Jet awoke just before the plane landed. She looked out one of the small airplane windows. The sun was rising, and wherever they were, the ocean surrounded it. An island? But where? Jet thought. She could see the peak of a large spire toward the center of what appeared to be the small island they were landing on.

The plane landed and pulled up to a building away from the main terminal. A side gate opened and several vehicles entered. They looked like the local army or militia. Are they heading to meet the plane? I have a bad feeling about this. One of the flight attendants opened the door. The day was overcast, but it was bright enough outside to make her squint as the light rushed in.

“Follow me, kid,” Jeremiah said.

Jet followed Jeremiah out of the plane, and she negotiated the metal stairs that led to the tarmac. Jet took off the jacket she was wearing. The air felt warm and sticky. At least three vehicles were parked just outside the aircraft. A large, tall man walked up to meet Jeremiah. He took his hat off, which revealed a giant tattoo of a serpent that seemed to wrap around his neck and on to the back of his bald head. The tattoo was darker than his skin.

“Mani, good to see you, old friend,” Jeremiah said as he shook hands with the large man.

He is enormous, must be at least seven feet tall, Jet thought.

“Who is this?” Mani said as he took Jet’s good hand with his. “I’m Mani Akintola, and I’m at your service, madam. What is your name?”

“I’m Josephine.”

“What a lovely name,” Mani said, smiling.

Jet blushed. She couldn’t help it. The man was charming.

She looked at the vehicles. Several young men—some not much older than her—were staring at her. Some seemed to watch her every move.

“Let me show you to your car,” Mani said.

Jeremiah followed Mani, but one man jumped out of the vehicle and grabbed at Jet’s good arm.

“Hey, get off!” Jet screamed.

Mani said something in a language that she didn’t recognize. Then he gestured at her to follow. Jet rushed over to join Mani and Jeremiah.

“Sorry for that. My men are not used to the sight of an arresting beauty,” Mani said.

“What progress has been made? Did we get those electrical issues resolved?” Jeremiah asked.

“I persuaded the local government to issue the permits, and the electricians have been working day and night. The project is behind, but we should complete it by the end of next week. Why do you need so much power?”

“I’m moving much of my computer infrastructure to the island, and that equipment takes a lot of power to operate. I know the local government is not keen on my taking up most of their power, so I intend on generating my own,” Jeremiah said.

“Ahh, now I understand why you bought up all of those fields,” Mani said.

What is he building? Must be massive, Jet thought.

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Mani led them to a large, black SUV.

“Take us to the site. Has Ash arrived?” Jeremiah asked.

“Yes, she got here with her package last night. She is at the house. Shall I take you to the house?”

“No, I need to see the site first,” Jeremiah said.

Mani navigated the SUV through a path just large enough to accommodate the vehicle. She could see him adjust a small gearbox as they traveled through the jungle. The vehicle climbed for a long time. The jungle didn’t let much light through. As they climbed the mountain, the jungle slowly disappeared. The loss of the surrounding trees treated Jet to a spectacular view of the island. On her left, several beaches were visible. On her right, jungle extended for as far as her eyes could see. Mani stopped the vehicle on the top of a ridge. The clouds were on the move; just a part of the island had cloud cover now.

“See the field?” Mani asked. He was pointing to the right. “That is where the solar panels are. Tomorrow, expect the inspections.”

Jet followed Mani’s hand to the field. It looked small in the distance, but she thought she could see a tiny glimmer of a reflection.

“Excellent—now take me to the core site,” Jeremiah said.

Mani maneuvered the vehicle along the narrow strip of tarmac; the vehicle was large enough to take up the entire road. Jet decided not to look in the direction where the road met the side of the cliff. A few minutes later, he turned into a large cleft in the mountain. She could see several trucks and workers ahead. When they stopped, she saw a round, metal door large enough to drive a tank through. It resembled a bank vault and was built into the mountainside.

“Jeremiah, I know it’s been a while since you’ve been here, so allow me to give you a tour,” Mani said.

Mani stopped short of the enormous door. It was even more massive up close. Jet followed Mani and Jeremiah through the large, round door. Other than some basic construction activities at the entrance, the rest of the facility looked finished. Several paths were visible from the entrance.

This door is huge. The facility is massive, Jet thought.

They followed Mani through a path just to the right of the entrance.

“The labs are down this hall,” Mani said.

Jet noticed several darkened rooms. What is he planning to do with these rooms? she wondered.

They came to a large room near the end of the hall. It was circular, and several monitors wrapped around most of the room. At the center was an adjustable chair. In it, a girl was strapped. She looked like she was sleeping.

“Jeremiah, we’re almost ready for the upgraded neural interface,” a voice said behind them.

Jet turned around to see who was speaking. An older woman approached.

“That’s good news,” Jeremiah said.

“Who’s your young friend?” the woman asked.

Jet introduced herself. “Name’s Jet. What do you do around here?” she asked.

“I’m Dr. Ash Williams, and I make sure that Delta has everything she needs.”

“Who is Delta?”

Ash looked at Jeremiah. He shrugged. “Might as well tell her. She will know soon enough, since it is her purpose for being here,” Jeremiah said.

Ash gave Jet an abbreviated version of April’s transformation into Delta. She left out certain details, such as Delta’s malfunctioning empathy receptors.

“You’re here to help Delta learn. We don’t expect the process to take as long as a traditional learning environment, thanks to her enhanced neural links,” Ash continued.

“How long will it take?” Jet asked.

Ash thought for a moment. “Not sure, but my guess is a few weeks to a month.”

“What!” Jet yelled, alarmed. “That’s too long. Jeremiah said a week!”

“He’s not an expert in neural networks. He shouldn’t have set those expectations.”

“That’s just great,” Jet said. “Kidnapped, shot at, assaulted, and almost killed in . . .” Jet trailed off.

How long has it been since they took me? Jet thought.

“What day is it?” she asked.

“January 10.”

Jet couldn’t believe it; she’d been gone over two weeks! My mother must be worried sick!

“Where is Nigel?” she asked. “Can I speak with him?”

“He is out of reach at the moment,” Jeremiah said.

“You’re lying. Nigel isn’t working with you. Is he?”

Jeremiah smiled. “You got me, kid. I was never in contact with him.”

“Then . . . how did you get his number, or even know about me?”

“I didn’t know about Nigel until he hacked my employee’s laptop. Gregor was—”

Jet cut him off. “The same Gregor from the Collective?”

“Very perceptive. Now you can appreciate why you’re here.”

A wave of dread came over Jet.

I’m never leaving!

Jet couldn’t keep it in any longer. She fell to her knees and let it all out.