The Reckoning: Quantum Prophecy Book 3 (11 page)

Razor lifted his head. “Even me?”

“No. You go back to work on the armor.”

“Am I allowed to eat first?”

“You’ve got five minutes.”

Razor groaned and allowed his head to drop down again.

Danny and Renata followed Impervia out of the room and down to Ops, where they found almost everyone else crowded into the small room.

“Everything is changing,” General Piers growled. “Everything. The media battle we’re fighting with the Trutopians is not going well. Kinsella and his people are smart: They know how to use the system and they are shaking the public’s confidence. Congress has been talking about us. We do
not
want Congress talking about us.” He turned to Danny and Renata. “Tonight’s patrol of Topeka is canceled. I want you training as much as possible over the next few days. You’re to prepare yourselves for a trip to Romania to bring back your friend.”

Danny froze in the act of biting his nails. “You found Colin?”

“Almost. He made a phone call to your friend Brian McDonald. We traced the call to a Trutopian community in northern Romania. We know that Kinsella is also in Romania right now. If he can successfully enlist Colin to the Trutopians, they’ve won. We have a team scouting it out now, but the Trutopians are making things difficult for us.”

“They’re not talking?”

“No, worse. They
are
talking. Every one of them who spoke to Colin or even just saw him has come forward and they’re telling us everything in extreme detail.”

Danny put his hand in front of his face to hide his grin.

“As soon as we pinpoint him, we’ll be sending you in to bring him back. The Trutopians won’t like that. You’re going to have to go in covertly.”

Warren Wagner said, “General, it doesn’t matter how you approach him. If Colin doesn’t want to come back to us, you won’t be able to persuade him.”

“We will. We have to. Colin is by far the most recognizable
and popular of the New Heroes. We’re going to need the good publicity his return will generate, because our strategists are predicting that Kinsella’s next move will be to reveal what happened with Mina and Yvonne. The Trutopian spin doctors are going to make it look like the girls were held here against their will.”

Renata said, “Well, they
were
! That’s no way to treat a human being. Why were they even here to begin with? Yvonne told us that they’d been here all their lives. Why? Superhuman abilities don’t show up until you reach puberty. Did you know that they’d become superhuman? Was one of their parents a superhuman?”

Everyone in the room fell silent, watching the general.

He cleared his throat. “Their background is classified.”

Danny said, “If we ever encounter Yvonne again, it’d help to have all the information about her. I mean, we all thought she was just very smart and very strong, but it turned out she had mind-control too.” Danny realized he was staring at Max Dalton as he said this. “Oh my God…. Are you their father?”

Max shook his head. “No.”

“Josh, then? Or is your sister their mother?”

“There is no genetic connection between my family and theirs.”

“The matter is closed,” General Piers said.

Renata stood up. “If you want us to do your dirty work, General, then you’re going to have to start treating us better. Tell us everything we need to know about Yvonne or I’m walking out of here. I mean it.”

The old man regarded her for a moment. “Yes. I believe you do.” He nodded to Impervia. “Tell them.”

Impervia said, “Yvonne and Mina were found on the day of the final battle with Ragnarök. Paragon discovered them in one of Ragnarök’s hideouts.”

Renata’s mouth dropped open. “Their father is
Ragnarök
?”

“In a way, yes. We haven’t been able to determine the extent of the work Ragnarök did. Our interrogations have proved almost fruitless. All we have really learned is that Yvonne and Mina are the only two who survived. This is why we brought Mrs. Duval to Sakkara. She’s the only link we have.”

“You’ve lost me,” Danny said. “What do you mean they’re the only two who survived? How many children did he have?”

“We believe there were six,” Impervia said, “but only Yvonne and Mina survived. When Paragon found them, they were suspended in an amniotic fluid inside artificial wombs. They were about three years old. They’d spent their entire lives in glass jars. Renata, you said that keeping Mina and Yvonne here was no way to treat a human being.” She sighed. “Strictly speaking, those girls are not human.”

Caroline Wagner said, “Oh my God. They’re clones.”

“Yes. Ragnarök cloned himself. Four of the six clones failed to gestate, but Mina and Yvonne survived. In fact, they flourished.”

