Chapter 10 Summary

Jennifer finalizes her article on the LAB Conference, but her attention quickly shifts to the troubling case of Walter Jenkins. News updates remain sparse, with GenaSeed insisting he is merely on vacation, though their carefully worded statement does little to quiet suspicion. Sandi Brown, the company’s polished spokesperson, stresses Jenkins’ importance while downplaying concerns, framing GenaSeed as a benevolent force in global food production.

Curious, Jennifer digs deeper online and uncovers the extent of Jenkins’ influence. His research had revolutionized crop resilience and boosted yields worldwide, making him one of GenaSeed’s most valuable assets. Yet, in interviews, Jenkins appeared anything but loyal to the corporate line. Muscular and outspoken, he defied the stereotype of a reclusive scientist. He openly criticized GenaSeed for abandoning its mission to feed the poor, accusing the company of prioritizing profit over people.

In contrast, Sandi Brown’s public rebuttals painted GenaSeed as a philanthropic powerhouse, deflecting criticisms with charm before abruptly ending interviews when pressed. The clash between Jenkins’ principles and the corporation’s polished image raised an unsettling question for Jennifer: could internal opposition have led to his disappearance?

Resolved to pursue the lead, she books a flight to St. Louis to probe GenaSeed headquarters directly. After a quick stop to pack, she leaves her apartment with Neil’s warning echoing in her mind: if the video of Jenkins is authentic, those responsible won’t welcome a journalist’s questions. Doubt lingers as she steps into the elevator, caught between caution and determination, yet moving forward all the same.

Chapter 9 Summary

Tony follows the GPS in his rental car to a country-style restaurant and stops for breakfast after an early morning of travel. He exchanges lighthearted banter with Susan, the counter clerk, whose humor momentarily lifts his spirits. As he eats, Tony checks the news on his phone and is stunned to see reports about the alleged kidnapping of Walter Jenkins and GenaSeed’s involvement. Concern grows that his planned visit to St. Louis may now be poorly timed. After finishing his meal, Tony returns to his rental car and considers his options while waiting for word on his aircraft repairs. Deciding he may need to stay longer, he books a room at a nearby Embassy Suites. The clerk arranges a premium suite, and Tony checks in, planning to shop for essentials in case his stay extends overnight.

Chapter 8 Summary

Javon Morris arrives at One Metropolitan Square in St. Louis for a meeting with GenaSeed executives. After presenting his FBI credentials to the lobby guard, he makes his way up to the company’s opulent reception area on the twenty-second floor. The luxury and artificial nature of the environment with an indoor waterfall, artificial birdsong, and sunlight impress him but also underscore the company’s wealth and image management. Javon checks in with the receptionist, who, flustered by his credentials, arranges for someone to escort him.

Sandra Brown, GenaSeed’s Vice President of Communications, greets him instead of Daniel Bruner, the executive Javon had requested. She explains Bruner is unavailable but will be free shortly. Javon insists on speaking with Bruner as soon as possible and persuades Sandra to take him to her office on the thirty-ninth floor while they wait. The office, like the rest of the building, is lavishly decorated with teak paneling, marble flooring, and high-end furnishings.

Javon questions Sandra about the company’s awareness of the video and news story concerning Walter Jenkins. She explains that Bruner and Jeffrey Kruger, the COO, first learned of it around seven in the morning and informed her shortly after. Javon presses her about ransom demands, attempts to gather personal information, or other suspicious contacts, but Sandra denies any such incidents.

Their discussion shifts to Jenkins’ recent activity. Jenkins' last communication was an email sent two days earlier. While his lack of contact isn’t unusual when on vacation, Javon requests further details about his travel plans. Sandra admits she doesn’t know specifics but promises to ask Jenkins’ staff. When asked if Jenkins had enemies, Sandra described him as a passionate researcher who occasionally clashed with Bruner and Kruger over how the company applied his work. Despite frequent threats to quit, Jenkins never left, as GenaSeed owns the patents to his research, effectively tying him to the company.

Sandra portrays Jenkins as frustrated by the company’s profit-driven methods but not deeply unhappy with his research itself. Javon records her responses, sensing tension in GenaSeed’s internal dynamics, and provides her with his contact information in case additional details emerge. Finally, he requests to be taken to Daniel Bruner’s office, intent on speaking directly with the executive.

