"It's the Vice President. He's on board Air Force One right now, and he's in trouble."
"Right, he's headed here for a fund raiser tonight. What kind of problem are we talking about here?" I asked him.
"It's his secret implant. It's developed an infection....of A.I.,” he said.
"That's Artificial Intelligence,” I replied.
"Bingo. We've got to stop that plane."
"V.J., you can't just stop Air Force One, it's the most powerful plane in the world," I told him.
"So what do we do?"
"Good question,” I replied…..”What size tuxedo do you wear?"
-----
“Half of the most powerful men in the world must be here tonight,” V.J. pointed out when we arrived at the Governor’s Mansion.
“Yep, and about half the world’s firepower, too,” I replied.
“What do you mean?”
“This place is crawling with security forces. Think about it. The Secret Service, the C.I.A., the F.B.I., and organizations just like that from other countries. These people are really rich, so they need big time protection,” I told him as I developed my plan.
“So, what’s your plan?” he asked me. I could tell he was getting nervous.
“Hang on a second,” I told him. “Okay. Let’s grab some coffee.”
-----
We stood behind the server’s station, passing out coffee to the most powerful men in the world. The Vice President was about to take the stage. We were running out of time.
I told V.J. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“To save the world.”
I approached the Second Lady. She looked a lot younger in person. In fact, I’d call her pretty hot. But there was no time for seduction, I was on a mission.
“Mrs. Vice President, I am the General of Canada’s Armed Services. I’ve come to make a large donation. I was wondering if your husband would like to join me in a toast,” I told her. Through my earpiece, I heard V.J. tell me “That’s crazy! It will never work!” “Calm down, and stop speaking into your earpiece. We're deep undercover.” I said.
“Excuse me?” asked the Second Lady.
“Beautiful night,” I said. “How about that toast?”
“I’m afraid my husband does not feel like eating or drinking...he's been acting so strangely today...,” she told me.
“Well, cheers all the same,” I said, and went to Plan B.
-----
As the medics were placing the Vice President into the White House ambulance, he summoned me to his side. “It was a prototype antibiotic, with nanotechnology in it,” I told the Secret Service EMT who was interviewing me. “I, I don’t…,” he stammered.
“Don’t worry,” I told him. “He’ll be just fine.” I went up to the Vice President, who shook my hand.
“So what exactly did you say your name was?” the Vice President asked me.
“Hightower, sir.”
“Well Hightower, I didn’t know what to think when you pointed that blow dart at me…”
“You were probably wondering how I got it past security. Well, that’s simple. It’s a top secret composite I developed in my lab,” I told him.
“Thank you, son,” he said. We all laughed, and they drove him away.
-----
V.J. scanned the computers for evidence. He had been at it for hours, you could tell by all of the coffee cups next to his computers.
“Take it easy, V.J.,” I said. “If they’re out there, we’re bound to find them sooner or later.”
“What if there’s no time?” he asked.
“There’s always time to save the world, and if there isn’t, we make the time. And if we run out, we’ve got to make sure the world is the same tomorrow, for the children.”
“Do you think this could all be connected?” he asked.
“All in good time, buddy. All in good time.”
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