Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)(29)

—Imagine that Clark Kent walks into your office one day and offers his services to fight for America. You are given the opportunity to recruit a near-indestructible soldier with superhuman strength who can fly faster than a supersonic jet fighter. Would you say no because Mr….

—Kent.

—Because Mr. Kent might someday fall ill?

—That’s it? That’s your point? I can tell you this: I’d certainly think about it if I had to start by invading a dozen countries to pick up body parts from Mr. Kent all over the map.





FILE NO. 118


INTERVIEW WITH CW3 KARA RESNIK, UNITED STATES ARMY

Location: Underground Complex, Denver, CO

—Yes, I slept with him! Are you happy now?

—I did not mean him.

—Well, which one do you mean? The one in jail, or the one in the hospital? I slept with both of them, so take your pick. I sleep with everybody. That’s just the kind of girl I am.

—There is no need to be on the defensive. I am not accusing you of anything. I just want to know what happened.

—You’re not accusing me? Now that’s a relief! You can just go ahead and say it. It’s not a matter of opinion. I know this is all my fault. Believe me, I know.

—You can start by telling me what happened with Mr. Mitchell.

—I don’t know what to tell you. We spent so much time together. He’s kind. I’m not used to men being kind. I’ve made the wrong choices every single time when it comes to men. Ryan, he’s…a good guy. Leave it to me to pick Mr. Right and still get it wrong.

I mean, I knew better. I knew this wasn’t for me. He just…wore me down. I caved in, and I was hoping I’d wake up the next day and all the pain would be gone, all that self-doubt. But, of course, I felt exactly the same. You don’t erase a lifetime of mistakes by sleeping with some man in a car, no matter how kind he is. I tried. I swear.

—You saw him again after you made love in the car?

—We didn’t make love in the car. I jumped him. I had too much to drink. That was me being…

—Self-destructive?

—I was gonna say “me being me,” but that works too. He knew, that’s the worst part. I was hoping he didn’t, but he knew. I felt horrible. So yeah, we went out again a couple times. I figured, he’d seen me at my worst and he stuck around. The least I could do was to give it a real shot. I mean, that’s what people do. Isn’t it? They find a decent, good-looking man who doesn’t judge them and treats them like a princess. They realize how lucky they are and they never let go. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

—I wish I could offer a piece of wisdom. Sadly, romance is not an art form I have ever mastered. As unsuccessful as your attempts at relationships may have been, you are still the expert in this room. Is there something about Mr. Mitchell that you find off-putting?

—No! Nothing! There’s nothing. If I could describe the perfect man, all the qualities I’m looking for in someone, it wouldn’t be too far off from Mitchell. He’s a bit clingy at times, but overall he’s great company. I love the way he looks at me. I like seeing myself through his eyes. I don’t know. Maybe it’s me I can’t stand. Maybe I don’t like the effect I have on him, how he loses himself when I’m around.

—Would you prefer he paid less attention to you?

—I…We spend every minute of every day alone in a space the size of my bedroom. There’s no one else he could pay attention to. I can’t put it into words. I…I wish I didn’t feel like everything was about me. Then again, I’d probably find him too distant. Maybe I’m just nuts.

—Did you sleep with him again?

—Does it really matter? I tried to make it work. Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t take but I tried. I never stopped really. I was still trying. Then the unthinkable happened.

—What do you mean?

—The end of the world. Stars falling from the sky.

Mitchell and I spend most of our time alone in the sphere, but once in a while, someone will come up for a few minutes. The techs will come up to check the equipment. Dr. Franklin likes to climb in once a day just to say hello. We’re always pretty happy to see other faces. Vincent is our most frequent visitor. He comes into the sphere a couple times a day to look at the console. We usually take a break to chat.

—What do you talk about?

—Anything and everything. Work, sports, the weather. That time he walked us through the number symbols while he was there. Did he show you how the numbers work? It’s insane. I just can’t wrap my head around it. Anyway, it was late. We were all really tired and we started joking around, showing Vincent how the controls worked. Ryan was doing the moonwalk with the robot. I was doing disco moves on my station. We were all watching it on the computer screens. We were having a really good time. The helmet was just sitting there. We were laughing so hard, we didn’t even notice when he reached for it.

—Who did? Mr. Couture?

—Yes. He put it on. Then he fell to his knees and screamed. It was all happening in slow motion. We just stood there. Ryan looked at me, and we both knew what had just happened. We knew everything had changed. After what seemed like an eternity, we got out of our braces and we helped him up and out of the sphere. Dr. Franklin kept asking: What happened? What happened? Neither of us could get the words out.