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

to say, Pat. I need to eat. I’m drinking too much on an empty stomach.”

“No, I wasn’t planning to be your mother. But I was going to suggest you stop pouting. You’re at your weakest in these moods.”

Sam finished the wine and looked for the mobile kiosk to arrive with a refill. The rotating restaurant’s promenade hummed with the small talk of hundreds of guests from across the Collectorate.

“Pat, did I ever tell you I used to dream about Jamie? I got it into my head that somehow, we’d be together one time before his fifteen years ran out. I thought of every scenario, from trickery to flat-out begging. It was insane. Daddy taught me how to kill a man in cold blood, but I never figured out how to get close to a boy. Right before we crossed the fold, Jamie kissed me. I knew we’d never be together after that.” The kiosk arrived with fresh wine. “I should have seen it, Pat. For everyone’s sake, I should have had the courage to kill him.”

Pat rolled her eyes. “But the moment passed, and you were a coward. Is that what you want me to confirm, Sam? Or should we continue this merry stroll down your avenue of regret? We have to focus on the here and now. Eat your dinner and clear your mind. Maj. Lancaster should be here shortly. If those children told him anything useful, he’ll want to square it with James’s message.”

“None of this squares, Pat. There’s no logic to what he’s doing. Why so elaborate? Kill all those innocent people, stage the Kilmurry’s return, then draw us out here. For what? To threaten me?”

Pat frowned. “But was it a threat? To be honest, Sam, it sounded more like a prediction. A promise, even. He said you will come to him willingly. The level of certainty in his words bothers me most. Look, Sam. I only met James at the IDF during our firefight. I briefly shared a trench with him, and I saw a fearless, calculating creature. But he was also untrained. Since then, he’s had two years to prepare, and he’s been on the offensive. I’d bet my credit wealth he has a long-term plan. He knows where you fit.”

“The only place I fit is with Michael. Earth is our home, and nothing will drag me out there to stand beside James.” Defiant, she shoved her fork through the entrée and swallowed quickly chewed bites. “If he thinks he can fuck with my head, he’s …”

“What if this isn’t a head game? You said it yourself: Why stage the Kilmurry’s return to draw us here? What if the message was bait?”

Pat turned suspicious eyes toward the other diners. Sam enjoyed having a cynical Chief who considered every awful possibility, but she turned cold at Pat’s dark tone.

“Bait for what?”

“I don’t know, Sam. I’m being paranoid. But … what if he wanted you here for another purpose?” Her eyes grew large. “Away from Earth. More vulnerable.”

“Are you saying I’m not safe here?”

“All the intelligence has suggested he has multiple system-capable ships. With the proper transit codes, they can follow the Fulcrum beacons to whatever system they please. They can traverse the local Nexus points, dock at colonial ports, and transfer their spies onto other ships bound for Earth. They couldn’t have caused so much chaos on the colonies and the shipping lanes without advance scouts.”

Sam’s limited appetite disappeared.

“We’ve all heard rumors about spies, Pat, but there’s been no evidence of him or his people here since he fled Earth.”

“Which might be the brilliance of his plan. Aside from the hybrids and his brother, we have no faces or gene stamps. If they’re here, how far have they infiltrated?”

Sam threw back more wine. “Then what’s our plan?”

“If had my druthers, we’d leave now, but Lancaster won’t allow it until we’ve finished our business. I’ll contact our captain, tell him to expedite his departure protocol. If we …”

“And those children?” Sam couldn’t get their desperate tears out of her mind. “Brayllen and Rosalyn think I’m saving their parents, but I’m sure James killed them. Do we just leave them with the Guard?”

“We have no authority to do anything else. As long as the UG considers them intelligence assets, those children go nowhere.”

“That’s nuts. They’ll be protected on Earth, and the GPM can send an inquisitor any time.”

Pat tossed her napkin atop an empty plate. “And how long before they realize we’re lying to them about their parents?”

“Dunno. I lied to Jamie for years and he never suspected a thing. I’m a good actor. Daddy taught me how.”

“Another distraction will cloud your focus. You can’t …”

Pat’s eyes darted away, down the promenade. “He’s here, Sam. Let’s get this done and leave Vasily.”

Maj. Cyril Lancaster, hands locked behind his back, struck a poker face when he reached the table. He wasted no time.

“Thank you for your assistance, Miss Pynn. The children answered all our questions to the extent they were capable. Which is to say, answers of limited value. If they are to be believed, they were kept away from all the terrorists except for Bouchet and his boarding party. Their sparse descriptions of his ship and their forced isolation, combined with the extensive data wipe of the Kilmurry’s log, would suggest this was a premeditated and surgical operation. We …”

Sam interrupted. “What do you mean, ‘If they are to be believed’?”

Lancaster shared a suspicious glance with Pat.

“These children could easily have been tortured. Their ship was missing for eleven days. They arrived with a scripted message. What else was scripted? To the point, what were they trained to exclude?”

“But why? For what purpose? They’re no threat.”

“By themselves, no. But if their purpose was to distract us while their partners sowed chaos …”

Sam’s stomach twisted. “Partners?”