‘I thought you should know, the report about the Beast is false. He is alive and has been transferred to Carbon.’ [pause] I am being watched by an unknown competitor.”
Harbaugh comments, “That was the Protector relaying the message she got from Hector. An image file was attached. We think she took a picture of Scarlet with the cameras in her lenses. After the image was forwarded, we have this.”
XSUS One to Jackie-O: “Keep the competitor in place. Stand by for further instructions.”
Harbaugh pauses to let us read the line, then says, “Thirty minutes later, XSUS One is back.” He clicks his remote, and the next line of text appears on the screen.
XSUS One to Jackie-O: “Help is outside. Dismiss guest and terminate competitor.”
“And … well, we all know what happened next.” Harbaugh’s eyes dart my way. Everyone looks at me. I gulp down the last of my coffee and try to act like it’s no big deal to be the center of this much high-ranking attention. Trick’s hand squeezes my thigh under the table and he tries not to smile. I look past Trick’s face and see Fredericks pull a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and pat his forehead with it.
Harbaugh brings up several more lines. “Seven minutes after the firefight, this comm was sent. We were tracking Hector, so we know this is from him. Here we meet our fourth player, whom we’ve labeled XSUS Two.”
Hector to XSUS Two: “Message delivered, but the meeting ended abruptly.”
“Now we have a line on XSUS One’s comm signal and that of XSUS Two, which is how we picked up this rather heated exchange between the two of them less than a minute later.” Harbaugh fills the screen with six lines of text.
One to Two: “I got your message, but the meeting was broken up.”
Two: “I heard. We will take care of it.”
One: “What have you done to alert the Americans?”
Two: “What makes you think they know anything about this?”
One: “Because it was your organization he—”
Two: “Quiet! Someone may be listening. Why do you think I sent our man?”
Fredericks wipes his forehead with his handkerchief. His face is pale.
“Jakob, are you all right?” Chanez asks. “Do you need some water?”
“No, no,” Fredericks insists. He stuffs his handkerchief back in his pocket. “I’m fine, Bill.”
Harbaugh gives Fredericks a few more moments. Then he says, “Finally, we have this.” The screen displays one last line.
One to Two: “But they didn’t send just anyone. They sent his daughter.”
Harbaugh and Chanez have already figured out what this final line means, so they don’t react. Fredericks turns as white as a ghost. His forehead gleams with sweat, but he remains silent while the rest of us all start jabbering at once.
C HAPTER 8
S AME MORNING , 9:28 A.M. EST E X O PS H EADQUARTERS , H OTEL B ETHESDA , W ASHINGTON , D.C., USA
Cleo covers her mouth with both hands and turns to me. Tears roll down her cheeks and across her fingers. Everyone else is still talking over one another except for me. I’m too busy hyperventilating.
“Mom?” I gasp. “Who is …” I can’t catch my breath. “Is it really …”
She pulls me to her, presses our foreheads together, and whispers, “It’s Daddy, honey.” She takes a sharp breath, “Oh, my God, it’s your father.” She sobs, “He’s alive, Angel.”
Now I’m crying, too. Trick leans over and puts his hands on my shoulders.
Fredericks accepts a glass of water from Chanez while Cyrus peppers Harbaugh with questions.
“Where is he, Bill?”
“We don’t know.”
Cyrus growls, “What do you
mean
we don’t know?”
“Calm down, Cyrus.” Harbaugh holds his hands out. “You know our record with Carbon.” Harbaugh sits on the edge of the table. “Since we found out Germany had a cloning program in ’56, all we’ve gotten is what little has been in their news.”
Mom gently wipes some tears off my face. I grab a napkin and blow my nose. Then I ask
Harbaugh comments, “That was the Protector relaying the message she got from Hector. An image file was attached. We think she took a picture of Scarlet with the cameras in her lenses. After the image was forwarded, we have this.”
XSUS One to Jackie-O: “Keep the competitor in place. Stand by for further instructions.”
Harbaugh pauses to let us read the line, then says, “Thirty minutes later, XSUS One is back.” He clicks his remote, and the next line of text appears on the screen.
XSUS One to Jackie-O: “Help is outside. Dismiss guest and terminate competitor.”
“And … well, we all know what happened next.” Harbaugh’s eyes dart my way. Everyone looks at me. I gulp down the last of my coffee and try to act like it’s no big deal to be the center of this much high-ranking attention. Trick’s hand squeezes my thigh under the table and he tries not to smile. I look past Trick’s face and see Fredericks pull a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and pat his forehead with it.
Harbaugh brings up several more lines. “Seven minutes after the firefight, this comm was sent. We were tracking Hector, so we know this is from him. Here we meet our fourth player, whom we’ve labeled XSUS Two.”
Hector to XSUS Two: “Message delivered, but the meeting ended abruptly.”
“Now we have a line on XSUS One’s comm signal and that of XSUS Two, which is how we picked up this rather heated exchange between the two of them less than a minute later.” Harbaugh fills the screen with six lines of text.
One to Two: “I got your message, but the meeting was broken up.”
Two: “I heard. We will take care of it.”
One: “What have you done to alert the Americans?”
Two: “What makes you think they know anything about this?”
One: “Because it was your organization he—”
Two: “Quiet! Someone may be listening. Why do you think I sent our man?”
Fredericks wipes his forehead with his handkerchief. His face is pale.
“Jakob, are you all right?” Chanez asks. “Do you need some water?”
“No, no,” Fredericks insists. He stuffs his handkerchief back in his pocket. “I’m fine, Bill.”
Harbaugh gives Fredericks a few more moments. Then he says, “Finally, we have this.” The screen displays one last line.
One to Two: “But they didn’t send just anyone. They sent his daughter.”
Harbaugh and Chanez have already figured out what this final line means, so they don’t react. Fredericks turns as white as a ghost. His forehead gleams with sweat, but he remains silent while the rest of us all start jabbering at once.
C HAPTER 8
S AME MORNING , 9:28 A.M. EST E X O PS H EADQUARTERS , H OTEL B ETHESDA , W ASHINGTON , D.C., USA
Cleo covers her mouth with both hands and turns to me. Tears roll down her cheeks and across her fingers. Everyone else is still talking over one another except for me. I’m too busy hyperventilating.
“Mom?” I gasp. “Who is …” I can’t catch my breath. “Is it really …”
She pulls me to her, presses our foreheads together, and whispers, “It’s Daddy, honey.” She takes a sharp breath, “Oh, my God, it’s your father.” She sobs, “He’s alive, Angel.”
Now I’m crying, too. Trick leans over and puts his hands on my shoulders.
Fredericks accepts a glass of water from Chanez while Cyrus peppers Harbaugh with questions.
“Where is he, Bill?”
“We don’t know.”
Cyrus growls, “What do you
mean
we don’t know?”
“Calm down, Cyrus.” Harbaugh holds his hands out. “You know our record with Carbon.” Harbaugh sits on the edge of the table. “Since we found out Germany had a cloning program in ’56, all we’ve gotten is what little has been in their news.”
Mom gently wipes some tears off my face. I grab a napkin and blow my nose. Then I ask
Similar Books
