The Gift (30 page)

Web was standing outside, vaguely watching the sunset. He glanced at Jack when he heard him approaching. “You don’t look like you’re bringing good news.”

“No, Sir. I am not. Each of the backup drones has completed at least one full search pattern over its sector. None of the operators have spotted anything suspicious. It’s as if they just vanished.”

“You may be right.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. You lost me.”

“When you debriefed the guards watching the store room, did they say that they re-secured the door after they thought the room to be empty?”

“No, Sir. The senior guard, Sergeant Shaw, reported the situation to you. After doing so, he found Captain Fox as instructed. He then returned to the store room to collect Sergeant Watson. They reported to Captain Johnson to begin an organized search. To the best of my knowledge, the door remains unlocked now.”

“I think they walked out, Jack. I think they found a way to camouflage themselves well enough to hide during the confusion and then just walk away.”

Jack didn’t know what to say. If his boss was right, the escape was preventable and Sam had outwitted them. There was no way he was going to say that, so he said nothing.

After a few moments of silence, Web said, “Find Captain Johnson. Tell him I want every member of the team to begin working on active personal camouflage. Report to me when they succeed.”

Relieved that the conversation was over, Jack said, “Yes, Sir,” before leaving Web to his thoughts.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY
-T
HREE

Sam waited impatiently with Matt by his side. He was tracking the rest of his team’s progress as they approached through the ever-growing sensor network surrounding their headquarters. As was so often the case when working an op, the closer it came to a successful conclusion, the more concerned he became that something would go wrong. Now, less than a minute before his team was reunited, he could hardly stand still. His animal mind wanted to go out and get them, despite the fact that he intellectually knew that doing so would increase the chance they’d all be detected while doing nothing to get them to safety any sooner.

“How much longer?” Matt asked.

“Just a few seconds. It looks like your mom will be the first one through. I guess she missed you,” Sam replied, forcing a smile. Twenty seconds left.

When Lisa crossed the threshold into the tunnel, Sam’s relief was palpable. He was glad he’d placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder as his mother approached. Despite the fact that Sam had made it clear he would have to wait for her to come to them, Matt had instinctively begun to move toward her. Sam restrained him as gently as he could. Sam couldn’t blame him. He wanted to run forward and greet them all as well. Sometimes the greatest difference between being a boy and being a man is restraint.

In a matter of seconds, Sam’s control over the boy was no longer required. He was in the arms of his mother. In her joy to see him, and still not fully aware of her newfound strength, her hug picked him up off the ground. It occurred to Sam that an average teenaged boy might be bothered by that, embarrassed perhaps. Matt didn’t seem to mind a bit.

Sam turned away from Lisa and Matt and held out his arms to Jim and Esther. “Come here, you two.” The three of them hugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. “Damn, it’s good to see you!”

“It’s good to be seen,” Jim quipped.

“Oh, stop it!” Esther said with a smile.

When they finished their hug, Sam was pleased to see that Lisa was waiting for her turn. He stepped toward her and gave her the same treatment she’d given Matt. She giggled as he set her down. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Sam said as she looked up at him.

“You’ve been hanging around my dad too long,” Lisa replied.

“Nope. Not nearly long enough, but we’re going to fix that. Come on, everyone. There are a couple people I want you to meet, new members of the team. They wanted to be here, but I didn’t think we could risk it. We’re closer to the entrance than we should probably be as it is,” Sam said as he started walking further into the facility. The rest of them followed. Sam noticed Jim and Esther were holding hands. He thought briefly about commenting on it to get Jim’s goat, but couldn’t think of anything to say before they arrived at the main room.

“So, this is what you were building when they snatched us? Impressive,” Jim commented.

“Not so impressive when you consider I didn’t have to finish it before getting you guys on your way here. You shouldn’t have been snatched at all,” Sam replied.

“Doesn’t matter, Son. We’re here now, and it is impressive.”

