A Better World (Marcus Sakey) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги

CHAPTER 24

Soren read.

Cooper:

Sovereignty. They want sovereignty for the NCH.

Clay:

The hell you say.

Cooper:

In return for which they’ll denounce the COD and all other terrorist organizations, and dedicate the full resources of the Holdfast to eliminating them.

Clay:

I will not go down in history as the president who allowed half of Wyoming to secede.

Cooper:

Sir, we need to consider this. Erik and Jakob confirm that John Smith is behind the Children of Darwin. We can’t act on that information without proof. But with their help, we could capture the COD and the most dangerous man alive in one move.

Clay:

In trade for which we have to create a new nation within our own borders and accord them diplomatic rights and privileges. Not only that, but a nation of gifted, the first in the world. That’s a deal with the devil, Nick.

Cooper:

When the devil is the only one dealing, sir, you look at his wares.

Clay:

I know you disagree with Secretary Leahy’s approach, but the Monitoring Oversight Initiative, combined with targeted arrests, may offer a chance—

Cooper:

Excuse me, sir, but it’s not that simple. If we don’t allow the NCH to secede, I believe that they’ll join the terrorists.

Clay:

They wouldn’t dare. Epstein knows we can reduce the Holdfast to rubble.

<2.9 seconds of silence>

Cooper:

Is that really what you want?

<4.2 seconds of silence>

Clay:

Start the conversation. But we’re going to need their full and unequivocal support. Not just on the COD, but into the future. A new special relationship.

When the file arrived on his d-pad, Soren had been in the middle of a novel, a baroque historical packed with architectural terms. It wasn’t very good, but he found it impossible to be nothing here. Too many sounds from too many people coming through the walls. Too great a sense of the weight of humanity around him. Even a poor distraction was better.

There was a knock on the apartment door, the handle turning at the same time. John, knowing that the greater courtesy was respecting his time rather than his privacy.

John Smith said, “Youreadthefile?”

“Yes.”

“Youunderstand.”

It wasn’t complicated. If the Holdfast allied with the American government before the jaws of John’s trap closed, the revolution would be over before it began. “Yes.”

“He’spowerful.”

Soren had read files on the new ambassador, had watched footage of his arrival. “Yes.”

“Canyoudoit?”

“Yes.”

“Willyou?”

When John had pulled him from his retreat, led him into the world with all its pressures, he had explained why. Everything hung in the balance. A war was likely. Millions would likely die. But things would be forever changed. The gifted would assume dominance in America, and from there, the world.

Soren didn’t care. The barriers that separated him from the world would never be toppled. Social change was irrelevant; prejudice had never been his problem. The revolution meant nothing to him.

But it meant everything to John, and to Samantha. The only two people in the world Soren cared about.

“Yes.” He set aside his novel and looked his friend in the eye. “I’ll kill Nick Cooper for you.”