Losing balance, p.18
Losing Balance, page 18
Brittany flushed a deep pink as Alexa grinned before adding, “He is terrified that you’ll never forgive him, Brittany. He knows how badly he hurt you.”
Brittany gave a twisted smile, “My heart forgave him by the time Jonathan dragged me off the boat. But my brain was still angry; and I didn’t totally believe his story until,” she swallowed hard, “Until I eavesdropped on Jonathan’s meeting with the cabal.”
The look she gave Alexa was so full of horror that all trace of joy Alexa had felt in sharing the news of Reese’s survival vanished. A cold trickle of sweat formed at the top of her spine as Brittany said, “His plan is even worse than you imagined.”
25
The loss of hope
Alexa let Brittany leave the hospital first. When she waddled through the waiting room, there was no sign of the doctor or the security detail Jonathan insisted escort his step-daughter everywhere.
She caught a taxi to her hotel; her mood as bleak as the grimy gray London weather. A sudden downpour drenched her in the minute from the car into the lobby. She resisted the urge to snarl at the concierge who was offering a sympathetic smile. If he’d been doing his job instead of flirting with the receptionist, he would have hurried out with an umbrella to shelter her. But it was a mid-level business hotel; anonymity was more important than luxury.
Alexa was grateful that the elevator was empty; she stumped along the corridor to her room and flung her wet coat over a chair in disgust.
Rick emerged from the bathroom; a towel slung low around his hips and another in his hand as he scrubbed at his damp hair. “Hey sweetheart, how was Brittany?”
His lips twitched as she glared at him and he surveyed the glory of the rain-sodden wig sticking to her head like a rabbit-skin draped over a rock. “Bathroom’s all yours, my love,” he said with a grin. “What can I get you?”
Alexa gave him a baleful scowl as he struggled to keep a straight face, “It’s time the baby developed an appreciation for whiskey. I need a drink.”
Rick blinked in surprise, then he frowned as he registered the deep anguish in her eyes. “Not just mad about getting wet, sweetheart?” he asked as he turned to the mini-bar.
“No,” she said. “Give me a minute to change and I’ll share the bad news.” She headed for the bathroom, pausing long enough to add, “The good news is Brittany is delightful and she’s as desperate to see Reese as he is to be with her. At least you can put him out of his misery.”
Rick grinned, “I’ll let him know while you get dry. Tell him to focus on healing. Mind you Mac will knife himself or Reese if lover-boy doesn’t quit raving about his Bright Star’s perfection.”
Alexa’s stuck her head out of the bathroom while the shower water heated, “Isn’t that what happens when Mr. Uncommitted finds Ms. Perfect? He falls hard, fast and forever.”
Rick looked rueful, “To be fair, being my Alternates and never knowing if I would destroy their identity didn’t breed commitment. Ryan was a serial monogamist; but Reese treated single life as an art form or a competitive sport.”
Alexa laughed, “Be out in five.”
When she emerged from the bathroom, she wrapped herself in a warm fluffy robe; grateful that the one size fits all approach allowed room for her expanding belly. Rick sprawled in the corner of the sofa; he’d pulled on jeans and a t-shirt to collect ice from the machine near the elevator.
A bottle of whiskey was on the small coffee table, with two tumblers and a bucket of ice. He leaned forward and poured a generous shot into each glass, added three ice cubes and passed one to Alexa as she eased onto the sofa, swinging to put her feet on his lap.
She stared at the whiskey guiltily. Rick gave a sympathetic smile, “One or two drinks will not cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, sweetheart. I promise not to let you have more than two, no matter how terrible the news.”
Alexa gave a slow nod and took a small sip, determined to make the drink last as long as possible. She savored the fiery burn as it swished around her tongue and trickled down her throat.
Rick sipped from his own glass, then put it on the coffee table and picked up one of Alexa’s feet commencing to soothe it with firm strokes across the ball of the foot, lighter through the arch and strong into the heel. She moaned, “You do that so well; it’s nearly as good as sex.”
