Synaptics Lab, General Hospital
Andrew entered first. The laboratory was empty. Equipment lay under cloth wrappings. He ducked his head into the office.
Patrick saw Andrew. "That was quick."
"Give me a minute." Andrew darted back to the elevator to fetch Robin.
"Who's there?" asked Robin tentatively.
"Doctor Quartermaine, Patrick, Matt and Doctor Hardy," replied Andrew. "They all know about Eve and you."
Robin paused a few feet from the office doorway. She took a few deep breaths.
Andrew dutifully waited for her. "It won't be as bad as you think it will be."
"He's a good man? Patrick?"
"Yes, he is."
"And he loved her?"
Andrew nodded. "Very much. I doubt that he'll hate you."
"This is her lab, her hospital." Robin surveyed the lab stations and equipment laying unused. "There must be a lot of memories here for him, for both of them."
"Whether you meet him here or at some other time and place, the shock will be the same," said Andrew.
"So why not rip the bandaid now, right?" Robin began to walk forward side by side with her brother.
Together, the siblings stepped into the office. They were greeted by silence, shocked faces and curious eyes.
Robin smiled shyly while removing her blonde wig. "Hi. It's me - Robin. How is ... is everyone today?"
The Barn, Villa Scorpio
Ivan Korolev limped into the room assisted by Vincent. They were followed by Wolf Paradjis head of the DVX surveillance team in Port Charles. The rest of the DVX team were sequestered with the Korolevs.
"First question. If you are all here, who is on Andrew's DVX security team?" asked Anna.
Wolf stood at attention. "Our immediate orders were to wait for replacements and prepare to return home. At this time, there is no security team. I notified WSB Agent Tania Lowell that we were short on staff due to sickness. She agreed to take on our coverage days."
"Does DVX Central HQ know of your ... your departure?"
Wolf shook his head. "Contact is sporadic. We are not closely monitored. They are too busy at home I think. Our next check-in is tomorrow morning."
"That gives us some time to decide about what to do with all of you," said Anna looking at Robert.
"You ... you HAVE to give them sanctuary. You must!" said Ivan.
Robert responded, "Ivan, getting you and your family out was a matter of expediency and personal honor. This is political."
"They're MY people! I will do what you want of me in exchange for their safety."
"It's not a question of-" Robert began to say.
"YOU owe me. You owe HANS. I do not know what passed between you but I DO know that you could not have learned all you knew about the DVX without his help," said Ivan pressing his case. "He could have retired but he CHOSE to help protect YOUR son. We were all recruited by him. We all supported you because of Hans."
"That is enough, Ivan," said Vincent.
"No! Are we allies or not, Robert?" demanded Ivan. He looked at Anna. "Will you help or turn away when you are needed most?"
Robert exchanged a look with Anna knowing she was probably remembering the same thing - Franjo's accusation. You used her like you used me. All of us. When you were done, she was expendable.
"Arranging for the disappearance of six people and the creation of six new lives won't be easy." Anna looked Ivan in the eye. "But it's not impossible."
"No one is expendable," added Robert. "Not with us."
Ivan sagged in relief. Vincent helped him to a chair.
"You'll help?" asked Wolf still unsure of the course of the conversation.
Anna nodded. "Is there any way your superiors could connect you to us today?"
Wolf shook his head. "After we decided that this is what we wanted to do we followed Vincent's instructions. We disposed of all electronic devices we had on us. Even our watches. We left the office separately and at different times. We came here in different ways. We were not followed. I am certain."
"Your apartments and accommodations?" asked Anna.
"Have been left as they are," said Wolf. "We have only what we are wearing."
"Vincent and Ivan, the team is your responsibility. Get them settled in. For now, they cannot leave the confines of the Villa. Edgar, please let Nestor know he's got six candidates for new identities," said Anna. "Robert, what's the best way for six DVX agents to disappear from a foreign city at the same time with the least likelihood of questions being asked?"
"As spectacularly as possible, luv," replied Robert. He grinned. "I have just the man for the job. I'll let Captain Wells know in advance. Leave it to me."
