Over to Admin, upstairs to the executive level, down the corridor from Yanni's office. The ReseuneSec offices were a busy place, even at this early hour. The anteroom was full of people in suits, people in uniform. If he had to wait, he had things he could do in the interim.

He went to the desk. "Florian AF, Sera Ariane Emory's bodyguard. The director called."

The receptionist immediately lost the preoccupied look. "Ser. You're expected." He stood up and personally escorted Florian down a carpeted hall straight to the director's office, past cameras and other devicesno matter all the waiting CITs back there.

That was gratifying, on sera's behalf. It made a good impressionso far.

"Florian AF."

A man with dark hair, dark good looks, and a gold bar indicating a colonel's rank, intercepted him and the receptionist both. Kyle AK. Alpha azi. Hicks' aide.

"Ser." Kyle AK outranked him. And might prevent him, but he would not not do business with a subst.i.tute. He eyed Kyle AK with a certain reserve, just stared at him, at a dead stop, and the receptionist retreated. do business with a subst.i.tute. He eyed Kyle AK with a certain reserve, just stared at him, at a dead stop, and the receptionist retreated.

"The message was from the Director," Florian said. "I'll see see the Director." the Director."

"To be sure," Kyle AK said smoothly, and opened the door that said Adam Hicks, Director, Reseune Security Adam Hicks, Director, Reseune Security in gold letters. in gold letters.

He walked in with Kyle AK, facing a silver-haired, square-faced man at a desk.

Suit, not uniform. That was Hicks, CIT, and never trained in green barracks, not an expert in actual practice, only in administration. He'd gotten the services of Kyle AK, a very highly trained alpha, former Fleet service. And it was widely suspected that Kyle AK was and had been the source of no little policy and no few orders in ReseuneSec . . . but it was the born-man who held the office and signed the papers.

"Ser," Florian said. "Florian AF. You called sera's office."

Hicks got up from his chair and offered his hand across the desk, again, proper behavior. "Florian AF. A pleasure. Have a seat."

"Ser," Florian said, placing hands in the back of his belt and continuing to stand, post-handshake, as Hicks sat down: he had reached a decision. "Jordan Warrick surrept.i.tiously pa.s.sed a calling card with a contact number to Justin Warrick. The younger Warrick volunteered the card to me when I intercepted him on the quadrangle, and made no further comment. I think you'll know that from my report."

"Do you have the card with you?" Hicks asked him.

"Yes. May I have your word, ser, we'll have the benefit of your investigation? This regards a person under sera's authority."

"Agreed. Absolutely agreed."

Florian reached into his jacket front and pulled out the envelope. Hicks took it and laid it on the desk in front of him.

"What do you know about the card?" Hicks asked.

"The number, ser, belongs to a Dr. Sandur Patil, University of Novgorod."

Hicks's face bet raved very little. He was good, in that regard. "Researcher and professor. Did the Director brief you who she is?"

"Scheduled for promotion to a directorship at Fargone. Yes, ser. Director Schwartz said so, in conversation with my princ.i.p.al."

Hicks nodded slowly. "How far did he brief her?"

"Perhaps farther than he briefed you, ser, so I shouldn't go into specifics."

Momentary silence. A perusal by very cold, very opaque eyes. "You know about Eversnow."

"Yes, ser. We do."

"You got this card from the younger Warrick."

"It was given, Ser. Volunteered by him."

"He got it from Warrick Senior."

"We observed that he did, ser, unless cards were switched. We didn't search him. Justin Warrick has been honest with us."

"Your personal recommendation on the matter. Florian AF?"

He drew a breath. "We've pulled Justin Warrick into sera's wing, to prevent further contact. That was our immediate action."

"Is he aware of what's on the card?"

"The card was given him without explanation. He wasn't observed reading it. He volunteered it to me, and we ran the address on it. We didn't, however, run the data strip. It seems to us that needs to be done in lab."

"We'll do that," Hicks said, "with precautions."

"Sera will appreciate notification of the contents, whether or not it immediately concerns her security."

Hicks' jaw clamped. He was a man not in the habit of letting go of information without knowing parameters in advance. But slowly he nodded. "We appreciate your turning this over, Florian AF."

"Sera will take action based on the contents, ser. We will keep your office apprised."

"Sit down," Hicks said. "For G.o.d's sake, sit down."

It seemed Hicks had something specific to discuss. Florian moved over to the chair and did sit down, leaned back, and looked at the man on the level. It was a worried look on the other side of the desk. A CIT with what seemed to be a problem.

"What's your opinion on what you've found?" Hicks asked.

