The Shadow Project by Herbie Brennan Page B

that,” Sir Roland said abruptly. “Opal would have to absorb…” He stared at Carradine intently, letting the sentence hang.
    â€œNot if we reroute,” Carradine said firmly. “We can keep her safe and still establish a minimal linkage. Any overflow will be looped back. We’re already monitoring her vital signs. If Danny makes contact, it will show on the equipment.” He began throwing switches.
    â€œTechnical matters,” George Hanover said to Danny, as if that explained something.
    Sir Roland turned to Danny as well. “You’ll have to make direct contact when you see her. Speak to her. Touch her. Something of that sort. Just make sure she is aware of you. We’ll do the rest.”
    They were all looking at him now. After a moment, Danny finally said, “All right.”
    Michael pushed himself forward to block Danny’s way. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.
    â€œNo,” Danny said, “but I’ll do it.”
    Michael still didn’t move. “We may be talking about Opal’s life here. I should be the one to go.”
    â€œYou’re in no state to go anywhere, Michael,” Carradine said gently. “Look at you—you can hardly stand.”
    Sir Roland said firmly, “Let Danny use the chair, Michael.”
    Michael hesitated, then moved reluctantly to one side. Danny hesitated, then climbed onto the chair. Everybody was watching him as if he was going to do something stupid, like make a break for it. The slumped body of the girl was in the chair beside him, so close that he could have reached out and touched her. But then Carradine was fastening the clamps around his wrists and ankles—doing it fast, too, as if he really didn’t want Danny to escape. It all felt too much like an execution for Danny’s taste.
    Carradine said reassuringly, “Just a precaution. It stops your body from falling out of the chair when you leave it.”
    â€œWe all get strapped in,” Michael said weakly. Hewas obviously fading, but he didn’t want to leave.
    Fran came over to put the cap on Danny’s head, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in an electric chair. In a minute somebody would throw a switch, and he’d be fried. “What’s—” He coughed to clear a throat that had suddenly turned dry. “What’s going to happen?”
    Former Bad Cop Fran was brisk and to the point. “You don’t have to worry, Danny. We’re not going to do anything until you’re ready. The cap establishes an electrical connection with your brain. Later on, you’ll have some scalp implants to make it easier, but we’ll have to run without them now. You won’t feel anything—”
    â€œMy head feels cold,” Danny said. Actually it felt really cold where the cap went on.
    Fran gave him a small smile. “That’s just the contact gel—it makes sure we have a proper connection. But you won’t feel anything else, I promise. So take your time and get settled. Then, when you tell me, I’ll switch on the power.”
    â€œTry to keep your mind a blank,” Carradine said. “It helps the targeting process.”
    â€œWhen you first arrive,” said George Hanover enthusiastically, “it won’t seem any different from actually being there. The target location is Lusakistan—”
    â€œLusakistan?” Danny gasped in sudden panic. Nobody’d told him he was being shipped out toLusakistan. There was a war on in Lusakistan.
    â€œIt’s all right,” Carradine said soothingly. “Distance makes no difference. It’s as easy—and as quick—to project to Lusakistan as it is to send you into the next room.”
    â€œIt only seems as if you’re physically there,” George Hanover said, moving closer to Danny’s real worry.
    Carradine added, “They could fire a bazooka and the shell would go