Earthquake: Priority One, #3

By Jo Carey

Just when the Priority One team of data scientists feel like they might be getting a handle on how their enemies work, they are hit with simultaneous attacks from all sides.

Do the multiple attacks mean multiple enemies or is there a common thread weaving it all together?

Earthquake is the third adventure in this exciting new series.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jo Carey
• Release date: Jul 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393304883

Jo Carey

Jo Carey grew up in the Midwest but her curiosity and gypsy-spirit has kept her on the move. She's lived in eight US states and spent three years living in Ireland. She has always loved creature movies, so creatures and bugs often show up in her books. Jo, a former information security compliance guru, writes fast-paced, character-driven stories in a variety of genres from medical thrillers to space operas and cozy mysteries. Her novels are filled with humor, romance, and sometimes creatures or aliens, or maybe even all of the above. She often builds her stories around a strong female lead character surrounded by plenty of hunky male heroes. Jo's been under fire on a golf course and climbed out the roof of an elevator in the Netherlands. Life hasn't been boring. Now residing in Texas, setting often plays a huge role in her stories. Jo was intrigued by the League of Planetary Systems, a world her husband, Frank, created for his science fiction books, and she now writes mysteries and other types of tales sets in that world. Jo was bitten by a cat, a fire ant, and a snake, before succumbing to the bite of the writing bug.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The best advice is to be aware of your surroundings and the risks they pose, Travis said as the Priority One team members gathered around him on the gym floor.

The point of learning self-defense is to give you options in the unlikely event that you find yourself in a situation where you have to fight back, Logan said. 

Been there, Jacinta said.

Done that, Emma added as the two high fived.

Before they joined Priority One, neither woman ever expected to find themselves in the dangerous situations they faced over the past few months, but they were both glad for the chance to learn skills that could help them and their teammates. Their Priority One teammates were amazed, and a little bit concerned by just how well Jacinta and Emma handled the dangerous situations they endured.

OK. Pair up, Logan said. Would be attackers, put your arm around the target's neck.

Jacinta, are you sure about this? Jamie asked his wife.

Oh for God's sakes, Jamie an attacker isn't going to ask permission.

From beside them, Emma said, I can vouch for that, before driving her elbow back into Hammish's stomach, grabbing his arm, and driving him to the ground.

Hey, Justin. I'm surprised you made it out of the womb, Hammish said. She's tough. He nodded toward Emma.

And I have the scars to prove it, Justin said. Being a twin is not for the weak.

Though Justin had resigned from the team once already, he agreed to stay when Jamie added an addendum to Justin’s contract stating he would never be required to participate in any field ops. Jacinta was surprised he showed up for the self-defense training. When she questioned his motivation, Justin said he didn't intend to be the geeky scientist the rest of his teammates had to protect. She respected that.

Once they were done practicing their moves, Travis told them to sit down. As you all know, we're doing this training to help us stay safe. Let's talk about safety protocols for Haven.

After the first attacks on the Priority One Team during the Quelodene investigation, Jacinta asked Jamie if they should be concerned about an attack on Haven. A remote, underground missile silo seemed pretty safe, but it was prudent to take all possible precautions.

Travis talked about some of those. Sometime soon we'll begin regular tests of the Haven alarm system and our evacuation and shelter in place protocols. In either situation, the voice notifications will tell you what to do.

Too bad that only works in an emergency, Portia said. She was one of the newest members of Priority One and had a biting wit. Some of these guys could use the help in other situations.

Hey Derrick, she must be talking about you, Hammish said. She doesn't know the rest of us that well yet. Jacinta noticed the looks passing between Hammish and Portia. Derrick, Portia's ex- fiancé, had noticed too. Jacinta realized she might need to keep an eye on that situation. There was enough drama for Priority One to deal with from the team's investigations. They didn't need any internal drama.

A loud blaring noise had them all on their feet. Is this just a demo, Travis? Jacinta asked.

That's not the al...

Sorry, folks, Emma said, holding up the phone she fished out of her bag in the corner of the room. A storm in Saskatchewan set off my alert

An ASTRO storm? Mari asked.

Maybe. Sorry, Trav. This has been fun, but the weather gods are calling.

XXX

The controlled storm that set off Emma's alarm ended up being a series of three storms in Canada just across the US border. Images of devastation flashed on the conference room screen. The death toll was 27.

