SECRETS AND SPIES

Chapter Seven

Back inside the hotel, my first concern is mine and Bella's safety, and Jasper's if he's still on the grounds somewhere. If these guys are lurking near the parking lot, it may not be safe to go down there until they've gone or been scared off.

"Should I call the cops?" I manage to say once my power of speech has returned. Bella is concentrating on the screen on her camera, I'm guessing to see whether she can pick up clues who they are from the pictures she took.

"That's up to you, Edward. I doubt if they'll come," she replies in a nonchalant tone. "There's no law against hiding in the bushes with a camera; unless you're a Peeping Tom of course."

"Is Jasper still out there?"

"Yeah, his Jeep is on the lot. Look, if we all walk down to the vehicles together I doubt if they'll do anything in broad daylight. The hotel has security cameras all over the place."

"Where?" I practically hiss. "I haven't seen any. And what makes you so sure they won't take a pop at me once I'm in range? Do you know something I don't?"

"No, I don't," Bella angrily spits back. She stops looking at her camera and turns to face me with narrowed eyes. "Why are you so suspicious of me, Edward? I'm trying to help here. There's safety in numbers. There's two of them and three of us."

I open my mouth to respond only Bella goes for me before I have a chance to be sexist, which to be fair I probably would be.

"Before you say it, don't you even dare say or suggest two and a half. I did martial arts training when I was a teenager."

"Jesus … you didn't put that on your resume!"

"I didn't think you'd be specifically looking to hire a 'Black Belt Landscaper'" Bella does the 'air-quotes' thing.

"Black belt?" I choke.

Bella grins at my reaction. "No, I'm not a black belt. I'm just kidding."

"Huh! Not funny, but remind me never to get on the wrong side of you again?"

"Nope, I'd have you flat on your back in seconds."

"Promise?" I retort and grin before realizing there's innuendo in that quip. My face bursts into flames. Bella's eyebrows shoot up and she gives me a questioning glare.

"Promise," she confirms, then adds furtively, "You wouldn't stand a chance."

"Ha!" I scoff.

Bella busies herself with her camera bag where she carefully takes everything out in order to secure the different size lenses back in their correct spaces. I pace the floor, keeping one eye on the doors to the patio hoping the 'men in black' aren't scaling the security fence in order to burst in and kidnap us.

There's an awkward silence where I guess we're both thinking about what to say to each other after my suggestive comment. Also, I know I'll have to apologize for doubting her loyalty before we set off home or the drive back is going to be uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry for suggesting you're any part of this, Bella," I say sheepishly as she's zipping up her bag. "To tell you the truth, I'm nervous about my own shadow right now. I know I'm reading too much into anything anyone says as well. I feel I can't trust anyone anymore, which is crazy I know. So sorry again. I really didn't mean to …"

"No offense taken," Bella replies and smiles reassuringly. "I'm sure I'd be reacting the same way if I was in your shoes. Still …"

Jasper appears in the room at that moment, lugging his equipment boxes and soil samples. Bella stops talking mid-sentence which is annoying as I'd like to know what she planned to say. Whatever, I don't feel so anxious about getting back to the vehicles safely now Jasper is here, despite Bella's alleged martial arts skills.

"I'm done," Jasper puffs cheerily as he drops his equipment boxes on the plastic floor. "Ready to hit the road?"

"Sure," I reply. "We have a slight problem though. We think we're being watched. Bella spotted two guys in the trees by the parking lot. It may be entirely innocent, or they could be whoever was in the SUV near my cabin last night."

"Holy crap, Edward. Are we in any danger from these guys?"

"I hope not. Just be aware they're there and stick together, okay?"

Jasper puts his hand on Bella's arm and says in a deadly serious and reassuring tone;

"Don't worry, Bella. Edward and I will look after you," and then can't understand why both of us start laughing.

