Emerald Sky (2 page)

When the bomb vest was revealed, he could
see it in much more detail this time. There were three wires: one red and two
blue. One of the latter was hanging loosely with a severed end. This confirmed
that there were in fact only two wires and he knew exactly which one he needed
to pull.

One down – two to go.

The scream came, just as he knew it
would. It was not only the victim who cried out. The hostage taker also made a
lot of noise, but in a language Jimmy found incomprehensible. He guessed the terrorist
wanted him on his feet.

As he rose, he remembered about the
newspaper. He tightened his right fist around it and used his fingers to bend
it in two, reinforcing its middle into a compact and rigid point. Sometimes
what he had to do was obvious and a sixth sense was not necessary.

With a powerful conviction that far
belied his slight build, Jimmy lunged toward the hostage taker, thrusting out
with the now lethally rigid paper. The terrorist reacted on instinct, but
without the unique hindsight of his foe. He pushed away the hostage and
redirected his blade at the young psychic.

With the woman safe, Jimmy did not
hesitate. He rammed the folded back newspaper into the terrorist’s chin,
smashing teeth and dislocating jaw, as the knife scraped impotently at its
sides.

The man fell to his knees. Jimmy twisted
his makeshift weapon in his hand, and wielding it like a club, he delivered a
knockout blow to the back of the assailant’s head with a heavy backhanded swing.
Like his predecessor, this man also wore a bomb vest, and once again, blue
proved to be the fortuitous colour.

With panic directing the crowd, it made
it difficult to locate the third and final terrorist without existential
assistance. The fact that no bomb had yet gone off revealed the terrorist’s
likely motives. They had intended to take hostages to use as leverage rather
than simply going for the easier act of outright murder and destruction.
Although Jimmy could not have come to this realisation earlier, it never
occurred to him that he may have acted rashly. Experience taught him to trust
his foresight. It never let him down.

Alarms sounded throughout the building.
Those who had not witnessed the scuffle assumed it was a standard fire drill
and left in a more controlled manner than those fearing an imminent detonation.

It would not be long until the police
arrived. Jimmy knew he must catch the third man quickly as his hero status
would not last for long once the authorities uncovered his identity; his
abilities
.
There were people out there who saw him as a much greater
threat to world peace than a single terrorist cell could ever be.

He ran down the corridor like he was
treading on hot coals, before passing through a door marked for the use of
staff only. This led past a kitchen area and onto another corridor, which
connected with the building’s second auditorium. Thanks to the earlier furore,
it was deserted. It was also where he found the final terrorist.

‘Don’t come any closer!’ the man screamed
in heavily accented English, his hand holding a small box that was connected to
his deadly vest by a short black wire.

Jimmy did not need to be a psychic to
know this was the detonator. At least the man spoke the same language and could
maybe be reasoned with. Reason was always Jimmy’s favoured method of
persuasion.

‘It’s okay,’ Jimmy shouted back, for
there was at least twenty feet separating them. ‘I don’t care if you get away.
Just take off the vest and I’ll let you walk out of here unharmed. You have my
word.’

‘What worth has the word of an infidel?’
the terrorist replied, standing at the centre of the stage. Elevated. Superior.

Before he was able to respond, Jimmy’s
foresight revealed that the stakes were no longer quite so high. Lying at the
terrorist’s feet was an exact, though slightly translucent, copy of the man.
This thug was going nowhere and the bomb would not be detonated. Jimmy was free
to leave with the knowledge that when the S.W.A.T. team arrived they would
complete the job for him. For all he knew, a sniper was already within range,
so he would do well to make his escape quickly.

‘You win,’ Jimmy called out. ‘I’m going.
You’re free to do whatever you want.’

He backed away; ever vigilant for the
forewarnings should they come. It was then that he saw the other person in the
room.

It was a man with a masked face, clad in
black body armour, carrying an assault rifle, and most definitely in the here
and now. The gun was pointed at the terrorist rather than Jimmy, indicating
which side this newcomer was on.

