tomorrow.”
“Excellent. So everything will be ready by the end of the summer?”
“Yes, sir.”
I glanced over at the assistant and the same smile was pasted across her face. She looked almost frozen until her mouth moved.
“Do you think it might move along even faster if we brought in some help for you?” She managed to speak and smile at the same time.
Dad’s jaw clenched but he recovered quickly. “No. As you know, the work I do is highly sensitive. I couldn’t promise the same level of confidentiality if others were involved. I’d hate to think what would happen if this sort of information leaked out….”
“No, no, that would have terrible implications,” Allan said and threw a piercing gaze at the woman. “Our original deadline is fine. Let us know if there’s anything you need.”
It was the first time I realized that Dad’s weaponry work was of the top secret variety. He’d mentioned making peacekeeping weapons, and it had crossed my mind that weapons and peace didn’t seem to go together but who was I to question him? I also realized how valuable Dad was to the Consulate. No wonder he didn’t seem concerned about being fired.
Allan opened a drawer in his desk. “Micah, I want you to know how much we appreciate your years of tremendous service to us. We’ve taken the liberty to add additional funds to your currency chip. I hope you will find it to your satisfaction. We would also like to give you this as a small token of appreciation.” He held out a device to my father.
“Thank you, Allan. I’m proud to serve the Consulate in any way I can.”
We stood and I moved toward the door before Allan could touch my hand again. I turned once before leaving and the woman’s smile remained. I shuddered.
On the ride home, I asked Dad what he’d wanted to show me.
“The weapons room … but I decided today wasn’t the right time.” He sighed. “Soon though.” He reached into his bag and tossed me the gift he’d received from Allan. “It’s an Infinity.”
“Whoa.” I stroked the small device and immediately attached it to my wrist. I’d heard of them but had never seen one. Most people had basic GlobalNet tablets, but only a lucky few had the Infinity. I’d even read that people could access books and videos from hundreds of years ago on these things.
I punched a button and a glowing, virtual keyboard appeared in front of me. “This is awesome.”
Dad flashed a weary smile. “It’s yours.”
I gasped. “No way. Thanks, Dad.”
“Sure, I need to make a few modifications on it first, butI think you’ll find it useful. Especially once we relocate.”
I was so mesmerized by the graphics of the pictures in front of me that it took a minute for his words to sink in. I turned my head. “Relocate?”
“Yeah,” Dad said. “We’re moving.”
That same week, Dad had started moving the guns out and used his “bonus money” to build our bunker. I’d overheard late-night whispers between him and Mom about something “bad.” All I knew was that whatever he was doing, the Consulate didn’t know about it. He told my sister and me that we couldn’t tell a soul about our moving, and three short months later, we arrived at our new home sweet home. My weapons training with him had started almost immediately.
I ran my hand over the Infinity and smiled wistfully. Guess it couldn’t hurt to check for survivors again. A light flashed off as I turned on the machine. The locator light. No way could I have imagined it twice. Someone had to be out there.
After an hour staring at the screen, my eyes got blurry. Hope took a nosedive when it occurred to me that both times I’d seen the light flash had been when I’d turned on the device. The light itself was probably defective. Fabulous.
I considered watching one of my favorite old shows but pulled up my sister’s favorite program instead. A three-dimensional field of wildflowers instantly surrounded me.
I lay down on the floor
“Excellent. So everything will be ready by the end of the summer?”
“Yes, sir.”
I glanced over at the assistant and the same smile was pasted across her face. She looked almost frozen until her mouth moved.
“Do you think it might move along even faster if we brought in some help for you?” She managed to speak and smile at the same time.
Dad’s jaw clenched but he recovered quickly. “No. As you know, the work I do is highly sensitive. I couldn’t promise the same level of confidentiality if others were involved. I’d hate to think what would happen if this sort of information leaked out….”
“No, no, that would have terrible implications,” Allan said and threw a piercing gaze at the woman. “Our original deadline is fine. Let us know if there’s anything you need.”
It was the first time I realized that Dad’s weaponry work was of the top secret variety. He’d mentioned making peacekeeping weapons, and it had crossed my mind that weapons and peace didn’t seem to go together but who was I to question him? I also realized how valuable Dad was to the Consulate. No wonder he didn’t seem concerned about being fired.
Allan opened a drawer in his desk. “Micah, I want you to know how much we appreciate your years of tremendous service to us. We’ve taken the liberty to add additional funds to your currency chip. I hope you will find it to your satisfaction. We would also like to give you this as a small token of appreciation.” He held out a device to my father.
“Thank you, Allan. I’m proud to serve the Consulate in any way I can.”
We stood and I moved toward the door before Allan could touch my hand again. I turned once before leaving and the woman’s smile remained. I shuddered.
On the ride home, I asked Dad what he’d wanted to show me.
“The weapons room … but I decided today wasn’t the right time.” He sighed. “Soon though.” He reached into his bag and tossed me the gift he’d received from Allan. “It’s an Infinity.”
“Whoa.” I stroked the small device and immediately attached it to my wrist. I’d heard of them but had never seen one. Most people had basic GlobalNet tablets, but only a lucky few had the Infinity. I’d even read that people could access books and videos from hundreds of years ago on these things.
I punched a button and a glowing, virtual keyboard appeared in front of me. “This is awesome.”
Dad flashed a weary smile. “It’s yours.”
I gasped. “No way. Thanks, Dad.”
“Sure, I need to make a few modifications on it first, butI think you’ll find it useful. Especially once we relocate.”
I was so mesmerized by the graphics of the pictures in front of me that it took a minute for his words to sink in. I turned my head. “Relocate?”
“Yeah,” Dad said. “We’re moving.”
That same week, Dad had started moving the guns out and used his “bonus money” to build our bunker. I’d overheard late-night whispers between him and Mom about something “bad.” All I knew was that whatever he was doing, the Consulate didn’t know about it. He told my sister and me that we couldn’t tell a soul about our moving, and three short months later, we arrived at our new home sweet home. My weapons training with him had started almost immediately.
I ran my hand over the Infinity and smiled wistfully. Guess it couldn’t hurt to check for survivors again. A light flashed off as I turned on the machine. The locator light. No way could I have imagined it twice. Someone had to be out there.
After an hour staring at the screen, my eyes got blurry. Hope took a nosedive when it occurred to me that both times I’d seen the light flash had been when I’d turned on the device. The light itself was probably defective. Fabulous.
I considered watching one of my favorite old shows but pulled up my sister’s favorite program instead. A three-dimensional field of wildflowers instantly surrounded me.
I lay down on the floor