Quest Audiobook Podcast

Chapter 31 Summary

The chapter opens with Officer Charley receiving confirmation from the FBI lab in St. Croix: the wallet and cell phone found under Mark Peltier’s car both contain only his fingerprints. While this confirms ownership, it doesn’t resolve whether Mark dropped them during an incident or intentionally placed them there.

Charley calls Lisa and Tim to update them. Lisa reveals that Colonel Daniel Weaver had visited Mark d...

Chapter 30 Summary

Mark Peltier’s military flight from Pope Field to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport takes less than an hour. After landing, he disembarks at a private terminal and is greeted by a young CIA handler who introduces himself only as Phil. The two make casual conversation during the drive to Langley, with Phil expressing admiration for Mark’s service after learning he was a former Green Beret. Mark, exhausted, ...

Chapter 29 Summary

At the military terminal at Pope Field near Fort Liberty, Mark Peltier and Colonel Weaver wait among hundreds of uniformed soldiers preparing for deployment. The atmosphere is tense, reminding Mark of his own past deployments and stirring up both memories and anxiety. Though he hasn’t chosen this mission voluntarily, Mark remains determined to give it his full effort.

Mark has been issued a government cell phone fo...

Chapter 28 – Summary

On St. John, Officer Charley and Tim examine the area around Mark Peltier’s abandoned car once more. Charley discovers Mark’s missing cell phone and wallet hidden behind the front driver’s side tire—items she had overlooked during her earlier inspection. She suspects they were intentionally placed there by Mark, likely as a clue to indicate that he hadn’t left the island voluntarily. Charley speculates that it m...

Chapter 27 – Summary

Dr. Alexandra Conner reviews a risk assessment report from Dr. Lana Harding about the three creators of the Quest AI system—Samir Patel, Robert Jackson, and Thomas Allen. Lana concludes that Thomas Allen poses the greatest threat due to his company's dependence on cybersecurity, which could be heavily impacted—positively or negatively—by advances in AI. Conner agrees with Lana’s risk hierarchy, though she no...

Chapter 26 – Summary

The morning after Mark's detainment, Colonel Weaver arrives at the detention center with official release orders. Mark, still dressed in the clothes from his abduction, is released into Weaver’s custody. Weaver takes him to get outfitted with standard Army gear at the Central Issue Facility, then books a room at the base hotel so Mark can shower and clean up. As Mark prepares, Weaver contacts General Fraser ...

Chapter 25 – Summary

Colonel Daniel Weaver returns to his office after hours and begins fulfilling Mark Peltier’s demands. He first contacts Tim and Lisa Walsh, informing them that Mark is safe and currently in North Carolina. Lisa is stunned but relieved, and Weaver provides vague details, citing a high-level assignment. To verify the call for Mark, Lisa offers a shared memory involving a silver dollar Becky found during a beach ou...

Chapter 24 – Summary

Colonel Daniel Weaver visits the detention center to confront a furious and disoriented Mark Peltier, who has just begun recovering from the effects of sedation. Mark unleashes a scathing verbal assault over his drugged abduction. Weaver, composed and unshaken, allows Mark to vent before presenting the real reason for the encounter: a Top Secret mission authorized by the President. Weaver warns that Mark’s refus...

Chapter 23 – Summary

Tim and Samantha return to the roadside where Mark's car had been found. Officer Charley is already on the scene, examining the surrounding area for clues. She confirms their suspicions—evidence of multiple people in the bushes suggests Mark was likely abducted. She collects the car keys from Tim and begins gathering fingerprints and other evidence while advising Tim and Sam to head home. Her professionalism...

Chapter 22 – Summary

Samantha Butler arrives in Cruz Bay by ferry but is puzzled when Mark Peltier fails to meet her as planned. After waiting for thirty minutes and being unable to reach Mark by phone, she calls their mutual friend, Tim Walsh. Concerned by Mark’s uncharacteristic absence, Tim leaves to find him.

Tim discovers Mark’s hybrid car abandoned and still running at the intersection of Coral Bay and King Hill Road. With no s...

Chapter 21 – Summary

Dr. Thomas Allen reflects on his company's growth and his current San Francisco office location, before receiving a surprise call from Samir Patel. Recently let go from NASA due to budget cuts, Samir asks if Allen might help market his expertise to potential clients. Allen agrees to explore opportunities, proposing to sell Samir’s services at top-tier rates. Their call ends with a renewed sense of partnershi...

Chapter 20 – Summary

Samir Patel, having completed his work on the Quest project, attempts to return to his former NASA role, only to learn that budget cuts have eliminated the position. Feeling betrayed and discarded after contributing significantly to both Quest and his original NASA project, Samir calls Dr. Alexandra Conner, hoping she can ask the President to intervene. Conner refuses, explaining it's inappropriate and risky...

Chapter 19 – Summary

Colonel Daniel Weaver investigates Mark Peltier's financial history, discovering a suspicious $900,000 property purchase in the U.S. Virgin Islands despite years of low income, employment gaps, and minimal tax filings. Weaver suspects Peltier may be hiding something and sees this as leverage to force his cooperation with a covert mission.

Weaver concludes that face-to-face intimidation would be most effective...

Chapter 18 – Summary

FBI agent Robert Jackson rushes back to his office after lunch with Joe Carter, disturbed by the claim that Quest, the AI system he helped create, has flagged him as a national threat. Wanting to confirm this without revealing Carter as the source, Jackson carefully calls Dr. Alexandra Conner under the pretext of discussing theoretical false positives in the AI’s threat identification. Conner hesitates but says ...

Chapter 17 – Summary

Dr. Lana Harding, a professor at the University of Chicago, receives a voicemail from Dr. Alexandra Conner urgently requesting her help. When Lana calls back, Conner asks her to travel to Langley, Virginia that day for a matter too sensitive to discuss over the phone. Though surprised, Lana agrees and clears her brief absence with the university.

An hour later, CIA Officer Cauldwell arrives to escort her to O’Har...

Chapter 16 – Summary

Colonel Daniel Weaver returns to Fort Liberty, frustrated by his failed attempt to recruit Mark Peltier for a mission. Determined not to take no for an answer, Weaver calls George Ramsey, explaining that Peltier is uniquely qualified and that no other candidate measures up. Since Peltier left the Army a decade ago and isn’t subject to recall, Weaver considers leveraging Peltier’s beloved Coral Bay property—possi...

Chapter 15 Summary:

Mark Peltier returns home to find a blinking security alert indicating someone entered the property. He discovers Colonel Daniel Weaver, his former commanding officer, visiting and talking with Lisa, a tenant on his property. Though caught off guard and angry, Mark agrees to speak with Weaver privately on his deck.

Weaver explains that the Army needs Mark's unique skills for a covert surveillance mission invol...

Chapter 14 Summary:

Colonel Daniel Weaver arrives in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, en route to meet Mark Peltier, a former elite Green Beret. After a brief ride to a waiting helicopter, he’s flown by Captain Taylor to St. John, where a military driver named Private Caprice escorts him to Peltier’s property.

At the gate, Weaver is informed via intercom by a woman named Lisa that Mark is not home. Lisa, who rents a cottage on Mark...

Chapter 13 Summary:

Colonel Daniel Weaver of U.S. Army Special Operations Command receives a classified request from CIA operative George Ramsey: identify a retired Green Beret capable of covertly surveilling three highly intelligent individuals flagged by Quest as potential national security threats. Weaver, nearing retirement himself, delegates the search to his young assistant, Lieutenant Daley.

Daley compiles a shortlist of five ...