But they had gotten Justin and Grant home uncontaminated, at least in the sense of poison and deepteach drugs. Justin and Grant were, by now, sleeping it off, sera herself had managed to get some late sleep, after a two in the morning call to Yanni, and by now Rafael and their outward apparatus, within ReseuneSec, were instructed to haul in information and sort it: security a.s.signments, who was in what hall, in the restaurants in question, everything, not to mention who had access to Thieu, and who had come and gone in Patil's condominium complex.

It was, to all appearances, death by catastrophic heart failure, in Thieu's caseautopsy had yet to determine more specifics. It was even possible it was natural death, a body which had ceased to renew itself, arteries and veins and cardiac tissue losing their prolonged youthful character, in the sort of fairly rapid decline that attended rejuv failure. It didn't take much to tip a fragile body off the edge. Somebody might have applied that pressure.

The force, however, that had torn a sealed window out of its mount and sent Sandur Patil ten stories to the roof of an adjacent cooling towerthat was a plainly hostile action, on the shockwave of a grenade hand-launcher. Sniffers, applied within the hour in the corridor and lifts, had turned up molecular evidence that had yet to match up with anyone in files, which meant the perpetrator had either confounded the scene with a puffer, available, some sophisticated ones quite expensively so, in Novgorod's CIT underworld. That, or whoever had so spectacularly done in Patil was a novice with a hitherto clean record, and thus not on file. They could run the sniffer data and get an ID of everybody who'd been near that apartment & but on the grounds of the heavy firepower involved, beyond most novices, Florian personally bet on a puffer in use, specifically designed to foil a sniffer and confuse the scene. That was going to take the chemists time to sort out. The launcher, howeverthat wasn't a short-range weapon. It wasn't the sort of thing a professional took to a quiet a.s.sa.s.sination. Whoever had done this was making a statement.

In the meanwhiletheir whole staff lost sleep.

"No shortage of Paxer talent to produce a bogus card," Wes said. "Somebody could have done it off any letter she sent with her letterhead."

"ReseuneSec calls it clean," Catlin said. "Electronically speaking clean, nanistically clean. No microprint in the typeface, so it was a private printer, but definitely with Planys microtags. That indicates only that the paper was produced to be used in Planys. Not that it was. The printer site could be anywhere."

"And the card was planted eight weeks before two of the princ.i.p.als die," Marco said. "The card was planted on the day the Council voted on a black budget for Eversnow. It could be coincidence: it could be connected, but somebody had all the pieces readythe file, the card stock, the access to Jordan Warrick."

"News reports," Florian said, "still say publicly only that there's new construction for Fargone. Patil's name wasn't publicly connected with either the real facts or the published cover. But she wasn't at all reticent about the fact that she was taking an appointment with Reseune at Far-gone: they didn't forbid her to talk about it, and she talked to colleagues. The University was making adjustments in her teaching schedule for September. It's possible she wasn't totally discreet. All it takes is one slip."

"Defense was still managing her," Wes said, "even if she was publicly switching to Reseune payroll. She remained under Defense rules."

"Seems so," Florian said. "If they'd wanted her silenced, they could have done that with a phone call. So they didn't object at all to the farewell parties, or she didn't listen. Maybe it leaked to the Paxersmaybe through office staff, someone she confided in."

"Defense is in elections," Wes said. "Jacques is in office, Spurlin and Khalid are running. There are two strong factions in Defense. Only Jacques has the say, Spurlin is generally with Jacques; KhalidKhalid is a problem. What his feelings are on the Eversnow project, we have no idea."

"Somebody certainly silenced Patil for good," Catlin said. "That's one. And also a.s.sured she won't take that appointment, which Yanni offered her, which at least half of Defense wanted, which Citizens, Information, and Trade all wanted, and which Reseune was funding. She was evidently the most universally acceptable candidate. Her death doesn't need a card from Planys to threaten Yanni's interests. One who might, on the surface, have motive, is sera herself: it slows a program she doesn't favor. But that's nowhere in question, and we know she didn't."

"Suppose someone inside Reseune opposes Yanni, or Eversnow, or the agreement Yanni made," Florian said. "They could pose a danger. Someone violently opposes Yanni's program."

