Forever Yours
59
Deena
FEW PEOPLE` got much work done on Wednesday at Open Cloak. Henry and Chastity, of course, were staying home with Lisa and little Cassie. They’d been happy to have Jackie’s help and support the week before the birth and immediately after, but it was nice to have just the family of four getting used to being a single entity. The cats were using the time to sniff at the milky smell of the baby and Lisa.
Lisa got up and dressed while Chastity took care of Cassie and Henry cooked breakfast. They all had a lot to learn about being parents. That included cooking, childcare, and care of each other.
The reason no one else was getting work done was the first day on the market for Open Cloak stock. Even those in the company who had only a couple thousand shares to sell were making a fantastic profit. Options that were issued at $1.50 or less per share were selling for $12-$18 per share as the market fluctuated during the day.
Of course, not everyone sold all their shares. The original partners sold four million shares from their LLC, bringing in $72 million. This would be distributed evenly among the four. Henry figured $18 million was all he needed to sell and he wouldn’t need to sell any of his patent stocks or options for several years. They’d already found a couple of possible houses and he figured they would move into one of them by September.
To celebrate their good fortune, Germaine drove Henry, Chastity, Lisa, and Cassie to tour a house in Penn Cove, east of the university. Lisa had spent quite a bit of time researching places to live over the past few months and had shown Henry and Chastity the results of her searches.
And Germaine.
They had offered Germaine the opportunity to switch from working for Open Cloak as Henry’s driver and security, to working directly for the family. It would include some childcare duties as well as her normal security duties. They enthusiastically accepted.
The truth was, Henry didn’t want to drive anywhere. Each time he considered getting behind the wheel, he saw the flash of a sword painted on a black car hood. He’d successfully broken the hold his painkillers had on him, but at times like that, he longed for the numbing effect.
The family’s intent was to find a home that could accommodate the unusual family of three adults and one or more children, plus an apartment for their security/nanny, a place where Lisa could have her office, and a home study space for Henry and Chastity. The home in Penn Cove had the added benefit of being just a few yards from the sixteenth hole of a private golf course. It was fully fenced with its own security gate, which Germaine considered of utmost importance.
After all five had toured the property, they decided it was probably the right place for them, but they’d wait to make an offer until Beau and Solange toured it over the weekend with them. Cassie’s great grandparents would arrive on Friday for a long weekend. They weren’t worried about the property being snapped up while they delayed. It had been on the market for close to six months already.
A very different scene was playing out at the Riordan home. When they’d received word that the IPO had been successful and they were called by the broker to indicate their LLC-owned shares and their personal shares had been sold, Isobel left the office to go home.
Luke stayed for the rest of the day, congratulating employees and talking about how the success was a part of all their work. Those working on the robot paver project were pretty isolated from the celebration because they were all employed by the spin-off joint venture company, American Intelligent Machines. That was jointly owned by Argos, ARDC, and Open Cloak.
Isobel drove her convertible out to the highway. As soon as she verified there were no police in sight, she slammed her foot down on the accelerator. The exhilarating feeling filled her with laughter. The laughter continued all the way back to her home and she walked inside.
Grace and little Paul were in the playroom and she stuck her head into the room. Paul clung to Grace as his mother laughed.
“Is everything okay?” Grace asked.
“Yes! I’m rich. And I’m going to give you a lot of money, too!” Isobel said. “And my parents can just go fuck themselves. I think that’s what they’ve been doing for years.”
“Congratulations?” Grace said hesitantly. She was still getting used to Isobel and her mood swings. This was the first time she’d seen her in a hysterical fit of laughter.
“Yeah! This,” Isobel said, motioning to herself, “is just a manic episode. In an hour, I’ll be depressed. I need to take a pill. But it’s not an alternate personality. The drugs for schizophrenia are more stable than the ones for bipolar disorder.”
