Chapter 44

Despite all of the people looking for them, Stone and Danders had made it back to Connecticut. There was no possibility of them returning to their offices to begin making the eyeglasses for the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; if they came within five miles of it, they would be captured. Everyone involved in tracking down these two men knew that, yet most of the assets working on their capture were located within in this five-mile area. Seven miles from their office was the Nelson Corporation building, where the first invention eyeglasses were made. Stone and Danders chose to make the eyeglasses for National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke here. How they arrived there undetected was a testament to their cunning and an indictment of their pursuers inability to see the forest from the trees.

Before the trip, Stone used a burner phone to contact Sai Jain, of the Nelson Corporation, to tell her what supplies were needed; she was able to get them before Stone and Danders returned. He also told her that anyone working on the manufacturing of the eyeglasses was in danger of being kidnapped by both McGowan and the President of the United States to be forced into doing the same work for them. The disbelief that Jain felt that the president would kidnap someone did not last long, as she reminded herself who President Strump was.

Stone also decided to keep the source code proprietary, to which Danders now agreed. The emphasis now was their manufacturing of the eyeglasses, but they both knew the potential for further development of the invention and the importance of keeping the world’s megalomaniacs away from it.

The eyeglasses needed to be mass-produced, and thus to save time, were going to be made with no prescription and no hiding of the images. The president and McGowan had the invention, but they did not have the expertise in the making of the eyeglasses that Stone, Danders, Jain, and Summa did. While waiting for Danders and Stone to return, Jain explained to the crew at Nelson why they were coming and the risk they were taking. Two people felt that the danger was unacceptable, and declined to stay and work. The remaining twenty-eight were angry at the thought of someone trying to intimidate them; in addition to the thought of helping the people with epilepsy and locked-in syndrome. They committed to stay on. Once decided, it didn’t take long for them to set up a production line; all they needed were Stone’s specifications on the making of the eyeglasses to begin manufacturing.

“Sai, it’s good to see you,” Stone told her as he and Danders entered the building.

“Hi Jon, hi Gary. From what you told me, I wondered when I’d see you both. The invention has taken on a life of its own. It’s gotten scary,” Jain answered.

“It has, for sure; we have to stay in front on this.” Looking around, they saw that Jain had everything set up. “Nice job on getting things ready.”

“Thanks.”

Stone and Danders initiated the loading of Stone’s specifications software into the production line computer. While it did, they moved about the room, shaking hands and hugging the Nelson Corporation employees, all of whom were long-time employees. The welcome back party didn’t last long—the software loaded without a hitch and everyone was soon at work.

Stone and Danders watched for a few minutes then broke away to discuss security with Jain.

“The two people who chose to leave, can they be trusted to keep quiet, Sai?” Stone asked.

“I think so, Jon. They are both young and have families to protect.”

“Okay, we understand. Sai, we have an army buddy and some friends on their way. We need people guarding the building and our shipments to the National Institutes of Health. His group will provide the security we need. We trust him implicitly. If either of the two people who left gives our location away, or if McGowan or the president find us, they will have to go through the general’s small army. Do your best to disregard security issues and concentrate on your people and the eyeglasses, okay?”

“Sure, but while I welcome the security force, I know that we will be found out eventually. How long do you think we have?”

“By the sheer number of people looking for us, possibly four days. I’m planning on two.”

“Then what? Pack up and leave? Or will we stay on if we haven’t been detected in, say, three days?”

Danders piped in. “The security force will be spread over a ten-mile radius. If there’s no sign of action, we’ll stay.”

“Action?”

“Chatter on the police and army radios, aircraft flyovers, boots on the ground getting closer, that kind of stuff. If I had their resources, I would begin a door-to-door search of every building in this part of the state. Can you imagine how fast they would find us if they pooled their resources? We’d already be their slaves.”

“Maybe they are stumbling over themselves, but I don’t understand how we can hope to get shipments safely to the National Institutes of Health,” Jain said.

“The fewer the number of people who know, the better. Let’s say we get a shipment on the way and then our location here is found. A lot of pressure will be put on all of us to tell them where the shipment is, but if you don’t know, it’s possible that the shipment could make it undetected to the National Institutes of Health.”

“Say it does make it—they must have the National Institutes of Health smothered with agents. How will the shipment get into the building?”

Danders answered with a big smile.

Jain understood. It was another thing she didn’t need to know.

“Jon, I should wear one of our lenses. I can see what our team is thinking while making the eyeglasses. I trust them, but I can’t relax. I hope that it’s not a sign of the future.”

Stone and Danders nodded in agreement.

Steele arrived one hour later on a school bus with twenty-six other battle-tested veterans. They brought with them a variety of weapons, and looked like what they were: a group one should leave alone.

In spite of the perilous situation everyone was in, there was a light-hearted exchange of hellos among the general, the veterans, Stone, and Danders. Like the limited time Stone and Danders had to greet the employees of the Nelson Corporation, the perilous situation they were in also cut short these hellos. Danders then gave them all a contact lens. Once they reviewed their situation and determined the deployment of the veterans, Steele set up a workstation to coordinate activities from the building; his team then headed for their positions within the ten-mile radius. Stone and Danders would liaise between Steele and Jain while working on the production line.

This time, Jain posed no questions about how twenty-seven heavily armed veterans arrived at the building in a bright yellow school bus without being captured. She saw no thoughts about it in the general’s mind. Neither did she ask where the bus was hidden.