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The AI Experiment Chapters 21-25
Chapter 21
Around the time Frank was disembarking from the plane, it being the end of his shift, Carl and Jake’s interrogation was over. They had convinced the questioner of the rather innocent nature of their camp visit, but, even so, they were in big trouble, and by association, so was Hilda. How could the authorities allow these two men to be set free with all they had experienced, and especially with the computer-related skill sets of both? By this time, Carl had been forthcoming about his lifestyle and occupation, figuring they would find out eventually.
It seemed unlikely this pair of amateur investigators would be fobbed off with a lame excuse, but what if they could see the object of their pursuit, Felicity, was just fine? Would that satisfy their curiosity?
Incredibly, after a long night, an apology was felt to be in order. The apology attempted to allay their fears. It was better for all concerned it was accepted, and in its impactful words, could be discerned a veiled threat, which wasn’t missed by the interrogees.
By this time, both Carl and Jake were only too willing to play along, to appease their jailers, anything to get out of the situation they found themselves in, but they both knew, established by knowing eye contact, that nothing would stop them from digging deeper once out of their present incarceration.
Amazingly, they were to undergo a tour of the place, to culminate in a meeting with Felicity herself. But first they were escorted into their very own apartment, of the exact same construction and furnished in the same way as all the rest of the domiciles on the block, to see for themselves how comfortable they were, being obliged to sleep for a few hours before the meeting, and sleep they did.
Four hours later they were awakened and escorted to the very building where Felicity sat with Martin, a subdued and perfectly happy Felicity. Carl was relieved. At least the object of their visit was in fine fettle, but for how long? It was time to drive home. There was too much to digest right there and then.
Chapter 22
All Jake's equipment was returned to him, still intact and was carefully stacked on the back of the truck.
Withholding the gear would in no way have stopped Jake from hacking. What he knew, held in his head, was all the fuel he needed to ignite a hacking storm should he care to, and any old laptop or computer was good enough for that. Making a show of holding his right finger to his mouth at first, Jake then waved his hand around, signifying to Carl there was the possibility the cab was bugged. On doing so, he turned the radio on with the volume up uncomfortably loud. It was the least he could do in the circumstances. He didn’t have to be so melodramatic, though, as Carl was already thinking the same. They drove back with hardly a word said between them, but their minds were racing. Both were aggrieved at their treatment, leaving them with scores to settle; and then there was Felicity herself, her apparent unresponsive manner, her lack of concern for the obvious predicament she was in. There were lots to talk about.
On the way back to Carl’s home, Jake made a detour intending to shop at an electronics store. Prior to this, he wrote down his intentions on a piece of paper. They were now parked some way from the recommended store and making their way there on foot, hoping their own clothes were not bugged in some way. It was unlikely as they never took them off, had been frisked or manhandled in any way. Once inside the store, an electronic bug detector was purchased using cash from a cash dispenser. Jake was taking no chances. The scanner remained dormant when scanning their own bodies, leaving them both relieved and free to talk. They had a lot to discuss, which they did over a cup of coffee and some breakfast, scrambled eggs on toast. Both were ravenous, having declined all that was offered during the last 24 hours. The only sustenance they had taken onboard was coffee and some snacks from some vending machines, not trusting any of the rest.
“So, what did you make of all of that? Not that I need to ask, really. It stank to high heaven, right. What the hell is going on?”, enquired an edgy Jake.
“Why did Hilda have to involve me in this crap?”, replied Carl, still thinking of himself first, as was his usual habit. The camp episode had deflated Carl’s energy a little, but it was to be short-lived. All that was occurring was an adjustment where long-standing priorities were being forced to vacate their exalted positions, whereby others were moving in to take their place, such as the welfare of Felicity for one.
“It wasn’t my imagination, was it, but didn’t Felicity seem a bit off to you? The place was creepy, more like an experimental facility than anything, yet she was perfectly at ease there, and so were the others, come to that. What was that about?”