Synaptics Lab, General Hospital
Monica was first to give Robin a tight hug. She was followed by Tom.
"My brain knew the truth but my heart is pounding right now. It's really you!" exclaimed Monica.
"I'm so sorry about Alan and Emily," said Robin. "I don't know what to say."
"It's okay. The important thing is you're home where you belong."
"You are here to stay aren't you?" asked Tom.
Robin nodded. "I think so. Yes."
She looked beyond Tom and found Matt smiling. Beside him, Patrick stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost. Andrew stood by Robin waiting for the moment to make introductions.
"Robin, this is Doctor Matt Hunter and his brother, Doctor Patrick Drake, Emma's father," said Andrew.
Matt extended a hand that Robin shook. "We saw you on the video of Anna and Robert's wedding. You look better in person."
"I hope I do," replied Robin.
"Gee, that came out wrong. I'm sorry," said Matt.
"It's fine. It was funny. Call me Robin." Robin steeled herself and extended a hand towards Patrick. "Patrick?"
Patrick looked at Robin then at her hand. His mouth moved but no sound came out for a few seconds. He cleared his throat and hastily shook Robin's hand. "Um, ah, I'm Patrick. Nice to meet you." He studied her face. "You're ... you're Robin. Yeah, you are."
To fill the awkward silence that followed, Matt said, "You don't really look alike. You and Eve I mean. There are differences."
"Really? Like what?" asked Patrick.
"Robin's thinner," concluded Matt. "And the hair style."
To prevent another moment of awkwardness, Andrew piped up with, "Why don't I activate the console so you can do the analysis." His fingers played over the keyboard. "Let me try Eve's access code first. That might still be working."
A message flashed on the screen: Identity Unconfirmed.
Andrew opened the closest desk drawer and pulled out a small flat panel the side of an index card with a cord hanging by the side. He plugged the cord to the back of the console. "Genji must have configured this to use absolute identification. It's requiring fingerprint verification. Robin, can you put a thumb or finger on this panel?"
"We wouldn't have the same fingerprints, would we?" asked Robin as she pressed her thumb down on the panel.
"Fingerprints can be surgically changed or fully removed," said Andrew.
The terminal emitted a beep that sounded oddly satisfied. The screen changed to the desktop.
Robin shook her head in open disgust. "God! Another thing taken away from me." With angry steps, she walked to the window and peered outside.
Andrew entered a series of commands. He looked at Matt. "I've activated the local network. Go ahead and use the chemical analyzer in the lab. SIMON will process the result immediately."
Matt and Monica left to run the sample through the analyzer. Tom stayed behind openly curious and studying the uneasy dynamics of all the persons in the room. Patrick was doing well in the grief counseling that he had been undertaking with Tom. However, the sudden appearance of the real Robin was bound to have a strong effect no matter what Patrick said.
Robin's outburst revealed volumes to Tom. He made a note to talk to Anna about having sessions with Robin. Tom had known Robin from girlhood through young adulthood. The woman standing by the window was a combination of all he knew and the woman who had been shaped and affected by a horrific, life-changing experience. Complicated did not do the situation or the person justice.
Tom watched Patrick trying to remain cool as he sneaked glances at Robin. For her part, she was too caught up in her own predicament to give a thought to Patrick.
"We will install a different terminal here, Doctor Hardy. I suspect that this lab will be getting more use," said Andrew.
"More?" asked Tom.
"Yes. By the hospital and the PCPD."
"I see. This is turning out to be bigger than we thought," said Tom. "Should I be preparing for ... for a drug use epidemic?"
Andrew looked at Tom and Patrick. "It would be better to prepare for cases coming in suffering from adverse effects."
"In addition to the drug's narcotic and psychotic effects?" asked Patrick.
"Instead of," clarified Andrew. "We believe that the Fly, um, formula is bad. The ones going into circulation at this time that is."
"What do you mean by bad? Fake drugs?" asked Tom.
