Chapter 4
Jenny sat on the edge of the bed that had once belonged to Bryce Lynch. She looked at the posters of the various scientists that he had put up on the walls.
"Oh, Bryce," she sighed, "why did you have to leave us so soon?"
She got up and went over to what she still thought of as his computer. It was protected and she could not access it.
"Max," she called.
"You-you-you rang?" Max inquired with his customary stutter.
"I need access to the research and development mainframe," Jenny told the construct. "Then bring up any files you can find on Zlin, including their most recent fiscal documents. Let's find out what they're getting out of this."
"And you are...?" Max drawled inquiringly.
"Bryce's fiancee," Jenny told him
"You must miss-miss-miss him," Max sighed.
"Yeah, I do," Jenny said. "He didn't leave much behind. Just a couple of treasures for me that I will always cherish."
"Oh?" Max asked, curiously. "What were they?"
"Right now, I'll just tell you that one is this engagement ring," she held her her hand to show Max. "The other one is a surprise. I'll tell you what it is later."
"Please?" Max whined.
"Nope," Jenny smiled. "You have to wait like everyone else. "Now, let's get back to focusing on this assignment. We need to find Janie Crane. We already know that it was someone from Zlin. Edison filled me in on that part of things earlier. But we don't know why."
"And you think it's fi-fi-f-financial?" Max asked.
"Usually corporate wars are for fiscal reasons, yes," Jenny told him. "And this is happening too close to that report Edison told me about concerning the Artisan Brotherhood to be a coincidence. They have to be involved somehow."