“Well, it is no good jumping to conclusions. What we need is hard evidence that something is going on there. I can’t really go straight back to hacking, not straight away. What I intend to do, though, is stick with you until we know more about all of this. Being self-employed, I can easily arrange matters. Is that OK with you; oh, and your sister, obviously?”, spoke Jake, whose mind was also reeling as to the implications and impositions their actions would bring to both their lives.
“You know they are not going to leave us alone. I figure we were lucky to leave the place at all after they found out your means of earning a living. "I wouldn’t be surprised if they were watching us right now,” said Carl as he looked out the café window.
“They were pretty clear, or at least it seemed that way to me, that we should drop the matter. But we are not, are we? You seem to be having second thoughts. Are you? “ Jake’s indefatigable nature shone through again, exhibiting not a shadow of doubt as to his own intentions. If anything, he appeared to be enjoying himself.
“We have got to be crazy to pursue this any further, but I suppose we are just that, aren’t we. We are both off our heads. Well, the fight is on then and battle lines have been drawn,” sighed Carl, shaking off some of his hesitation and malaise. Now that he had made up his mind, a surge of adrenalin was his reward, and he liked it: excitement of a sort was beckoning.
They were more or less conjoined twins from that moment on, both on the same page and sharing the same mindset. They were a formidable team whichever way you looked at it.
“We both know what we have to do next,” explained Carl whilst looking into the smirking face of his compatriot.
(edit the previous chapter so that they both witnessed the spraying, not just the aircraft flying overhead - elaborate on it)
“Roger that. Bamfield Aeronautics. Here we come.”
In the meantime, the AI was instructed to monitor all internet traffic, especially any of a probing kind in regard to the facility, and to block it if necessary. Someone, somewhere, found it quite amusing that two computer gurus were attempting to break into their systems. The real reasons for this experiment were under heavy lock and key, and with the additional protection afforded by the AI, it was an impenetrable barrier. But let them try all the same. It might prove interesting, intriguing, maybe even fun, that they should. They were no threat, but to lock them away might well have created unwanted attention. It was better for all concerned they were let go, being free to go about their business, but made aware of the repercussions should they overstep the mark. Devious, cruel eyes were upon them all the same, and would remain so for the very near future; maybe for far longer.
Chapter 23
Hilda listened attentively. Usually, she would have had a word or two to say about Carl’s rather fanciful account of Felicity’s predicament, but with Jake backing up every word uttered, she was far more inclined to believe her brother this time than to challenge his reasoning outright.
“Why would they hold you overnight when all you were doing was attempting to visit someone? Are you telling me all those held there are hidden away?" beseeched Hilda. "Why, for heaven's sake?"
It seemed beyond reason to even suggest such a thing. Hilda was uncomfortably perplexed, and her level of anxiety had risen on hearing of the startling experience of her hired investigative task force.
"We will find out what is going on. Don’t you worry yourself about that,” chimed Jake, attempting to wrap a comforting long arm around Hilda’s shoulder. His agitated prey kept her distance, though, to stand up and begin pacing the floor. It seemed Jake had taken a fancy to Hilda, which wasn’t missed by Carl, who raised his eyebrows and smiled faintly. Jake pulled in his outstretched arm and scratched the back of his head instead, on catching Carl’s eye.
“All we can do is focus on what we know. There are waifs and strays held behind bars, obviously held there for a reason. It seems no-one knows they are there, so no-one visits the place. Anyone who does knock on the door is subjected to a third-degree shakedown. Yet the domiciles are of high quality and the prisoners, if that is what they are, are content with their lot, or seem to be. So should we be worried about Felicity or not?” probed Carl, knowing full well what the answer would be, but kind of hoping he could get back to his gaming. Real life was once again proving to be very troublesome.
“Don’t you dare try and slither out of this one," raged Hilda. "You wind me up and then attempt to drop the matter? “ she railed, whilst reaching forward to smack Carl on the back of the head.
Carl was too quick for her, though, expecting such a response to his galling words, ducking in time to avoid the blow.
