مقدمه

Prologue

A hitch.

“This had better be important,” the man said. It was past two in the morning in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the man on the boat had been awoken for the call.

“There’s been a . . . hitch,” Hatch said, choosing the word carefully. He leaned back in the leather seat of his private jet. “The transition from our Pasadena facility didn’t go as smoothly as we planned.” “What kind of ‘hitch’?”

“We had a revolt.”

“A revolt? By who?”

“Michael Vey. And the GPs.”

“Did any of them escape?”

“All of them.”

The voice exploded in a string of profanities. “How did that come about?” “The Vey boy was more powerful than we thought.” “The Vey boy escaped?”

Hatch hesitated. “Not just Vey. We lost seven of the Glows.” The man unleashed another string of profanities. “This is a disaster!” “It’s a setback,” Hatch said. “One that will quickly be remedied. We know exactly where they are, and we’re gathering up the GPs as we speak. We’ve already recaptured all but three of them.” “What if they’ve talked?”

“No one would believe them if they did. After what we’ve put them through, most of them are babbling idiots.” “We can’t take that chance. Find them all. Where are the electric children?” “We’ve been tracking their movements. They’re still together and driving to Idaho. We have a team in place ready to take them.” “Why should I believe you’ll be successful this time?” “This time we know what we’re dealing with. And we have a few surprises they won’t be expecting.” “I’ll have to report this to the board,” the voice said.

“Give it until morning,” Hatch said. “The picture will be different. Besides, everything else is on schedule.” “And I expect you to keep it that way.” The voice paused, then said, “I think it’s time you released Vey’s mother.” “That would be a mistake. She’s our only guarantee that Vey won’t just disappear again, and he may be the answer to our problems with the machine. Besides, in less than twenty-four hours Vey and the rest of the Glows will be back in our custody.” “You had better be right,” the man said.

“You have my guarantee,” Hatch said. “Vey will be back in our hands before the day’s out.”