“Barney explain hologram to me.” Alder uses Marine jargon.
She turns with a slight smile and whispers. “Don’t repeat or write this. His holograms can interact with you and you wouldn’t know it’s not him. He has three or four that have a distinction of dots on their shirts.” She holds her collar, showing me the edge. “A has one on the left, B has one on each side, C is on the right. Look for the dots just at the edge of their collars.”
I nod and she goes back to the wall. Tats missed this intel last night. “So, I go in the lab with you?”
“Where I go except meet room. Hologram work everywhere. I here, A7c at training tank now.”
I look back at Michadeau and she moves closer. “The holograms move around the compounds? Do they get Security?” It would be a giveaway for them to be alone anywhere.
She nods bending closer. “Identical to LP. They have hologram dogs that everyone swears are Ops K9s.” She goes back to the wall but her soap scent lingers, like the last time she was close wasn’t annoying enough.
I look back at Alder. “You’ll tell me when you feel something off?”
He smiles and waves the Prospect closer.
“Always. I send worksheet to you chat. Ask you questionthere. I answer.”
I nod and move to stand.
“Stay you eat. Boss Sophie good. She answer question to you we meet later. Now Asa have question.”
I sit back and look at the little VP. “You Ranger?”
“Yeah, basically.”
“Special Op?”
I nod but don’t add anything and order a healthy two from the Prospect. Tats said all the menus are the same now.
“You family close?” Little VP asks.
“Canada. Uncles and an aunt.”
“Brother, sister?”
I shake my head in the negative. His face puffs up and eyes go big. I smile and shrug. “Parents died in Florida. I was born there earlier than expected but they were snow birds from Ontario. Stayed in the states when I started school so I grew up here.”
He nods but has nothing else.
“Boss Sophie born to Canada. No family, ward to state.” The little President informs me.
I just nod. I don’t need it but find it odd that she’s here. I didn’t see a citizen status on her. I did see it on a few of the ID’s I looked up for the new team members and the Brolin name I heard linked to the K9 that was with Alder one day last week. The French Commander was talked about on our Joint base.
“You have ol’ lady?” VP asks pulling me out of my thoughts.
I shake my head no.
He rolls his eyes and looks at his little President. “You ask question to him on sheet.” Alder gives him an out.
The chuff from the wall has me smiling. The dog agrees. I shrug. “You got my bio. My time in is classified. Tats said you got that but I can’t say it.”
Alder nods in approval. “Alpha-Bit IT send you bio to me. Preses Cort, Justice, Zeke and Boss Web approve. No question to that. You brace, robotic no problem?”
“None. The robotic reacts like it’s real without feeling. The other attachments haven’t even caused a friction burn.”
He nods once in a decisive way which I’ve seen three times now. It must be a thing with him at meetings.
They let me eat without more questions. I do, thinking about the attachments. They’re as easy as sliding on a glove and a little Bit named Allen made a permanent mark on my leg so I always line the bands the same way. He told me the bands have strands that pick up certain muscle movements. It’s how the ankle moves walking and the flipper works to push me through water. I saw the avatar moving as he typed and understood but know it’s much more than strands in the bands, that I’ll never understand, so I didn’t ask for more. The little guys seem to have learned from better books than I’ve ever read.
