Orders of Magnitude (The Genie and the Engineer Series Book 2) by Glenn Michaels Read Free Book Online Page A

remained locked in an upright position by Paul’s spell.
    The distinguished gray countenance glanced over at the
security guard and the avatar but said nothing.
    “Uncle Sam, can you answer Capie’s question?” Paul
requested, as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
    “Certainly,” the master strategist answered. “It is all part
of the plan to entrap you, of course.”
    “I still don’t understand,” Capie barked, throwing up her
hands. “Please, explain!”
    Uncle Sam nodded. “They want Paul, yes. But if they took
your father captive, it would do them no good unless it helped them to
set a trap for your husband. So, they fake your father’s stroke. No doubt, they
will ensure that the news of his condition is broadcast in some manner, to make
sure you know of it. You find out about it and try to go see him at the
hospital—this University of Chicago Medical Center. They will undoubtedly have
Oni and perhaps even a wizard or two there ready to ambush you.”
    “Oh,” was Capie’s only reply as she wrung her hands and
paced back and forth.
    “It’s probably a little too late for them to broadcast it on
the five o’clock news but it will likely be on the eleven o’clock version and
in the local morning newspapers tomorrow,” Paul said with a scowl. “They’ll
embellish it too, to make his condition sound really serious, perhaps even life-threatening.
And he won’t even be sick or in the hospital but somewhere in the Washington
D.C. area instead.”
    “You will have to go to the hospital,” Uncle Sam stated.
“And you will have to take at least one of the Oni captive.”
    Paul looked dumfounded. “Why? Oh, I think I see. We don’t
know where Chris is being held captive, but the Oni at the hospital probably do
know.”
    “Exactly.”
    But Paul was shaking his head rapidly. “It won’t work. We
don’t have talismans to fight them with. What’s worse, even if we got lucky and
took an Oni captive, I have no way to get the information out of it. My avatar
spells only work on Normals, not on Oni or other wizards. Otherwise, Ruggiero
would have used one on me back in France.”
    “Then you must use either deception or force the information
out of the creature,” said Uncle Sam resolutely.
    “What, a Vulcan mind meld?” muttered Paul with a disgusted
look. Then he glanced at the expression on Capie’s face. So sorrowful, so needy
and at the same time, pleading for him to do something !
    “‘Great. I love this plan! I’m excited it could work! Let’s
DO IT!’” he grumbled, quoting Dr. Peter Venkman of Ghostbusters .
    Using a magic spell, Paul lowered the unconscious form of
John to the asphalt and then dissolved the avatar spell. Uncle Sam, too,
disappeared.
    Reaching over to touch the concrete steps of the portico in
front of the Observatory, Paul created a portal leading to the W Elm Street
Bridge over the Fox River in McHenry, Illinois. This was essentially in a southeastern
direction from the Observatory leading toward the greater Chicago metropolitan
area.
    “How are we going to rescue Dad?” pleaded Capie, nervously rubbing
her hands together. When they stepped through the portal, the rush of traffic
over the bridge assaulted their ears, and the putrid smell of the trash and
damp ground wrinkled their noses. With a touch of the concrete column in front
of him, Paul opened up yet another portal, this one taking them to the corner
of Mill and Main streets in Wauconda, Illinois. On one corner was the Bulldog’s
Restaurant.
    “Why are we here?” Capie asked him with a stony expression
on her face.
    “You are absolutely correct. We need a plan, dear,” Paul
said as he held open the door. “We can’t just go charging off to the University
of Chicago hospital. It’ll get us both killed. And your father too. In fact, we
really shouldn’t have gone charging off to Yerkes Observatory like we did. If
we’d gotten there five minutes earlier, we’d likely be dead right