We sign out with security and make our way down the hill to the vehicles while making a play of chatting among ourselves as though nothing unusual has happened. Jasper tells Bella he disturbed a nest of Pika rodents while digging under a bush and he'd 'shrieked like a girl' when Mommy Pika scrambled over his hand to escape. Even though I'm amused listening to Jasper's story, my heart pounds alarmingly in my chest as we walk down the hill and even more so as we get closer to the trees. Whoever's been hiding there has disappeared into the shadows so we make it to our vehicles without incident.

"I'm going straight back to The Yard," Jasper calls out as he gets in the Jeep.

"We'll be right behind you. See ya back there," Bella replies for the watchers' benefit. As we drive away from the lot I spot movement in the trees but I'm not tempted to slow down and investigate. Keeping as close to Jasper's bumper as possible, I pull out onto the narrow service road and accelerate away.

About a quarter of a mile further on Bella spots a black SUV parked off-road in a gap between the trees.

"Is that the vehicle you saw last night," she asks.

"It could be," I respond as I slow down to take a closer look. It looks much smaller as the SUV from last night and definitely not as menacing in the daylight. Bella pulls out her cell and leans across me as we approach and pass it. She takes several pictures including the license plate.

"I'll get my dad to trace it," she mutters while tapping furiously on her cell. "Hopefully this'll give us some idea who we're up against."

"Us?" I reply. "You mustn't get involved, Bella. This is my problem. I don't want you putting yourself at risk."

Bella twists in her seat so she's facing me rather than the windshield. She's pissed again. I can tell without looking at her face.

"Edward, I appreciate I haven't known you as long as the others but I want you to hear me out, okay?"

I nod my head in agreement and concentrate on the road as I'm trying to catch up with Jasper's Jeep, which disappeared when I slowed down.

"You believe these people are murderers, don't you, or at least they associate with murderers, so they're not your average Peeping Toms or random assholes. Right?"

"Right," I respond, wondering where this is going.

"This means you'll agree that because we work together, I could be at risk from these guys too, and so could Jasper, and Jake, and Emmett and the girls. We're all involved now and we've got to look out for you, and for one another until this is sorted. You've been threatened in the cabin and followed at work so far. Who's to say they won't come to The Yard one day and threaten all of us."

"I don't know B…." I start but Bella hasn't finished.

"If you don't want to talk to us about your dad's work, that's fine; I totally get it, especially if you really don't know what he was working on. But there must be some reason why they're harassing you and following you. At the moment they've got away with murdering your dad, so why bother revealing themselves to you and confirming your suspicions? That's what I can't get my head around."

I shrug my shoulders as that's the question I've been asking myself since I got home from San Francisco.

"Is there anything else other than your dad's work you can think of which might explain this?"

I shrug my shoulders again as there's no way I can answer her question without giving too much away. She's right though. If dad's murderers have followed me to Colorado, I'm putting my friends at risk by being around them. Even worse, because I'm obliged through dad's letter not to trust any of them, I can't give them a reason why they are at risk which is totally unfair.

Concentrating on driving and thinking at the same time is difficult, especially when I can feel fury about my situation building up inside me again. This time it's not because I'm not only compelled by the letter to keep them in the dark. It's because I'm imagining how they would react if something happened to one of them, and I'd elected to not trust them, despite knowing what I know.

We're approaching the 70 so have to keep my eyes on the road for a while. Bella has guessed I need time to think up a plausible response to her comment and hasn't pressed me for an answer. Her cell buzzes loudly which makes me jump. Jesus! I'm a nervous wreck. After she's read the message she responds with a text before tucking her cell back in her jacket pocket. She doesn't say what was in the message which really irritates me. I just wish I could tap into what was going through her head. Of all the people at The Yard, she's the only one who is pro-actively analyzing my situation and steering me to think about what I should be doing about it. Why is life so effing complicated?

Once we get on the 70 I restart the conversation.

"I'm guessing these guys presume dad warned me about them specifically, so they think I either know or suspect who they are, Dad may have known he was in danger, so I guess they've been watching me to see whether I do anything to expose them. Other than that, I really have no idea."

"Okay," Bella says. "So what we must do now is increase your security. Are you sure you'll be safe in the cabin on your own?"

