The 4400® Promises Broken Read Free Page A

and this is—”
    “We know who you are,” the raven-haired woman said in a dry British accent. She glared at Tom with striking green eyes.
    Tom and Diana exchanged apprehensive looks. In the years since the 4400 had returned, NTAC had been chiefly responsible for policing them, and Tom and Diana had been at the center of many of the most tumultuous events involving the returnees. Consequently, both agents had attained a measure of notoriety—or, in some circles, infamy.
    As usual, Diana remained calm in the face of hostility. “We just wanted to say thanks, is all.”
    The muscular, crew-cut man offered her his hand. “Any time,” he said. “Jim Myers. This is my partner, Eva Lynd.”
    “A pleasure,” Diana said, briefly shaking his hand.
    Tom said, “If you don’t mind my asking, how’d you guys get here before us? I thought Jordan agreed to let NTAC defend the city’s fuel reserves.”
    “And you’ve done such a brilliant job of it,” Eva said, casting a sour glare in the direction of the inferno at the north end of the island.
    Glossing over Eva’s verbal jab, her partner, Jim, replied, “We got a tip about the attack.”
    “From who?” asked Diana.
    Jim shrugged and shook his head, prompting Eva to frown and roll her eyes in disgust. “Just tell her,” Eva said. “She’ll find out when she checks our phone logs.” Jim aimed a pointed stare at her, but she ignored him and continued. “It was your future-telling daughter, Maia,” she said to Diana. “She warned us about the attack an hour ago.” Grimacing at the swath of destruction, she added, “Not that it made much difference.”
    Eva and Jim turned and walked north, away from theshore and from Tom and Diana, who stood and watched them go.
    Tom felt the tension in his partner’s silence and knew that Diana was seething over Eva’s revelation. He waited for her to snap. It didn’t take very long.
    “How many times have I told Maia not to talk to Jordan’s people?” she asked rhetorically, her voice pitched with anger.
    “I know,” Tom said, trying to sound sympathetic.
    “How many times, Tom? How much clearer could I be? I
told
her not to talk to Jordan, or to
any
of his people in Promise City, not even that girl Lindsey she hung around with.”
    He knew that playing devil’s advocate would be risky, but he tried anyway. “Look, it’s not like she’s a traitor, Diana. She was just trying to help.” He lifted his chin toward the boat trapped in the ice. “And maybe she was right. If Jordan’s people hadn’t been here, that guy would’ve gotten away.”
    Diana took a deep breath. Closed her eyes.
    Exhaled slowly. Opened her eyes.
    When she spoke, her voice was calm—which made the fury behind her words all the more frightening.
    “Tom, I know that what you’re saying makes sense. You’re right: without Jordan’s people, we’d have lost the suspect. But right now, I don’t give a damn about that. What I care about is that my daughter did
exactly
what I told her
never
to do.” She took another breath, then added, “I’m going home now, Tom. And when I get there, I’m going to have a
very
long talk with Maia.”

THREE

    J ORDAN C OLLIER STOOD at the window of his seventy-sixth-floor corner office. He stared southwest, across Elliott Bay, at the raging inferno that had engulfed Harbor Island. It had been ablaze for nearly an hour, growing brighter as the sky dimmed. The conflagration was mirrored on the rippling water.
    There was a knock on his office door.
    “Come in,” he said.
    The door opened and closed. Footsteps followed.
    Reflected in the window was Kyle Baldwin, one of Jordan’s top advisors, walking toward him. “You asked to see me?”
    “I did,” Jordan replied, his tight-lipped frown barely masking his fury as he turned to face the towheaded younger man. “What happened down there?”
    Kyle stopped in front of Jordan’s desk and bowed his head. “You’re upset about Harbor Island.”
    “Yes, I