The Rogue World

by Matthew J. Kirby

  If only he could stop blaming himself for what he had done.

  CHAPTER

  14

  ELEANOR COULDN’T LET HERSELF THINK ABOUT FINN’S anger at Watkins. She felt it just as strongly as he did, but if she gave in to it, she risked breaking the fragile alliance she had established with their former enemy. It seemed that working with the old man would be the only way she could do what she needed to do to save the world, and to work with him, she would need to find that connection they’d found while battling the Concentrator. If she let herself hate him, that might not be possible.

  Instead she focused on Uncle Jack, who rested beside her. He had finally fallen asleep, which was probably for the best. Betty had tried to assure Eleanor his injuries weren’t immediately life-threatening. But that didn’t do much to ease her worry.

  “Is there a phone I could use?” Watkins asked. “Most of my transports have sat phones.”

  “Why?” Luke asked.

  “I need to make sure the G.E.T. is sending a rescue team to the site of the avalanche. Or have you already forgotten about the lives of those men and women, Mr. Fournier?”

  Eleanor remembered the conversation she had overheard, the mention of damage control, and wondered if he needed to check on more than that.

  “In the cockpit,” Betty called back. “There’s a sat phone up here.”

  “Excellent.” Watkins climbed out of his seat and made his way swaying up toward her, his back straight. Eleanor tried to listen to his call, but found it too difficult over the rumble of the engines, and the chewing of the transport’s treads over the snow. A few minutes went by, and Watkins remained in the cockpit.

  When Watkins finally returned to his seat, his back appeared hunched and his face pale. He toppled into his seat like a felled tree.

  “I can’t believe it,” he whispered.

  “What is it?” Luke asked.

  “I’ve . . . been removed.”

  “What?” Eleanor asked. “What does that mean?”

  “The board held a vote of no confidence. I’m—I’m out.”

  “Of the G.E.T.?” Eleanor asked.

  He nodded.

  No one said anything for a long time while the transport bumped and ground along. At any other time, this would have been the best possible news. But right now, Eleanor wondered how it would affect their plan, and who would be put in charge instead of Watkins.

  “They fired you?” Luke asked.

  Watkins opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first. “Yes. I am to report to the nearest G.E.T. head office for debriefing. After that—”

  “What about us?” Finn asked.

  Watkins frowned. “They have ordered me to bring you in, after which you will surely be placed under arrest.”

  Eleanor felt the plan tipping sideways, threatening to capsize. “You promised me they wouldn’t do that. You promised—”

  “I know what I promised,” Watkins said, his words sharp. “But it seems I no longer have the authority to keep that promise.”

  “Why did they take this action against you?” Dr. Von Albrecht asked.

  Watkins rubbed his forehead, spreading its many wrinkles. “They’d already learned about the avalanche. This makes the second G.E.T. installation lost under my direction, thanks to your efforts in the Arctic. And the alien ship . . . it seems they have concluded I should have anticipated its arrival. Or at least prepared for it. They have called my leadership and judgment into question, and found it inadequate.”

  “Sounds like they got it right,” Finn said.

  “So what happens now?” Eleanor asked. “Who’s in charge—”

  “The UN Security Council has assumed temporary leadership,” Watkins said, “until the threat of the alien ship can be ascertained.”

  “Security Council?” Luke said. “So the G.E.T. is now under the control of the military?”

  Watkins sighed. “So it would seem. All the Concentrator sites will be locked down, as will the alien ship.”

  “Then how will we get close to it?” This wasn’t a scenario Eleanor had considered. It had not even occurred to her that Watkins could be removed and lose all his authority. “How will we stop it?”

  “For now,” Watkins said, “we won’t. We’ll follow my orders—”

  “Like hell we will,” Luke said. “We’re not going down with you. You’re welcome to get off this ride here and now.”

  “It is the UN, Mr. Fournier. There is no use in defying—”

  “That’s all we’ve been doing,” Eleanor said. “We’ve defied you from the beginning, and we’ll defy anyone who tries to stop us.”

