Tritium Gambit

  Chapter 36. Miranda

  I looked at the graviton bars Max had given me. When he had said there was a slight chance of implosion, I wondered how slight. I flipped the graviton bars into reverse, grabbed John, and jumped. We sped high into the air. I saw Max getting blasted below us and felt despair. I had left my partner behind with that twisted bitch, and he was going to suffer. Max was right, though. The Wendigo needed to be stopped, and Wendy probably wouldn’t kill him right away. We’d finish the mission and then come back for him.

  We weren’t entirely weightless, but the graviton bars made you feel like, if you tried hard enough, you could reach orbit. I wondered why they weren’t standard issue. We landed outside of Grand Marais on our second jump and turned off the bars. Humans might think it curious to see people bouncing through the sky.

  “We need to find a newsfeed,” John said. “We need to see if there have been any weird sightings in the last twenty-four hours.”

  I pointed at a place down the road. The sign over the door read: Cuppa Joe’s Internet Cafe and Deli. And a smaller sign read: No outside food. Free Internet Access with purchase of coffee.

  “I don’t actually have any money on me,” John said.

  “I do.”

  We walked in, and as John went to a computer, I ordered two cups of coffee and some sandwiches. I felt a little guilty about eating while I knew Max was getting tortured. I set the coffees and sandwiches down next to John. I took a coffee and left the sandwiches for him.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled between bites.

  He was flipping through newsfeeds and other websites. Eventually he stopped on a site that listed an Amber alert for a teenager missing near the town of Cloquet. The town was more than a hundred miles away, but it seemed possible for the Wendigo to travel that far.

  John cleared his search history and closed the browser. “We don’t have much to go on, but it’s the only lead we have. Let’s at least check it out,” he said.

  He finished the other sandwich I had left and grabbed his coffee.

  “I feel really bad about leaving Max behind. Did we do the right thing?” I asked.

  “Max understood that you needed to finish the assignment. He was willing to do what it takes. You respect him, of course.”

  “Yes, I respect him,” I said.

  “Then you’ll put his sacrifice to use and finish the assignment, and you won’t blame yourself for what he’s going through. Agents make sacrifices in the line of duty, and if you respect the agent, you have to capitalize on those sacrifices.”

  “Have any of your partners ever made sacrifices?” I asked. John didn’t answer. He kept walking toward the edge of town. I touched his shoulder. “Sheriff?”

  He sighed. “Yes, I’ve lost partners, but the job got done.”

  I knew John thought losing partners was part of the job, but I couldn’t imagine ever being okay with that. I lost my first partner, and my second was… I steeled myself and made the conscious decision that I wasn’t going to think about it now. I had a job to do and couldn’t go back for Max now.

  When we were out of the city limits and alone, I activated the graviton bars. They buzzed.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  “Not really, but let’s go.”

  I grabbed John’s arm and we began jumping down the road. Each leap took us a few miles. I followed the road to avoid getting lost.

  The feeling of jumping with the aid of the graviton bars was amazing, like I was flying. The thought that my jump could end in a black hole at any moment spoiled part of my high, but I tried to focus on the task at hand. When I glanced at John, his teeth were clenched. I was used to jumping fast, but maybe it was too much for others.

  When we landed again, I paused. “Do you need a moment?” I asked.

  He swallowed hard. “I’m fine. I only wish I hadn’t eaten anything.” He looked green. “Keep going.”

  I could empathize. I got motion sickness when I wasn’t the one driving or flying or whatever other mode of transportation, but when I was jumping, I always felt great no matter how fast I went. We bounced along for an hour before landing near a green sign: Duluth 1 mile. John vomited when we landed next to the sign.

  “Let’s walk for a little bit,” I said. He heaved again.

  I gave him a moment and watched the nearby trees. The day was still and quiet, and the trees stood motionless. A few years ago, before I joined the Academy, I would have found this scene peaceful. Now, I found it unnerving. An attack could come without warning at any moment, and I had to be ready for it.

  “Fine, we’ll walk for a few minutes, but we have to get to Cloquet tonight,” John said, and then he heaved again.