Who could have predicted the mouse would have a Nife? Talon had played it smart, kept it hidden until the last possible moment. But in the end, even that hadn’t been enough.
Sata plummets into the Tesla field. He’s already pressed the ionizer button, shielding his suit against the incredible amount of electrical energy. The whole world turns bright blue.
Bringing the TEV close to his face, Sata squints at the clock.
1:01… 1:00… 0:59… 0:58…
This next part is going to be tricky. Sata should still be able to vanquish most of Chicago, but he’ll have to aim it manually. He won’t be able to implode as wide of an area, but Sata hears a tremendous thunderclap, louder than anything he’s ever experienced before, and at the same time sees a flash of superb right light.
Then he doesn’t see anything at all.
Sata understands what just happened. The ionizer is supposed to form a defensive antistatic barrier around his suit. But when Talon had slashed his visor, he’d also put a hole in the ion shield. Lightning, like water, takes the path of least resistance.
The Mastermind screams.
He screams at his miscalculation.
He screams at the ruination of his calculated plan.
He screams at the mouse, who somehow managed to beat him.
But most of all, he screams in pain, because both of his eyeballs have just exploded and are leaking all over his cheeks.
FIFTY-ONE
I braced my entire body as I fell into the Tesla field. You’d think I would have gotten used to being zapped by electricity by now, having been subjected to enough volts to power a small city for a year, but the thought of the ensuing pain still made me want to curl up in a fetal position and suck my thumb.
Incredibly, the pain didn’t come.
Everything became bright blue, and thousands-millions-of lightning flashes streaked sideways, diagonally, up and down, all around. Beautiful, and potentially deadly. But none of them zapped me.
I credited the ionizer button, and then tilted my body face-first, looking for Sata.
Incredibly, I found him.
Even more incredibly, he was the one curled up fetal, clutching the TEV to his chest. By dipping my shoulders I was able to increase my rate of descent. We both fell through the bottom of the Tesla field and into open sky just as I bumped into him.
The TEV went spinning off, away from us.
I stared at my mentor for a moment, saw the blood caking the inside of his visor, and wondered if he was even still alive. Then his fist shot out and he chucked me under the chin, knocking me away as he sailed off in the opposite direction.
It wasn’t even a choice of what to chase. I splayed out my arms and legs to slow down, then went after the TEV.
I didn’t know how much time I had left, but I figured I wouldn’t have a second chance if I screwed up. The TEV was spinning like a top. Depending on how long the wormhole stayed open, it could potentially swallow up a good portion of the earth, along with me, the moon, and anything else the lens passed over. I sidled up close to it and reached out a finger, giving the corner a tap. It slowed the spin enough for me to read the counter.
0:11… 0:10…
Rather than freak out, I brought my arms in closer to my body.. .
Increasing my speed…
And accidentally bumped the TEV out of reach.
0:08… 0:07…
The very definition of calm and cool, I once again accelerated.. .
Carefully stretched out my hand…
Accidentally bumping the TEV out of reach again.
I didn’t get this far to lose because of panic or impatience. Plus, my nudges weren’t a total loss. I’d managed to get it to stop spinning.
Unfortunately, the lens was now facing the earth. And, be it coincidence or some omnipotent force controlling the universe who enjoyed irony, the TEV was aiming right at Chicago.
0:05… 0:04…
The wind blew me off to the side. I dropped my right flank…
Sped up…
Got in close again…
And clasped my arms around the TEV – accidentally bumping it out of reach for the third time.
0:03… 0:02…
Fuck being careful.
I plowed into the damn thing hard, wrapped my arms around it, and aimed the lens at the giant blue expanse of Lake Michigan.
The TEV shuddered, and I heard a whump.
As I stared, a section in the middle of the great lake hollowed out, like a giant ice-cream scoop had been taken to it. Millions-maybe billions-of gallons of water vanished.
Then the water filled in the indentation, rushing back on all sides at once, causing the blue to turn white with an enormous splash.
Chicago was safe. Plus I still had the TEV, which could be used to bring Boise back.
I allowed myself a small grin. All in a day’s work. Cue the applause.
Compared to saving eight million people at the last possible second, the remainder of the free fall should be cake. I wrapped the TEV strap around my wrist and hit button “5” for cruciform.
The square parachute billowed open above me-a jarring sensation but nothing I wasn’t able to handle. The toggle ropes dropped down next to my hands and I grabbed them tight, braking and steering and making my way north up the coast of Lake Michigan, miles past Chicago.
Opening my chute this high above the earth’s surface meant a long and turbulent descent. I spent the time alternating between adjusting my course and scanning the skies for Sata.
I didn’t see him.
I postulated on his survival rate. From the blood inside his helmet, I guessed his eyes had popped in the Tesla field. He could have still released his chute and landed safely, but my fifteen-minute scan of the sky didn’t reveal him.
I turned my thoughts to Vicki, Alter-Talon, Teague, Boise, and the poison coursing through my system. Hopefully I’d be able to wrap up some of these loose ends, perhaps even with the authorities on my side. Certainly there were cameras at the Arthur C. Clarke Station, which showed Sata on his rampage. It would be nice to stop running and get some actual help instead. While I couldn’t figure out how the wormhole TEV worked, I had no doubt some government egghead could.
The wind got stronger, whipping me around. Though I was still a long way from safety, the adrenaline had worn off and I actually yawned. I adjusted my direction, heading toward Milwaukee and my wife.
That was when the first bolt of Tesla lightning hit me.
It was a big bolt, obviously from a Tesla Taser satellite. I should have guessed that once I fell into US airspace I was being monitored. My displacement of Lake Michigan water, instead of being viewed as a heroic act that saved a city, could have been mistaken for an attack.
Another bolt struck me, confirming my hypothesis. Luckily, Sata’s hypersuit deflected the charge. But I knew TTS would only be the first strike. Next would probably be – missiles. Two of them. Ground to air, coming up fast. I stared down between my legs and watched them rocket up at me, trailing long plumes of gray smoke.
