“The remnants of the stone,” she guessed.
“As it turns out,” he said. “In 1957, amid the chill of the cold war, the Russians mounted an expedition that they have never admitted to. And using the latest technology of the time they were able to find what they considered a ground zero of the event.
“Highly distorted magnetic readings led them to believe they had zeroed in on the nickel-iron core of a fallen meteor, at the bottom of Lake Cheko. A year of underwater work recovered nothing, until suddenly the magnetic readings shifted and all electronic systems failed in the main dredging boat. During the repairs a magnetometer led them to a single shard that had been hauled aboard just prior to the meltdown.”
“And the Russians had it all this time,” she said.
“One of the prize possessions of the Science Directorate.”
“And they used it on Yuri,” she said. “I can see why they want him back.”
“They want the shard back,” Moore said, “and they don’t want the world knowing what they’ve been using it for. As I said, it was an experiment.”
“And at the end of the experiment?” she asked.
“It was to be removed,” he said. “A procedure that would likely kill him.”
Danielle shuddered. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How did he end up with Kang?”
“It appears that some members of the directorate thought that removing the shard from Yuri was an inhuman decision. They kidnapped him with the help of some contacts. They sold him to Kang under promises of his good treatment. We think they’re all dead now.”
“And why did Kang want him?”
“Because Kang, who hasn’t been seen in public for years, suffers from the same disease that Yuri has. Based on the timing of his disappearance, it’s believed he came down with it five years ago. If the rumors are true, he’ll be dead in a year or so.”
Now it made sense, at least some of it. “He had Yuri,” she pointed out. “He could have operated on him right then.”
“It seems Kang doesn’t want just a shard,” Moore said. “He believed Yuri could lead him to the stones that remained. And with those stones he could do more than gain remission; he could be healed completely.”
“So there is no fourth stone,” she said, wondering what that meant for the prophecy, either good or bad.
If the stones were designed to help, she wondered if they would have enough power to complete their task. And if they were designed to cause some havoc, would Russia now be spared while North and Central America bore the brunt of it?
“At least not anything more than a splinter,” Moore said.
Danielle took a moment to absorb what she’d just heard and then asked the obvious. “And what’s going to happen when these stones fulfill their mission?” All along she’d felt they were pursuing the right road, but now … she suddenly felt her conviction shifting.
“I don’t know,” Moore admitted. “I should think you and McCarter would have a better grasp on that than I do.”
“What’s going to happen to Yuri?” she asked pointedly.
Moore hesitated, and then spoke remorsefully. “We believe the next pulse will be far more powerful than the last. Maybe a hundred times more powerful. Maybe a thousand. And if Yuri is affected proportionally …”
“He’ll die,” she said, finishing his sentence.
Moore didn’t reply. He didn’t need to.
It seemed impossible to her, unfair beyond comprehension that Yuri could have gone through all he’d been through just to die now. She could not accept that this would be his end. There had to be a way to save him. There had to be.
She heard Moore talking, but her mind had gone numb.
“There’s more at stake here than just Yuri,” he said. “You have to stay clear on this, remain unemotional.”
Once upon a time that had been her forte.
“If you even tell me to look at the bigger picture I’ll—”
“You do need to look at the bigger picture,” he said. “If the legend is true, if it’s history and not speculation, then billions will die if we do the wrong thing. Hundreds of millions of them will be children just like Yuri.”
She took a breath and tried to harden herself as she’d once been able to. Finally she spoke. “What do you want me to do?”
“I’ve been instructed to give you the following order: Set your watches to count down independently. If you do not hear from us prior to the reading triple zero on the clock, you are to destroy the stone and bury the remnants in the deepest hole you can find.”
“They gave you a contingency order,” she said, realizing it had come from someone other than Moore. “Fine, it’s noted. But what do you want us to do?”
“I don’t know yet,” he said. “I feel they’re misreading this thing badly, but I can’t ask you to violate the order. Not without absolute proof.”
She knew what he wanted to say, but she understood why he held back.
“Figure out your own thoughts on this,” he added. “Find some peace with whatever you decide, and then tell me if you can do what I ask or not.”
She looked around the small guest room. Out the window at the gathering dusk she saw the people of San Ignacio. There were children getting ready for their posada play. She wanted to go see Yuri.
“I will,” she said.
“Good.”
She signed off, put the phone down, and fought hard against the tears that were trying to break through.
CHAPTER 55
Hawker sat on the steps of the guesthouse watching the procession in the street. A group of the youngest children from the village were reenacting the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. A young boy was wearing a long, blue cloth as if it were a robe; beside him a young girl wore white with yellow trim as she rode atop a small burro. The rest of the town’s children followed them. Hawker even saw Yuri mixed in with the group.
The boy playing Joseph dutifully led the burro and its passenger from door to door, knocking politely and asking if there were any “habitaciones en la posada.” Any room at the inn.
At each door the children of the group inhaled with expectation, but one by one they were told no. Finally, at a house several doors up from the church, a face looked out on the young Mary and Joseph and smiled.
“Sí,” the woman said.
And the children went wild.
Minutes later the party was in full swing, with music playing, a piñata being smashed, fresh food and drink for everyone. Scenes like this were taking place all over Mexico on the nights leading up to Christmas.
In the Mayan towns like the one McCarter had temporarily resided in, a different festival was being celebrated, one that focused on the winter solstice and combined it with the looming end date on the Mayan calendar.
Scenes of joy and happiness everywhere. Hawker wondered what they would think if they knew what he knew.
Watching the party from a distance, Yuri saw him and smiled. Hawker waved and Yuri swirled away with the other kids, running and playing like a normal child.
A town like this would probably be paradise for the kid. It had electricity, but not all that much ran on it: small bulbs strung across the street to give a little public light, a few radios and televisions and phones, but nothing like the cities.
Maybe when it was all over they could just leave Yuri here, let the family that was caring for him adopt him, and allow the little guy to actually live for once. To some extent Hawker wouldn’t have minded staying here himself.
He put the thought out of his mind, picked himself up, and made his way across the street. He entered the church intending to check on McCarter and was surprised to find Danielle lighting a candle by the altar.