“Calm down, will you. We are both committed to solving this riddle, Jake and me. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the saying goes, more is the pity. Well then, we need to take the next step and to track down the aircraft and pilot. Let’s see what there is to know about Bamfield Aeronautics. It is a pretty distinctive name, so it should feature somewhere or another.“ Carl had no alternative but to focus on the job at hand, but if he could ditch the whole thing, he would if a chance to do so came his way. Being so close to his beloved computers was proving to b a distraction for him. Jake, on the other hand, was far more enthusiastic. Probably Hilda’s involvement in proceedings played a part in this.
“What aircraft? You haven’t mentioned an aircraft? What have you been up to now?” spoke an increasingly hysterical Hilda.
She sat down, heavily, and breathed deeply, knowing full well she was not showing the best side of her character. Not that she cared whether she was or not, but she attempted to calm herself down all the same. It was unbecoming after all. Her bosom rose and fell in time with her deep breaths, which proved entertaining to one young man in her company.
“An aircraft flew overhead during our time in captivity, low enough for us to make out who it belonged to. We couldn’t be sure, but it might well have sprayed something over the whole place, or at least where the apartments were,” stated Jake, taking yet another opportunity to chat directly with Hilda.
“Oh God, what now?” spoke Hilda, who dropped her head and placed her right hand on her forehead. Suddenly, though, her right hand took on the form of a brandishing iron, and she pointed first at Carl and then Jake whilst issuing her weighty orders.
“Carl, and you, Jake, you make sure to find out what is going on. This is bloody ridiculous. How can this be allowed to happen? How can hundreds of people be seized in such a manner and then experimented on? “ After a short pause, she carried on: “You haven’t blown things out of all proportion, have you?”, still struggling to take it all in, but knowing full well events had taken a turn for the worse and Felicity was caught up in something dark and mysterious, something that was causing her to question her own understanding of reality.
"What do you think?" responded Carl. Without waiting for an answer, he carried on. "Come on, let's see what there is to know about our crop sprayer, or whatever the hell it was."
Chapter 24
Preparation was the name of the game, this particular game, this real-life game. Carl, and his budding acolytes, under his guidance, now applied the same logic he used when creating his highly successful online gaming characters. Carl figured that if you created a solid foundation, a strong warrior from the outset, then success was much more likely to be achieved in any future battle. In this instance, the now firmly established Felicity rescuers had thrown in their lot, combining their resources to focus on the job at hand. Even Hilda had decided to take time off work to join in the pursuit.
There was a problem with this approach, though, as another day had been lost to the scheming, a day culminating in yet another level of particles building up on the ground and being swallowed by hundreds of unsuspecting unfortunates.
It was too late to stop the rot now. The AI would make its move soon, very soon. Only one more layer was needed for optimal effect. In the meantime, the three budding liberators were making their way to Frank’s place of work, armed with binoculars, laptops, mobile phones, wire cutters, masks and all that was needed to break in should they feel the need to do so. It was game on in more ways than one.
“Let’s hope we found the only tracker on this car of yours, Jake,” ventured forth a slightly concerned Carl.
It was kind of obvious a tracker had been placed in or on the car, and indeed, one had been attached to the inside of the rear wheel arch. This tracker was now hidden away where Jake had parked his car, thereby indicating a static vehicle.
“The scanner didn’t find anything; and, anyway, I don’t think the guys are using anything but standard equipment. We are still taking a risk using this car, though, but, what the hell, we will know pretty soon, one way or another, whether we have given them the slip. There is no-one following us, as far as I can tell,“ answered Jake, while peering in the rearview mirror once again, without a shred of nerves being evident.
Jake’s reply was comforting to both Carl and Hilda alike, but why he always found dire circumstances to be humorous in some way was perplexing to both. Jake was a risk-taker, one that wasn’t too well-balanced, it seemed.
“I must be mad. Why am I doing this? I will lose my job for sure if this gets out," spoke Hilda, exhibiting a furrowed brow and drooping eyes, attempting to sit even lower on the back seat in an effort to hide herself away from the world at large.
“You started this, so quit moaning. Why should we take all the risk? What are you, some sort of evil boss overlord, and we are your hired henchmen or something? And anyway, you can get a job anywhere with your qualifications,“ proving, once again, that he was not so good with the empathy side of things.
