Deception Point Page 30

The president shook his head. Im afraid I didnt make myself clear. Youll be doing the briefing from where you are via video conference.Oh. Rachel hesitated. What time did you shake up in discernment?Actu exclusivelyy, Herney said, grinning. How ab pop out right instantaneously? allone is already assembled, and theyre staring at a big blank television set. Theyre waiting for you.Rachels body cristalsed. Sir, Im totally unprepared. I cant possibly-Just tell them the truth. How hard is that?But-Rachel, the President said, leaning toward the quiz. Remember, you compile and pass data for a living. Its what you do. Just talk about whats red ink on up there. He reached up to flick a switch on his video transmission gear, but paused. And I think youll be sunny to find Ive set you up in a position of power.Rachel didnt take what he meant, but it was too late to ask. The President threw the switch.The screen in front of Rachel went blank for a moment. When it refreshed, Rachel was s taring at one of the or so unnerving images she had ever insuren. Directly in front of her was the White polarity oval-shaped Off crosspatch. It was packed. Standing room completely. The blameless White House cater appeared to be there. And every one of them was staring at her. Rachel nowadays recognize her view was from atop the Presidents desk.Speaking from a position of power. Rachel was sweating already.From the looks on the faces of the White House staffers, they were as surprised to see Rachel as she was to see them.Ms. Sexton? a raspy voice called out.Rachel searched the sea of faces and found who had spoken. It was a lanky woman just now victorious a set in the front row. Marjorie Tench. The womans distinctive appearance was unmistakable, even in a crowd.Thank you for joining us, Ms. Sexton, Marjorie Tench said, sounding smug. The President tells us you father some news?33Enjoying the darkness, palaeontologist Wailee Ming sat alone in quiet reflection at his pri vate work area. His senses were alive with expectation for tonights event. Soon I will be the most famous paleontologist in the world. He hoped Michael Tolland had been generous and featured Mings comments in the documentary.As Ming savored his impending fame, a faint vibration shuddered through the ice beneath his feet, cause him to jump up. His earthquake instinct from living in Los Angeles made him sensitized to even the faintest palpitations of the ground. At the moment, though, Ming felt foolish to realize the vibration was perfectly normal. Its just ice calving, he re noused himself, exhaling. He still hadnt gotten used to it. Every a couple of(prenominal) hours, a distant explosion rumbled through the night as somewhere along the glacial frontier a huge foil of ice cracked off and fell into the sea. Norah Mangor had a nice counsel of putting it. New icebergs being bornOn his feet now, Ming stretched his arms. He looked across the habisphere, and off in the outdo ben eath the blaze of television spotlights, he could see a celebration was getting underway. Ming was not much for parties and headed in the opposite direction across the habisphere.The labyrinth of deserted work areas now felt like a ghost town, the entire noggin taking on an almost sepulchral feel. A chill seemed to have colonised inside, and Ming buttoned up his long, camel-hair coat.Up ahead he saw the parentage shaft-the point from which the most magnificent fossils in all of human archives had been taken. The giant metal tripod had now been stowed and the pool sat alone, surrounded by pylons like some kind of shunned pothole on a wide parking lot of ice. Ming wandered over to the pit, standing a safe distance cover song, peering into the two-hundred-foot-deep pool of frigid wet. Soon it would refreeze, erasing all traces that anyone had ever been here.The pool of water was a beautiful sight, Ming thought. Even in the dark.Especially in the dark.Ming hesitated at the though t. Then it registered.Theres something wrong.As Ming focused more closely on the water, he felt his previous contentedness give way to a sudden whirlwind of confusion. He blinked his eyes, stared again, and then quickly turned his gaze across the dome fifty yards away toward the mass of people celebrating in the press area. He knew they could not see him way over here in the dark.I should tell someone about this, shouldnt I?Ming looked again at the water, query what he would tell them. Was he seeing an optical illusion? whatever kind of strange reflection?Uncertain, Ming stepped beyond the pylons and squatted ware at the molding of the pit. The water level was four feet below the ice level, and he leaned down to get a better look. Yes, something was unquestionably strange. It was impossible to miss, and yet it had not become visible until the lights in the dome had gone out.Ming stood up. Somebody definitely undeniable to hear about this. He started off at a hurried pace towar d the press area. Completing only a few steps, Ming slammed on the brakes. Good God He spun back toward the hole, his eyes going wide with realization. It had just dawned on him.Impossible he blurted aloud.And yet Ming knew that was the only explanation. Think, carefully, he cautioned. There must be a more liable rationale. But the harder Ming thought, the more convinced he was of what he was seeing. There is no other explanation He could not believe that NASA and Corky Marlinson had someway missed something this incredible, but Ming wasnt complaining.This is Wailee Mings discovery nowTrembling with excitement, Ming ran to a nearby work area and found a beaker. All he needed was a little water sample. Nobody was going to believe this34As intelligence liaison to the White House, Rachel Sexton was saying, trying to reinforcement her voice from shaking as she addressed the crowd on the screen before her, my duties include traveling to political hot spots around the globe, analyzing volatile situations, and reporting to the President and White House staff.A ivory of sweat formed just below her hairline and Rachel dabbed it away, silently cursing the President for dropping this briefing into her lap with zero warning.Never before have my travels taken me to quite this exotic a spot. Rachel motioned stiffly to the cramped poke around her. Believe it or not, I am addressing you right now from preceding(prenominal) the Arctic Circle on a sheet of ice that is over three hundred feet thick.Rachel sensed a bewildered expectancy in the faces on the screen before her. They obviously knew they had been packed into the Oval Office for a reason, but certainly none of them imagined it would have anything to do with a development above the Arctic Circle.The sweat was beading again. survive it together, Rachel. This is what you do. I sit before you tonight with great honor, pride, and above all, excitement. mindless looks.Screw it, she thought, angrily wiping the sweat away. I didnt sign up for this. Rachel knew what her mystify would say if she were here now When in doubt, just spit it out The old Yankee proverb embodied one of her moms basic beliefs-that all challenges can be overcome by speaking the truth, no weigh how it comes out.Taking a deep breath, Rachel sat up tall and looked unfeigned into the camera. Sorry, folks, if youre wondering how I could be sweating my butt off above the Arctic Circle Im a little nervous.The faces before her seemed to jolt back a moment. Some uneasy laughter.In addition, Rachel said, your boss gave me about ten seconds warning before telling me I would be facing his entire staff. This baptism by fire is not exactly what I had in mind for my first visit to the Oval Office.