“I want one of those.”
He laughed and she had to tighten her fingers into her palm to keep from slapping him. “You are a bold one, aren’t you. Guess you can’t expect to get what you don’t ask for, hmm?”
“I see no reason that I should be a prisoner here, if I am, indeed, one of you.”
“That is something you will need to take up with Roman.” The gleam in his eyes told her it would be a fruitless endeavor.
“Well now that you’ve come to view the family’s latest freak, you can leave and give me some privacy.”
“Of course. I’m sure we’ll meet again, Marina.”
She watched as he pressed onto his arm, through the sleeve of his shirt where the radio key was, and the door slid open.
How was she going to get one of those?
“By the way.” He stopped in the entrance and pivoted to look back at her. “Your pleadings with Nora to care for your companion were for naught. Roman has placed the order for his execution tonight.”
And then he was gone, leaving Marina to charge after him in futility, slamming into the door as it closed.
-37-
July 12, 2007
Langley, Virginia
This time, Colin had less than fifteen minutes warning before Helen snagged him for a meeting, on her way back to Chicago from a briefing in DC. She’d made a detour to his second office at the Pentagon, where he’d been for another tedious budget meeting.
“We received this today,” she told him without preamble, walking behind his desk as she dug in her briefcase. “We’ve got two days to figure this out, Colin. I hope your team’s made some progress.”
Pulling out a round, silver disk, she reached behind him and slipped it into the DVD drive on his computer, fumbled through a few buttons, and suddenly the screen opened up to show a man, vaguely recognizable to Colin, sitting casually in an armchair. He was holding something in his hands that was not completely visible on-screen.
“I am Roman,” the man said. And Colin stared. He’d thought never to see that man’s face again; yet he’d longed for the opportunity. There had been a time when he’d wanted to destroy it with his bare hands.
He still did.
“I am a representative of Gaia, the Earth on which we all live. The earth which we are all a part of. The decisions made by your people have damaged her beyond repair, and continue to eat away at her resources while the capitalists continue to consume more, dirty her more, and waste more.
“This is not acceptable to us, or to Gaia. This must stop. In an effort to persuade your government to take this warning seriously, we will be conducting Phase Two of our … public relations program on Friday, July 14, at noon.
“You have already been exposed to Phase One of our program in the areas of Allentown, Pennsylvania; Terre Haute, Indiana and Hays, Kansas. It was an elementary decision to turn our attention onto a company such as AvaChem that has no respect for our earth.
“Please be advised that Phase Two will be much more convincing and will have three big targets with more extensive damage. After we have executed our program, we will be in touch for discussions before Phase Three will be scheduled. Perhaps, depending upon our discussions and their results, there will be no need to move forward with Phase Three. But that will be up to you and your government.” The screen went blank.
The holy war had begun.
The man was mad; yet as brilliant and in control as ever.
Helen was speaking to him; he dragged himself out of the past and turned to face her as she spoke. “One of the networks received it this morning via email, and they passed it on to me,” she said.
“What was he holding? I couldn’t see.”
“I’ve got Tech working on a clip of the video to see if we can enlarge it. Far as I can tell, it’s a small metal object—but it could just as easily be a pen. So what does your officer have, Colin? He was due to report in four hours ago.”
“He hasn’t. I have been trying to raise him on his sat phone since you and I met yesterday, but I can’t get him. I did leave a voice mail to update him and Dr. Alexander on the status. He’ll contact me as soon as he can.”
“Let’s hope the delay is because they’re making progress and have found a way into the Skaladeska camp.”
“Gabe’s the best, and Dr. Alexander is no slouch.”
“Gabe?” She looked sharply at him.
“MacNeil.”
“Gabe MacNeil is your officer on this?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?” He didn’t have time for female sensibilities.
“No. I was merely surprised. I know him.”
“Yes, he mentioned that. Now…three big targets.”
Helen began pacing again, her blonde hair, loose today, swinging. Her face looked tired, and the gloss of her lipstick faded. “They’re going to target another industry that is damaging the earth. But which one?”
“There are so many.”
