FROM WITHIN.

Julia Gaenler-Phobos checked the levels of her bands, as she always did, as the two-hundred-year-old elevator raced up the floors of the Auditor Tower. She had to be careful in case the elevator malfunctioned or the cable snapped. It had broken once when she had first moved in. She wasn't wearing her bands at the time, so probably had been at risk of plummeting to her death. Fortunately, she was on the ground floor and the car dropped only a few meters. That would have been the ultimate insult, to work so hard to become an auditor at ChronoCom and then die in a freak elevator accident. No, Julia remembered to always have her exo powered on whenever she stepped foot in here.

The funny and slightly sad thing was, this potential death trap was newer than her personal collie, the one she took to space. Something about that didn't sit right with Julia, but it was what it was. Worrying about the present wasn't her job; making sure the past was pure was. It was a responsibility she was increasingly tiring of lately.

Julia had thought things would be different when she was raised from the tier to the chain, that once she went from the recovery side of the agency to standards, her perspective would broaden, and she would feel more fulfilled by her life's career. Instead, all it did was make her more aware that the ship flying her through space was older than some colonies, and that the universe was slowly falling apart.

The elevator jerked to a stop, and the doors opened, about a half meter below floor level. Julia sighed. This elevator car was waiting to kill an auditor in the most unglamorous way possible. Keeping her exo fully powered, she climbed up the ledge and pulled her bag of canned foods-her dinner for the night-out with her.

The Auditor Tower was one of the shorter buildings on the ChronoCom campus, only thirty-eight floors tall with two residences per floor. There really wasn't need for more than the seventy-six units. With approximately two hundred or so auditors in the entire solar system, more than half of the Auditor Tower on Earth was uninhabited. It was one of the rare wastes of space the agency allowed.

They were auditors, after all. Auditors mattered; they were important.

That phrase was the first words the High Auditor-former High Auditor-of Earth said to her when she first reached the chain. She didn't know why, but more and more of his little bits of wisdom were filtering into her psyche lately. She shook her head. The encounter in Spain was still fresh in her head. Not only was it the only blemish on her record in three years, it'd left her with several sleepless nights.

The selection of the new and current High Auditor of Earth was something of a scandal. Julia was of the twelfth, which, while moderately high in the hierarchy, would have given her only outside consideration for the office. Julia didn't mind being overlooked. The high auditorship was a stressful and thankless job. All she had to do was look at what happened to the position's predecessor for assurance of that.

Imagine everyone's surprise when Miri, only sixteenth in the chain, somehow leapfrogged over everyone to become the High Auditor of Earth. It didn't take long to deduce what had happened. It was a badly-kept secret that Auditor Miri was Director Jerome's goddaughter, and was closely aligned with all the senior administrators. She would force Earth's auditors to walk in lockstep with the rest of the agency in the outer colonies instead of allowing them to be the independent and unbiased entities that they should be. To the abyss with the politics. To be honest, Julia was surprised it had taken Jerome so long to get Earth's auditorship under his thumb. It was because of Levin. He had prevented it.

Julia slung the pack of cans off her shoulder, listening to their dull thunk as they banged together, and opened the door to her residence. The first thing she did was undo her bands and put them on their charger. She flexed her fingers and stretched her arms, feeling how free they felt without the fourteen metal rings that almost never left her skin. Unlike most of the tier or the chain, she disliked wearing bands and took them off at every opportunity.

She placed the bag on top of her kitchen counter and pulled the cans out one by one, stacking them in a neat row. She had the option of eating at the Earth Central cafeteria, but much preferred to make her own meals instead of consuming the machine-processed standards. Cooking was becoming a lost art now that food had become all about efficiency. Some of the poorer colonies had reduced their daily consumption entirely to protein gel packs. Others provided just the bare-minimum options, rotated quarterly. In almost all cases, very few civilized colonies cooked anymore.

Julia looked at the books stacked neatly on shelves against the wall, a smile appearing on her face. She had broken the Time Laws only once, during a Tier-4 job in the late twentieth century. She had jumped into a public consumer facility that housed hundreds of small shops and had an hour to recover a long list of items before an electrical fire razed the place to ashes. That one time, she had stopped by a store that sold books and swiped three dozen on cooking.

She had by now attempted a third of those recipes. Many of the rest were impossible to cook due to some of their ingredients being extinct in the present. When her time with the agency was completed, she was going to spend the rest of her years trying to complete all the recipes she could. Her eyes followed the long line of books lovingly until she reached the end of the shelf. Her gaze continued across the room, hesitating for just a brief moment. Keeping her body relaxed, she walked over to where her auditor bands were charging and reached for her exo.