The screen shifted to an image with three bands of horizontal data—one for each of the storms. These storms still have the steep ramp up at the 60-minute mark. That's what we're keying off of, Emma explained.

Having multiple storms in the same area at the same time is a change, Jacinta said, but it happens naturally, too.

Multiple storms in close proximity would over stress first responders, Travis pointed out. It would lead to more deaths, injuries, and fires. Damage figures would escalate dramatically.

Any luck pinpointing a control location? Payson asked.

No, Justin said. We need to brainstorm that.

For the next few hours, the Priority One Team hatched, discussed, and discarded ideas that could lead them to the people behind the Advanced Scientific Technical Research Organization or at least those behind ASTRO’s weather control project.

I might have another piece of the puzzle, Winnie said. The material analysis just came back on that coupler Emma picked up on the roof in Alaska. There's an unknown element.

No one reacted, so Jacinta said, You have the analysis, but it's unknown?

Not all of it. 12% of the material is made up of an unknown element—something not found on Earth.

It's those damn aliens again, Justin said.

Chapter 2

I think we need to approach this from a different angle, Payson said. The team spent hours trying to get inside their enemies' heads to figure out how storm targets were being selected.

Either they're using a complex set of criteria that will be nearly impossible to untangle, or they're throwing darts at a map, Derrick said.

They considered population size, population density, ability to recover, number of first responders, and hundreds of other data points, but they still couldn't find criteria that would have selected the 12 locations that suffered ASTRO storms since Emma started tracking the data.

I can't see why it would matter, Justin said, but Quelodene had a rash of UFO sightings before ASTRO was formed and established a presence in Quelodene. Has anyone looked to see if these locations have any UFO tie-in?"

We haven't checked that angle, Jacinta said. Since you thought of it, please investigate and let us know what you find.

Great. Now I'm looking for little green men, Justin grumbled a little louder than he intended.

Jacinta glared at him. You do remember that there is alien DNA in the Quelodene virus. They may not be green, but they do or did exist in some form.

When the meeting broke up, Hammish walked out with Portia while Derrick stayed in his seat until most everyone had left. You OK? Jacinta asked.

I'm OK, he said, standing up and heading for the door.

Why did you and Portia end your engagement? she asked.

Going right for the kill shot, huh? he said, scraping his hand along his jaw. He dropped into the chair beside her. I'm not sure anymore. We were together a few years, but after spending a weekend watching one of my buddies marry the love of his life, I just knew Portia wasn't that for me. We didn't make each other happy.

Then you made the right decision, she said. So why are you jealous of her and Hammish?

I guess I'm just not mature enough to see her so happy without me.

I can understand that. Can you work with them?

Time will tell.

XXX

Jacinta and Jamie we're enjoying their drinks and conversation after dinner as was their habit. She sipped from a mug of Mexican hot cocoa while Jamie drank his usual black coffee.

I think we might need to find Derrick a woman.

He sprayed coffee across the room. It's good to see that your timing is still spot on, he said. It's been a while.

A similar scene played out more frequently in the early days of their relationship. It wasn't that Jacinta learned to choose her words more carefully. Jamie liked to think he had learned to drink in a rhythm that usually allowed them to avoid disaster.

Once Alice, Jamie's cook and housekeeper, cleaned up the mess and refilled Jamie's cup, he asked, Tell me, My Love, why do we need to find Derrick a woman?

We need Portia on the team, and she's falling for Hammish, but that makes it difficult for Derrick.

I'm not sure it's a good idea for us to get involved in our employee's private lives.

This time it was Jacinta who sprayed her mouthful of cocoa. That had never happened before.

This comment from the man who is now married to his first recruit for the team and diligently trying to impregn...

Anna Ridley the door chimes announced, putting an end to Jacinta's comment.

Alice finished cleaning up and left still shaking her head. This time she left a stack of towels on the table.

Hello, Mr. And Mrs. Pickering, Anna said when Jamie led her into the study where Jacinta had recovered her composure though she was still smiling. I apologize for interrupting your evening, but I have a work issue I'd like to discuss with Mr. Pickering.

