Chapter 39: An Unwritten Future

His fingertips traced a soft pattern on her palm as he reached for her hand. "We were fortunate," he said. "The prototype… it worked." Anya's voice came from the speaker set into the wall, clear and sharp. "Yes, it did. The network of the Syndicate is quiet. There has been no further action, and their communications are down." John gave Marie's hand a squeeze. A rush of relief swept over him, quickly followed by a wave of tiredness. They had succeeded. They had halted the Syndicate and safeguarded the memory amplifier's secrets. "What now?" Marie softly questioned. John sighed and said, "Now we rebuild." The weeks that followed their adventure were packed with events. News stories alluded to an unidentified computer business that was experiencing unanticipated financial difficulties a subtly calculated blow that John had masterminded with his father's enormous wealth. The Syndicate, hurt and perplexed, fled into the shadows, its dreams for global domination dashed. But