“Already checked that,” Gavin said. “And you are correct. Right down the middle.”
Midas gave a low whistle. “Twenty-five million…”
“Makes sense.” Ding looked up from the Moleskine pad where he was taking notes. “We think they sold the AI program to another party before Father West was arrested and Noonan disappeared.”
“So there are two copies in play,” Gavin said. “Okay. It’ll take some time to get the particulars, but I’m on it. A cursory search on his laptop shows dozens of communications between him and a business called Suparman Games. Specifically, the CEO, a guy named… get this, Suparman. A one-word name.”
“Like the man of steel?” Ryan asked.
“Not sure of the etymology,” Biery said. “But it turns out Suparman is just a regular name in Indonesia. Being a video game company, this particular Suparman plays up the comparison, though. He’s got offices in Manado. A real playboy. Drives race cars and jumps out of airplanes in his spare time. Seems like he fancies himself a pioneer in the Indonesian video game industry. A real innovator.”
“You found all this on his computer?” Clark said.
Biery scoffed. “No, I found most of it on social media. This Suparman guy posts more stuff than the Kardashians. Every other pic is of him in a sports car or airplane with some hot babe on his arm. Think of an Indonesian James Bond with Elton John glasses. I’m sending you all photos now, but like I said, all you really have to do is Google him. He’s the kind of dude who probably has statues of himself in his mansion.”
Ding pulled up the photo on his phone. “Geez,” he said, looking at the thick glasses that made Suparman’s eyes appear extra-large. “This guy must be blind as a bat.”
Clark had the photo open on his phone as well. “He seems like he might be the type to throw some cash at a fancy new AI program for his company.”
“He’s got the money,” Biery said. “Worth about half a billion, just counting the funds we know of. There are likely a shitload of unknown accounts tucked away around the world.”
“So,” Jack said. “Someone frames Noonan into giving up this Calliope program, but Ackerman and Noonan have already sold a copy of it to Suparman.”
“That’s about the size of it, Weed Hopper,” Ding said.
Clark leaned back in his seat, folding his hands across his belly. “We have to fuel up again in…” He looked toward the cockpit.
“L.A.,” Helen, the pilot in command, yelled back. “And then again in Honolulu.”
“L.A.,” Clark repeated. “See what you can find out in the next few hours, Gavin. We’ll fly to Manado to steal this guy’s prize. A man’s life — and who knows what else — depends on it.”
Chavez ended the call and the team settled in for the long haul, ready for some much-needed rest as the pilots brought the Gulfstream G550’s Rolls-Royce turbofan engines to life.
“So,” Midas said. “This is a turn-and-burn? We locate and retrieve the software, then get it back to be analyzed so we know what we’re up against with the Chicoms?”
“Right.” Ding shot a sideways glance at Clark. “Except
“Manado airport can’t be very large,” Jack said. “Can an F-15 even put down there?”
Clark nodded. “I asked the same thing. The Eagles need eight thousand or so. Manado is eighty-nine hundred and change. Anyway, first things first. We haven’t got Calliope yet. Let’s focus on that.”
“I have a couple of questions,” Ding said. “Before you all conk out. Who wants to tell me about the ghosts everybody was talking about during the scenario training in Chinatown?”
“We were gaming you,” Adara said. “We wanted you wondering what we were seeing. I planned to stash a cloned tracker along the route so you would think I was stationary, then I’d slip around and capture the RAF Hereford mug when you called Dave and Lanny to come check out our ghosts.”
Chavez’s face flushed. “That might have actually worked.” He didn’t know whether to be angry or proud.
Clark held up a hand before he could speak.
“You trained them well, Ding. They win, you win.”
“Maybe,” Ding said. “But from my viewpoint, I still think it looks a hell of a lot like cheating.”
“And just how is that?” Adara asked. “We were supposed to follow the rabbits to the hide, cause a ruse to get them away from the location, and then bring you the mug. That is exactly what we planned to do.”
Chavez glared hard at her — and had a hell of a glare. “Whose idea was this?”
Adara groaned like a kid who was caught red-handed but didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. “Mine.”
“And the rest of you?” Chavez asked. “No one else gonna step up?”
