"Tai really screwed up when he tried to frame you," Kari said. "It was just too unbelievable. It got people wondering, asking questions. I hardly had to seek out anybody-they came to me, since I'm your best friend. And we compared notes about the secret missions we'd been sent on...." Kari lowered her head. "A lot of us did things we weren't proud of. Thought they were justified at first ... but now we're not so sure."

Emry touched her friend's shoulder. "Oh, honey ... not..."

"No, nothing as bad as what Cowboy did. Not ... by the people who talked to me, anyway. But some pretty unethical stuff. Blackmail, sabotage, dirty tricks..."

"Tai sent us here to discredit Eliot Thorne and stir up hostilities among the delegates," Maryam said.

"I was wondering how to get out of having to do that," Kari went on. "Now you've given us an excuse. Since you found us before we could do anything, we can say we had to retreat."

"Why bother?" Emry asked. "Just go public, testify that Tai ordered you to sabotage things here. You have that in your buffer, don't you?"

Kari grinned. "He told me to turn it off first ... but I guess I was a bad girl."

"Yeah! So bad you're good!" Emry crowed.

Kari shook her head. "It's not enough. Tai has a whole organization backing him up-with lots of lawyers. You saw how easily they twisted things against you. They could say I faked it." That was a good point. It was possible to fake virtually anything these days, and the law was still trying to catch up. Different jurisdictions had different standards of proof. "We need a more solid case. We need more hard evidence, different kinds of evidence and testimony that all corroborate each other. We need to show a whole, consistent pattern if we want to convince people."

"So who else is in on it?" Emry asked.

"A lot of us. Marut, Juan, Melanie, Fira.s.s..."

Emry grew deeply moved as the list stretched on. She hadn't thought most of the Troubleshooters even took her seriously. She'd thought the Vanguard was the one place where she'd ever felt at home in the past nine years. Suddenly she didn't know what to think anymore. But what she felt was great warmth ... and renewed hope.

17.

s.e.x and Violence December 2107

Neogaia

Emry found Psyche in a garden surrounded by b.u.t.terflies. "It's a perfume Hanuman gave me," Psyche explained as they fluttered around her, alighting on her outstretched arms. "A pheromone that draws them. Appropriate, don't you think?"

It was a beautiful sight, but Emry couldn't pause to enjoy it. As the b.u.t.terflies danced around them, Emry told Psyche about her encounter with the Troubleshooters. "With their help," she finished, "we can expose Tai and the Sheaf, blow the whole thing wide open! We don't have to worry about them going up against us. The Sheavers won't risk it if they don't have the TSC to give them legitimacy. Maybe we can even get the Corps to back our alliance!"

It took her a few moments to realize through her excitement that Psyche didn't share it. If anything, she looked wary. "I don't know, Emry." She laid a hand on the side of Emry's head, gazing into her eyes. "Are you sure you can trust them?"

"I trust Kari."

"But you know how shrewd Tai is. He's a master manipulator. He could have turned her against you."

"Then she would've just arrested me when she had the chance!"

"She couldn't know you didn't have backup. It could've been a ploy to win your trust. Maybe to gain intelligence the Troubleshooters could use to destroy everything we've worked for."

Psyche's words sounded so plausible. But Emry shook them off. "No, no, I thought about that, and I don't buy it. Kari's never been any good at keeping things from me."

"Not when it was just between friends. This is different. Tai's convinced her you're a threat, a killer."

"Psyche, we don't know that! Listen, even if there is a risk, isn't it worth taking the chance? Without Sensei, this could be our best bet of exposing Tai!"

Psyche's brow furrowed sadly and she stroked Emry's hair. "Oh, Emry ... I know how much you wish you could get the Troubleshooters back. But there's too much at stake to be sentimental. They're just too deep in Tai's pocket now."

"I don't believe that. You weren't there, Psyche. You didn't feel ... the trust they had in me. The trust I have for them too. They're my friends."

"And we're your family!" Psyche said, taking Emry's head between her hands. "Sweetie, you have to make a choice about where your loyalties lie. Things have gone too far for you to straddle the fence anymore. You need to decide. Are you a Vanguardian? Are you with Eliot and me?"

