South Beach, Florida
Friday Afternoon
The surf laps gently along a deserted stretch of beach. The sun beats down upon a coconut tree, a gust of tropical air causing one of its fruit to fall. Sandpipers dip, then soar away, racing inland.
Immanuel Gabriel opens his eyes.
He is strapped within the bucket seat of the Amphibian, which has beached itself on shore. Releasing the shoulder harness, he turns around to face Lauren, who is strapped in the seat behind him. ‘Lauren? Lauren, wake up.’
She opens her eyes, spitting a strand of hair from her mouth. ‘Oww, my head… what happened?’
‘We got zapped by a taser. I managed to activate the autopilot before it hit us. Looks like we made it to Miami.’
He climbs slowly out of the cockpit, then helps her from her seat.
She hugs him, laying her head wearily against his chest. ‘Why were you at NASA?’
‘God, don’t ask. It was sort of, I don’t know… call it a family obligation. I’ll tell you about it later. What were you doing there?’
She pulls herself from his embrace. ‘I’m in real trouble. Someone killed Professor Gabeheart, and now they’re after me!’
‘Whoa, slow down. Who’s after you?’
‘Government thugs. Something’s happening in Yellowstone. We have to go public-’
ATTENTION.
They look up, startled.
It is a PAWS (Public Aerial Warning System), a flying vehicle operated by the Earth Systems Management Agency to assist in evacuating populated areas prior to storms.
THIS AREA HAS BEEN CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE ESMA. EVACUATE THE AREA AND REPORT TO A STORM SHELTER IMMEDIATELY OR FACE PROSECUTION.
‘Super-Cane Kenneth-I completely forgot.’
‘Come on.’ Sam climbs back in the Amphibian and tries the power switch.
Nothing.
‘ Fubitchshitting piece of junk.’
DO YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE?
‘No, no, we’re waiting to re-charge.’ Lauren activates the battery re-charger, then drags him out of the boat. The two hurry off the beach.
PAWS keeps pace, hovering twenty feet above.
She whispers frantically in his ear. ‘They’re watching both of our apartments.’
‘Who’s watching?’
‘Them! The guys who killed Gabeheart.’ She digs her nails into his arm. ‘One of them came for me in the lab. I hid under the computer decking. I heard him say they were watching my dorm. If they find me, I’m dead.’
They exit the beach, crossing Collins Avenue. South Beach is deserted. There is no traffic, not a single car or street vendor present.
‘Kind of spooky.’
‘Sam!’
‘Okay, okay-’ He looks around, then pulls her beneath a floating walkway. ‘All right, start from the beginning.’
Lauren tells him everything, showing him her scarred hand.
When she is through, he leans back against a lamp post, rubbing his brow. ‘Jesus, Lauren, how’d you get yourself into this mess?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘And you really think these people have connections within our government?’
‘Yes! Weren’t you paying attention?’
‘Okay, okay.’
‘Sam, that PAWS drone will alert the cops. We have to get out of here.’
He recalls Jacob’s last words. ‘I think I know somewhere we can go.’
Hangar 13
Friday Evening
The parking lot of Hangar 13 is filled beyond capacity.
HOPE employees are arriving by car and bus, board members by private helojet. An invading army of technicians and scientists, engineers and associates-all waiting their turn to view the alien starship berthed in the main hangar bay.
Inside the complex, away from the action, four people emerge from their hiding place beneath the Japanese A-frame.
The two bodyguards, Salt and Pepper, stand vigil at the front porch. Each is wearing an aluminum foil EMP suit, designed to shield their nervous systems from the effects of taser fire. Dominique is inside Jacob’s home, anxiously waiting for her son to finish working at his computer.
Mitchell Kurtz scans the atrium using his smart-glasses. ‘Here we go. Northern entrance. I see four guards, all carrying stun guns.’
‘They’re yours,’ says Pep. ‘I’ll get Dom and the kid.’
Jacob finishes uploading information from his computer terminal. ‘Computer, complete upload to mainframe, then erase all records… Password: Gabriel Alpha-Zulu-Delta-4 Ahau, 8 Cumku.’
UPLOAD COMPLETED. ALL RECORDS HAVE BEEN ERASED.
‘Jacob?’
‘Mother, listen to me carefully. Go with Salt and Pepper, they’ll get you out of here. Pick up Eve Mohr, then meet me at the rendezvous point.’
‘What about Manny?’
‘He’ll be all right.’ He forces a smile, then hugs her tightly. ‘Remember, do exactly what we talked about, and I’ll see you soon.’
Pepper yanks open one of the shoji panels, the powerful bodyguard literally tearing it from its frame. ‘We gotta go-now!’ He grabs Dominique by the arm, half-carrying her through the fragmented doorway.
She looks over her shoulder.
Jacob is gone.
Mitchell Kurtz glances up casually as four heavily armed Mabus security guards make their way across the bridge. ‘Evening, fellas.’
‘Don’t move. Don’t even blink.’
Kurtz smiles. In a millisecond, his thought energy is processed through the neural shunt connected to his biceps, igniting the taser strapped to his forearm.
The four guards drop like a house of cards.
Jacob is in the central garden of his home, seated in a lotus position. Registering the change in temperature, he opens his eyes.
Lilith is staring at him from the open shoji door. ‘Jacob?’
Jacob stares at her as if observing an approaching cobra, her smile electrifying his groin.
‘I always suspected you were still alive… always sensing the shadow of your presence.’ Her eyes flash violet. ‘You abandoned me!’
‘I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry? Is that all you have to say? You were my only friend, the only one who loved me. All of those promises… they were all lies.’
‘I did love you, Lilith, I still do.’
‘Bastard.’ She circles him, brushing her fingertips lightly across his chest and neck, their lips inches apart, the glow of their azure eyes reflecting off one another’s cheeks.
She moves closer, allowing her hip to brush against his groin.
