The Variables Read Free Page B

built a secret army of bright and incomparable minds. As the date closed in for their attack, he sought out others invaluable to the cause.
    Doctors, nurses, computer scientists, physicists, chemists; the best electricians and pilots, craftsmen and construction workers. Trade skills and academic minds were of equal value in Huck’s mind. He had recruited the best and the brightest and left the rest to suffer the fate of the Release.
    Scott, engineer of the virus that killed the world’s population, wasn’t sure how he landed such a coveted role at Huck’s table—there had been more deserving men among the saved—but he took pride in his role as one of the elite. For this meeting, though, his fear outweighed pride. It wasn’t a secret that Huck was uncomfortable with the new arrivals—Lucy and Grant, then Ethan and Teddy—and Scott knew he was responsible. Interactions became tense, and Huck had seemed withdrawn, distrusting.
    Scott put his hand on the boardroom door, but he paused when heard the hallway pod slide open. Claude entered and smiled, walking toward Scott with purpose and confidence, his head held high.
    “A beautiful day for a meeting, don’t you believe?” Claude asked. His thick Haitian accent gave Scott pause for a second. While he had become more accustomed to Salvant’s dialect, sometimes he needed an extra moment to process. Claude’s daughter Cass had a smooth drawl, a silky mesmerizing way of speaking; Claude seemed more clipped and perfunctory.
    “Is there any possible way to tell if it’s a beautiful day?” Scott replied with a weary smile. Claude blinked. And Scott looked to the ground. “Because, you know. We don’t have windows.” He raised his eyebrows and assessed Claude’s stoic expression. “Unless, of course, you know something I don’t? Secret periscope?”
    “It’s an expression, not a declaration,” Claude said matter-of-factly. “No periscope. No, this meeting is no doubt about the Islands. At least I can assume, since I was asked to bring our latest plans.”
    “How are they coming?” Scott asked, his hand still on the door.
    Claude smiled. “They’re beautiful.” He opened his mouth to say more, but the boardroom door opened wide, with Gordy on the other side.
    “I thought I heard you two,” Gordy said. “Ready?” He motioned them inside, and they settled in at their places at the boardroom table. Scott watched as Blair entered the room and set up shop in the corner without a word. She arranged her yellow legal pad on her lap and kept a collection of colorful gel pens just within reach. Although the meeting hadn’t started, she was already jotting down various tidbits in multicolored glory.
    Huck sat with his back to the men, his eyes trained on the six screens set up along the conference table. As Claude, Gordy, and Scott took their seats, the other Elektos members began popping up before them. Within minutes every member was present, and the room filled with greetings and smiles. Scott watched Huck spin—his mouth taut, his eyes narrowed as he examined each face in turn—and he knew that the cheery Board members could not sense Huck’s ever-souring mood. The vials in Scott’s pocket felt heavy, weighted with questions and worry.  
    “That’s enough, that’s enough. Let’s begin,” Huck announced, and the voices settled. Everyone turned to his or her camera and watched their fearless leader float before them.
    While Scott had only met the other members once in person, he knew them well enough by face and reputation. He waved to his computer’s built-in camera and watched as his broadcasted image lifted his hand to the screen, too. Except his image was delayed by a full second.
    Victor Barbosa waved back to Scott from the corner of his screen. A contingent from the EUS One in Brazil, Victor was broad shouldered and frog-like, with a mouth full of tiny, even teeth. In his former life, he had been a local politician—independently wealthy,