Search For Reason (State Of Reason Mystery, Book 2)
Page 49
And a population of five million people.
Most are Muslims. But many are Christians too. Zoroastrians, Baha’is, Ahmadiyyas, Parsis, Hindus, Sikhs.
“This isn’t right!” Franklin said. “It can’t be. The President’s evidence has got to be off somehow. I know who killed Cynthia, who blew up Virginia and New York. And he’s already dead! I doubt the bombs have anything to do with Pakistan. That sample of nuclear waste Mano gave Chip for me — the plutonium! It was Russian!”
“It can’t be Pakistan,” Everon agreed.
“The big Asian’s behind the whole thing,” Franklin said. “He blew up New York. Norfolk too. He killed Cyn!”
“Asian? No! I read your email. The bombs have something to do with a factory hidden in the Pennsylvania woods, cut off from the bomb’s EMP!”
“What?” Franklin’s face crunched up. “Hidden factory?”
Everon didn’t answer.
The brothers couldn’t take their eyes from the bright burning light, descending, pushing down on two cities full of unsuspecting sleeping children, innocent adults. Just as the bomb had done to Cynthia and Steve and Melissa, and all of New York, the people of Virginia Beach and Norfolk.
Everon said, “This is why you said that thing at Del’s the other day, Bro. That thing about repairing the power system being useless. More bombs. The world coming to an end.”
Why? Franklin wondered, watching the missile come down. Why do so many have to die? He wished desperately he could do something. Find some way to prevent what was about to happen. Can’t someone do something to stop it?
“This man in white,” the announcer said, “who leads a religious gathering of thousands in Rawalpindi, is begging Allah to intervene.”
But Everon wasn’t looking at the television anymore. He was down on his knees on the floor.
He’s praying? Franklin thought. Everon never prays.
But his older brother wasn’t praying. He was staring at a few bits of something.
“It’s only a couple of crumbs from a Communion wafer,” Franklin said. “I guess I didn’t clean it all up.”
But Everon was looking at something else. A quarter-inch square of clear plastic-like material covered with spiderweb traces. Two dots in the center — one black, one silver.
Franklin reached out to pick it up.
“Don’t touch it,” Everon said. “If it’s anything like the one I found yesterday, it’ll melt.”
“You’ve seen something like this before?”
“We need a slip of paper or something to slide under it.”
They went through their pockets. Franklin fished Cyn’s papers out of his leather jacket. Everon flattened one sheet to the living room tile, and with a couple of short jabs managed to slide it underneath the tiny device.
They both peered at it before the flickering light of the television screen.
“See, I think it’s some kind of circuit. Nan and I found another one on the floor of an abandoned factory in the woods where a bunch of men shot at me trying to kill me three days ago.”
“Shot at you! What?”
“I think this thing might have been manufactured there.” Everon glanced at the nearby white crumbs on the tile. “This one was inside a Communion wafer?”
“I guess. I don’t know. Who shot at you?”
“I don’t know, yet. See this?” Everon pointed at the center. “I’m wondering if this silver dot here could be a battery, the black one some kind of microprocessor.”
But he was interrupted by the television.
A melodious voice spoke, a man kneeling, praying on the screen’s right, “ALLAH! We beseech thee! SAVE OUR PEOPLE! SAVE OUR LAND!”
“Sunni Muslims across the Middle East,” the announcer said, “prominent religious leaders included — are calling Michael Joy the New Prophet. A new modern-day Messiah. Shi’as claim he is the Mahdi, what the Shi’a sect, the predominant group in Iraq and Iran, call the Guided One.”
“The only guided one is that missile!” Everon said, shaking his head.
The bright star-like point of death was coming down even faster now.
Franklin frowned at the Arabic speaker’s words. Suddenly a sense of calm overwhelmed him. He understood. “I think we both know exactly what’s going to happen,” he said. “And it’s not going to be God’s intercession!”
But what did happen, Franklin could never have anticipated.
The earth shook in Erie. A pressure wave showered them with glass and wood, crushing Franklin and Everon to the floor.
And everything went black.
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A Note From Miles
I could really use your help with something, a small thing that'll take you maybe 60 seconds or so. Tell me, how much did you enjoy my book? I really want to know. But don't just tell me, tell everybody! The more good reviews posted, the more books I sell, and the more time I can afford to spend writing the thrillers you like best. Here's how:
After reading what's below, CLICK OR TAP HERE to go to Amazon (Kindle Reader, please use your computer to go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0174YQAKI).
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4. Type in your comments, your thoughts, your feelings, and especially your suggestions. Trust me, I'll read them and so will everyone else. Don't be bashful. Don't be shy. Say what you really think, what you really felt while you were reading. Dig deep. That's what all good writers do.
5. Type in your Headline.
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Now that you know how, if you go do your part, I'll get busy doing mine . . . writing the very best thrillers I possibly can for your enjoyment. It may seem like a small thing, a few seconds of your time, but it'll make a big, big difference.
