progress, in the name of convenience. Garner would see to it. He always had. He always would, until he was returned to Her loving embrace to become one with Her again.
Micki closed her eyes and swallowed hard against the urge to laugh out loud at the joy of it. She knew the slightest hint of a smile now would be enough to tip off Victoria to the truth later, after Victoria had taken the time to re-create the event and retrace every movement the flight and ground crews had made. No, Micki knew that right now she had to be as shocked and horrified as the rest of the—
Her gaze shifted to the doorway and she felt the wind knocked out of her as both Victoria and Dennis burst through the door.
Dennis.
Small black pinpricks sparkled at the edges of her vision. Micki knew that in seconds she would faint.
The heady triumph drained out of her as she realized they had failed. Wendy had failed.
Dennis was alive.
I have to get a grip on myself
.
Focusing on an unmoving point on the far wall, she took several slow, deep breaths and let her vision clear before she met their eyes.
The expression Dennis wore was a mixture of cold fear and hot fury, and he was panting from either exertion or shock, maybe both. Victoria, as usual, looked unruffled, but her face was pale and her disturbingly blue eyes seemed too big for her small face.
Hiding her anger fed into a renewed strength of purpose. Micki rose slowly and dropped the remote control for the monitors onto the pristine surface of Dennis’s desk.
The games are about to begin
.
Victoria was two steps behind Dennis when he burst into the office. She was trying to formulate strategies though she had nothing but a single fact to go on: The plane was gone.
“Micki, what happened?” Dennis bellowed.
Micki seemed almost stunned for a moment as they entered the room, but quickly composed herself. Looking as calm as could be hoped for under the circumstances, she reached up to fiddle with and remove her earpiece. She gave Dennis and Victoria a level, detached stare as she came around the desk to meet them.
“Ten minutes ago we lost the
Gaia
, her crew, and all passengers on board, Dennis. It went down four miles inside our territorial boundary. That’s all I know,” Micki replied, her normally soft and musical Alabama drawl constrained with tension. “I initiated the Code Black response and immediately shut down all communication links between the island and the outside world, with the exception of the secure satellite link to the embassy. I’ve ordered a team to be sequestered to review the last twenty-four hours of all comms traffic, incoming and outgoing. I’ve scrambled a search-and-recovery team and ordered the
Sylvia Earle
and the
Wangari Maathai
to sail for the crash site,” she said, referring to two of the research vessels attached to the Climate Research Institute. “The
Marjory Stoneman Douglas
was already in the area and should reach the crash site at about the same time as the search team. They might be there already.”
Victoria was leaning against the wall, waiting for the adrenaline rush to subside, during Micki’s calm recitation of her actions. Micki had done exactly what she should have done, by the book. Victoria shouldn’t be surprised, really, considering that they’d run countless tabletop drills for allpossible emergencies. That Micki had handled everything so coolly and efficiently showed an extraordinary presence of mind under what were shocking circumstances. Her response was stellar.
Then why do I have chills running down my back?
Victoria kept her eyes trained on Micki, as if she couldn’t tear them away. But there was nothing out of the ordinary about Micki. Drawn but calm, she was standing stock-still in front of Dennis’s desk, watching him as he paced like a caged animal.
“Do we know what happened?” Dennis barked.
“All we know so far is what we can see,” Micki replied quietly, tilting her pretty blond head toward the flat
Micki closed her eyes and swallowed hard against the urge to laugh out loud at the joy of it. She knew the slightest hint of a smile now would be enough to tip off Victoria to the truth later, after Victoria had taken the time to re-create the event and retrace every movement the flight and ground crews had made. No, Micki knew that right now she had to be as shocked and horrified as the rest of the—
Her gaze shifted to the doorway and she felt the wind knocked out of her as both Victoria and Dennis burst through the door.
Dennis.
Small black pinpricks sparkled at the edges of her vision. Micki knew that in seconds she would faint.
The heady triumph drained out of her as she realized they had failed. Wendy had failed.
Dennis was alive.
I have to get a grip on myself
.
Focusing on an unmoving point on the far wall, she took several slow, deep breaths and let her vision clear before she met their eyes.
The expression Dennis wore was a mixture of cold fear and hot fury, and he was panting from either exertion or shock, maybe both. Victoria, as usual, looked unruffled, but her face was pale and her disturbingly blue eyes seemed too big for her small face.
Hiding her anger fed into a renewed strength of purpose. Micki rose slowly and dropped the remote control for the monitors onto the pristine surface of Dennis’s desk.
The games are about to begin
.
Victoria was two steps behind Dennis when he burst into the office. She was trying to formulate strategies though she had nothing but a single fact to go on: The plane was gone.
“Micki, what happened?” Dennis bellowed.
Micki seemed almost stunned for a moment as they entered the room, but quickly composed herself. Looking as calm as could be hoped for under the circumstances, she reached up to fiddle with and remove her earpiece. She gave Dennis and Victoria a level, detached stare as she came around the desk to meet them.
“Ten minutes ago we lost the
Gaia
, her crew, and all passengers on board, Dennis. It went down four miles inside our territorial boundary. That’s all I know,” Micki replied, her normally soft and musical Alabama drawl constrained with tension. “I initiated the Code Black response and immediately shut down all communication links between the island and the outside world, with the exception of the secure satellite link to the embassy. I’ve ordered a team to be sequestered to review the last twenty-four hours of all comms traffic, incoming and outgoing. I’ve scrambled a search-and-recovery team and ordered the
Sylvia Earle
and the
Wangari Maathai
to sail for the crash site,” she said, referring to two of the research vessels attached to the Climate Research Institute. “The
Marjory Stoneman Douglas
was already in the area and should reach the crash site at about the same time as the search team. They might be there already.”
Victoria was leaning against the wall, waiting for the adrenaline rush to subside, during Micki’s calm recitation of her actions. Micki had done exactly what she should have done, by the book. Victoria shouldn’t be surprised, really, considering that they’d run countless tabletop drills for allpossible emergencies. That Micki had handled everything so coolly and efficiently showed an extraordinary presence of mind under what were shocking circumstances. Her response was stellar.
Then why do I have chills running down my back?
Victoria kept her eyes trained on Micki, as if she couldn’t tear them away. But there was nothing out of the ordinary about Micki. Drawn but calm, she was standing stock-still in front of Dennis’s desk, watching him as he paced like a caged animal.
“Do we know what happened?” Dennis barked.
“All we know so far is what we can see,” Micki replied quietly, tilting her pretty blond head toward the flat
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