AMPED by Douglas E. Richards Read Free Book Online

backup for them to call in. And that if anything suspicious happens, don’t hesitate to use the satellites.”
    “I’ll tell them.”
    Jake nodded and turned to the small monitor. Rosenblatt had sobbed himself dry. His head was still down on the table and he was whimpering softly. “He’s shattered,” said Jake. “But I think he’s reached the point where he can make himself understood. I’d better go back in and get the information we need.”
    “What’s the plan once you do?”
    “He’s just an innocent pawn. Once we kill Miller and imprison Desh and the others in the core council, we just have to make sure none of the peripheral players have access to her treatment. She’s the only one capable of developing it from scratch. Once she’s dead the threat is over. We’ll hold him until we’ve taken her out, and then we can let him and the others go back to their lives. We can keep them under surveillance for a few years, just to be sure. . .”
    He stepped out of the minivan, but turned back to face John Kolke before he left. “I’d love to tell him the truth the moment he gives Kira Miller up. Tell him his little girl is fine. That it was all just a computer generated illusion.” He sighed. “But I can’t, of course. Not until we’re sure we’ve got Miller. Just in case we still need leverage on him.” A pained look crossed his face.
    “Keep in mind how many lives you’re about to save,” said Kolke once again. “The country needs you.”
    “Yeah,” said Jake in disgust. “I’m a fucking hero.”
    He moved away from the minivan as its door slid quietly shut behind him. When he reached the steel shed, he took a deep breath, gathered himself, put a stern expression on his face, and opened the door.
    Where are you, Kira Miller?
    He was just seconds away from—finally—finding out.

     

4

     

    Dr. Anton van Hutten, full professor in Stanford’s department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics, stepped lightly onto the steep escalator, moving to one side of the grooved silver steps to let those in more of a hurry rush down unobstructed. He had a broad cherubic face, thinning hair that was turning white, and black-framed Harry Potter glasses that contrasted with his hair and light complexion. Several men and one woman formed a rough semicircle fifteen feet from the bottom, each holding up a sign with a name on it. He walked over to one of them, a man wearing tan slacks and an Oxford knit shirt who had an air of self-assurance and competence.
    “Dr. van Hutten?” asked the man as he approached, lowering the sign on which van Hutten’s name was written.
    The professor nodded.
    “Welcome to Denver. Did you check a bag?”
    Van Hutten shook his head. “I’ve only brought myself, I’m afraid.”
    The driver nodded and motioned for him to follow. Van Hutten knew they were proceeding to the vehicle that would transport him to the somewhat mysterious Center for Research Excellence , abbreviated CREX, a think tank nearby.
    Van Hutten had received a call two weeks earlier from a woman who introduced herself as Devon—no last name given. She was affiliated with CREX, a think tank near Denver, she explained, and wanted to sign him up as a consultant. Was he available for a full day in two weeks time?
    He wasn’t sure, he had told her. He had several important meetings in the morning and early afternoon on the day she had suggested.
      But Devon had assured him they’d be happy to host him from five in the afternoon until nine at night. While normally they would ask him to fly commercial, in this case they would schedule a chartered flight so he could return home that night. And when she described the pay—one thousand dollars an hour—van Hutten quickly decided that her proposal would work just fine.
    One thousand dollars an hour .
    And if he would spend the late afternoon and evening at their facility, they would guarantee a minimum of ten thousand dollars .
    A limo would pick him up