Chapter 116 - Insider

(Comment here for anything you want to see on a new YouTube video about this novel and please vote using powerstones and golden tickets to get us within the top 10!)

Announcement: Please check the glossary/characters auxiliary chapter for updated concept art! 

-------------------------- 

Fortis balled out and spent $15 million on a custom Flyga, similar to Vince's but in a blue-gold color scheme, based on his main character in War Online.

Hailee's brother wasn't interested too much in AVs. Hence, she bought him a 2013 Tesla Roadster for $400 thousand, using her recently acquired record label earnings from the music videos and hit singles.

Christian was a genius engineer but was still very happy to sell two vehicles for his company and said, "We always appreciate the business. First, the factory will start manufacturing both the Flyga and Roadster; then we'll send it your addresses in LA at your convenience."

Jessica was content with her corporate CAV and had no plans to buy one, but enjoyed the shopping nonetheless and commented, "Your brother will freak after he finds out you bought him a car. You mentioned he was a gearhead, right?"

Vince knew how fast a Roadster could go and warned, "He'll be tearing up the drag strip on that thing, but he better wear a seatbelt."

Fortis was flying on cloud nine as he accomplished his goal of buying a Koenigsegg AV and said, "Thanks for hooking me up with the plug, Vince."

The young CEO bantered in, saying, "Yeah, but I hope you keep playing well in the APL to afford the maintenance costs. Or else you'll go bankrupt."

Black Gold prices were going down every day as the petroleum facility at Kandahar expanded and became more efficient. However, it was still significantly more expensive per gallon than pump gas.

Other than military use, civilian AVs were reserved for the richest of the rich and are now a status symbol, not just a mode of transportation.

Vince had some plans for his evening and said, "I'll be attending Fury Gym class in an hour, so feel free to join me or do whatever."

Hailee decided to spend time with Vince and practice her grappling skills while Jessica headed home for the meantime, and Fortis explored more of Austin.

-------------

In an arid Syrian desert, a group of men discussed a replacement deal for the missing warheads.

A Fawdaa operative had no patience left and said, "You paid for 15 warheads; we gave you 15 warheads. The Russians and your soldiers confirmed they received the package. Therefore, we have nothing left to discuss."

General Qadir was sweating bullets, afraid of what might happen if he returned without warheads nor money to pay his dictator back, and begged, "Please, give me something to work with here. I'll do anything!"

The Fawdaa operative smiled under his face mask and replied, "Anything? That could be plenty of things, general."

Fawdaa's main objective was to sow chaos in the Middle East, and having a high-ranking inside man supporting their own men would be a boon to their efforts.

The armed Fawdaa operator declared, "We'll give the money back, but I'll have a few people enter your unit to pursue our interests in your nation. You'd be fairly compensated for your assistance, of course. But they follow my orders, you understand?"

The general was relieved to hear a way out of his perilous predicament and thankfully replied, "Deal."

Another insider was now part of Anarchy's international intelligence network, placed in various countries worldwide, and the assigned Fawdaa operators could push the Syrian military in favor of whatever agenda Enigma decides.

While his general was negotiating with Fawdaa, President al-Assad watched videos of protestors in Damascus.

Bashar was annoyed with all the unrest going on in his country and pondered, [I don't have the new Sarin gas warheads, but the old ones are just collecting dust in storage, so might as well remind people who's the boss around here.]

In East Asia, the Supreme Leader of North Korea was delighted to watch simulation testing of their new Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system he recently purchased from contacts of his late father.

The Korean fatty Kim Jong-Un impatiently declared to his subordinates, "I want a grand military parade next month when we unveil our greatest weapon against the evil Americans!"

---------------

At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, previously an Air Force Base during the Cold War, a Caucasian-American man in his early 50s disembarked from a Boeing C-40 wearing an ornate US military officer's uniform.

General Douglas planned to inspect a potential bid for the army's ambitious Future Soldier initiative, which focused on mind-boosting drugs, powered exoskeletons, and artificially intelligent assistants.

