Page 68 of The Geek and the Sheikh

RITA laughed again. “That’s actually two very distinctly different films, my dear.”

“Yeah, I know, but it was those or Alice and I never liked Alice.”

“Really? Interesting,” RITA replied.

Junebug pushed out of the chair and walked the two feet to stand in front of RITA. She lifted a hand and passed it through the hologram. The image wavered before returning back to shape.

“What program are you using? How are you doing this? Do you need cameras? Is there some type of projection equipment triangulating to create you? I’ve heard of Cosmos Raines Industries but I thought they were just into EVs and solar and space stuff.”

Junebug walked around RITA’s form. RITA stood still as Bugs made a circuit around her.

Adaptive emotions. This is the stuff science-fiction is made of.

“You could say Cosmos Raines knows a little about space stuff. I’ve been watching you for years. I told Harlem you were brilliant.”

“You know Harlem? Harlem Jones?” she asked, stopping in front of RITA again.

“Yes. You may want to sit down,” RITA suggested.

“Nah, I’m good.”

RITA flickered. Once second she was in front of Junebug, and the next she was sitting on the desk in front of the wall of monitors. Each screen began to change. Junebug watched with avid fascination as different video feeds began to appear.

“That’s my mom,” she said, stepping closer.

Her eyes remained glued to the beautiful image of her mother. Rainbow Rain was holding an infant with shiny strawberry blonde hair while a little girl with hair the color of midnight stood next to her. Junebug lifted a finger and curled a lock of her hair around it.

“That’s me,” she murmured.

“Yes.”

Harlem emerged out of the door of the store behind her. He paused, spoke to Rainbow, and they started walking away. Junebug wanted to protest, but the sound died on her lips when a photo replaced the video. It looked like an image from a hundred years ago. It was in black and white with white streaks. The handsome man wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse looked just like Harlem.

Soon, additional photos and videos appeared. There was a grainy video of a man sitting on a tank. There was no sound, but the men surrounding him waved to the camera.

“This was from World War I in Southern France. The other from 1887. Taken on a cattle drive from Texas.”

“I… don’t understand. Those all look like Harlem,” Junebug said, staring at the artwork on the screen.

“This sketch was done by none other than Leonardo da Vinci in 1502,” RITA explained.

“I saw that. Harlem had it in his hidden room at the house,” Junebug said. “I don’t understand.”

“There are a few individuals who are given more than one life for some reason. Harlem is one of them.”

“Is Dalla Bogadottir another one?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Who is she? Why is Dimitri Mihailov looking for her?”

RITA glowed for several seconds before she smiled. “I suspect that it has something to do with his wife, Rune, or should I say Runa Bogadottir.”

“Do you know where Dalla is now?”

RITA smiled again. “She is currently en route to Simdan.”

“What does Mark Hammer have to do with all of this?” she asked with a frown. “Does he know about Harlem and Dalla and this woman… Rune?”

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