The terrorist sensed the change in
Jimmy’s demeanour and in altering his gaze to match Jimmy’s, he made the worst
possible mistake.

The marksman did not hesitate.

The shot was greatly magnified by the
flawless acoustics of the room and was followed instantaneously by the impact
of the bullet into the terrorist’s wrist.

It took its target’s hand clean off and
the detonator along with it. Then without pausing to show mercy or remorse, the
gunmen threw down his rifle and replaced it with a smaller, more compact
weapon. This too was fired before the terrorist could even process what was
happening to him.

A small dart impacted into his neck
causing him to collapse into a limp heap on the floor. His moment of triumph,
if ever he had one, was well and truly over.

‘Not so fast,’ the gunman called out as
Jimmy turned toward the exit.

‘It’s okay,’ Jimmy replied, attempting to
buy time. ‘He was the last one.’

The man did not flinch.

‘This isn’t over,’ the gunman said. ‘My
intel informs me the vest is likely to be fitted with a failsafe device. If so,
the bomb will be programmed to revert to a timer should its host be killed.
That tranquiliser has lowered our friend’s heart rate to a whimper. The sensors
will not be sensitive enough to distinguish between forced unconsciousness and
death. I’d say we have less than thirty seconds before it goes off.’

Thirty seconds was well within Jimmy’s
psychic threshold. If that bomb was going to blow, he would have known about it
by now.

‘Well, you better do something about it,’
he told the gunman. ‘All you have to do is pull the blue wire’

‘Not me, Jimmy – you.’

Jimmy was still unconcerned. So the man
knew his name. Probably knew his secret too, but it mattered not. If it came to
apprehending Jimmy or defusing a bomb; there was only one logical choice to make.
The guy had to be bluffing.

Jimmy decided to go for the door.

‘Twenty seconds,’ the man said.

‘In that case, you better hurry,’ Jimmy
replied.

He sensed no danger coming from the exit
and knew it was clear. They had tried to ambush him before and each time they
had failed. Fate was always on his side. There were no others, just this lone
gunman. The man had to be bluffing.

The appearance of another vision soon
changed Jimmy’s mind as a ghostly foreshadow of his near future ran straight through
him and towards the bomb. This left him with no option other than to take
another step forward, turn and obey his fate.

Usually, Jimmy would have nothing to fear
from a sniper’s bullet. No matter what, he would always have the element of foresight.
However clean and precise the aim, he would always be able to intuit its
trajectory. This time, however, the shooter knew exactly when and where to make
the perfect shot.

As Jimmy grasped hold of the blue wire,
the tranquiliser dart hit him squarely in the wrist. He was not even sure if he
had made the required pull as the world around him descended into a haze.

The last thing he saw was a digital clock
counting down.

00.04

00.03

00.02

00.01

...and then blackness.

Chapter 2

She could see she was losing them. Even
the ones who were still looking at the whiteboard had one eye on their phones.

In a town where the biggest employer was
a potato chip factory, not too many of the kids were interested in theoretical
physics. All they really cared about was gossiping over who was dating whom and
the location of the next after school party. If her success as a teacher was to
be judged solely on what her students took out of her lessons, she was not
really earning her pay-check.

It had not always been this way. There
was a time, not too long ago, when she could easily have taken up tenure at any
university, not just in the country, but the world. Her chosen field was highly
competitive, but such was the magnitude to which she excelled that she had no
peers. She could effortlessly rewrite any of the standard text books lining the
shelves of her classroom and completely redefine mankind’s understanding of
science in the process. To do this, would, of course, draw a great deal of attention.
As it was, the disinterested reaction of her students was just the kind of
reaction she needed - from everybody.

When the final bell sounded, she did not
know who was more relieved; her or them. She cast a last feeble reminder about
homework onto deaf ears and then watched as the students shuffled out of her
classroom.

She was not yet alone, however. One girl
deliberately held back in the doorway, waiting for the others to leave.

It was Amy Brewster; a bright girl - her
most promising student and one of only a few in the class with the potential to
go on to university after graduation.

‘What can I do for you, Amy?’

