The Rift (21 page)

Roland surfaced, sputtering and splashing about. Moms pulled up next to him and put a hand out. Roland grabbed it and almost jerked her off the Sea-Doo and into the river. Then he got hold of the seat and pulled himself aboard.

“Are you all right?” Moms asked.

“I think so,” Roland said.

“Oh frak,” Moms muttered as she headed for the dock, because a “think so” from Roland meant he was hurt. She turned to Scout. “Nada just jumped from that chopper. Could you—” She hadn’t finished before Scout was racing away as the Blackhawk roared by, gaining altitude to clear the lines.

Ivar had his eyes closed, resting. He’d learned in the first month of Special Operations training to rest whenever there was an opportunity. This flight eastward out of Area 51 was one such opportunity.

They were on board a Snake, not
the
Snake, but the original prototype that didn’t have the up-to-date electronics that its follow-on production design boasted. It also didn’t have the chain gun mounted in the nose. Still, it flew, it could go vertical and horizontal, and it was available.

Ms. Jones was taking what she could get.

Doc and Ivar were in the cargo bay, surrounded by the various equipment cases scavenged off the Snake at the depot in Area 51. They were thirty minutes out from Knoxville.

Ivar stirred as the phone in his chest pocket vibrated. He pulled it out and stared at the screen: #&%!@

It might have been someone trying to express a profanity without directly saying it, but it wasn’t. Ivar reached into his thigh pocket and covertly pulled out a twin to the black orb he’d dumped into the water at the Can and held it in the palm of his hand. He kept the phone in the other.

And waited.

Nada looked up at the Sea-Doo. “You’ve grown.”

“Hey, Nada,” Scout said. “Climb on board.”

Nada clambered up behind Scout. “I’ve got a nephew,” he said proudly. “Just born.”

“Congratulations. Did they name him Nada, after his uncle?” Scout asked as she revved the engine and they headed for the dock.

“Nope. After his father. He’s going to be a junior.”

“Argh,” Scout said. “Ever notice there’s no Mary Junior or Nancy Junior? Junior’s a guy thing, as if they live on if their kid has their name. Shoulda named him Nada.”

“Wouldn’t that be Nada Junior?”

“Nah.” Scout expertly scooted alongside the dock, touching it without a bump. “You’re his uncle, not his dad. Coulda called him Nada Two, the sequel.”

Nada laughed as he climbed onto the dock. “One Nada is enough in the world.”

“And it isn’t even your real name after all,” Scout said. She
paused before driving the Sea-Doo onto the lift. “You ever going to tell me your real name?”

“Not tonight,” Nada said. “You gonna tell me yours?”

“Not tonight.” Scout drove over to the lift, positioned the Sea-Doo, and then hit the controls, pulling the machine up out of the water.

As she was doing that, Moms zoomed up, Roland behind her.

“Doc here yet?” Moms asked.

Nada did a quick count. “Nope. Why?”

“Roland’s hurt,” Moms said.

“I ain’t hurt,” Roland protested as he climbed off, his body stiff. “Just banged up a little.”

“What the fuck?” Mac asked. “Why’d you cut loose?”

Roland shrugged, keeping the wince off his face. “We’re on a mission.”

“Sometimes,” Mac said, “I think you’ve hit your quotient of dumb, then you do something more.” But at the same time, he was checking Roland’s ribs, probing.

Nada reached out and Kirk was ready with a comm link. Nada keyed the radio. “Doc? What’s your ETA?”

“Twenty minutes to Knoxville Airport. We’ve got all the gear. And we’re on board the prototype of the Snake. Eagle should be happy, although it’s missing some bells and whistles, including the gun.”

“Roger,” Nada said. “We’re going to check out the local area, but I’m sending Kirk and Eagle to the airfield to rendezvous with you. We’re still not sure what exactly we’re dealing with.”

“What else is new?”

Part of what they were dealing with was sitting underneath the metal skeleton holding up the power lines. Burns had attached a lead from the USB port to the leg of the tower. His fingers were flying over the keyboard, replaying what he’d picked up from Eden’s mind.

There was a crackle of gold running out of the computer, through the wire, up the leg, and into the power line.

Burns nodded, then pulled out his phone and sent his second message.

Ivar didn’t even bother to check the message. He just felt the phone vibrate in one hand and with the other he pressed the black orb.

“We’ve got Rift forming!”

One of the operators of the Can jumped to her feet as the clicking alert sounded and flashing lights made her words redundant.

The other operator turned to his comm station. As he lifted the phone to call Ms. Jones, an electromagnetic pulse rippled out of the orb deep inside the Can.

Everything inside the room went black.

Burns stood up as power came down out of the tower and into the laptop, and then to the small golden dot that was forming six feet beyond it and eight feet above the ground.

It would take time.

But he had time now.

It took the team some minutes to drag the pods up to the house and put them in the spacious four-car garage. They’d moved outside the SUV and Mercedes and four-wheel ATV that had occupied it.

“How many cars do you guys have?” Mac asked as he lugged in the last pod.

“Just the two,” Scout said.

“It’s like the wristwatches in North Carolina,” Eagle said, wanting to stop this one before it got out of hand. “You can have only two wrists, but lots of watches.”

“What’s the ATV for?” Mac asked.

“Taking the trash can up to the road,” Scout said.

“It’s that far?” Mac wanted to know.

“Dad has a bad back,” Scout said.

“Couldn’t you have done it?” Mac pressed.

Scout glared at him. “Dad wouldn’t let me. He likes his ATV.”

Nada turned to Scout. “How do you get to the airport from here? Doc and Ivar are there with the rest of our gear. And Eagle needs to pick up the Snake.”

“I can drive there,” Scout said.

“You’re too young,” Nada said.

“I’ve got my driver’s permit.” Scout reached in her pocket and pulled out her wallet. She carefully extracted said document and proudly displayed it.

All the Nightstalkers stopped for a moment and stared at her, realizing she’d grown and changed a bit in the year since they saw her last.

“Your hair is nice,” Kirk said, having a younger sister and a bit of a clue. “I like the new color.”

“Thank you.” Scout beamed.

“What was the old color?” Mac muttered, and Nada nudged him with an elbow hard enough to
send him sprawling to the floor.

“Who’s Ivar?” Scout asked. “I don’t remember an Ivar.”

“Mac, you go with Scout,” Nada said. “Eagle, you go, too, and figure out the new old Snake. Shouldn’t take long—you trained on it. Mac, hook up with Doc and Ivar, leave the boxes on the Snake, and bring the other gear in SUVs we can park in here. Let’s play this like we did in North Carolina.”

“Except Scout can drive,” Moms said.

“Oh goodie!” Scout exclaimed, grabbing a set of car keys off the rack near the door to the house. “Do I get paid?”