Page 90 of Shielding Instinct

“In the days of pirating,” Petra added, “they would tie their enemies to the trees, so they died a terrible death from the chemicals. It’s what I read. I felt compelled to share.”

“Thank you, Petra. You’re right. That environment needs a land team, not a K9 team. I’ll reach out and talk to emergency services and get us assigned to a different mission.” He lifted a sheet of paper. “I have a one-team assignment to do a well-check on a boater who didn’t return last night. Witnesses on the wharf said they saw her go out, but the boat wasn’t in the slip this morning. The sixty-year-old female is an experienced seawoman who always leaves her plans on her kitchen table. She lives in a cabin that is both off-grid and off-road. You’ll be parking your vehicle and hiking in. Eyes on the subject or a picture of the itinerary.”

“Cooper and I can take that one.” Hawkeye turned to Petra. “Do you want to take that assignment, too?”

She nodded and looked at Reaper.

“All right. This is a reminder about the communication situation. We ran into some issues, such as dead spots with no cell phone service in the area and no landlines. Because of thetree canopy on much of the island, satellite phones are hit and miss.” Reaper handed the paper over to Hawkeye. “Questions?”

“Is she paranoid? Armed? Animals? Any known medical issues?”

“She was described as a surfer who couldn’t do the big waves anymore and enjoys the smaller waves they get here in St. Croix. They didn’t have information about animals or medical situation.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “This will be our TOC.” (He used the acronym for tactical operations center, pronounced “talk.”) “When you two get back, check in here with me.”

When Hawkeye stood, Cooper scrambled out from under the table.

Petra gritted her teeth as she lifted up from her chair. Surely, today would be easier than yesterday.

Right?

Chapter Thirty

Petra

Walking side by side through the parking lot on their way out to the woman’s off-grid house, Hawkeye was waiting for Petra to answer.

But Petra needed to watch her mouth. It was one of the hardest parts for her about being neurodivergent. If she was on a gerbil wheel with an idea turning over and over and over, it was a physical, mental, and emotional relief to share it. Petra liked to talk things through. By telling others, she could hear her ideas and echo-locate the holes. But in her line of work, her thoughts were classified and compartmented. Even Rowan, with the same level of security and the same job, had to be careful what he shared and under what circumstances.

Sometimes, she could speak hypothetically or talk about things in parallel.

And then there were topics that she needed to shut up about.

This was a shut-up-about-it topic.

Was this classified?I mean, I ran into a woman on an island on my supposed vacation. It’s not an open case. But Rowan was on his way here, so something had his pants on fire. I should shut up. Just shut up.

Petra’s jaw locked as she finally said, “Yes, I spoke with Rowan this morning. He’ll be here today. But I doubt I’ll see him.” Petra swallowed. “And as to whether or not I can explain the overlap between my studying alien bugout plans and Rowan doing Russian psyops, I can tell you what’s already in the public sphere.”

Hawkeye fobbed the doors open and jumped Cooper into the back seat before opening the passenger door for her.

“My team and I are looking at videos in social media feeds. We believe they are being generated by the Russian or the Chinese governments. But honestly, I don’t know who is using this precise technique to go after America’s mental health.” Petra climbed in, and Hawkeye waited by the open door as she finished with, “The research question is: How do you use a social media post to get people to believe things that are obviously nonsensical?”

He held up a finger, shut her door, and jogged around to get in the driver’s side. “So, how do you?” he asked as he climbed behind the wheel.

“You might have heard of the author Taylor Knapp and her booksThe UnrestandThe Uprising?” Petra asked.

“I’ve read articles about her work and how she’s able to frame her novels in such a way that they solidify the ‘us against them’ narratives. No matter your particular perspective, you’re the ‘us.’ Everyone not of your perspective is the ‘them.’”

“That’s similar to the kinds of things we’ve seen in past videos. Recently, the video techniques have changed. We assume it’s because people became aware and were less susceptible to the Taylor Knapp brand of psyops—books, music, and video games. Also, AI makes all this so damned simple.”

“What are they doing now?” He tapped the GPS coordinate into his maps app. “ETA to the trailhead is ten minutes.”

“Fast videos. By fast here, I mean the images and the words are presented quickly. I don’t mean shorts. It seems the faster they are, the more effective they are at psyops. You have an influencer—in my world, that’s a charismatic.”

“Got it.” He started the engine and backed out of their spot.

“The influencer says something that is factually true. In the next frame, they say a piece of propaganda. These are shuffledtogether like red and black cards. Truth then propaganda, truth then propaganda, layering fact and manipulation in quick succession. Now, to be effective, the truth has to be known.”

“Got it, I think. But could you take me through an example?” Hawkeye asked.

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