The girl clutched her textbooks to her
chest like a comfort blanket, whilst staring awkwardly at her feet.

‘Um, er, um...’ her voice mirrored the
rhythmic thrum of a didgeridoo.

‘If this is a problem to do with
schoolwork, I’d be happy to give a little extra tuition. And since it’s you,
Amy, I won’t even charge my usual fee.’

The girl relaxed into a smile.

‘Don’t be daft, Miss; nobody would pay
you to teach.’

‘You’re right. This isn’t really my job,
you know. I’m actually here because of a court order. Teaching high school kids
is a form of community service. It’s the same with all the teachers at this
school.’

‘Even Mr Roberts?’

‘Tax fraud.’

‘And Miss Andrews?’

‘Soliciting.’

‘She’s a lawyer?’ Amy displayed a look of
puzzlement.

‘Actually, no – that’s a different crime
altogether, but it’s probably best you didn’t get that one. Suffice to say,
she’s bad.’

‘And the Headmaster?’

‘He fixed the Melbourne Cup. Biggest
betting scam in history – I’m surprised you didn’t read about it.’

‘I must have missed it. What about you,
Miss – what did you do?’

‘I was caught speeding.’

‘Speeding – is that all?’

‘What do you mean “is that all”? I was
going really fast, you know.’

‘How fast?’

‘Faster than anybody has gone before.
Faster than the speed of light.’

Amy shook her head, but her expression
was one of satisfaction.

‘Now I know you’re lying, Miss. Nothing
can go faster than the speed of light. Even Einstein knew that.’

Amy rolled her eyes to emphasise how
silly it was not to be privy to so simple a concept devised by the man many
thought to be the greatest scientific thinker of all time. Her teacher liked it
when the pupils thought big.

‘Einstein doesn’t impress you?’

‘Well, yeah, I suppose. The thing is; he
died a long time ago. There’ve been loads of discoveries since then. He didn’t
know half the stuff we do. But I do know he was right about the speed of
light.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely certain. Nothing can travel
faster than the speed of light.’

‘So you do agree with me!’

This wiped the smile from Amy’s face. She
aimed her firmest frown directly at her teacher.

‘No, I don’t. NOTHING can travel faster
than the speed of light.’

‘Okay, okay, calm down,’ replied her
teacher. ‘Perhaps I should explain. Tell me, Amy, what exists in the space
between galaxies?’

‘Nothing, Miss – it’s just space.’

‘Exactly, yet the expansion of the
universe continues to accelerate. In fact, it is moving in all directions
without any boundary. This nothingness does not pay heed to any laws. The fact
the observable universe is many light years bigger than it is old proves this
point. Therefore,
nothing
can travel faster than the speed of light.’

The girl struggled not to let go of her
fragile grip on the conversation.

‘So what drives space to expand so
rapidly, Miss?’

‘Nobody is sure. Dark energy is the best
bet; it accounts for ninety percent of all space, yet we know virtually nothing
about it. Can you imagine the possibilities? What if somebody could find a way
to manipulate this dark energy? What if we could somehow ride through space
like a surfer does a wave?’

Amy giggled.

‘Is that what you did, Miss?’

‘Do you really think I’d be here if I had
that sort of power? And anyway, if I wanted to be a surfer I would have picked
a school on the coast. Now I believe you wanted to see me about something.’

The girl sighed.

‘Yes, Miss, but I don’t think this is as
simple as just breaking the light barrier. You see, it’s about my uncle. He’s
really ill. Nobody tells me anything, but I think he’s going to die soon. All
the grown-ups have been acting really weird, like nobody wants to say it, but I
know it’s true.’

‘Are you close to your uncle?’

‘I guess so. I mean, I don’t see him all
that often, but it would be really strange if he was gone.’

‘Would you miss him?’

The girl tensed at the callous
implication of the question.

‘Of course, Miss – he’s my uncle. It’s
just that I’ve never known anybody who died before.’

‘And why do you think I would be able to
help?’

The girl paused to consider the question.
When she thought about it, there was nothing that her teacher could do.