“I’m glad. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Keep hold of Paul and don’t let him near Mommy unless she’s calm and stable,” Izzy said. She flopped in a chair to watch her son as he resumed playing with Grace. The tyke could crawl and loved to find colorful toys to chew on.
Unsure of how else she should act, Grace asked a question.
“Mrs. Riordan, what’s it like having schizophrenia?”
“I suppose you want to hear something deep and artsy and angsty but it’s more like some stupid song from the 1960s got inserted into my shuffle and now every time someone says something to me, I sing ‘What a fool believes, no wise man has the power to reason away,’ in my head. And there’s an intermittent sound of the doorbell for really no reason.
“And sometimes it’s demons trying to get me to hurt people I love, or being eaten alive by maggots, or whatever. But I also have an imaginary forever puppy, and my friend Pythia comes to visit me, and sometimes there’s a Taylor Swift concert in my bedroom.
“Sometimes it seems like I go through the office yelling at people and telling them they don’t know what they’re doing, all because my clothes felt weird. The temperature in the office was too loud. And my hair was touching me.”
Tears were running down Isobel’s cheeks with her mascara in long black streaks.
“See? I told you I’d be depressed before long. Because being rich doesn’t mean I have nice parents or that my friends even like me. And it doesn’t make me a better mother. And because there’s this unending sense of doom that hangs over me and I need a drink.”
“I’m sorry,” Grace whispered.
“It’s been going on a lot longer than you’ve been here. Which doesn’t mean I won’t blame you for it. But if you ever see the demons chasing me, grab Paul and run to Henry and Lisa and Chastity. Don’t wait and don’t pack. Stay there until Luke arrives and says it’s safe to come home,” Isobel said. “I need to go to bed now.”
She wearily pushed herself out of the chair and up the stairs to her bedroom. She poured herself a glass of tequila and fell into bed.
Thursday morning, the only ones in the office were the robotics team. They hadn’t had much to do with the IPO celebration and were nearing their next major paving test with new materials. They all entered through the main lobby and were greeted by Deena, but no one else was there.
Luke had impulsively given all Open Cloak employees the day off, even if they hadn’t cashed in stock. The robotics group was not made up of Open Cloak employees.
At about eleven in the morning, two men in military uniforms entered the lobby. Dale should have locked the front doors when his people were in, but he’d left them open for late-comers.
“Good morning, Colonel. Welcome to Open Cloak. How may I help you?” Deena said. The first officer turned to look at the hologram. “Good morning, Specialist,” Deena continued, looking at the other soldier. “Welcome to Open Cloak. How may I help you?”
The colonel glanced around the room, not seeing anyone else present. He looked back at the hologram who returned his gaze expectantly.
“I want to see Henry Pascal,” the colonel finally said.
“I’m sorry,” Deena responded pleasantly. “Mr. Pascal is not in the office.”
“Where is he?” the colonel demanded.
“That information has not been given to me.”
“Then get someone out here who has it!” the colonel shouted.
“I’m sorry. No one is in the office today,” Deena said. She continued to smile.
“What? Why not? Where are they?”
“I’m sorry. That information has not been given to me.”
“Go to hell,” the colonel snarled. He approached the inner door to the office and pulled on the handle. It did not budge.
“Colonel Edinger, you are not authorized to enter the offices without an official escort,” Deena said, sounding shocked.
Edinger shook the doors.
“Get me an escort then. There is government property here and I intend to take it back to the Pentagon!”
“I’m sorry. There is no one here to escort you now,” Deena continued.
Edinger stalked toward the hologram’s plexiglass panel. He looked around, attempting to spot the cameras.
“All right! Whoever you are, get down here right this minute! I’ll have you arrested and hauled to a deportation camp.”
He was greeted by silence. Furious, he threw himself at the door again. It didn’t open.
“Markle! There’s a computer on that desk. Hack the system and open this door. That’s what you’re here for. We’re going inside.”
“Yes, sir,” the other soldier said. He jumped over the barrier to the reception area and started working on the computer. “Colonel, sir!”
