Stevie punched a button on her tablet computer, and Archie’s glowing eyes faded out. “I showed Archie the map that Kendra drew up. He has night-vision capabilities and is extremely sensitive to audio stimuli. He can guide us.” She spoke to the robot. “Archie, proceed.”
Jessie looked at the others. “Wait, we’re letting him lead? You can’t be serious.”
One by one, Kendra, Lynch, and Stevie stepped past Jessie and followed Archie down the dark path that led from the cabin. Jessie stood alone in the doorway. “Come on, really?”
She finally sighed and followed behind them.
It was a moonless night, and as they made their way to the dry lake bed, Kendra was thankful that Archie was navigating the uneven terrain. Every few steps, they received a helpful warning to avoid loose stones or a protruding tree root.
She moved close to Lynch and whispered, “If we find Nolan, what then? Is there anyone in the DOJ you can trust?”
“Not here. And we can’t rely on Fitz, either. He has no authority with any official organization. I need to get Nolan, Stevie, and Archie back to Washington. There I might be able to arrange for their safety.”
“How will you pull that off?”
“I have contacts here in the U.K. that no one in the DOJ knows about. I’ve already reached out to them. They’re our best hope. But it doesn’t work if we don’t find Nolan. Stevie’s not going anywhere without him.”
“That’s pretty clear.”
They reached the lake bed, and Archie paused to survey the scene. His voice sounded in their earpieces. “I recommend taking a slight detour north of the lake bed. It’s a more vigorous walk, but it has the advantage of making us less visible if anyone is nearby. Follow me.”
From behind them, Kendra was sure she heard Jessie softly swearing.
They walked a few yards away from the lake bed’s northern rim, pushing through the brush, much of it cleared for them by Archie. They finally emerged in a clearing that Kendra instantlyidentified as the mint field she had smelled before. She turned to Stevie. “Can Archie detect odors?”
She shook her head. “No, just smoke. Something to think about for version two point oh.”
Archie stopped. “Quiet! Duck down!”
The group crouched among the shrubs. Archie continued, “I detect two men approximately a hundred and ten yards north-northeast in the two o’clock position.”
Lynch raised a pair of night binoculars to see. “Looks like they’re outfitted the same as the guys we ran into at the gas station. Guns look the same, too.”
“They are both carrying Steyr AUG A3 assault rifles with large-capacity magazines,” Archie said.
Jessie was looking at the men with her own night binoculars. “Huh. I’m surprised you can’t tell us what rifle scopes they’re using.”
“Sig Sauer Romeo 4s paired with 3X magnifiers.”
Jessie snorted. “Now are you gonna tell us how many nose hairs they have?”
Archie replied, “To answer that question, I would need—”
“I’m joking. Okay?”
Stevie pulled two thin pairs of electronic goggles from her knapsack. She handed a pair to Kendra.
“What’s this?”
“It’ll let us see what Archie sees. Put it on.”
Kendra slid on the goggles, and she audibly gasped. The goggles gave her a stunning 3-D image with such detail that she was convinced Archie actually could count the nose hairs on each man. “One of those men is talking on a phone,” she said.
Stevie leaned close to Archie. “Can you intercept the phone call and play it for us?”
“Sorry, the phone is utilizing an encryption I’m unfamiliar with.”
“It’s okay, I got this,” Kendra said. “Archie, can you zoom in even closer on the man talking?”
