Under His Influence

“You won’t take my child away. You’ll stay here. As for love, if I didn’t love you, why would I be…going through this? Why would I suffer? Do you think I’m not suffering? Anna, I am blameless in this. I left you for a few days, thinking—”

“John, how can you think this of me? How?”

“You still deny it? Even though you were asleep in his arms?”

“I was just tired, John. Pregnancy does that to you. And I didn’t plan to be alone with him in the house. Mimi was supposed to be here. We didn’t know where she was. We spent the whole evening trying to contact her. I still can’t get hold of her now.”

“How convenient. I suppose she’s at work today? With Liam?”

“I don’t know.”

“You mean you haven’t called Liam? I find that hard to believe.”

“There is nothing—nothing—between me and Liam. Never was. Never will be.”

“Never was, eh? I remember a girl in a bar, fleeing from a date she’d made by mistake because she thought she’d been asked out by somebody called Liam.”

Anna shook her head violently, tears flying out and splashing her cheeks.

“That was before I met you! Before I…fell in love with you. At first sight. John, no man can ever compare with you. You will always be the love of my life.”

“But you just lied to me, Anna. Blatantly lied to me without even stopping to think that I must know it was a lie. How can I trust you? Hmm?”

John’s face was so sad, his eyes beleaguered, his brow creased. He looked devastated. Anna reached for his arm, but he shrugged her off.

“You can trust me, John. I’d never, ever do something that would hurt you. Never. Ever. I swear on every Bible, every holy book in the world. You must believe me.”

He stood, looking at the ceiling to avoid her appeal, as if he knew one look from her would shatter his resolve.

“I have to go to the office. Luana will bring you lunch. See that you eat it.”

He left, striding rapidly out the door without looking back.

Anna took refuge in tears again, but she felt a tiny bit more hopeful than she had before his visit. He was just in shock, that was all. In pain. He would see soon enough how silly and insecure he was being. It would be all right.

“So, Mimi. The ozone replacement machine.”

Prendergast sat back with his cup of coffee and sipped, waiting for Mimi to dazzle him with something that would knock the miserable state of the nation’s coffers right off the front page.

“Yes. I’ve become quite friendly with John Stone.”

“Oh yes, Stone. Interesting fellow. I’ve met him—he’s a devil to get the measure of. What do you think of him?”

“I think he’s a clever man. A genius, even.”

“So you think this machine is more than just some harebrained piece of eccentricity? Because I’m afraid that’s how it’s viewed. A silly season story in the making. From stockbroker to sci-fi saviour of the Earth. You see how it plays.”

“I’m confident that it will work, and he will be able to repair the ozone layer. It will benefit more than the environment, as well. He told me that there will be some secondary effects. He thought Rodney Merchant would be very interested to hear about them, because they will affect his satellite media networks.”

“Merchant? Seriously?”

“Stone told me,” said Mimi, keeping her voice low, knowing that she had Prendergast’s full attention, “that once the ozone layer is sealed, he will be able to add a number of features to satellite signals. Features Merchant might well want to consider.”

“Such as?”

“Subliminal messaging.”

“Mind control?”