyebrow. “Show no signs of weakness?”

“I don’t know. That’s the only thing in recent communications that is clear. When I mesh, I’m being held out, at a distance. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

“Do you think this is part of the Adam problem?”

Mei shrugged. “It must be. Whatever he is doing, it’s affecting the yunk in a way that seems to be worsening. Something is going on. Sort of like the few times I tried to mesh with Adam’s ganglion. Communicating with Serena, and Adam through Serena, it felt mostly one way, like there was no blending. But I expected that given how they broke away. Now, with the yunk, I’m told things, but I can’t sense the rest of the mind. Before, I could probe, ask questions, listen to other conversations or trains of thought, you know, kind of eavesdrop. But lately, it’s less…interactive.  Almost like just a speaker, making announcements. It’s weird. Not as bad as being completely shut out like with Adam, but starting to feel more like that.”

“That is strange. I’ve never experienced that. But I haven’t meshed in quite a while, and could never do it as well as you and Bina. In fact, now that you mention it, my last interaction, while I was away just before all this happened, I didn’t mesh at all. It was just a conversation, with a young man.” Michelle looked out the window at the sprawl of Boise passing beneath them. “What do you think the government people want? Did you guys contact them?”

 “Not exactly. I was just told to get you down there as soon as possible, that they can help with Bina. That much is clear, that the yunk still considers her the highest priority.”

“Can we trust this Bilyk lady?”

“Not sure. This is my first time dealing directly with her. She has a known reputation of hostility toward us, and a history of violence in past assignments. Some of the other Voices collaborate more with different agencies and researchers. The military especially. The ongoing relationship between the grendels and the military is because of us. The grendels trust us, feel like they owe us for breaking them out of the lab and helping them hide and settle in the mountains.  We also supply them with additional stealth technology to hide even better than they already can, given their abilities. They also love the tech they use to teach their little ones.”

Michelle remembered her first introduction to the genetically engineered super soldiers at the lab. She’d been held in a room with Xerxes, the leader at the time, then witnessed the carnage of their rebellion and escape, the hallways strewn with dead bodies, grendels mixed with humans. Later she heard and saw images of the areas outside, much worse. Some of the grendels were quite small, others terrifying warriors, like Xerxes. She had no idea back then just how far it all went, and how she and Adam were being drawn into a web of relationships and intrigue that changed their lives forever. Did Christine Bilyk have connections back to that awful day?

Michelle looked up at Mei. “And Bina? How can they help?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out. And one more thing: I’m a family friend, no more. Bina and I are friends. You came to me thinking she ran away to see me. Nothing to do with the yunk.”

The aircar began a precipitous corkscrew descent down to a sprawling military base, huge runways stretching off into the distance. Michelle swallowed back nausea.

Once on the ground they were met by an armed escort, loaded into a vehicle and transported to an office building away from the airfield. They were processed through an extensive security checkpoint.

“No devices inside. You can leave your personal effects here,” the enlisted man instructed. Michelle glanced down at her purse, suddenly remembering the pistol.

“Yes, of course.” She wrapped the strap tightly around the purse and placed it in the locker the young man directed her to.

Inside the building, they were met by a young Captain who led them to a conference room. Shortly after, an older woman in professional civilian attire entered the room. Her honey brown hair was pulled back in a severe bun, she wore no make up, high cheek bones and full lips, cold blue eyes that studied Michelle as closely as Michelle assessed her.

Michelle immediately perceived this woman also possessed some of the gifts of intuition, the instantaneous, unconscious perception of another’s personality, characteristics, behaviors, and emotional state. Even more startling, she could see the woman reach the same assessment of her, her own process as visible to Michelle as Michelle’s was to her. The sensation was like looking into a mirror reflecting a mirror, creating the infinite hallway. It brought another wave of vertigo, and in instant Michelle shut it down, setting her face into a mask of indifference and the other woman attempted to do the same. Michelle could sense Mei’s concern about what was transpiring.

“Hello, Ms. Shank. I’m Deputy National Security Advisor Christine Bilyk. I work for the President on the National Security Council. I think you know why we’re here.”

“Actually, I don’t. I’m hoping you can answer some questions for me.” Michelle countered with just the right tinge of aggression to cover her struggle to maintain the flat, bland affect. She saw Christine’s eyes flick to Mei. Michelle continued. “This is a friend of my daughter’s, Mei Chung. She’s helping me look for her.”