Jake was quick to step in to protect the ‘lovely’ Hilda, as he considered her to be.
“That is a bit harsh, isn’t it? Don’t you take any notice of him, Hilda. I love having you along for the ride. You are welcome to take a ride in my car with me anytime you want,” which didn’t seem to help Hilda’s disposition at all; and Carl, in readiness, turned away to look out the window, knowing full well a reprisal was to be forthcoming.
“That makes me feel so much better,” replied Hilda as she kicked the back of Carl’s chair, causing him to lurch forward in his seat.
After a 30-second pregnant pause, Carl took charge of the situation.
“Let’s focus on the job at hand. It won’t be long before we arrive at the hanger. Bickering will get us nowhere.“
A tense hush descended upon the emotionally charged trio as it became apparent their intended destination was but a few minutes away. Once again, the empty, dry, desert-like treeless landscape housed a part of the puzzle. Being away from prying eyes was undoubtedly the preferred haunt of the criminal, or criminals in this case, which made the whole thing even more foreboding than otherwise.
All eyes looked ahead, scanning the landscape for clues, for signs. The hunt was very much on and progressing nicely. To what avail was anyone’s guess. One thing it was not, and that was boring. This rivalled online gaming for both Carl and Jake alike, but even so, Hilda herself was receiving the same lift, the same adrenalin boost, with her brain and instincts on heightened alert as a consequence. She would never have admitted it to this pair of daredevils, this pair of miscreants, but in a strange way she was enjoying herself.
Chapter 25
From the security gate to the hanger was but a few hundred yards, but once again fences were all around, a fence to keep out unwanted guests, which was proving a difficult problem to overcome. The wire cutters were barely up to the job.
“Come on guys. Put some muscle into it. You do have muscles, don’t you?” implored a piss-taking Hilda.
"This is one tough fence, or this is one crap wire cutter," gasped Carl as he squeezed the handles with all his might. "I would like to see you do any better."
With a heavy twang, the wire finally gave way, which startled Carl, who barely got out of the way of a section of sprung steel that nearly took out an eye.
"Christ! ... Right, let's get moving," commanded Carl as he lifted the makeshift door for Hilda to squirm through, but was instead met with hesitancy.
“Are you sure we are doing the right thing here? This is breaking and entering. And anyway, I am not going first. Not with that lech watching me squirm through that hole,” stated Hilda, eyeballing Jake as she made her case.
“Lech? How am I a lech?” though secretly disappointed all the same. Jake was looking forward to seeing Hilda’s bum jiggling about in her tight jeans.
“Let me go first then,” spoke Jake with an air of chivalry that barely hid his disappointment.
“Yeah, you go first,” chimed Hilda, who now seemed to be back on track and willing to break the law once again.
Halfway through the hole, Jake got stuck with a piece of barbed wire catching hold of his belt, which Hilda found quite amusing.
Carl’s patience was running thin.
“Hurry up, Jake, for fuck’s sake.”
All three were finally through the fence and making their way to the hanger. The only problem with this was the open space between the hanger and the undergrowth that was affording them decent cover. The place was reassuringly unmanned for the most part or appeared to be. During the time they had spent studying the place from the comfort of the car, workers had been seen leaving a few hours earlier. Only the security guard was left on the premises as far as they could make out.
"We just have to make a dash for it. The hanger door is open. We should be able to make out if anyone is inside the place without entering ourselves. Come on. Let's do it", and before he had finished the sentence, Jake had sprinted ahead.
"That man is a liability. You do know that, right?" to Carl’s back, as he had already followed suit and left her behind. "Wait for me!" she uttered as she too gave chase.
Frank arrived at his place of work, unaware his arrival had been monitored and recorded by three stowaways, reluctant stowaways who were wondering what to do next. Should they try and make up an excuse, which seemed to be absolutely ridiculous, or just open the plane door and simply leg it? There was no way they would avoid detection, and on top of it all, the thickset pilot looked increasingly intimidating as he closed down the distance between them.
TBC (To Be Continued)