17.
The leader of the free world was much taller than Kitamura imagined. He towered over his staff in the Situation room.
Kitamura sat statuesque in a dim corner, waiting until the moment should come when Jasper needed something. They may as well have set up a children's table complete with coloring books to keep him and the other aides occupied while the adults talked threat levels.
Colonel Jasper stood at the round table surrounded by the Joint Chiefs. President Morgan and his cadre of advisors reached new shades of ghastly pale as they read through Jasper's report. The room was as quiet as a graveyard at dawn.
On the monitors, a satellite image showed the lab that, up until an hour ago, held the cloud seeding device. Kitamura wished he could read lips as he watched the President whisper to his Secretary of Defense. Perhaps it was better to be in the dark.
"Let me see if I have this right. You've lost one satellite, a space shuttle, and millions of dollars' worth of research equipment. You've poisoned a train to kill four teenagers and now you're looking to do what exactly?"
Kitamura cringed for Jasper. Looking at it that way, they did seem a dangerous combination of inept, anemic and trigger-happy.
"Do you have any evidence of their initial intentions before the situation escalated?" The President asked.
"I suspect their intention may not be dissimilar to ours when we encroach on a wildlife sanctuary to build condos."
"And that's how you see it? You think they're here to expand?"
"That's my take, Sir."
"Short of ordering a nuclear strike to wipe out all life there, how would you stop those four teens?"
"If we can locate where they are, we might be able to do a tactical missile strike with minimal damage. But I don't believe the UFO will let us, if it senses we're a threat to its mission. And if we fail here, we may not have an alternative aside from the unthinkable."
The faces in the room cracked as the realization that Jasper was suggesting using nuclear weapons sunk in.
"It can't come to that, Colonel," President Morgan said.
"We're doing everything we can, but from what we've seen, we should consider it a distinct possibility," Colonel Jasper replied.
"See to it we don't reach that stage," the President said.
*
The trio rode up the switchback like a band about to break up. The horizon remained grim and dark, as if the sun had no desire to come near this place. Max couldn't shake Doctor Tsang's tortured expression from his memory. Perhaps if he had done something differently, if he had taken the panic button, the man would still be alive. Just like the train, he had conjured a solution only to have it turn to smoke on him.
Jamie drove, looking back at Max from time to time as if making certain he was still there. Vincent climbed back to sit across from him. "I'm sorry about what happened back there. You have to admit, I have fair cause to be pissed. Just remember, he attacked us, just like they did on the train. They struck first again."
Max looked at the shimmering machine between them. "You don't have to spin it anymore. Just tell me the truth. Who's going to be left when this is over?"
Vincent stared at him, his affable, forgiving expression slipping away as if it were nothing more than a mask. "Pull over, Jamie, I need to talk to Max. He's at the edge and doesn't know which way to fall."
The van pulled over. Vincent opened the back door. Jamie moved to join them. "Stay with the device. Nothing matters more right now." Vincent turned to Max, "There's something you need to know before you make up your mind. Will you walk with me? If you want to go your own way afterwards, that's your call. But I think you owe me that much."
'Whatever you think you're doing, please don't. Come back. You're with us, don't go.' Jamie's voice was so soft it wouldn't disturb a candle's flame.
He looked back at Jamie. She had her hand out the same way she did when she reached for him the first time. Max wished he could take that hand now. Instead, he turned back to Vincent. The two started off together.
Sand devils swirled around them as they went deeper into the twisting mountain trail. Neither said a word, which only set Max more ill at ease. How had things spiraled out of control so quickly? Just days ago he felt like he'd found the closest thing to a brother he'd ever known. Now, it seemed entirely too real that Vincent was preparing to murder him.
They came to a narrow path where walls of red rock rose up on both sides. Strange cacti grew out of nooks, curved and twisted like tortured souls. Tiny lizards darted into tinier crevices. Max remained focused on the footsteps behind him. The moment they slowed, Vincent would make his move.
Howling wind snaked through the desert alley. Dirt blew so fiercely they had to shield their eyes until it died away.
"Where did I lose you? When did you choose them over us?" Vincent asked, as if seeking to understand the human condition, one that was so foreign to him.
"It doesn't have to be one or the other. I'm still the same as you; nothing has to change. Talk to the Eye; maybe there's another way," Max said, stalling while he figured out a way to strike first.
"We could have done great things together. I wish we did," Vincent said, his footsteps slowed.
Max bolted like a jackrabbit. His feet barely touched the ground as he raced over the twisting trail. If nothing else, he had survival instincts firing in overdrive and that pushed him on in a mad frenzy.