Jamie had been letting Douglas handle Anna's training while he maintained a professional detachment from her. He and Jacinta had agreed not to involve Anna in Priority One so she wouldn't become another potential leak. Can this wait until morning? Jamie asked, or is it something Douglas could help you with? Living in close quarters in Haven made it difficult to maintain professional barriers. That thought, after his recent exchange with Jacinta nearly made him laugh out loud.

I'm sorry, sir, but my concern involves Mr. Allensby. I thought it best to discuss it with you directly.

I see, Jamie said. Take a seat and tell me what's troubling you.

Anna glanced to Jacinta. When Jamie didn't seem to pick up on her unspoken cues, she said, Perhaps we should speak in private.

Jacinta is involved in all aspects of my business. You can speak freely. What is this all about?

You're familiar with my resume. When you contacted me about this position you said it was a promotion, and I was happy for the opportunity. Unfortunately, the work so far has been an extreme backwards step from my previous assignment.

Has Douglas been training you? Jamie asked.

He offered to answer any questions I had about the Haven phone system, network, or office equipment, but I haven't needed his help with any of that. He gave me a few pointers on how you like your messages and email handled, but he hasn't let me handle any of it.

What have you been doing?

He occasionally asks me to get him coffee or a meal from the staff dining room. I thought perhaps he was still recovering from his injuries, so I didn't want to push. I'm good at my job, Mr. Pickering, but if this is all the job entails then I'd like to request a transfer to another admin position within Pickering Global.

Jamie assured Anna that he wasn't aware of the situation but would look into it and get back to her. After showing Anna out, Jamie returned to the study. That took guts, Jacinta said. Have you worked directly with Anna before she came to Haven?

Jamie explained the various roles Anna had held in Pickering Global companies and why he selected her to assist Douglas.

For someone so young, she's very polished, he said. I thought her style would mesh well with Douglas.

Has he been keeping up with his workload?

I haven't noticed otherwise.

They had a lengthy discussion about how Douglas was recovering and his attitude since returning from Alaska. As often happened, a plan formed as they talked. Jacinta wondered it if would still seem as sound in the morning.

Chapter 3

Travis Jones, the door chime announced.

I'll let him in, Jamie said as he headed for the apartment's front door.

Hi, Travis. Mari, Jacinta said. Thanks for coming.

When everyone had drinks, Jacinta explained the reason for the meeting. I want to go back to the issue about the possible breach of the Haven network.

I thought IT’s investigation showed there was no network compromise, Mari said.

That's correct, Jacinta agreed, but we never determined how those photos of Gillian and Ryan Foster got in Gillian’s data files. If the network wasn't breached, how could the doctored photos have gotten onto the network? she asked.

Someone inside Haven must have uploaded them, Travis said. Mari nodded her agreement.

They did a quick recap of the information they had gathered about the files and made a list of who was in Haven when the files were loaded.

About 30 minutes in, Jacinta realized the discussion was repeating the same points. Maybe we need to look at this from a different perspective. It sounds like we're all agreed that we may never be able to prove who did it in a way that would stand up to legal scrutiny. Is there anything we can do that will convince us of who's behind it without worrying about the legal aspect?

XXX

Jamie, how did Douglas end up working for you? Jacinta asked over dinner. The more they dug into the attacks on the team in France, Montana, and Alaska, the more Jacinta was convinced that the only Haven person who could be behind it was Douglas.

Jamie told her how he first met Douglas at a Climate Control conference before taking over Pickering Global. At first, I wanted to punch the guy. He kept throwing up obstacles and reasons why global climate control initiatives couldn't work.

Doesn't sound like the start of a beautiful friendship or an amazing working relationship, she said.

He laughed. I was still young and idealistic. Douglas told me he respected my ideas, but they would never be widely embraced.

We spent most of the conference in the bar talking. I offered him a job before we headed home.

Did you do a background check?

I'm sure my HR people did their due diligence back then.

Do you mind if I have Mari do some digging into his background—like we do on all the team members?

It's only prudent, but I don't like it.

XXX

Jacinta was going through some search results in the Media Center when she got a message from Mari. Meet me at Trav's in 10 minutes.

She knew Mari must have found something, but she had no idea what it was about. Thanks for coming, Travis said as he opened the door. We thought you'd want to keep this one close to your vest.

Ever heard of PEOPLOSS? Mari asked.