A Better World by Marcus Sakey Read Free Book Online

are you thinking, Nick?”
    “Erik Epstein.” The world’s richest man had earned more than $300 billion using his gift to find patterns in the stock market. When the global markets were finally shuttered to protect against people like him, he’d turned his attention to a new project: building a home for brilliants. He’d leveraged his fortune to create an abnorm Israel in the heart of the Wyoming desert. “As the leader of the New Canaan Holdfast, he’s got connections to the gifted community at all levels. And he doesn’t condone terrorism, so . . .” Cooper trailed off. A look was passing between the other staffers. “What?”
    “Of course, you don’t know,” Marla Keevers said. “You’re new to this world, how could you? But you see, there is no Erik Epstein.”
    He stared at her, bemused. Remembering standing in a subterranean wonderland of computers beneath the New Canaan Holdfast, talking to Epstein. A strange and intelligent man witha gift of enormous power, the ability to correlate seemingly unrelated sources of data and draw patterns from them.
    Of course, the same gift had made him a recluse, barely able to communicate with other people. Which was why his brother had served as the public “Erik Epstein,” the one who did talk shows and met presidents. It was a secret known to only a handful of people.
    “You see,” Keevers continued, “it’s clear that the man pretending to be Epstein is not the same man responsible for bringing down the stock market.”
    “Which makes diplomacy with him impossible,” the president said. “We could never be sure who we were dealing with.”
    “But—” Cooper caught himself. He knew a truth these people did not, a truth that might matter. And yet, these were some of the most powerful people on the planet. If Epstein had chosen to keep them in the dark, there was a reason.
    Last time you met Epstein, you promised him you’d kill John Smith. Instead, you spared Smith’s life. Do you really want to screw the world’s richest man twice?
“I see.”
    “For now,” Leahy said, picking up as if uninterrupted, “we’re focusing on the situation on the ground. We’re hoping to begin distributing food and critical supplies tomorrow.”
    “Tomorrow?” The president frowned. “The supermarkets were empty two days ago. What’s the delay?”
    Keevers said, “We’d actually consider that a win, sir. The National Guard doesn’t maintain food reserves. In Tulsa and Fresno, we’re negotiating with the grocery distributors, but the largest food depot in the Cleveland area was destroyed. We’re having to coordinate with others across northeast Ohio.”
    “What about FEMA?”
    “FEMA can’t act until Governor Timmons declares a state of emergency and formally requests help.”
    “Why hasn’t he?”
    “He’s a Democrat,” she said. “If he comes to a Republican president for help, it’ll make him look weak come reelection.”
    “Fix that. People are hungry.”
    “Yes, sir.” Marla Keevers uncrumpled her d-pad and made a note. “In the meantime, the National Guard is trying to set up food distribution centers, but they’re having trouble. There have been incidents at most of the grocery stores. Broken glass, fistfights, looting. The National Guard is trying to keep the peace, but while they’re doing crowd control and defending stores, they can’t build aid stations. And the longer the delays in delivering food, the more people are taking to the streets.”
    President Clay turned his back on them and paced to the window. He stared out at the Rose Garden, the morning sun neatly bisecting him. “Any fatalities?”
    “Not yet. A few people hospitalized.”
    “We need everyone to calm down,” Clay said. “The panic is worse than the problem.”
    “Yes, sir,” Keevers said. “We think you should address the nation.”
    “This afternoon?”
    Press Secretary Archer said, “We’ll get better coverage this evening.”
    “Just a brief