Frank looked upset. They'd known one another, Frank and Abban, worked together. They'd remarked, oh. more than once, how it was a d.a.m.ned lie that Denys was capable of handling Seely, let alone Abban, when Abban came over to him. they both knew about Denys' alpha certificate, which was fake as they came. Abban had needed immediate help when Giraud died, and DenysDenys had gotten notions in his head about staying in power and n.o.body touched Abban.

He'd sent Abban after Ari, and Abban was already messed up. "Killing the same woman twice," he said to Frank, "and the first having been a mistake, that's got to have rung clear to his deep sets. Nasty, nasty piece of business."

"n.o.body ever felt sorry for Abban," Frank said. "But he wasn't right, then. He really wasn't right when he did that." A moment later Frank said: "All those years with DenysSeely wasn't in that good shape, either."

"More than that," Yanni said, "if Giraud didn't order Abban to kill AriAbban wouldn't go out on his own. He had orders. And if they weren't from Giraud, maybe they weren't from Denys, either. That notion's always bothered me. Denys wasn't able to order that, not while Giraud was alive. That order came from somewhere else & a decision that Ari had been around long enough. Knowledge that she was already dying. That it would only shorten her life a year & and not let her finish arranging things herself. It would throw the decisions all to Giraud."

"Kyle," Frank said.

"Kyle, and the ones directing him," Yanni said. "Defense. She'd yanked Jordan out of negotiations with them and brought him home, she was working just maybe too close to sensitive areas, on the verge of finding out just who'd been exacerbating Jordan's discontentsetting him up, if you want my opinion, to land on the radical side of things. He'd been corresponding with the Paxers. With the Abolitionists, as it turned out, though I think it came as a shock to him when he found it out. And Ari took measures to be sure Justin didn't go down his father's route. I think she was on the track of something that could have become very uncomfortable for Kyle's managers & I think they knew she was close to dealing with it. And Hicks went on meeting with Defense; and Kyle was right with him."

"Kyle got his instructions there," Frank said.

"Exactly. Tell me. Would you take instruction from another azi?"

"I don't know," Frank said. "I can say I wouldn't, but if the keys were there & who could say he wouldn't."

"And Abban was Giraud's," Yanni said. "And Kyle was, at the time. Totally inside the walls. d.a.m.n, that's a nasty scenario."

"In a way, Ari caught it," Frank said. "It took the next Ari to do it. Suppose there was something in the first Ari's notessuppose the first Ari put her onto it? Or did she figure it out?"

Yanni thought about it, thought about the way things had been going, and slowly shook his head. "I think if the first Ari had known, she'd have moved on Kyle faster than you could blink and she'd have had Giraud's help doing it. I think our little Ari has come up with this one on her own. d.a.m.ned clever of her. There's only one thing wrong with her scenario."

"That being?"

"She's just told Defense she knows what their game is. She just stopped it." Yanni looked toward the gray view again, the towers beside the sea, the towers that were Science, and Defense, Trade, and State. The other fiveCitizens, Information, Industry, Internal Affairs and Finance were just out of view. So was the tower that const.i.tuted the capitol itself, Cyteen's Senate Building, and the tower that held the Council of Nine, the Senate, and if the dividing wall were folded back, the Council of Worlds.

He could call down the heavens. If he wanted to let havoc loose, he could gather all his evidence of a.s.sa.s.sination and espionage and take it to the Nine and lay it before the Council of Worldsbut Ari was right: it was getting dangerous. As things stood, it was a major risk for him just to take a car to the airport, and he wasn't sure he'd survive to get there. It was a risk to go to Science, a risk for Jacques to come here. d.a.m.n the girl, she'd upset the whole government at a critical moment, maybe because it seemed to the kid like a good move Or maybe because she wasn't the little girl any longer. She might be doing everything precisely to get a jump ahead of the opposition because she had reason to think there was diminishing time to do it. What had she said, that the explosion might have been a signal, to those who knew, that it was time to move?

