Day of the Predator - Alex Scarrow [31]
On the other hand, if Sal was asking in a roundabout way whether she had feelings for Liam … well, the answer was no, not those sort of feelings. Liam was nice-looking, charming in an old-fashioned gentlemanly way, but what she felt for him, more than anything else, was pity, a choking sadness.
Every time I send him through … I’m killing him just a little bit more.
She looked at Sal. ‘No, I’m not jealous. I’m not, you know, like … after him –’
> Maddy, it is time to activate the return window.
‘OK,’ she replied, turning to face the desk. She began to tap the retrieval coordinates into the computer.
‘But he’s nice,’ said Sal.
‘Sure he’s nice,’ said Maddy. ‘I’m sure he had girlfriends back in Ireland, but … but, I’m a couple of years older than him anyway and … and it’s more like he’s a little brother, or a nephew really, than, you know … sort of boyfriend material.’
Maddy double-checked the coordinates. ‘Anyway … My God, Sal –’ she grimaced at her – ‘I can’t believe you’re being so personal!’
‘Sorry,’ said Sal, flicking a tress of dark hair out of her eye. ‘Oh … I just remembered! You’ll never guess what I saw in a junk store down–’
‘Just a moment, Sal. I need to concentrate …’
CHAPTER 19
2015, Texas
Liam identified Chan among the students. It wasn’t as obvious as he’d thought it would be. There were about seven or eight who looked oriental to him, and most of them were younger than the other students. But he knew Edward Chan was the youngest here and he zeroed in on a small boy at the front, gaping wide-eyed at the zero-point energy reactor. Seemingly entranced by it.
Becks gently tapped Liam’s arm and leaned towards him. ‘Information: according to the mission data, Edward Chan only has four minutes and seven seconds left to live.’
Liam nodded. He looked around the chamber, trying to identify what or who could possibly pose a threat to the boy. If they were down to four minutes, then presumably the lad’s killer was right here, right now, getting ready to make his move. His eyes darted from Mr Kelly, explaining the machinery and instrumentation, to Mr Whitmore, stroking his sparsely bearded chin thoughtfully, to the two technicians manning a couple of data terminals.
One of them?
His gaze shifted to the students, all of them still marvelling at the interior of the chamber and some of the incredible-sounding statistics that Mr Kelly was reeling off. ‘… equivalent to all of the energy produced by coal, oil, natural gas … over the last one hundred and fifty years …’
One of them? One of the students?
Why not? It could just as easily be one of the students. After all, Liam was the same age as the oldest of them and an assassin would probably have a better chance smuggling himself in as a student than he would a member of staff. After all, that had worked for him and Becks. His gaze wandered from face to face, looking for a nervous tic, darting eyes, lips moving in silent prayer, someone clearly agonizing over the precise moment to strike.
Becks gently tapped his arm again.
‘What now?’ he hissed.
‘I am sensing precursor tachyon particles in the vicinity.’
He looked at her. ‘Uh?’ Their return window wasn’t due yet, not until ten minutes after Chan’s supposed moment of death. That was the arrangement. ‘Are you sure?’
Becks nodded towards the reactor. ‘There. They are appearing …’ Her eyes widened, and her lids fluttered and blinked rapidly. ‘DANGER!’ she suddenly barked at the top of her voice.
Howard was almost beside Chan, his finger on the trigger inside his bag ready to pull the small weapon out and fire it at his back. He wanted to be right beside Chan, right next to him, to know as an absolute certainty he wasn’t going to miss. Too much rested on this. Everything rested on this. He was just a couple of yards from him when a tall girl with distinctive red hair at the back of the knot of students suddenly started