"They never have good coffee at these places."

It always irritated Kenneth that there wasn't a single five-star he has stayed at where the coffee wasn't good. He put the coffee off to the side after his disappointing taste test. Kenneth Mendes began stuffing the coffee with skim milk and sugar. He tucked himself away in an inconspicuous corner of the Hotel Lobby. Far away from the trays where various convention-goers were taking advantage of the complimentary breakfast. The hotel was hosting a convention for Intelligence and Cybersecurity, so the breakfast area teemed with the legion of Digital Analysts, retired officers, and lobbyists. The fine men and women of America's intelligence community who had sacrificed their circadian rhythms and waistlines for Uncle Sam offered Mendes a cover of inconspicuousness. A man in the corner with a nondescript suit and a makeshift office was not going to attract much attention in a setting like this. More importantly, if there was one thing all these security clearance chucklefucks knew it was discretion. There would be no interruptions and suspicions to interrupt his work.

It also didn't hurt that Private Detective Kenneth Mendes looked the part. His clean-cut Billy Joel haircut, neatly trimmed goatee, square shoulders, and beer gut gave the impression of a Secret Service or Intelligence Dispatcher. Someone who was fighting a losing battle against the desk job that was claiming his body. Having been around many of these types in his life, it was easy for him to put on the part. Kenneth Mendes was a former FBI, who decided to cash out too early to receive benefits, and too late to save his marriage. He has since worked as an investigator for various tech companies.

The current contractor was Delos Technology, Ltd. A subsidiary company formed by some nondescript holding company. Delos was looking to buy its way into the AI market, and like many did so through the purchase of defunct properties and infusing it with enough young tryhards and investment to become a major competitor. Mendes was hired to assemble a survey team of some of the former Delos' more ambitious assets.

Mendes was reviewing the documentation about the site, as one of the first team members arrived. If he was seeking to be nondescript, she might have ruined it.

"You, Mendes?" Mendes looked up to see the not-quite anorexic Asian woman wearing a button-covered cargo jacket and a large duffle bag pointing at him.

Mendes offered an open palm towards the seat across from him. "Please sit down Ms. Nguyen, feel free to grab a coffee before we begin.."

Lightly shaking the large silver thermos in her other hand, she rebuffed the offer. "Nah, I brought my own, you wouldn't catch me dead drinking that catpiss."

Mendes grunted in agreement, never breaking his eyes from his tablet, and absent-mindedly sipped his "gourmet" coffee, filled with enough milk and sugar to taste like the coffee milk of his native Rhode Island.

Mendes took a brief moment to analyze the potential client in person. Amy Nguyen was like most of her generation, the Zoomers. Amy Nguyen grew up in the world of interconnectivity, and like most, she pretended to hate it while she relished in it. Any was a slender woman with multi strands of multicolored hair. She bought all the marks of the gentry nobility of the benefit of vintage Silicon Valley. Hipster overly casual clothing, that was also form-fitting bags, then covered by an overly baggy jacket. Indian henna markings on her arms, and the traditional bad attitude and intense vocabulary of curse words that were common for among the upper crust of the fake casualness that embodied traditional classical Silicon Valley.

"So is it just us, or are we expecting more people to show up?" Amy was looking around the lobby to get a feel for the group around the lobby.

"You will meet the rest of the team when we reach the station. You are the last to join." Mendes replied, trying to fish out the report.

"Great! More Secrecy. Is this a 'suits' thing?" Amy said while looking at the Are you going to actually tell me what this whole mission is about or you going to say some dumb bond shit about how it's all classified?"

Having come from outside of the Silicon Valley World she wore all of these markings of her status with pride. Her tech persona, an essential part of her personality. Having originally been a pharmacy major at a local college she eventually found her way into the tech world falling up through a series of startups before the big crash. And eventually, making her way to a major tech company before starting her own consulting company, which was then hired by Medes.

"No, that's why I invited you here, I want to give you a last-minute chance to butt out." No longer needing to stall for time, as the necessary documents had arrived. The director finally pushed his tablet gently to the side. Finally making eye contact with the woman across the table, anticipating her reaction to his question.

"Ms. Nguyen, what do you know about Delos?"

"Not a thing. What is it?"

"It's a technology company from the 70s - used to specialize in advanced Artificial Technology."

"How advanced?"

"Very. It was the tech that we still don't understand, that's why we wanted an AI expert."

"So a 60-year-old company with neural networks or something? Well, I'm intrigued now. Methinks this is some Cold War Military tech?"

"Not quite." Kenneth took another sip of the now lukewarm coffee milk. "Their focus was amusement parks."

"Amusement parks!

Seriously?" Amy's mouth was agape as she processed the information. Her face widened in amusement, as she thought about this secrecy for an amusement park right. However, after a few moments, the smile fell, as it dawned on her.

"Wait! You don't mean?

Oh!

Wait!

fuck! You're talking about Westworld are you?"

"So you -have- heard of it?"

"Yeah their my field's boogeymen. They're the guys who built the robots that killed everyone right? - Wait!- They aren't bringing that back are they?"

"They are in a sense…"

"How the hell are they still around?"

"The Company was resurrected a few years ago, the new owners want to bring the park back."

"They can't be serious." Amy guffawed.

Mendes turned the tablet around to show her. "I believe they are, and frankly for our purposes, it's irrelevant. They are certainly spending as though they are."

Amy put her paper coffee cup down, and her finger scrolled through the article. It discussed the new Delos making large payouts to the survivors of '73.

"Wow," Amy muttered, "I didn't know it happened twice. That's a lot of billions to hand around to survivors."

Mendes added sardonically. "It's easier to hand out more payouts if there are less survivors." He then took the tablet back and opened the second prepared tab. "Delos has authorized me to gather a team of experts to investigate the park to understand how the tech worked. We are looking to acquire your expertise on AI."

Mendes watched her expression as she scrolled through the offer. Given how the programmer's eyes widened, she must have reached the compensation part. He continued.

"To boil it down, we need someone to go through the AI programs and uncover valuable information. Obviously, these are very sensitive, and you will have to sign a Non-disclosure agreement about anything you find there. Most of the technology here is going to be fairly archaic, but I have already procured the necessary support you would need. Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah!" Amy looked up, "Are there any killer robots left?"

"No, that's why we are going. This is a separate site from Westworld. I will send you the documentation, but that is why Delos is so interested in this site. It didn't have an -erm- outbreak, like the other sites."

"When do you want me to start?"

"Whenever you are ready Ms. Nguyen, preferably within the week."

"Well I guess, I'm going to Westworld."