Imagine (Fuzed Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  Jessica handed him his phone with the security camera display.

  He gave her back her phone, pointing out the remote control app. Overlaid on the video, was a simple throttle bar. As she held the phone, Josh reached over and gently nudged the throttle bar on the screen. They heard the jetpack’s turbine whine increase.

  Simultaneously, they said, “Sweet!”

  She added, “Gotta have one of these.”

  He winked at her. “I need a distraction.”

  “I don’t know how to fly a jetpack!”

  “Neither did I.” He looked at her sideways. “You’re not telling me you’ve never played a video game?”

  She laughed.

  “To control it, just tilt your phone in the direction you want it to go.” He smiled. “In this case, the scarier you fly it, the better. Give me a minute to get outside, and then launch it. Try to fly it away from the front of the house if you can. As soon as they’re distracted, I’ll crash through the gate.”

  “I can do that,” she gave him a half-smile, “but I doubt a Chery QQ can crash through anything.”

  He nodded. “Where’s it parked?”

  She pointed down a hall and said, “Just outside under the carport. Good luck.”

  Jessica’s mother came up to him and grabbed his hand with both of hers. In English, she said with intensity, “China not trying to destroy West. We must stop this.”

  “Yes, we must.” He felt a small sting where she was holding his hand and said, “Ouch.”

  She let go. Quickly putting one of her hands into her pocket, she pushed him toward the hall with the other.

  He went down the hall, opened the door carefully and slipped outside to the carport. It was dark, but it was easy to identify the jellybean with wheels. Crouching low, he approached the Chery QQ from the passenger side, opened the door and slid in. He closed the door and contorted himself over the shifter and into the driver’s seat of the tiny car. Keeping his head low, he looked at the security camera display on his phone. He made sure the headlights were off, put the key in the ignition and waited.

  Almost immediately, he heard the jetpack’s engine wind up. Muffled crashing sounds with breaking glass, came from the house, but after a couple seconds, he heard the loud turbine noise rising above him.

  Masked by the jetpack, he started the engine and watched the security camera display on his phone. The doors on both Audis opened and two men got out of each. They were staring up into the air. With guns in hand, they moved toward the receding jetpack. He put the little car into gear and drove down the driveway, happy to see the electric gate opening.

  Hearing the car leave the carport, Jessica killed the jetpack’s engine. It crashed on top of a parked car on the far side of the street, erupting into a huge fireball as the fuel tank ruptured.

  Her mother, with wide eyes, put her hand over her mouth and said, “That was our neighbor, Mr. Wong’s, new Jaguar.”

  With a devilish smile, Jessica said, “Oops.” She quickly deleted the RC app from her phone, then walked over and reached into her mother’s pocket. She pulled out a small vial with a tiny needle. Holding it up, she asked, “Did you inject him with something?”

  “No, of course not.”

  She just looked at her mother.

  Dr. Li shook her head. “I didn’t inject anything. I just ... took a small sample.”

  “A tissue sample?” She frowned. “Why? Because of a text from a seven-year-old?”

  “Jessica, he learned to speak Chinese on the way to China.” She looked at her meaningfully. “Josh Fuze is not what he seems.”

  32

  DEFCON

  Josh saw a small fireball erupt a 100 meters to his right. Jessica couldn’t have provided a better distraction. He hit the end of the driveway and turned away from the MSS agents, accelerating ... sort of. In the rearview mirror, he saw one of the agents running back to his car. Game on. Time to test his new offensive driving skills. With the adrenaline pumping, he floored the accelerator. Not much happened. He dropped it down a gear. The Chery accelerated leisurely. He shook his head and said, “Jetpack, totally James Bond. Chery QQ, not so much.”