“Is it open?”
“No, sir. This computer won’t turn on. There is no power to it.”
“What?”
“Colonel Edinger and Specialist Markle, you have invaded the private space of Open Cloak Design. Police have been called and are on their way,” Deena said.
“They what? We’re the government. The police have no jurisdiction over us. Cancel that call!”
“I’m sorry. You have no authority to give orders to this artificial intelligence hologram. I am Deena. I am the fourth generation of AI-powered holographic receptionist. My specifications include responding to normal questions and summoning help when I cannot resolve an issue. Police have been summoned to resolve this issue. Would you like to ask a question of Pythia Speaks? I can transmit the question for you.”
“Markle! Get out from behind that desk and get out of here,” Edinger declared.
The specialist leapt the counter and grabbed his computer bag, following his commander out of the office.
“Henry, I’m sorry to bother you during your time off,” Darrel said on the phone. “We’ve been attacked.”
“Through the perimeter and Delphos?” Henry asked in amazement. He looked at his phone to see if there had been any alerts he’d missed.
“Through the front door,” Darrel responded. “I got an alert when an attempt was made on our inner office.”
“How did they even get through the front door?” Henry asked.
“It seems it was left unlocked.”
“Oh, fuck! What’s the damage?”
“None. But I’d say you and Nathan and Mia all need to review the security footage. This was a royal fuck-up that goes beyond leaving the door open.”
“I’ll be there shortly,” Henry responded before disconnecting. He turned to his wives. Chastity was on her phone.
“What is it, hon?” Lisa asked.
“There was an attempted break-in at the office. Darrel says Nathan, Mia, and I need to come in to review the footage,” Henry said. “I’ll just take the car and run over there quickly. Darrel says there was no actual damage done.”
“No, you won’t,” Chastity said abruptly. “Germaine is on her way. She’ll be here in five minutes. You can use the time to get dressed.”
Henry looked at himself. He was still in a bathrobe, as were Chastity and Lisa. They’d been having a really lazy day, just cuddling with each other and playing with the baby. He headed for the bathroom to shower, shave, and dress.
“Why is the office so dead?” Henry asked when he entered the front doors. He’d had to use a key because the door was locked.
“Hello, Mr. Pascal. Mr. Jones, Mr. Schwartz, and Ms. Howe are waiting in the security office for you.”
“Thank you, Deena.” Henry used his keycard to gain access to the inner office and went immediately to the small office that was used for security cameras and monitors.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Henry. Sorry to disturb you, but this is too… It’s just too something,” Darrel stumbled. “Two people came into the office lobby and attempted to force entry to the inner office. The robotics crew was all that was working today. Luke had given everyone else the day off. The robotics crew left the front door unlocked.”
“But no one was in the lobby?” Henry asked.
“Just Deena,” Mia responded. “That’s what makes this interaction so interesting.”
“That’s one of the things,” Nathan added. “Who the visitors were is the other thing.”
Darrel cued up the recording to the moment the two soldiers entered the lobby. He turned up the sound and they watched the entire encounter.
“Deena called the police?” Henry asked in amazement.
“She activated the emergency protocol, which currently only comes up to our office, so the police weren’t actually called. We didn’t feel it was prudent to give the AI access to the real outgoing phones at the moment. She’s still on an isolated network,” Mia said.
“The response of the hologram is interesting enough to study,” Nathan said. “The real problem is having a Pentagon officer storm in here demanding access to government property.”
“Yeah. How does he figure that?” Henry asked.
“Not sure. But we need to be concerned.”
“How did they not get the computer to turn on?” Mia asked.
“The receptionist computer is being used as a testbed for the newest power cells,” Darrel said. “It seemed like a low-risk area to do the test when Ari asked. So, each evening, Audrey shuts down and removes the power cell to recharge in the office. She picks up the cell in the morning and reinstalls it.”
“And why was there no security sitting at the desk?” Henry demanded.
