POD (The Pattern Universe)

Read POD (The Pattern Universe) for Free Online

Book: Read POD (The Pattern Universe) for Free Online
Authors: Tobias Roote
Tags: POD, book 2 in The Pattern Universe series.
busy, Mr. Osbourne, he has a tight schedule ahead today. Are you sure it's that important?” Annie said, loud enough to be heard by the others.
    “Yes. Remember the inauguration day event in Washington?” he quietly reminded her of the previous attack on Frank.
    Annie blanched, she remembered it clearly. It was the most terrifying time of her life. The day she thought the President was going to be assassinated.
    “I will go and tell him you are here,” she said and stood, turning to the door just as it opened and Frank came out glad handing the representative from some country that was part of the Council.
    “Mr...” Annie began, but Frank waved at her not to worry. He took one look at Osbourne and waved him in silently.
    His globe, as per standing procedure, parked itself outside the door. All communications within the President’s office were deemed confidential, for ‘eyes and ears’ only. This made sure there were no external records of what went on inside.
    Frank walked back to his desk, not bothering to make Osbourne welcome. They knew each other well enough to dispense with chitchat when necessary. As he plonked himself into his chair, Osbourne pulled up a stool and sat opposite him, elbows on the large desk.
    “Osbourne, perhaps you would be good enough to tell me why my appointment schedule just pinged an early end to my meeting and slotted you into place when you evidently have only just arrived. Are you hacking into my systems again?”
    “Err! I think Pod is around somewhere, Sir. It’s playing coy though, it sent me a chat message.”
    Frank’s view-screen that he couldn’t see from where he was seated, pinged.
    He turned to look at it. Osbourne didn’t need telling from the thunderous expression on his face that he had just received a copy of the same message. Pod must be either anticipating or eavesdropping. He didn’t care, he was just glad his friend was still about. Yes, he realised, he was strange calling an AI a friend, but that was just the way of it.
    “What the hell is this?” Frank bellowed at nobody in particular.
    “Delete it, Frank,” Osbourne told him.
    “What? why? I need this to...” he muttered confused at the request.
    “My message informed me that our spaceship plans are in the hands of the Fortress. It also said my equations were fine. I’m assuming it means I have someone sabotaging the nanite trials.”
    “Crap! We don’t need this right now, we have so much going on in the council; I’m thinking of getting your lot to forget designing spaceships and start cloning. Just give me a sec to think about this,” he said.
     
    Frank leaned back, his elbows on the arms of his chair, his hands together with fingers steepled, and swung around to gaze out the window. The complex he had striven to build around him and the Space Council was taking shape and close to achieving its aim, to place Earth in a position to enter Space in a committed way. Frank knew that trouble was coming, and the last thing they needed right now, was a concerted effort to disrupt the programme of getting a defence platform built to protect Earth from invasion.
    He turned back to Osbourne, still a young man at thirty one, who was shouldering a lot of responsibility himself heading up the technical and design teams for the Space programme. Nevertheless, Osbourne would have to manage the new problem of a spy in his midst while he tried to prepare for an invasion.
    “Okay, Osbourne, your objective is to uncover the saboteur in your team. It sounds like it would have to be someone close. I suggest you lay a trap and see who bites.”
    Osbourne nodded, pensive and thoughtful. He had been coming to the same conclusion himself probably, Frank thought.
    “Yes, I think I can do that now I know there is nothing wrong with my design. I can also take a look at the blueprints Pod sent me of their weapons and formulate a defence to them, if needed. I suspect Ferris would be surprised at how far we have

Similar Books

Silent Whisper

Andrea Smith

Shadow Chaser

Alexey Pehov

Circle of Shadows

Edna Curry

His Destiny

Diana Cosby

The Detonators

Donald Hamilton