“And, so, as I promised, I refuse your request. You have only two choices, false prophet. Kill me now, and the Sword of Godflies within the hour. Your world will burn, and I will laugh at you from hell.
“Or, release me, and gamble that I will not launch my weapon just because you have offended me. It is your choice, but I amdone with waiting. I have power, and I must use it to help my people.”
Törökul crossed his arms and, unbelievably, smiled.
Will stared at him in silence and tried to figure out what the fuck he had been thinking when he assumed a twentysomethingwhite American guy would be able to convince a Central Asian warlord with a nuclear missile pointed at a city to do anythingat all. Törökul was never going to listen to him, would never believe a word he said. It had been so goddamn arrogant to thinkthat the Oracle could say a few words and boom, happy ending. The Site had been taking care of him for so long—keeping himalive, protecting him from presidents and lunatics in Laundromats and assassin grandmothers—that he just hadn’t really evenconsidered that this might not work.
But it hadn’t—of course it hadn’t. Arrogant.
Why had the Site spent so much time and effort, burned through so many lives, just to bring the world to the brink?
Either the Site wanted chaos, or it didn’t. If it didn’t, then there had to be an answer. There had to be a way to balancethe scales.
And with that thought, Will understood. At last, the pattern became clear.
Yes, the Site had done everything it possibly could to bring fear and misery into the world. It killed people, it made themafraid, it took away things they loved, it made them wonder if the future would even arrive at all.
But that was not all it had done.
The Site had created balance. It had created a roiling, spinning engine of chaos and doom, but it had also created a personwith the power to stop it.
Love him, hate him, fear him. It didn’t matter. Will Dando, the Oracle, was the most powerful person in the world, and itwas time to stop fighting the future.
“Leuchten,” Will said.
Tony Leuchten stepped into the circle of light. He didn’t say anything, but his body language communicated immense fury—hewas almost quivering.
“Look at Törökul,” Will told Leuchten.
Tony inclined his head and narrowed his eyes, but he did what he was told.
“Törökul,” Will said. “You know who this man is?”
Törökul nodded.
“He is your president’s”—the translator hesitated for a moment—“special friend,” the soldier finished, obviously choosinga diplomatic way to express the term Törökul had actually used.
Will saw Leuchten’s hands clench.
“He is the chief adviser to the leader of America,” Will said. “He speaks for the president. He is an extraordinarily powerfulman.”
Törökul nodded.
“Yes, I know this. So he told me. This is why he was sent to treat with me.”
“Here, Törökul,” Will said, “a gift.”
Will took a breath, held it, let it go.
“Captain, stop translating,” Will said.
The soldier nodded.
“Leuchten,” Will said.
Tony half turned to look at the monitor.
“Get on your knees in front of him.”
“Fuck you,” Leuchten said.
“Do it, or this whole thing’s done,” Will said. “You want that election, you want to save the world? Get down in the sand.”
“I represent the United States of America,” Leuchten said. “I can’t do it.”
“Do you really want that goddamn missile to launch, Tony? You can’t be that stupid. You can stop it right now. I’m tellingyou, I know what’s going to happen. I’m the Oracle, for fuck’s sake.”
Will smiled at him.
“Sometimes we all have to surrender to a higher power, Tony. Today, that higher power is me.”
Even through the monitor, Will could see Leuchten’s face flush. He slowly turned back to face Törökul.
Laboriously, Anthony Leuchten lowered himself to his knees, his eyes far away. Down in the sand, facing Törökul, the chiefof staff to the president of the United States of America bowed his head.
Törökul watched this happen, and then looked back at Will. His attitude had changed; for the first time since their conversationhad begun, Will saw a touch of respect in the other man’s face.
“Captain, start translating again,” Will said.
The soldier nodded, waiting.
“So here we are, Törökul,” Will said, “you and me. The men with all the power. You say you need to use yours to help yourpeople. I’m using mine for the same thing. I’m giving you my word, right now. When the biys come down from the mountains, the vote will be in your favor, twenty-three to twelve.”
Will waited for the soldier to translate his words, then continued.
“If you wait, you win. If you don’t, everyone dies. I can’t tell you what to do. But think about everything I could have donewith all this power I have, and then think about what I actually did here tonight. From one powerful man to another, justconsider that I am telling you the truth.”
Törökul watched Will’s face. Will felt calm, calmer than he had been in a long time, possibly since the dream.
The warlord glanced at Leuchten, still kneeling silently in the dirt, and then back up at Will. He looked off into the distance,his face blank, unreadable, and remained that way for perhaps thirty seconds.
Törökul spoke briefly.
“I will wait,” came the translation.
Will was dimly aware of sounds of relief erupting around him in the helicopter.
“Thank you,” Will said.
Tony Leuchten looked toward the screen, a question on his face. Will kept him waiting for a long moment, then nodded. Theother man slowly pulled himself to his feet. Once he was standing, Leuchten brushed sand from his clothes and gave Will alook of pure, burning hatred. Will was severely unimpressed.
“Thank you, Tony,” he said. “I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”
“You’re a son of a bitch,” Leuchten spat.
“Hey, pal, you were the one who wanted to work with me so badly. You get what you get, asshole,” Will said. “Let Törökul andhis men go.