Other things were moving, all right. And maybe he and Frank had just become two more pieces on the board, white bishop and white knight, say, out there to tempt the opponent into doing something. She'd tried to tell him get their a.s.ses home. He'd ignored her warning, confident in the moment he'd done it.

Maybe he should get himself and Frank to the airport, and go home, this evening, while they could, settle in and let the youngster run the place.

Or maybe the old bishop had a few moves in him. He and Frank had been at this a long, long time, and he wasn't out of resources yet.

Khalid? He wouldn't concede the board to that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, not while he had room to maneuver.

"If we don't get Jacques out of there," Frank said, "his lifespan is limited."

"Jacques is due at Science in two hours and I think we should go there now, just in case anybody's timing our departure. If we're in the target, let's not make it too easy for them."

Chapter x.

July 26, 2424 1620 H.

The security hold was officially off. The halls were totally quiet, except for Patrick Emory on his way home from work. A ghostly hush prevailed throughout Alpha Wing. they met him, Justin and Grant did, on the gray, blue-wave carpet, and Patrick just looked nervous and tired after what had been, to anyone's reckoning, a h.e.l.l of a day.

"How's Wing One?" Justin asked him, knowing Patrick would have come that way.

"Quiet." Patrick said, "just normal. Except the construction hasn't started back up."

"Good," Justin said, and they pa.s.sed each other, on their individual business. They picked up Mark and Gerry downstairs. Mark and Gerry wanted to know when they left the Wing, and they played by the rules and didn't make them have to scramble when exit security stalled them: Mark and Gerry met them at the lift, they were all pleasant to each other "Hope we didn't mess up your supper," Justin said.

"No, ser," Gerry said, "we had a sandwich. Thanks for the warning."

"Glad to oblige," he said. "Sorry you have to tag us."

"Our duty, ser," Mark said, which it was.

They pa.s.sed the exit desk, took the lift up to familiar territory: the two Ari had set to watch Jordan's vicinity were on duty therehad a desk, today, for greater comfort, and disguised themselves as ordinary hall security. Mark and Gerry were going to have to stand, at least for a few moments.

"Our intent is to go out to supper," Justin said to their two guards, "but that depends. We could send out; we could just eat in. Don't worry about it. Just stay at ease."

"Yes, ser," the answer was. They clearly didn't mind. Alter the rest of today, with, as they heard from Wes, some of their number in hospital and otherwise patched up, Mark and Gerry had had a quiet day.

Grant rang the minder. "Grant ALX," he said, "and Justin Warrick. We're looking to take you both to dinner."

No answer, immediately. Then the door opened and let them in.

Jordan was on the couch, looking asleep, give or take the gla.s.s beside him. Paul had gotten up, and looked worried.

"Is everything all right?" Paul asked.

"Fine," Justin said, and let the door shut. "Wake up, Dad. Dinner." No response.

"He's had a few," Paul said.

Well, it wasn't dinner out, Justin thought, and went and shook Jordan, who didn't respond, just moved away from him. "I'm sorry," Paul said.

"Not your problem," Justin said. He walked over to the autobar, looked at the levels in the supply, leaned on his elbows on the counter and thought, d.a.m.n.

"If I can fix you something, ser," Paul said.

Justin shot a look at Grant, and Grant stared back, then gave a nod. "You sit down," Justin said then, "and let Grant get you something."

"I've had enough, ser, already."

"When was lunch?"

Paul looked a little taken aback, looked at the clock on the minder, and failed to answer promptly.

"Breakfast?" Justin asked, while Grant proceeded about his business at the bar.

"We had breakfast," Paul said.

"He knows what happened," Justin said.

"He followed it, as much as we knew. The vid came on awhile ago, said it was the all-clear. Do we trust that?"

"We trust that," Justin said. "Young Ari's fine. She's running ReseuneSec, and between you and me, we're a bit safer this afternoon than we were this morning."

