Assembly

November 11, this year
Upper Priest Lake, Idaho
2:15pm PST

“Holy shit!” the medic cries out as he enters the room. Her mouth drops open at the sight of the severed hands clutching the blinking taser casing. “Holy shit!” The room is moaning in pain. The three injured security officers are being attended to by their comrades. Rearden is kneeling beside the man with the broken leg and cradling his head. The medic says, “What the hell happened?”

What the hell happened? What the hell is happening? Astrid feels vertigo as her mind seeks reason. She rises from her knees along with the rest of the gathering. She feels Graham’s hand on her arm assisting her. She is lightheaded.

Lynn Eastman stoops and finds her pistol. Raising it, she aims at the library entrance. Her other hand taps a transmitter in her ear. “I need two teams in Citadel Tomb. Now! Code Red, I repeat, Code Red. We have a Foamer.” She calls out for Davis and four of the other security officers and orders them to gear up. To the rest of the group she says, “All of you should exit the chamber and proceed to the briefing tent. Coldwater teams will secure the area.”

“Eastman,” Graham says, “you should not corner her. Let us see what communication can do.”

“I have every intention of communicating with her,” Eastman says, “You and the professor will assist us in the search.” She says to Astrid, “She called your name, Professor—followed by avu. Avu… Avu means eye, correct?”

“Correct.”

“What do you think she means?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well if anything happens to cross your mind, you’ll share it with me.”

Astrid does not answer.

As they move toward the exit, Astrid notices Rearden rising from beside the man with the broken leg. He adjusts his suit coat.

“I believe I should come along as well,” he says to Eastman.

“Why is that, Doctor?”

Rearden looks at Astrid. “For some reason she looked to me for help. Perhaps that is something we can use.”

Eastman weighs the request. “Perhaps you’re right,” she agrees.

Just as Astrid is about to protest, stretchers arrive with the second and third security team. The man with the broken leg searches the stone floor around him. “My weapon,” he says. “Where’s my weapon?”