Mei tried to maintain a similar bland neutrality, but her youth and inexperience betrayed her underlying unease, especially under the other woman’s withering visual assessment. Michelle saw Christine abandon the pretense of concealing herself and immediately read Christine’s assessment that Mei was hiding something, along with a peek at the underlying hostility driving her inquiry. 

“We are aware from the Entity that your daughter is missing. We may be able to assist with that. But we also need your help.”

“My only concern is my daughter’s safety and whereabouts. I’m not sure I want to get involved in whatever it is you do.”

“Your special relationship with the Entity is well known, Ms. Shank. Though we have other channels, we aren’t getting what we need. You can help.”

“With what? I don’t have regular contact, haven’t for many years. As I’m sure you are aware, there are people who want us all dead.”

Christine’s expression softened briefly. “I’m aware of what you’ve endured. I wish people weren’t so cruel and stupid. Once we find your daughter, we can provide a safe life for your family.”

“I appreciate your offer, but I still don’t understand what my daughter has to do with your problem, whatever it is.”

“We have a national security issue. We are working with the Entity to resolve it. It has asked for our assistance locating your daughter.” Christine paused at the flash of surprise on Michelle’s face, then continued. “Tell me about the circumstances of her disappearance.”

Michelle glanced briefly at Mei for some sign of confirmation that the Entity wanted these people involved, then immediately regretted her indiscretion. “I…was away. At some point, she detected someone watching her. She didn’t tell me, but I have to believe that was the initiating factor. The fact she concealed it from me indicates she went willingly. My primary assessment is that she was not abducted, but rather ran away.”

“Why would she run away?”

Michelle paused. “It’s…complicated. We fought, about…things.  Staying safe. Why we were hiding. Our future. She struggled to understand some aspects of our situation.” Mei reached over and grasped her hand and gave it a simple squeeze, no effort to finger talk, just the gentle pressure of comfort.

“What else?”

“She mentioned a dog. She loves animals, was excited to have met the dog. It was the piece she couldn’t conceal, and she knew it. Upon reflection, it’s how she hid the rest from me. She knew I knew about her love for animals, knew she would struggle to conceal it, so she used it to deflect and distract me. It worked.” Michelle nodded to herself, seeing clearly now how Bina successfully handled the interrogation and deceived her.

“Tell me about the animals,” Christine asked. Michelle caught the intensity of her interest in the topic.

“Just the usual childhood infatuations, phases obsessing about one or another creature as she learned about them.”

“Any pets?”

“Yes. A cat, named Caramel. She and Adam both loved that cat to death. In fact, they…” Michelle’s voice caught. She fumbled to figure out how to change the subject. Christine pounced.

“Your brother Adam? The one who is a part of the Entity? What was their relationship? He lived with you?”

“He did. He hasn’t lived with us in several years.”

“Why, what happened?”

Michelle flushed with anger. “Crazy people killed my husband, Bina’s father, well, stepfather. They tried to kill us. Chased us from our home. Tried to kill us again, killed Bina’s cat. We split up, for safety, went into hiding. That’s what Bina and I fought about, being apart from our family.”

“I’m sorry, I…”

“What does any of that have to do with her being missing now? What does that have to do with your national security?” Michelle said, voice rising. “How does that help me find my daughter, right now?!?”

Christine took a deep breath and leaned back, hands open and in front of her, almost in supplication. The dissonance of the conflicting physical signals had the intended effect on Michelle, checking her anger.

“I will not let anything happen to your family, Ms. Shank. I don’t know what you think you know about me, but my primary concern is the safety of this country. I intend no harm to you, your family, or the Entity. But I have to get to the bottom of what’s going on. If your daughter’s disappearance has anything to do with this, the sooner I know, the sooner we can get her back safely.”

Michelle gathered herself. It had felt good to vent some of her anger and fear on someone, but she regretted losing control in front of Bilyk, especially if she could help find Bina.

“I don’t know why she ran away or where. She loves her uncle and talked a lot about reuniting with him. But I still don’t see what connection it might have with your issue, whatever it is. What information do you have?”

Christine hesitated. “We don’t know anything for sure. Our information from the Entity seems to indicate some level of turmoil but we don’t know what or why. There is other unusual activity that may be connected. My job for the last decade has been attempting to understand the Entity and protecting the country’s interests with anything to do with it. I suspect our national security problem is somehow connected to the Entity. I need to know why.”

Michelle saw and heard the woman’s doubt, opening a window deeper into her thinking. She seized the intiative. “Why do you hate them?”