  “I find your determination admirable,” Watkins said. “But—”

  “No,” Eleanor said. “There is no other option. We keep going. And you are going to help us. You saw what I saw. You know what’s up there. You know what the aliens have done before, and what the rogue world will do to us. You saw their ships. You—”

  “I know very well what I saw,” Watkins said.

  “Then how can you just surrender?” Eleanor said. “How? That doesn’t seem like you at all.”

  Watkins leaned back in his seat with his chin between his thumb and forefinger. He stared at Eleanor through narrowed eyes, and seemed to be considering what she’d said. He remained that way for several moments, and Eleanor knew intuitively he could not be rushed in this process. She could not convince him. He had to convince himself. So she waited, and the others waited, too.

  Finally, Watkins lowered his hand and spoke. “You are right.”

  “About what?” Eleanor asked.

  “I now know what is up there. I didn’t before. I didn’t want to know before. But now that I know, I believe we have to do what we can to stop it.”

  “So you’ll help us?” Eleanor asked.

  Watkins nodded. “I will.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Luke said, “the Freeze just reached hell and froze it over.”

  Eleanor felt the same way. This moment had just played out in a way she couldn’t quite believe. If this had been a TV show, she would have rolled her eyes at the writers and changed the channel.

  “Why?” Finn asked.

  “Why what?” Watkins said.

  “Why did you just change your mind?” Finn pointed at him. “All this time, everything you’ve done, and now we’re supposed to believe you’re suddenly on our side?”

  “I am suspicious as well,” Dr. Von Albrecht said. “And having worked for the G.E.T., I think I have good reason to be.”

  “Of course you do,” Watkins said. “All of you have reason to be suspicious of me. To be honest, you would be foolish to trust me. But I can’t do anything to change that. Finn just referred to everything I’ve done, and it’s true that I’ve done a great deal to thwart you, as you have done a great deal to thwart me. But I am a scientist. I adhere to facts, not ideology or even my own pride. The scientific method sometimes presents us with new information, new data we must assimilate, and sometimes that means changing our entire way of thinking. That isn’t always comfortable, but what kind of scientist would I be if I refused to recognize the reality of our situation?”

  Eleanor shook her head at the peculiarity of Watkins’s mind. Not even her mom, as cold and analytical as she could be, would alter her path so radically, so quickly.

  “I respect that answer,” Dr. Von Albrecht said.

  “You believe that answer?” Luke asked him.

  “I do,” Dr. Von Albrecht said.

  Finn snorted. “I don’t.”

  “Then I suppose,” Watkins said, “that you will have to make your own observations of me going forward. You can watch my actions, and decide for yourself whether the data changes your mind about me or not.”

  Finn turned to Eleanor. “What about you?”

  “Do we have a choice?” Eleanor said.

  “Yes,” Badri said. “You have a choice. And you will have to live with that choice, because it’s yours.”

 
; “What about Grendel?” Luke asked. “Do you trust him?”

  “Grendel counts many former G.E.T. employees among its number,” she said. “They are some of our best assets. This wouldn’t be the first time one of them joined our cause.”

  “I will not join Grendel,” Watkins said. “That I can promise you. But I will help you stop the alien threat to our planet.”

  Eleanor looked at him for another moment, and once again, she knew he was telling the truth. He would do what he said he would do, so long as he could.

  “Okay,” Eleanor said.

  “Okay?” Finn said. “Just like that?”

  Eleanor nodded. “Now Watkins is a terrorist like us.”

  “So what’s our plan, then?” Luke asked.

  “We get back to Consuelo,” Eleanor said. “And we fly to Stonehenge.”

  “Hey!” Betty called. “Would someone come up here and update me?”

  Dr. Von Albrecht turned and moved up toward the cockpit. Watkins settled into his seat, looking much more comfortable than Finn or Luke appeared to be. Eleanor knew exactly how they felt, and she still wondered how they had arrived here, with everything turned upside down.

