The area appeared clear.
I had kept my head on a swivel all the way over here and all through the parking lot. "So, Ethan, you want to tell me what's going on?"
"If I admit to anything, I'm not going to get in trouble, right? I have your word?"
I took a deep breath, then exhaled. "From what Casey tells me, it sounds like you may have illegally accessed a computer network and downloaded proprietary information. You're probably looking at multiple felonies."
His eyes rounded when I said that. He started to say something, but I motioned to stop him.
"That's not my main concern,” I said. “My main concern is to find out who killed Ivy and why. I'm sure if you help us, said indiscretions will be overlooked."
"I haven't admitted to anything," he said.
"Do we need a lawyer for this conversation?" Nate asked, looking out for his nephew.
"Like I said, I'm not interested in building a case against Ethan for hacking a computer system. I'm interested in getting to the truth."
"The truth is really messed up," Ethan said. "You're probably not going to believe it."
"Try me."
51
"We started noticing weather anomalies," Ethan said. "We built a program to track global data, then match it against historical precedent. Time after time, we were witnessing statistical impossibilities. Obviously, there have been conspiracy theories for years talking about geoengineering. But they’re not conspiracies. We tracked all the satellite launches by Valterion Capital. As you may or may not be aware, they are a mega-conglomerate with vertical integration across a wide breadth of industries. They own Space Frontier, they own real estate holding companies, and they are heavily invested in agriculture and own huge tracts of farmland. Valterion launched several thousand satellites over the last few years. With the increased number of satellites, we saw a direct correlation to the increase in weather anomalies in a linear fashion. It was clear what was happening, but we needed proof. We tracked all the data from NOAA, NASA, the FCC flight logs, orbital data, you name it. Every major anomaly in the past 18 months occurred within the footprint of their growing constellation of satellites."
"You're saying that Valterion is engaging in weather manipulation?"
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
It sounded fantastical, and I regarded him with a degree of skepticism.
“Valterion is using a combination of cloud seeding with drones, directed energy, and microwave transmission to enhance weather patterns. We have the proof. Schedules, orbital patterns, revenue projections. All of it. It’s crazy.”
I shared a look with Jack.
“How much revenue?” JD asked.
“A lot,” Ethan said with big eyes. “You want to influence oil prices? Create storms in the Gulf. Want to redevelop land? Create a natural disaster, then scoop up property at distressed prices. Want to influence grocery prices, create a drought in crucial farmland. We’re talking pinpoint accuracy, too. Don’t believe me? It’s going to snow here by midnight. Guaranteed. Why? Proof of concept, just to show how powerful their system is.”
“Show who?”
“Have you considered the military applications for this kind of technology? It could wreak havoc on an enemy territory with plausible deniability. “
“The US signed the Environmental Modification Convention,” I said.
Ethan gave me a flat look. “Do you think that really matters? Weather manipulation is a violation of state law. They’resupposed to report all cloud seeding to NOAA, but they don’t. Using this technology to manipulate commodities and real estate is wire fraud and a violation of RICO. Not to mention how they run afoul of environmental regulations. They are essentially engaging in eco-terrorism. But when have these people ever given a shit about the law? I hate to break it to you, but the law only applies to people like you and me. They play by a whole different set of rules. You think all their crony friends in government aren’t in on it?” Ethan scoffed. “They’re riding the gravy train all the way to the bank. As long as Valterion plays ball with the government, they’ll never face prosecution. Are you starting to get the picture now?”
The kid made a good argument.
“And you have proof of all of this?” I said.
“Right here,” he said, pulling a small USB drive from his pocket and brandishing it.
"I’ll talk to the state’s attorney. I'm sure we can work out a deal for immunity.”
Ethan shook his head. "No. Haven't you heard a word I said? You can't stop these people. They're too big. No one will ever go to jail over this. You, me, and everyone else involved will disappear."
I couldn't argue with the kid. He was right. JD and I had experienced the corruption firsthand. Some people were just beyond the law. Beyond prosecution. Beyond justice.