Thank You, and Best Regards,
Miles A. Maxwell
Miles A. Maxwell is out of
Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Also By miles a. maxwell
LOSS OF REASON
Contents
Copyright
Family Tree
Tuesday Night
1 No Hope
2 I Always Liked Him
3 The Wave
4 Evening Arrival Home
5 Revenge
6 Del Meets Melissa
7 Failure Mode
8 Golden Tablet Of The Glorious Qur’an
9 Twelve Tired Refugees
10 The Mormon Plates
11 The Feeling
12 NORAD
13 Twitch
14 Fame And Infamy
15 Faith And Force
16 An Accident Of Faith
17 Judy’s Missing Visitors
18 The Line
19 Irrational Power
20 Jersey!
21 Fuck ’Em, Start Loading!
22 No Sleep
23 Alone In His Office
Wednesday
24 Collecting The Divine
25 Taking Cynthia
26 Burying Cyn
27 The Evil
28 Papers And Prayers
29 Tequila
30 Follow The Money
31 Del’s Uncomfortable Breakfast
32 A Lack Of Argument
33 Decisions
34 Last Minute
35 The Scream
36 A Private Celebration
37 The Intruder
38 Leaving Everon
39 The Lift
40 Dean’s Shock
41 On Deck
42 Tough Navigation
43 Amish
44 Everon Almost Walks
45 Advance Warning?
46 Ralph’s Uncomfortable Warning
; 47 Jack’s Advice
48 Fire
49 Gold Plates To Salt Lake
50 The Lie Begins
51 Arresting Everon
52 The Risk To Franklin
53 Torture As Motivation
54 The Second Imam Is Prepared
55 The Message
56 The Rabbi Of Happiness
57 Darkness
58 Instruction
59 Heart Of The Matter
60 First Look
61 Hatred And Programming
62 He Couldn’t Let It Happen
63 Broken Line
64 A Call In The Night
65 Flagler’s Fuel
66 The Deal
67 London Gold
68 Missing
69 Turban Operates
70 Respect
Thursday
71 A Desperate Call For Help
72 The Plan
73 Blood Relative — Mrs. Astor
74 The Gathering
75 Will Big Mombo Run . . . In Time?
76 Dead Meat
77 Ding!
78 9,000 Gallons
79 Countdown
80 Phase Imbalance
81 Franklin vs. Ralph — Mrs. Tavitt
82 Dale Wants Teddy’s Help
83 The Forest
84 Processing
85 Ralph’s Torture — The Thomases
86 The Burn
87 Everon Comes Around
88 Over The Edge — Charlie Regal
89 Surf’s Up!
90 Trail Of Blood
91 Query To Hunt
92 Get Both Of Them
93 One More Theologian
94 Sharks
95 The Man From PINSTECH
96 Tower 22
97 Dean’s Call
98 Medical Release
99 Time To Die
100 Marjorie’s Surprise
101 Harry Goes To Pittsburgh
102 The Trouble With Thomas
103 Ralph’s Unpleasant Reality
104 A Fight In Chicago Gold
105 A Little More Information
106 The Mole
107 Roommate!
108 Adlans’ Aviary
109 Dean Adlan
110 Dying Alone
111 Lunch
112 Are You Sure?
113 Second Look
114 Through The System Let Blood Flow
115 Connections
116 The Generator
117 Run Big Mombo Now!
118 Sync Crash!
119 The Final Switch
120 Return
121 A Place He’d Never Been
122 Duet
123 In The Wrong Light
124 The Hack
125 The Manse
126 An Odd Invitation
127 The Change
Friday
128 Faith Versus Sex
129 Safe Harbor
130 Return Of The Second Imam
131 Disappearance Of Their Husbands
132 The Mint Mark
133 The Dead Engineer’s Trail
134 Message Of Peace
135 What The Hell, Greg!
136 The Temple
137 The Bandwagon
138 Translation
139 No Complaint
140 Toronto
141 Cornered
142 Vanished
143 A Cut Above
144 Update For Mattie And Barb
145 Not Alone
Saturday
146 At The Border
147 Mr. Espy’s Daughter
148 What Evidence?
149 The Feather
150 Call To Adlans’
151 Deposit Slip
152 Mercer’s Mystery
153 Into The Forest Again
154 Erie
155 Signs
156 The Word Is Spread
157 Marjorie Discovered
158 Everon’s Press
159 The Fit
160 No Reason At All
161 Fighting Birds
162 The Chain And The Cross
163 First Admission
164 The Eagle
165 The Mountain Rises
166 Up Into The Trees
167 They Will Never Do This Again!
168 An Unpleasant Reality
169 Millar’s Call
170 Unbearable
Sunday
171 Removing The Nails
172 Awakening
173 An Urgent Message
174 In The Upstate New York Woods
175 Ralph Attacks
176 Resistance Is Futile
177 Full Exposure
178 Shock And Awe
179 War
180 The Ascendancy Of Joy
181 The Mahdi
182 A Light In The Sky
183 Contradiction
184 What In Hell?
185 The Stranger
186 Pure Confusion
187 That’s Not Right!
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