"Don't even think about it," a voice from the darkness said. "Take a step back."

That voice. Julia raised her hands and took the step back. "Lights," she said. The room illuminated, revealing a figure sitting on her couch. She cursed. "First you ruin my perfect record, now you're ruining my night."

"Hello, Julia," Levin said. "You look well."

She noted his bands. It'd be impossible to escape. Maybe there was something to keeping them on at all times. One never knew when a fugitive was going to break into your home.

"What do you want? If it's thanks for saving my life, forget it." She pointed at her charging bands. "If it's auditor bands, you know where they are."

He waved at the chair opposite him. "Have a seat."

She folded her arms and stood her ground. "I don't think so."

"You're not in a position to argue, Julia."

She shook her head. "I'm walking out of this room. Do what you must." He had already saved her life, so she knew he wasn't here to kill her. If he wanted the bands, he could have already had them.

"Please. Hear me out. That's all I ask."

"Fine. You have five minutes, and then I'm calling the monitors." What game was he playing? She noticed that he still hadn't powered on his exo. "What do you want to tell me?"

"ChronoCom is sick from the inside."

Automatic words defending the agency leaped to her lips, but she couldn't let them free. In her heart, she knew he spoke the truth. Everyone knew there were problems, cracks within the hierarchy. Questionable relationships and orders. Still ...

"The agency has always needed to play politics with corporations and governments," she replied stiffly. "It is an unfortunate reality."

"We've done more than that," he said. "ChronoCom breaks the Time Laws for the highest bidder. The Nutris Platform explosion was staged. We were the ones to blow it up."

Julia's jaws dropped. "That's impossible. The ripples..."

"Wiped out by the Third World War," said Levin. "Carefully orchestrated and masked with the alerts disabled. That's the thing about ripples. The time line often self-heals. If someone prevents a ripple from alerting the auditors, no one is the wiser."

"That's preposterous," she said. "To allow something like that to happen, it would have to be a conspiracy of..."

"... the highest ranks of the agency," said Levin. "Jerome personally undersigned the Valta job."

"And you're back because you intend to expose the agency?" she asked. "Frankly, Levin, I find that a worse crime than the charges you level at the directors. We are the only entity that is legally allowed to time travel. If you destroy confidence in the agency, then anyone who obtains jump bands can abuse the technology. Our ability to govern and protect the chronostream will be undermined."

"Even when you know the agency is corrupt?"

"It's the lesser of the evils."

"What about the good that ChronoCom is supposed to be doing?"

"We are doing good. We keep humanity from the void of extinction. You used to tell me that on a regular basis."

"But is it true?" He stood up, turned his back to her and walked to the window. "Look outside. Extinction is at our door. We've failed."

She followed him to the window and looked outside. "The agency is imperfect, but what else can we do but keep trying?"

He grunted. "I used to say that, too." He turned to her. "ChronoCom used to be about doing our best. It can be again. We can do better. Help me. Organize a meeting with the other auditors, senior monitors, and those who still believe in the agency's cause. Let's take back the original charter that ChronoCom was created for."

"They will need proof," she said. "Do you have any?"

He nodded. "I was building a case when I was indicted by the agency. It's heavily encrypted, so the administrators wouldn't find out. The agency never destroys anything. The evidence should still exist in the quarantined archives. You're an auditor. You should have access."

Julia studied him for a few moments and then shook her head. "No. I won't betray the agency until I have proof. Besides, even with my access, it may raise alerts. I won't risk it. If you want me to help you, bring me that proof."

"If I do, you will have this meeting?"

"If you can prove your claims, yes."

"Very well. Frequency Channel M0T11VES." He got up to leave, pausing as he passed by her. "It's good to see you again, Julia."

"Levin," she called after him as he was about to leave.

"Yes?"

"We're even now. Until you get me that proof, the next time we meet, I will take you down."

He nodded. "I expect nothing less. If it's any solace, I thought you would have made the logical candidate to be Earth's high auditor once I ... was no longer able to serve."

"One more thing," she said. "How did you know I wouldn't take you down the second I saw you if I still had my bands on?"

He shrugged. "I didn't. Cole, let's go."

To her surprise, another figure emerged from her bedroom carrying a rifle in his hands. The figure glanced her way guardedly and retreated backward out the door after Levin. Of course, an auditor would never leave his security to something as thin as trust. In a small way, that reaffirmed Levin's judgment to her. At least the man hadn't totally lost his senses.

