Midnight Sun (127 page)

To
his
left
,
Suki
fanned
herself
furiously
with
the
program
card
that
had
been
passed
out
at
the
entrance,
her
husband
positioning
himself
such
that
he
caught
the
excess
breeze
she
threw
past
her
own
face.
The
midday
temperature
in
the
direct
sun,
somewhere
north
of
eighty
degrees,
drew
a
constant
stream
of
sweat
that
steadily
ran
into
his
eyes.
Farrah
reached
up
and
wiped
his
forehead,
sending
droplets
coursing
down
his
face.
He
let
out
a
quavering
breath,
took
a
deeper
one
to
calm
himself
,
then
glanced
at
the
clusters
of
body
guards
at
either
side
of
the
stage.
He
willed
himself
not
to
show
nerves
beneath
their
searching
gaze.

It
was
time
—there
was
no
need
to
wait
any
longer.
Farrah
stared
directly
into
the
p
resident's
face
,
listening
to
the
tempo
and
tone
as he began his
speech.
He
waited
until
the
p
resident
’
s
voice
started
toward
a
climax
in
pitch
—he’d
put
an
exclamation
mark
on
the
sentence
for
him.
The
sound
rose
in
volume
,
and
when
it
seemed
its
highest
,
Farrah
pressed
the
first
button.
Nothing
happened.
He
pressed
it
again.
Nothing.
He
quickly
pressed
all
three
in
sequence.
No
explosion.
The
p
residential
speech
continued.
Farrah
kept
his
eyes
straight
ahead,
expressionless,
unable
to
hear
any
more
of
the
speech.
He
glanced
to
his
left.
Kreshnik,
dressed
in
city
maintenance
worker's
coveralls,
stood
at
the
edge
of
the
park
with
a
group
of
similarly
attired
men.
Their
eyes
met.
Farrah
blinked
twice
,
then returned his gaze to the stage
.
Kreshnik
’
s
eyes
turned
back
to
the
p
resident,
then
he
pulled
his
cellphone
out
of
his
pocket
and
held
it
up
to
his
ear
as
if
receiving
a
call
and
backing
out
of
the
crowd.
He
moved
away
west
,
toward
the
tunnel
entrance.

Suki
’
s
husband
,
Jim,
sidled
up
behind
her.
As
he
adjusted
his
position
,
putting
his
face
into
the
full
breeze
from
her
fan,
the
Englishman
wiped
his
hand
across
his
forehead
,
then
let
out
a
shaky
whoosh
of
breath.
The
sound
and
movement
drew
Jim
’
s
attention
and
he
glanced
toward
him.
Sweat
trickled
down
his
face,
almost
immediately
replaced
by
new
beads
of
moisture
welling
across
the
Englishman
’
s
skin.
Jim's
attention
zeroed
in
on
an
irregularity.
Tiny
dots
of
sweat
expanded
evenly
across
the
man's
forehead
and
cheeks
and
clean
-
shave
n
upper
lip,
but
some
parts
of
his
face
were
dry.
Jim
could
see
pores
on
the
skin
outside
of
his
eye
sockets,
the
back
half
of
his
jawline,
and
his
nose,
but
in
those
areas
,
no
droplets
formed.
Rivulets
of
sweat
ran
over
those
places,
but
none
originated
there.