CHAPTER 249: NAP TIME

"No. I don’t think either is necessary. But tell me. What would you do, knowing what you now know about me and what I can do?" Jack said to Graham.

"I guess it depends on what you plan to do with this power of yours," said Graham.

"I plan to change the world. One step at a time," said Jack. Then, he explained his overall plan: birth control, resource management, AGI, VR, and how he was starting with disrupting the existing AI market.

"That is an ambitious plan. And one I can respect," said Graham.

Then he turned to Orin and asked, "Is this why you’re with him?"

Orin shook his head. "No, the only reason he offered me a soul bond was because my daughter Katie is bonded to him, and she asked him to consider me."

Looking at Jack, Graham asked, "Why did she ask?"

"She wanted to be able to visit with him after he died."

Graham looked surprised at Jack’s answer.

Jack explained what happens after a soul bonded person dies.

"If I agree to a soul bond, will you also consider offering one to my son and his wife? And can I convince you to offer one to my granddaughter as well?"

"I have no problem considering your son and his wife. But I’m uncomfortable offering one to your ten-year-old granddaughter."

"Why?"

"I’m not exactly sure, but I think soul bonding someone so young might have a profound effect on who she becomes as she grows up. I think that no matter how careful I am, the end result would be that she would cease to be your granddaughter and would instead become my devout follower."

Graham frowned. "I think I can understand your concern. I just hate the idea of outliving her."

"I can understand that. But if I’m right, you’d also be sort of losing her if I soul bonded her so young."

He nodded. "Yes, there is that." He paused, then asked, "Are you certain you can rescue my granddaughter?"

"To the best of my knowledge? Yes, I should be able to rescue her. I may even be able to do it without needing to soul bond her."

"Alright. Am I correct in assuming I need to accept before you’ll make the attempt?"

"Yes, we’ll need to arrange a cover for how you retrieved her, but I can probably put her somewhere safe in the next few minutes."

"Jack," said Orin.

"Yes?"

"I have a team not too far from that island. I can get them there in about three to four hours. If you replace her with something similarly shaped, then it will look like she was rescued by my team."

Jack looked at Graham. "Do you have anything like that?"

"Yes, actually. She has a doll that is the same size as her. If we dressed it in some of her clothes, it would look like her from a distance."

"And where should I put her until the ’rescue op’ is finished?"

"The bunker under my home in Lunden. Only my son and I have access."

"Okay, so she’ll have to stay there until Orin’s men deliver the doll to you there. What about her parents? Will they be a problem?"

"No. I ask that you offer them a soul bond as well. But if they decline, I can still ensure they do not become aware of her presence in my bunker."

Turning to Orin, Jack asked, "I can drug all the guards, make it look like they got hit with tranq darts. Can you recommend something that will last long enough for them to still be out when your men get there?"

"Yes, I know several drugs that will work."

"Great. That leaves one last question. Is there a safe way to knock her unconscious and keep her unconscious until Orin’s men return the doll? I know something that should be safe to knock her out for about fifteen minutes, but nothing for an extended period."

"I can handle that," said Graham. "I have everything I need in the bunker."

"Alright then. Shall we begin?" asked Jack.

"Yes, please," replied Graham.

Jack sent Graham a soul bond request.

[Soul Bond Accepted: Graham Sinclair]

There was a long pause before Graham accepted, and Jack was certain the man had carefully deliberated before making his decision.

Just like with Orin and his men, Jack modified the soul bond so that he could communicate telepathically with the man and know if the man was lying even with his mind gate closed.

After their soul bond solidified, Jack led Orin and Graham to his business space and got them set up with bedrooms and offices.

Graham said it would take him five minutes to get from his office down to his bunker, so they had nearly an hour of soul space time to wait until Jack could begin his rescue op.

In the meantime, he introduced Graham to Phineas, Heidy, and Cindy. Then, while they were getting acquainted with each other, he examined Graham’s bunker and located a shower stall.

They still had the weighted barrel they used as their first human teleport test. It was heavy enough to teleport Graham’s granddaughter, but not Jack, so he decided to enlist the help of Naoko since she was under the weight limit.

He and Nora still had a supply of Somnusol so he had something that would knock out the granddaughter without her understanding what had happened.

As for all the guards, on Orin’s recommendation, Jack talked telepathically with Caleb West, one of the men that he’d just finished rescuing. Caleb was one of the two engineers on that team and proficient at jury-rigging just about anything.

When Graham arrived in his bunker, he was carrying a large, child-sized doll.

First, he teleported Naoko in the weighted barrel into the shower stall in Graham’s bunker and had Graham help her fit the doll into the barrel with her.

Next, he tranq’ed the guard watching the security system monitors, then had Madison help him brick the security system. That way, there would be no security footage of anything that happened.

Once the security system was dead, he tranq’ed the remaining thirty-two guards, starting with the ones closest to Graham’s granddaughter.