Chapter 37
TOM OWENS WASN’T exactly glad to be back at their temporary house in Yonkers. But he was glad not to be listening to Pry in the back seat, complaining about everything from not being allowed to smoke in the car to not having enough money to not having anything to show for the group’s work.
Pry was still on a tear about the lack of appreciation their group was getting. “I thought we’d have public opinion siding with us. Everyone bitches about cops. I mean, we’re trying to make life better for others.”
Owens mumbled, “Except for the woman who worked at the Office of Technology and Innovation.”
The comment earned him a pretty good scowl from Ellis Warrenton.
Even with his limited ability to gauge other people’s emotions and reactions, Owens could feel the tension in the group.
It wasn’t only Ellis being annoyed with him for pointing out the woman’s death.
There was tension between Pry and Ellis as well.
But no matter how he tried, Owens couldn’t determine what the issue was or why Pry was so surly.
Pry said, “This sucks. It’s so boring here. I’m going to go out on the town. Who’s with me?”
Ellis let out a laugh. “You mean go out on the town in Yonkers?”
“Hell no. I’m going back to Manhattan.”
“You coming back here tonight?”
“Probably not. I’ll stay at my apartment in the city.”
“You really think anyone buys that ‘apartment’ crap?” Kimmy retorted, using air quotes when she said the word “apartment.” “You have a cot in your stepfather’s storage unit in the Bronx. Just call it that.”
“It’s not a cot. It’s a regular twin mattress on cinder blocks.” He paused for a moment, then said to Kimmy, “What about it? Are you wasting your evening here or you coming out with me for a good time?”
Kimmy stepped closer to Owens. She didn’t say a word.
She didn’t have to. The glare that Pry gave Owens made his legs go a little weak.
He stood silently in the living room as the big man stomped to the front door.
Owens didn’t envy him heading back down to the city.
It wasn’t snowing, but it was cold, and the wind had a damp, biting edge to it.
Ellis didn’t acknowledge either Kimmy or Owens as he stalked off to his own bedroom.
An hour later, Owens finished reading an analysis of a NASA study of how climate change was affecting South American rainforests. The news wasn’t good. But how to get the public to listen to these kinds of reports?
He realized he was one in a long line of people screaming about the future.
But he felt he might be on the right track.
Maybe fear was the only thing that really worked.
Not fear about what could happen in the future.
Fear about living their daily lives in a big city where someone was planting bombs.
Maybe this really was the only way to get people’s attention.
The climate was quickly becoming unfixable, and tech was already out of control. Owens wanted to do what forward thinkers before him had failed to do: change the public’s perception of these issues. If he didn’t, a few dead people in New York wouldn’t matter anyway.
There was a light tap on the bedroom door. Then the door opened a crack and Kimmy’s blond head poked into the room. “Tom, can I come in?”
She stepped into Owens’s room without waiting for an answer and casually lay down on the bed next to him, on top of the floral comforter that covered the queen-size mattress. It had a decidedly synthetic-fiber feel to it and smelled of Tide.
Owens didn’t say anything. They lay there in silence for a few minutes. He liked the feel of her lying next to him. Her hair smelled like strawberries. It competed with the detergent odor coming from the comforter.
Finally, Kimmy said, “Don’t let Pry scare you. He’s intimidated by your intelligence.”
“I’m a little intimidated by his size.”
“That’s all he’s got. Height and muscles. He’d never be able to figure things out like you. We need a big brain like yours if we’re gonna get people to listen.”
Kimmy’s soft voice and simple message made Owens feel safe, and maybe a little warm. He liked it.
“Ellis and I don’t think we can rely on money from our relatives. It was nice of your brother to send you some cash, but we shouldn’t count on things like that. We need to figure out other ways to fund our efforts.”
“What other ways do you mean?”
“You’re smart. You’ll figure something out.” She cocked her head so it was snuggled against his shoulder. They dozed off together.