  Uncle Jack groaned, and she moved closer to him, laying her hand on his stubbly cheek. She would have some explaining to do when he woke up, but for now, she sat next to him as they plowed through the night and pulled into Jomsom early the next morning. Badri had already used the sat phone to contact Grendel to let them know they would need the plane, and they found it waiting for them on the runway. Not long after that, they were in the air, heading back toward Mumbai. It was only then that Eleanor felt safe enough to sleep.

  The medical clinic felt old, like many of the Parsi Colony buildings had, but it was very clean and bright. The doctor Badri had brought Uncle Jack to see had a warm smile and dark eyes, and he pointed at the X-rays and insisted that Uncle Jack would be fine. No internal bleeding. But a deep, horrible-looking bruise.

  “I told you,” Uncle Jack said, already sounding better with the medication the doctor had given him.

  “You should still take it easy, though,” Eleanor said.

  “I’m just glad I’m cleared to fly,” he said. “You’re not leaving me behind again.”

  “You still haven’t forgiven me for that, have you?”

  “Nope. And don’t expect me to anytime soon.”

  She helped him up from the medical bed, and they left the clinic together, his arm over her shoulder for support, which Eleanor knew was more for her emotional benefit than his physical needs. They climbed into Badri’s waiting car and returned to her house, where the others sat around the kitchen table eating their first real cooked meal in days.

  “How does it look?” Luke asked as they walked in.

  Uncle Jack gave a thumbs-up. “Let’s get going.”

  “I’m glad it wasn’t too serious,” Watkins said.

  “Yeah, well.” Uncle Jack looked down at the old man. “Let’s not forget it was one of your guys who did it.” Eleanor had explained the Watkins situation as best she could, and even though Uncle Jack had listened, he sided slightly more with Finn.

  “I haven’t forgotten,” Watkins said. “It was I who authorized the use of force when you broke into my installation.”

  “Not your installation anymore,” Uncle Jack said. “I haven’t forgotten that, either.”

  “Everyone here?” Luke said. “I’ve been to the airport, and Consuelo is ready for takeoff.”

  “I’m ready,” Eleanor said. “How is it out there in the city?”

  “It doesn’t seem to be as bad here in Mumbai. But I caught some news. Cairo is still rioting, but now so is Mexico City and several other places. The violence and panic have spread to pretty much any country with a large refugee population.”

  “Phoenix?” Uncle Jack asked.

  Luke shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Eleanor thought about her friends Jenna and Claire, and hoped they would be safe. She turned to Badri, who had decided not to come with them to England. Her place was here, with her family and her team, especially now, and Eleanor understood that, even though she would miss the older woman.

  “Good-bye,” Eleanor said. She almost hadn’t trusted Badri in the beginning, and she wanted to apologize for that, but couldn’t think of how to say it. “I . . . thank you for everything.”

  “Thank you, Eleanor,” Badri said. “You may be the bravest person I have ever met.”

  “I don’t feel brave.”

  “You are. Now go.”

  Eleanor hugged her, and they all left the Grendel house behind. Some of Badri’s team drove them back through the shady and quiet streets of the Parsi Colony, and then through the chaos of Mumbai. They reached the airport and boarded Consuelo. Eleanor took a seat next to Uncle Jack, while Finn, Betty, and Dr. Von Albrecht claimed their own. Luke stalked up to the cockpit, and Watkins stood in the aisle, looking around.

  “This looks much as I imagined it,” he said, “as I thought about you all flying about, and where you might go next.”

  “Glad we didn’t disappoint you,” Betty said, her tone flattened with sarcasm.

  Watkins smiled as he took a seat. “I didn’t say that.”

  Eleanor saw Finn shake his head, jaw clenched.

  Consuelo woke up with engines that sounded rested and eager to fly. Eleanor lay back against the headrest, comforted by the gentle rocking motion as Luke taxied them to the runway, and then thrilled by the power and pressure as they accelerated and lifted into the sky. Mumbai fell away, crowded and beautiful, and Eleanor leaned her head against Uncle Jack’s arm.

