Gale Force Page 0,95
price.
I also knew how hard it was going to be for them to stand by and sacrifice Rahel for a tactical point. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. I knew David, and I knew that making those choices was just as impossibly hard for him as it was for me.
Part of what we planned was, again, complete insanity. Lewis carried out the first part of it at four o'clock, on the steps of the Miami FBI field office.
We called a press conference. To say it was well attended would be to say that the hottest club in LA had a bit of a wait to get in. I'd expected to draw attention, but as we walked through the lobby with a flying escort of FBI agents, Homeland Security, and anxiously hovering, nameless other governmental representatives, I could hear the roar of the crowd outside.
One of the no-name governmental types, nattily turned out in a nicely tailored suit and a two-hundred-dollar haircut, pushed in front of us and physically threw himself against the glass doors leading out, facing us down. "Wait!" he blurted. The parade trickled to a halt, and Lewis and I glanced at each other. We'd had bets on how long it would take for the cold feet to manifest. I was about to make a cool twenty bucks. Sweet. "Are you sure about this? You're sure there's no other way? The chaos - the fear - "
"Let me put it this way," Lewis said. "You had half the news media covering the meltdown out at the motel earlier today, and every phone line to every possible agency has been jammed ever since, demanding an explanation. Do you want to try to coordinate some big lie that won't get found out, at this point? Because I'd be happy to put your name forward as the guy in charge."
No-Name Nice Suit Guy swallowed and lowered his arms. He straightened his lapels with an unconscious gesture and stepped out of the way.
"Damn," Lewis said. "Kind of hoped he'd go for it, actually."
Fat chance. This wasn't a hot potato; it was the entire state of Idaho, fresh out of the microwave.
"Here goes," Lewis said, and opened the door.
The noise washed over us in a wave, and we walked out into a whiteout of flashbulbs and video spotlights. It was like hitting a psychic wall, and if I'd been on my own, I'd have caved fast and hard. God. I couldn't focus on anything; the crowd was a faceless mass of shouting faces, all blurring into a snarling, hostile entity. I transferred my probably shell-shocked stare to the buildings on the far side of the street. Somebody was in an office, backlit, looking out at us. Nice to have that kind of distance.
The FBI special agent in charge stepped up to the bank of hastily taped-together microphones and made some brief remarks, nothing incriminating for the agency, and introduced Lewis by name, adding that he was with "a special branch of the United Nations known as the Wardens." That was it. He got out of the way, ignoring the shouted avalanche of questions.
Lewis took a deep breath and stepped up. He was tall, imposing, and had the kind of personal aura that made people take notice, when he deigned to use it. He used it now. I saw ripples of quiet move through the crowd, and reporters lean forward to catch every word he had to say.
"Earlier today some of you witnessed a battle between two opposing sides in a conflict," he said. "As you reported, there were casualties on both sides. I'm here to explain to you what that conflict is, what it's about, and how you can help."
I expected a torrent of questions, but the crowd stayed still in the pause. Maybe they were stunned that they were actually going to be given information. Or maybe Lewis had sneakily exerted some Earth Warden influence on them. I used some myself, on myself, to slow my racing pulse and get myself ready for the inevitable.
"The Wardens are part of the United Nations," Lewis said, "in the sense that we are a worldwide organization, independent of governments but working in cooperation with them whenever possible. There is a world around you, a world you see every day without knowing the truth behind it. At its most basic level, the forces at work in the universe, or at least on this planet, are real and tangible." He paused again and took the