"A problem," Marco said, "an outsider, can come into Reseune Township on a barge out of Novgorod, with a load of fertilizer. Can live there, if he's good at blending in. There's a lot of people in town that don't need a keycard to survive."

Wes said: "I don't think sera is in imminent danger. Taking out Yanni or Hicks would be a safer move, to stop Eversnow & unless they have extraordinary penetration. Sera's become too hard a target."

"And the elder Warrick said he knew about Eversnow," Catlin said. "If that's true, where did he get his information?"

"I remain worried about sera's safety," Marco said. "Certain people might like to have her gone, and Warrick to blame. Again. Even if supporting Jordan Warrick against Reseune Admin is part of the Paxer cause. It's good coverto support the innocence of the man they've framed."

"Or maybe," Wes said, "they want confusion. Patil's double-crossed them, in their view. They kill her. And they set up something to stir up trouble and make Warrick an issue againby getting him arrested for his connection to her a.s.sa.s.sination. But that requires that card be found in his possession, and it wasn't & because he wouldn't have it: he'd given it to Justin. He's smart; he saw the chance of something aimed at him. He didn't want to be tagged with it. He got rid of it as fast as he could, in a way that has ReseuneSec and sera's staff quarreling over it."

"That part makes sense," Florian said. The rest of the world didn't know that sera herself had begun to move on Yanni, and that everything was bound to change soon; and if that leaked and became public, it was going to cause agitation in many quarters. It wasn't even to be mentioned to Wes and Marco, yet. "We've got a safe copy of the code on the card. It didn't contain anything but Patil's academic vita & on the surface, no slink or ferret. Hicks' office has sent the card over to the experts. They're having their own go at it, just to see if there's a code in the apparent content. ReseuneSec has their report coming. I want our own done, with a copy of the a.n.a.lysis, directly to us."

"I'll let you port it to that wing," Catlin said to Florian. "You talk to them."

Florian smiled absently. The dedicated experts, azi, were odd beyond all reason, monofocused alphas who'd rather deal with code than eat or sleep or do most anything. A couple of sensible betas sat as directors over the lot, the human Supervisor, himself a specialist, being almost as eetee as the azi he supervised. "Should have done before now, anyway." He punched the recording on again.

"I was surprised it was a large plane," Jordan Warrick said. Jordan Warrick said. "I was surprised we weren't being sent to some even more remote h.e.l.lhole. I was surprised when we crossed the ocean. I was moderately surprised we ended up landing at Reseune. And I was surprised to learn Yanni was somewhat in charge despite the little darling. Life was just a chain of surprises that week. I still remain surprised we're alive. That could always change. We're here. One of Thieu's connections tried to get me involved with his pet pupil. I declined. She's dead. He's dead. I'm here, and I'll be here for the rest of time. I'm not involved, but n.o.body's going to believe it. What more can I do?" "I was surprised we weren't being sent to some even more remote h.e.l.lhole. I was surprised when we crossed the ocean. I was moderately surprised we ended up landing at Reseune. And I was surprised to learn Yanni was somewhat in charge despite the little darling. Life was just a chain of surprises that week. I still remain surprised we're alive. That could always change. We're here. One of Thieu's connections tried to get me involved with his pet pupil. I declined. She's dead. He's dead. I'm here, and I'll be here for the rest of time. I'm not involved, but n.o.body's going to believe it. What more can I do?"

And Justin Warrick: "Just don't antagonize Admin, for G.o.d's sake, Dad, just settle in, forget the d.a.m.n card, just answer any questions they ask" "Just don't antagonize Admin, for G.o.d's sake, Dad, just settle in, forget the d.a.m.n card, just answer any questions they ask"

"The h.e.l.l!"

"Answer them, dammit! Leave it for Security. Live your life. Ask Yanni for a few cases, and get busy, high-level, low-level, it doesn't matter. I'll go to him &"

"But you haven't done it, have you? I seem to remember you were going to do that."

"I've been a little busy. Never mind how. JustI will."

"You really don't get the picture, do you? They won't let me write sets. They're paranoid. And, no, I'm not going to get any work."

"Jordan, don't explode. She'd check them over. If she pa.s.sed them, ultimately, they'll be pa.s.sed."

"That's not even worth a comment."

"Because you're too f.u.c.king proud."

"Because I'm not going to deal with her. I'm not going to her begging."