Robin sighed. "Bad as in designed to have ill effects on persons with certain neurological issues or chronic conditions like asthma, seizure sensitivity or angina. Fly won't kill by itself but it will if it's taken by someone vulnerable to its corrosive effect."
"Make someone super happy for a few minutes then kill him in the next? Who makes something like that?" asked Patrick.
Robin faced the men. "Me. Or I did. Once upon a time."
Command and Control, Villa Scorpio
A tense impromptu senior officers meeting was in progress in the conference room. Scrolling on an LCD display set flat against the wall were color coded status messages. The quantity of red coded messages was increasing every minute.
The most recent messages were:
NODE Moscow6 deactivated.
NODE Vladivostok2 deactivated.
ALERT - PRIMARY DATA LINK (MOSCOW) OFFLINE.
NODE Kiev1 deactivated.
NODE Moscow5 deactivated.
ALERT - Cross agency comms link offline.
NODE Leningrad3 deactivated.
NODE Kiev2 deactivated.
ALERT - SECONDARY COMMAND LINK (MOSCOW) OFFLINE.
On the large projection screen, Robert had SIMON display a schematic of the various systems installed at DVX Central HQ. On another smaller screen, Andre attended the meeting from Paris.
"Guardian is either on or off at any of the segments of the WSB and DVX," explained Robert. "The new DVX management either do not like Guardian's influence or want to show off their own power with this incident."
"They can turn Guardian on or off at their end and we can't do anything about it?" asked Shane.
"There's always been autonomy requirements for the WSB and DVX. They had to have a level of control that was completely their own. It was a sticking point in negotiations," said Robert. "Every few years both organizations believe that Guardian isn't essential to their operations They do this sort of offline exercise to test the measure of independence from and dependency on Guardian."
NODE Moscow4 deactivated.
NODE Moscow3 deactivated.
NODE Leningrad2 deactivated.
NODE Moscow2 deactivated.
NODE Vladivostok1 deactivated.
NODE Moscow1 deactivated.
NODE Leningrad1 deactivated.
"So, this is not a time to start worrying?" asked Andre reading through the messages on his console.
"Whether they're happy or not about it, they're better with Guardian than without. It's a fact proven over time. Guardian's Analysis Artificial Intelligence has not only saved them time and cost but delivered stellar results. They can certainly live without it but their analysis functions would return to pre-Guardian levels. Guardian is a tool they would be idiots to not use."
"But we know from Hans' rebel group that there is a backlash against it. Their actual reasons and perceptions aren't directly relevant but it can affect Guardian. What if this isn't a test, Robert?" asked Anna.
"There's always that chance," said Robert. "As long as certain connections are maintained, they can re-activate Guardian at any time. Let's watch the situation and see what happens."
"Are there systems in place at the DVX or WSB in case Guardian is out of the picture?" asked Genji as he scrutinized the schematics. "I can see they have the storage capacity. Their data stays their data but where's the ... the brains of the thing?"
"Guardian has been the brains for a long time. There have been many attempts to replicate its full functionality. To my knowledge, none have been entirely successful," said Robert. "The mechanics can be copied such as the hardware, storage or the digital network. They can certainly develop applications to accomplish the aggregation and analysis capabilities but the code for the AI itself has never been made available to them. They have tried to hack in and crack it but Andrew's always been a few steps ahead of their attempts. Without the AI module, no system can replicate the ability to take pieces of data and draw out from them the four things essential to an intelligence agency - true context, conceptual meaning, immediate relevancy and timely accuracy."
"The Analytics capabilities of the WSB and the DVX has long been coveted by other intelligence agencies globally. I know from experience that Interpol tried to make their own thinking engine and failed. Now, they rely on the WSB's analysis feed almost exclusively," said Edgar. "I agree with Robert. How can the DVX give up such an advantage?"
The status monitor began to flash on and off rapidly. Four messages were scrolling repeatedly on the screen.
ALERT - SATLINK MoscowALPHA undetected.
ALERT - PRIMARY COMMAND LINK (MOSCOW) OFFLINE.
STATUS - GUARDIAN : Moscow segment terminated.
