He likes you too.”“He was listening in?” I asked, completely mortified.“No, he has us monitor you to ensure you don’t draw unwanted attentio... from various identified Kingdom agents.”“And you decided to let me know how he feels?” I asked, now feeling slightly puzzled.“Yes, otherwise you’d never know as he will not tell you in case it complicates the mission,” the AI informed us.“Good gods...” was all I could think to say.“So, if you like him, let him know that after the mission you’d like to get. We’ll need bodies on site. I can’t be out here every day and neither can you ... Don’t look at me like that.”Her experiment, her responsibility. “I will build it and help pay for it. The rest is up to you.”“How much can we automate it? This is turning into a bigger mess than we planned.”“I can’t alter the setup any more than I already have.”“How long before the Casings come?”“Three months. Assembly will take another five or six and wiring will take three.”“A year if all goes well.”“A year.”.... She motioned toward a chair in the corner where she’d draped her own coat and taken off her boots this morning. He followed her into the kitchen and she grabbed another wine glass. She offered it to him and listed the whites in her fridge and motioned to the reds on the counter.“This is fine.” Jake said, as he poured a small glass of Merlot. She led him into the living room where he own glass was. She took the disc out of the DVD player where it had ejected itself. Not wanting to rush him off,. ‘He works with me. I was telling him about our trips and he said they sounded like fun, so I invited him along.’ Dan nodded a ‘Hello’ and slid into the front seat of the Rover. ‘So, are you ready to tell me where we’re going?’ ‘Nope,’ Bill smiled, easing the car into drive. From the direction they set out in, it was obvious clear that they wouldn’t be taking a plane to their destination. Determined not to let Bill know that the suspense was killing him, Dan opened the glovebox, fished around.