Chapter 7 Summary

James Tanner visits a FedEx office in Monroe, Louisiana, to follow up on a suspicious package. Using his FBI credentials, he clears the store to speak privately with staff. Shirley Webber, a clerk, provides him with a zip drive containing surveillance footage and assists him in locating the relevant video and tracking records. The footage shows a heavyset woman in dark sunglasses sending the package under the name Riley Johnston, but the identity appears to be a disguise. The listed address turns out to be a shopping mall, confirming the false lead. Tanner reports back to Javon Morris, warning that the investigation will be difficult and resource-heavy.

Chapter 6 Summary

Tony wrapped up the necessary paperwork for his emergency landing before heading over to Sam’s Avionics, the repair facility where his Piper had been towed. Outside the hangar, two mechanics directed him to the office, where he found Sam Ellis, the shop’s owner. Sam was a sharp, mid-forties man with a professional air, more at home running the business than turning wrenches. After introductions, Tony explained his frustration—he was supposed to be in St. Louis for a meeting, not stranded in Charleston.

Sam asked about the incident in detail. Tony described the shuddering engines, fluctuating manifold pressure, dropping oil levels, and intermittent sputtering during approach. To Sam, it sounded like contaminated fuel, but when Tony explained that the plane had recently been serviced by Talon Air, Sam began considering other possibilities. Based on Tony’s limited flight hours on the aircraft and the fact it had been idle under its previous owner, Sam suggested carbon buildup in the valves, possibly from worn exhaust valve guides.

The potential fix wasn’t simple. Sam explained it could take anywhere from a day to several days depending on whether valves merely needed cleaning or full replacement. Frustrated, Tony realized his trip would be delayed regardless. Sam outlined alternatives—commercial flights through Charlotte or Washington, both taking about five hours, or chartering a plane, though the last charter had already left. None of the options were ideal, and Tony reluctantly accepted that he was stuck in Charleston for at least a day.

He signed the work order for the inspection and left Sam’s crew to get started. At the airport terminal, Tony arranged for a rental car, then used his downtime to call GenaSeed and inform them of the delay. The call was answered on behalf of Mr. Cortez and assured Tony that both Cortez and Bruner would be notified. The exchange struck Tony as strangely mechanical, almost as if he were speaking with an AI system rather than a person, though he brushed off the thought.

With his meeting canceled and his travel plans in limbo, Tony started the rental car and drove toward Charleston’s downtown district. Frustration lingered, but with no choice but to wait, he decided to get something to eat and regroup while his Piper underwent inspection.

Chapter 5 Summary

The St. Louis FBI field office projected quiet authority. From the front, it looked like any government building, but the eight-foot fence signaled the seriousness of the work inside. Rows of cubicles buzzed with steady activity as agents pursued cases that rarely left the public eye.

Special Agent Javon Morris, a seasoned Intelligence Analyst, sat at his desk with one of his ever-present notepads. At fifty, he had worked nearly every kind of assignment the Bureau offered, but this case — the strange video of Walter Jenkins, a high-ranking GenaSeed executive — carried a weight that unsettled him.

At 10:20 a.m., Morris phoned the forensics lab. The update brought little relief: the video appeared genuine, recorded in a single pass, and free of any fingerprints beyond those of the TV station staff. If it was AI-generated, the technology was beyond normal detection. For the moment, they were stuck.

Looking for another way forward, Morris focused on the package itself. It had been shipped from Monroe, Louisiana, two days earlier. He called the FedEx office there and spoke with FedEx employee, Shirley Webber, who confirmed the package had originated at her location. Importantly, she mentioned that surveillance cameras had been installed after a series of robberies. Morris urged her to preserve the footage and informed her that an FBI agent would soon arrive.

He then reached out to an old colleague in Monroe, Agent James Tanner. The two exchanged brief pleasantries before Morris laid out the urgency. Tanner promised to drive out personally to collect the footage. It was the first promising lead they had.

