The Omega Theory by Mark Alpert Read Free Book Online Page A

theory, why would they kidnap Michael?”
    Monique opened her mouth to answer, but David spoke first. “Look, it can’t be a coincidence. We should talk to Jacob. I want to know what he’s working on.”
    “Yeah, I agree,” Monique said. “There’s a connection here. The sooner we talk to Jacob, the faster we’ll find Michael.”
    The room was silent for several seconds. Lucille leaned back in her chair, still tapping the pencil against her chin. Then, with a grunt, she rose to her feet. “All right. It couldn’t hurt to have a chat with the guy.” She headed for the door. “I’m gonna make some calls. You two sit tight.”
    After she left, David sank into one of the chairs by the table. He was tired. All the stress of the past few hours had exhausted him. Monique sat down in the chair next to his. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “This is good, David. I think we’re getting somewhere.”
    He nodded, but he didn’t believe her. When he closed his eyes, he kept seeing Michael. Michael in his therapy room at the autism center. Michael crouching on the floor with his hands clamped over his ears. Michael screaming inside an ambulance. The pictures in David’s head were so terrible and he couldn’t shut them out.
    They sat there without talking. David lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. Monique moved her hand to the back of his neck and kneaded the muscles there. Then she started scratching his back. The room became so quiet they could hear the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.
    After several minutes Monique began to talk again. She spoke in a calm, quiet, logical voice, the voice she always used when she talked to herself. “You know what I don’t get? Jacob’s specialty is building quantum computers, not investigating fundamental physics. He’s never written a single paper on the nature of spacetime. So why has he suddenly developed an interest? Doesn’t that seem a little strange?” She paused but didn’t wait for an answer. “And do you know who provides most of the funds for Jacob’s research? The good ol’ Defense Department. They awarded him a ten-million-dollar grant to develop his quantum computers. Everyone else in his field is jealous as hell.” She paused again. “And that name, the Caduceus Array. That’s odd, too. In astronomy, the caduceus is a symbol for the planet Mercury. But what’s the connection with spacetime disruptions?”
    David finally raised his head and looked at Monique. “We’ve got to find him. We’ve got to find Michael.”
    “Yes, baby, we’ll find him . . .”
    “We have to be involved in this. We have to convince Parker to let us help.”
    “We’ll talk to her, okay? I’m sure—”
    “She won’t find him without us. Because this isn’t an ordinary kidnapping case. This is—”
    The door to the interrogation room suddenly opened. Lucille appeared in the doorway but made no move to come inside. Her face was blank and her eyes showed nothing, but her jaw muscles quivered slightly. “We got problems,” she announced. “Two of them.”
    Monique took her hand off David’s back. He stood up. “What do you mean?”
    “I tried calling Steele’s office at the University of Maryland. I figured some lab assistant might be working late. But I got a message saying the whole university switchboard was down.” Lucille’s cheek twitched. “I got curious, so I checked with the local police. There was an explosion at the Advanced Quantum Institute an hour ago.”
    “Jesus.” David gripped the edge of the table. “What’s the other problem?”
    “After I hung up the phone, I saw an e-mail from one of my contacts in the New York Police Department. A Columbia University student found a body in Pupin Hall. In an old laboratory right next to the lecture hall. It’s Steele.”

5
    THE PRESIDENT SAT ALONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM, STARING at a stack of loose-leaf binders on the conference table. He’d spent most of the evening