  He had a small head start, but the Audis would catch him quickly if he didn’t lose them ASAP. Waiting until the road turned enough so he was out of their line of sight, he whipped the car down a side road. Whipped turned out to be an exaggeration. The little car plowed through the turn, barely making the corner. He dodged around a few more turns until he was sure they’d lost him. He kept going until he was out of the high-end neighborhood. Looking around, he smiled. What the little car gave up in power, it made up for in anonymity. Out here, it was as common as a cockroach.

  He kept driving until he found what he was looking for — a large, mostly full, parking lot. There were dozens of Chery QQs. He quickly slipped his jellybean into an open space and turned it off. Reclining the seat back so he wasn’t visible, he texted Tim. “Got out, but they’re looking for me. Believe Jessica’s telling truth, but not sure about parents. Where do we meet?”

  He got a quick response. “We’re radioactive. Embassy won’t touch us. U.S. at DEFCON 2.”

  Josh texted back. “Why?”

  “Will explain later. Where are you?”

  “Hiding in a parking lot in Jessica’s rental Chery QQ.”

  Tim texted back, “Send your coordinates.”

  About a minute after he sent them, he got back, “You’re not far from a restaurant/market area. Should be plenty of people there to blend in with.”

  “How am I going to blend in?”

  “You’ll blend in better than us.”

  “Which way?”

  “Due south of your position six blocks. Headed there now. Be there in about 30 minutes.”

  Josh was going to stay with the car until it was closer to pick-up time, but when he peeked over the steering wheel, he saw a conventional police car a few blocks away. It was slowly cruising down the street, obviously looking for something.

  Time to go. He opened the door, slipped out and quietly closed it. Running in a low crouch, he stayed between the parked cars until he was behind a small van. He waited until the van blocked the police car’s line of sight and then ran across the street. After two blocks, he slowed to a walk.

  There weren’t many people out this time of night, but as he went south, things picked up. He tried to match his pace and gait to those around him. He didn’t have to worry too much about blending in, since few people made eye contact. He reached the central market. Knowing he was early, and not wanting to stay on the street, he went into a small establishment and ordered tea. He texted his location to Tim.

  With 20 minutes to wait for them, he had a little time to think. His prescient interlude created some questions that nagged at him. Jessica was right; there was a piece missing, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  His thoughts finally turned to his poor Jen. It was clear she had no parents or family and was probably neglected. He imagined a future where he and Elizabeth could adopt her. However, it might be best if they could save Western Civilization first.

  He texted, “Jen, you there?”

  “Hi, Josh. Do you like Dr. Jessica Lee?”

  “Uh, yes, Jen. Why do you ask?”

  “I like her too. She’s smart and she likes me.”

  Surprised, Josh asked, “Likes you? Do you talk to her?”

  “All the time. Do you think she wants to have kids some day?”

  He felt bad for her and her desperate desire for parents, but he was concerned that she’d been talking with Jessica. Before he could ask, she said, “I had fun playing ball today.”

  He said softly to himself, “Finally, something normal kids do.” He texted, “That’s great. Did you play ball at school?”

  “No. They don’t let me go to school. I have too much work to do.”

  Josh shook his head. Someone was stealing this little girl’s childhood. He was frustrated with his inability to help her. If
they survived, he would rescue her. “What kind of ball did you play?”

  “It’s a digital, three-dimensional ball of the earth. I’m trying to guess where earthquakes will happen.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “Kind of geophysics ball, huh?”

  “Yes. There are networks I can look at online to see where earthquake epicenters are. I’m trying to predict where the next earthquake will happen. I haven’t won yet.”

  Josh said, “It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.”

  Jen said, “What does that mean?”

  He realized he had no idea. He suspected whoever said it probably lost a lot, or was misquoted. “Sorry, Jen. That’s an idiom or saying and ... probably not that appropriate.”

  “I have trouble understanding those.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He shook his head. “Thank you for giving me the address to Musk’s apartment. That was very helpful.” He finally realized one of the things that had been nagging at him. “Jen, how did you know about my streamlined genetics? Did the voice tell you?”