STATUS - GUARDIAN : COMMAND CODE VERIFIED. FULL TERMINATION CONFIRMED.
Everyone's command phones began to sound as SIMON's alerting system disseminated the new information.
"Damn!" swore Robert.
"Time to worry," muttered Andre.
"It wasn't a test after all," said Anna reading the messages for the second time.
"That's it. They've cut the cord. They're on their own," said Robert slumping in disbelief into a chair at the head of the long table. "Why would they do this?"
"Everyone, please leave. Edgar, Andre, stay," commanded Anna.
As everyone streamed out of the room, Robert ranted, "Why give up a tactical advantage? Why now? If they ask for Guardian back, the answer is going to be N-O. No! What are they thinking?"
"Incident report in two words," said Anna attempting to make sense of everything.
"Global imbalance," said Edgar.
"Screw up," said Robert dismayed.
"Unintended consequences," said Andre.
Anna added, "Sean's right."
"That's three words," said Robert. "Contractions count."
"Whatever. I hate it when he's right."
"What are you two talking about?" asked Edgar.
"Master strategist Donely said that I'd been hasty. Didn't consider all the angles before acting," said Robert. "But I did! Jacques and I went over the master plan year after year sparing no detail. This ... this is completely out of the blue."
"Is it?" asked Anna.
"Faison?" asked Edgar.
"This can't be Faison's doing. The DVX was intended to be one of Andrew's shields via Guardian," said Andre. "That had to be obvious to him."
"Mutual protection for mutual benefit. It was the perfect scheme. I made sure it happened with the DVX and the WSB. Faison wouldn't cut it off. It would be senseless to," argued Robert. "Faison always makes some kind of sense."
"Logical or not, the unthinkable has happened. What's going to happen because of this?" asked Anna.
"If we needed absolute proof that Faison no longer has influence inside the DVX, this is it," said Andre.
Edgar was thoughtful. "It seems to me that with the DVX removing Guardian, we're now blind to their operations. We've never been able to see into all of their activities but we had sufficient data from Guardian to make sound calculated guesses. When one agency is essentially invisible, other agencies become paranoid. Paranoia breeds suspicion. Each agency will want to have the advantage, the position of power."
"Just like the bad old days," said Andre.
Robert exclaimed, "I swear Sean sees angles before they exist! How does he do it?"
"How soon will the WSB and the other agencies know about this?" asked Anna.
"Soon," said Edgar.
"If the news isn't out already," said Andre. "There's no covering this up." He tapped a few more keys. "Russian press is announcing an upcoming press call for the President. Intelligence chat boards are very active. Something is up. Anna, I'll get off and keep a watch on this." Andre's image winked off the display.
Anna grew serious. "If ... when the DVX discovers that they can't replicate the AI, they may go after the one person who can. That's what I would do."
"And there's no better time for a snatch than when things are at their most chaotic," put in Edgar.
"SIMON, locate Andrew. Show on screen," Anna said. She pressed a button on the desk phone. "CnC, change the orders of Andrew's trail. I want a full team with him at all times, anywhere he goes. Remain on alert status here and at all locations."
Robert slapped his palms down on the desktop and stood up. "Enough moping for me. I have to do something. Heading into town."
"For the disappearing act?" asked Anna.
"Shane guarantees me a big show tonight. I have a boat and scuba gear to secure. Giles and I have to finalize details with Suki."
"Suki, why?"
"A show needs an audience! Raincheck on the welcome home dinner!" With that and a quick kiss, Robert left the meeting.
"Is a bit of wine and some soft music too much to ask for?" Anna turned in her chair to glance at the monitor displaying Andrew's location. Next to the red dot of Andrew's dermal tracker was a green one labelled "Robin Phone." Their mother looked closer at the screen.
"What are they doing there? Robin's not in our Lab?" asked Anna. "Edgar, is there something you want to tell me?"
"You didn't know they were together?" asked Edgar.
Anna took out her phone. "No. What are they up to?"
Wisely, Edgar left the room before Anna's call connected.