"Then I will," Justin said. Justin said. "She'll get you through this. n.o.body's going to pin anything on you. No more frame-ups." "She'll get you through this. n.o.body's going to pin anything on you. No more frame-ups."

"Forget it." Rattle of ice in a gla.s.s, and a thump, a gla.s.s set down. Hard. Rattle of ice in a gla.s.s, and a thump, a gla.s.s set down. Hard. "They'll do what they want to anyway." "They'll do what they want to anyway."

"I'll find a way," Justin said. Justin said.

"Stubbornness," Jordan said, Jordan said, "runs in the family." "runs in the family."

"So Justin offered sera's help," Catlin said. Catlin said.

It was curious, considering where Justin's loyalties lay. It was worth bringing to sera, who understood born-men infinitely better. "Sera should definitely hear this," Florian said.

Reaching to her own keyboard, Catlin said, "I'll send the transcript to her queue. She may not like that part."

Chapter v.

June 12, 2424 0602 H.

Sleep hadn't come early, but Ari was up and dressed before Joyesse had a chance to show up & she'd fallen asleep before she'd heard how things had gone, and trusted Catlin to wake her if they'd gone spectacularly badly.

There was a note in System from Catlin. And files for her. Interesting, Catlin's note said. There was a flag on a section of note, but she started skimming the file from the top, choosing rapid-audio over scriptshe wanted the nuances.

And it was interesting, right from the start. Jordan tended to be that.

" & So my own appeal couldn't get you through my door, but you don't mind bringing the little dears guards to burgle my apartment."

A little odd to hear oneself snarled at in absentia. She had a pet name. How sweet.

"I was concerned for your safety." That was Justin, a little further from the pickup, talking about Patil, and she slowed the audio down. That was Justin, a little further from the pickup, talking about Patil, and she slowed the audio down. "She was talking about somebody inside, Dad. Who would that be?" "She was talking about somebody inside, Dad. Who would that be?"

Then: "How was Patil involved? Why were you carrying her card around? And why in h.e.l.l did you dump it on me?" "How was Patil involved? Why were you carrying her card around? And why in h.e.l.l did you dump it on me?"

There was a nice list of questions. She didn't expect answers from Jordan, but it was a good fight, very much the same as at her dining table.

" & the fact I got close to Ari," Justin fired back at one point. Justin fired back at one point. "Who, outside of being the incarnation you deplore, is a pretty good little kid in her spare time." "Who, outside of being the incarnation you deplore, is a pretty good little kid in her spare time."

The audio went on. And on. Her heart had begun picking up its beats. Gotten harder and harder. And she got Mad. As Mad as she'd ever been. And that was all she could hear. A pretty good little kid. A pretty good little kid. A pretty good little kid. A pretty good little kid. That wasn't Justin putting on an act. That was Justin defending her. That wasn't Justin putting on an act. That was Justin defending her. A pretty good little kid. A pretty good little kid.

d.a.m.n him! d.a.m.n him! him! d.a.m.n him!

She shook, she was suddenly so mad. And her breath came short, and her eyes stung, suddenly swimming with tears.

Well, that that was interesting. She'd just had a heavy hit of adrenaline, and a rush of hormones, and she kept hearing those same five words, over and over, and she wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so badly she burst into sobs and buried her face in her hands. Which was just d.a.m.ned stupid. She wiped her eyes, and kept wiping, smearing tears all over her face, and hiccuping, which just finished itshe hadn't had a tantrum like that since she was three. was interesting. She'd just had a heavy hit of adrenaline, and a rush of hormones, and she kept hearing those same five words, over and over, and she wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so badly she burst into sobs and buried her face in her hands. Which was just d.a.m.ned stupid. She wiped her eyes, and kept wiping, smearing tears all over her face, and hiccuping, which just finished itshe hadn't had a tantrum like that since she was three.

G.o.d!

The audio had just gone on, far past, and the worst part was, she had to run it back to find her place and hear it again.

Little kid.

Dammit all. She wondered what else she'd hear that would send her over the edge. Or break her heart. She really, really didn't want to go on listening.

But it was what one got for eavesdropping on somebody else's conversation, and he probably hadn't even thought twice about saying it. That was the problem. He was, face it, older. A lot older. And that was exactly how he saw her. And that was where he was. her Justin, forever out of reach.