"I'll be fine. If they'd wanted to do me harm they would've got me last night."

"Have you got a gun?"

"No … Well … that's not actually true. I've got a pistol that fires blanks. I'd only use it if there were mountain lions or bears near the cabin and I needed to get to the car. I've never actually shot a gun before. Have you?"

"Yep. Charlie used to take me to the ranges when he was doing firearm practice. I'm not a bad shot."

"Do you own a gun then?"

"No, but I'm licensed in Washington and Oregon."

I shake my head in disbelief as her background is a complete surprise to me.

"So is there anything else in your past I need to know about, like are you Mossad or a Soviet agent, or something like that?"

Bella laughs out loud and wipes her eyes before replying in a pretend Russian accent …

"Eeef I told you, I'd 'av to keeeeel you!"

"Very funny," I snort, trying not to laugh.

Bella had managed to convert a serious situation into a humorous one, and for that, I'm grateful for the light relief. This is not going to make my problems go away though. I'm still wary about what to say to her but my estimation of whether or not she's working for the enemy as a spy is now ninety-nine percent she isn't.

We get back to The Yard a few minutes before six without incident. Everyone apart from Jake is there and Jasper has already told the girls about the guys in the woods. Consequently, there are concerned faces all round when Bella and I walk into the main office, apart from Mitzi who goes berserk again as she probably thought I'd abandoned her once more.

I can see from the looks on their faces they need answers to unsaid questions and I have to make the decision whether to trust them or not. Now that the SUV guys are following me at work I'm putting my colleagues at risk, which means they have a right to know more than what I said this morning.

Dad's words of warning are imprinted on my brain; also the images of what I saw and read on the computer. These guys are my closest friends though, and apart from Bella, I'm a hundred percent confident they wouldn't sell me out for any amount of money. Not only that, I need someone to talk to, and I need help, and the only people I can ask for support are the guys who are now in danger of being drawn into whatever conspiracy is behind my dad's murder.

So that's it. My decision boils down to whether I can include Bella in my circle of trust and I don't have much time to make up my mind. She alerted me to the guys in the trees, but they could be rivals. In other words, she could be working for one of the Tech companies after dad's secrets; the guys in the woods for another.

I assess each of my colleagues in turn, knowing I have to take a chance. After making my mind up I take a deep breath and pray to a God I don't believe in that what I'm doing is the right thing, and start talking.

"Okay guys … bottom line … this is what I know and it must go no further than these four walls."

They all nod in agreement or in Emmett's case, he gives me a thumbs up. I take another deep breath and begin.

"My dad genuinely didn't discuss his work with me until after a project was complete. Explaining it to me was pointless because I wouldn't have understood what the hell he was talking about. In the last few months, I'd guessed he'd been working on something fairly momentous as I'd hardly spoken to him since April, and this only happens when he's burying himself in his work."

I take another deep breath before carrying on. The others are watching me intently; even Mitzi is staring at me which is disconcerting.

"When I got home from dad's funeral, my neighbor, Sue, gave me a handwritten note. Dad had given it to her to pass on to me if anything happened to him. I still have the note, and before you ask, it doesn't contain any information about what he was working on or where he kept any of his notes. All it said was …."

I take another deep breath.

"All it said was … he was caught up in a battle between … well … he described them as Titans. He knew he was in danger and he warned me not to trust anyone as they might think I had information about his work."

"Did you tell the police about the letter?" Jasper interrupts.

"No, dad warned me not to. I've been trying to work out why. I can only think he didn't even want the US government to get their hands on what he was working on."

"So your dad didn't tell you?"

"Not in the letter, but I found out myself. It shocked me then and I'm still shocked now."

"What was it?" Rosalie interrupts.

"I can't say."

There's a chorus of, "Whaaaaat," from the others and Jasper cuts in again.

"You can't leave us hanging, Edward. If your dad's murderers are on your tail and we're anywhere around, then we're in danger too. Don't you trust us to keep your secret? If you don't, then we can't help you?"

