know Dr. Minder?”
“I dated Jane for about a year, why?”
I pulled out the picture. “Ever seen this young girl?”
“No, I’d remember her, she’s cute.”
“So what is Dr. Minder working on?”
“Not sure. Paul and Charles worked on gene splicing. They had a way out theory.
“How so?”
“Paul’s theory is that genes can be spliced with new data.”
“What would that do.”
“Well, let’s see, if you knew the right code sequence, faster runners, stronger weightlifters, smarter scientists.”
“How can that be done?”
“Richard came up with a crazy way decades ago. However, the technology was not up to his crazy ideas.”
“Any idea how this progressed?”
“Not a clue, Mike. And the theory hasn’t been proven yet.”
“What can you tell me about Dr. Pelkey?”
“You mean the mad scientist?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Dr. Pelkey thinks implants will be the next evolution of humans. Claims it’s possible to boost speed and strength.”
“Well, not according to my sister.”
“What do you mean?”
“My sister went to school with a girl with implants so she can walk.”
“OK, I think he’s been working on more advanced implants. Not sure how advanced they are.”
“I wonder what they’re working on together?”
“Who is working together?”
“Dr. Minder and Dr. Pelkey.”
“I’ll tell you what they are working on…nothing.”
“Why do you say that?”
“They don’t like each other. Dr. Minder won’t work with Dr. Pelkey.”
“So their ideas don’t work together, or they don’t want the other to get credit.”
“No…no…no, Dr. Minder called Dr. Pelkey Frankenstein.”
“Wow, I see what you mean. Thanks for the information, Ricky.”
Leaving the restaurant, I dialed Carl O’Malley.
“Hi, Mike, what do you need?”
“I need an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona, and one in Denver, Colorado.”
“OK, Mike. I’ll set it up and express the addresses and keys to you in New York.”
“Thanks, Carl. Just send me the bill.”
“You got it, Mike.”
On the way back to Austin, sis called.
“What do you have for me, sis?”
“No information on the girl. I can’t find anything linking Dr. Minder with Dr. Pelkey.”
“Forget any connection, they hate each other.”
“That makes sense. I did find out the Minder Foundation ran a lot of orphanages throughout the country.”
“Really, I wonder what that was about? Check into it for me.”
“Sure, anything else you need?”
“Can you hack into Mr. Collins? I need to find out what Dr. Pelkey is up to.”
“Sure, bro. I’ll see what I can get.”
“When you get everything, go to Phoenix, Arizona. Leave nothing behind.”
“OK, bro. I’ll see you in Phoenix.”
I got in my rental car and took off for Houston, Texas. I needed to start digging.
Chapter 4
I wanted the meeting early Monday morning. The overhead read:
Monday 5 July 2127
Alpha Company exercise Briefing
As I walked into the small theater at 7:00 a.m., Katie hollered, “On your feet!” Everyone jumped to their feet to attention. As I walked to the stage, I saw everyone was studying me.
Karen and Adam were at attention. Katie hollered, “At ease, sit down.”
“I’m Colonel Preston. This briefing is to give you information for the upcoming exercise.”
Jeff Carlson asked, “Are you to be the commander for this exercise.”
“No, 2LT Karen Rivera will command the exercise.”
“Sir, I heard this exercise may be our last exercise.”
“No, not your last exercise. Just your last exercise in the infantry training brigade if we win.”
Paul Bryant asked, “Sir, what do you mean?”
“If we win, both battalions will be graduated and released to my command.”
Amy Macula asked, “What does that mean?”
“I’m commander of the 289th Infantry Regiment. Everyone in First and Second Battalions will be assigned to my Second and Third Battalions. If there are no further questions, 2LT Rivera will brief you on the upcoming exercise.”
Karen stepped forward as a holographic projected map showed the exercise area.
“We will be on defense first. This is the area to be used. As you can see, it is a small, lightly wooded plateau. A small creek runs from southwest to northeast, just south of the defensive area. The area is an army reserve training camp that has not been used for years. Defense will be set up in the northern central area, two platoons line abreast. The Third Platoon will be a reserve. A machine gun with a five-man fireteam in support will watch over the creek. We will set up a two-tier defense, with fighting positions supported by crew-served machine guns. We’ll set up trip flares twenty meters in front of our positions to give advanced warning. Engagement will be on my command only.”
“Why not open up when we see them?”
“I don’t want our positions revealed early. I may need to shift platoons to be effective.”
“Even
