“Me too,” reported Mike, after checking his own phone. “It’s not surprising really given that it was all running through Avogadro. In fact, maybe we should be glad, otherwise ELOPe would have been monitoring our phone conversations.”
“Shit…” started David. He continued to fiddle with the phone, then slammed it down on the counter. “You know, it’s not just using the phone. It’s the data on there. I had Sean’s home address in my address book, from a BBQ I was invited to, back when I was hired. We could have gone straight to his house. Now I can’t even get a boot screen.”
“Doesn’t matter, he was traveling, right?” Mike said.
“Look, let’s just go to his house. I remember it was in the West Hills. It’s not that big of an area. If we drive around long enough, we can find it, and maybe he’s there. Or someone is there who knows where he is.”
“We got nothing to lose, boys. I don’t mind the beer, but I do want to get to the bottom of this,” rumbled Gene.
“Let me drive, and you navi-guess.” Mike offered.
David nodded, tossing his keys to Mike, and they took off again.
Two hours of exploration later, which included winding roads, switch-backs, and driving in circles in Portland’s West Hills, they finally came upon Sean’s house. In the one stroke of luck they had experienced since this all started, they found someone just coming out of the house as Mike parked the car.
David walked up to the youthful woman. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Sean Leonov. Is he home?”
The woman looked a little startled at being approached on the street. “No, he’s not home right now. Can I take a message?”
David pulled out his Avogadro ID badge, which thankfully had not been confiscated by security. “I’m a coworker of Sean’s at Avogadro. We have a major emergency on a project, and we urgently need to talk to Sean.”
“I’m a friend. I’m house sitting while Sean is away. He’s in Brooklyn, visiting his family.”
“Do you have any contact information for Sean?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m really not supposed to give any information out. Sean was adamant about that. Don’t you have his contact information at Avogadro?”
“Yes, of course. It’s just…” David stalled, not sure of what to say.
“It’s just that time is of the essence,” Mike put in, “and the matter is so sensitive that we can’t contact him by phone. Or email.” He paused, then added, “We have to talk to him in person.” Mike frowned at himself. It did all sound a little odd, even coming out of his own mouth.
At this, she started to look a little suspiciously at them, and started to back away. “I’m sorry, if it really is urgent and an official Avogadro matter, I know they have his contact information there. Please contact his office, they’ll know what to do.”
Still keeping her eyes on the group, she walked back into the house. “Goodbye,” she called from the door.
“Shit, that wasn’t very productive.” Mike complained when they got back into the car.
“The hell it wasn’t. We know he is in Brooklyn,” Gene growled.
“What good does that do?” Mike asked, focused on the road.
“Brooklyn has the largest immigrant population of Russians outside of Russia. If Sean went to Brooklyn, he’s almost certainly in the Brighton Beach neighborhood. He’s probably visiting his Russian parents. The Russian community is very tight-nit. On the ground, we could find them in no time.”
Mike and David turned to stare at Gene.
“What? I was a private detective before I joined Avogadro. I can find people. The old fashioned way. Without computers.”
“Let’s go to New York,” David concluded.
Chapter 12
Germany has eased tensions in the Middle East after helping leaders in the region reach a landmark accord. Part of the agreement includes an unprecedented commitment of aid from the German government in the form of technological expertise, manufacturing agreements, and healthcare.
“We have reached the end of the era of oil” said Germany’s Chancellor Erberhardt, at a press conference in East Berlin. In recent years, the advance of renewable energy has diminished the relevance of oil. The resulting decline of the oil industry has added financial stress to an area already under the tension of cultural and religious differences.
“Our accord transfers German technological expertise, profitable manufacturing, and the benefits of the best healthcare system in the world to the Arab nations,” Erberhardt went on to say.
The agreement calls for disarmament and educational reform in exchange for the technology, manufacturing, and healthcare grants.
“Germany’s history is one of transformation, and we wish to give the Arab world the support it needs to ensure a successful transformation.”
The agreement includes components that are as disparate and comprehensive as auto manufacturing, data centers, and medical universities.
PORTLAND, Oregon — January 12th, 2010 UTC — Avogadro Inc. today announced it is acquiring up to 100 retired oil tankers for floating data centers.
“We are experiencing an unprecedented increase in demand for server resources, thanks to new strategic partnerships, including our Secure Government Applications Platform,” said Jake Riley, head of the OffShore Data Center project. “While we continue to maintain our traditional data centers, our primary infrastructure going forward is floating data centers. However, our barge-based approach lacks sufficient scale and flexibility. As the oil industry gears down, we can acquire retired oil tankers at favorable prices, and put them to good use.”
For more information, please contact Avogadro at AvogadroCorp.com
“Thanks for driving us,” Mike said from the back seat.
“No problem,” Christine said, behind the wheel of her Passat. “What’s your plan when you get there?”
“Gene’s sure he can find Sean in a city of ten million people using no computers or telephones,” David said, still sounding unconvinced.
“It’s not ten million people,” Gene explained again, exasperated. “Sean’s parents are older Russian immigrants. That makes it highly likely that they live in or know people who live in Brighton Beach. There’s seventy-thousand people that live in Brighton Beach, and only about half that many households.”
“So you’re going to talk to thirty-five thousand people?”
“No. Look, kid, this is basic math. Sean Leonov is the wealthiest Russian in the world, and hence will be a well known name in Russian families. If someone has met or knows anything about Sean’s parents, they’ll remember. If you use Dunbar’s number, and estimate that each person knows about one hundred and fifty people, in a population of seventy-thousand people that means that the odds are in my favor that the first person I talk to will either know Sean Leonov’s parents or know someone who does.”
“Oh.” David became quiet, pondering the math.
Christine laughed. David was brilliant, but it was fun to see someone outsmart him.
