The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

“Yeah, so… look, I’m not real jazzed about the situation and…”

“Understand this, Mr. Cooper. You killed my child, and I saved your life. The scales are far from balanced… by any measure. But I have larger concerns than the likes of you. I doubt this will offer you much comfort, but if I ever change my mind, rest assured you will go quickly, and you will not see it coming.”

Perrone opened his hands as if welcoming a new family member.

“I am an honest man. Always to the point.”

Michael thought of a conversation with Rikard in New Stockholm.

“Somebody told me there’s no such thing as an honest Chancellor.”

His line drew a hearty laugh.

“Point taken,” Perrone said and marched onward.

Michael looked to James for reassurance, but his best friend turned warrior never looked back.

38

S AMANTHA PYNN MISCALCULATED EVERYTHING, to her shame. The years her parents prepared her, said she would be ready to ascend into the UG and beyond, weren’t enough. The cold discipline needed to be a killer wasn’t enough. Surviving a bloody civil war between her fellow observers in Alabama wasn’t enough. Loving Jamie, trusting Ophelia, and finding an unexpected connection with Michael weren’t enough.

Valentin’s words cut the hardest. You weren’t raised in the Collectorate. We grow up much faster here, he said. If you had grown up here, you might have been my superior officer at my first posting. Fate toys with us in unexpected ways.

Fate. Her father used to dismiss the idea, insisting every good Chancellor wrote his own script, made his own fortune. There were no strings, no cosmic puppeteers, only the forceful directives laid out by the individual. Samantha used to think she knew her script.

Now, the only thing she understood for sure: She was a fifteen-year-old girl walking a path built on delusion and false promises.

Michael seemed to have a better grasp on the true nature of her people than she did. He gave them less credit because they earned little. He refused to trust where she blindly handed over acceptance.

At the very least, the idealistic Sammie would have been proud of the new Jamie. He assumed the mantle of a Chancellor, wearing the suit symbolizing his people’s military might and legacy. He became a cold, disciplined killer. He earned the praise of an admiral and found the brother once denied to him. He was everything she expected of herself.

She wanted to hate him.

Instead, Sammie closed off her shame and pushed for answers.

“Tell me what this is about,” she insisted as she walked alongside the admiral.

“Hmm,” Perrone mused. “The answer to that query is altogether complicated. Perhaps you would prefer a logistical summary?”

“Fine. Why are you here?”

“I am here, child, because dear Ophelia is not the erratic fool you probably thought her to be after the IDF.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are here at her beckon. She orchestrated this symphony, Ms. Pynn, with a nudge from myself and her Chief.”

“She and Patricia both? They knew about this?”

He sighed. “Think, Ms. Pynn. You’re a Chancellor—and, from what James has told me, your father trained you to be a peacekeeper. Did you not consider Ophelia’s plan to be more than a little flawed when she briefed you? Walking into a possible trap, exposing everyone to the enemy on a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic? Did you not consider Patricia Wylehan’s tactical deployment at the outpost to defy logic?

“It’s simple, Ms. Pynn. Ophelia planned to rescue the second Jewel and she did not want to risk another debacle. We wanted this young woman brought to us in safety. Additionally, I needed to open another front in an ongoing security matter. Our needs merged.”

“What needs?”

“We share a common enemy.” He eyed all five people in his company. “The same one who almost killed James at the fold, who tried to obliterate you with an energy slew, and who we knew was desperate enough to walk into a trap of our own making.”

“My father,” James said.

Sammie faced the brothers. Valentin nodded.

“I have business with Emil Bouchet,” Perrone continued. “Today, I intend to finish it. Ophelia chose the Isle of Seneca out of convenience. She spent many years working at this facility and has contacts among the administration. She impressed on them the importance of this mission and made sure they sent the facility into lockdown right after your shuttle landed.”

“So, those others, they were sent here by Emil Bouchet?”

“Indeed.”

“Why? None of this makes sense. All we wanted to do was meet the Ukrainian girl and leave. Why pick a fight that wasn’t needed?”

“Because Emil’s ever-vigilant security apparatus learned of this rendezvous, with our assistance, and he predictably sent his primaries to ambush you at the transfer. Ophelia’s mercenaries and crew were dispersed for the sole purpose of drawing out the enemy. We knew they would make a move when the Jewel’s ship arrived. And everything—including that arrival—was timed for maximum effect. I must say, however, I was not made aware you and Mr. Cooper joined the mission. You will have to ask Ophelia and her Chief why they exposed you to such risk.”

Sammie’s frustration deepened. “Oh, I will. You can count on that. But we saw the shuttle coming in, and minutes later, we heard an explosion at the transport bay. What happened?”

“A tactic in line with Wylehan’s service record. Those vermin were never going to come anywhere near the Ukrainian. Besides, she was not on the Scram.” He chuckled. “Ophelia’s idea. The Scram arrived under blind flight during the middle of the night. It landed seven kilometers northeast of the facility. Bouchet’s people arrived at Heinlein three hours later. Enough time to make themselves comfortable.”

“What happened back there? Did any of our people die? We lost track of everyone at the last minute.”

“Wylehan had them on circastream.