When they were gone, Julia went to her private stash of wine that she reserved for special occasions. She had only a few bottles left of the twenty-third-century vintage Triton she had been saving for the past decade. She took out one of the bottles and gave herself a generous pour.

She raised it into the air. "This is to you being wrong, Levin Javier-Oberon."

FORTY-SEVEN.

PAST REVISITED.

Levin's skin crawled as he shuffled along with the busy evening crowds on the southern side of ChronoCom Campus, where the Tier, Chain, and Admin towers were located. It felt like a lifetime ago that he had last walked on the streets between the low-rise buildings flanking the massive Earth Central structure, that dominated the soot-ridden landscape.

Prior to the outbreak of World War III, the Earth Central grounds were home to one of the most prestigious universities on the continent. After the old United States broke apart and a populist surge of countereducational elitism swept through the country, the school fell into ill repute and then disuse. People became more concerned with surviving the famines and the nuclear winters than they were with getting an education. Eventually, ChronoCom took over the school grounds and its surrounding campus and built what became Earth Central.

He pulled his tattered coat around him as a large group of monitors and administrators passed. None of them paid him any attention. He felt strange as he stepped aside deferentially to let them by. An auditor, Marquez, High Auditor of Mars, walked out of a building and nearly bowled him over.

Levin stopped and bowed his head. "Apologies, Auditor."

Marquez gave Levin's paint job a dismissive glance and continued on his way. That surprised Levin to an extent. Marquez had always seemed one of the friendlier and more charming high auditors, at least whenever he was with Levin. It seemed the man's graciousness was limited to those he considered peers. Levin waited until Marquez was well down the street before he moved from the Chain Tower's walkway to a small cafe across the street. He sat down next to Cole in one of the outdoor areas. "Well?"

Cole, pretending to be watching the vid on the table, didn't look up. "Of the four you tagged, nothing. I did see Julia several times. She's stomping around in quite a hurry."

Levin signaled for a coffee. "Julia is an accomplished tactician and a magician in zero gravity, but if you tell her to put on a show, she falls apart a little."

"That doesn't sound like a great candidate for High Auditor of Earth."

"On the contrary, she would be perfect. It's the honest auditors with integrity that people follow."

"I thought it was the smartest and the strongest," said Cole.

The waitress came by and placed a cup on the table. Levin sniffed it and gave a satisfied sigh. He took a long sip. It felt like a lifetime since he had last tasted this bliss. He looked over at Cole. "That's why your Apexes were bound to lose to my People. You might have the biggest and baddest, but the instant anyone shows weakness, your gang eats its own. Just look at what happened to all your injured."

Cole snorted. "It's too bad we'll never find out now, isn't it?"

Levin let it slide. He had made his peace with his nephew, but the lingering resentment would take time. Cole would come around eventually.

They continued lounging outside, acting preoccupied and ordering just enough drinks to appear natural. For the next few hours, he watched hundreds of people walk by. It took some self-control not to show any sort of recognition at all. In this part of the campus, except for the rusks newly promoted to the tier, he had dealt with almost everyone in some capacity. A third here he knew on a first-name basis.

It was then he realized what had bothered him earlier. Levin didn't belong here anymore. He wasn't on their side. For the majority of his life, he was a key cog in this small world, and now he was on the outside looking in. He had been the High Auditor of Earth. The monitors loved him, most chronmen respected him, and the other auditors looked to him for leadership. However, that was all taken away from him in a flash. Now, there were few left here who would even dare say his name openly. He was nothing, less than nothing. Levin had to admit he missed it terribly. Still, that was all in the past, and the past was dead.

Finally, as the rust-stained sun, seemingly shining behind a screen of oil, began to make its descent in the west, Levin found one of the marks he was searching for walk out of the Admin Tower. Vaneek was an auditor liaison, one of the many who helped coordinate communication between the auditor office and the many administrators at the agency. Like most, he was a failed initiate at the Academy, both of the tier and the monitor ranks. He had also tried his hand at becoming a handler, but was too slow in his critical analysis and planning.

Vaneek was slated to be shipped back to his home moon of Neso when Julia, who was one of the educators at the Academy, brought him to Levin's attention. He had initially taken one look at the boy's records and written him off. She said he was worth saving, though, so out of respect for her, Levin gave him a chance. Vaneek proved her right in every way. While the boy was weak in body and will, he was a born administrator: methodical, exact, and loyal.

