Part 35 (2/2)

”Let me explain my dilemma,” he said to Van Alen and his daughter. ”Maybe you guys can help me figure out exactly what to do.”

59.

When her dad finished talking, Talia got up from the table. Van Alen had been wrong. Food didn't soothe. Talia's stomach was queasy from everything she'd eaten.

Or maybe it was what her dad had said-how the other girls would learn that their family wasn't their real family and they weren't real people.

Just like she had.

Only maybe their families-or the people they thought were their families-wouldn't be as accepting of clones as her dad was.

She remembered how it felt: She hadn't felt real after learning that she was a copy of someone else. Sometimes she still didn't feel real. Sometimes she felt like a pale imitation of that baby she'd seen in her dad's arms, the one he still mourned, the one he'd named his s.h.i.+p after.

And he was trying.

Imagine if the other parents didn't.

”It seems straightforward to me,” Van Alen said. ”If what you found is accurate, then someone at Gramming-probably the CEO-has ordered the death of at least one person. The security guard with Ki Bowles was probably collateral damage.”

”He would still be responsible for the guard's death,” Talia's dad said.

”Yes,” Van Alen said. ”And if he knows that we know his secret, then we might be in danger as well. You have to turn him in.”

”And destroy countless lives.” Talia's dad pushed his plate away. ”You said not everybody that went through the adoption process at Gramming was bought,” Talia said. ”Just a few, right? The rest paid normal fees, right?”

”That's right,” her dad said.

”What if we don't turn Gramming in for murder?” Talia said. ”What if you turn them in for something else, like-what's it called when you steal money from your own company?”

”Embezzlement,” Van Alen said. ”The punishment isn't nearly severe enough.”

”And there's not enough here without revealing the sales,” her dad said. Then he frowned. ”But you might be on to something, Talia. There are several crimes here. Including tampering with the power systems in the dome.”

”Which is considered an act of terrorism,” Van Alen said. She was smiling.

Talia came back to the table. She wasn't exactly sure why that had cheered them both up. ”I'll let Noelle know,” her dad said.

”Why?” Talia asked. ”What does that mean?”

Van Alen picked up her gla.s.s. It was full of wine that Talia's dad wouldn't let her have.

”Ever since the dome bombing,” Van Alen said, ”acts of terrorism have special status in the United Domes. All of the domes have pa.s.sed laws saying that anyone tampering with dome systems-life-enhancing systems, like the power grid-are attempting ma.s.s murder. They've beefed up not just the punishments, but the liberties the law can take in arrests.”

”They can seize everything in a home or an office if someone in those places has committed an act of terrorism,” Talia's dad said.

He sounded pleased.

Van Alen's smile faded. ”You know, I've been protesting these new laws for years. I think they're harmful.”

”But they exist,” Talia's dad said. ”So we're going to use them. I'll contact Noelle.”

Talia still wasn't sure she followed everything. ”What will she do?”

”She'll make an arrest in the name of the United Domes,” Talia's dad said. ”She'll make sure no one ever comes after us.”

”And maybe,” Van Alen said, ”no one will ever know why the CEO of Gramming invaded the public power grid.”

Talia's dad nodded. ”No one will even care.”

”I will,” Talia said. ”The records will be open to anyone. Do you know how many families will be destroyed?”

”Yeah.” Her dad looked serious. ”Which is why I'm going to ask to go along on any arrest. I'll make sure the information disappears, Talia. No one will know.”

”Except us,” Van Alen said.

60.

DeRicci stared at the information in front of her. It made no sense-and she'd already interrogated her techs about it.

The glitches could all be traced back to an adoption agency. One computer inside that agency caused all the problems.

And the techs told her they believed the problems were deliberate.

She cupped her cheeks with her hands and rested her elbows on her desk. Sometimes she felt buried in too much information.

She'd found-on her own-that some of the glitches were tied to crime reports. One happened near the time that Roshdi Whitford was murdered. Another near a break-in at a bank, although all that was stolen were transaction records. Not account numbers, not identifying information, not even pa.s.swords.

Just a few transaction records.

The bank's backups didn't have them, but one of the officers claimed that judging by the size of the whole in the transaction record, the information removed was probably for a sizable deposit or withdrawal.

Or both.

Normally, DeRicci would think that someone was covering his tracks, but so far, it made no sense. Maybe the trail to the adoption agency was a false one.

Or maybe one of the employees had another agenda, one that had nothing to do with children. Her links beeped at her. She had an incoming visual contact.

It was from Miles Flint.

He rarely used visuals. That, more than the urgent tag he'd put on the contact, made her answer.

<script>