and to try to figure this out.”
“What’s there to figure out?”
“Jake, this is a major security breach.”
“Nobody’s interrogating me.”
“Jake, just sit with them and answer their questions. I’m sure everything will be all right.”
“No.” Jake got to his feet. “I’m tired of us having to play lapdog for the Secretary. Why do we have to work for him? Do you know why? Because they’re afraid of us. That’s why. They don’t have respect for us. What they have is fear. You know what all of this security is for? It’s not to protect us. It’s to keep tabs on us. That’s what.”
Scott sighed. “You think I don’t know this?”
“Then, why the hell do you play along, kissing up to these guys?”
“I need the funding. I’m developing some things, and I need the capital. Simple as that.”
It was Jake’s turn for his voice to rise. “So, you just go along with them for the rest of your life, playing lapdog, letting them decide where you live and how you live and letting them keep a watch on you like you’re some sort of prisoner?”
“Not for the rest of my life, Jake. Just until the time is right.”
“Until the time is right for what?”
“You’ll see.”
“All right. Be cryptic. Play your games.”
Jake turned toward the door, then stopped, one hand on the back of his neck, squeezing away tension. He turned back to Scott. “You know why I did it? You know why I blabbered about us and everything?”
Scott shook his head.
“Because ever since the explosion, my whole life has been spent following you around. All of your whacky experiments. I just wanted a normal night with a girl like a normal guy, which turned into a normal weekend. I found a normal girl, one I could talk to, who wasn’t some sort of goddam meta-human, or a government operative trying to maneuver us.”
“And, of course, your normal girl happened to be a journalist looking for the big scoop. The story of her life.”
Jake threw his hands in the air. “All right. I screwed up. But if I had something of a normal social life, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. We both need to have people in our lives. We need to get out of this blasted lab more often.”
“Well,” Scott shrugged, “we did go to a bar a couple nights ago.”
“We need more than that, Scott. We need normal social lives. We need to hit a college football game once in a while. It would be good to just go to the Cape for the day. It wouldn’t hurt just to watch a movie, or read a book that’s something other than a textbook on quantum mechanics. Have you ever just sat and read a novel?”
Scott shook his head. “Not since I was seven or eight. We did see a movie, though.”
“That was Zorro , and it was a while ago,” Jake said. “Sometimes you need to think about something other than all of the discoveries you’re trying to make.”
“But this is what I love. It’s what I want. It’s my work, as well as my recreation.”
“Well, it’s not mine.”
“I ruined your life, didn’t I? That explosion. It’s all my fault, isn’t it?”
“I thought you knew that already.” Jake could see by the look in Scott’s eyes his last remark hurt. He immediately felt bad about having said it, but he was too angry to take it back. “I’m going for a walk.”
“The Secretary asked that you wait here.”
“The Secretary can go to hell. I’m sure you can figure a way to teleport him there.”
Jake turned and strode through the doorway.
“Jake, they’ll just go looking for you.”
“Then them find me.” And he left Scott standing alone.
CHAPTER TEN
The breeze had picked up, and the sky was clouding over. So much for the beautiful morning, Jake thought. As his mood clouded, so apparently did the sky. He wondered, being sarcastic with himself, if this was some sort of additional ability he had gained since the explosion.
He had intended to simply walk aimlessly, but as he walked along he realized what he
“What’s there to figure out?”
“Jake, this is a major security breach.”
“Nobody’s interrogating me.”
“Jake, just sit with them and answer their questions. I’m sure everything will be all right.”
“No.” Jake got to his feet. “I’m tired of us having to play lapdog for the Secretary. Why do we have to work for him? Do you know why? Because they’re afraid of us. That’s why. They don’t have respect for us. What they have is fear. You know what all of this security is for? It’s not to protect us. It’s to keep tabs on us. That’s what.”
Scott sighed. “You think I don’t know this?”
“Then, why the hell do you play along, kissing up to these guys?”
“I need the funding. I’m developing some things, and I need the capital. Simple as that.”
It was Jake’s turn for his voice to rise. “So, you just go along with them for the rest of your life, playing lapdog, letting them decide where you live and how you live and letting them keep a watch on you like you’re some sort of prisoner?”
“Not for the rest of my life, Jake. Just until the time is right.”
“Until the time is right for what?”
“You’ll see.”
“All right. Be cryptic. Play your games.”
Jake turned toward the door, then stopped, one hand on the back of his neck, squeezing away tension. He turned back to Scott. “You know why I did it? You know why I blabbered about us and everything?”
Scott shook his head.
“Because ever since the explosion, my whole life has been spent following you around. All of your whacky experiments. I just wanted a normal night with a girl like a normal guy, which turned into a normal weekend. I found a normal girl, one I could talk to, who wasn’t some sort of goddam meta-human, or a government operative trying to maneuver us.”
“And, of course, your normal girl happened to be a journalist looking for the big scoop. The story of her life.”
Jake threw his hands in the air. “All right. I screwed up. But if I had something of a normal social life, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. We both need to have people in our lives. We need to get out of this blasted lab more often.”
“Well,” Scott shrugged, “we did go to a bar a couple nights ago.”
“We need more than that, Scott. We need normal social lives. We need to hit a college football game once in a while. It would be good to just go to the Cape for the day. It wouldn’t hurt just to watch a movie, or read a book that’s something other than a textbook on quantum mechanics. Have you ever just sat and read a novel?”
Scott shook his head. “Not since I was seven or eight. We did see a movie, though.”
“That was Zorro , and it was a while ago,” Jake said. “Sometimes you need to think about something other than all of the discoveries you’re trying to make.”
“But this is what I love. It’s what I want. It’s my work, as well as my recreation.”
“Well, it’s not mine.”
“I ruined your life, didn’t I? That explosion. It’s all my fault, isn’t it?”
“I thought you knew that already.” Jake could see by the look in Scott’s eyes his last remark hurt. He immediately felt bad about having said it, but he was too angry to take it back. “I’m going for a walk.”
“The Secretary asked that you wait here.”
“The Secretary can go to hell. I’m sure you can figure a way to teleport him there.”
Jake turned and strode through the doorway.
“Jake, they’ll just go looking for you.”
“Then them find me.” And he left Scott standing alone.
CHAPTER TEN
The breeze had picked up, and the sky was clouding over. So much for the beautiful morning, Jake thought. As his mood clouded, so apparently did the sky. He wondered, being sarcastic with himself, if this was some sort of additional ability he had gained since the explosion.
He had intended to simply walk aimlessly, but as he walked along he realized what he
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