Page 12 of Jacqueline's Quest

“GPR?” She stepped closer, clearing her mind and digging into their work.

“Yeah.” He removed the pen from his mouth and threw it on the messy desk. “GPR or Ground Penetrating Radar uses radar pulses to image the subsurface of an area, or in this case the Emporium and the surrounding buildings. We can detect changes in material properties, voids, and cracks in structures through a variety of media.”

“And you have access to this?”

“More than just access. R.O.O.T is often given the prototypes contractors are hoping to obtain contracts with our military. We run them through their paces and report our findings back to those contractors who qualify so they can perfect it for military use,” he stated.

“But you have it now?”

He nodded. "Sure do. Our military won't see this specific drone for another twenty-four to thirty-six months." He glanced at her. "Helps to have friends in all the right places."

“I’d say.”

He turned his attention back to the monitor. “If we were at the base, I could Tony Stark the hell out of this.”

“I do not know of this Tony Stark. Is he a member of R.O.O.T? Can we get him here to help us?”

Murray laughed. “No, mi cielito,he is not,andI can’t bring him here. He’s part of the MCU.”

Even though she’d been tutored to read and write English as well as anyone Stateside, Murray often confused her with his overuse of slang. “MCU? Are you talking about another American government agency?”

He smiled. "No. It's a franchise centered around a series of superheroes."

“Que?”

“Movies. Tony Stark plays a superhero named Iron Man. Have you never seen a Marvel movie?”

She shook her head. Movies were a frivolous waste of time. Besides she’d been busy looking for her brother and the others who’d been taken. It had been her main focus for many, many years.

“When this is over, I’ll have to educate you on the MCU and we’ll watch all the movies,” he promised.

She doubted it. When this mission was done, Murray would head back to the States, hopefully with his sister. He’d also return to his nice comfy job and never see her again. At some point, she realized, he’d find a sub, and she Jacqueline would just be a distant memory. The tinge of jealousy wriggled through her, surprising her. They weren’t in a relationship, so why did it matter?

“Anyway,” he continued as though she hadn’t been warring with herself or justifying her odd emotional state. “If I was back at base, I’d be able to show you a 3D rendition of the building with the infrared overlay. It’d show us where every warm body was in that place.”

"Must be nice." She'd been unable to hold back her envy at what R.O.O.T had at its disposal. If the Mexican military had even half of what R.O.O.T did, the drug epidemic and the cartels would be nonexistent.

Envy was such a petty emotion.

Murray shrugged. “Sometimes. Nine out of ten times the new equipment we get is more of a pain in the ass than a help. Most contractors roll out shit with known issues, or we find the bugs and send them back to be corrected.”

She nodded; well aware he attempted to downplay his division’s resources. Could he tell she’d been envious? She, more than anyone, was aware of Mexico’s issues and lack of funding for what was needed, but she didn’t want anyone’s pity. Instead of vomiting up disdain for the corruption in her government, she took a seat next to Murray “Why is this GPR so important?”

His fingers flew across the keyboard in front of him until only the murky images were on the big screen. “GPR shows details unseen by the naked eye.” A dark circle appeared under what looked like the main building. “Or like here.” The screen flashed, changing again only this time showing a large area where there had to be at least a hundred or more disturbances.

“Are those—”

“Graves,” he stated, his tone devoid of any emotion. “There is a total of one hundred and twenty of them.”

“Hijo de puta!” What if they were doing this all for nothing? Christian could already be dead.

“He’s not.”

Jaqueline flinched when she realized she gave voice to her dark thoughts. She hung her head in defeat. "You can't be sure. No one can say for certainty—" She swallowed hard.

Murray put his arm around her shoulder, tucking her against his wide, warm chest. His voice rumbled in his chest while his breath caressed her cheek. “You’re right, we don’t.All we have is hope. If your brother has passed, I’m certain he’d want you to continue the fight to free those who remain alive and suffering.”

She brushed a single tear from her cheek. He was right. Christian would want her to help those remaining behind, who couldn’t help themselves. “How did you do this for ten years? I feel as though any moment I’ll go insane.”

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