“No. For the purposes of the certification audit, our data remains on our hard drive. Of course, once our firms merge, Marin Aerospace will have complete and total access to all of our data, mainframe, and storage. Until then, the two of you are welcome to take notes on your machines or print hard copies of anything you need, but we can’t allow any kind of machine interface between your equipment and ours. That includes the use of any portable drives. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly,” Paul said.

He was screwed.

Lian checked her watch. “We just have time to visit the second and third floors before your assistant arrives, Mr. Brown. He’ll walk you through the accounting databases and software and be available to you for any further questions.”

“What about me? Don’t I need a minder?” Jack asked.

“You have one. Me.”

Jack half expected a playful smile or a coquettish shrug, but she was all business.

Lian guided them back out onto the main floor and past the kitchen area, explaining that for security purposes, the stairwells were never to be used except in the case of an actual emergency.

They exited the suite and took the elevator to the second floor, which had the same strict security protocols as the first. Lian assured them the protocols were the same on all four floors. Clearly, Dalfan and Lian Fairchild took their security seriously. Jack was glad he wasn’t on a clandestine black-side operation. He wasn’t sure if he could crack this high-tech safe.

Lian introduced them to Dr. Chen Tao, the head of their virtual reality department. Jack couldn’t help noticing the lovely spray of freckles across her nose. For some reason it made him think of a Beach Boys song. They set a meeting time.

Lian then took them to the third floor, where they met the head of their Steady Stare research program, Dr. Mahindar Singh, who assured Paul and Jack of his complete cooperation. Jack made an appointment to see him tomorrow.

“What about the fourth floor?” Jack asked.

“That’s where we keep our mainframe secured. It’s also where Dr. Heng’s department is located.”

“His team is doing some very interesting work,” Paul said.

“Unfortunately, he is at a conference right now. But you can meet him on Saturday if you like.”

“We’re in no hurry. That works for us,” Jack said.

Jack was genuinely looking forward to seeing the demonstrations Drs. Singh and Tao had promised, and what their two departments were developing. From what he saw, it was all cutting-edge stuff. Dr. Heng’s work was harder to grasp but still impressive, judging by the corporate reports. No wonder Marin Aerospace wanted to do this deal.