The Flight of the Silvers (Silvers #1)(156)

Soon Mia opened an eye and peeked at David. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his expression dancing a fine line between annoyance and amusement.

“And here we still are.”

Hannah tossed up her hands. “Goddamn it. How does Evan do it then?”

“Obviously not through notes.”

“How did you know it wouldn’t work?” Zack asked him.

“Because multiple chronologies exist. This whole world is proof of that. The best I can figure is that Mia created a fork in time, a branching chain of events that runs parallel to ours. If that timeline’s Amanda chose to heed the warning, then I imagine these alternate versions of us are having a much better day than we are. They’re the ones who benefited from Hannah’s idea. Not us.”

The actress scowled at her feet. “Great. So they get a happy ending and we still get shot to death.”

Mia remained firmly unsettled. Between all her thoughts and apprehensions, she experienced a strange new sensation, as if someone tapped an undiscovered third shoulder.

Zack held her wrist. “You okay?”

“No. Something’s not right.”

“What, like some kind of—”

“Zack, move!”

She pulled him aside as a new portal arrived where he was standing. The shimmering gateway was the size of a dinner plate. It had a windy pull that was strong enough to ripple all drapes and garments.

The Silvers shielded their eyes at the blinding glow. For a maddening moment, Hannah feared Mia was right after all. This was the paradox apocalypse. It was the Rupture.

“Mia, what’s happening?!”

“I don’t know! It’s a portal but I don’t think it’s mine!”

“Past or future?”

“I don’t know! It’s not mine!”

A brown cloth bag suddenly popped through the surface, hitting the rug with the faint sound of clanking metal. A flat manila envelope fluttered out after it. Before anyone could process the new items, the portal shrank away.

Half-blind and teetering on lunacy, Zack reached for the envelope. A line of angular scribble stretched across the front.

To the damn fool Trillinger and his mad boy accomplice.

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

Mia scanned the cover. “I don’t know. That looks like Peter’s handwriting.”

Zack opened the envelope and emptied the contents. Among an assortment of maps and sketches was a hand-scrawled message on notebook paper.



You know, for two allegedly clever men, you don’t have enough common sense to fill a bee’s rubber. You cannot waltz into a building full of armed federal agents and expect to come out again. Hannah knows this. You should listen to her more often.

There’s a better way to save Theo and Amanda. At 4 A.M., a group of five agents will leave the building in a Tug-a-Lug truck, heading east toward Washington, D.C. Three Deps will be riding in the trailer, along with your friends. If you position yourselves at the stretch of highway I’ve marked, you’ll be able to intercept the truck at 4:45.

Use everything at your disposal, including the handcuffs I sent you. Be careful around Melissa Masaad, the black woman with the funny hair. She’s their leader and she’s smarter than you.

I’d come out and help, but my people are still watching me closely. I can’t join you without bringing Rebel back down on your heads. All I can say is good luck and godspeed. Don’t let Theo die.

—Peter

PS—Don’t go to the Brooklyn address I gave you. It’s been compromised. When you get to the city, have Mia—and only Mia—call 11-53-34855. We’ll arrange a meet from there.

The room fell to silence as Peter’s message passed from hand to hand. David dropped the note to the coffee table with a frustrated sigh.

“I have no idea how to react to this. I mean I don’t know if this is Future Peter using hindsight or Present Peter using foresight. If it’s Future Peter—”

“David . . .”

He threw a nervous look at Hannah. “I’m just trying to make sense of it.”

“I understand that. But have you ever hijacked a truck before?”

“Of course not.”

“Well, that makes four of us. Maybe we should focus on that.”

Freshly stung by Peter’s rebuke, the boy nodded. “You’re right. You’re right.”

Zack emptied the bag of handcuffs and spread out Peter’s materials. Among the maps was a sketch of a rental truck, and another of the rocky outcropping that would serve as the ambush point.

As the beleaguered Silvers began to formulate their plans, Mia found her gaze drifting back to the little patch of air where she’d just split time. She’d only just gotten used to the idea of multiple futures. Now she had to process multiple pasts. She’d been so worried about destroying the Earth. Now she had to wrap her mind around the possibility that she’d just created one.





TWENTY-NINE




The 3 A.M. chime broke the silence in the interrogation room. Melissa yawned and checked her watch. The building had been on high alert for five hours now, with no sign of intruders.

She sat cross-legged on the desk, her crumpled red bra resting in her lap. As caffeine and exhaustion pummeled her from both sides, a high and giddy chuckle escaped her throat.