LITMIR.BIZ

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it was too early to be glad.

      “What for?”

      “We’ve got orders from above. I’ve always known you can’t be trusted! Where’s the third terrorist?”

      Barkov guessed the problem. The White House Secret Service technologies had proved to be much more sophisticated than Lorenzetti had believed. The virtual sergeant saw not only the hacker who was inside the 3D image, but also the detached onlookers.

      “We’re not the terrorists! And there are only two of us,” Andrew answered.

      “Come out of the elevator!” the policeman standing before Palmer ordered.

      Barkov had never been in the position of a criminal before. The feeling was very unpleasant.

      Maybe it’s all for the best. According to protocol, they must take us to the pretrial prison. I’ll be able to find Housman there.

      “I can close the doors, and we’ll return to the penthouse,” Emily whispered.

      “No,” Andrew answered in a quiet voice.

      He raised his hands slowly and stepped out of the elevator.

      “Turn around!” the same cop commanded.

      Barkov turned round.

      The cop ran up to him, put Andrew’s hands behind his back, and slapped on electronic bracelets that clenched automatically. Then he pulled Andrew’s pistol out of the holster.

      “Now you, lady! Come out of the elevator!”

      Emily fulfilled his order without uttering a word. The policeman put handcuffs on her wrists, too.

      “Guys, listen to me,” Andrew said. “We are not terrorists. We just know too much. In two hours, the President of the World will be on e-vision and announce evacuation to green zones. But what he will not say that it’ll be impossible to survive even in the green zones if the earth stops rotating completely. I have an idea how we can save our lives!”

      “Stop talking crap!” Captain Palmer snapped out. “You were going to blow up this building, confess to it!”

      “What?”

      “You’ve had your eye on my position all these years. So you decided creating a fake terrorist attack that would get me ousted, proving I couldn’t prevent crimes in my area!”

      “Captain, you are paranoiac. Consult a doctor!”

      Palmer came up to Andrew. Having checked if the bracelets held Barkov’s wrists tightly, he took the arrestee by his shoulders and turned him round. Andrew saw that the captain’s face twitched with emotion.

      “At last, I can do what I’ve been dreaming of for so long!”

      “What’s that?” Barkov inquired, knowing the answer already, his senses showing action and reaction.

      The captain clenched his fist and threw his arm upward aiming at Andrew’s chin. Barkov moved aside letting the fist fly past him, and struck the captain’s groin with his shin. Palmer moaned, clutched his groin and folded up.

      At the very same second Andrew realized that had been unwise. He shouldn’t have resisted. On the contrary, he should have feigned fear and dejection. And even to gratify Palmer’s wish – let him strike him once. In the pretrial prison, meek inmates were allowed to the common canteen and gym where he could see Housman!

      Too late, his mistake caused blows to rain on him from all quarters. Andrew tried to evade the most dangerous of them. The cops knocked him down, kicking his back, stomach and head. Green spots danced in his eyes.

      “Stop it!” Emily screamed. “You’ll kill him!”

      The blows stopped and two of the cops hurried into the elevator, ready to retrieve the third terrorist.

      “Captain, the elevator won’t go,” a policeman said. “It requires us to deposit our weapons!”

      Palmer replied, “Don’t deposit anything! Six of you, climb the stairs, penetrate through the roof, the sewage system, whatever, and get the third member of the gang for me! Meanwhile, we’ll take these two to the prison. Detectives, take them to the car!”

      Cops grasped Andrew’s arms and led him and Emily across the foyer to the exit. The concierge and the couple sitting in armchairs followed them with frightened eyes.

      Before the building, there was a long line of police cars. The prisoners were put into a van with long, narrow slit-like windows. Palmer and one of sergeants Andrew didn’t know sat down on opposite seats.

      Barkov came to his senses fairly quickly. His whole body was aching, but fortunately, there were neither fractures nor displacements.

      “Don’t even think of escaping,” the captain warned as he took out his pistol and put it on his hip, the barrel towards Andrew. “I am ordered to bring you in dead or alive. And I’ll do it, have no doubts!”

      Police alarm signals started howling. The van set out accompanied by several other cars. The columns in the form of sea horses and the flowerbed with the condominium name passed by.

      Barkov made one more attempt to explain the situation. “Captain, a global disaster awaits us. You must not stay in Miami. You and your family must…”

      “Shut up!” Palmer shouted, raising his gun. “If you say one more word, I’ll shoot a hole in your bean!”

      This man had never been particularly bright. All he knew to do was execution of higher-ups’ orders, and he required the same thing from his subordinates. Fool. So much the worse for you.

      Turning to Crandon Boulevard, the convoy of electromobiles moved faster. In about three minutes, the Biscayne Key island disappeared behind them as the cars entered the bridge to Virginia Key.

      Water had left the Biscayne Bay almost completely. Now it was an uneven field covered with dark green algae. Only in some points of the field were there small blue backwaters.

      “They want to shoot you,” she looked directly at Palmer, “and to question us,” Emily said suddenly as she took her eyes off the window and looked at the captain.

      Palmer stared at her for some time in silence. Finally, he reacted, “What are you babbling on about?”

      She turned her head to Barkov and re-stated, “They want to kill them,” her eyes shifted quickly to Palmer and back to Andrew, “and to interrogate us.”

      Her voice sounded even, but there was extreme tension in it.

      “Where’s the information coming from?” Andrew asked, remembering the girl’s ability to hear electromagnetic waves.

      “From above.”

      “What do you mean by ‘above’?”

      “We must run away,” she looked at Palmer again. “Stop the car now!”

      Captain’s eyes widened. “What? We are sitting with guns in our hands and you are in handcuffs. Why are you trying to give me orders?”

      “Ah yes, handcuffs!” the girl mumbled, as if changing her mind.

      Barkov felt that the bracelets on his wrists suddenly slackened. He could cast them off. Not yet. He needed to pick the right moment.

      The drone of a motor was heard from the ocean on the east side of the bridge. The sound increased quickly. In a few moments, it was clear that a helicopter was approaching.

      Barkov tipped his head to one side trying to see the aircraft in the sky. The window was too narrow. He just managed to spot a formless shadow sweep past on the asphalt. The roar of the rotors made the seat vibrate for a few seconds. A bit later, the van braked abruptly.

      Pressing a button on a transmitter fastened to his shoulder, Palmer said in irritation, “Why have we stopped?”

      “Captain,

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