  “I wonder what your mom thinks about it,” Uncle Jack said, his voice low.

  “About what?” Eleanor asked.

  “The alien ship. Watkins getting ousted.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I wonder if it’s changed her mind at all.”

  Eleanor leaned away from him. “Maybe it has. I don’t know.”

  “Don’t you want to know?”

  Eleanor shrugged.

  “Don’t you want her back on your side?” he asked.

  “She shouldn’t have left my side to begin with. But she did.”

  “Oh. So you’re not ready to forgive her.”

  He didn’t say it in a judgmental way, but that’s how Eleanor took it. “I don’t know.”

  “But you can forgive Watkins?”

  “I haven’t forgiven Watkins,” Eleanor said. But when she stopped to think about that word, she wasn’t even sure what it meant to forgive. Was it something earned? Or something she was supposed to just give? “Have you forgiven Mom?”

  “She didn’t let me down the way she let you down.”

  That was true. And Uncle Jack never really got mad at either of them, Eleanor or her mom.

  “You’ll figure it out,” Uncle Jack said. “Once you figure out what you want.”

  “What I want is for her to trust me and let me make my own decisions.”

  He nodded. “I get that. But maybe that’s not all you want.”

  Eleanor looked up at the plane’s ceiling. She was done talking about this. Uncle Jack was never one to lecture her. That was her mom’s job, and she wanted to keep it that way. “I’m tired.”

  “Get some sleep,” Uncle Jack said. “We’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”

  CHAPTER

  15

  BUT WHY STONEHENGE?”

  Eleanor awoke to the sound of Finn’s voice. She sat up rubbing her eyes and looked around the plane’s cabin, trying to figure out how long she’d been out. Watkins was asleep, and so was Betty. Finn and Dr. Von Albrecht were in the middle of a conversation.

  “Stonehenge sits on a nexus of ley lines,” Dr. Von Albrecht said. “It is perhaps the most connected site on the planet. It’s possible the alien ship has the ability to plug into the entire network from there.”

  “That must be how it contacted the World Tree,” Eleanor said, coming full
y alert. The other two looked over at her. “And also how it retreated back to its ship. It’s using the network of ley lines.”

  “It?” Finn asked.

  “An alien intelligence,” Eleanor said.

  “So there are aliens on the ship?” Finn said.

  “I didn’t say that. It’s not necessarily an alien like from movies. It’s more of an artificial intelligence, but I’m not sure how artificial it is.” Eleanor shook her head. “It’s hard to describe.”

  Finn looked at Dr. Von Albrecht, and then back at Eleanor. “So that’s why we’re going to Stonehenge? To stop that intelligence or whatever?”

  “Yes,” Eleanor said. But ever since glimpsing that alien consciousness, she had begun to wonder what the point would be. If there was a whole alien planet up there, with a fleet of ships, what would be the purpose of stopping this one that had landed? Eleanor couldn’t answer that question, but then, throughout this entire ordeal, she had let such questions go unanswered. She would do what she could do to stop it, no matter what came after, and right now, this was something she could do.

  “I wonder what the ship looks like,” Finn said.

  Eleanor had glimpsed that, too, and the memory filled her with horror and dread. “A space tarantula. That’s what it looks like. A giant space tarantula.”

  Finn shivered. “Okay, I get you.”

  “Not something I’m looking forward to seeing in person,” Eleanor said.

  “I am,” Dr. Von Albrecht said. “Frightening or not, this is something the human race has wondered about for generations. We know we’re not alone. We’ve been visited. And now we have a chance to see their ship.”

  “You go right ahead with that,” Finn said. “I might just stay here with Consuelo.”

  “I would if I could,” Eleanor said. Then she climbed out of her seat and moved up to the cockpit to sit with Luke. He smiled as she tucked her legs up under her in the chair next to him. This spot had become one of the places where she felt safe, high above the world. The G.E.T. couldn’t reach her here. The ice and snow couldn’t reach her here. No alien intelligence invaded her mind. She leaned back with a sigh, at peace, for the moment.