A Covenant with Death: The Peacock Trilogy - Book 3 Read Free Page A

Maine.
    The four arrived at Boardroom Global Admin A. Before they entered, Laverna whispered to her husband. “I had another vision. Can we talk about it tonight?”
    He pulled her close. “Remember, you’re traveling to the Bering Strait Bridge tomorrow. I’ll give you an hour. Then it’s to bed by nine.”
    “Thank you.” With her cancer and her memory problems, she needed more rest than she received.
    Laverna took her seat to the left of her husband at the head of the table. Van Meer positioned himself on Pendleton’s right. Fifteen scientists from the Global Warming Task Force filled out the attendees. Now donning spectacles at age 62, Pendleton scanned several pages of raw data.
    “Synopsize this for me.” He frowned and scratched his head. “Too complicated for a novice.”
    The spokesman for the group, a thin Italian with curly black hair, answered, “Bluntly put, we’re winning the battle with the oceans but have already lost the battle of the weather and the land.”
    “How so?”
    “Through controlling methane and our species harvesting practices, the oceans are rebounding. That’s not to say they’ll ever return to their former state. But a new, healthy environment for aquatic life will develop.”
    “Shouldn’t Global warming be curbed as well because of methane control?”
    “Sir,” the curly haired man said. “We’re too late to save the land.”
    “Don’t ever say that!” Pendleton flushed.
    Laverna rubbed his arm to calm him down.
    The researcher took a deep breath, but didn’t flinch. “We’ve seen an increase in the devastation from massive cyclonic storms. The rivers are as pure as we can make them, but still polluted and below par. In another decade, most of North America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East will produce little of edible value, requiring us to rely on South America and Australia, plus what we produce within each complex to sustain the population. Eventually, the mini Ice Age will end. Earth will repair itself with time, but not fast enough for our present human population to survive.”
    “Well, that’s all jolly good. Are you planning for us to have another series of volcanic eruptions, so the Ice Age goes on even longer?”
    Her husband’s sarcasm escaped before he could hold it back. Where was his self-confidence? Laverna thought.
    “All right.” Pendleton cracked his knuckles. “Save the oceans, but I won’t give up on the land. Double the manpower working on a solution.”
    “The top fifty people in the world have tackled the problem all with the same conclusion.”
    “Unacceptable. Put the up-and-coming scientists on the task. Look for a new prospective.” He slammed his fist and waved the team away.
    After this group left, Pendleton’s daily schedule flashed by in ten-minute blocks—a meeting, a quick decision, another meeting. Troubles mounted with few solutions, Laverna leaned in close. “I didn’t think things were this bad.”
    The last report on world topics occurred two months ago, far past her ability to recall.
    Pendleton’s lips pursed. “For three years now, we’ve followed the land’s decline. We’ve had problems with rebels. People died. I hate giving up on the land.”
    Van Meer’s head tilted. “People died because you put them to death.”
    “They weren’t put to death!” Pendleton pounded the table. “Combatants died aiding rebels. Those rebels were assisting Ammad al-Sistani, the sneaky bastard.”
    Van Meer touched Pendleton’s arm with a soft, reassuring gesture. “Milton and your mother are gone, my friend. Your children serve the Realm. I know you miss their counsel. Who can speak the truth to you, if not me?”
    The overhead screen rotated into place, announcing the next presenters. The Pacification of the Non-Citizen World Committee and its Chairman Ammad al-Sistani would soon appear via satellite. Ammad and Pendleton hadn’t met face-to-face in two years, ever since Ammad declared the Muslim complexes to