Pointless. Unless they were in a full blown shooting war with China, any successful attack on Air Force One wouldn’t come from the outside.

It would come from within. From one of their own.

14
HR Gambit

Sunday 2040.11.04

“…Our treaty obligations compel us to honor this request,” Aggarwal said.

Kade closed his eyes.

“Unless,” Aggarwal continued, “you give us your full and absolute cooperation in our plans for Nexus.”

Kade opened his eyes.

“I won’t help you spy, or coerce, or use Nexus as a weapon,” he told the man.

Aggarwal frowned and opened his mouth to speak.

The woman next to him cut in smoothly.

“Mr Lane,” she said. Her accent was crisp, British. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Lakshmi Dabir.”

She moved forward as she spoke, lowering herself slowly into one of the chairs across the table from Kade, her dark eyes on his. She didn’t offer her hand.

“Kaden Lane,” Kade told her. “Kade to my friends.”

From the corner of his eye, Kade saw Aggarwal take the other seat.

“Kade,” Lakshmi Dabir said. “If I may?”

“Are we friends?” Kade asked, eyebrow raised.

Lakshmi Dabir smiled faintly and pressed on. “Secretary Aggarwal may have given you the wrong impression. Let me describe our interest to you.”

“Please,” Kade replied.

“India is now the most populous nation on Earth, Kade. One point six billion people. And we’re also quite young. There are three hundred and fifty million Indians under the age of 15 – almost the same as the entire population of your country.”

“Not my country anymore,” Kade said quietly.

Dabir nodded slightly and continued. “The point, Kade, is that India has unparalleled human resources. If the human mind is the ultimate source of wealth – if it’s the most valuable resource that we know of – then India is blessed in that way beyond any other nation on Earth.

“But we’re also poor,” she went on. “We have the third largest economy on the planet. We have more than our fair share of billionaires. But, despite our efforts, almost a tenth of our population still live in real poverty. Only half of our children complete their primary education – eight years of schooling. And millions receive only a year or two at best.

“Kade, what you told Secretary Aggarwal – whether you guessed it or found it out through other means – is partially correct. We see Nexus as a potentially pivotal tool for our nation. If we can help our children learn faster, if we can augment their brain power, then we can help them climb out of poverty faster, and help them create more wealth for the nation as a whole.

“We want to uplift our people. We want to use this technology for the greatest push in human development the world has ever seen. And we want your help.”

It was almost exactly what Kade had hoped for. It was very nearly the best case scenario he’d imagined.