The room was twenty-feet square, with a ten-foot ceiling. Like the tunnel, it’s sides and top wore the smooth finish of fused rock with the floor being a slightly rougher version of the same. An embedded lighting strip circumnavigated the room between the ninth and tenth feet of the wall, providing even lighting throughout. The simple table had been replaced by a larger, more attractive version constructed by Jing-Wei. Surrounding the table were twelve beautiful chairs. On the opposite side of the room was a simple cooking area with a functional sink. What remained of the food from Sam’s truck had been moved inside and sat neatly organized next to a set of plates, cups and bowls on a pair of shelves whose design matched the table. There was no bathroom. The gifts could process each pair’s waste with sufficient efficiency to negate the need for one.

Sam gestured toward Chang and Jing-Wei. “Jing-Wei get’s all of the credit for anything with class. Jim, Lisa and Esther, I’d like you to meet Chang and Jing-Wei.” The introductions were a formality. Though they had not met in person, they had all communicated with one another over the Worldnet. The men shook hands with the women and each other. The women hugged. For the first time in days, Sam was starting to feel like they had a chance.

When the physical introductions were complete, Chang said, “While my talented wife was preparing a place for us to sit, I put together a modest meal of rehydrated food. I imagine you all are hungry?”

“Starving,” Jim said.

“Good. Everyone take a seat. I’ll begin serving in a few minutes.”

After they’d all taken their seats, Jim spoke again, “We’re all waiting to hear how you pulled it off, Sam. How did you get us out of there? Hell, how did you know where there was?”

Sam toyed with him. “You sure you don’t want to wait until after we eat?” He asked with as straight a face as he could keep.

“Remember the beating I promised to give you with this new young body?” Jim asked.

Sam surprised himself by laughing. “Okay. No need for this to devolve into violence.” The rest of the team was smiling. Sam felt good. “Well, finding you wasn’t hard. Web either doesn’t know that it’s possible to determine approximate geographic position of gifted individuals or he’s too arrogant to care. I started with the assumption that he’d keep the three of you together, and that he would be close to wherever you were. He prefers physical control of assets whenever possible. So, I looked for four gifted signatures in reasonably close proximity. There was only one other place in the state with that many of us in one location. There were, in fact eight. That’s when I confirmed that Web wasn’t the only gifted soldier on the other side.

“Anyway, once I found out it was the Lewistown armory, I was certain that’s where you were being held. So, I seeded the place with enough nanites to observe everything that was going on within and around it. After that we were able to listen in on anything anyone on Web’s team said aloud within a few dozen yards of the place. I couldn’t track all of the conversations, of course, but Adia could and did. She still does. Nice job of playing possum, by the way.”

Jim actually blushed a little, “Some of the guys talked about it in the Corps. At the time, I prayed I’d never have to do it. Worked out all right this time, though.”

Sam continued, “Yes, it did. I thought I’d have to wait until after Web let me talk with you. This was much less risky. Anyway, we found you and we had eyes on the objective. What we didn’t have was a way to get you out of there. I didn’t have any ideas on how to do that. Truth be told, I was not handling it very well. You can thank Chang for helping me get my act together.”

Sam paused to let Chang comment if he wished. Chang continued preparing the meal as if he hadn’t heard a word. Realizing his friend wasn’t even going to acknowledge his contribution, Sam shook his head and continued, “Although I didn’t have a plan, I knew the only advantage we had was our control of the Worldnet and with it our ability to control far more nanites than Web’s team could. Chang’s description of what happened at the landing site in Kansas led me to believe there might be more, and according to Adia, more capable nanites there. Turns out there were. There was also an entity already controlling them. With his—it’s really a group of controlling entities, but they communicate with a single male voice—help, we were able to position a portion of the original ship beneath where you were being held. Once you were inside the ship, it traveled underground again to the place where you were released.

“We considered asking it to bring you all the way here, but there were constraints on doing so. Making the ship you were in larger would slow its progress underground. Having it fly you here after that first mile or so might have exposed our position and we’re not ready for that. So, you ran. I have to tell you, it wasn’t an easy decision. We all wanted you back as quickly as possible.

