Cristal(3)
Harry laughed and gave her an enormous bear hug. “Don’t worry, Mom. Google didn’t buy the rights to the Truth Seekers’ name. I already made a better Truth Seekers game and brought it underground. It’s hosted on multiple private servers. I call it the ‘interranet.’”
Bina gave him a warm smile and pinched Harry on the cheek. “Ah, my wonderful boy. Your father would have been so proud.”
Harry raised his eyebrows and said, “Yeah, whatever, Mom.” He bent over and gave her another kiss on the cheek. “Please don’t ruin my mood by bringing up Dad again, okay?”
She pressed her lips together, holding back what she was going to say.
“Mom, I’m starving. Something smells real good in the kitchen.”
Bina raised her hand. “Wait, Harry. I wanted to tell you this at dinner, but it is better if I tell you now.”
“Okay,” he said. “What is it?”
“I decided I am going to Global Nation in Tel Aviv. I want to be a peacekeeper in Gaza while the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are happening,” Bina said.
Harry’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy, Mom? Why do you want to go there? You and Dad came here to New York to get away from all the politics and now you want to go back?”
“I have to go, Harry. I need a purpose in life,” she said, as her voice broke.
He looked at her for a long time, his anger diminishing. “Are you sure you can take care of yourself, Mom?” he asked.
She smiled. “I took care of you and your father. Makhshava me tumtemet le-gamrei. What a stupid question.”
***
Two months later, Harry received a phone call.
“Mr. Doub, you are listed as the emergency contact for Bina Schwartz. We regret to inform you that Ms. Schwartz did not report to work two days ago at our Gaza office. We are doing our best to locate her and are working closely with Israeli officials to find her.”
Harry decided that his mission was to find his missing mother even if it meant that he had to infiltrate Global Nation from the inside to do it.
Chapter 3
Global Nation 2012
A NEW STATUS ALERT BOX popped up on the bottom corner of his computer screen displaying a familiar avatar—a dark shadow of mist in the silhouette of a woman standing tall, hands on her hips with her long hair blowing wildly over one shoulder like black flames. Cristal.
Harry made sure that the closest members of his team contacted him via the private Truth Seekers’ game messaging system, which he simply called TSVC or Truth Seekers’ video chat. He had overridden the personnel spy software, which the president of GN, Shelley Lionheart, had ordered his team to install on all GN desktops and laptops. Even though he was confident that no one could hack into his system, he made sure that everyone messaged each other using alias names and coded phrases.
Mist: Received the latest mission you sent. Not sure why we need Shadow to be involved. His programming skills suck.
Harry smiled as he typed his reply.
Zero: Your comment is noted. Bring Onyx with you to location.
Mist: You chose her as a recruit without my input. So you take care of her yourself.
Harry started to type a response but paused. He could have easily walked five cubicles down to talk to Cristal in person, instead of texting her via her online alias Mist. Her recent snide remarks about his latest recruits, Kerim and Joanna, were becoming difficult to ignore.
Harry had warned Cristal that upcoming missions would become more dangerous. His warnings, however, seemed to fall on deaf ears. He feared that her cockiness would get her in trouble. So without her knowledge, he had hired former Turkish Army Intelligence Kerim Ilgaz, giving him the alias name Shadow, and assigning him as Cristal’s bodyguard. If she ever found out the real reason behind Kerim’s role in the Truth Seekers, she probably would never speak to Harry again.
As for Joanna, alias Onyx, he couldn’t understand what was Cristal’s gripe with her. Although Joanna was a good programmer and gamer, having one of the highest scores in the Truth Seekers’ game, she lacked the ability to see the big picture—a talent and skill that he found only in Cristal. He never admitted this to Cristal convincing himself that it was a conflict of interest. After all he was the head of the Truth Seekers and also technically her boss at GN.
He had to admit though that Cristal was the only one who could see through him, past his boyish good looks and bravado. His choice of communication was text messaging so he could avoid looking into those kohl brown eyes with flecks of gold, like lasers that could detect his deepest and darkest fears. They were good friends and he wanted their relationship to stay that way.