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explained how she knew.
    Carradine asked Opal, “What happened?”
    Opal shrugged. “I got confused. I came out-of-body and into the concrete they used to seal off the chamber rather than the time-tunnel chamber itself. There’s no point of reference when that happens, so I wasn’t sure of the direction.”
    â€œDid you swim?”
    She nodded. “I managed to go downward, unfortunately.” She gave a small smile. “But I realized I was wrong before I reached the center of the Earth. So I reversed direction and eventually came up in one of the offices. Once I was oriented, I was able to refocus on Michael and the rest of you.”
    â€œSo you just came back to your body?” Carradine sounded disappointed.
    But Opal shook her head. “No. I came back here all right, but then I tried a direct line to the target chamber straight through the plug. Which worked.” She looked smug.
    â€œWell done!” Carradine exclaimed. He glanced around. “Can’t debrief you without the colonel. What the hell’s keeping him?”
    â€œWhere’s he gone?” Opal frowned.
    Danny said, “Went to get a doctor. He thought Fuchsia was sick. She’s an operational precog.”
    Michael frowned. “What’s an operational precog?”
    â€œSomebody who can see into the future, according to Mr. Carradine,” Danny told him. They all turned in Carradine’s direction.
    Carradine laughed. “All right, all right, I’ll fill you in. What—” He stopped. Running footsteps were sounding in the tunnel, and in a moment Colonel Saltzman appeared, accompanied by a young officer in Medical Corps uniform. “Later,” Carradine finished hurriedly.
    The young officer zeroed in on Fuchsia after a nod from his colonel. “Colonel says you’re feeling poorly, miss?”
    â€œI’m fine,” Fuchsia insisted. “Are you going to take my blood pressure?”
    In fact, the doctor did take her blood pressure, examine her eyes, and sound her chest with a stethoscope. “She seems okay now,” he said to the colonel.
    â€œTold you,” Fuchsia said.
    They waited until the doctor left, then Carradine said, “Opal made it to the target chamber, Colonel.”
    â€œYou really can tell me what’s in there? What set the alarm off?” He still sounded doubtful.
    Opal shrugged slightly. “Nothing, so far as I can see.”
    They looked at her blankly.
    â€œThe rift—the time tunnel or whatever you want to call it—is still there. I could see it quite plainly.” She shuddered involuntarily. “It’s very peculiar to look at when you’re in your second body.”
    â€œAnd while you’re in your first one,” Carradine murmured. Michael glanced across at him. He kept wondering if Mr. Carradine had been associated with the original Project Rainbow.
    â€œThe good news,” Opal said, “is that there’s nothing nasty in there. I looked very carefully—there’s really nowhere to hide.”
    â€œSo what set off the alarm, little lady?” the colonel asked. “Or was it just a glitch in the system?”
    â€œI think it must have been,” Opal told him. “Maybe it was the vibration of the drill. But anyway, there’s nothing in the chamber that shouldn’t be there.”
    â€œSo it’s safe for us to open it up again?”
    Opal said carefully, “I can’t give you guarantees, but I could see no problem.”
    The colonel gave a relieved smile. “Okay, that’ll have to be good enough for me.” He turned away from her. “Mr. Carradine, looks like we’re going in.”

Chapter 9
Michael, the Montauk Carlton, Montauk
    T he breakfast room was empty of guests when Michael came down, and empty of staff too as far as he could see, but there was a table set for five with Mr. Carradine’s name tag leaning on a tiny jar of