Read Online The Reckoning: Quantum Prophecy Book 3 by Michael Carroll - Free Book Online
Authors: Michael Carroll
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“Nothing happened.”
They walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Erica was glad of that.
But what about the masked boy? If he starts to wonder about me…
She remembered the final meeting with the agent from the Witness Relocation Program: “You must
always
keep a low profile. Your family dynamic is unusual enough that if someone investigates, it won’t take them long to put two and two together and come up with the right answer.
“That’s the main reason we’re putting the girls into separate schools,” the agent had told her mother. “There are a lot of people who still believe that your husband was responsible for all those deaths, and since his identity was made public, we must do everything we can to keep you hidden. From now on, your name is Kara van Piet. Your daughters are Tanith and Erica.”
At the end of the meeting, the agent had handed each of them a document. “Sign these, please. They’re to confirm that you’ve understood everything I’ve said.”
When the documents were handed back, the agent had sighed.“Two out of three. Now,
Erica,
see how easy it is to get it wrong? It’s
vital
that you remember that from now on your name is Erica van Piet, not Stephanie Cord.”
The New Heroes gathered in Impervia’s office, a small windowless room situated in the heart of the building. She was already sitting down behind her desk when they entered.
Impervia said, “I know you’ve been expressing some concerns about how we do things here, but that has got to stop. You have to accept things as they are and trust us. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” Butler said.
Renata and Danny didn’t reply, but exchanged a glance at Butler’s use of the word
sir
—something Impervia insisted upon as a mark of respect to her position.
Impervia sighed and went on. “On a mission, you do as you are ordered. And you do not question those orders, nor speculate about them. That sort of thing is enough to give any witnesses good reason to believe that we are not acting as a unified team. The media are already asking questions about what we do here.”
Renata said, “Questions such as, why aren’t we actually helping people instead of blowing up the Trutopians’ emergency supplies?”
Before Impervia could respond, Danny asked, “
Did
you know what was on the island?”
“No, we did not,” Impervia said.
“If you had known, but the general still ordered you to blow it up, would you have?”
“Yes.”
“But that’s crazy!”
Butler said, “No, it’s not. You have to follow the chain of command. Whatever General Piers says, we do. Back when I was in the academy—”
“The academy that threw you out?” Razor asked. “Or was there another one?”
Butler ignored him. “Back when I was in the academy, the first rule we were taught was that people die if you don’t follow orders. The commanders know more than the people under them.” He looked at Impervia. “That’s why
you
were brought in to be in charge of us, right?”
Impervia nodded. “Because I have military experience as well as the experience of being a superhuman.”
Renata said, “Kinsella wants an explanation. What are you going to tell him? That it was a mistake?”
Impervia shook her head. “No. We’re not going to say anything.”
“But they have proof it was us.”
“The official word will be that the video was faked.”
Renata said, “But the Trutopians know the truth. They’ll tell everyone.”
“The Trutopians are a dictatorship,” Butler said. “They have no elected leaders, and the people don’t have a say in what happens. What we ought to do is arrest Kinsella.”
“Their members aren’t forced to join,” Renata said. “They know what they’re getting into. Everyone should have the right to make bad decisions, and no one should be allowed to take away that right. Not even us.”
“Screw the Trutopians,” Butler said “They’re nothing but abunch of crazies who think that you can
They walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Erica was glad of that.
But what about the masked boy? If he starts to wonder about me…
She remembered the final meeting with the agent from the Witness Relocation Program: “You must
always
keep a low profile. Your family dynamic is unusual enough that if someone investigates, it won’t take them long to put two and two together and come up with the right answer.
“That’s the main reason we’re putting the girls into separate schools,” the agent had told her mother. “There are a lot of people who still believe that your husband was responsible for all those deaths, and since his identity was made public, we must do everything we can to keep you hidden. From now on, your name is Kara van Piet. Your daughters are Tanith and Erica.”
At the end of the meeting, the agent had handed each of them a document. “Sign these, please. They’re to confirm that you’ve understood everything I’ve said.”
When the documents were handed back, the agent had sighed.“Two out of three. Now,
Erica,
see how easy it is to get it wrong? It’s
vital
that you remember that from now on your name is Erica van Piet, not Stephanie Cord.”
The New Heroes gathered in Impervia’s office, a small windowless room situated in the heart of the building. She was already sitting down behind her desk when they entered.
Impervia said, “I know you’ve been expressing some concerns about how we do things here, but that has got to stop. You have to accept things as they are and trust us. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” Butler said.
Renata and Danny didn’t reply, but exchanged a glance at Butler’s use of the word
sir
—something Impervia insisted upon as a mark of respect to her position.
Impervia sighed and went on. “On a mission, you do as you are ordered. And you do not question those orders, nor speculate about them. That sort of thing is enough to give any witnesses good reason to believe that we are not acting as a unified team. The media are already asking questions about what we do here.”
Renata said, “Questions such as, why aren’t we actually helping people instead of blowing up the Trutopians’ emergency supplies?”
Before Impervia could respond, Danny asked, “
Did
you know what was on the island?”
“No, we did not,” Impervia said.
“If you had known, but the general still ordered you to blow it up, would you have?”
“Yes.”
“But that’s crazy!”
Butler said, “No, it’s not. You have to follow the chain of command. Whatever General Piers says, we do. Back when I was in the academy—”
“The academy that threw you out?” Razor asked. “Or was there another one?”
Butler ignored him. “Back when I was in the academy, the first rule we were taught was that people die if you don’t follow orders. The commanders know more than the people under them.” He looked at Impervia. “That’s why
you
were brought in to be in charge of us, right?”
Impervia nodded. “Because I have military experience as well as the experience of being a superhuman.”
Renata said, “Kinsella wants an explanation. What are you going to tell him? That it was a mistake?”
Impervia shook her head. “No. We’re not going to say anything.”
“But they have proof it was us.”
“The official word will be that the video was faked.”
Renata said, “But the Trutopians know the truth. They’ll tell everyone.”
“The Trutopians are a dictatorship,” Butler said. “They have no elected leaders, and the people don’t have a say in what happens. What we ought to do is arrest Kinsella.”
“Their members aren’t forced to join,” Renata said. “They know what they’re getting into. Everyone should have the right to make bad decisions, and no one should be allowed to take away that right. Not even us.”
“Screw the Trutopians,” Butler said “They’re nothing but abunch of crazies who think that you can
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