"Of course I am! I love you! But-"

Those quicksilver eyes flashed, catching and holding her gaze. "There can be no 'buts,' Emry. If you truly love us, that love has to be unconditional."

She couldn't look away from those eyes. They were so very beautiful. "It is. I love you, Psyche. I love you so much."

"Then trust me, Emry."

"... I do."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"That's my girl!" Grinning again, Psyche nuzzled her forehead against Emry's.

'Emry, what's going on?' It was Zephyr.

But Psyche was speaking again, so Emry ignored the distraction. "Now," the beautiful Vanguardian went on, still stroking Emry's hair, still holding her gaze with those shining, unblinking eyes. "You said the TSC team was going to leave. Have they gone yet?"

"No. They don't want to be conspicuous, so they need to arrange what looks like a courier run to Ceres."

'Should you have told her that?' Zephyr asked.

'I trust her!'

"Good. Good, we can't let them get away with whatever intelligence they may have gathered. We need to act now, take them prisoner before they can get away. You're the key to that, Emry. They think you trust them now, so you can take them by surprise. You get them into place, and we'll send in a security team to take them into custody. Okay, honey?"

Emry wasn't happy with the idea. She knew Psyche meant well, of course she did, but the plan seemed a little rash. "I don't know, Psyche. I mean ... they'd fight back. We'd have to use force, and ... well, don't you think it could trigger the, the very conflict we're trying to avoid? And what if ... what if somebody got hurt, or..."

"Emry." Psyche clasped her head in both hands again, moved her warm body closer. "Don't worry, sweetie! You can help us keep that from happening. You know how they fight. You know their weaknesses. And they won't see it coming when you turn on them. With your help, we can make it quick and make sure it's done with a minimum of fuss."

'This is someone you trust?'

'Shut up, Zephyr, and let me think!' But she couldn't ignore her own doubts. "Psyche ... I can't. Whatever Tai has duped them into ... they're my friends. They're Troubleshooters. This is wrong," she went on more a.s.suredly. "We're all on the same side, we just have to convince them of that. Fighting isn't the way!"

Psyche held her closer still. "Ohh, Emry ... I understand how you feel, sweet baby." Her breath was warm and fragrant against Emry's open mouth. "And I love you for your compa.s.sion." Her full lips touched Emry's tenderly, but lingered there for some time. "I would never want to see your friends hurt if we could possibly help it. That's why I need you to do this for me, honey. For me and Daddy. For your family." Another kiss, longer, deeper.

'Pardon me, Emry, but if you're part of the Thorne family, wouldn't you be more or less her mother-in-law?'

Zephyr's words made Emry choke, and she pushed Psyche away. "Hey, umm ... we really shouldn't be doing this...."

Psyche's brows furrowed, and she studied Emry's face. "Don't listen to Zephyr," she said. "He's trying to come between us. Between you and the people who love you."

'How does she know I'm talking to you?'

Emry knew that was strange, but was having trouble thinking clearly. Psyche went on, her voice so soothing, so alluring. She just wanted to listen to that beautiful, sweet alto and do whatever it took to make its owner happy. But that wasn't the only voice she loved. "Zephyr ... he's my friend too."

"Is he?" Again her head was clutched in those b.u.t.terfly hands-those warm, pleasure-giving hands. Again those shimmering silver eyes filled her vision. "He's been trying to come between us for weeks, Emry. He's just a cloistered, bitter cyber who doesn't have it in him to trust, or to understand the love humans can feel for each other. He's probably a spy for the Troubleshooters. Shut him out of your mind!"

Emry wasn't sure she could find her mind right now. "No, I ... don't believe that ... he doubted Tai before I did...."

"Because he can't trust anyone. And you can't trust him. Please, Emry, shut him out. If you love me, break your link to him."

'Emry, don't! She's doing something to your mind, and she doesn't want me to a.n.a.lyze it.'

