Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch Read Free Book Online Page B

this is a matter of government security. We must approach all aspects of this issue very carefully.”
    There was a dry sound, like the shifting of paper on a desk.
    “John Morgan is brilliant but he’s been troubled ever since his wife left them.”
    “Delusional?”
    “Given what Glenn said at our last meeting … I think it’s
    possible. It’s hard to say. I see his daughter but he’s refused to come.”
    “And the girl?”
    Glenn held her breath, staring down at the dark floor. She could feel Kevin watching her.
    Dr. Kapoor paused. “She’s distant. Angry. She barely talks in our meetings, but given two parents with apparently profound mental health issues, it’s unlikely she’s escaped them completely.”
    Kevin’s hand moved across the carpeted floor and pressed down on top of Glenn’s but she snatched it away.
    “Is it dangerous?” Dr. Kapoor asked. “This thing you think she has.”
    Dr. Kapoor was met with silence. Glenn and Kevin exchanged a look, then she glanced down at the bracelet. The red jewel shone in the gloom.
    “Well, obviously it isn’t what her father said it was,” Dr. Kapoor pressed.

    “Certainly not,” Sturges said with a good-natured chuckle. “What the girl actually has” — he carefully measured each word in his breathy whisper — “is important. Dangerous, even. To herself, to your son. I’m afraid I can’t comment on its nature any more than that. Now, do you have additional information that may aid us in our search for your son and —”
    Sturges abruptly stopped talking.
    A chair creaked.
    Glenn’s heart pounded; a tide of hot blood beat at her ears and throat. She could feel the two men’s eyes on the door. Kevin was frozen in place, hovering above her right shoulder.
    “It was very brave of you to come here,” Sturges announced from the other side of the door.
    Glenn and Kevin froze, his words like the thin web of a drone, binding them tight.
    “Please, come in and join us. Glenn. Kevin.”
    Taking a chance, Glenn took Kevin’s arm and they slowly moved back from the door. After a few steps, they turned to the bedroom, ready to flee, but blocking their way was a tall silhouette.
    As it stepped forward, the light from the hall gleamed against the distinctive red armor of the Authority agent.
    Kevin tensed, the muscles in his arms and legs tightening, ready to run, but Glenn held him back. Another agent moved into place behind the first.
    They were trapped.
     
    Sturges wasn’t what Glenn expected. People from Authority were generally big and athletic. Law enforcement types. Sturges was trim and small with thinning hair and glasses. Unlike the armored agents, Sturges wore a simple suit of dark blue with a slate gray tie. His shoes were old and heavily worn.
    “Please,” he said. “Come in.”
    When Glenn and Kevin didn’t move, the agents behind them did, herding them into the room.
    “It’s okay,” he said. “There’s no reason to feel afraid. You’re both all right, I hope?”
    Glenn swallowed back coppery-tasting fear and said nothing.
    Mr. Sturges buttoned his coat as he stood to face them. “My name is Michael Sturges. I’m with Authority, as I imagine you’ve guessed. And you are Glenn Morgan. Or, actually, Glennora Amantine Morgan. Is that right?”
    “Where did you take my father?”
    Sturges’s eyes narrowed. “Where? Well” — he opened his hands and shrugged slightly — “we took him right where you wanted us to take him, Glenn. Greenfield Hospital’s psychiatric ward.”
    Glenn’s stomach knotted. She bit the inside of her lip to keep her anger and guilt locked up tight.
    “As soon as we get our business concluded, you’ll be able to see him.”
    “Why were your drones firing at us?” Kevin interrupted.
    “Firing at you?” Dr. Kapoor said, his voice rising. “Sturges, what is he saying? Were your drones —”
    “They were never in any danger,” Sturges snapped. His eyes
    locked on Kevin. “A preprogrammed