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“But do youtrustthem?”
Did Reese? “I think so.”
“That’s not very comforting?”
“I know. But they have knowledge about the ichor that I don’t. Or at least an understanding of it that may help you.”
“How can they know more than you?”
“Because—” Reese looked for a napkin. When he didn’t find one, he used the tail of his T-shirt to clean the icing off his fingers. “It appears a lot of what I know is a lie.”
“What do you mean?”
Reese wrapped the honey bun up and pushed it back. He didn’t really want to tell Nash, but he owed the man, so he did.
And Nash listened with a nearly blank expression, except the twitch of his right eye every time Reese said Koda’s name.
When Reese finished, his entire body ached like he’d run ten miles after doing lunges.
Nash combed his fingers through Luca’s hair.
Reese waited for him to say how stupid he’d been for ever thinking the information on that wall was from anywhere but a modern source. How he’d barely questioned it. How a man educated in science could let himself be fooled.
And yet Reese was in a plane, accompanying people who defied physics, quantum physics, and good old-fashioned sanity.
“I’m sorry.” Reese picked at his thumbnail.
“For what?”
“Because someone should apologize for this mess, and since I’m the only high-level researcher from the Utah Facility who’s still breathing….”
“You didn’t create the Anubis project.”
“No, but I helped.”
“Yeah, so what?”
How could he say that?
“Dr. Dante, if you hadn’t been there, someone else would have. And they might not have cared like you did.”
“I didn’t care enough.” An ache crawled up the sides of Reese’s neck.
“You cared enough to leave. You cared enough to risk your life trying to keep the military from killing us. You cared enough to be here now.”
Reese laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. “I don’t think I have a choice now.”
“You always have a choice. And you’ve repeatedly put others ahead of your wellbeing.”
Then why did the guilt for all theshould havessqueeze Reese’s heart until he was sure it would stop.
“Look,” Nash said. “Whoever did this went to a lot of trouble to pull it off. They had to have inside connections on every level. The Mah had one goal, the Varu another. If anyone’s at fault, it’s the Dekkers.”
Reese shook his head. “They only want to survive.”
“At the expense of others.”
“Do you know how many species of humans we killed off to get to where we are? Living is the most basic instinct. As much as I want to be angry with them, have been angry….” Reese started to reach for the remainder of the honey bun but decided the last thing he needed was more sugar in his queasy stomach. “I can’t fault them for wanting to live.”
