reasonable proposal.
Damn, he was rushing things, and that was never good. Now she felt rushed as well, but the only thing she could think of was calling William. Perhaps he would come up with something that would help her salvage the situation.
Right. And she could win the lottery while she was at it as well.
Lifting her phone off the charger, she placed the call.
“Edna, what an unexpected surprise. Do you have a problem with your computer again?”
She chuckled nervously. “I’m afraid that my problem is much bigger than a laggy computer. Where are you now?”
“I’m at the lab. Do you need me to come over? What happened?”
“Nothing yet. It’s a preemptive measure, and I’ll come to you, if that’s okay. I need to pick your brain.”
“By all means. My brain is at your service.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll see you here.”
“Thanks, William.”
After disconnecting, she wondered whether she should change. She was wearing yoga pants, a T-shirt and flip-flops, and her hair was loose. William would think that she was having a nervous breakdown, and he wouldn’t be too far off, but her casual attire wasn’t a symptom of that.
It symbolized something else, though. Something good. It was part of a healing process, not a mental disease.
Deciding to go as she was, Edna grabbed a bag of cookies so she wouldn’t arrive empty-handed and stuffed it in her bag before heading out the door.
When she got to the lab, William wasn’t alone. Roni was also there working at his station. “What are you both doing here on a Sunday?”
“I’m working on a private matter,” Roni said without turning around.
“And I’m building cuffs for Kalugal’s men.” William pointed at his worktable and the boxes of parts arranged in a row like a mini production line. “What can I help you with, Edna?”
He hadn’t even noticed the change in her appearance, and if he had, he felt no need to comment on it.
Good. She wouldn’t have known what to say.
Edna pulled the bag of cookies out of her purse and put it on his worktable. “Can we talk somewhere privately?” She glanced at the back of Roni’s throne-like swivel chair. “It’s a private matter.”
“Oh?” William arched a brow. “I’m the last person who can give you advice on that. I’m not good at relationship stuff.” He pushed away from the table. “But I’ll help in any way I can. Follow me.” He led her to a small office on the other side of the lab.
The place was even dustier than the main room, and it didn’t look like William did any work in there, but there was a desk, two chairs, and a door, which William closed behind them.
Edna pulled a handkerchief out of her purse and cleaned the chair before sitting down. “I’ll get straight to the point. If you had two autonomous groups living in the village, how would you handle the communication issue so each would have their privacy and feel safe that the other one is not spying on them?”
He sat on the other chair and crossed his legs. “Easy. Two separate systems, each with its own proprietary encryption.”
“Would they need two separate satellites?”
He shook his head. “No need. A good encryption protocol should do it.”
“Then why are we using our own satellites?”
He smiled. “Because they are ours, and I made sure that no one can hack into our transmissions. But I can set up several completely separate systems using the same satellites.” He leaned closer. “Are the rumors true, and Sari plans to move her people here? Not that she needs a separate communication system. She and her people share ours. The Alaskan group does too.”
Edna chuckled. “I know that. Where did you hear that rumor?”
He shrugged. “People were wondering about the new section Kian is grading. That was one of the speculations.”
She decided to help Kian out and repeat the same excuse he’d given her. If she wanted him on her side, she needed to stay in his good graces.
“Kian couldn’t entice the Chinese contractor to come here just to build the fence and a few room additions. He needed to give him a bigger project, and he figured that someday we will need more houses.”
William looked disappointed. “That’s a shame. I would have liked to have the clan all in one location.”
“I wouldn’t.” Edna grimaced. “I think it’s good that I don’t need to live in the same place as my mother, and I’m not the only one who thinks like that.”
“Good point. So, who