Rick gave her a disgusted look, “Either I’m doing the sex part wrong or you have more of a foot fetish than I realized.” She gave a faint smile and he growled, “Quit stalling Ali-Kat. I can tell the news is awful; go ahead and ruin my night too.”
Alexa gave a deep sigh wondering where to begin. She and Brittany had spoken as fast as possible to minimize the chance of the guards growing suspicious about the delay. Alexa didn’t doubt the truth of Brittany’s story; it had been obvious that what the woman had heard had convinced her that Reese’s tale was true.
“Brittany overheard Jonathan’s last meeting with the cabal; she told me what he’s planning.”
“And it’s worse than we thought,” Rick prompted, a grim foreboding settling in his deep blue eyes.
Alexa nodded, “He demanded a public vote; anyone who voted against the plan was evicted from the cabal.” She gave a twisted smile, “He dismissed them as easily as he wrote us off. Although he described us as cockroaches and thanked them as visionaries whose contribution he would always value even if they did not have the strength of purpose to turn vision to reality. He was less complimentary after he deactivated their holographic link.”
Rick grimaced, “Cockroaches are survivors; I’ll take that. Who were the cabal members who tried to stop Armageddon? Melissa, I assume.”
Alexa nodded, “Only two others, Raymond Bisset our cybernetics genius and Brian Dougal the satellite comms wizard.”
Rick winced, “Zhang Yong didn’t stand up to Jonathan?”
“No, although Sunny theorized he was more likely to be playing the long game after she met with him in Shanghai. He told her he prized visionary strategic policy over short-term gains.”
Rick tilted his head, “So we’ve gained three potential allies?”
Alexa considered all they had learned from their investigation into the three former cabal members. “Not exactly,” she said with a shrug, “And not overt allies but like Nate, they might help if they can without sticking their necks out for Jonathan to lop off.”
The sigh she gave rose from the feet that Rick was still stroking absent mindedly, “But I don’t know what help they can give us. I don’t think it is possible to stop Jonathan.”
Rick’s hands stilled and he waited for her to explain. Alexa took a larger sip of the whiskey and explained in a dull, helpless tone. “We were right that Palm Island in the Caribbean and Kuroshima in Japan were controlled environments. The tests are scaling up as they fine-tune the virus and the vaccine.”
“What’s the target vector?”
“Survival of the fittest. Hones in on the human anti-inflammatory response so anyone who has a weak immune system or arthritis or cardiac disease or any serious medical condition dies.”
“Estimated death toll is a minimum 35% of the population. Healthy people who have the flu would be unavoidable casualties. No age discrimination, although it will hit harder in the older, unhealthier age brackets. But a sick child dies as fast as a sixty-year-old with too much gunk in their arteries.”
Rick took a large gulp of whiskey, “And how far are they scaling up? How will they control it outside a small isolated island community?”
Alexa gulped her own liquid anesthetic. “The original plan was to hold the world to hostage after demonstrating capability and strength of purpose. They would threaten every government that if they didn’t take immediate steps toward a carbon neutral society, like closing down coal mines, the virus would be let loose in their country.”
Rick nodded; they had assumed that was Jonathan’s plan. “But now?”
Alexa couldn’t bear to watch his face. “The plan is to inflict the virus on every continent. Step by step. Based on the accents Brittany overheard, the three unknown cabal members are very senior in either the government or armed forces of America, China and Russia.”
“And,” Rick prompted, when she didn’t speak.
“They believe they have the power and influence to use the armed forces to blockade a country. They’ll shoot down any plane that tries to fly beyond the borders, sink any ship that attempts to leave harbor.”
“But if they intend to take it world-wide, why not let it just run rampant?” asked Rick with a puzzled frown.
“Too fast,” said Alexa. “At least they’ve realized that the speed of the virus decimating a third of a country’s population in a matter of weeks would cause the chaos of a tsunami or hurricane; without the infrastructure damage. Imagine a poorly resourced country trying to bury 30% of its population without the onset of secondary diseases like cholera.”