  “No. It was in your records.”

  “What records?”

  “Your CIA records.”

  Under his breath, he said, “Uh oh.” Then texted, “How did you get them?”

  “It was very hard. I had to reprogram someone’s cell phone and get through a lot of encryption.”

  Josh’s eyes got big. “Jen, did someone tell you to do that?”

  “The voice told me about you, but I had to find your files myself.”

  He shook his head. “Jesse.” He wondered if this was Jesse’s way to insert his two genetically enhanced players into the game. It fit Jesse’s pattern. He never volunteered information. Instead, he helped Josh figure things out for himself. He must have done the same with Jen. She didn’t understand breaking into the CIA was illegal. To her it was no different than playing geophysics ball. He’d have to talk to her about that, but now was not the time.

  Just then, a text came in from Tim. “Had to borrow a vehicle. Not as fast as your jetpack. Almost there.”

  Josh texted Jen, “Gotta go, but let’s talk more about this when we can, OK?”

  “OK, Josh.”

  He saw a sedan pull up outside and could clearly see Greg’s head in the backseat. Josh went out and jumped into the passenger seat.

  As Tim pulled out, Josh said, “What happened? Why DEFCON 2?”

  Greg said, “The hackers just made a bunch of private texts public.”

  Josh shook his head. “So?”

  Tim added, “It was the text of practically every Western government official, president, prime minister, senator, congressman, agency director, etc.”

  “But DEFCON 2?”

  Tim shook his head, “What’s more dangerous than embarrassed politicians? But the final straw was when the hackers took control of Google. Anyone can use it to search for almost any classified document in the West. The FBI had to shut all the Internet search engines down.”

  Greg asked Tim, “What does DEFCON 2 really mean?”

  Tim nodded to Josh, “Our Commander can probably better answer that.”

  Josh said, “Since the system was created in the late 1950s, the only time the U.S. has been at DEFCON 2 was during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the beginning of the Gulf War.”

  “Tim said they’re considering going to DEFCON 1.”

  Josh shook his head. “That’s never happened. It would mean all our land- and sea-based ICBMs are targeted and ready to launch within seconds, and our nuclear bombers are inbound.”

  Tim added, “And, of course, the Chinese will match us. It means World War III.”

  Greg nodded solemnly. “So, how do we stop this?”

  Josh said, “We need to talk to Jessica’s father. He has to be in a position to know what’s going on.”

  Tim frowned, “He probably does, but why would he want to talk to us except to turn us over to the MSS?”

  Josh said, “It’s our best and probably only chance of finding out what’s happening. If Jessica can set up a meeting with me, you two can monitor it by phone from a safe distance. If it goes bad, you can still get the word out.”

  Greg shook his head. “Jessica and her dad don’t get along.”

  “I gathered that, but I’m sure she can arrange it through her mother.”

  Tim asked, “How do we contact Jessica without the Chinese government knowing?”

  “Jen has apparently latched on to Jessica ... fellow geniuses and all. I think we can use her as our go between. Jen was able to load your encryption app onto Elizabeth’s phone remotely, so she should be able to put it on Jessica’s.”

  Greg looked surprised. “Jen loaded an encryption app with a key onto a phone remotely?” Scratching his head, he added, “I didn’t know that was possible. Gotta meet this little girl.”

  Josh voice-texted, “Jen, I’m here with Tim Smith and Greg Langlois. Honey, we need your help to reach Jessica.”

  On speakerphone they heard her reply, “Hi, Tim. Hi, Greg. I loaded the encryption app on her phone.”

  “Thanks so much, Jen. If you can patch me through that would be great.”

  “OK.” There was a slight pause. “You can reach her now.”

  “Jessica, it’s Josh, can you talk?”

  After about 30 seconds, the reply came back. “Hope the jetpack was insured.”

  Josh smiled. “Me too. This is an encryption app Jen loaded. Should allow us to text without being detected.”