Christine frowned. “I…don’t hate them. Respect, yes. Fear even. Anything that has that much power and is opaque, can’t be controlled, is something to watch very closely.”

Michelle sensed that she and Bilyk shared similar conflicts about Homo iunctus, but the other woman’s had a more lethal edge. She resisted the urge to glance at Mei to see how she was taking this.

“I can appreciate that. But we’re talking about my family,” Michelle said more gently.

“That’s why you may be the key. I suspect your brother has some role in this. Have you spoken to him recently?”

“No,” Michelle lied effortlessly and effectively. She kept Bilyk’s attention focused on her, worried that the conversation about family would betray Mei’s familial connections to the collective.

“Do you know where he is?”

“Perhaps. Why?”

“We’d like to interview him, if possible.”

“You’d need me to do that. He has limited verbal abilities, but I can…we have a way to communicate.”

The other woman narrowed her eyes, which Michelle read as her awareness of the various way members of the Entity interacted. Careful.

“That would be very helpful. As soon as possible.”

“We’ll start working on it.”

“Do you need any assistance from us? I noticed you have a very advanced air car at your disposal.”

That caught Michelle off guard and Christine immediately picked it up. Mei stepped forward.

“That is my family’s car.” Michelle immediately saw Christine assessed the statement correctly as a lie. Michelle stood up to signal they were finished.

“That’s convenient,” Christine replied. “We still need to figure out how we can speak with your brother. You’ll bring him in, or take one of our team to meet him?”

“We’ll try to figure out how we can arrange that meeting. We’ve got to get going. We’ll be in touch.” Michelle was now at the door, hand on the knob. Mei stood next to her.

“Yes, please. As soon as possible. Let us know how we can assist in any way. I’ll connect you with some other members of our team.”

***

As soon as they left, Christine contacted Sahar.

“Did you get all that?”

“Yes.”

“They’re clearly hiding something. What’s your read?”

“I agree. She will be a better connection with the Entity, both because of her history, and because of their interest in the daughter. She may have leverage.”

Yes, but what else? You’re still holding something back, Christine thought.

“Track them. We’ve got to run this down. Any progress from Cybercommand since we last spoke?”

“They are almost finished their audits. They’re still saying it was not a system breach, that all the commands in and out of the silos were generated properly. They do see some similarities with the imaging satellite intrusions. You are right, they are likely connected. They are reconfiguring the sentinel AIs and are making good progress with their own emulations of the intrusion. It’s looking like a symbiotic hack using a trophic facilitation strategy. They’re optimistic that will give them solid leads. I also have a few more details about the HiMEC contact up north. Interestingly, it was with a priest. I made a few initial inquiries, but so far, the Church isn’t cooperating very much. The HiMEC members of the Epsilon team here are in the dark about why one of their people would do that. Want me to track the priest down and talk to him? It seems relevant, and it’s not too far from here.”

“No, stick with the analysis, but set it up and I’ll handle it. Flex however needed. Have Matt fly out to Mountain Home and put him on coordination with their command. We’re starting to get stretched. He’s got a good team set up at the Pentagon and we can use the extra hands.”

“Will do.”

***

Mei and Michelle settled into the air car and it lifted off. Mei worked the control interface.

“We can’t go directly to Adam. They’ll be tracking us. We’ll head back to Couer d’Alene and ditch this, then I’ll set up a rendezvous.” She looked at Michelle. “How do you think that went?”

Michelle shook her head. “She’s an impressive woman and she saw right through us. She knows we weren’t being honest, and even more interesting, she could see I was reading her, but she didn’t seem to care.”

“What do you think of her?”

“I can see why you said what you did. She is definitely capable of violence. But in a weird way, I agree with her, and I think she was telling the truth about her feelings about the yunk. It’s more fear than hate.”

“Fear of what?”

“I don’t know. The future? Loss of control? Uncertainty? I think she has some of the same concerns I do. I think she would understand my unease about Bina’s future.”

Mei nodded, then turned back to the control screen. “I’ll get Adam to meet us again, but someplace else. Maybe we’ll have more luck this time. Oddly, the yunk agrees with her that he’s somehow in the middle of this.” Michelle laid back in the chair and closed her eyes. Mei began messaging.

She is a frightening woman.

She’s not all bad.

I won’t be far from you.

Can we meet?

You know that’s a bad idea, especially now.

She suspects.

I know, but I think I can convince her when it’s time.

I love your confidence.

I love you.

I know.