Genesis Plague
rolled her eyes and took a deep pull of her
champagne. Like me, she knew what a call like this meant.
    “If that’s Roger, I’m
not here,” Flint said loudly, lowering himself a few more inches into the hot
tub.
    I said, “I know the plate is shifting. Flint was damn near swallowed up as an appetizer.” Then
I sighed and switched over to my sarcastic how-can-I-please-the-boss voice. “What’s the issue, Dr. Levino?”
    “I had to send a group
out to Mauna Loa to check some readings. Obviously you were busy or it would
have been you.”
    “That sounds more like
a job for the geology department, and I don’t think you’re going to be able to
talk Flint into going.”
    “I don’t want just him.
I am fully aware that you, Flint, and Ms. Baker are attached at the hip these
days. I can’t get one of you without getting all three. It’s like a damned box
set.”
    I frowned. “Mauna Loa’s
been quiet for decades. Are you telling me she’s waking up?”
    “Let’s not start a
panic, for God’s sake. I would just feel better if the three of you were down
there. Your team, Paul. We’re getting some big-name interest in the area after
this shake-up and I want my best people with me if the … well, if something happens. This recent activity is
the perfect opportunity to showcase what this lab can do. Consider it a
personal favor.”
    And there was the big
red flag, waving right in front of my face. The esteemed Roger Levino didn’t
ask favors of a lowly Ph.D. like myself; he told you what he expected.
He also didn’t leave the lab unless it was to shake hands with a potential
philanthropist. In Levino’s lingo, “big-name interest” meant one thing: that
all-important grant money. Someone with fat pockets must have taken an interest
in the lab’s affairs in Hawaii.
    “Listen,” said Levino,
sensing my hesitation. His voice quieted as he continued. “I received a call
from a very good friend of mine not twenty minutes ago. Something’s opened up
next to the volcano, Paul. Something that could get us five years of guaranteed
funding if we stake the first claim. Something big.”
    My eyes narrowed. “Like
what?”
    “Where’s your sense of
mystery, goddammit?!” he shouted. He was really riled up now, and I could just
imagine him standing red-faced, phone in hand, stamping his little feet. “I
can’t say everything over the phone! Are you going to Hawaii or not?”
    I looked around at the
others, who were now watching me with keen interest. Even Pierre was listening
closely.
    “Who’s down there?” I
asked.
    “Riley and his bunch.”
    “He’s not right for
that kind of fieldwork,” I said, scolding. “The ink is still drying on his
degree.”
    “Thanks for stating the
obvious, Paul. You want to relieve him, or you want to keep working on your
tan?”
    Pierre suddenly nodded,
as if he had heard the whole conversation. “I have a plane in Manado. You will
please take it to your next adventure.”
    I looked at Cassidy,
halfway between my decision. She winked at me and finished her bottle of
champagne. I turned to Flint, who floated on his belly in the hot tub with his
arms crossed under his chin, staring at me.
    “I’m in,” he said. “I
could use a vacation from this vacation.”
    “You sure about this?”
I asked Pierre.
    “Consider it a thank
you for saving my life.”
    With one more look at
Cass, I shrugged. “Alright, Dr. Levino,” I said into the phone. “We’ll see you
in Hawaii.”



 
     

     
     
     
    L et me tell you a little something about private jets: take one
whenever you can.
    Pierre’s Gulfstream 800
had the space for fifty people but only sat seven, so you could interpolate the
capacious amount of leg room from there. When we boarded in Manado, there was
no customs check, no long line to wait in to get your crotch sniffed and your
shoes scanned. There was just a gleaming metal albatross on the tarmac,
welcoming us for our 5500 mile journey across the open ocean.
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