Jimmy looked out into the blackness as he finished equipping his space suit. The unease inside him only grew with every passing second. His work was done. He didn't have to go out there.
Except he did. He couldn't turn his back on this, not after seeing what he'd done. He had to fix it by destroying it, and if one last trip into outer space was the way to do it, he was going to brave the silence, the darkness, and the void.
Because he was the one who made it possible, the only one who knew, and now the only one who could stop it.
Seven sockets. Seven sockets for seven jewels which could amplify light beyond belief. He knew enough laser theory to see where it was going.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet did not make a rainbow. They made a fucking prism of blinding white light. They made the perfect weapon. And he had to destroy it and then figure out how to overcome the real problem.
The people responsible for it.
One step at a time. Because he wasn't about to confront them like an idiot. He had a lot to lose. He didn't want his family endangered. They had to figure out how to end this together. He was only setting the first stepping stone.
"Jimmy, what are you doing? You're going out?"
Roberta's voice froze him for a fraction of a second, but he resumed putting on his gear.
"Yeah. I miscalculated something and I need to fix it." He turned to her and gave a reassuring smile.
She didn't look reassured with her bunched up eyebrows and scrunched nose, twisting her index finger around a black curl. Jimmy wasn't sure if he was being paranoid since he was basically planning sabotage, but something about her seemed off.
"I have serious doubts that you miscalculated anything," she finally said. There seemed to be something off about her voice as well. "I know how much you hate going out, so this must be serious."
"Hey, I can screw up, too. And I'm not going to leave a mess behind."
Roberta checked her watch. "We're taking off in four hours. Isn't it a bit risky?"
"This will take one hour tops." He actually planned on it taking about fifteen minutes and she was seriously delaying him. But he had to make sure that if played gremlin, no one would have time to go out and fix it before they left.
"Want me to come with you?"
That sounded more like her, but he shook his head. "I know how much you hate it out there, too. You don't have to go out just because I can't screw properly."
She covered her mouth to subside a low chuckle, then she frowned again, this time in concentration. She strode to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He could barely feel it through the thickness of the material.
"I'm sure you can actually screw properly."
"That's what she said."
Roberta really laughed this time and squeezed his shoulder harder. "Speaking of which, what are you going to do when you get home?" she asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean about your life, your ex, that sort of thing."
The question was more than surprising. "I'm not sure. I guess we'll face it as we go."
"We?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. Jessie and I usually figure our stuff out together." Then he realized Roberta was confused about something else. "We're back together. The rest usually smooths itself out."
YOU ARE READING
Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)
Adventure"It's never going to end, is it? The rivalry, the hatred, the madness. Not even now. Not even after so many years." It has been three years since the last jewel was recovered, and the Agency seems to have put the project to rest. They have a new tar...
