35

 

THE LAB

Gwen drove straight back to the Lab from Freidland’s house, giving herself no time to stop and think. Just act. Inquisitive academic, surfer girl… she got to play snoop, veiled by airhead. And, she’d make it work, she thought with quiet fury. For the ghosts of her parents and for Al Freidland. For her own sake too.

Remember, said the voice in her head, how Messenger likes head games, how he likes to read people.

She felt light-headed, emotionally exhausted, but in some strange way armored by her resolve and by a kind of mastered terror. She just hoped her armor was Messenger-proof. She flashed her pass, entered her PIN, and strode into the office, raising a hand to greet Mandy, who scurried across her path like a black cat.

Mandy opened her mouth to speak, but Gwen’s determined stride brooked no interruption, and Mandy must have seen something in her eyes, so she just mouthed a silent “Hi” and went on her way.

The phone rang just as Gwen walked into her office. She checked the number, grabbed up the handset.

“Joaquin, what’s up?”

“The good news is I got your new sensors, chica, and the new buoys. I’ve spent the past three days getting them into position. I gave them a day to settle; I’ve just looked at the readings they kicked up. I’ve checked, then triple-checked them. They should have hit your screen an hour ago. I take it you have not seen them.”

“I’m looking now.”

Gwen eyed the new readings marked in green, scrolled down to the conclusions.

She swore under her breath.

“I’ve never seen sea temperature readings rise so fast,” she murmured. “And the colorscope results have moved onto a whole new stratum. You know what this means, Joaquin?”

“A mega-Niño. Wild weather, wilder than we’ve ever seen.”

“It’s the butterfly flapping her wings, Joaquin.”