Page 24 of Mountain Target

Bristow walked between the different machines, still looking altogether too much like Papa Smurf—just how many blue jumpers and red hats does that man have. Somehow, this time around, it was hard to find humor in the scientist’s look.

The man’s eyes were bright with something. For an instant, Beau mistook it for fear. Then he looked again and realized it was excitement.

“We were right!” Liam exclaimed, his long limbs jiggling from side to side, as if unable to contain the energy within.

“Shhhh,” his boss shushed him, looking around.

Hugo sighed, an exasperated noise. “What the hell? Is he worried we’re going to steal his research?”

Beau looked at the way the scientists huddled together over a tablet.

He is.

That’s exactly what he’s worried about.

They found something, and it’s important enough Bristow’s not willing to share until he knows the discovery’s secured.

Normally, Beau couldn’t care less about a piece of scientific research. But this wasn’t just any research. Bristow and his team claimed they could predict earthquakes. Which Beau knew was impossible. But what if it wasn’t …

Fuck.

“Dr. Bristow, can I steal a minute of your time?” Beau finally asked. “It’s a security matter.”

Bristow pulled off his hat and smoothed the thin white hairs on top of his head.

“Of course.”

Beau took the man aside a few feet. It didn’t escape his notice just how tightly Bristow held on to the tablet, or how his hands trembled.

Beau prayed for patience.

“Doctor. If you found something, I need to inform the colonel.” He paused for a moment, then hammered it in. “That was part of your agreement with the mayor, I understand. We would be kept informed if there was ever any risk to public safety.”

Bristow hesitated for an instant longer.

“Please, Doctor. We just want to help keep everyone safe.”

The doctor seemed to fight with his academic pride for a few additional seconds, but eventually conceded.

“Yes. We found something.” He pointed to a thick blue line crossing his screen. “See this line? If we’re right … if we’re right, everybody around this ridge is in danger.”

Beau’s mouth went dry.

The line the doctor was pointing at bisected the entire valley, from Chamonix itself, all the way southwest to Saint Gervais Les Bains, Megève, and beyond.

He hoped he’d misheard, even as he knew he hadn’t.

“When?” he asked. Depending on how much time they had, it might be possible to put people on alert, evacuating those in greater danger.

Bristow shook his head. “That’s not how it works. Our model puts together thousands of data points—things you can’t even see, like changing water levels in artesian bores, tiny foreshocks deep inside the rocks, minuscule contractions in the roots of trees … it’s too complicated to explain, but it’s not a Broadway show. It doesn’t come with a starting time.”

“What can you tell us, then?” Beau asked, exasperated.

“I can tell you I need more time to look into this. And that, if what we see here is true—and there’s no reason to think my model is wrong—it’s going to be a large-scale disturbance.”

“So we have … days?”

“Maybe,” the scientist said, pursing his lips and giving him what Beau assumed was meant to be a solemn look, though his eyes still shone with excitement. “Given enough time to analyze the data, we should be able to pinpoint the epicenter, and know more about the exact…”