"What's that?!" Brian said, glaring at the questionable-looking green stuff Jessica had in front of her.
They sat in an outdoor picnic area at Talon. Brian had suggested they eat lunch together, so he could catch her up on the previous night's events.
"Steamed collard greens and kale," she said, matter-of-factly. "Why?"
A good source of vitamin K, TV said.
Vitamin K? Is that even real? I thought they stopped after E.
"Oh, just curious," Brian said, nodding casually. He decided not to comment further on her lunch—or to look at it.
He told her about Ralph joining the team, Watkins' strange visit, and the discovery involving Pamela, but reserved the part about Project 84 because some people began walking by.
Jessica laughed. "It seems I missed out on an adventure!"
"You really did!" Brian said, chuckling.
"I'll report the bug to Carol, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me if she is already aware of it."
"What do you mean?" Brian said, "You think she may be involved, somehow?"
Jessica shook her head. "I'm not saying that. It's just,"—she paused for a moment—"not much surprises her. She seems to be really tuned in to things."
Brian frowned a little, and nodded.
The two made small talk for a while as they ate.
When they were finishing, Brian lowered his voice and leaned in a little. "Have you heard anything about something called Project 84?"
"Project 84," she said, frowning, "That sounds familiar." She chewed on her lip. After a moment, her face lit up. "Okay, yeah! A few weeks ago, Jack had me schedule a meeting with some government official. Jack had labeled the meeting as "Project 84 Wrap-up" on the email calendar, and the next day I noticed that he had changed it to something generic, like "Status Meeting." I thought that was odd. Why do you ask?"
Brian filled her in on Pamela's ledger entries.
Jessica's eyes widened. "Jack is involved in some kind of alien project?"
Brian shrugged. "It looks that way, but he may not be aware that aliens are involved." He took a deep breath. "Do you think my aunt knows anything about this?"
"Why don't you ask her?"
Brian sighed. "We're not exactly on great terms right now."
Jessica nodded slowly. "Well, like I was saying, I'd be surprised if she didn't know something. I'll report it, and let you know if she reveals anything about it."
Brian grunted. "Not likely. Anyway, Ralph is trying to dig up more information on the servers. Hopefully, we can learn more that way."
* * *
Boss!" Ralph shouted, poking his head into Brian's office.
Brian jumped in his seat. "What's up?"
YOU ARE READING
Brian Saves the World, Maybe
Science FictionBrian Walker, the IT guy at a small government contractor, has two problems. First, he hasn't had his morning coffee, and second, a strange voice in his head claims an alien invasion is underway. Solving the least pressing of the two should be prett...