In Vince's previous life, the Department of Defense shelved the program due to inadequate technology and high costs. Still, the situation in this new timeline was utterly different, with Future Security introducing unique and advanced weaponry by integrating research and development across the corporation's multiple departments.

Future Tech scheduled the demonstrations and tours for General Douglas the following Monday. Still, he decided to arrive a day early and see Austin's new sights and attend an impromptu audience with a young CEO.

The local Air Force base dispatched a USAF-marked FAV-1 to accommodate the General's transportation while in Austin.

His staff confirmed with Aiya that Vince was in town but at his manor instead of the penthouse. The FAV-1 hovered before flying at cruising speed towards its destination.

President Obama shared his time visiting Future Tech with General Douglas but it was still a unique firsthand experience watching the rapidly developing Austin metropolis with its Tech Campus neighbor while flying over the city skyline.

It was becoming more common to see civilian AVs flying around Washington D.C. Still, it was incomparable to the number of CAVs in Austin air space, mostly Future Tech executives or the local CEOs benefitting from the region's economic growth.

2013 was barely over, but economists had already projected Austin to be number one in the gross domestic product metric, beating out significant metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, which had stood on top for decades.

General Douglas was lost for words as his FAV-1 landed on the Dalton Manor's AV pad and thought, [It looks like the young man is doing well for himself.]

Unlike the other CEOs of private military contract companies like Triple Canopy and G4S, Vince appreciated the luxurious, not the spartan aesthetic soldiers preferred.

----------------

Vince and Hailee attended the afternoon gym session and returned to the manor an hour and a half later.

They cuddled on the living room sofa, resting after rigorous training at the Fury Gym while watching random music videos on the projector.

Vince was too relaxed and neglected to check a notification sent by Aiya regarding a visit from a powerful ally.

While "Clarity" by Zedd played on the projector, a group of military officers was escorted by an FS operator into the manor as the music echoed through the corridors.

Vince noticed their arrival, lowered the volume using his Infinity Watch, and graciously said, "Ah, long time no see, General. We weren't expecting you until tomorrow. Welcome to my home, and please take a seat. Your men are free to explore the grounds. It's quite beautiful this time of day outside. Hailee, meet General Douglas, the presidential military advisor and right-hand man of Chuck Hagel, the DOD Secretary."

The General knew his place and courteously said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady. Vince, I wanted to meet with you before we begin the technical demonstrations this week, so are we interrupting?"

Vince understood how essential his partnership with the Department of Defense was to Future Tech's position, so he amicably replied, "No, not at all. I'll have a few friends over tonight, but I'm free right now. So how's the President doing these days?"

General Douglas appreciated the gesture of goodwill and explained, "He's busy touring the Middle East, specifically Israel, right now. But I heard President Obama will spend more time in Afghanistan to confirm the positive reports we've been receiving from the region lately."

Hailee was a bit out of her depth in the conversation and remained silent while the two men discussed random topics.

The General wasn't into pop culture as a military man but realized the young lady played Mattie Ross in True Grit and said, "Oh, I couldn't recognize your friend earlier because she was much younger in the movie. You did a splendid job with the accent, as a Southern Arkansas man myself." 

Hailee was stunned to hear an acting compliment coming from a US Army General and replied, "Thank you, General. So how did you guys first meet each other?"

General Douglas chuckled before replying, "Vince and I met at the Oval Office and got on the wrong foot with each other at first, but the DOD can't deny Future Security's effectiveness, and I've learned to keep a more open mind. I still can't believe I raised my voice during that meeting."

Vince remembered how calmly he dealt with the defense contract negotiations and said, "Water under the bridge, General. We're creating positive changes together now, which is all that matters. Our partnership has done well recently, especially the successful mission thwarting the warheads from reaching Damascus."

General Douglas followed along with Vince's conversation until learning about an unfamiliar situation to him and curiously asked, "What was that about warheads?"