"I hope so, ser."

"I know we are." He watched Grant hand Paul a gla.s.s of something clear, water, or vodka, not immediately evident. "Drink this," Grant said. "Paul."

Paul took it. Paul was the soul of politeness and quiet.

"Paul," Justin said, "sit down. Please. We want to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk, ser. I'm sorry Jordan isn't able to go to dinner. I think it would probably be a good idea if you went on without us. Please."

"Sit down," Justin said, and sat down, himself, on the end of the couch. "Sit down, Paul. I want to ask you something. It's all right. Sit down."

Paul had known them both since childhood. And he did, slowly, sit down.

"My lather's put a h.e.l.l of a load on you," Justin said. "I don't want to. I want to ask you, honestly, how are you doing?"

"Perfectly well, ser."

"I'm not ser. I'm Justin. Remember. It's just Justin and Grant. The way we always were. You used to keep us in line. You'd tell us when we were just a little over the edge. Didn't you?"

"I did," Paul said.

"Well, you can tell us now if we are. I don't want to push you. But I'm pretty good at what I do. So's Grant. And we all know Jordan's got a problem."

Jordan moved. Not coherently. He settled again, and Paul looked back.

"He's all right," Paul said. "It was a hard day."

"He didn't take it well, what happened today."

"I know you say it's all right," Paul said, "but we don't think so." Justin nodded. "I understand that. I respect it. I'll tell you, though, I don't like what I see."

"I'm sorry, ser."

"Because you can't stop him? It's not your responsibility to stop him. Paul. I don't know how you could. He'll do what he wants to."

"It was just a hard day."

"Every day's a hard day," Grant said. "It's not your responsibility to stop him. Who's the Supervisor?"

Paul made a lame gesture in Jordan's direction. "So when did you last ask him for help?" Justin said. A shrug.

"You don't, do you? Or you do. but you don't make it clear to him. When's the last time you did?"

"I don't know. This is private, Justin, I'm sorry. It's between him and me."

"It was December 21, 2405." Paul just looked at him, appalled. "Wasn't it?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Paul started to get up. Grant reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen to him, Paul."

"The year alter you got to Planys. What had you so upset, then?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

"Dad took care of it then. He handled it. He hasn't handled d.a.m.ned much since. What changed?"

"I don'tI don't know. The isolation. The frustration. Things."

"Paul," Justin said, "you know I know what I'm doing. You know I'm family. I'd never do anything to hurt you, or Jordan."

"I wouldn't, Paul. I swear I wouldn't. But nineteen years, Paul. Nineteen years without any consideration of your own situationthat's not fair, Paul.

"I'm fine."

"Prove it to me. I've got your manual. I've read it. Let me take the load off a while."

Paul shook his head.

"You know better," Grant said. "A Supervisor is telling you you've got a problem. And you know you've got a problem. And you know you can't help him until you get help of your own, Paul. Listen to Justin. One pill. Just take a dose, and relax, and let go for a bit."

"Jordan won't trust me."

"Jordan will cope with it," Justin said. "At a certain point, Jordan is a born-man problem, and I'm his son, and he's my problem. Take the pill, Paul. Just take it, and let's go back to the bedroom and you can take tape. Your proper tape, nothing wrong with it, nothing more than you've ever had. You haven't had it in a long, long time. Please do it, Paul. Fifteen minutes. So you can help him. Grant needs you. I do. He does. Just take care of yourself this time. Quit self-doctoring."

Paul looked at him a long, long moment, muscles tight in his jaw, and on the verge of quivering.

"Just the original tape," Paul said. "Nothing but that."

"You'll know it." Justin said. "Have you got the dose here?"

Paul shook his head.

"Didn't think so." Justin said, and took out his own pill case, and offered Paul one. "Just take it down."

Paul took it, and put it in his mouth, and started to chase it with the gla.s.s. "Not water." he said.