Fatal Strike (McClouds & Friends #10)(120)

Greaves went on. “What we found was that the initial infection caused symptoms of a mild, viral, upper-respiratory infection, and the toxins released from cell death in the lungs had a curious effect upon the brain. Cumulative, long term, very slow, and gentle. And what it brings? Peace. Real peace. We’ve been testing it for years, in various forms, and the results are startling. We can revolutionize the human race biologically. Turn ourselves into the perfect species.”

Lara realized she was shaking her head. She forced herself to stop. This was not a conversation. His tone was so chatty and light, and meanwhile, she was looking at the naked skull on the newspaper on the park bench, the rats scuttling out of the museum.

A message rolled across her inner screen. update? yr killing me

soon she replied.

“You’re releasing this virus today, aren’t you?” she said. “At the award ceremony?”

Greaves blinked a few times. “That was quite a leap,” he said. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, with your psi gift. Not exactly. Not at the ceremony. This is the last phase of testing, you see. We’re still not releasing the airborne version, but we’re releasing a waterborne strain into the town’s water supply. I’m cutting the ribbon on a project that gives tens of millions to this town, but the real gift we’re giving is this.”

He opened a gleaming, hard-sided metal briefcase, and took out a tall, stoppered vial of clear liquid from its bed of molded foam. “I chose Blaine because I was born here. I owe so much to the place. This way, we can observe the results right here before we release the airborne version simultaneously in the big population centers all over the world. That will happen a year from now. Tell me, Lara. Have you seen my plan implemented in your visions?”

“Yes,” she said quietly.

He looked expectant. “And?”

She forced air out of her tight chest. “Not good,” she said. “Global apocalypse. Everyone dead.”

He looked irritated. “Oh, come on. That’s not possible, Lara. We’ve tested the toxin’s effects for decades. There is no downside.”

“Then something unforeseen is going to change,” she said.

Greaves sighed. “Here we run into the limitations of your gift. It is imprecise, impressionistic. You can’t see the big picture. You are focusing in on a statistical anomaly. Consider the effect upon war, crime, domestic violence, exploitation, cruelty of all kinds against all creatures. Even climate change, the environment. Everything. You will learn to see the big picture when you are working with me.”

“With you?”

“Of course.” He sounded as if he were conferring a great honor. “I need intelligent people, with your special abilities. We will vaccinate you, of course. All my people are vaccinated.”

She actually started to laugh, though it sounded more like sobbing. “I can’t work with you. I can’t help you. I’ve seen it, Greaves! That statue of you in the square, covered with carrion crows and birdshit! I’ve seen wild animals wandering in and out of the museum. Human bones scattered around the fountain in the square.”

Greaves drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. “Artistic temperaments,” he muttered. “Maybe you haven’t quite grasped the situation, Lara. If you are not on my team, you serve no purpose at all, and you will be composted. Both of you.”

He stared intently into her face, and chuckled at what he saw. “Yes, Lara. I know he’s out there, with the assault rifle that he took from Wilcox. I can sense him now. In fact, I thought he was you before you were picked up in Portland. I haven’t pinpointed your frequency yet, but I’m confident I will soon. And he thinks he’s so stealthy. I was careful not to get near any windows. Not that his bullets could get through my telekinetic shield, but it is so unpleasant, having your windows shattered. It ruins a nice, relaxing meal.”

miles he knows ur out there he can feel u now b careful

bummer thnx where r u

lakefront room stay away pls stay away

Miles offered no response to that, which was not a good sign. Goddamn stubborn heroic types. She swallowed down a desperate sob.

“Let him skulk,” Greaves went on. “We’ll deal with him later. I want to talk to you first.”

“There’s nothing left to say,” she said.

“Don’t go running to meet that moment,” Greaves warned.

“That will be an unlucky moment for you. But leave aside unpleasant things for now. Let’s talk about something more interesting. Your shield.”

That took her by surprise and left her floundering. “My what?”

“Don’t play dumb. Your psi shield. I have a very personal interest in the mechanism that generates your shield. It’s like an invisibility cloak that masks your profile altogether. My son’s shield is like that.”

She looked at the still figure on the cot, its tangle of wires and tubes. Greaves watched her, intently. “Seventeen years he’s hidden in there. And I’ve waited,” Greaves said. “You must open that shield, and let me in. I want to study it. To understand it.”

“So you can pry open his?”

His silence and his glittering eyes answered her.

Dread was filling her, but there was no way to stave off the inevitable. “I can’t help you,” she said. “I don’t know how I generate it.”