EAUMON

an café instead of a military helicopter thousands of feet in the air. Th

cup. My ice-blue eyes met his. "Now, ca

involuntarily. "Ma'am, it's because of your 'Prom

e. It displayed a complex data stream, a report on

rmed that the energy conductivity of the 'Prometheus' material has surpassed the the

w," I said flatly. "I just didn't ex

have panicked. A top-level meeting convening overnight, with the

mmeasurable. From now on, your security level is e

er on my front lawn like a Hollywood blockbuster?

ginal plan was to contact you at a more discreet location, but your mov

ations. It seems an unknown party has also taken an interest

tuation. That part, at least, was useful i

there's one more thing we need your cooperation o

t is

ht's events, and to 'lure the snake out of its hole,' the Join

"A press conference? Captain, are you

. "It's just a PR show. We'll arrange everything. You just nee

This was a chessboard, and my family, Julian, and all the whispering gossips were merely pawns. The real players

me into a prepared conference room where a PR team was already wait

with a connection to the 'Athena' system. Five minute

my fingers flying across the keyboard. Lines of code flashed o

I closed the lapto

o the podium in the simple white shirt and black trousers

l assault. The reporters were

l. "Ms. Beaumont, are you be

m, my silence a weapon, until his ow

"My name is Dr. Faye Beaumont. Regarding last night's events, I can on

zy of shouted questions, the large screen

nt of Defense: "In recognition of Dr. Faye Beaumont's outstanding contributions to the field of New Mater

silent. I had just turned