The Reckoning: Quantum Prophecy Book 3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

Sakkara…. It’s food, Renata. We were sent here to destroy food.”

3
    T HE CUSTOMIZED LEARJET TOUCHED down on the runway with such precision that Evan Laurie almost didn’t notice they’d landed.
    Laurie was thankful that Victor Cross employed such good pilots: He hated flying.
    Sitting opposite him, Cross smiled and said, “We’re down. You can breathe again.”
    Laurie felt the tension drain from his body. “Oh, thank God.”
    “Why are you so scared of everything, Laurie?”
    The nervous man shrugged. “Well, when I was a kid, I used to—”
    “Wait, wait. Don’t tell me,” Cross said.
    “You’ve already figured it out?”
    “No, I just don’t care.” Cross leaned toward the window and peered out as the jet taxied to the small terminal building. “All right…. Harriet says they’ve brought Colin to the Hotel Baldigara. He’s settled in and seems to be happy enough for the moment.”
    “What if he recognizes you, Victor? I mean, even with the beard and padding, you’re still you.”
    “Colin’s never met me face-to-face, and the real Reginald Kinsella was such a recluse that even the people who worked closest with him haven’t been able to tell I’ve taken his place.”
    “But even among superhumans Colin is different. We’ve alreadyseen his powers evolve once. Who’s to say that he hasn’t developed telepathy?”
    “I have thought of that, Laurie. I’m willing to take the chance.”
    “We’ve already
got
superhumans. We have you and Yvonne. Why do we need him?”
    “Because you just said it yourself: Colin is different. For one thing, he can see the blue lights. For another, he’s the child of
two
superhumans.”
    The jet stopped, and Cross unbuckled his seat belt. “OK. You know what you’ve got to do?”
    Laurie nodded. “Go to Kiev, then catch the cargo flight to Omsk, and from there to Zaliv Kalinina. And don’t let Yvonne know where I really am.”
    “Good. Keep me posted. I’ll send you the material as soon as I can.”
    “This isn’t going to work, Victor.”
    Victor Cross stood up. “Why the pessimism?”
    Laurie began ticking off reasons on his fingers. “You underestimated the kids and they destroyed your power-damper. Dioxin got caught. Renata Soliz turned down your offer to join the Trutopians…”
    Victor laughed. “That’s true. But we always get the outcome we want. Look at what I’ve already achieved—I’m only twenty-one years old and I’m in charge of the largest and most powerful organization the world has ever seen. I’ve got more money than I can spend. I’m very definitely the smartest man who ever lived. The only person on this planet who could possibly be a threat tome is Colin Wagner, and I’ll have him on my side in a matter of days.”
    “If Colin realizes that you’re the man who killed Solomon Cord, he’ll…Victor, he’s got a very strong sense of justice, but I’m not sure that would stop him from tearing your head off.”
    “It’s his sense of justice that’s going to persuade him to come over to our way of thinking.”
    “I still think it’d be easier to just have Yvonne control his mind.”
    Victor removed his suitcase from the overhead compartment. “It would be easier, yes, but less satisfying.”
    “You’re just doing this to pander to your own ego.”
    Victor sighed. “I don’t know why I let you talk to me like that.”
    “Maybe it’s because…” Laurie shrugged. “Actually, I’ve no idea either, but there must be some part of you that needs me. Otherwise you’d just have me killed, or get Yvonne to control my mind and make me say only what you want to hear.”
    Cross flipped open his suitcase and checked the contents. “Could be.”
    Then Laurie said, “Ah…I’ve just realized why you’re not letting Yvonne take control of Colin.”
    “And why’s that?”
    “Because her mind-control power makes her very dangerous. You’re doing this to prove to Yvonne that you don’t need her for everything.