"Yes of course I trust you guys … I wouldn't be telling you this much if I didn't. But even if I tell you, it doesn't have any bearing on what's happening now, and to be honest you're better off not knowing."

I get up from my chair and pace the floor. This is my biggest dilemma. They absolutely don't need to know what dad was working on, but being totally honest, I really want to tell someone.

Keeping dad's secret is driving me insane as I can't talk it over with anyone. If I stay in Colorado I'll be putting these guys at risk, only I'm probably safer here than in San Francisco where I hardly know anyone anymore. I can't go to the cops either as I'm not entirely sure they'd take me seriously. What I do know is I'm dealing with people who are ready to kill for information, so the only way I can ensure their safety is to leave, even disappear. I don't want to do that though. I want to stay here and somehow find out what happened to dad.

I return to my chair and put my head in my hands and make the decision that they really do have a right to know everything; well almost everything. Telling them is going to make no difference now as I've destroyed dad's computer. So here goes.

"Okay, guys, but you must promise this goes no further, and actually I'd rather Jake doesn't find out what I'm going to tell you. I trust his loyalty to me and The Yard, but his tongue wags too freely when he's had a drink, especially when he's trying to impress the ladies. You know what I mean?"

Everyone nods their heads sagely; even Bella who probably hasn't witnessed Jake when he's worse for alcohol.

I look at my colleagues again for final confirmation that I'm doing the right thing and then recall the images on the computer. I feel sick with anxiety as well as revulsion but hopefully sharing what I've learned will help me deal with it and preserve my sanity.

"I only have limited knowledge of what he was working on and apparently succeeding to a certain extent where others have failed. I'm not going to tell you how I found out. I can tell you the source of information no longer exists. Okay?"

They all nod and Emmett gives the thumbs-up again."

"Does everyone here know what an EEG is?"

Alice pipes up. "It's an electroencephalogram; a way of listening to brain activity. My cousin's epileptic and has EEG tests occasionally."

"That's right," I confirm. "They've been around for about fifty years. A patient's head is covered with pads and wires which send signals to a machine that interprets them for the doctors. It's very safe, even for babies. It's only been used in medical settings until recently when scientists in South Africa managed to connect a person to an EEG machine and then connect him or her to a computer. This is common knowledge and has been reported widely in scientific journals. What isn't common knowledge is they've been trying to discover whether it's possible for a person to connect themselves to a computer and send messages and instructions without the use of hardware; in other words using brainpower only."

"Shit!" Emmett exclaims. "That would be awesome. Are you saying this is what your dad was working on?"

"Indirectly yes. From the information dad left me to read, at the beginning of April he was given everything the South African scientists had already developed, in the hope he would be able to work out how to create a link between a computer and a human brain. The idea is it would work by inserting an electronic device under the scalp which would connect with a computer using a person's thought processes."

"Awesome," Emmett says again.

"Awesome, yes, especially as the human brain is the most awesome computer in the known universe. We can already build computer systems that can send signals faster than a brain, but a computer is still a binary system, whereas a brain has billions of different pathways for information to travel along. Not only that, if what I've read since is true, scientists believe that one day information could be passed in both directions. In other words, a computer could feed information directly into the brain once the device is installed."

"Oh my God!" Alice declares. "Big Brother?"

"Exactly, but it gets worse."

"What could be worse than a Tech company feeding you information and propaganda non-stop into your head and you can't control it," Alice grumbles. "I get seriously pissed when my mailbox gets filled up with junk."

I smile at Alice's comment but don't respond. The science-fiction part of the story is approaching where I'll be taking my friends by the hand and leading them deep into the Twilight Zone. Their reactions are going to be interesting.

"If a device is invented that could enable a brain to speak directly to a computer and for a computer to effectively talk back to its host, the next step would be for the computer to use a brain as a tool and utilize its billions of pathways to improve its functions and capacity."

"So the device could behave like a parasite?" Jasper questioned.

"That's a good word for it … yes."

