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“Hey! They are showing all kinds of classic movies tonight!”

Vicky turned to him, enjoying the soft warmth of the fire that emanated from the hearth at the ski lodge high in the mountains of California that they had chosen for their getaway.

“Classic?” she queried.

“You are going to love the lineup for the next few nights on one of the sci-fi channels the lodge gets. Starting with The Matrix . In one night! The Matrix , The Terminator , and Blade Runner . The next night starts off with fun for all ages— WALL-E . And that will be followed by M3GAN , RoboCop , and the very special Spielberg—ahead of its time—classic, A.I. Artificial Intelligence .”

She smiled sweetly at him and warned, “If I weren’t holding this delicious hot chocolate, I’d smash a pillow over your head!”

“Oh, but, hey, some good things came out of this. I had a chance to talk to Aidan when you were just in the ski shop.”

She made a face. “You forget that while I was working in DC most recently, I grew up in Florida. I had to buy some warm clothing! But never mind that, what did Aidan say?”

“There’s no way that it’s not tragic that Marci and the others had to die, but Aidan believes they have been able to toughen up many systems—important security systems—that might have been in jeopardy if another Belinda Clay came along. An attorney in Tennessee, doing me a favor, has taken on the case of Victor Rodriguez and it appears he will be exonerated. And justice is being served—his father is locked up in the most secure criminally insane institution in the country. So, there’s that. And here’s a nice note: Samuel Hutchins and his wife are back together—it seems the threat and him being willing to die for her so readily straightened things out between them. Barton Clay, however, isn’t being charged, but… Well, he’s no longer wanted at the firm. Then again, we were there for the finale when he and Darla were grilled, and I don’t think he suspected his wife for a second. I think he did believe that she was a ‘dumb blonde’ and it never occurred to him that she did anything on her computer except play her favorite gambling game. Clay does have money—he’s moving out of the country. Alas, poor Darla is looking for another job. So, at least those we tried to keep safe were kept safe and… Well, it could have been a lot worse and gone on a lot longer.”

“Still scary!” Vicky said.

“Hey, I knew a little about AI, but you were the one brought down to handle the field case!” he reminded her. “And with that said—”

She grinned at him, stood up, and yawned.

She wanted the privacy of their room. And the amazing whirlpool it offered.

“I may have some news. But you’ll need to follow me and be patient.”

“Oh?”

“Trust me?” she queried.

“With my life,” he assured her.

She grinned. A few minutes later they were in the room. She set the whirlpool to a deliciously hot temperature, stripped, and settled in.

“Okay.”

Jude stripped and followed her lead.

“Well, the assistant director handled things for us,” she told him.

“What?”

She grinned. “He was afraid that one of us would quit if we had to go to different states to work. I’m not sure how he knew or suspected, or… Who knows! It’s Arnold. But I’m being transferred to your office! We will just be working with different teams, but—oh! I mean, I hope that’s the kind of thing you wanted, I mean…”

He didn’t answer. He moved across the water and pulled her into his arms.

His reply was physical.

And later, curled together on the plush bed of the lodge, he smiled and pulled her closer.

“AI. It may be the future, but you know what?”

“What?”

“Some things will always demand the human touch.”

“Um, there are things out there…”

“No. To be amazing. To touch the heart, the mind, and the soul, to be everything in the world,” he said. “And for that, I am grateful.”

“And,” she assured him, “deliciously human!”

“Oh, that I am!” he promised her. “I’ll even prove it once again!”

* * * * *