But Psyche's lips were devouring hers again, her tongue dancing with Emry's. Her hands stroked Emry's hair, making her scalp tingle, sending jolts of pleasure down her spine. Emry's arms went around Psyche's lissome body, holding it against her, not wanting to let go. Somehow the front of Psyche's shimmering blouse had opened, and Emry let her beautiful friend slide her head down to nestle between her firm chocolate-kiss b.r.e.a.s.t.s, taking comfort from their warmth, their scent, the strong pulse of her loving heart. She tried to bury herself deeper, not wanting to listen to Zephyr's distracting whining anymore.

"I know he can be a mother hen," came Arkady's voice in her memory. "But mother hens usually know what's best. You couldn't have a better partner."

"He doesn't want to be my partner."

"We'll talk him into it, trust me. I just know I'll be able to rest easy as long as he's out there taking care of you."

Gathering herself, Emry pushed Psyche away and struggled for clarity. "Stop. We have to ... I need to think ... what are you doing to me?"

"I'm just reminding you how much we love you, Emry. How much we need you."

'Zephyr, talk to me,' she sent over Psyche's words, before that honeyed voice could lull her into complacency again.

'Your biotelemetry shows you're under the influence of some very potent chemicals, Emry.'

'Well, obviously!'

'No, Emry, I'm not talking about ordinary hormones. There's evidence of psychoactive agents in your body, affecting your neurochemistry. From the timing, I'd say they're secreted by her salivary glands as well as her apocrine system. Clearly her engineered allure goes further than we realized.'

'Psychoactives?' She shook her head, trying to clear it. 'My defenses should've ... '

'They seem specially tailored to your body chemistry, Emry. There's more-your brain waves are approaching a hypnotic state. And there's some kind of EM activity around your cranium, particularly when her hands touch it.'

"Don't listen to him, Emry!" Psyche was saying. "Come to me. Be with me."

"Shut up!" Emry thrust her arms out defensively. "What are you, Psyche? There's more to you than you told me. You don't just read people ... you affect their minds. Brainwash them into ... into doing your will. All that 'enhanced social intelligence'-it's just a trick."

"No, Emry. My abilities are just what I've told you: to read people, understand how they think and what they need, and use that understanding to win them over." Psyche gave an insouciant shrug, as though apologizing for borrowing Emry's clothes without asking. "I just do it in a more ... proactive way than I like to let on."

"You mean manipulative. Invasive. You use people."

"It's no different from any other kind of persuasion. Just more precise, more tailored."

"Tailored." Emry's mind was starting to clear. "That's why you have to get so close to everybody, fondle them, kiss them. f.u.c.k them. You're sampling their body chemistry. Your glands, they need time to tailor the drugs."

"Don't think of them as drugs. Just ... neurochemical facilitators, to ease someone into a suitable state of mind. And it's so much more than that. Here," she went on, moving forward, baring her chest the rest of the way. "Let me show you." Scent glands in the chest, Emry realized. Secreting her "facilitators" ... those t.i.ts really are weapons.

"Don't take another step!" Emry cried. Psyche came casually to a halt, her pose relaxed and nonthreatening. Body language ... that's part of it too. Total control of her microexpressions ... everything, the way she moves, the tone of her voice ... subliminal cues, subsonics ... it's all tailored. And she can read instantly how well it's working, adjust it moment by moment.

"You're right," Psyche said, chilling her. "I can read you like a book, Emry. Your hormones, your body heat, your every microexpression, and that's just the tip of the iceberg." Was she drifting closer? It was hard to tell. "So you can't lie to me, Emry. I can see how much you love me, how much you love Eliot. And I can see you're not a hundred percent sure you can trust the Troubleshooters. Listen to that part of you, Emry. It's telling you that you've chosen the right side already."

"If that were true, you wouldn't be trying to control my mind! To control the delegates' minds!" It was finally hitting her, and it hurt. "My G.o.ddess, the whole thing is a lie, isn't it? You don't want to give every nation a voice-you just want it to look that way, so people think they're free and equal! But really it'll be you pulling the strings, telling them how to vote, what to say!" Then the next part hit her. "That's why you don't want to make peace with the Troubleshooters. You don't want to risk them finding out. And ... and maybe you want to have a common enemy that'll get all the Strider states lining up behind the Vanguard."