“The allied armed forces will close the borders and then help clean up the mess. Offer assistance with law and order upon request. Once the major fallout is under control; they move out and target the next country.” Alexa looked up from the bottom of her glass at Rick staring at her in blank horror.
“We can’t stop him, Rick. He has three superpowers behind him. We can’t take on one army, let alone three.”
“How?” said Rick, shaking his head in disbelief.
“He’s spent over thirty years getting people into positions of power. Men as ruthlessly committed to changing the world as he is. He realized that politicians and government are irrelevant. All he needed was enough money and enough force.”
“The biggest coup in history?” Rick gave a harsh laugh. “And then what, he takes over as leader of the human race?”
Alexa shrugged, “He didn’t say what happens next. But governments will only be impacted in the same way as the general population. If an elected official is fit and healthy, they’ll survive the culling.”
Rick drained his whiskey. He leaned forward and filled the glass halfway, ignoring the ice.
Alexa sipped the last of her own drink and held it out in mute appeal. Rick poured her a moderate shot and she grimaced but didn’t ask for more. She would love nothing more than to lose herself in a drunken haze and stop imagining the approaching apocalypse. But, just in case she and the baby survived, she wouldn’t give in to the temptation to stay drunk for the rest of her life.
Rick was staring at the bland landscape print of nowhere in particular on the far wall. “Where are they targeting first?”
“Probably Japan or Taiwan. Then China; once it’s over run China, the Chinese armed forces will want all other countries to feel the pain and be even more committed.”
Rick shook his head, “I can’t believe that they can control the Chinese borders; but if they do, then the rest of the plan is inevitable, assuming the US doesn’t falter. The panic and hysteria that will grip the waiting world will kill millions. Even if they don’t know the epidemic is being orchestrated, the fear of the disease spreading will rise every day.”
Alexa nodded; her deep unease reflected in Rick’s eyes. “I know,” she whispered. “So, where do we run to?”
Rick looked rueful, “Well, this time we do it together. I’m hoping Mitch has come up with a safe location. I doubt Jonathan will care what we do now.”
He pulled out his cell and stared at it with bleak eyes, “I’ll start calling everyone with the bad news and see if they have any ideas.”
He glanced up and frowned as the pit churning in Alexa’s stomach opened wider and she mumbled, “I saved the worst news for last.”
Rick’s knuckles whitened on the phone and he stared at her, “It gets worse? How?”
Alexa ignored safe pregnancy rules and drained her glass. “Brittany didn’t understand this bit but I want to know if you draw the same conclusion I did. I hope I’m wrong. When Jonathan called for an open vote, Melissa said she’d only agree if he delivered his side of the bargain.”
Rick looked wary, “Which is what?”
“She was being cryptic in front of the rest of the cabal; she said that Jacob had been stalling, but at least he’d been ensuring the requested training was completed and providing constant updates. If Jonathan would not do that, then it was time that she got control. She wants access to what could be the holy grail to create artificial intelligence; a perfect memory, or two.”
Rick let her words sink in for a moment and then closed his eyes as the probable truth overwhelmed him, “The twins. Jacob said they were testing if true eidetic memory was possible.”
Alexa gave an unhappy nod, “That’s my interpretation as well. I don’t know how she wants to use them or whether it will harm them.”
Rick’s glare was fiercely protective, “She won’t get a chance; we’ll do whatever it takes to snatch the twins back.”
“And we’ll pray Jonathan lets them stay with us. Brittany said he refused Melissa’s request saying her vote wasn’t that important to him. When she got angry, he cut her out of the meeting. Perhaps the death of a child he knows is a step too far, even for him.”
26
Can we save the innocent children?
Gilly rocked Jamie in her arms, hushing him to sleep before laying him in his cot and hoping he slept through until morning as it was her and Mitch’s turn on baby duty.
Mitch and Tim were arguing in subdued tones on the deck below, unaware she’d opened the window despite the chill in the night air. She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop; she just liked a cool room to sleep in, especially as Mitch was a veritable furnace under the covers.