  She replied, “Jen told me. She’s a sharp kid.”

  “Jessica, I have Greg and Tim here with me. Your dad isn’t just a general; he’s a member of the Central Military Committee. That’s kind of like being one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

  Jessica said, “I didn’t know that until today. We don’t talk much.”

  “Have you found out anything else about who might be behind the hacking?”

  “No. His response when I challenged him was that it was absurd.”

  “Jessica, things are rapidly getting out of hand. The U.S. is on its way to DEFCON 1, which means global nuclear war, and we’re fugitives. I need to meet with your dad face-to-face. Can you arrange it?”

  “Give me a few minutes. Is Greg OK?”

  “He’s right here.” Josh handed the phone to him.

  Greg voice-texted, “Hi, Jessica. It’s Greg.” He stopped, clearly trying to think of something intelligent to say. “Uh, love to meet your parents ... but maybe not the best time ... right now.”

  All they got back was, “OMG ROFL.”

  33

  CHECKMATE

  Setting her phone aside, Jessica gave her statement to the lead MSS agent. He told her and her mother that they would stay until her father arrived. While they were waiting, Jessica quietly asked her mother, “What is Dad’s problem? Why does he hate me?”

  “He doesn’t hate you. He loves you.”

  She shook her head violently. “That’s not true. He never talked to me, only at me. He’s thoughtless, brutally direct and believes he’s always right.”

  Her mother smiled. “I’m sorry, dear, but have you looked in a mirror recently?”

  “I’m nothing like him!”

  Her mother gently took her daughter’s hands in hers. “Don’t you understand, Jessica? You two have the same personality. You’re both natural leaders and extremely competitive.” She smiled. “That’s why you’ve both risen to the top of your fields, but it’s also a recipe for conflict.” She paused. “Jessica, you hurt him when you decided to become an American citizen.”

  “I became an American because—”

  “Because bad attention is better than no attention?” her mother finished.

  She shook her head. “No!” Then after a long sigh, said softly, “I don’t know ... maybe. I just wanted him to ... to be proud of me. But he dumped me. He threw me away!”

  Her mother shook her head. “He sent you to America because he believed that would give you
the best education and opportunity in the world. Better than we had.” She paused. “And it did.”

  Jessica narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Mother, I don’t believe that.”

  Her mother looked her in the eye. “Did you see his reaction when you said that he dumped you?”

  Jessica nodded, frowning.

  Her mother got up and pulled a large scrapbook out of a bookshelf. She opened it and put it in Jessica’s lap. In it were newspaper and magazine articles about Dr. Jessica Lee. Many had hand written Chinese translations on the side.

  Jessica flipped through them and saw every article ever written about her or her achievements, some she’d never seen. She was impressed, not only that her mother had collected them, but that she could. Access to international magazines was still limited in China. Looking up at her mother, questioningly, she said, “Thank you for collecting these, but I don’t understand what this has to do with my father.”

  Her mother shook her head gently. “Jessica, I didn’t collect these ... your father did.”

  Jessica just stared at her mother.

  “He painstakingly found every article about you and translated them into Chinese. He was — and is — very proud of you.”

  As if on cue, General Li rushed into the room out of breath. “I saw the burning car next door. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

  Jessica’s mother said, “We’re perfectly fine. No, he didn’t hurt us at all.”

  Angrily, he said, “The MSS should never have let them get away in the city. They’ve disgraced themselves and will be punished.” He shook his head. “But we’ll have them in custody soon. They can’t hide.”

  Jessica was about to tell him he was totally missing the point when her mother gently squeezed her hand. Instead, she said, “Thank you, Father. We really are OK.”

  He noticed the scrapbook in her lap and frowned.

  Jessica looked at her mother, and then at him, finally saying, “Father, we need to talk, but first, we need to discuss Josh and all that’s happened.” She glanced at one of the MSS agents standing in the background, and added, “Privately.”