Supersymmetry

CHAPTER 6

Alex ran out of the warehouse, adrenaline lighting up her senses, making everything seem bright and crisp and much too fast. She was in her car and fumbling for the keys before she could remember running to the parking lot, and driving away at high speed before she could think about where she was going. She could feel the raw power of the gun thundering in her hands, could see the bullets tearing through Secretary Falk’s chest. Her own blood roared in her ears.

Who could she go to for help? Her father came immediately to mind, but, of course, that would be one of the first places the police would look. Sean was in Poland. Claire was in California. Sandra lived close by, but she was a cop herself. Alex couldn’t put her in that position.

She needed a safe place. Her own apartment was obviously out, as was her parents’ house, or the home of anyone she knew. She stopped at an ATM and withdrew $1000 in cash—the machine’s limit—not expecting to be able to do so again anytime soon. They could track her through her bank access. She wouldn’t be able to use a hotel, either, for the same reason. The enormity of trying to evade capture was overwhelming; she would need a false identification, which she had no idea how to get. She might even have to leave the country.

Or she could turn herself in. That would be the easiest thing, maybe the right thing. But there was a varcolac loose in the world again, and there were precious few people who knew what that meant. She had to call her father. He might not know what to do either, but at least he would believe her. At least he would know what she was talking about.

Her mother answered the phone.

“Mom,” she said. “Is Dad there?”

“Alex…” she said, and trailed off into silence. After a moment, she realized her mother was softly crying on the other end of the line.

“Mom? What’s going on? Did they already call you?”

Her mother took a shaky breath. “Did who call?”

“Never mind. What’s wrong?”

“Your father’s gone.”

“What do you mean? You don’t know where he is?”

“He was in the kitchen staring at some data that Sandra gave him, drinking his coffee. Sandra left for work, and five minutes later, he was gone. I came back, and his coffee mug was still there, but he wasn’t.” Her voice started to shake again. “One moment he was there; the next he was gone.”

Alex looked in her rearview mirror. There was a battered green car behind her, old and rusted, a first-generation electric by the look of it. She had seen it in the NJSC parking lot. It must have left at nearly the same time she did. It was following her.

“Alex? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Can you come home as soon as you can? I don’t know what to do.”

“Mom, I’m sorry. I can’t.”

“Please, Alex. I know it sounds crazy. But Sandra’s on shift, and I need you. I’ll explain it all when you get here.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t. In fact, I’m not going to be able to call for a while, either. I’m sorry.”

“Where are you?” her mother said. “What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”

“Listen, when the police call… I didn’t do what they say I did.”

“Oh, Alex. What happened?”

“I have to go. I love you.”

“Alex!”

Alex disconnected. She felt panicky. She needed her father, and he wasn’t there. She didn’t know what her mother was talking about, but she couldn’t think about that right now. She needed a place to go, and a new car, and new clothes.

The green car was still behind her. Whoever it was had no subtlety. Besides which, the little electric wouldn’t be able to keep up with her modern engine if she wanted to lose it. It couldn’t be a cop. She stepped on the accelerator, quickly picking up speed. The green car accelerated, too, but not enough to keep up. Instead, it started honking at her.

She thought for a moment it might be Tequila, but Tequila was driving a rental, a midsized silver sedan. She slowed down again until she could see the driver in her rearview mirror, an obese man in rumpled clothes. It was Ryan Oronzi.

What did he want? He clearly wanted her to stop. Maybe he had some evidence, something that could prove that it hadn’t been her fault. A recording with a good shot of Secretary Falk’s face, for instance. If he wanted to turn her in, he could have done that already. And he was hardly going to overpower her in a fight. The best thing to do was to stop and see what he wanted.

Alex took the Broad Street exit into the city, and the green car followed. She pulled into the first parking lot she saw, a Dunkin’ Donuts. Oronzi claimed the parking spot next to her. He hauled himself up out of the driver’s seat.

She strode around her car to face him. This was the genius of Lakehurst, the man who had invented the Higgs projector. Under normal circumstances, she would have been awed to meet him. Now, she just felt impatient and annoyed. “What do you want?” she asked. “Why are you following me?”

“You’ve seen it before.”

“What?”

“The thing that took over Secretary Falk. I could see it in your face. You’ve seen it before.”

“Are you here to help me? Because if not, I need to go.”

“I want to know what it is. Where it comes from. What it can do.”

This was a bad idea. She was wasting time. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m in a little trouble right now. I can’t just sit down for a little chat over a cup of coffee. The FBI and the Secret Service and the whole US military are probably out looking for me now, so if you don’t mind, stop following me. Just leave me alone.”

She stalked back around toward the driver’s door of her car and wrenched it open.

“I can help you,” Oronzi said.

She stared at him over the car roof. “How?”

“I can make you disappear.”

She gave her head an angry shake. “What are you, international man of mystery? How are you going to do that?”

His eyes narrowed and darted back and forth before coming to rest on her again. “I can. Trust me.”

Alex sighed. She didn’t trust him. Even if he meant what he said, she didn’t know if he could deliver on his promise. But neither did she have any good options of her own. She threw up her hands. “Fine,” she said. “Make me disappear.”