The Secret War (Jack Blank Adventure) by Matt Myklusch Page A

asked.
    “Help is help,” Stendeval said as he poured the tea. “It can come from all kinds of places.” Stendeval and Jack sipped their cups in silence and watched the sun move slowly down toward the horizon.
    “We were lucky today, Jack,” Stendeval said after the sun finally went down. “If the message Jonas played for us in the sphere had mentioned the spyware virus, we would have had to come forward with what we know. I’ve held off telling the Inner Circle this long to avoid causing a panic, but there’s no point in keeping a secret if the secret is already out.”
    Jack sipped his tea, nodding slowly. “I know,” he said.“I almost wish they had talked about the virus in that message. Then at least I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping it quiet anymore. I hate this, Stendeval. It’s like Smart said, I feel like I’ve got an ax hanging over my head all the time and it’s ready to drop at any moment.”
    “I know it’s not easy,” Stendeval told Jack. “But you know what would happen if the truth came out too soon, just as well as I do.”
    Jack studied his reflection in his teacup, then pushed it away. He knew exactly what would happen. The new atmosphere of togetherness and unity in the Imagine Nation was too fragile a thing to weather the truth.
    “I know. It would stir up everyone’s fears again. We’d spend all our time trying to make sure the Mechas didn’t end up dismantled and shredded.” Jack shook his head. “We don’t have time for that. Not anymore. I mean … five days? That’s all we’ve got left?” He threw his hands up in frustration. “That Rüstov message didn’t mention the virus by name, but that had to be what Glave was talking about.”
    “That was my conclusion as well,” Stendeval said.
    “How am I supposed to solve this thing in five days?” Jack asked.
    “When last we spoke you said you were on the verge of a breakthrough.”
    “Right,” Jack replied. “A break
down
is more like it. I haven’t done anything in a week.”
    “A week?” Stendeval said, sitting up in his chair. He placed his teacup on the table next to Jack’s and leaned forward. “Jack, what happened? Tell me everything.”
    “I heard a voice,” Jack told Stendeval.
    Stendeval squinted at Jack. “I don’t understand. What voice? When?”
    “Last week,” Jack said. “I was doing research. I realized I needed to know more about Rüstov systems to finish the cure-code, and I decided to study the one inside me. I reached out to my parasite with my powers. I knew it was a bad idea…. I knew it. I put off doing it for the longest time, but I wanted to finish this, so I did it anyway. I heard a voice, Stendeval. My parasite’s voice. It knows my name.”
    Stendeval looked concerned. “I see,” he said, leaning into his fist. “Are you still hearing it?”
    “No, but something’s different now,” Jack said. “It’s awake. I can feel it getting stronger. I think I made a big mistake here.”
    Stendeval didn’t say anything at first. A pained look came over his face, but he dropped it as the belcanto, a great blue bird with yellow-tipped wing feathers, landed on the roof. The bird had a proud, majestic bearing and a large orange beak. It breathed deeply of the harmonia flowers’ scent and began to sing. More birds arrived soon after to enjoy the garden’s pleasing aroma and to lend their voices to the chorus. Stendeval took a brief moment to listen to their song as he turned the matter over in his mind.
    “This changes things,” Stendeval said. “I bought us time in the sphere today, hoping that you were …” Stendeval trailed off and shook his head slightly. “So be it. Whenever you encounter a problem in life, it simply means your situation has changed,” he said, regaining an optimistic tone. “You need to take steps to deal with the new situation. Are you prepared to do that, Jack?”
    “I haven’t been prepared to do anything in more than a week. I’ve been too