Platypus

Chapter Fifteen

The question was a curious one. This was someone he had just met. Caspian didn't know if he could trust her. His eyes then drifted over to Zenfred... She did have a dog with her. It was like she was specifically aiming for his weaknesses.

"Ah, well..." Caspian scratched at the back of his head. "I don't plan on telling any authorities about anything you say. Is that what you're worried about?"

Lacey's brow furrowed. She didn't quite know what she was worried about. Disappearing like Albert did? Unlike Albert, she didn't have many close friends who panic if she vanished somewhere.

"Uhm... I suppose it's fine then." Lacey flipped through Albert's notebook. "So I asked, uh, well, someone I know, I can't say who, to look into the medical records of those who went missing. All of them had pre-existing genetic conditions, as did their partners, so there was a high probability that they would have children with severe disabilities.

So I tried to do the same with Albert, and as it turns out, he didn't register his partnership. Neither did half of the people who disappeared, but it really wasn't all that hard to figure out who they were over social media. Even then, Albert was a low risk when it came to his medical record, so uhm..."

"You believe he disappeared because he was getting close to figuring out something important," replied Caspian.

"I don't know if it's someone who is pretending to be the partner kidnapper, or if it's the person, but yes." Lacey held out the notebook. She left it open to a certain page. "That is what I believe."

Caspian took the notebook. He studied the drawings and equations on it for a moment. "Alright. I think I got it."

He gestured for Lacey to follow him to his desk and opened up a drawing program on his computer. A quick diagram was drawn up for her. Lines, with a large rectangle underneath.

"The trams gain their electricity from here," Caspian drew a line between the rectangle to one of the overhead lines. "They channel power down to the motors underneath, which makes the vehicle go. Mister Short theorized that some device has been attached to the trams and is being powered through the same source.

It's a plausible theory because all trams are operated through computers. They have no humans monitoring them, thus someone could theoretically install a hidden compartment and no one would notice. Mister Short believed that this device is how the kidnapper located their victims."

Which was almost what Lacey had figured out. "But no one gets a signal around the trollies."

"They state that the navigation system is the reason why we don't have a signal," replied Caspain. "It was upgraded to a driverless system last year. There are a lot of signals constantly going back and forth, and for the safety of the community, it prioritizes tram signals above all else.

What Mister Short believed was that that was this mystery device is the cause of the signal blockage. Likely so that it isn't detected while it does whatever it does. Mister Short was in the process of attempting to extract one of the devices so he could prove his hypothesis."

Lacey nodded to herself. "And if it something used to find new victims... That means we can use it to track down who the kidnapper is!"

"Yes, we can, in theory, do that, but we can't tear apart a tram until we find the right device. There is a chance we might damage the navigation system and cause the tram to go out of control and run someone over."

Lacey nodded to herself again, this time much more slowly. "... And that would be bad."

"There is also the concern that Mister Short was taken. If, as you believe, he was taken because he was close to the truth, how was that discovered? Was he noticed because he was physically attempting to locate the device? That's the only likely possibility. Everything else was written down and I doubt he kept an electronic record."

"And it would've been easier to get the police involved, saying that he was tampering with city equipment." Lacey folded her arms. "So he was close to something important, and we'll end up endangering ourselves if we go down the same path as him."

Caspian erased the drawing on his computer. "It means that we likely only have one chance to investigate and remove the device. We would also have a better opportunity to succeed if we target a tram on our regular route and during a high traffic period."

Lacey scrunched her nose. She knelt next to Zenfred and put an arm around his shoulders. The amount of nervousness building up within her was nearly overwhelming. "That sounds like something that would be awfully hard to do."

"Difficult but not impossible," he replied. Caspian then picked up his phone. "We're going to need a team."

Lacey immediately stood up. "Won't they be in danger though?"

"We have a project. One that is in need of scientists and engineers. I have three aides who are considered some of the best among their peers. We'll need someone with programming knowledge, and another like Mister Short, who was nearly an expert in electrical engineering. I will coordinate their efforts, and see to it that this project succeeds."

"... Then what do I do?"

"You supply the dog," muttered Caspian under his breath.

"What was that, Professor Song? I didn't quite hear that?"

Caspian's eyes darted left and right as he struggled to think of something. "You will be human resources. If there is a need for us to work with someone on the outside, or if we need information, you will help us retain it."

And that was something that Lacey felt comfortable with. She could definitely be the people person. "Alright." She nodded to herself. "We can do this."