Then Bobby sent to them all, Like how they tricked us into thinking Alfonso wasn’t a real person anymore?

Rangan nodded slowly.

“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe something like that, yeah.”

And then he reached out with his mind, and pulled them all into a hug larger than his arms could ever have encircled.

Abigail waddled down into the cellar some hours later, with Levi behind her, holding his wife’s hand, making sure she didn’t fall.

“Service is over,” Levi announced, smiling, crouching by Rangan’s cot. “Everyone’s gone home. Those that made it out in the first place.”

“And tomorrow,” Abigail said, with a small clap of her hands, “It’s time for you boys to move on, towards your new home!”

CUBA!

CUBA!

Bobby grabbed Rangan’s hand. “We’re going to Cuba!”

Levi’s smile wavered just a little bit. “Well yes you are,” he said. “But the way we have for you boys to get there won’t work for Rangan. So you’re going to have to say goodbye for just a little while.”

A wave of disappointment rushed through them all.

13
Threat Vectors

Sunday 2040.11.04

Pryce experienced the National Security Council meeting as one threat after another, each worse than the last. No threat board ever looked green. She’d learned that early on. But they seldom looked like this.

“…placed a highest priority request for the extradition of Kaden Lane,” the Secretary of State was saying, from one of the giant screens. “Still a very high risk India could pull out of Copenhagen. If they do, it’ll be a complete disaster. They could pull a dozen unaligned countries with them.”

“Our intelligence suggests a Chinese attack on the Burmese island Lane’s flight originated from,” the CIA director said from another screen. “They may have been trying to capture Lane for themselves.”

Admiral McWilliams, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, cut in. “We have direct imagery of Indian forces landing on Apyar Kyun, not Chinese.”

“We should consider an op…” CIA started.

“No,” Pryce said. “The President’s been clear. India, Copenhagen, and Lane are all in State’s bag now. Next topic.”

She was inside Air Force one, in the cavernous Situation Room set behind the President’s suite in the upper deck of the giant double-decker craft. John Stockton was welcome at these meetings, but he was down below, talking to the press that traveled with him, making statements, doing damage control.

He was welcome to that job, Pryce thought.

Hers was keeping the free world safe.

CIA spoke again. “China. We have more confirmation that it’s a coup. Bo Jintao, Minister of State Security, seems to be in charge now. A hardliner. Progressive Politburo members are effectively under house arrest…”

Fleet deployments. Diplomatic response. Human rights violations. Impact on trade agreements. Containment plans. There was always more to discuss than there was time.

And it was seldom as bad as this.