‘I’m sorry, Miss. Maybe you’re not the best
person to ask. It’s just...’

Her voice trailed away behind the shelter
of the textbooks she was pressing ever closer to her body.

‘It’s just what, Amy?’

The girl’s demeanour shifted once more.
This time she seemed agitated, angry even. When she spoke, it was with raised
octaves and in a tone that did not fit the usual student teacher dynamic.

‘It’s just that everybody says all we can
do to help is to pray,’ she shouted. ‘They have all given up. They say that
what happens is in God’s hands, but that isn’t true, is it, Miss? I’ve read
those books you gave me and they all say there is no God. There is nothing.
Sometimes we are happy and sometimes we are sad, but in the end we are always
sad and then there is nothing. People don’t just die – they lose
everything
.
And it’s all for nothing.’

Amy’s teacher recognised the pain the
young girl was feeling. She once wrestled with the same emotions herself. That
first loss at such a difficult age could often prove to be a tipping point in
any young person’s life. A girl who promised to be her biggest success as a
teacher could yet prove to be her biggest failure.

‘Forget about the books for a moment,
Amy. What do you think happens when we die?’

‘I don’t know, Miss. I guess nothing
happens – we just die.’

‘What about the law of conservation of
energy – can you remember what that is?’

The girl thought for a moment, fighting
the temptation to run to one of the books lining the classroom walls.

‘The law of conservation of energy states
that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can change form, but the amount
of total energy in the universe must always remain constant. I don’t understand
how that can be of help. I’ve thought about this before and it just proves that
God really can’t exist.’

‘What makes you think that, Amy?’

‘Well, if we had a soul then that soul
must’ve been around since the beginning of time. That means my soul is billions
of years older than I am. If that’s the case, why can’t I remember anything
from before I was born?’

‘Your soul is not that old – just the
energy that created it. If you break everything down small enough you’ll see
that all there really is in this universe is energy. That energy becomes
compressed and combines in many different ways that go toward creating
everything around you, from the rocks and the trees, to the people and the
animals, and even the stars in the sky. With each cycle it renews itself, but
just maybe a little piece of that energy doesn’t get thrown back into the mix.
What if we all leave an impression upon a small part of the energy that will
last – like footprints on the moon?’

‘But where would it go, Miss? Energy can’t
escape this universe. Even if Heaven existed, we’d still have no way of getting
there. Wouldn’t we all just be turned into ghosts and be stuck haunting the
world forever?’

‘Not if Heaven was a place within the
universe. What if when you die, the smallest part of energy that still
contained the essence of who you were is able to cast out into the universe and
find this Heaven? Who knows, maybe it just needs to surf on a wave of dark
energy to get there.’

The girl finally allowed her shoulders to
relax and lowered the books away from her body. They had come full circle and
she
did
feel better for it.

‘Is that what you believe, Miss?’

‘I don’t think it’s important what we
believe, just that we do believe. You shouldn’t trust religion, but you should
not solely rely on science either. All you need to believe in is the glorious
possibilities of an open mind. The only certainty in life is that one can never
be certain. If we can never be certain then anything is possible. Do you
understand?’

‘Not really – but I do feel better. Thank
you, Miss.’

She hovered a moment in the doorway
before deciding there was nothing more she could think to ask at that time.

‘I have to go now. I really enjoyed this
talk, so thanks again. Goodnight, Miss Rose.’

Her teacher smiled. The pay was terrible
and recognition did not come often, but when it did it was worth a thousand Nobel
Prizes.

‘Thank you, Amy. And you know, after the
bell has gone I’m not really your teacher anymore. Miss Rose is so formal. Why
don’t you call me Alex?’

The girl giggled at being presented with
such a grown-up privilege.

‘Okay, Miss...I mean, Alex. When I grow
up I want to be just like you.’

It was a well intended compliment, but
one her teacher hoped with all her heart would never come to pass. The girl had
the youth and the brains to achieve anything she put her mind to. It would be
such a shame if she were to throw all of that away and become a fugitive.