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“AI, what is your mission?” he asked her, searching for any hint of his men.
“Trust, Jack Lee Bridger, must be built. Yours in me, mine in you. My ‘mission,’ as you call it, would be one you would find honor in, though. You will be contacted.”
He watched as Hank, Hayes, and Lucas stepped into sight.
His gaze narrowed on them. Hayes was supported between the other two men, his leg possibly broken. His men looked disheveled, furious, and completely unarmed.
“When will I be contacted?” he growled.
Dammit, three highly trained SEALs and she’d disarmed them like they were children.
“When I believe it’s time.” Amusement filled the answer.
Dammit, a fucking computer shouldn’t be able to portray amusement or somberness.
“I’ll send you suggestions for training,” it told him then. “Your men must always be prepared. Get them ready.”
“And if I need you?” he asked, trying to keep it talking, to find some hint of weakness.
“I will know.” The low static that suddenly filled the link assured him she’d disconnected it.
Jack kept his eyes on the men, sighing heavily when they reached him.
“It took all three of you out in less than three minutes,” he stated, shaking his head at their disgusted features.
“Didn’t even see it coming,” Hank grunted.
“No kidding,” Hayes groaned. “I didn’t even see a shadow before I was down.”
“It told me it was sorry and patted my head like a child,” Lucas all but snarled.
“It offered me a Band-Aid for a damned scratch.” Hayes held up his hand to show the bloody welt. “Fucking rock.”
“Yeah, it fucking called me ‘little man,’ goddamn it, and patted my cheek.” Hank was enraged. “That’s fucking bullshit.”
What the fuck were they dealing with here?
It was gone now.
“Let’s go.” Turning, he led the way back down the mountain. “Let’s see how much trouble I’m in with Poppy. Dammit, I knew something like this was going to happen.”
There had been no time to prepare her, or to warn her. Crossfield had just cast Jack’s supposed betrayal of her as some triumphant act.
Bastard. Jack was going to choke the life out of him when he got back down that mountain. If he was there. Crossfield had run first thing, not even attempting to try to go back for Saige. And Jack had a feeling Saige wouldn’t be talking to anyone.
This was going to destroy Poppy. He’d heard that agony in her voice when she’d realized Saige was an enemy rather than the friend she believed she was.
“Boss, that AI is going to be a problem,” Lucas stated as they reached the valley more than an hour after they’d started up, the surprisingly light AI replica carried over Jack’s shoulder. “I mean a big problem.”
“We keep it among ourselves,” Jack ordered the three men. “Even Ian’s kept out of the loop for now.”
Until they knew what the hell was going on and what that fucking AI was programmed to do. To do that, he didn’t have a choice but to keep the information from Ian.
“Damn, this is gonna get complicated,” Hank sighed. “Real damned complicated.”
And that was an understatement.
“Let me go!” Poppy strained against Ian’s hold, not for the first time, as he tried to convince her to go with the agents surrounding her.