She was afraid to ask the next question. "Does Eliot know? Is this just you, are you pulling his strings like everyone else's? Or..."

Psyche's eyes flashed. "I am my father's daughter, Emry. I'm his right hand, his legacy. I was made for that. Couldn't you tell from my name? Psyche, whose beauty rivaled Aphrodite's." She raised a hand and a b.u.t.terfly promptly alit upon it. "So lovely and sublime that animals, plants, even the earth and the wind itself bent over backward to oblige her every whim."

Emry's heart fell. "All this time ... he's been using me. Lying to me."

"Emry, Eliot Thorne is the greatest man who's ever lived! You know that! He's the only one with the brilliance, the will, and the vision to lead twelve billion fractious humans into a new evolutionary era! Everything I do is in the name of that greater good, Emry." Her smile was gone now, and she began refastening her blouse. "Do you think I like doing this all the time? Always being on, always calculating how to influence people and nudge them in the right direction? Never able to just be myself, let someone see who I really am? It's hard, Emry, and it's lonely. But it's worth it if it helps bring my father's dreams closer to reality."

She sighed. "I'm sorry I've manipulated you, Emry. But we weren't sure how you'd react if you knew the truth. You're mad now, I understand that. But just ... trust me a little, give me more time to explain, and maybe you'll come around. I'd love to have you as a full partner, someone who really understands, so I don't have to play games with you anymore. That would mean so much to me, Emry."

A tear rolled down Psyche's flawless cheek, and Emry's heart went out to her-until she realized what was happening. "You're doing it again! Stop playing me!"

Psyche gave an apologetic laugh. "You're right, I'm sorry. It's force of habit. You see how hard it is for me?" Emry thought back to how gleeful Psyche had been back at that party, playing with those two men's emotions until they tried to kill each other, and decided that she liked using her power a lot more than she claimed. Psyche saw her line wasn't working, and relaxed. "Look. Is it really that bad, what I do? Would you rather my father had bred an army and sent them out to kill everyone who stood in his way? Or if he'd used torture and blackmail the way Tai's doing? I influence people with warmth and joy and understanding. The means inform the end, Emry. Doesn't the fact that my father favors such gentle means tell you that his intentions are good?"

"Whether it feels good or not, it's still force. You tried to control me. To make me feel what you wanted. That's an invasion, Psyche! Do you have any idea what that feels like? How can you?" She was furious. She wanted to belt Psyche one. But something held her back. Something, h.e.l.l-she knew what it was. Psyche's mojo was still inside her, affecting her will, her emotions ... she couldn't bring herself to hurt Psyche, to act against her.

'Emry ... she can make people do whatever she wants ... and she was the last person to speak to Sensei before his inexplicable death.'

Emry gasped. "Oh, G.o.ddess. Sensei. Did you do something to him?"

"Emry, G.o.d, how could you ask that?" But Emry saw something in her face for the first time: a stray microexpression. Guilt.

The dam broke. With a shriek, Emry lunged forward and struck that perfect face with the flat of her hand. The crack resounded through the valley. Psyche tried to roll with the blow, but it snapped her head around and knocked her half over. But her waist-length braid swung around toward Emry's head. Emry dodged reflexively, distracted from seeing that Psyche had turned her motion into a spin-kick that took Emry below the sternum. She fell back, rolled, and came up into a ready crouch-just in time too, for with those long legs it took barely a step for Psyche to close with her and aim a high right-heel kick at her chin. Emry dodged and grabbed her ankle, but Psyche backflipped, her left foot jabbing Emry in the right knee and breast in quick succession. Psyche came out of the flip with her arms raised like an Olympic gymnast's, giggling.

"You won't be laughing when I haul you in for murder!"

"And will they believe you, a suspect in another murder? I'll just tell them it's a feeble attempt to frame me-and when it's my word against yours, sweetie, you're vacked out a very small punkhole. Besides," she added, her grin wide and feral, "you'd have to catch me first."

"Watch me!" She charged again.