Chapter 29—DSC Report Day One

Nikki doodled at her desk while waiting for Jesse's call from France on the DSC. She had made a few notes about their research progress. She liked organizing. To Nikki, the world often tilted and needed people like her to put it back on track.

A buzzing sound jolted her, and she grabbed the device to stare into the infrared glow coming from its center. A light flickered as it read the retinal frequency.

"Nikki's here," she said, speaking in the general direction of the unit. It was a powerful device, and she didn't need to be close for her voice to be picked up by its receiver.

"Hi, Nik," Jesse said. "I've got Chaz here too."

"Greetings from kiwi-land," Chaz said.

"What's happening?" Jesse asked enthusiastically. "Your report please, Nikki."

Here goes, Nikki thought, and gave a minute-by-minute account of their first foray into the crater base.

"I have to admit I'm satisfied with the results. We'll start in the tunnels tomorrow. The crystals have to be in one of them, and we'll hope the cache is all in one place."

"How did Christina do on her first day?" Jesse was prepared for bad news, but knew Nikki would have complained about it right away if that had been the case.

"I was kind of surprised. She did acclimate."

"So I guess Jake and Ranger made a good choice, huh?"

"I barely recognized her without her flower-child look. She was dragging by the end of the day, so I have no idea if she'll come back tomorrow." Nikki's voice drifted into silence.

"What is it, Nik?" Chaz asked. "I can feel your brain grinding all the way from New Zealand."

"Tell us," Jesse urged.

"You're right," she said. "I'm going crazy trying to figure out how much to tell the team. Let's talk about it. Figure out how to create a consistent story. I don't trust that everything will fall into place like your expedition did, Jesse. You ended up telling your team about the angel and the quest only when you had to. I feel funny about waiting that long. They already think I'm weird." Nikki drew in a deep breath. "And Chaz, you're going to have to tell your team something, right? I vote we agree right now on what to say." Then she was quiet to give the guys a chance to mull it over.

They needed to weigh the advantages of not scaring away their teams against those of preventing them from being shocked and angry that they hadn't been told the truth. They were walking a tightrope. Time seemed to stand still as each friend considered the best way to reveal the apparition and the quest.

Jesse broke the silence. "My angel story was believable once we found the crystals and everyone witnessed them shooting up a light beam. Maybe you should wait till you find them—and then, you know, fill in the details later. Our teams don't have the benefit of seeing and hearing the angel." More silence.

Then Chaz piped in. "That's true. I think our guide, Jojo, would believe it because he's Maori, and the Maori have mystical guides. They don't call them angels, but close enough. I could use different words—like 'a mystical guide appeared to us.' I think he'd get that. But I'm not so sure about my hosts. Tip and Taylor might be cynical."

"What have you told them so far?" Jesse asked.

Chaz sighed. "Only what Nikki told her team—we're on a project for our parents, looking for crystals with unique chemical properties. We'll recognize them when we find them."

"How do you think they'd react to the angel story now?" Nikki asked.

"I believe I can handle it."

"I didn't ask if you could handle it," Nikki said. "I asked if they'll believe you."

"Whoa horsey, don't get all superior on me!" Chaz exclaimed. "I'll tell them in a way that keeps them interested. You're being paranoid, Nik, as usual."

The truth was that Nikki didn't trust her own ability to explain supernatural things, like angels and enchanted crystals, not to mention an atmospheric phenomenon like a crystal chain shining in the sky. Part of her brain didn't believe it, but another part of course, did, having seen and heard the angel with her own eyes and ears. And she wanted it to be real.

"Nikki," Jesse said. "If I were you, I'd wait for the first crystal discovery. The thing will glow like a firecracker, and the rest will fall into place. You're worrying too much. If you hadn't been with me and Chaz that day in the crater when we told you we'd seen an angel, you'd think we'd gone bonkers, right?"

Nikki sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Wait a minute. You're saying I'm right? I think that's a first. Chaz, don't you think that's a first?"

"It is a first, Jesse. Holy smokes, Nikki, this angel thing is affecting you already. You're admitting you don't know something. I'm writing it down for the history books. 'Nikki Tasmanos admits not knowing, circa June 2016.'"

"That is so not true!" She could feel a hiccup coming on. "And I'm ending this call; you guys are ganging up on me."

"Kidding, Nik. You'll figure it out and do the right thing, right Chaz?"

"Yep. No problem whatsoever from this end," Chaz confirmed.

"All right. I'll flow with it, even though that's hard for me."

"She actually said the word flow. The shift has already begun," Chaz said.

"Shut...up! Good night." Nikki signed off and groaned.

"Tomorrow, same time, same place," Jesse slipped in. Then they were gone.

Nikki was worried. Could she pull off this expedition and change the world?