“So Mrs. Duval…She’s their grandmother?”

Impervia nodded. “She is. But she doesn’t know that, and she’ll never find out.” She glanced at Warren. “If she won’t talk to you, she’s not going to talk to anyone. We’ve learned everything we can from her. She will shortly be leaving Sakkara.”

Façade asked, “Where are you taking her?”

Impervia ignored him. “I trust this matter is now closed and
your curiosity about Mina and Yvonne is satisfied. We have work to do, people.”

In the heart of the newly built Trutopian community in Wyoming, Yvonne sat in her sealed quarters, staring at the phone, waiting for Victor Cross to call.

She hadn’t spoken to him in over a day, and she knew why: Cross was feeling pleased with himself and he didn’t want her ruining the mood by reminding him that if Colin learned the truth he could—and probably would—destroy them all single-handedly.

Victor’s arrogant to the point of self-delusion,
Yvonne thought, running her hands through her long, jet-black hair.
He thinks his way is the only way. And he’s willing to step on anybody to prove himself right.

If I didn’t know the truth I’d swear that
he
was a Ragnarök clone too.

Yvonne had been eleven years old when she first realized that she was smarter than her sister. Within two months she was smarter than anyone in Sakkara.

It had taken her a week to hack into Sakkara’s computers, and a further week to decrypt some of the data taken from Ragnarök’s computers eight years earlier.

And that was when she learned where she and Mina had come from.

Yvonne had entered Mina’s bedroom to find her sister sitting on the wide window ledge, her head resting on the sloped glass, staring out at the hills that surrounded Sakkara.

It had been almost six months since they had been allowed outside: their birthday treat the day they turned eleven.

Each day they were allocated an hour of personal time, during which they were free to read, watch television, play games or do anything they liked. As long as it didn’t involve leaving the building, eating food that was on the “restricted” list, listening to music that General Piers didn’t approve of, being loud or getting in anyone’s way.

The rest of the day was spent studying or being subjected to tests by Sakkara’s technicians and scientists.

From the little television they had seen, they were aware that normal eleven-year-old girls were allowed to go outside, have friends, eat junk food, go to parties and have sleepovers where they could sit up all night and talk about the boys they liked.

Yvonne and Mina had never met any boys.

As the door hissed closed behind Yvonne, Mina’s shoulders sagged. Without turning around, she said, “No luck?”

“No,” Yvonne dropped on to the bunk and lay on her stomach, her face and arms dangling over the edge, her fingertips brushing the thin carpet. “I swear…General Piers is the most miserable old man in the world.”

“He’s not letting us out,” Mina said. It wasn’t even a question.

“He didn’t even look at me. Just said, ‘No.’ Just like that. He didn’t even
pretend
to be thinking about it.”

“You’re smarter than he is. You ought to be able to come up with a way to persuade him.” Mina finally turned to face her sister.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to keep us prisoner here. I mean, it’s illegal, right?”

Yvonne raised her head. “Technically, it’s not. Cloning is prohibited, therefore anything created through the process of human gene manipulation isn’t subject to human status. If we’re not humans, it’s not illegal to keep us locked up.”

“I just wish my superhuman powers would kick in! You’ve got your enormous IQ, and you’re way stronger than me. You’d think that clones would develop the same abilities at the same time.”

“People are more than just their DNA: There’re a lot of other factors that go into making a person.” Yvonne paused for a moment, thinking. “Though I’ve got a hunch that you
are
developing something…”

“Like what?”

“How did you know it was me who came into the room?”

Mina shrugged. “I just knew.”

“Maybe you’ve got some sort of telepathy.”

“I don’t think so…”

Yvonne climbed off the bed. “Just close your eyes for a minute, OK?”

Mina closed her eyes. “Now what?”

“Count to five and then tell me where I am.” Yvonne quietly moved toward the door.

Mina counted to five and pointed straight at Yvonne. “There.” She opened her eyes.

“You could hear me?”

“No, I just sort of knew.” Mina shuddered a little. “I never
really thought about it before, but…I think this has been happening for a while. I just seem to know where everyone is.”

