The Ethereal Vision

CHAPTER 21 — ALLEGIANCE

  Charlotte Jenkins approached Lucas’ office slowly with a coffee held in both hands in front of her. It took tremendous effort not to let the trembling in her hands show as she neared the door. Only a few shallow breaths got through her tightened chest cavity. She knocked on the door and entered after a few seconds.

  “Good morning, sir. I have some information about the radical faction—Ethereal End—that you’re going to need to hear.”

  He glanced up from his monitor just for a second, then continued typing. Charlotte set one of the coffees on his desk carefully and took into her hand the tablet that she had been holding under her arm.

  “I’m not sure if you’ve received word from the committee…”

  “I have. They said the threats are real. They’re going to come at the facility unless we release the ethereals. I know.”

  “Yes. The Ukrainian ambassador has a contact somewhere, an insider. They don’t know when, but all evidence suggests that something’s going to happen in the next few days.” He didn’t respond to this, but simply kept typing, as though the conversation had already been concluded. “Perhaps it’s a good time to evacuate now?”

  “No. They’re sending extra security; it will be fine.”

  Her mouth gaped open, but she closed it quickly. He turned and looked at her now.

  “Uh, sir, with respect, that seems to be a dangerous supposition. The Hong Kong facility is considering a complete evacuation to a safe site, and there is every indication that the faction is coming here first.”

  “That’s a trick. Hong Kong will be hit first.”

  Charlotte recoiled at these words, and a sick feeling overcame her at the mere fact that he was talking so casually about such an issue; she knew people’s lives were at risk.

  “I don’t think that’s…”

  “Miss Jenkins. You’re my assistant, so please, with regard to these issues, keep your mouth shut. We’re not leaving here until I have what we need.”

  She suddenly lost all sense of fear. A steely expression took over her face. “From Connor, you mean,” she said flatly.

  “Yes. From Connor.”

  “Sir, I think under the circumstances, the committee would understand if we evacuated—with or without a clear directive.”

  “That’s not the point.” He clasped his hands and rested his chin on them. “I don’t care about Ethereal End. You know the function of this facility has shifted, Miss Jenkins—to state the obvious—to state what nobody else will. We have an object of unknown origin in the ocean, and a group of people who appear to have some connection to it. One of them, a girl with enormously powerful ethereal abilities, appears to have an even greater effect on this object. We’re not going anywhere until we find out what that is.”

  The conversation was over. She nodded and turned to leave. She closed the door behind her and took a left outside the office, heading for the front doors. She felt the familiar panic rise in her chest as she approached the exit. She dropped the tablet on a counter near the door and swiped her wrist on the security panel.

  She smiled at Wayne, the chief of security, as she passed the lobby and the blank wall to the right, where she knew a scan of her body would be taken. She exited through the left side of the many glass doors that lined the front of the entrance, then ran around the corner to the side of the building. She crouched low on the ground and began to gasp desperately for air as her lungs seemed to close on her. It took her a full ten minutes to relax and get her breathing under control as she stared up at the cold but beautiful blue sky.