She had to hear it to the end. She had to know, about Justin, of all people, what he was thinking and saying. It was her job to know, if she was going to take over Reseune, if she was going to go on trusting him as a major a.s.set.

And it was an interesting reaction. Her heart was still beating hard. She wasn't thinking straight. Jordan was saying important things about where the card could actually have come from and how he'd reacted, and she couldn't a.n.a.lyze anything. They used to shoot her full of hormones so she'd react in certain ways. This was like that. She was still shaken, and still feeling sorry for herself, and actually jealous of the first Ari, for having had, just once, a physical chance at Justin. And simultaneously, she was ashamed of that thought; and knew, still, that the first Ari hadn't won Justin's heart. Or she had, but not in the way anybody would want toshe'd taken him, shaken him, and then died, leaving him to suffer the consequences of being under Denys Nye's regime and tangled somewhere in the first Ari's involvement with Jordan. So it had kept him safe, but it had made him a target. Not mentioning what Ari had done to him, deliberately, as an act of policy.

That had had to be part of Justin's reaction to her & as long as she was to be part of Justin's reaction to her & as long as she was a pretty good little kid a pretty good little kid, he had her in a safe place in his mind. s.e.x, in Justin, wasn't going to go her way and she had to face it, was all. No other woman ever seemed to interest him; and she seemed to be the female he reacted to, but it wasn't the reaction she wantedor that at least part of her wanted. When she thought about it logicallyor as logically as she could manageshe knew it was one thing to imagine having s.e.x with Justin; but it was a d.a.m.ned scan' prospect to contemplate really doing it. It scared him; it scared her. Andthe real stingerit inevitably had a morning after, which just wouldn't be good for either of them.

So maybe she was the little kid the little kid for now. As they aged, the difference in their ages would get less. He'd be more like Jordan was now, she'd be more like Ari was then for now. As they aged, the difference in their ages would get less. He'd be more like Jordan was now, she'd be more like Ari was then And it just wouldn't get any better, would it? Forget the thought.

She just had to prevent it all going nova, was all. She couldn't lose him. the way Ari had lost Jordan. That was the important thing.

She wondered what sort of answer she'd get from Jordan, if she asked him if he and the first Ari had ever had s.e.x. She hadn't found it in the records, and she wondered about it. He'd be shocked at the question, she thought, probably disturbed, given that the relationship had gone the way it didand then he'd twist it around and ask her if she aimed at Justin. Only he'd probably put it more bluntlyto shock her.

If she took the old war with Jordan into the realm of s.e.xual innuendo, it could divert it away from the real issuess.e.x being, even with people who weren't kids, a short-circuit in the logic process.

So she didn't want to ask him, or get into that dialogue, because he wouldn't answer. He didn't have to answer anything, ever, and he used that fact like a weapon, challenging challenging them, outright challenging them to break their own law and go after him, because then they'd be what he'd always said they were. them, outright challenging them to break their own law and go after him, because then they'd be what he'd always said they were.

Maybe that was what went on in his headjust a spaghetti code of a thought process that hoped someday he could break them before they broke him & And, dammit, she'd let the recording get away from her again. She remembered the place, sent it back to the precise number, and ran it the third timethis time hearing that little kid remark with a lot more logic functioning. It was sad, it was hurtful, but her pulse rate had settled and she had her brain working again.

The recording ran on. There wasn't anything else & down to the bit Catlin had flagged.

"Answer them, dammit! Leave it for security. Live your life. Ask Yanni for a few cases, and get busy, high-level, low-level, it doesn't matter. I'll go to him &"

"But you haven't done it, have you? I seem to remember you were going to do that."

"I've been a little busy. Never mind how. JustI will."

"You really don't get the picture, do you? They won't let me write sets. They're paranoid. And, no, I'm not going to get any work."

"Jordan, don't explode. She'd check them over. If she pa.s.sed them, ultimately, they'll be pa.s.sed."

"That's not even worth a comment."

"Because you're too f.u.c.king proud."

"Because I'm not going to deal with her. I'm not going to her begging."

"Then I will. She'll get you through this. n.o.body's going to pin anything on you. No more frame-ups."