I'm watching Bella for any reaction but she's remained silent; her face not showing any measure of emotion. Alice's naturally pale face on the other hand has actually turned white and I can tell by her troubled expression that she's way ahead of the others. I'm guessing she's predicted where this is leading, even though I doubt whether she would reach as far as dad's warning.

"Sooooo," Alice says. "If this link/chip/device however you want to describe it is developed, and could do what you say it could, and is installed in a human head, or many human heads, then whoever is in control of the device would basically have the fastest and most complex computer on the planet."

"Yes."

"So, logically, a human could become part of a machine."

I nod my head in affirmation.

"But no human would agree to that, surely. I don't know anything about science or brains or anything technical, but I'm guessing it would have to be the same human connected to one computer at all times as I can't imagine every brain working in exactly the same way."

"You're right."

"So if this is what your dad was working on," Jasper interrupts, "Surely he would've worked out how unethical this is?"

"He did, eventually, but initially I guess he was so wrapped up in inventing it he didn't think the implications through. I'm guessing the project was a challenge. An intriguing puzzle nobody thought he could solve. Maybe when he started this project even he thought it impossible, but he managed to do it, and then he thought about the implications."

"So he did it?" Rosalie cries out. "He actually invented the device?"

I internally kick myself as I hadn't meant to admit that dad had succeeded in working out how the link could be achieved. I can't unsay what I just said so have to think quickly.

"I'm not absolutely sure, Rosie. However far he got and whatever he did invent was only an idea on paper. It certainly hadn't been manufactured or tested on anyone. It was definitely just a theory. He warned me in his letter he'd created a monster which would be a disaster for the world if it escaped from his head or his desk, and as I couldn't find any paperwork relating to it at home, either his papers were taken in the raid or his ideas died with him."

Alice has gone quiet again. She goes to say something then shakes her head.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asks and walks over to crouch in front of her and take her hand. "What's the matter, Alice?"

She stares wide-eyed at Jasper before turning her gaze on me and I can tell by the horrified look on her face that she's actually worked out what I read on dad's computer. Alice's clever brain has raced ahead of everyone else's and she's foreseen where this technology could lead.

"Eventually scientists wouldn't need a functioning human body, would they?" she whispers.

I shake my head. "No, they probably wouldn't."

"So a human could be created just for a brain."

"Logically, yes."

"And brainy people like your dad could be forced to breed with brainy women to create super-brainy kids, who would then have their brains extracted at birth."

"That would be the ideal, as the Tech scientists could get their hands on a high-functioning brain that hadn't been corrupted by everyday life, like teenage hormones for instance."

Even Emmett's face changes color as they sit in silence contemplating the horrific implications if this invention got into the wrong hands.

"I feel sick," Rosalie says which breaks the silence.

"Me too," Emmett agrees, "But there's one flaw I can see already.

"What?" I ask sounding surprised as Emmett isn't the sharpest tool in the toolbox.

"Well, your parents were both super-brainy; what the hell happened to you?"

Jasper is the first one to laugh out loud, followed by Rosalie and Emmett, and then Alice. I also see the funny side but I'm concentrating on Bella's face as it has remained frozen, emotionless. She hasn't joined the conversation at all and I'm wondering why.

"What do you think, Bella?" I ask.

"It's shocking," she answers quietly. "I truly hope your dad's working notes died with him, but are you absolutely certain that's what they're after. I mean, how many people know what your dad was working on?"

"I've no idea, but obviously the scientists in South Africa did."

"Have you been in touch with them?" Jasper asks.

"No, as I wouldn't know who to call. They must know by now that dad's dead but they haven't been in contact with me."

"So you think the Titans your dad referred to are big Tech companies desperate to get their hands on his work," Bella asks, but before I have a chance to answer Jasper cuts in.

"They must know you're a gardener though. They must realize they're wasting their time coming after you."

I put my head in my hands again and sigh. "I just don't understand why they're harassing me, guys. If they wanted to question me I was on my own in the cabin last night. They could've burst in and got me then and put me on the rack. There must be some reason why they're doing this, but I honestly don't know what."

