“Deadlines,” echoed the angel, enjoying the taste of the word.
“We have a lot riding on this, compadre,” said Gerlach. “Do you even know how much money it’s taken to move all these families into this junkhole of a town? New construction, improved infrastructure, a rebuilt school system, not to mention providing jobs for everyone who isn’t part of the program. Day care, too. All of that costs money, and every day that we have to wait for you, we are burning off something north of one million dollars. Every single day.”
“Money belongs to the human world,” said the angel.
“Yeah, yeah, and you’re not human and by the light of the Red Age you’ll be revealed in all your glory as a nephilim. Right. I’ve heard it a hundred times. I understand how you see things. But let me say this—I don’t know what you are or how you’re becoming whatever it is you think you’re going to become. Angel, devil, mutant, sideshow freak, whatever. Doesn’t mean a thing to me. It’s a side effect. Whatever makes you what you are is a by-product of genetics taking a sharp left turn somewhere in your family history. Or, hey, maybe it is supernatural and you’re really turning into a demon from hell. I don’t know and, frankly, I don’t care. The only thing I care about is the program.”
“And your deadline.”
“Our deadline, Sparky,” Gerlach reminded him. “You signed up for this. And don’t tell me that we are a means to your end. That wouldn’t be the best way for this conversation to go. Understand me?”
The angel said nothing, but his smile shone like the sun.
“You’ve put a bunch of test subjects in the ground,” said the agent. “I’ve had to do the detail work to make sure it looks clean and tidy.”
“And bravo for staging your little dramas. It’s great theater.”
“Bite me,” said Gerlach, but he grinned. “I need to know two things right now. First, I need you to assure me—and to make me absolutely believe—that those kids were of no significant use to the program.”
“I told you this before,” said the angel, the first trace of annoyance creeping into his voice. “They were failures, dead ends in terms of cultivation. All but two had hit a hard ceiling in the development of their abilities. The Bell girl and this piece of nothing showed promise at first, but as their talents emerged, they began to look in the wrong direction. They thought they understood what was happening, and each planned to do something about it. That couldn’t be allowed.”
“Uh-huh,” said Gerlach, and he let his skepticism show through in his tone. “There was no other way to handle it?”
“No better way.”
Gerlach took a pack of gum from his pocket, unwrapped two sticks, and began chewing them. He didn’t offer any to the angel.
“What is your other concern?” asked the angel.
“You haven’t filed a progress report.”
“It’s pending.”
“It’s late.”
“Things are becoming critical,” said the angel. “I don’t have time to waste. This meeting, in fact, is inconvenient.”
“Too bad.” Gerlach chewed his gum.
“Yes, it will be too bad if this distraction results in another of our subjects breaking loose.
“Control,” the angel said, “requires focus.”
CHAPTER 27
Beyond Beyond
4:09 P.M.
“Don’t freak out,” said Corinda.
“I think it’s too late for that,” said Dana. “I’m way past being freaked.”
They sat together at the table where Dana and Melissa usually sat. Corinda said she needed to be close to the coffee bar register and where she could see the front register in case she had to go help the part-time girl. There were fresh cups of tea and a plate of scones on the table, but Dana hadn’t touched them. Her pulse was beating as rapidly as machine-gun fire, and she was sweating badly. She also felt light-headed, as if this were all some kind of dream and she wasn’t fully awake.
“How do you know about the murders?” demanded Dana. “How do you know about my dreams? How do you know any of this stuff?”
Corinda picked up her cup, blew across the surface of the hot tea, and took a careful sip. Then she leaned over and took a deep inhalation of the vapors, her eyes closing for a moment. “Ahhh, that’s nice. This is my own special mixture. Lotus flower tea. The lotus is a sacred symbol of eternal life in all the important spiritual cultures, from modern Egyptian Kemeticism to ancient Hinduism and Buddhism. It helps cultivate spiritual enlightenment, transcendence, and devotional love. You can use any part of the lotus, but I love it with the stamens and petals.”
Dana stared at her. “You’re talking about tea and my head’s about to explode.”
Corinda nodded to the cup in front of Dana. “I made you special tea with chamomile to soothe your nerves, and rose petals, which are a wonderful way to help open the heart, calm the mind, relax the body, stabilize your aura.”