Morris hung up, rubbing tired eyes. Sleep had been scarce, and coffee would have to sustain him through the day. As he left his desk, the thought weighed heavily on him: their entire investigation might now depend on a single surveillance tape in a small-town FedEx office.

Chapter 4 Summary
On the thirty-ninth floor of the sleek Met Building in St. Louis, DanielBruner’s office exudes wealth and power. The mahogany-paneled walls, etched with delicate plant artwork, and the floor-to-ceiling glass offering a commanding view of the Gateway Arch and Mississippi River, set the stage for the empire GenaSeed has built. Bruner himself, a self-made titan of biotechnology, presides from behind a futuristic desk bristling with technology — a man at once anchored in tradition and driven by innovation. At his side is Jeffrey Kruger, the sharply dressed COO, who shares the confidence of power but conceals anxieties of his own.

Their morning meeting is shattered by a disturbing news broadcast. A video has surfaced showing a man — allegedly Walter Jenkins, oneof GenaSeed’s senior executives — tied to a chair, beaten, and threatened. A note accompanies the video, now in the hands of the FBI. Jenkins, supposedly on a European vacation, has been unreachable for two days. The story instantly rattles Bruner and Kruger. For a company that thrives on public image and investor confidence, even the hint of scandal could be devastating.

Bruner calls in Sandra “Sandi” Brown, the poised Vice President of Communications, who immediately begins shaping a strategy todefuse the media storm. Their approach is calculated: express skepticism about the video’s authenticity, emphasize Jenkins’ vacation, and hope the entire affair dissolves as a hoax. Yet beneath their polished words lies unease. Why would someone target Jenkins? What leverage could they hope to gain?

As Bruner urges Kruger to return the FBI’s call, Kruger excuses himself — but instead of heading to his office, he slips into the stairwell, descends several floors, and takes a carefully concealed route out of the building. Once outside, in the shadow of the Gateway Arch, he makes aclandestine call. His contact, a gruff man with an Eastern European accent, was supposed to have Jenkins in custody. But the man claims Jenkins was never at the hotel where Kruger tracked him. Someone else, it seems, has taken Jenkins.

The conversation grows tense. Accusations fly, and Kruger’s control frays. The man insists he has fulfilled his end of the bargain, pocketing his advance payment and warning Kruger never to call again. He makesit clear: if Kruger pursues him further, retaliation will be swift and deadly.Shaken, sweating, and suddenly aware of the precariousness of his scheme, Kruger smashes the burner phone, scattering its remains in trash bins along the park trail.

What was supposed to be a clean, quiet operation has spiraled into chaos. Walter Jenkins is missing, but who holds him is now a mystery. And as Kruger returns toward GenaSeed’s gleaming tower, he knows one thing with certainty — his carefully laid plan has collapsed, and theconsequences may come crashing down on him sooner than he ever imagined.

Chapter 3 Summary

Tony arrives at Talon Air, where he checks in, reviews the maintenance report on his Piper, and prepares for a short business flight to St. Louis. After completing his pre-flight inspection, he takes off under clear skies and settles in at cruising altitude. While retrieving his iPad, Tony discovers a mysterious slip of paper hidden in his case. The note warns him that “GenaSeed has killed many who tried to stop them” and cautions him about his associations. Startled, Tony recalls briefly leaving his case unattended during a meeting with a GenaSeed representative and wonders who could have slipped it inside.

Before he can puzzle it out, his plane shudders and the engines begin sputtering. Though the instruments initially show normal readings, the Piper rapidly loses altitude. Tony runs through possible causes—fuel issues, clogged injectors, magneto failure—but the engines suddenly recover, only to fail again as he attempts to land at Yeager Airport in Charleston. Fighting to maintain altitude, Tony uses every ounce of his piloting skill to coax the Piper toward the runway, narrowly avoiding a crash into the hillside. With the stall alarm blaring, he forces a hard landing, bouncing once before skidding safely onto the runway.

Emergency vehicles rush to his aid, and Tony, though shaken, emerges unharmed. The Piper, however, is disabled and towed to maintenance. Grateful to be alive, Tony exchanges introductions with Eugene, one of the responders, before heading to file his emergency landing report. Resigned, he acknowledges that his trip to meet with GenaSeed will have to wait.