"First, that Jordan Warrick may or may not have known what was on the card. Second, Justin had no idea, and was uncomfortable with the possession of it in the circ.u.mstances. Third, Dr. Patil may or may not know that her information was traded."

"What, in your opinion, was Warrick's motive?"

"We have no current theory, except to say he wants his son closer to him and we want him farther away Closer in the metaphysical sense as well as the physical."

"His loyalty, you mean."

"The younger Warrick isn't amenable to his father's past politics. He avoids that topic. He has no political leanings of his own."

"Everyone born a CIT has a political leaning."

"His is definitely not toward the Centrists, then, ser. His beliefs run counter to theirs."

"So you don't think his gift of the card to you was simply because he knew he was watched. Do you think he would have turned it in under other circ.u.mstances?"

"Jordan Warrick knew they were watched, ser. He's always watched." Warrick knew they were watched, ser. He's always watched."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"In response to your question, ser, if he hadn't handed it to us last night, he would have likely handed it over sometime today, because he isn't in agreement with his father's gesture. He doesn't favor involvement with clandestine matters. And while he regards his father highly he will equally well wish to avoid any involvement in his father's actions, where they may cross ReseuneSec. He has had extensive experience with your office, ser, and has no wish to cross your path again."

"What do you think is going on with the elder Warrick?"

"Resentment of past confinement and present limitations. A desire to agitate, possibly to inject new energy into a quiet status quo with Admin. Possibly a third motive. My information is insufficient."

"But your information is current in the case of the younger Warrick. You're quite satisfied that he poses no risk to your princ.i.p.al."

"I am very confident of my estimate of Justin Warrick. We wouldn't allow him in the same room with sera if we were in the least doubtful about his intentions."

"What is your estimate of the Patil situation?"

"I can't possibly estimate, ser, except to ask if it's possible Director Schwartz himself provoked Jordan Warrick to do this. The coincidence is extreme, if there is no causality. Both know Patil, ser Warrick secondhand, as best I know, and Dr. Schwartz has met with herintended to meet with her at the time he last spoke with Warrick Senior. We know there was an intense argument between ser Warrick and Dr. Schwartz on that occasion, before Dr. Schwartz left for Novgorod. We don't know the content."

"It was an unrecorded conversation," Hicks said. "In that, Florian AF, you and I are in the same situation."

Interesting. And there was one, perhaps one, window to ask into that matter. "Ser. This touches sera's security, considering Justin Warrick was involved, and Justin Warrick and his companion are under her protection. Eversnow was the topic of dinner conversation between Director Schwartz and sera that same evening. An hour later, with no direct contact with anyone we've monitored, Jordan Warrick chose to produce a card with a name on it involving Eversnow, in a way he knew would come to the attention of ReseuneSec and sera's security. Sera went to Director Schwartz regarding the card: Director Schwartz revealed a connection between Eversnow and Patil, and between Warrick and Patil, via a third party. We find this card a.s.sumes a threatening character, regarding supposedly secure conversations involving Director Schwartz's activities, and sera's security officially calls your attention to that fact." A moment of silence. "Meaning, ser?"

"Meaning we will act, ser, if we see a problem to sera's wing or sera's interests, including the safety of present Reseune Administration."

"You're bright. Tell me, Florian AF, what would you advise we do about Dr. Patil?"

"Investigate. There's no information yet. The action doesn't seem friendly to her interests. But we don't know with any surety what her interests are."

"Facts: the Director met with Dr. Patil in Novgorod. They discussed her promotion to a division leadership in ReseuneLabs at Fargone, involving a covert Reseune development at Eversnow. Jordan Warrick signals us that he knows Patil. Which he does . . . possibly more than secondhand, for all we can discover. You know what she works on."

"Nanistics. Bionanistics of a secret and restricted nature."

"Then you understand the difficulty of turning up information. The military has cla.s.sified much of her work, cla.s.sified much of what goes on at Planys. We can't get over that wall. And the nature of what she works onmakes a physical search of her premises problematic and dangerous. If she's doing something she oughtn't, or communicating with people she oughtn't, yes, there is a danger."

"I would put forward a suggestion, ser."

"What would that be?"

"Let her leave for the a.s.signment. Then detain her and her baggage once she reaches...o...b..t. That narrows the problem. She'll either attempt to destroy things before she leaves, or take certain things with her."

Hicks' face was habitually unexpressive, lined with years of grim business. An actual smile flickered in the corners of the mouth. "Good. Not, actually, surprising. What other suggestions, Florian AF?"

"Sera's personal security doesn't have the scope or the equipment to take certain steps. You do. We would also be extremely interested to know about any leak of information out of Planys, or into it."

"We've consistently taken steps to find out."

