My misgivings vanish entirely. That info he has—it’s got to be data from Gaia about the ship up in orbit. Maybe it’s even whatever the doctors found when examining Atlanta’s and Dex’s DNA. It’s not that he doubts us, he’s just not happy about the news we came bearing. I can’t blame him for that.
I hold my tongue—better for Jules to do the talking, given how precise and genteel the guy’s speech is. I’d just piss him off. But finally someone with the security clearance to know about Mink, to know about what happened with us on Gaia, to actuallydosomething is here. IA Security Director for the whole ofEurope.
Jules senses it too, for his voice quickens. “Then you believe us? About Dex and Atlanta, about the invasion? You know about Charlotte’s—Mink’s—mission on Gaia, and that we really did come through the portal with the ship?”
De Luca’s dark eyes are intent, for all his features are relaxed. “I don’t have to believe you—Iknowyou were on Gaia, Mr. Addison.” His gaze flickers toward me with a faint lift of his eyebrow. I probably wasn’t mentioned very prominently in whatever report Mink made—I was just one of dozens of scavengers she planted on Gaia to trick Jules into leading them to the portal ship.
Jules lets out his breath, the tension in his shoulders finally easing, so that he nearly sags where he stands. “Then you have to listen to us, Mr. D—Director. The ship in orbit isnotempty. It’s not inert or benign. It’s full of Undying, and they want Earth.”
It sounds outrageous, said out loud. But the Director merely considers Jules thoughtfully, as if sizing him up in some way. “Certainly, you must have come from the ship—how else would you find yourself here, rather than on Gaia, where our operatives leftyou? And there are quite a few details that seem to corroborate your story.”
My spine straightens, that hope still flickering through me as bright and warm as a fire. Trickles of doubt keep trying to stem the flames, but I ignore them.He may be a creepy international government official, but he’s what we’ve got.
De Luca continues: “Strangely patterned signals that seem to come from the engines of the ship in orbit. Sightings of what looks to be some kind of UFO crash-landing in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Exactly the sort of thing you’d expect to see if aliens were about to descend upon Earth from on high, as you claim.”
As you claim.
The words ring in my ears. My heart is pounding even as it threatens to sink. “Then youknowwe’re telling the truth,” I blurt, forgetting to let Jules do the talking. “Please tell us you guys are doing something about it already—tracking the incoming shuttles, or—or alerting the various governments that something’s coming?”
“It’s interesting, though,” remarks De Luca, undoing the button on his suit jacket so that he can slip his hands into his pockets. “Despite the apparent fluctuations in the orbital ship’s engines, its course hasn’t altered, as it would if it were being piloted. The bogey that went down in the Gulf was conveniently of such a small size that all efforts to recover it have failed, so our technicians cannot study it.”
I can’t help it—I glance at Jules, whose lips are pressed tight together, face stricken. He didn’t get it before, but he gets it now.
No. This is some sort of sick joke.
De Luca’s gaze shifts from Jules to me. “All together, and with your nigh-miraculous return with the ship through the portal bearing tales of ancient beings from across the galaxy, they certainly paint a picture of an alien invasion. Straight out of Hollywood, one might say. The conspiracy theorists are going wild about it online, and some of them are even trying to connect it to Dr. Addison’sown theories. But individually, each one of these incidents is so easily disproven as to be laughable.”
I can feel the hope draining away, and I can’t help but try to cling to it. “Listen, Director, youknowwe were on that ship, youknowwe came through from the portal to Gaia, youknowwe got here to the surface again in one of their shuttles. You have two of them in a holding cell somewhere—all you have to do is look beneath the surface, you’llseethey’re not human!”
The man’s head bobs, as if in agreement, though when he speaks it’s a question. “What you have to understand, Miss Radcliffe, is that the ship’s retrieval has created a very … delicate situation for the IA. Every country in the world wants a piece of the technology it promises, and some are ready to press their claim by any means necessary. The last thing we need is a couple of wild-eyed teenagers throwing gasoline on the simmering coals. Do youwantto be the cause of the next world war?”
I blink my eyes, trying to keep myself from crying out of sheer frustration. “The next world war is alreadyhere, Director, but the enemy’s up there.” I point toward the ceiling—not as dramatic a gesture when we’re inside, but it’s all I’ve got. “What possible reason could we have to make something like this up?”
De Luca smiles at me, giving me the distinctly unpleasant feeling that I’ve just asked the question he was waiting for me to ask. His eyes shift back toward Jules. “Tell me—Mr. Addison, why did you agree to go to Gaia in the first place?”
Jules’s eyes narrow. “To prove my father’s theories about the dangers of adopting Undying technology too quickly.”
De Luca nods again. “And you, Miss Radcliffe?”
I say nothing, all too aware that I look like a sullen child. But all my past experiences dealing with the authorities have come screaming back to me, and I know what Jules does not—that once someone in charge has made up their mind about you, anything you say will only make them more convinced they’re right.
And with a sickening, twisting sense of dread, I’m realizing:He doesn’t believe us at all.
My hope, such a roaring fire moments ago, flickers out like the last guttering efforts of a burned-out candle.
De Luca smiles again as my silence draws out. “I’ll tell you, then. You signed on with our undercover agent for simple profit. Quite an undertaking for someone your age—either you have a remarkably developed sense of greed, or you need that money for something else. Or someoneelse.”
My heart stutters, a painful throb in my chest.
Evie. No, he can’t know. No one knows I have a sister—I’ve spent years making sure the records connecting me with my illegal sister have been purged in every database there is.
But the gleam in De Luca’s eye tells me he knowsexactlywhat I needed that money for. My hand stretches toward Jules—or maybe he reaches for me—and the warmth of his fingers in mine is all that keeps me on my feet.
“So,” De Luca says briskly. “The two of you form a team on Gaia’s surface, and lead us to the ship currently in orbit. Rather than remain in IA custody on Gaia, you escape and stow away on board. Neither of you received the prize you went to Gaia to obtain—Mr. Addison, there was no convenient artifact or inscription elaborating on the many dangers of an extinct race’s leftover technology. And Miss Radcliffe, clearly, is not in possession of any valuable artifacts or tech to sell on the black market. So, what are two criminal teenagers to do?”
Stomach churning, vision sparking with moisture, I can’t help but watch Director De Luca speak—he’s so convincing, so calm, that for a moment I almost believe the story he’s spinning.
“It seems to me that returning to Earth with tales of an alien invasion would create exactly the kind of public panic necessary to win people to Dr. Addison’s cause. And this, certainly, would’ve gone down in history as one of the most elaborate hoaxes ever perpetrated against the world—a story worth a fortune to anyonewilling to buy the rights. Certainly enough to pay for the release of one Evelyn Radcliffe.”
