we have a good chance, if everybody follows through. There are a couple of less talented backup dreamers, but only in case of emergency. There’s no skipping work on this gig.”
He could tell how earnest she was but couldn’t seem to contain his own doubt. “And what if you’re not sleepy at just the right time?”
“I’ve trained myself to drop off almost immediately as soon as they call. All I need is the right frame of mind and a safe place. Then I visualize the asteroid, and—”
“Damn.” He extinguished his butt in his coffee and lit another cigarette. “I wondered why you’d chosen the theme from Close Encounters as your ringtone. That’s just wrong, woman.”
She relaxed into a hesitant grin. “A twisted bit of lucid humor.”
“Wouldn’t it be simpler to hold a meeting in somebody’s basement somewhere? Have one secure location?”
“The participating governments are adamant about keeping us, as individuals, apart. Part of the contract for protection we signed was to never associate with another member of the One Hundred.”
Of course. Keeping them separate would minimize their power. Wily bastards.
“And there’s no such thing as a secure location. It’s almost like people can tell something’s wrong. You know, like that feeling you get, that anticipatory oppression, when you feel a storm coming on? They sense something. And while the Temple is busy convincing them we are the threat, we can’t tell the truth without risking worldwide panic.”
Virtual daydreams versus a massive missile? It was an effing joke. “There must be surer methods of diverting the asteroid. The world’s scientists should be—”
“They are. They’ve already sent an unmanned spacecraft to intercept and impact the rock’s surface, something to deflect the asteroid rather than blow it up into pieces that might do nearly as much damage as a head-on. Hopefully, it’ll be enough. We’ll know within a day or so if they’ve been successful. The One Hundred are simply Plan B.”
He felt his heart thicken in his throat as her eyes glistened with a sudden sheen of tears. “But ohhh, Parker…can you imagine it? If everyone knew that we needn’t be impotent, just part of some cosmic pinball game? That we could play some part in forming our own destinies? And wouldn’t it be ironic if, after all the wars, the scientific advancements, the greedy, pointless grabbing for power—wouldn’t it be something if the dreamers of the world were the ones to save it after all?”
For the first time since they’d met, he saw true sadness on her face, the haunted look of near despair in her eyes. She twisted the fingers of one hand in the other as her shoulders slumped, and he realized what a toll this assignment must’ve taken on her. Two years of running and hiding and being one of the few to know the fearful truth. It would’ve been enough to crush a lesser spirit.
And he’d wasted their precious time together stupidly brooding about the way she teased him? He’d cut off his right arm at this moment just to see her smile. “You’re only human, Carly. All of you. You’ve gotta keep that in mind.”
“The asteroid is nearly three miles wide.” There was an unspoken plea in her eye, a quaver in her voice. “It could mean an impact of unimaginable proportions, a nuclear winter that would rival the Ice Age. Or enough earthquakes and tidal waves to wipe out a large percentage of the human race. In terms you might better appreciate, it would hit with the energy of a three-million-megaton bomb. Don’t you think it’s worth the effort to try , whether you believe in what we do or not?”
Chapter Six
Fuck it. Parker didn’t care if Carlotta Phelps thought she was Tinkerbell. She believed in helping people. She practiced magic and lived on hope. And as long as she looked at him with that expression of absolute trust, he’d defend her to his dying day.
He eased his chair forward again and leaned across the
He could tell how earnest she was but couldn’t seem to contain his own doubt. “And what if you’re not sleepy at just the right time?”
“I’ve trained myself to drop off almost immediately as soon as they call. All I need is the right frame of mind and a safe place. Then I visualize the asteroid, and—”
“Damn.” He extinguished his butt in his coffee and lit another cigarette. “I wondered why you’d chosen the theme from Close Encounters as your ringtone. That’s just wrong, woman.”
She relaxed into a hesitant grin. “A twisted bit of lucid humor.”
“Wouldn’t it be simpler to hold a meeting in somebody’s basement somewhere? Have one secure location?”
“The participating governments are adamant about keeping us, as individuals, apart. Part of the contract for protection we signed was to never associate with another member of the One Hundred.”
Of course. Keeping them separate would minimize their power. Wily bastards.
“And there’s no such thing as a secure location. It’s almost like people can tell something’s wrong. You know, like that feeling you get, that anticipatory oppression, when you feel a storm coming on? They sense something. And while the Temple is busy convincing them we are the threat, we can’t tell the truth without risking worldwide panic.”
Virtual daydreams versus a massive missile? It was an effing joke. “There must be surer methods of diverting the asteroid. The world’s scientists should be—”
“They are. They’ve already sent an unmanned spacecraft to intercept and impact the rock’s surface, something to deflect the asteroid rather than blow it up into pieces that might do nearly as much damage as a head-on. Hopefully, it’ll be enough. We’ll know within a day or so if they’ve been successful. The One Hundred are simply Plan B.”
He felt his heart thicken in his throat as her eyes glistened with a sudden sheen of tears. “But ohhh, Parker…can you imagine it? If everyone knew that we needn’t be impotent, just part of some cosmic pinball game? That we could play some part in forming our own destinies? And wouldn’t it be ironic if, after all the wars, the scientific advancements, the greedy, pointless grabbing for power—wouldn’t it be something if the dreamers of the world were the ones to save it after all?”
For the first time since they’d met, he saw true sadness on her face, the haunted look of near despair in her eyes. She twisted the fingers of one hand in the other as her shoulders slumped, and he realized what a toll this assignment must’ve taken on her. Two years of running and hiding and being one of the few to know the fearful truth. It would’ve been enough to crush a lesser spirit.
And he’d wasted their precious time together stupidly brooding about the way she teased him? He’d cut off his right arm at this moment just to see her smile. “You’re only human, Carly. All of you. You’ve gotta keep that in mind.”
“The asteroid is nearly three miles wide.” There was an unspoken plea in her eye, a quaver in her voice. “It could mean an impact of unimaginable proportions, a nuclear winter that would rival the Ice Age. Or enough earthquakes and tidal waves to wipe out a large percentage of the human race. In terms you might better appreciate, it would hit with the energy of a three-million-megaton bomb. Don’t you think it’s worth the effort to try , whether you believe in what we do or not?”
Chapter Six
Fuck it. Parker didn’t care if Carlotta Phelps thought she was Tinkerbell. She believed in helping people. She practiced magic and lived on hope. And as long as she looked at him with that expression of absolute trust, he’d defend her to his dying day.
He eased his chair forward again and leaned across the
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