Chapter 32
A million thoughts raced through Alec's mind. He'd been had again. Damn you, Sonia.
But before he could formulate a plan he saw a blur and felt it brush his side.
Parker dove at the ground beneath the seven gunmen and rose with her feet connecting with the faces of two of them. She leveraged the crumbling bodies of the initial pair to make hard connections with the others. She anticipated every move, every thought and moved with clarity of purpose that rendered everyone surrounding her mere spectators to her prowess.
As Alec looked on, once again amazed at the near machinelike efficiency of Parker's movements, she systematically immobilized each of the guards and commandeered one of her victims' side-arms. Then she approached the deep voiced man in two steps, the gun pointed squarely at his forehead.
"I don't think you're in a position to ask any questions," she announced coolly; not even slightly winded. "Alec…" she called to him softly without taking her eyes or gun off of her target.
Alec came out of the tunnel and stepped cautiously over the unconscious guards and walked up behind Parker. He leaned in behind her and whispered, "Damn!" into her hair, "that was hot."
The hint of a smile tickled Parker's lips but it didn't break ranks. It wasn't the time to be flattered, or distracted.
But later, Parker thought fleetingly. Later she would thoroughly investigate why this man affected her so… why his touch was so intoxicating… why she would do anything to save him.
Alec walked around her and stepped toward the wall and the touch panel mounted there.
"Good…," he said to no one in particular as he pulled out his trusted pen device. "This is linked the ship's CPU."
He turned to Parker, "I can find it from here."
"No you cannot," their nervous hostage responded quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Parker questioned, menacingly angling the gun.
"We knew Sonia would be back," the man lifted his chin defiantly. "We will not let her take it."
Alec's pen device beeped, alerting him that it had finished running a scan for Domino and had come up empty. "I think he's telling the truth."
Parker pressed the gun's tip to the man's skin and he closed his eyes in terrified surrender.
"I will go through this entire building if I have to. Where is it?" she emphasized her words.
The man swallowed nervously but said nothing.
Parker cocked the gun. The man flinched but remained quiet.
"You have until I count to three," she threatened, "One….two…"
He squeezed his eyes and Parker adjusted her grip on the gun.
"WAIT," Alec yelled and walked back to Parker and the frightened man, "Jonathan Yates?"
He stared intently at the man's face and the man opened his eyes to look at Alec.
"I…yes," the man confirmed his furrowed brows displaying the confusion he felt.
Parker eyed them both warily.
"Alec, we don't have time for this," she reminded him softly.
But Alec's discovery consumed his focus, "I knew I recognized you. I thought you were dead?"
"I am…I was," the man stuttered then sighed heavily before he continued. "As far as the world knows, I am dead. Being alive makes me vulnerable, makes the work vulnerable."
"Alec…" Parker called. She was becoming increasingly uneasy about their delay.
"I know," Alec answered pliantly, turning toward her and moving close. "I just…something doesn't feel right. This man is a scientific saint."
"What," Parker asked, taking her eye off of her target for the first time since she first aimed the gun at him.
"Meet Dr. Jonathan Yates, creator of the Cyan field," Alec announced with flourish. Parker's blank stare compelled him to continue. "The Cyan field is the safeguard that adds weight and neutralizes CFCs to slow the depletion of the ozone."
Parker turned back to Dr. Yates, impressed and confused.
"What are you doing working with Sonia?" she asked him.
His face contorted in disgust. "I'm not working with Sonia," he snorted derisively, "I'm trying to stop Armageddon."
Parker and Alec instinctively looked at each other.
"What are you talking about," Parker asked the doctor.
"She sent you here for the Domino chip, did she not?" the inflection in his European accent hard to pin point.
Alec nodded in the doctor's direction and elicited a sigh.
"Do you have any idea what that chip is capable of?" Dr. Yates probed them both.
Alec shook his head no and slowly reached up to guide Parker's hand and the gun away from Dr. Yates' forehead.
She obliged him but kept her finger resting lightly in the trigger bed. A man is liable to say anything to save his own life even if only for a few minutes more.
Somehow though she didn't think Dr. Yates fell into that niche. There was desperation to his tone but the desperation was for something larger than his own life.
"Domino is a trajectory divergence probability program that also has the capability to influence outcomes," Dr. Yates began and scanned both Parker and Alec's faces for understanding.
Parker stared expectantly at the doctor waiting for him to continue but Alec's eyes opened wide.
"Are you talking about Chaos theory?" he asked Dr. Yates who nodded his head emphatically.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Dr. Yates exclaimed, thrilled that Alec understood so easily. He reached out to touch Alec's shoulder and Parker's gun reclaimed her mark almost as soon as he had the thought.
"I may not know what you're talking about," she ground the words between barely opened lips, "but you still stand between me and my mission so don't for a minute think I won't use this gun."
"Parker," Alec spun around at the action happening behind him and immediately placed himself between Parker and the anxious scientist. His words were soft when he continued, "we can't give Sonia that chip."
The ramification of what Alec was saying rushed into Parker's mind.
"What are you saying?" she asked him, lowering her gun when she realized he had no intention of moving.
"Do you know what Chaos theory means," he asked her.
"I have a general idea; what does…" she responded and Alec interrupted.
"Now think about everything that Sonia has had us do, think about the past three years."
Parker thought about her training and her missions; Nate's placement in Ireland and the identification cleansing Sonia had him do; the discoveries and innovations Alec made trying to find them all.
"Do you see it," he asked her as he saw the seeds of her realization taking root. "Sonia made Sophie align world leaders and executives of companies that influence world markets; and she neutralized Eliot somehow and I think it was by focusing all of his energy onto one child, but the point is, if Sonia gets Domino she will be the most powerful person alive."
"I can see that you believe that," Parker responded, her frustration and anxiety mounting as she thought about their dwindling time. "What I don't see is how."
Dr. Yates took that as his cue, "Do you know what happens if one country makes an aggressive stance against another?"
Parker nodded her head and answered, "War."
Dr. Yates continued, "…in some way, shape, or form…and to the winner goes the spoils, no?"
Parker nodded again.
"Well, what if the same results can be made with no one being to blame? What if a country's power can be nullified without there being a clear aggressor?" Dr. Yates continued.
"How…" Parker asked genuinely confused.
"Naturally," Yates concluded, nodding toward Alec for corroboration.
Parker stared at them both trying to piece together everything she knew.
"It has happened many times throughout history- droughts, famine, floods, earthquakes, fire. These are all natural elements that have changed the course of a country's trajectory of power. There was no clear aggressor but there have been those who have reaped the rewards, who've been able to propel their countries toward greatness on the backs of those who've failed." Dr. Yates added.
Understanding finally began to fully settle on Parker's face.
"Domino has the capability to control the weather," she breathed and looked toward Alec.
Alec was staring at her waiting for her to understand as he did that they couldn't give Sonia the one thing that would save both their lives and possibly end millions more.