“Hmm.” Jack thought furiously. “He must have had a tip. Some kind of inside information.”
“Absolutely. An unbelievable tip, the kind that changes people’s destinies. And at the same time, Aria appears.”
“Wait…what do you mean,appears?”
“I mean her date and place of birth were added after the fact,” Giles said. “It was a slick job, good enough to hold up in a court of law, but the deep timestamp can’t be faked. Of course, anyone could say the family just forgot for a few days, but…”
“Okay,” said Jack, holding up a hand. “So if I’ve got this right, what you’re saying is that Comber Gryffin gets a tip that will change his life, and, at the same time, newborn baby Aria appears on his doorstep.”
Giles shrugged. “That’s sure as hell what it looks like.”
Jack rubbed his chin. “And when she’s sixteen, Aria gets a mysterious device implanted in her leg, with technology that’s beyond the leading edge, by a man who claims Aria is his daughter…”
“Wait, what?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” said Jack. “So this stranger, let’s say he is Aria’s true father…he leaves her with Comber Gryffin, at the same time guaranteeing that Comber Gryffin and his family will be mega-rich for life. Then he disappears. Sixteen years later, he comes back to implant a device in his teenage daughter that will allow him to keep tabs on her from across the galaxy. Then he disappears again.”
“Well, that’s as clear as mud,” observed Giles.
“There’s something we’re missing,” he said.
“You think?” asked Giles.
“Well, obviously,” Jack mused. “I just mean, with those dates…there’s something there, I know it. I canfeelit. I just don’t know what it is.”
Giles looked at his friend curiously. “Well, you’ve got me intrigued now. It’s like bringing in a twelve-pound fish on an eight-pound line. Don’t tug too hard or you’ll lose the whole thing. Play it out for a while; let your mind tease at it.”
Jack rubbed his face. “That’s probably good advice. All right,” he said, slapping Giles on the shoulder. “Well done. That’s another piece of the puzzle, and I think it’s a corner piece. Let me know if you find anything else.”
“You’ll be the second to know,” assured Giles, turning back to the computer screen.
Jack paused. “The second?” he asked.
“Well, I’ll be the first, obviously,” Giles said absently, tapping away at the keyboard.
Jack walked out, shaking his head.
As the pirate walked to the brig, he looked in on the tech who was monitoring the Faraday cage.
“Everything all right here?” he asked.
“Shipshape, Captain,” replied the tech. “Signal blocking holds firm. That device is still broadcasting though. We shut this thing off, that signal goes live again the same second.”
“We’d better not shut it off then,” said Jack, keying in the passcode for the heavy brig door. “Keep up the good work.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” responded the tech as Jack walked into the brig, shutting the door behind him.
Aria lay curled up in a nest of the pillows and blankets he’d brought her.
She looks tired. I certainly would be. My poor dear.
“Hello, Jack,” she said sleepily. “I’d say make yourself at home, but there isn’t much of a home to be made.”
“No, there isn’t.” He sank down on the floor and pulled her into his arms. She leaned her head against his shoulder with a sigh.
“It’s driving me a bit mad,” Aria said. “It’s so boring. There’s nothing todo.”
“Sorry about that,” he said, stroking her hair. “We can’t risk bringing any electronics in here; we don’t want to disrupt the integrity of the Faraday cage.”
