Alison considered his question. “It does.”
“It started out as exciting, but now it’s beginning to feel a little eerie. Do you remember that video we saw on the internet? The one with that dive team who was approached by a bottlenose?”
“The one caught in the line?”
“Right. It was caught in a fishing line and had a hook stuck in one of its flippers.”
“Of course I remember. It was amazing.”
“It was, right? I saw that again the other day and if you watch the video carefully, there are so many things that indicate a much deeper level of consciousness. How slowly it matched the diver’s movements. How close the dolphin was to him, like they were bound to each other. It worked together with him to get the hook out and the line removed. For those few minutes, they were partners. They just knew what the other was trying to do.” Chris shrugged. “Anyone can see it if they look close enough. It doesn’t take someone like us to show the world there’s a lot more there than we think.”
Alison grinned. “And that scares you?”
“No, not that. It’s how fast it’s all happening. How fast our world is changing. Just look at how fast IMIS is translating now. There’s a lot happening in this world that we don’t know about and it feels like it’s exploding.”
He shook his head. “And the world doesn’t seem to do well with explosions in anything. What happens to us, Ali? What happens to all of us when the world realizes how deep this goes? It’s like discovering extraterrestrials. Realizing that we really aren’t alone in the universe. Hell, we’re not even alone on the planet. We never were. And IMIS is the catalyst for it all.”
She looked back down at Dirk and Sally, thinking. “I know what you mean. It wasn’t too long ago that I thought the truth was more important than anything. That all the politics — all the cover-ups and deceit — would right themselves if there was enough truth. But now I’m not so sure. I’m beginning to think that truth, for all its virtue… is dangerous. For us and for them.”
Chris nodded. “I think people can only absorb so much change at once. And as a society, probably even less.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Alison’s eyes glanced back to the shore where she watched Echo Pier receding behind them. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? We tell stories and even make movies about how great a different future would be. But we rarely think about all the consequences.” Her eyes remained fixed on the horizon. “Remember when we first started this project? Remember all the research we did… and some of those crazy stories?”
“How could I forget?”
“Maybe some of them weren’t so crazy.”
Chris frowned. “Ali, some of those people claimed dolphins could shapeshift into mermaids.”
“I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about some of the others.”
“You mean the ones about healing.”
“Right. Some of those people claimed they were healed after touching dolphins.”
What was left of Chris’s grin abruptly faded.
“Maybe some of those people weren’t crazy, Chris. Maybe they can heal. If not directly then maybe indirectly.” Alison took a deep breath and turned around, leaning against the rail. “Now, thinking about what you just said, I think you may be more right than you know. Society doesn’t deal with change as well as we all think. At least not sudden change.” She looked up into Chris’s eyes. “What do you think would happen if people found out they can heal? What do you think happens to dolphins then?”
Chris sighed. “Elephant tusks come to mind.”
“And shark cartilage. And that doesn’t even work.”
He folded his arms. “People would go crazy. When millions of those people think they can be healed from disease by getting a hold of a dolphin.”
“Especially if it’s true.”
“Exactly.”
“And then there’s the plants. If they really are like what John recovered in Guyana, how in the world do you keep that secret?” She paused, thinking about John, and something he’d said just a few weeks earlier: beware the leap.
“Explosions,” Chris said.
“Okay, you’re right,” she said in a lowered voice. “This is getting scary.”
“And we’re right in the middle of it.” He watched Alison become quiet and decided to change the subject. “Anyway, now that you’re sorry you asked… how’s everything else? How’s John?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I haven’t talked to him in a few days.” She tried to convince herself it wasn’t a big deal. Just another routine mission that didn’t allow him to make calls. He’d said as much when they last talked. But something didn’t feel right. Something felt very wrong and she didn’t know why.
48
John Clay was also feeling worried, at the lights he and Tang were now seeing in the distance, above the trees.
Helicopters.
But these helicopters were not just searching. These were bigger… and they were landing.
Apparently it was decided that stopping everyone was better than trying to find them from the air. Borger was right. Someone knew.
The lights from the two large choppers descended and disappeared behind a dense patch of trees, leaving only a faint glow overhead to indicate anything was waiting on the other side.
As Tang rounded a slight curve, both men could see three sets of brake lights shining brightly from the cars ahead.
“This isn’t good.”
“No, it’s not.” Clay looked at the map on his phone again. They were less than seven miles away. Damn close. He immediately reached into the back and grabbed his bag.
The road straightened, allowing them to see the first set of headlights shining at them. The bright white lights flashed off momentarily before resuming, indicating something had just passed in front of the distant vehicle.
“Someone’s approaching on foot.”
“Slow down.” Clay shoved the satellite phone back into a side pocket and lifted the heavy bag onto his lap. “They’ll see us if we stop.” He then reached up and turned off the interior lamp.
“What are you going to do, jump?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, let me get closer.” Tang continued to slow the vehicle smoothly and drifted toward the edge of the road. They were now within a quarter mile of the blockade. Up ahead, flashlights appeared next to the first stopped car.
“Keep your brights on until you get my door closed again.”
Tang nodded. “Say when.”
Clay quickly checked his feet and legs to make sure they were clear, then found the handles of his bag and cinched them together. “Go!”
As soon as Tang turned on the car’s bright lights, Clay opened his door. In a split second, he jumped into the darkness and disappeared while Tang swiftly leaned over, fumbling for the door. His fingertips found a corner of the handle and pulled it shut, careful not to slam it. At an eighth of a mile, he turned the brights off and continued slowing behind the car in front of him.
Tang fought his instinct to look back for Clay in the mirror just as one of the powerful flashlights moved further out into the road and shone directly into his windshield. The beam remained on him as he coasted in, behind the others, where he counted five soldiers on the road. Two were holding flashlights with two more gripping QBZ-95 assault rifles tightly in their hands. The fifth and closest soldier, with a flashlight already trained on Tang, turned back down the road as another car appeared in the distance.
Tang could see the men were not in the mood for pleasantries.
“Where are you going?” a voice barked from behind a flashlight.