Read The Lives of Tao for Free Online

operations in the Midwest. You need to go back and remind the mayor who put him in office.”
    Tell him the alternative.  
    “There may be another solution,” Sean suggested carefully. “The mayor has always been a friend and grateful for our contributions. He has offered, as an alternative, the use of land just east of Northerly Island.”
    Devin frowned, took another puff of the cigar, and looked off the screen, presumably at a map. “Underwater?”
    “Exactly, Father,” Sean continued. “We take the operation twenty meters underwater off the coast. The mayor has offered the option to build the facility there and connect it to the surface through underground tunnels. Airborne operations can occur at night, and the mayor has assured me that we will not require an audit from the municipal or state government. Basically, everything we need, just not as we had initially planned.”
    “And the cost?” With Devin, it always came down to cost.
    Sean pulled up a file on his computer and scanned through its contents. Satisfied, he turned back toward the screen and smiled. “I just sent you the summary information. The costs are well within the original parameters, maybe two to three per cent higher, due to the need to drill underwater, but not more than five. The short term costs will be higher because of the underwater construction, but we will save in the long run because we will not need to mask the facility from the public.”
    “Excellent. I’ll review these numbers and get back to you. Good work, Sean. I’ll expect a project timeline this week. Make sure the critical path does not extend past eighteen months. I expect to go into mass production within eighteen months.”
    “Of course, Father. Is there anything else?”
    Devin took another deep puff. The smoke was so thick that it obscured the screen. Sean wondered if the old man was trying to kill himself with all those cigars. Or was it his Holy One?
    Do not think sacrilegiously.  
    “Apologies, Chiyva, I meant no disrespect.”
    “Yes.” Devin leaned closer to the screen. “What is the status with the break-in at the research base? How does it affect us?”
    Sean shrugged. “They know of the program now. As to whether they know what it is designed for? I’m sure they will discern it in time. They were only able to infiltrate our archives. The stolen blueprints were from an earlier failed design; it is a complete dead end, but will occupy them for a year or two before they realize that. We lost one vessel to the Eternal Sea, Yrrika, and we gained a defector. They lost Edward Blair.”
    “Blair, huh. They must have wanted the blueprints badly to send him. And Tao?”
    “Escaped, but we have some strong leads on his new vessel. I have a briefing with the kill team momentarily, as a matter of fact.”
    Devin scowled. “That’s too many resources to expend on a new vessel. You should be focusing your efforts on a Class A target like Haewon operating in your area. Tao’s nothing more than a thorn in the side.”
    “It’s Tao,” Sean replied flatly. “Chiyva wills it, I obey.”
    “As you should always obey, Sean.” Devin chuckled. “But don’t let Chiyva’s grudges dictate your priorities, Sean.”
    “I am only the instrument of the Holy Ones,” Sean replied. “Haewon’s trail has grown cold anyway. She hasn’t been on radar since the Katrina cover-up.”
    “Haewon should still be the priority if her vessel ever materializes, understand?”
    “Of course, Father. The kill team has orders to hunt both.”
    “Who is leading them?”
    “Why, one of their own.”
    Devin nodded. “Yes, our double-crossing mole who alerted us to their raid. You mentioned the defection in your last report. Who was it, Jeo’s vessel? Were we able to acquire any solid information on the Prophus network?”
    “Not as much as we would like. He was not privy to higher security systems. However, Jeo assisted in the designing of many of their older networks and we