“We lost contact with Hans and his team,” replied Christoff Deppe after going inside Rolf Hartmann’s study in the CEO’s mountaintop mansion overlooking Berlin.
Hartmann leaned back in his leather swivel chair, crossing his arms. “Lost contact?”
“We were running live satellite coverage of the event. It looks like his strategy backfired.”
“What do you mean?”
“Looks like the machines tricked him, telling him and his team that they were willing to negotiate, but when Hans and his team approached them, the machines opened fire with their lasers, killing them instantly.”
Hartmann looked away, taking in the information, processing it, before staring at his subordinate and replying, “I want no further action taken against those machines.”
“What do you mean?” asked Deppe, obviously confused.
“Just as I said. Forget about it, Christoff.”
“But the nanotechnology—”
“The rest of the nanotechnology that we took from the Americans is being put to good use, setting events in motion that will be irreversible. Besides, those misplaced machines in Italy are American. Let the Americans deal with them. We will find other ways to obtain their technology, but only after we consolidate our power in Germany.”