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

arms wrapped behind her back. Firm, at a safe distance.

He kept his response cautious. “Pleased to meet you, Rayna.”

There were echoes of other voices, discussion of next steps, the need for Rayna to change out of her Cossack garb, and orders to board the Scramjet, but James listened to none of it. Instead, a different sensation arrived, an itch in his mind, taking form as a Russian voice.

-          You are more beautiful man than I dreamed.

He replied without opening his lips.

-          And you’re a beautiful woman. Your hair. What is it called?

-          It is forelock. All Cossacks of dignity wear it. Do you like?

-          I do.

-          This red skin you wear is ridiculous.

-          It keeps me alive in battle.

-          You have killed many?

-          Yes. And I will kill many more.

-          Good. Then we are fit for each other. No?

-          Yes. But we are also monsters.

-          Da. This is our tragedy. They must not know we speak this way.

-          Agreed. If they find out, they’ll try to separate us.

-          Which would be most terrible mistake.

-          Rayna, I feel your anger, but you have to play along with them for now. We need them, and some of them might even help us.

-          I do not play nice. These Chancellors are assholes. They have no honor.

-          Yes, most of them are shit. But there are friends. The man next to me is…

-          Your brother. I am no fool.

-          He more than anyone is the key. He has a strength we’ll need.

-          If you say so. I will trust you, James Bouchet. But you only.

-          Fair enough. We need to board the ship now, Rayna. We have so much to do.

When she turned away, the verbal connection severed, but not the smell of her skin or the imagined taste of her lips. He took deep but steady breaths. James thought of Ignatius’s words: When you see her, the changes in your life will dwarf these past few days.

James understood. Their telepathy did not surprise him.

A new light shone. A breeze calmed his soul but fired his imagination. He saw not ten steps ahead—like any good Chancellor—nor one hundred steps. Rather, he viewed thousands of permutations of a future unwinding itself. Secrets and machinations, loves and betrayals, deaths and sacrifices, births and renewals. And in all of it, endless rivers of blood.

Even as he joined the others on the Scramjet and heard the echoes of Sammie still complaining and Michael trying to hold her back; even as he listened to new orders from Perrone and shared the satisfaction of victory with Valentin and Holland; even as he recalled Ignatius’s advice and the horror of the nuked city; James made peace with the dark.

He swam in the tides of the impossible future.

He was of them and above them.

And she was beautiful.

Just for a second, he allowed himself to believe they were gods.

40

R IKARD BRYZNEWIESKI WAS A PILOT long before he met and fell in love with the man he would marry, Matthias. Each time he took a job, Matthias feared for his safety, but they understood the risks were necessary. Now, five minutes removed from the Isle of Seneca and safe in his shuttle, Rikard wanted to go instream with his husband, but the time difference with Hong Kong Prefecture would be an inconvenience. Matthias loved his sleep.

Moreover, Rikard needed to finish a nagging task before he returned to the mainland. He stood in the navigation cylinder studying cubes.

He laid in the course and set the shuttle to auto-nav.

Brey Grinderson, Ophelia’s right hand who Rikard met a few days before the battle at the IDF, worked at the forward panels.

“So,” Rikard broke the silence, “she gave you no reason why she’s sending you back to New Stockholm instead of going with the admiral?”

Brey swiveled about. “I’ve never understood Ophelia’s logic. Truth is, I think what’s about to happen is above my pay status.”

“Doesn’t explain why she’s taking Michael Cooper and Samantha Pynn. But you’re right. No sense trying to figure her logic. At least we’re out of the line of fire. That’s a damn significant improvement. Yes?”

Brey smiled. “Ironic. I’m heading to safety, and you’re my pilot. Did you know I accused you of running away from the fold and leaving us there to die? Before I knew the truth.”

“Yes. She told me later. You were quite put-out.” He laughed. “I have a thing about people trying to blow up my ship—especially while I’m still in it.” He changed his tone. “What about the others? The Chief and her team? Strange they’re not returning with us.”

Brey shrugged. “They made a deal. Peacekeepers are taking them back to Great Plains Metroplex, process them, ship them off-world. Probably for the best.”

“Oh, come on, Brey. You’re not that stupid. Patricia Wylehan and those mercs will never set foot on land. They’ll be executed onboard that shuttle, weighted, and dumped in the Atlantic. I can’t believe the Chief was that naïve after what Perrone did to her first team.”

“She was tired and used up. Anyone could see it. She wanted an easy way out, and Perrone offered.”

Rikard stepped out of the cylinder. “It’s what you Chancellors always want. The easy way out. Money, prestige, leverage. Do any of you ever ask what it’s all for?”

Brey threw up his hands. “Talking to the wrong guy, my friend. I probably have less money than you and wouldn’t know prestige if it bit me in the ass. Leverage? My family gave up trying years ago.”

Rikard wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

“Yep. Brey Grinderson, hard-working Chancellor. Struggling to make ends meet.”

Brey started toward Rikard. “That’s beyond the line, Solomon. You need to remember your place.”

“Oh, I