Do you ever have a suspicion that's so... strange and weird that there's no way it could ever in a million years be correct? Like if someone was dancing for a long time and you made the assumption their red shoes were cursed or if someone thought the Jurassic Park movies were about a dino-society changing from male to female.

...Like she said, it was THAT kind of suspicion.

So, obviously, Veronica didn't give it too much thought. It was silly, it was stupid... there was no way some app could be involved in a murder. And while TechBehind has made some question products, Veronica doubted that they'd turn to murder. Even their psychopathic supercomputer didn't go so far as to murder people.

But Veronica couldn't get it out of her head, because it was such a coincidence. What are the odd of a brutal murder taking place right on the street where her, Martha, Jenna, Jared and Michael were looking into TechBehind?

Okay, probably a lot more than she'd think, but still. The suspicion ground at her annoyingly.

So, finally, Veronica gave in a decided to look into it. Maybe Roman Walker was just some robot hiding behind an email, but if she searched right, Joe Trancer probably wasn't.

Turns out, Trancer's email was easier to find than Veronica had originally thought. As soon as she googled his name (in incognito, of course) it listed his email, under email.

There was also a quick blurb about him. This is what it read:

Joe Trancer is an engineer and scientist that graduated from the Harvard University in 2010. He worked at the technology company: TechBehind for five years before he was fired. Where he is now and what he is working on is a mystery.

Well, that did line up with what the Roman Walker robot said. Veronica wondered why it didn't mention the SQUIP, or the so called SQUIPcident. TechBehind must have really pushed for it to get almost zero news coverage. In fact, even their school just wrote down the eights SQUIPed students crimes as 'drugs'. Well, Veronica guessed the SQUIP was kind of a drug... in a weird way.

Veronica quickly logged into her email and then copy pasted Joe Trancer's email into the send address. Then she typed up her email.

Dear Mr Trancer;

I am concerned about both your creation known as the SQUIP and the company you used to work for. If you could get in contact with me to discuss these things, that'd be great. I just have some questions about the two of those things.

Sincerely;

A Concerned Inquirer

Veronica paused, her curser hovering over the send button. Her fingers drummed steady on the desk. There was no way that would work. An email like this would be completely ignored! With a sigh, Veronica deleted her whole message. If she wanted to get to them, she would need to go... sort of undercover.

There was no need to feel guilty, after all, they lied first.

Besides, the worst that could happen was that they would ignore her.

Or kill her, but Veronica didn't think about that.

_____________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Trancer;

My name is Danielle Walters, and I am the spokesperson for an up and coming project that, if done correctly, could change the whole field of medication and the world as we know it. We would like to put you on this project, but first we must ask a couple questions. Your cooperation would be appreciated. If you are interested, please contact me back.

Yours truly;

Danielle Walters

__________________________________________________________

Alright. That was better. Probably wouldn't convince an engineer, but it would definitely convince a scientist. Without further ado, Veronica clicked send.

Shockingly, there WASN'T an immediate reply to this one, so eventually Veronica closed her computer, and vowed to open it again tomorrow.

Luckily, by the next day, Joe Trancer had responded! Veronica nearly jumped for joy.

Veronica, through excitement and anxious anticipation, quickly opened the email. It read:

________________________________________________________

Dear Ms Walters;

While I admit I am intrigued, I am slightly hesitant to take your offer. If you would give me some more information, I would be happy to join in on your project.

Sincerely;

Joe Trancer

_________________________________________________________

...Right. Veronica wouldn't just get away with just asking questions. She would have to make something up, and quickly.

_________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Trancer;

Of course, I would be more than happy to. But, given that this project is top secret, please understand that I cannot give you too many details right now.

Basically, it's a pill specifically designed to combat cancer, but we're not quite there yet, and we need YOUR expertise. I'm sorry, but that is all I can say over email.

And now, if you don't mind, we would like to ask you some questions. Can you tell us about your old company and projects? I have heard that you got fired from your earlier job, and please, I offer my condolences, but can you go into detail of why you were fired?

Yours truly;

Danielle Walters

_________________________________________________________

That probably wasn't great, and the secret cancer pill was sure shaky, but it was the best lie Veronica could come up with. She wished that she could ask more questions about the SQUIP and TechBehind, but that was probably all she could get away with. Veronica hit send.

And, low and behold, the next day, another email appeared.

_______________________________________

Dear Ms Walters;

Thank you for the giving me the information you could. And yes, I would be happy to answer your questions.

First off, TechBehind was a technological research company. They made and researched technology, but is very new and doesn't have many projects as of yet. Only the one I worked on and their new app.

The project I worked on what I called the Super Quantum Unit Intel Process, also known as the SQUIP. The idea was that with this pill, the computer in it would implant in a teenagers brain and tell them how to get more well adjusted into society.

I have seen so many kids torn apart by everything these days: clothes, their phones, their opinions, and I thought, with the SQUIP, the kids would figure out how to get more friends. How to get more popular.

And, lastly, I wasn't fired from my job there, that's only what they tell people. I wanted my invention to be everywhere, to be well-known, to be out in the open to help people.

But, considering the concept made it sound like the SQUIP was a drug TechBehind didn't approve of this. Instead they sold it on Black Markets and in the underground. I also think they did this so they would have to pay their taxes, and my invention never got the attention it deserved. So I left my job, and now work by myself alone.

I apologize for this taking so long, but I hope I answered your questions.

Sincerely;

Joe Trancer

_________________________________________________

Veronica sighed. Yes, that DID answer her questions, but not of any of the questions she wanted answered. Of course he wouldn't know anything about the We'll Get Better app, why would he?

But, well, Veronica guessed that it didn't hurt to try.

__________________________________________________

Dear Mr Trancer;

Thank you for answering my questions, and this is very useful information. But I was also wondering if you had any involvement in the new TechBehind app?

Yours truly;

Danilelle Walters

__________________________________________

Lo and behold:

__________________________________________

Dear Ms Walters;

I do not. Do I need to?

Sincerely;

Joe Trancer

_________________________________________

And there was Veronica's answer. Unfortunately, Mr Joe Trancer was a dead end, and she wasn't going to learn anything new about the We'll Get Better app from him.

...However... there was one thing she wanted to ask first.

_____________________________________________

Dear Mr Trancer;

We were just curious, is all. Now, if you don't mind, was there any unintended consequences or side effects with your project?

Yours truly;

Danielle Walters

___________________________________________

Dear Ms Walters;

I think all the problems came from the goal I set for it. The main objective of the SQUIP is to give the recipient as many friends as possible, to make them popular. But, you know machines. They'll take that as 'do it in any way possible'.

In the best case that means changing things about the recipient, making them shred their pervious identity to: 'fit in'. At worst, it's doing ANYTHING to get the recipient friends. And I do mean anything.

But I promise I will not make this mistake again. Now, I am incredible cautious, and I will do much more testing then I did previously.

Sincerely;

Joe Trancer

______________________________________

...Wow. But, not anything really new. Veronica had heard all of this already, and even the stuff she hadn't heard wasn't that surprising.

Disappointed, Veronica said thank you to Joe Trancer, informing him that she would keep in touch. Then she deleted his contact, put all his emails in the trash, and started on her homework.