The only sound he heard was blood pounding in his head. Whether it was awareness of his own mortality or something else entirely, he'd never know. But for the first time in his life he connected to the Eye. Rapid images flashed in his mind as the curtain was pulled back. He saw a bird's-eye view of Vincent outside Max and Noah's room at the Paradise Motel while Noah writhed in agony as the burning consumed him. Vincent had been the cause of Noah's suffering.
Then the image shifted to when Max nearly died on the motorcycle as he questioned the nature of the Eye. Behind Vincent's visor, his eyes flashed as he put Max through the fiery anguish.
Vincent had been their tormentor all along. He used the pain to manipulate their fear. There was nothing evil or deadly lurking in their blood or in earth's air; it had all been Vincent – but for what purpose?
The image changed to a world where the skies turned blood red. Toxic particles descended from above – the end of humanity. They were going to kill off the dominant species to make room for a new one.
As quickly as the connection came, it was gone. He stopped short, clutching at the rock wall before falling over the edge of the cliff. Far down below, a river raged past. The fall would almost certainly kill him.
"You felt the connection. Something spectacular isn't it? Now you understand why our species will thrive once more," Vincent said, approaching from the trail.
Max looked back down. "Does Jamie know the truth?"
"Enough to keep moving forward. When it all goes down, she'll play along. What other choice is there? Mine is the only game in town," Vincent said as if this was the only way things could have ended.
How had Max not seen it earlier? Vincent had played them perfectly to create mixture of fear and need; they'd been manipulated from day one.
"The blood burning, you did that."
"Ingenious, yes? I'm amazed Jamie didn't see it. But she's always been trusting. And why not, she has no reason to doubt me despite your best efforts," Vincent said. "When it's over, we'll look around in horror. The loss of life, an unfortunate and unexpected side effect of saving our own lives. There was no way we could have known – and then a new species will be released. I'll tell her the Eye never revealed this part of the plan. She'll argue, but, in the end, she'll accept it."
"The glass case, what you're going to release, it's a poison," Max said, eyes darting around for a stick or rock, but the trail was bare. He needed time to find a way out.
Vincent shrugged. "The first half. The toxin has a two-pronged release - one from the ground, one from the air. One is useless without the other. The Eye will release the remainder. Once the way is clear –"
"You mean mankind exterminated," Max cut in as he studied the rocks along the cliff. There was no way out other than straight down. He tried to summon his alien nature, to strike at Vincent, but couldn't do a single thing.
"You can only have one dominant species. Every life form has their time in the sun," Vincent said as if stating a simple mathematic theorem. "Like so many others, their time is done. Why does it matter so much to you? Were they so good to you that you need to lay down your life for them? They abandoned, mistreated, drugged and kept you locked up. Why would you possibly care about them?"
"Is that what this is? Revenge? Are you still upset that your dad wouldn't let you keep a stray cat?"
"Yes, I planned to take over the world because I lost my pet," Vincent said, actually amused. "Don't worry, there will be other cats." Then the amusement was gone. "And he wasn't my father."
"You can't do it without me," Max said in an utterly transparent attempt to grasp the last trump in the deck. "The Eye's been waiting for me."
"You still don't get it? You played your part. What do you think happened back on the mountainside? Don't get me wrong, it would be great to have you on the team, but not essential, not anymore."
How naive he'd been. While Max had connected with the liquid, he believed he'd made himself indispensable. Instead, he'd unwittingly cut the last thread keeping him alive.
"In hours, the embryos will be released. As they evolve, we'll walk among them as Gods. But we are vengeful Gods, and you did betray us," Vincent said.
Max's body contorted. Every muscle and bone was squeezed by Vincent's telekinetic vise grip. Trying to move or breathe only made it worse. Even if this didn't suffocate him, his bones would break just as Doctor Tsang's had.
He should have jumped when he had the chance. A likely death now had far more appeal than a certain one - if Max could just make it over the edge. He concentrated every nerve and cell in his body to move just a couple inches across the dirt. It was like trying to push through concrete.
Vincent didn't notice, still caught up in his imminent triumph. "Perhaps this won't matter to you, but you brought about the rebirth of the stronger species. You're a hero, Max, and I'll see to it you're remembered that way. You deserve that much."
Max didn't feel any great solace, but if he could fall off the cliff, his part may still have some play left. Just a little farther - then there was nothing under his feet. But he wasn't falling. Vincent's will held him fast, squeezing the last air of life from him.
An image burst into Max's head - the inferno, the city of flames. It was the most terrifying image he could imagine. With his last thought, he pushed it into Vincent's mind.
The shock of the burning city caused Vincent tostagger. Max was free, and now plummeting fast. The last thing he saw wasVincent at the edge looking down. Then he hit the water and didn't see anythingat all.