Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)(70)

—If they do fall for this rather patent subterfuge, what will you do then?

—Wait for the cavalry. Make sure nothing happens to Kara.

—And if I were to be unsuccessful? You will have risked your life and lost your freedom again, for nothing.

—I’ll find a way, maybe. I’ll try to come up with something better than hiding in the trash. I’ll try to find out what Alyssa has up her sleeve. I mean, if she’s willing to treat us like prisoners, she can’t really expect us to cooperate that much. She must be really close. Maybe she has something working already.

—Before she evicted me from the premises, she suggested she might have found a way to keep the helmets working after you had turned them on. She made it sound more like a project than something functional.

—I doubt that. She has a big ego, but if you were that close, wouldn’t you step on your pride for a few more days rather than risk everything on a bet? And that can’t be all of it. She couldn’t keep the helmets turned on forever. She’d still need us to start her up from time to time. It would need to be something we don’t have to do voluntarily. It’s hard enough to get up there as it is, I can’t imagine trying to bring up someone who doesn’t want to go.

—Please forget about the investigation and focus on finding a way to escape again. I am worried that Alyssa may not be the only imminent threat to your life and that of Ms. Resnik. The cavalry, as you called it, might do more harm than good.

—Do I wanna know?

—There are a lot of moving parts to this plan. The United States government might simply decide to cut its losses and neutralize the threat.

—You mean blow us all to pieces?

—Nothing so dramatic. The public might frown upon the United States carpet bombing a national park in Puerto Rico.

—That’s reassuring. You had me worried there for a second.

—I would surmise that a few well-placed torpedoes near the sea-lock chamber would prove just as effective.

—Nice. If it breached, we’d all drown within seconds, and no one would have to know.

—Do you wish to reconsider your decision to return?

—I can’t leave Kara down there. Besides, just in case there is an afterlife, I don’t wanna spend eternity hearing how I let her drown alone in Puerto Rico.





FILE NO. 255


INTERVIEW WITH MR. BURNS OCCUPATION UNKNOWN

Location: New Dynasty Chinese Restaurant, Dupont Circle, Washington, DC

—I am on my way to the White House.

—I know. That’s exciting! And yet you wanted to have lunch. You must be famished.

—Time is of the essence so I will not waste it with pleasantries. I need your help.

—You, asking for help? You really can’t think straight on an empty stomach and you haven’t eaten since you left San Juan.

—Do I dare ask how you know so much about my whereabouts?

—Funny, isn’t it?

—What?

—How strange this must be for you. You’re usually the one who knows things he shouldn’t about other people.

—Perhaps. But everyone can guess as to how I am privy to such information. It seems logical to assume that you and I do not frequent the same circles, which would suggest a vast network of information that no one is aware of.

—I’ll take that as a compliment, coming from someone who specializes in vast networks of information no one is aware of…Did I ever tell you the story of the fisherman and…

—No, you have not, and you will not. I do not have time for stories or colorful metaphors. What I require of you now are facts, and expediency. If you are unable or unwilling to oblige, please do not delay me any further.

—No stories then, but it’s your loss, it was a good one. I should be on my way.

—Please stay. If you are concerned by recent events in North Korea, I can assure you I did everything in my power to prevent them.

—Me, concerned? If you knew what I’ve seen in the last…in the last years, you’d know it takes a lot more than that to worry me. Please don’t take this as a personal insult, it’s not, but I may have overestimated you. I really thought you understood. I wouldn’t have come forward otherwise. I’m sorry.

—What exactly have I so miserably failed to grasp?

—I don’t know where to start…Oh, yes I do. First, it’s not about you, you arrogant prick! In the grand scheme of things, no one gives a damn what you approve of, don’t approve of, what you try to prevent or what you have for breakfast. This is a grand scheme of things…thing.

Second, it’s not about me either. I’m flattered if you’re looking for my personal approval, but it doesn’t matter much in the end. They are worried. That’s your problem.

—I fully realize the extent of my insignificance in history, believe me. I have yet to form an opinion on the extent of yours. I suspect your place in it is more considerable than you would like me to believe.

Before you judge me, and by extension, all of us, you must understand that while I would do everything I can not to antagonize technologically superior beings and risk a conflict of apocalyptic proportions in a near or distant future, my first duty is to ensure that this discovery does not lead to pandemonium in the here and now.

—Of course! You have a job to do. You don’t need to justify yourself to me.