“We’ll have to check with Luke, but my guess is he didn’t inform security the office would be closed today,” Nathan said. “It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Security probably assumed the office was manned. They aren’t usually here during business hours.”
“I think I’ve counted three major fuck-ups and a virtual hero here,” Henry said. “So, we corrected the front door being unlocked. Classic close the barndoor after the horse gets out. I’ll take care of disciplining the robotics crew. We need to get on Luke’s case and make sure we’ve got correct security coverage 24/7. And we can congratulate Deena if that means anything to her.”
“It will mean something to the Alice Project staff,” Mia said.
“And we have the major problem of why the Pentagon is walking into our office acting like they own it,” Henry said. “Shit! Nathan, did the Pentagon buy a majority share during the IPO?”
“It’s not on my radar. I can’t imagine them putting up three-quarters of a billion dollars to get control of a company like ours,” Nathan said. “That sounds like they feel entitled to something here. I don’t like the sounds of it. We talked about a similar possibility a while back, Henry. I just never thought it would be the military that we’d be defending against.”
“Do you have a problem with defending us against the Pentagon?” Henry asked.
“None at all,” Nathan said. “We should launch Acropolis immediately.”
“Agreed.”
Nathan left the room.
“What’s Acropolis?” Darrel asked.
“An extra level of defense for our development should our IP happen to be stolen,” was all Henry would reply.
By the time he got home that evening, he’d given Luke an earful. Chastity had called in the security team to sit in the lobby until the office re-opened on Friday. Dale had been severely censured for leaving the front door open. Nathan had begun an investigation into who the invading officer was.
And Acropolis had been launched.
Henry hadn’t wanted to launch Acropolis when he and Nathan created it, but he’d agreed to develop it and have it on standby. It seemed like an extreme measure that he couldn’t imagine a real need for. It required a code to be entered each morning by an officer of the company. Without the code, things would start self-destructing. It was intended to stop a hacker who had managed to breach both the perimeter and Delphos security systems and retrieved code from the company servers. By morning, the copied code would be deleted from the hacker’s computer if the proper officer authorization wasn’t present.
Since it required a human to be available every day to authorize the activity, it was risky. If all the officers were somehow unavailable, even the main server in the company would delete all proprietary code.
It had been several months since they initially developed the protocol without deploying it. During that time, Nathan and Henry had trained an AI to take over the task of authorizing the day’s work. It was an extension of the code requiring developers to log in each day if they were working remotely, but with more severe results. The AI resided in the network so it could authorize each computer in the company.
Darrel had immediately backed up the entire server system and remotely backed up all attached computers. He left the office to deposit the backups in their secure vault—just in case there was a mistake in the authorization.
“You look like you had a hard day,” Chastity said.
“Sorry I had to leave in such a hurry,” Henry said. “How are my wives and daughter?” He kissed Chastity and held her close.
“Lisa just fed Cassie. That baby girl just conks out once her tummy is full of mommy-milk. But after a big burp, she needs to have a diaper change before she’s ready for bed.”
Chastity explained as if Henry had missed the entire week since the baby was born. Henry didn’t mind. He would do the same thing. They were parents now and the baby’s most fundamental routines were always news. Was she bathed? Did she poop? When did she eat? Was she fussy? All three parents wanted all the information on their baby girl.
“Maybe I can get a hug in before she’s off to sleep,” Henry said. He turned toward the stairs and then back to Chastity. “Germaine has gone to pick up Thai food for us tonight. All mild and not spicy.”
“We don’t want to upset anyone’s tummy,” Chastity laughed.
Henry ran upstairs just in time to kiss Lisa and be handed the baby, who was fast asleep. After spending a few minutes with the two of them just staring at the sleeping baby, Henry put her in her bassinet and the two went downstairs to join Chastity for dinner.
They set the baby monitor in the middle of the table and listened intently through their conversations to see if Cassie needed them.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