“I’ve named the ship entities Jordan, by the way. He—I assume the entities will present a consistent personality to all of us—will communicate with you, if you wish. It is a fascinating experience,” Sam finished. He didn’t tell them that the only reason Jordan would communicate with them was that Sam had requested it. He didn’t want them to think he was making too much out of being the first.

“Why Jordan?” Lisa asked.

“May I hazard a guess, Sam?” Esther asked.

“Of course,” Sam answered.

“It’s Hebrew, Honey. Based on some of the other names Sam has come up with I suspect he knows that full well. It stands for the initiation into the knowledge of good and truth. Is that about right, Sam?”

“You got it in one. I had to ask Adia what Haya means,” Sam said.

Chang interrupted the conversation by setting down the first bowl of reconstituted beef stew. “I’ll be back with some chili and some chicken a la king.” Jing-Wei got up to help him set the table.

In short order, the team was enjoying their first meal together. By silent consent, the conversation remained light, focused primarily on everyone getting to know one another. Jing-Wei was astonished to learn that Lisa had been healed of primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Lisa was pleased to learn that Jing-Wei and Chang could now have the children they’d both always wanted. Both women complimented Esther on her appearance. Sam bragged on Matt, telling everyone how much help he’d been. There was a lot of laughter and no small amount of healing of a different kind.

When everyone had had their fill, Chang and Jing-Wei got up to clear the table. Esther would have none of it, insisting that she would take care of it. Jim joined her. Lisa asked Sam if he’d like to take a walk. Sam agreed and they both headed toward the tunnel.

When they reached the turn near the entrance, Lisa stopped, prompting Sam to do the same. “Thank you again for everything, Sam. I know you blame yourself for us being captured. Please don’t. You seem to look around you and see your failures. I look around you and see a remarkable series of successes.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” Sam replied.

“You don’t need to say anything. Just think about it. Promise me you’ll do that?”

Sam doubted he could say no to her. “Okay.”

Lisa started walking again. “I asked Althia what Adia means after you and Esther talked about Jordan and Haya. Did you pick it because it means gift?”

Sam took a few more steps before replying. “No. I picked it because Sarah McLachlan was my wife’s favorite singer and Adia was one of her favorite songs. I didn’t know it meant gift until Adia told me. The coincidence amused her.”

“You must have loved her very much.”

“For a while I lied to myself that she and Zach were my life. They should have been, but I was too obsessed with my work for that to be true.”

“You just did it again. Did your wife know you loved her? Do you think she was sure of it?”

“I…yes, I’m sure Elizabeth knew I loved her.”

“Did you treat her and Zach well? Were you kind to them?”

“Yes, of course. They were wonderful. Look, I like you and I know you mean well, but this isn’t easy for me to talk about. I think we should head back now.” Sam turned and started walking back.

Lisa followed him in silence.

Later that evening Sam was talking with Jordan about what he needed to do to bring the gift ship to life. He was frustrated at the being’s unwillingness or inability to give him a straight answer, so he welcomed Chang’s interruption.

“The Rigby’s have nearly completed their arrangements. They will be ready to depart within the half hour.”

Chang had been using the Worldnet to connect to the Internet, where he had set up an anonymous chat account belonging to a non-existent business executive out of Dallas, Texas to contact his friends. Like so much of what they were doing, it wasn’t without risk, but it was as secure as he could make it.

The arriving family would stop at a small public golf course on the outskirts of Roundup, Montana this time. The city was even smaller than Lewistown, with a population of less than two thousand. It was unlikely they would be found during the brief time they would be waiting there, and if they were there would be no way to prove any association with Sam’s team.

“That’s good news, Chang. I look forward to meeting all of them. You said they were in Salt Lake City, right?”

“Just outside of, yes. It should take them about nine hours to get to the pickup point, if the weather holds. That would have them arriving a bit after dawn.”