Return of the Ancients by Beck Greig

Author:Beck, Greig [Beck, Greig]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781743340271
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Australia
Published: 2012-02-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

It Must Be Fun To Play God

Jim Takada paced the floor of the command room, his arms folded and his face pulled into a frown. He stopped and turned. ‘But if it’s still open, then what’s to stop more . . . objects falling through?’

Albert Harper shrugged. ‘What’s to stop them falling back? Might be a revolving door, rather than a one-way exit only.’

‘Do you think the boy could return with the diamond, or at least be retrieved?

‘Good question. I hope so, but from where? He might be as close as tomorrow, but in a different dimensional slice of the universe. He could also be standing in a Cretaceous swamp – we can’t know from here. But I think we should try and find out, don’t you?’

Takada nodded. ‘Gets my vote.’

There was a buzz from the communication panel beside Harper’s hand, and he looked down at the flashing light. ‘Front gate,’ he grunted, flicking a switch. ‘Harper here.’

‘Dr. Harper, it’s the girl, Rebecca Matthews. I guess she’s come to check on our progress again.’

Harper sighed and looked at the security monitor for the front gate, where the girl stood beside a car, in which sat a middle-aged man and woman – probably her parents.

‘Tell her I’m not . . .’ He thought for a moment. If we’re going to find Singer, we first need to understand him . . . and she could help. He shrugged. Couldn’t do any more harm, he thought.

A news blackout, and a selective misinformation leak had thrown the press off for now. Most of the scientists and technicians required on the emergency project were flown in and out by helicopter, and stayed on the Fermilab grounds.

‘Sure, Bob, let her through. I’ll send a cart to pick her up. Just make sure one of the guards checks to make sure she doesn’t have a pocket camera . . . And get her to turn her phone off immediately.’

Harper flicked off the communication feed, but continued to watch as the gates slid back and the girl was waved through. Bob Menzies leaned in through the car window and spoke to the parents for a minute, then stood back to wave as the car backed away.

The gate slid closed, and Bob chatted with the girl until another guard appeared, walking beside a dog that was unleashed. He spoke a few words to the animal and it immediately circled the girl, sniffing intently, and then froze to stare into her face. It held that position, simply starring into the girl’s eyes.

What do they see when they do that? Harper wondered.

After a few seconds more, the animal returned to sit by the guard.

The guard and the dog wandered away, leaving Bob to chat with the girl for a few more moments until a golf cart pulled up beside them. She climbed in for the several mile trip to the head office, where the rescue attempt was being coordinated.

Harper looked at his watch. He had a few minutes until she

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