Ghost Country

Chapter Thirty-Two

Finn had been on the phone for hours. The entire flight back from Yuma and better than ninety minutes in his office. He was standing on his balcony now, staring across D.C. at all the places that'd been on the other ends of his calls. Dark silhouettes of buildings with a few lights on, half an hour before sunrise.

He had one call left to make.

He leaned on the rail. He dialed. Three rings and then a voice answered. "Isaac?"

"Yes," Finn said. "I've spoken with President Currey. I've spoken with everyone who matters. We've come to an agreement. We're not happy with it, but there's no other option in play. Paige Campbell and her friends were in Yuma for several hours, and now they're long gone. We don't know what they saw there, and we don't know who they're talking to right now. We have most of the big dogs in our camp, but we don't have everyone, and given time… these people could hurt us. They could pull the whole plan apart."

He took a breath. Let it out slowly. "We can't wait as long as we meant to," he said. "Umbra needs to happen now. Right now."

He heard a sharp inhalation on the line. "But it's not ready. Entire segments of the plan-"

"The fundamentals are ready," Finn said. "In principle it can work. And in one sense we have an advantage now. We have the cylinder. We can go to the final location and see what's there in 2084. Who knows what we can learn from that."

"Are you going there now?"

"I'll stay in D.C. for the next twenty-four hours. I expect Campbell to come back here and try to contact people she hopes she can trust. I doubt she and the others really appreciate the extent of our connections, in which case there's every chance they'll trip a wire somewhere."

There was a long silence on the line. The sound of uncertainty. Reluctance. Acceptance.

"Currey is already getting started on his end," Finn said. "How long will it take on yours? How long to actually set the plan in motion?"

Another silence. Then: "A day or two. Maybe less. Christ, are we really doing this?"

Finn heard as much excitement as anxiety in the voice.

"Yes, we're really doing this. None of us would've chosen to rush it, but if it's that or never do it at all…"

"I agree. I'm scared as hell, but I agree."

"I knew you would. Get started on it right away. I'll talk to you soon."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Audra."