“You can’t take the risk, Tim. You need to stay safe for Jamie. I don’t have a son who needs me.”
Gilly’s heart raced and she swallowed her fear.
“Bullshit Mitch, you’ve got more to live for than I do. Gilly will hate to lose me, but I’m her brother and you are the man she chose to spend the rest of her life with. I’d rather it was a long life.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to see your son grow up?”
“Don’t try that manipulative shit on me, Mitch. Are you saying you and Gilly wouldn’t love and care for Jamie as your own son?”
Mitch growled, “Of course we would, little brother, there’s no need to ask.”
Tim’s voice was softer, “I know, buddy. That’s why it’s better that the only one who takes the risk is me. If I’m dead, I won’t be able to miss Jamie. If you die, I couldn’t live with Gilly’s pain.”
Gilly’s eyes welled up; she refused to imagine losing either of them. Taking a deep breath, she headed downstairs to pretend she hadn’t been eavesdropping. She would rather talk to Mitch alone.
Gilly waited until the house was quiet and she curled against Mitch’s side, her ear pressed to his chest listening as his heartbeat returned to normal and he lay, relaxed from her loving attention. She traced an idle finger over his hard-muscled stomach and lifted her head. He opened his eyes; they gleamed a soft green from the nightlight left on in case they needed to get up to Jamie.
“What’s happening under those curls, my love? Am I losing my touch?”
She flickered a smile, “Your touch is always perfect.” She huffed a sigh, “I heard you and Tim talking earlier.”
His eyes grew wary and she whispered, “Tim’s right. It would break my heart to lose my brother, but it would kill me if my soul-mate died.”
Mitch swallowed hard. He looked helpless and torn.
“I don’t want either of you at risk; but I understand that you both will honor a duty to save the twins. And I won’t stop you going. But I’m begging that you plan the mission with the best resources and if you’re not essential, then do not go to be a hero. We need you watching over us. You balance Rick and keep him grounded.”
Mitch closed his eyes for a moment. Gilly waited for him to consider her plea. His arm was warm holding her close and she focused on absorbing his strength.
His voice was ragged when he spoke, “I promise I will do everything in my power to keep us all safe, my love. And even if I hate myself for not helping the twins; I’ll only go if there is no better choice.”
Gilly sighed; it was not the answer she wanted, but it was as good as she’d hoped. She knew that Mitch was duty-driven and he would not be the man she adored if he refused to risk his own life to save the innocent children.
She forced a smile to her lips. “I understand Mitch.” She swallowed hard and said, “And tomorrow I might be sharing good news although I want you to promise you won’t get upset that I’ve been keeping secrets from you.”
Mitch frowned, “Good secrets or bad secrets?”
She grimaced, “Bit of both; which is why I haven’t told you yet. I wanted the good to outweigh the bad.”
Mitch surveyed her with narrowed eyes. “Are you trying to soften a blow, Gillian? Make me worry all night about something terrible so the truth comes as a relief?”
Gilly giggled, “Maybe. But I’m waiting on one last thing before I can share and then I hope you’ll forgive me for the secrets.”
Mitch frowned, “I really will stay awake worrying.”
Gilly reached up and kissed him, “Not if I distract you again.”
Gilly awoke to Jamie’s first restless whimper. She slipped out of bed and scooped him from his cot to take him back to the room set up as a nursery. It was just getting light and as she finished changing Jamie’s diaper, Tim came in dressed for his morning run.
“Thanks sis,” he tickled Jamie under the chin, “Mornin’ little man. Did you sleep through the noise your aunt and uncle made?”
Gilly’s cheeks shaded darker and she said in a dignified tone, “We were not noisy and he was asleep.”
Tim grinned, “Gotta hope he hasn’t inherited his mama’s eidetic memory.”
Gilly’s eyes widened in alarm and then she punched him, “Don’t be ridiculous, Timmy. He’s too young to remember anything, except you being an idiot.”