Over a period of time, then, a long-term watch. "From before Jordan Warrick came here?"

A grudging dip of the head.

"Planys staff?" Florian asked. "Operatives inside the University?"

"Not all the specialist agents are as far removed as the stations in orbit. We can deal with a nanistics situation. Clearly we have mutual concerns. And we've come to a point of mutual interest. You're very much what I expected. Alpha. No question."

"Ser?"

"Is your partner outside?"

"She remained with sera. Internal policy."

Hicks nodded slowly. "You insisted on monitoring that dinner at the restaurant. You consider young Warrick yours and you protect his privacy. Understandable. We agreed to that. But we'd like to have all the records from that encounter, including anything you know from young Warrick, anything he or his companion may have said in handing you the item."

Hicks had protested their handling it solo. Clearly he'd had his own observers.

"The younger Warrick is in our wing, ser. His safety is at issue as well as sera's. We remain extremely concerned about Warrick senior being here. We remain concerned about any leak of the younger Warrick's activities to Warrick Senior. And might I point outI doubt Justin Warrick would have been as ready to offer the card to one of your agents." An interesting thought, a troubling scenario. "You'd have had to search him if you'd wanted it. And I'm very sure he wouldn't have liked that. Maybe that was part of Jordan's intention, that Justin get arrested. Jordan didn't know it wasn't ReseuneSec doing the monitoring that night. He expected you. And that would have bounced it to Yanni's office, and then to sera."

"Interesting notion. But he didn't give that card to you when you met. He sent his companion back with it."

"Clearly you don't need my answers."

"Actually we don't, on that one." He tapped the envelope with the card. "This, however, is not in the form of a petty annoyance from Ser Warrick. It's very troublesome."

"You're certain Director Schwartz didn't set it up."

A flat, impenetrable stare. "Not to my knowledge," Hicks said, which Florian took for a warning. It could mean, Don't ask. It could mean, No, Yanni Schwartz didn't inform me of any trap he was setting, and I don't at all like not being informed. And it could simply mean, There's a leak somewhere, and I don't like not having clues.

"Are you sure of your own staff, in Sera Emory's apartment?"

"We're all azi, ser. We're Contracted. A leak there isn't highly likely.

Certain of the staff came from general security." That was Wes and Marco. "A few elsewhere, from sources that pa.s.sed clearances. Infiltration is possible, but not likely."

"My point is, we can't work at cross-purposes. You're eighteen. And there are the two other security agents besides your partner on your staff, am I right?"

"Yes, ser. I am. And there are."

Hicks made a vee of his hands. Looked at him a moment. "Your predecessor was very good. I knew him ... I knew him tolerably well, when I was an a.s.sistant to Giraud Nye. We cooperated."

"Yes, ser." Time before he had existed was not emotionally attractive to him. There was no resonance for him with his predecessor, such as born-men expected to exist. And this was a Supervisor, who should know that trait. Florian remained engaged, wary of verbal traps.

"Your predecessor set precedents," Hicks said, "set up frameworks of cooperation with my predecessor's predecessor, that lasted into Giraud Nye's administration of this agency, until the first Ariane's death and the birth of her successor. And I'm about to invoke one of those arrangements. I can place three squads of my people directly under your authority, as Wing One security, establishing the same sort of arrangement my predecessor had with your your princ.i.p.al's officetwo-way information. A very discreet two-way flow. It's not safe for you to keep us in the darkorit's not princ.i.p.al's officetwo-way information. A very discreet two-way flow. It's not safe for you to keep us in the darkorit's not as as safe to have our operations crossing one another at critical moments, and I'd rather prevent that." safe to have our operations crossing one another at critical moments, and I'd rather prevent that."

Interesting offer. He did know about the prior arrangement. He'd expected to ask for it himself, once sera took control of Admin. He'd expected to get it without question at that point, whether or not Hicks was still running ReseuneSec. It was a little surprising to have it offered to them without asking.

"You're worried about Patil and Warrick," he said to Hicks, but only the dilation of the eyes betrayed Hicks' reaction. "There's a leak and you don't know where it is."

"Yes. Frankly, yes. And I'm concerned about Warrick and Warrick, the latter being inside your perimeters in the most sensitive area of Reseune."

"I'm aware of the protocol that existed before my time. But name its details, ser, if you would."

"Thirty beta- and gamma-cla.s.s agents, all dedicated to maintaining your security envelope, at your orders, full access to ReseuneSec information, exactly what the first Ari had . . . with an appropriate clerical staff, and an administrative office sited in Wing One. We could a.s.sign supervisory protocols to the Director himself. Or to me, personally, if you're satisfied with that arrangement."