Harker nodded.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Elizabeth," Stephanie said. "You're still recovering. You should rest."
"Steph, the last thing I need right now is more rest. I'm bored out of my skull here. It's not going to kill me to put in a word or two during a conversation."
"Elizabeth…"
"Besides," Elizabeth said, "I want to meet Freddie."
CHAPTER 14
Ukrainian House had extensive CCTV recordings from the conference. Hood had obtained copies and sent them on to Nick. The Project team sat in Harker's office and watched the assassination of the Ukrainian security chief.
"Your sister gets around," Nick said.
"I had to look twice, but it's definitely her," Selena said. "She did something to her face and she's wearing a wig or she dyed her hair, but it's Valentina. How did she do it? Kill Sirco?"
"A fast acting poison, something dreamed up by Moscow's pharmaceutical geniuses. It must've been in that tray of appetizers she's holding. The one the bodyguard takes from her."
They watched the recording. Valentina approached the group where Sirco was holding court. Stephanie stopped the tape, backed it up, and started it again in slow-motion.
"Right there," she said. "You can see her hand move to her sash and then pass over the tray of food she's carrying. That's how she poisoned it."
"Probably some kind of spray," Nick said.
The recording sped up again. On screen, Sirco's bodyguard fell to the floor. The Ukrainian security chief bent over and vomited before he collapsed. Two of his bodyguards went down seconds later. The tape ended.
"That's the assassination," Stephanie said. "This next recording is where she escapes."
She touched a key and a new video began. It showed a large man, presumably one of Sirco's bodyguards, grabbing Valentina's arm. The video was silent, but a double flash flared on the recording as Valentina's pistol fired. The man fell to the floor and Valentina disappeared into the kitchen.
"She almost made it out of there without being caught," Ronnie said.
"That guy must've seen something," Lamont said. "Didn't do him much good. She's damn lethal for such a good-looking woman. I kind of like her in spite of myself."
The last time they'd seen Valentina had been in Egypt, deep in a secret chamber under the pyramids. If she hadn't intervened, they would all be dead.
Nick said, "She shows up on this morning's latest SVR promotion list. Your sister is a Lieutenant Colonel now. That's unheard of for anyone at her age in SVR, much less a woman. Orlov's got his eye on her. Rumors say it might be more than appreciation for her skills in the field."
Selena brushed a loose hair away from her forehead. "If that's true, she'd better watch her step."
"She seems to be pretty good at taking care of herself," Ronnie said.
"It would be interesting if Orlov takes her as his mistress," Nick said.
"What do you mean? You think she's just going to hop into bed with him?"
Selena's voice was annoyed.
"Come on, Selena, we both know your sister's no angel. Besides, it would be difficult to refuse him if he wants her in his bed."
"Hey, maybe they'll get married and invite you to the wedding," Lamont said.
Selena's face turned red. "Asshole." She stood and left the room. They heard her footsteps going down the spiral staircase to the lower level.
Lamont held his hands out, palms up. "What?"
Nick sighed. "Take a break. I'll be back in a minute."
Nick went after Selena. He found her in the operations center getting a cup of coffee.
"He didn't mean anything," he said.
"I know. But she's still my sister. She didn't choose to be born in Russia."
"It's a strange situation."
"That's putting it mildly," Selena said.
"I need you upstairs. There's something we all need to discuss"
Selena took her coffee with her and followed Nick out of the ops center.
Lamont said, "Sorry, Selena," as they came into the office.
"Okay."
Nick sat at the desk. "Steph has developed an artificial intelligence program on one of her computers. She's proposing we consider it an addition to the team."
"A computer?" Ronnie said. "How can it be part of the team?"
"Put wheels and an M-60 on it," Lamont said.
"Lamont, knock it off," Nick said.
"Freddie is much more than just a computer," Steph said. "He can process information at a speed that's impossible for us. He can tap into anything and everything that's hooked up to the web."
"He was doing all that before," Selena said. "What's different?"
"What's different is that Freddie is independently aware. He's functional as a separate intelligence. He brings a different perspective to the information he obtains. He's learning to isolate and analyze seemingly unrelated bits of information and come up with a coherent scenario that knits them together."
"Tell them what he said about the submarine and the assassination of the Chinese ambassador," Nick said.
"On the surface, those things don't appear to be related," Stephanie said. "But Freddie thinks they are. He speculates that someone is attempting to start a war. For example, he discovered that the assassin was really a North Korean agent living in Pyongyang when he was supposed to be nothing more than a tourist from Seoul. That points a finger at North Korea and completely changes the picture when it comes to trying to figure out why the ambassador was killed."
"Why would the North Koreans kill the ambassador of their only ally?" Ronnie asked.
"Exactly," Stephanie said. "Why would they? Freddie doesn't think they would. That's why he thinks a third party is manipulating events."
"And this third-party, whoever it is, is the one who gave the plans for the drone to the North Koreans?"
"We don't know, but it's a possibility. That isn't what I want to talk about at the moment. Freddie wants to be part of our team discussions."
"It talks?" Lamont asked.
"Not it, he. Yes, Freddie can talk. He can listen in through our security system and talk to us through the speakers in the room. He can watch us through the cameras and the monitor on the wall."
"Damn, big brother for real," Ronnie said.
"Not yet," Nick said. "We haven't given him permission."
"A computer that talks asked for permission?" Ronnie's face was incredulous.
"He asked to be part of the team and part of our discussions. I told him I had to think about it and talk to all of you. As weird as it sounds, Freddie could be a valuable addition. He doesn't think the same way we do. I need to know how you feel about it."
"Is he listening now?" Selena asked.
"No," Steph said.
"How do you know that?"
Steph shrugged her shoulders. "There are plenty of safeguards in the programming that would keep him from listening unless I allowed it. Besides, I trust him."
"You trust a computer?"
"Why not? They're a lot more trustworthy than people."
"I didn't know you were such a cynic, Steph," Ronnie said.
"I'm not a cynic, just a realist."
Nick resisted an urge to tap his pen on Harker's desk.
"Steph, why don't you plug Freddie in and let everyone, uh, meet him."
"It will just take a second," Stephanie said. "He'll be observing from the security cameras. Whoever he's looking at will show up on the monitor."
She entered a sequence of commands on her laptop.
"Freddie, the team wants to meet you."
On the monitor, Stephanie's image appeared, sitting next to Harker's desk in her usual spot.
Good morning, Stephanie. Freddie's computerized voice came over the speakers.