Nasa looked down at Dillon, looking for any indication she was uncomfortable to have Tobias backing them up, but she met his gaze with steady calm, awaiting his decision.
“Tomorrow. I need to do a few more things and get a lock on the satellite sweeps.”
Duke let his head fall back on an exasperated groan. “You and your freaking satellites, man. I swear to god, you're more likely to be struck by lightning than get picked up on some fictional facial tracking software from outer space!”
The habit of keeping his mouth shut was deeply ingrained, but Nasa discovered he'd taken more than his share of shit with everyone thinking he was out of his mind with paranoia.
“You ever see that movie, Eagle Eye?”
Duke sighed and rolled his eyes, but Tobias nodded. “Creeped me out to think about all the shit an artificial intelligence could make happen in the wrong hands.”
“I designed a similar program for the NSA. There's no homicidal AI, but it is designed to access every single camera anywhere in the world, just like the movie.
"CCTV, ATMs, private, public, it doesn't matter. If the camera is on the grid, my code will find it. All you have to do to find someone is upload a photo, and a social security number.
“Smart phones were just coming into style, but the program has no doubt been expanded to access the cameras and the microphones, and there's no question about all those Echodot things people put in their homes to 'simplify' their lives can be utilized to record conversations without you knowing.
“It's literally a free access point to millions of voices, and if you're a person of interest and someone has been questioned by the cops?
"There's a recording of your voice out there on some hard drive to put into my program to compare, and it's only a matter of time before you're found.
“Got social media? Do any sort of online shopping? Use credit cards? The programs I created are designed for a world of zero privacy, and we live in that world now.
"I shit you not, if you knew all the things I did for my government because I believed what I was doing would be used to keep people safe, you wouldn't roll your eyes every time I said something about satellites.”
Tobias and Duke were both looking at him now with a little more wariness in their expressions. Duke finally found words and said, “Damn, bro.”
“We'll get our shit and be ready to roll first thing,” Tobias said with a grim nod and grabbed Duke by the back of his shirt to steer him back around and up the basement stairs.
About halfway up, he heard Duke say to Tobias, “You think that thing of his tracks you on Tinder?”
“If Nasa wrote it, yeah. Probably.”
“Goddammit.” Duke sighed dismally. “Maybe if I start living in a basement, some hot Barbie badass will appear and want to move in.”
“Doubtful.”
“Why? I'm hot shit!”
“Chicks dig dudes who do dishes and put the fuckin' seat down.”
“So, I'll hire a maid! Then all my woman has to do all day is lay around in a hot bathing suit, or whatever the fuck she wants to do. I'll eat her out so good she'll never remember a day when my mouth wasn't on her. We'll fuck like rabbits, make a bunch'a babies, and have a nice damn life.”
“Sounds like you got it all figured out, Himbo.” Tobias told him facetiously, their voices fading as they hit the main door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Nasa's plan went off without a hitch. Tobias and Duke left just after sun up, and after a quick run-through of the routes everyone would take with Nasa's BOTs, the entire club got involved in pulling it off.
Dillon opened the back door for Elka, then slid into the passenger seat of the tricked-out, beefy trucks. They all had camper shells covering the bed of the truck, with two benches on either side that pulled down into a mattress, and long drawers filled with supplies that pulled out from beneath the truck bed.
There were racks on the roof where water tanks and extra fuel were meant to go, and every seat inside the truck folded up in some way to reveal a stash of tools, weapons, and more supplies.
Each truck was equipped to shelter and protect four people, and Nasa had six more being built by a guy in Weatherford to give everyone more space while continuing to grow his stash.
It seemed like an odd thing to be aroused by, yet Dillon knew if she asked for something, Nasa would have what she needed.
Alone for so long, it felt strange to think about how quickly she'd gone from being scared and on edge all the time, looking at every shadow, waiting for a monster to jump out and snatch her up, too relaxed and happy, surrounded by people she would never have considered giving the time of day.
They were rough and tumble, foul-mouthed, loud, eager to leap into the fray with nothing but fists and fury. They were also kind, generous, loyal to a fault, and determined to squeeze every drop of happiness out of life.
They'd taken her in, fed her, clothed her, and protected her. They were still protecting her, and not one person complained about her being a burden or a drain on their resources.
Collectively, the men of Perdition had done more for her in one month, shown her more kindness and protection, than anyone had since she'd been a child.
Top made it clear he liked the way the future looked with her in their world, and whenever the other guys noticed Nasa holding her hand, or plating her up a meal when they all sat down together to eat, they had nothing but smiles and satisfaction in their expressions.
The women made Dillon feel welcome, not one of them standoffish or unwilling to let her into their circle, and yesterday, everyone got involved
