Crystal Horizon: A Short Prequel to Crystal Deception Read Online Free PDF

while. You’re looking
fit. I hear you’ve been made an offer you shouldn’t refuse.”
    Sid studied Paul’s face. They’d been through a lot together
and Sid felt confident he could read the man. “What can you tell me, sir?”
    “Honestly, I don’t know much,” Paul said, shaking his head.
“Whatever you got going, it’s connected. Two admirals and a government goon are
telling me to tell you that it’s the right choice. I haven’t a clue what ‘it’
is, so I can’t provide you guidance. I can just confirm that they want me to
use my good name to tell you that it’s real. I’ve seen a lot of stuff over the
years, big guy, but this is weird. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
    Seeking to keep the conversation on track, Sid pressed him.
“Would you mind telling me who the admirals are?”
    “I’ll tell you that one is O’Hara. The other is at Central
Command and I’ll only say that I know him and believe he’s being straight. I
don’t know the goon, except to say he has a clearance level higher than mine.”
    “Why would they go to all this effort for me?” asked Sid
with sincere innocence. “Part of me feels like I’m being played here.”
    Paul laughed. “You got talents, bud, so it makes sense to
me. If they’ve offered you something and it sounds like a fit, take it. When
they go to this much trouble to recruit you, they’ll treat you well going
forward.”
    They chatted for a few more minutes, then Sid thanked him
and signed off. He called the other captain on the list and the conversation
was similarly supportive. His mentor reinforced that the Union was going to
great lengths to have Sid feel good about the situation. He, too, admitted he
didn’t know any details about what that situation was.
    Sid climbed into bed that night thinking that as technology
evolves, it becomes ever harder to pin down truth. He could come up with a dozen
ways an organization might orchestrate a group of people into reinforcing a
thought or idea without them even knowing they were being manipulated. This whole
thing could be a deception and he’d never know.
    Yet one item seemed indisputable—powerful people wanted him
to work for them. As he closed his eyes, he relaxed his mind, hoping an answer
would come to him in his sleep.
    * * *
    Cheryl awoke next to Sid. They were
a half-day’s hike into the woods, and though the air was cool outside, it was
warm inside their tent. They actually had two tents but never bothered to set
hers up. It would have been wasted effort.
    “ Mmm ,” she thought, snuggling against him.
    Their training scenario—the last one of camp—was constructed
much like a treasure hunt. They needed to decipher clues to find the next
secret location, which held clues to the next location, and so on until they
found the hidden treasure. The first team to find it and bring it back to camp
won bragging rights for that year’s graduating class.
    The two didn’t care about hidden treasures or bragging
rights. They both wanted to use the time enjoying each other.
    At the first hint of sunrise, he kissed her neck. Giggling, she
turned to him and they lost themselves for a bit. Afterward, she lay in his
arms and thought about this man who’d captured her heart.
    He was kind and considerate in his daily life. She loved his
quiet confidence and was honest enough with herself to admit she was attracted
to the hint of danger that lurked beneath his surface. He brought out the best
in her. It was joyous to be in his arms.
    He interrupted her thoughts when he lifted his head. “Did
you hear that?” he whispered.
    “No,” She whispered back. “What did you hear? Is it some one ,
or some thing ?”
    He sat up and started pulling on his clothes. “Let me go
look.”
    Cheryl dressed as well. “I’m not sure which would be worse,
finding a bear or Captain Dooley outside.”
    Sid opened a flap just enough to see into the morning light.
“I think I caught us breakfast in my snare.” She heard