Read Online Mayan December by Brenda Cooper - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Brenda Cooper
Tags: Science-Fiction, mayan
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her phone vibrated. Alice hesitated, suddenly scared to listen. She pulled ahead of the other two, rushing her breath, and sat down on the top, her toes barely reaching the step below her. She tapped her wrist. “Oriana?”
An unfamiliar voice said, “Call for Ms. Alice Cameron.”
Her hands shook so hard she almost dropped the phone. “I’m here.”
The voice on the other end of the line was very formal. “Please hold for Director Healey.”
Surely it was coincidence she’d just been talking about Marie. Although maybe it made perfect sense they’d both be here at this time.
Marie was calling her?
“Alice?”
She recognized the voice. Marie was calling her. “Yes? Hi. How are you?” She sounded like a tweener talking to a kid-band lead singer.
“I’m fine. A little busy lately.” Marie’s warm tones calmed Alice’s racing blood. “Are you sitting down?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to show me around Chichén Itzá.”
Alice’s mouth dropped open. “I’m . . . sure! I’m there right now. When?” What a dumb question. Surely for the summit.
“Me and a few of my best friends. On the twentieth. Yes I know the site is closed. But not to us.”
Wow. The V.I.P. showing. Oriana could watch Nixie. If Nixie was now . . . Damn. Alice licked her lips. “All right.”
Marie’s voice warmed even more. “Look, I saw your name on a list of people who could do this. So I picked you. I’d like to see you again. There’s a dinner afterwards, too. For even more of my best friends. Can you come to that, too? The president will be there.
“I . . . I’d love to.” Her knees felt watery. Not a good thing on top of a pyramid. At least she was sitting down. Marie Healey. And the President of the United States, and other leaders of the free world. Or the not-so-free if you counted China, where they kept up an invisible electronic wall that almost worked around the whole country. “I . . . yes. I’ll be happy to do it. Of course I’d like to see you again.”
Silence fell for a beat. When Marie continued, her voice was serious. “I wanted— needed —someone I can count on. Someone who won’t play politics.”
Michael’s impatient voice called to her. “Alice!”
She shook her head at him. He glared at her with an I’m more important than you and you work for me look. Don Carlo showed up beside him and said something Alice couldn’t hear and the two men stepped away. Alice refocused in time to hear Marie ask, “Are you busy?”
“Not too busy to talk to you.” Unless my daughter calls. But she didn’t say that. “I’m honored. Should I meet you here, and when?”
“It’s not that simple. There will be background checks. I need you to meet with my security people. The first session will be tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow.” She’d planned the morning off, promised Nix she’d take her to the beach. “Hold on.”
She flipped to her calendar, noting along the way that Nix still didn’t appear to be in the real world if you counted on GPS. You could build great applications, but a bad network could take them all down. Or magic. Not. Surely not.
Her schedule popped up on the screen. Maybe she could rearrange her noon meeting, keep her date with Nix. It mattered. “I can be free at noon.”
Marie responded. “Staff has time at nine in the morning. At the Cancun Marriott. I’m sorry, I can’t change it. If you want to do this, you’ll have to be flexible. I’ll make sure to fix anything it does to your schedule. You’ll be paid, of course. For all of the time.”
She’d have to leave before breakfast. It was just wrong to leave Nix in the lurch, but December, 2012 would never come again, and she needed the money. And Marie Healey! “Of course I’ll do it.”
“But do you want to?”
Alice swore she heard something almost pleading in Marie’s voice. “Of course I do.”
“Okay. Be at the Marriott at nine. There’ll be follow-ups, too, I’m
An unfamiliar voice said, “Call for Ms. Alice Cameron.”
Her hands shook so hard she almost dropped the phone. “I’m here.”
The voice on the other end of the line was very formal. “Please hold for Director Healey.”
Surely it was coincidence she’d just been talking about Marie. Although maybe it made perfect sense they’d both be here at this time.
Marie was calling her?
“Alice?”
She recognized the voice. Marie was calling her. “Yes? Hi. How are you?” She sounded like a tweener talking to a kid-band lead singer.
“I’m fine. A little busy lately.” Marie’s warm tones calmed Alice’s racing blood. “Are you sitting down?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to show me around Chichén Itzá.”
Alice’s mouth dropped open. “I’m . . . sure! I’m there right now. When?” What a dumb question. Surely for the summit.
“Me and a few of my best friends. On the twentieth. Yes I know the site is closed. But not to us.”
Wow. The V.I.P. showing. Oriana could watch Nixie. If Nixie was now . . . Damn. Alice licked her lips. “All right.”
Marie’s voice warmed even more. “Look, I saw your name on a list of people who could do this. So I picked you. I’d like to see you again. There’s a dinner afterwards, too. For even more of my best friends. Can you come to that, too? The president will be there.
“I . . . I’d love to.” Her knees felt watery. Not a good thing on top of a pyramid. At least she was sitting down. Marie Healey. And the President of the United States, and other leaders of the free world. Or the not-so-free if you counted China, where they kept up an invisible electronic wall that almost worked around the whole country. “I . . . yes. I’ll be happy to do it. Of course I’d like to see you again.”
Silence fell for a beat. When Marie continued, her voice was serious. “I wanted— needed —someone I can count on. Someone who won’t play politics.”
Michael’s impatient voice called to her. “Alice!”
She shook her head at him. He glared at her with an I’m more important than you and you work for me look. Don Carlo showed up beside him and said something Alice couldn’t hear and the two men stepped away. Alice refocused in time to hear Marie ask, “Are you busy?”
“Not too busy to talk to you.” Unless my daughter calls. But she didn’t say that. “I’m honored. Should I meet you here, and when?”
“It’s not that simple. There will be background checks. I need you to meet with my security people. The first session will be tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow.” She’d planned the morning off, promised Nix she’d take her to the beach. “Hold on.”
She flipped to her calendar, noting along the way that Nix still didn’t appear to be in the real world if you counted on GPS. You could build great applications, but a bad network could take them all down. Or magic. Not. Surely not.
Her schedule popped up on the screen. Maybe she could rearrange her noon meeting, keep her date with Nix. It mattered. “I can be free at noon.”
Marie responded. “Staff has time at nine in the morning. At the Cancun Marriott. I’m sorry, I can’t change it. If you want to do this, you’ll have to be flexible. I’ll make sure to fix anything it does to your schedule. You’ll be paid, of course. For all of the time.”
She’d have to leave before breakfast. It was just wrong to leave Nix in the lurch, but December, 2012 would never come again, and she needed the money. And Marie Healey! “Of course I’ll do it.”
“But do you want to?”
Alice swore she heard something almost pleading in Marie’s voice. “Of course I do.”
“Okay. Be at the Marriott at nine. There’ll be follow-ups, too, I’m
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