As we're all contemplating this conundrum we hear the sound of Jake's bike skidding into the yard. He bursts through the door, spots the patently worried faces in the room, and looks totally confused. I can smell alcohol on him so he's obviously come from one of the local bars and I'm angry he's been riding his bike through town under the influence.

"What's up guys … has someone died?" Jake quips and then realizes what an insensitive comment this is.

"Sorry," he mumbles at me. "Why so glum though? I was driving past and wondered why the gates were still open."

"Bella spotted two guys watching Edward at the hotel," Jasper responds quickly. "He thinks they may be the guys who were in the SUV last night."

"Crap!" Jake exclaims and turns to me. "Are you sure you don't want me to get some of the gang …"

"No," I retort. "Just leave it. I'll be fine."

Glancing at my watch I'm surprised to see it's nearly seven.

"Home everyone," I announce. "I'm shattered and I guess you guys are too. I'll lock up, so see you in the morning."

Back in my office, I sit at the computer while everybody packs up. I use the time to check my emails to see if any jump out at me as interesting, deleting the ones that are junk. There are several unintelligible ones that are a mass of jumbled-up letters as though a cat has sat on the keyboard. I hit the delete button on each one after which I shut down the computer and check all the cupboards are locked. As everyone files out they shout their goodbyes. The last one to leave is Bella who puts her head around the door.

"If you feel the need for my gun-totin' and kung fu skills, you've got my number."

I laugh as I wave her away.

"Get out before I set my guard dog on you."

"Charming!" she retorts then disappears out the door. I watch her plug her earbuds into her cell while she crosses the yard and climbs into the rust-bucket. The engine noise is deafening as she drives out the gates.

"C'mon Mitzi," I sigh as I set the alarms and lock the external door. In the Shogun I open the windows slightly so Mitzi can get some air before driving onto the street. While I'm locking the gates, I check up and down for black SUVs or suspicious-looking characters, but there's none to be seen.

It dawns on me as I'm pulling into the traffic that I've been diabolically stupid talking to my colleagues in an unsecured office where anybody could be listening in. Before I investigated the dungeon, I'd been super-careful the house wasn't bugged. Less than an hour ago I'd spilled to my friends almost everything I knew about what dad had been working on, yet I hadn't considered the offices might be under surveillance by these people.

As I'm cursing myself for being so idiotically irresponsible, at the same time I have an idea. There is an easy way to combine finding out if the offices are bugged and whether any of my colleagues have been bought. Tomorrow I'll give them a piece of information which I hadn't disclosed yet, and then I'll sit back and watch to see whether anyone takes the bait.

I hate doing this and it will break my heart if there's a Judas in the camp, but there's too much at stake here for me to be sentimental. As I drive towards the freeway, I know my first job tonight will be to check out Bella's resume and then to search the cabin from top to bottom for anything that shouldn't be there.

It's going to be a long night.

So that's what Carlisle was working on. It sounds totally bonkers/unethical etc., but unfortunately, it has happened in the real (non-Twilight Fanfiction) world.

I started writing this story over eighteen months ago. I'd read about the South African lab's work with EEG type machines (all true) and then imagined where this type of technology would progress to. On August 29th this year, I first read a report on the BBC website (so it's got to be true), which was replicated in lots of newspapers, that Elon Musk's scientists had put a similar device in a pig. If you don't believe me, look up Neuralink Pig on the internet. This is just a brain/computer connection, and not a parasite device yet. Recently Musk's company has announced they will be commencing human trials soon. So technology has basically overtaken my story. I'd laugh, but this technology is not funny!

So Edward has spilled almost everything to his friends, apart from Jake. He's right though - whether they know or not makes no difference now as he destroyed Carlisle's computer. At least he can talk to someone about it now, even though it has no bearing on why he's being harassed.

Now he has a plan to unmask the enemy in the camp, (if there is one of course), what do you think it is? Also, do you think he's being foolhardy going back to the cabin on his own? (YES HE IS! I hear you all shouting).

Joan xx