She reached over to push a button on the computer. The disk slid out. “Yes. There are. But which one? Oil? Air pollution? Manufacturing?”
“Noise? Light? Deforestation?”
They stared at each other. The potential target industries were endless.
Not to mention possible sites.
Colin had to shake his head, his stomach tight. “If Gabe doesn’t contact us in time, we’re on our own.”
“We’ve got two days—I’d say we already are.”
-38-
July 13, 2007
Siberia
“The targets have been set, and the drilling has commenced.” Roman paced the chamber he affectionately called the Green Room, despite the fact that its meaning was lost on everyone except perhaps Varden, who’d lived Out-World more than the others, and there wasn’t a hint of green hue anywhere. “All three explosives should be deposited within the next twelve hours.”
Lev, seated at the position of power at an oblong table, nodded slowly. “They are all in the same vicinity; all targeting automobile companies?”
Roman nodded. “Indeed. The three largest companies in the world, all with headquarters situated within a fifty-mile radius, in or near the city of Detroit. The area will be devastated when those buildings fall, and because of the proximity, their suppliers will be affected as well. A chain reaction.”
“I must agree then that your choice of three targets is appropriate. Automobiles are but one offender to Gaia, and the stink of their emissions but one poison in her world. Still, the message will be clear and the devastation of the brains of the three largest companies will halt the production of those machines at least for a time.” Lev appeared to be consigned to the decision Roman had made, and for that, he was grateful.
Anticipation and excitement had been shooting through his veins since Nora notified him early that morning that the third explosive had been completed and was being delivered. She had sent it off before coming to advise him, so that it would already be en route to meet Dannen Fridkov and the others in Detroit. She knew he would be pleased with the progress.
And she hadn’t failed him.
Less than twenty-four hours, and he would have the world on the edge of its collective seat, listening for his very breath.
Roman resisted the desire to laugh, or even to smile. Not yet. He was not that careless; there was still opportunity for things to go wrong. Unlikely, impossible, truly; but Roman did not count the eggs in his basket as chickens until they were safely hatched.
Varden, who sat next to Lev, commented, “I am sure that the message you sent to Washington was taken seriously. They would be foolish not to.”
“Yes, I am certain even now they are scrambling to determine where and how our Phase Two will be executed. There was no hint in the recording of how we would strike.”
“Even if we made the targets clear, they would not be able to stop us,” Varden continued. “Although they could possibly evacuate the buildings.”
“That is true.” Lev looked at Roman. “Have you considered providing them with further information? As you know, the loss of human life is inevitable; but not necessary to our cause.”
“We could provide them with further information; but I am not sure how timely it would be. And there is always the outside chance that if they knew where our targets were, they could remove sensitive or important material as well as evacuate. No. I think it is better to remain as it is. We are detonating at midnight; there will be fewer people there and it will remain a surprise.”
“Although one could find value in seeing them scramble to prevent something that they know will happen,” Varden added with a twist to his mouth.
“There is value in that, too, Varden. Yes. It is worth considering for our next phase—”
“If there is one,” Varden added.
“If there is one,” Roman agreed. But privately, he knew he would make sure there was. The world had not been kind to him; he saw no reason to hold back now that he was in control.
-39-
July 13, 2007
Siberia
Desperation fueled her kinetic energy, yet Marina could only pace the room. Gabe was going to be executed within hours and she had no way to stop them.
She didn’t have any way to summon anyone to her, to plead for his life, even. She was stuck in the room with no way to communicate.
To just wait.
And to Marina, death was almost preferable to waiting.
That was why she hadn’t left Dennis Strand in the mine, even when the water was rushing in. She’d rather be doing something, anything, than sitting while things spun out of control.
Yet, here she sat. For all she knew, Gabe could be dead already.
Bored, frightened, frustrated … she wandered the room, flipped through the menu options on the computer screen, and finally found herself at the small food cupboard.
She opened the tiny cooler, looked inside, and saw that it had been restocked. Water, juice, more meat, and cheese this time. She slammed the door shut and opened the cabinet next to it. Perhaps there’d be an apple.