Would he ask her? She wasn't sure how she was going to answer that if Justin did. It would be interesting to critique one of Jordan's current designs. But if she said one word to him, Jordan would blow, and that wouldn't help anything. If he really did, it might poison the atmosphere between her and Justin, and Jordan was perfectly capable of writing something she'd have to criticize, just to get that result.

So maybe that wasn't a good idea. Endlessly, Jordan played the martyr and Justin tried to do something to help him. Catlin didn't like it, from the viewpoint of her own profession, and she'd flagged that particular exchange as worrisome, but that was how those two were, just being Jordan and Justin, to the hilt. That she'd be upset about something else in the fileCatlin, dear, loyal Catlin, hadn't picked that up, didn't feel the least upset herself by Justin's statement, or remotely think she would be upset, or Catlin would have warned her. It was downright funnyCatlin just hadn't seen it.

She loved Catlin. And Catlin helped her, finally, get it all in perspective. Her own reaction was all gauzy wisp, pure emotion, evaporative on a breeze, and nothing to do with rationalityunless you started taking your own rattled a.s.sessment for solid and factual, and that was a mistake that launched your whole universe into mythology, especially when it was a love-hate reaction. Catlin dealt purely in substance, and found real substance in that latter bit that she herself didn't see as alarming, or at least didn't see as at all surprisingso she wasn't fluxed by it, just a.n.a.lytical, and that was that, and she could tell herself calmly, yes, she'd hear the request and she'd think about it and she'd probably say no. When Justin actually asked her.

It was interesting, however, to hear that first scene as Catlin, and realize that, if she were Catlin, she just couldn't be fazed by any a.s.sessment of her ageCatlin was just Catlin, and knew what she could do: any other judgement was, in Catlin's view, just mistaken.

Catlin did, however, worry about Justin's mental engagement with Jordan's frustration, and possibly the vector it would take, entangling her and trying for sympathy.

And it would involve Justin going right to Yanni's door, at a sensitive time in her own relations with Yanni. There was that little question.

That was worth a slow rethinking, in Catlin's way of looking at born-man behavior. In Catlin's view, a born-man following his emotions was apt to do any d.a.m.ned thing, not necessarily prudent, or successful, or even in his own self-interest.

This request certainly wouldn't be in Justin's interest. That was the thing about real self-sacrifice, unlike Jordan's martyrdom: it knowingly gave away bits of itself, trying to make the environment saner, and better.

On the other hand, another inquiry about Jordan could, coming from her, const.i.tute a very interesting probe into Yanni Schwartz's motives.

She thought about it a moment. And she was surer and surer about her course of action.

She wrote a note to Justin, and sent it. It said: Don't go to Yanni with your fathers situation. The Patil investigation is going to have Yanni's office in an uproar, ReseuneSec is conducting the investigation, and I don't want Hicks' office to sweep you and Grant up for questioning. Then I'd have Hicks getting all upset and bothered because I'd have to go over his head to Yanni to get you out. I would do it, understand, but that would just complicate things and you still wouldn't get your answer out of Yanni and I'd have Hicks mad at me, which would just make matters worse. I have to talk to Yanni anyway. Let me approach Yanni about Jordan's getting some work to do. I'd be happy to. I want things to work out, the same as I know you do. You and Grant just be careful about going out of the wing, even to restaurants, and don't send Grant by himself. I don't want trouble with ReseuneSec.

Justin had a strong tic, where it concerned ReseuneSec. And it wasn't altogether the most honest thing she'd ever written, but its purpose was. And there was still still the question of who had put Jordan on to Eversnow, and who had dropped that card into his pocketif they could believe a word of what he'd said. the question of who had put Jordan on to Eversnow, and who had dropped that card into his pocketif they could believe a word of what he'd said.

I won't critique his work, she said at the end of that note. she said at the end of that note. I won't say a word. I know he'd like me to so he can have a fight. So I'll just pa.s.s/fail it. Tell him he'll have to write it well enough to get it past me and I'm going to be hypercritical. Bet he can't do it. Tell him that. I won't say a word. I know he'd like me to so he can have a fight. So I'll just pa.s.s/fail it. Tell him he'll have to write it well enough to get it past me and I'm going to be hypercritical. Bet he can't do it. Tell him that.

Chapter vi.

June 13, 2424 0802 H.

"G.o.d," Justin said, and then laughed, outright laughed. "That's good," Grant said.