“How does it work? Is it like X-ray vision?”

“Gimme a break. X-ray vision! That’d be weird. I’d be able to see through my eyelids. How would I get to sleep? And maybe, like, I’d forget to open my eyes and be wandering around and people would think I was sleepwalking. Here’s a thought, though: If I did have X-ray vision, then wouldn’t I be able to see out through the back of my head as well? How would I shut it off?”

And she’s off again,
Yvonne said to herself.
She’s like a dog with a bone when she gets started on an idea
. “Mina, where’s the general?”

“He’s in his office.”

“OK, that’s not a good test because you know I just went to see him. How about that new guy, Josh?”

Mina closed her eyes. “I can see you, you’re orange, but turning redder. Probably because you’re getting annoyed with me. Josh…I think…I
think
he’s heading into the dining hall. Yeah, it’s definitely him. Josh has that thing about him, you know? The aspect that only you and me have.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“He’s different.”

“He used to be a superhuman. Would that be it?”

“Could be,” Mina said. She opened her eyes. “I’d have to be able to see more people with the same aspect to be certain.”

“This is amazing,” Yvonne said. She took Mina by the hands. “You can’t tell anyone, OK? If they don’t know that you’re a superhuman, they might let you out one day. It’s too late for me because they already know about my intelligence, but you’ve got a chance.”

“I have to tell them, Yvonne. This is exactly the sort of thing they’ve been looking for.”

“They’ve already got me scheduled for
years
of tests. I don’t want you to have to go through that too.”

“But they’re always asking me if I’ve noticed any signs that I might be a superhuman. And, well, you know I’m no good at keeping secrets!”

“That’s because you talk too much!” Yvonne sighed. “Look, just promise me you won’t tell them.”

“No, I can’t make that promise.”

What does it take to get through to her?
Yvonne stared at her sister, and—as she spoke—tried to force the words into Mina’s brain.
“Promise me.”

Mina nodded instantly. “I promise.”

Yvonne stepped back and let go of Mina’s hands.
Wow. That was weird.
It had felt as though something invisible and intangible had jumped from her mind into Mina’s.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mina asked.

“No reason,” Yvonne said.
Did that really happen?

“You’re still doing it!”

I have to try that again!
“Mina…You do talk a lot to the others.” Yvonne concentrated as she had before.
“From now on, talk only when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Mina nodded.

“Understood?”

Mina nodded again.

She’s not responding verbally, because it’s not necessary for her to do so. Just like I ordered.

Yvonne moved away, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Maybe it only works on her, but…Maybe it’ll work on anyone. I need to check out the files on Max Dalton—he used to be able to control minds.

Yeah, some chance that the general will give me access to the files.

Then Yvonne smiled.

But if I
can
control people’s minds, then he wouldn’t be able to stop me.

I could do anything I wanted.

Anything at all.

Now, in her apartment in the Trutopian town, Yvonne thought,
Since then it’s worked on almost everyone I’ve met. Almost.

Wish it worked on Victor. Then we’d start getting some things done around here.

The phone finally rang and Yvonne grabbed for it. “What kept you?”

“Busy working with Colin,” Cross said. “I think he’s almost ready.”

“Almost? Just let me talk to him, Victor. I’ll make certain that he doesn’t drift back over to the other side.”

“Mind-control isn’t the answer to everything.”

“But it
is
the answer to the question, ‘How do we make sure that Colin Wagner doesn’t kill us all?’”

“Colin’s not a killer.”

Yvonne dropped into her armchair. “Maybe not. But he is a beater-upper when he needs to be.”

“So tell me, then. How would you play this out? The whole thing.”

“First I’d take control of Colin. Then I’d start making broadcasts
on the Trutopian cable network. They’d have to be done live, of course, but if we were careful we’d be able to do it without anyone actually seeing me.”

“And what would these broadcasts contain?”

“Instructions for all non-Trutopians to join up.”

“Go on.”

“Next, I’d contact the heads of state of the most powerful countries. Get them sympathetic to the Trutopians. After that, it’d be easy sailing.”