As he strode down the hallway, Humphries mused to himself, It could work! If we could spread enough nanomachines I could break the greenhouse warming in a couple of years. They’d be on their knees with gratitude.
He decided to put a small team of experts together to study the possibilities dispassionately. Cardenas isn’t the only nanotechnology guru in Selene, he assured himself.
BREAKOUT
Kris Cardenas stared at the locked door for several silent moments after Humphries left, then she suddenly broke into racking sobs. Face buried in her hands, body bent, she stumbled to the bed and threw herself onto it, crying inconsolably. George stood uncertainly in the far corner of the bedroom, wondering what he should do. She’s already hysterical, he said to himself. If I go and tap her on the shoulder and say, “Hi! I’m an invisible man!” she’ll probably freak out altogether.
So he waited, fidgeting unhappily, until Cardenas stopped crying. It didn’t take long. She sat up on the bed, took a deep breath, then got to her feet and went to the lavatory. When she came out again, it was obvious to George that she had washed her face and put on some makeup. But her eyes were still red, puffy.
Well, you can’t stand here like a fookin’ idiot forever, George told himself. Do something!
Before he could decide what to do, Cardenas walked to the window and pressed her fingers against the glass. Then she turned and seemed to survey the room. With a slight nod, she walked to the bare little desk and picked up its wooden, cushioned chair. It seemed heavy for her, but she carried it, tottering slightly, to the window.
She wants to crash the window and jump out of here, George realized. She’ll just end up hurting herself.
He touched her arm lightly and whispered, “Excuse me.” Cardenas flinched and let the chair thump to the carpeting. She blinked, stared, saw nothing.
“Excuse me, Dr. Cardenas,” George whispered. She spun around in a complete circle, eyes wide. “Who said that?”
George cleared his throat and replied, a little louder, “It’s me, George Ambrose. I’m—”
“Where the hell are you?”
George felt slightly embarrassed. “I’m invisible.”
“I’m going crazy,” Cardenas muttered. She sank down onto the chair, right there in the middle of the room.
“No you’re not,” George said, still keeping his voice low. “I’m here to get you out of this place.”
“This is a trick.”
“Is this room bugged? Do they have any cameras in here?”
“I… don’t think so…”
“Look,” George said, then immediately realized it was a foolish term to use. “I’m gonna take off me hood so you can see me face. Don’t get scared now.”
Cardenas looked more suspicious than frightened. George yanked the hood off his head and pulled off his face mask. It felt good to feel cool air on his skin.
She jumped out of the chair. “Christ almighty!”
“No, it’s just me,” he said, with a slight grin. “George Ambrose. I work for Dan Randolph, y’know.”
Comprehension lit her eyes. “Walton’s stealth suit! He didn’t destroy it, after all.”
“You know about it.”
“Me, and four other people.”
“There’s a few more now,” George said.
“How in the world did you ever—”
“No time for that now. We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“How?”
George scratched at his beard. “Good question.”
“You didn’t bring along a suit for me, did you?” Cardenas said.
“Should have, shouldn’t I? We just didn’t think of it. We weren’t certain where you were.”
“So what do we do?”
George thought it over for a few moments. “They keep you in this room all the time?”
Cardenas nodded.
“Door’s locked, isn’t it?”
“Yes. And there’s a guard outside… at least, every time they’ve brought a meal in to me there’s been a guard out in the hall. I imagine he’s armed.”
George’s face lit up. “When do they bring you meals? When’s the next one coming?”
Several hours later there was a single rap on the door, and then Cardenas heard the lock click. She glanced swiftly about the room but could no longer see George.
The door opened and the same silent, sour-faced woman in dark uniform came in, carrying a dinner tray. Cardenas could see a wiry young man standing on the other side of the doorway. The woman deposited the tray wordlessly on the coffee table in front of the sofa and then departed, still silent and dour. The guard closed the door and locked it again.