3 Thank God it's Monday by Robert Michael Read Free Book Online

the globe. The strike will be in a great unstoppable wave. Sons and
daughters, trusted servants and friends. How did they do this? Who are these
people?”
    “We stop them. That is the only thing we can do. It starts
with us. We can control what happens to you,” Hallie said. Her voice was
distant.
    Jake looked at her there in the seat beside him, so
vulnerable and yet so strong. Her jaw was working. Jake felt he knew that look:
she was thinking of what she wanted to say next.
    He looked away as she glanced over at him. He felt a little
guilty, like he had caught her inner thoughts.
    “Jake. Look at me.”
    He did. Dread and curiosity mingled in a knot at the base of
his throat. Her mouth was forced into something between a grin and a grimace. Tears
were streaming down her face, falling onto the lapel of her jacket.
    “Hold out your hand,” she commanded.
    He glanced back at the road ahead.
    “Shouldn’t I pull over?”
    “Just give me your hand,” she said, her voice choked. Her
breathing coming from deep.
    “Alright.”
    Before he felt the small bundle she placed in the palm of
his hand, he knew. He could see the neatly clipped lawn, the shoes and pant
legs of the people around him. He could see the eyes full of fear. He could
see, vividly, the woman on the grass, curled in a fetal position, a smile
playing at her lips.
    He felt the thin chain slip through his fingertips. He
looked down and saw the silver locket sitting in his hand and more memories
threatened to push into his consciousness. He pushed back long enough to look
at Hallie.
    “Why?”
    “Because I forgive you, Jake. I have already forgiven you.”
    “Forgive me. For what? Being a horrible husband? For being a
terrible person?”
    “I don’t need to forgive you for those things because they
aren’t real.”
    He shook his head and glanced back ahead, searching mentally
for life line his wife was throwing to him. A life line that was costing her.
    “Then what is it? What do you forgive me for?”
    Her mouth screwed up into a frown and he could see her hand
shaking.
    “For forgetting your family.  For forgetting me.  When I
kissed you in the elevator, it was like...I just almost could not bear it,” she
said between sobs.  Her eyes were moist and she seemed on the verge of a good
cry.
    “Well, I am glad you didn’t shoot me then,” he said, trying
to add some levity. He was encouraged when she laughed. A courtesy laugh, but
it sounded good.
    “You are lucky you survived. But, going forward, I need to
know that we are a family. We are a team.”
    He felt his shoulders bunch. His line was set in thin line.
He could feel his teeth clenched. He was ashamed that she had to question that.
It was his fault. His failure.
    “Of course we are, Hallie. I seem to be hard on those I care
about. Even people I barely know. Like Camilla,” Jake said, barely containing
the volatile mixture of anger, shame, and frustration.
    “I forgive you for that. I know that you did not actually
kill Camilla, Jake. Someone else pulled the trigger. You just set the trap. I
suspect it was Lars or perhaps Violet.”
    “If I didn’t kill her, why would you need to forgive me?”
    “She was my friend, Jake. I miss her. I asked her to protect
you. She pulled some strings and got on your security detail.”
    “Wait.  I was being followed?”
    “Of course you were. Whenever we could. Sometimes you just
disappeared. Camilla was sent to protect you and re-establish a connection with
your programming. I did not know that at the time.  I also did not know that it
was Camilla that needed protected. It was all a trap for her. If you had just
responded on New Year’s, none of that would have happened.”
    “She gave me this locket.”
    “Yes.”
    “Is it special?”
    “Yes.”
    “It was my mother’s, wasn’t it?”
    “Yes, Jake.”
    “It was supposed to help me remember.”
    “It did. But, your programming was deep. It was probably
like a computer being asked to