Levin had first brought him in as an intern, and then as his assistant, in which capacity Vaneek had served faithfully until Levin was ousted from the chain and sent to prison. Levin had worried about what would happen to Vaneek, since they had worked so closely together. He was grateful to Director Young that they hadn't held their close relationship against him and allowed Vaneek to transfer to the Administrators.

Vaneek had just left the Admin Tower and was walking away from the cafe, down through the crowded streets to the permanent residences underground. Levin tapped Cole on the shoulder and the two followed, keeping a safe distance behind Vaneek in case he became suspicious. They continued down to the vast network of tunnels under the campus. The crowds thinned, forcing Levin to trail further back. Vaneek led them deeper to the sublairs, where many of the camp supporters, maintenance workers, and laborers resided.

Levin had never ventured to this area before. Those of the chain or tier or even ranks had little cause to ever come down here. Levin began to worry. He studied the narrow hallways and low ceilings. This was the perfect place for a trap. Was Vaneek leading them here? Did Vaneek see through their paint jobs and somehow realize who they were? They continued down to a basement-level residential area. Here, the rooms were small and close together, and the halls were so narrow, Levin's shoulders could almost rub against both sides. It was not a good place to try to speak with Vaneek. One shout, and he would alert dozens of people close by. Levin slowed to put even more distance between them.

Finally, Vaneek stopped in the middle of the hallway and knocked on a door. Levin and Cole waited and watched from around a corner. A few seconds later, the door opened and a figure leaped out at Vaneek. He put his arms around a young woman and lifted her off her feet. She pushed him into the opposite wall and they kissed.

This relationship did not seem like a professional one. The two looked like they were genuinely fond of each other. Levin had not expected this; Vaneek was an awkward and unsocial person. He hadn't had any friends-at least that Levin knew-when they had worked together. A tinge of guilt gnawed at him as the two young people went into what he assumed was her residence.

"Perhaps this is not the time," Levin said softly. "I want to catch him alone."

"What? This is the perfect time," Cole insisted. "Let's just get this over with."

He pushed past Levin and moved to one side of the door. He motioned for Levin to follow. Against his better instinct, Levin positioned himself on the opposite side. He raised a knuckle to the door. Cole grabbed his wrist and pulled him back before he had a chance.

"We're fugitives, remember?" Cole hissed. "I'm not taking any chances. If Vaneek decides to call us in, we're done. I'm not risking going back to Nereid on your relationship with the boy."

"How do you want to play this, then?" Levin said.

Metal glinted in Cole's hand. Before Levin could stop him, Cole took a step back, kicked the door down, and rushed in. He heard a startled cry and a scream and then the rustling of things being knocked over. "Hands up, both of you!" he yelled. "Don't you even think about touching that comm unit, you little bastard."

Levin gritted his teeth. This was not how he wanted to initiate contact with his former assistant. He hurried inside to defuse the situation. Cole had Vaneek pressed against one wall. The woman, half naked, was cringing on the opposite wall.

"Stand down," Levin barked, pulling his nephew back. "Damn it, Cole. This isn't necessary."

The woman tried to make a break for it. Clutching a blanket to her naked chest, she scampered toward the door. Cole, almost casually, caught her by the neck and flung her onto the bed.

"Leave her alone!" Vaneek cried and attacked Cole, clawing and scratching at his face. Cole head-butted him and knocked him to the ground. The woman began to sob loudly. Cole touched a scratch on his face and looked at the blood smeared on his fingers. "The little shit cut me." He raised his foot and was about to stomp down on Vaneek's head when Levin barreled into him, knocking him over. He pried the pistol out of Cole's hand and threw it to the side.

"Stand down, all of you!" Levin growled.

Cole scrambled to his feet and stuck his face close to Levin's. "Don't ever touch me again."

Levin pointed at the door. "Get out of here. Guard the damn hallway. Out! Now!" The two men stared each other down, and Levin didn't discount the possibility of coming to blows with his nephew. Finally, reluctantly, the lad held his hands to his sides and backed out the door. "Close it behind you." Shaking his head, Levin turned back to Vaneek and came face-to-face with the pistol. Vaneek must have picked it up while Levin wasn't looking. He raised his hands. "Hello, Vaneek. Please put that down."

"Aud ... Auditor Levin? Is that you?" Vaneek whispered in a soft voice. "Are you with that brute?"

Levin had always considered Vaneek something of a ward, a little brother he had never had, and the stunned look on his face broke his heart. The pistol in his hand quivered, but he kept it leveled at Levin's face. The poor administrator never stood a chance. In one smooth motion, Levin clasped his hands together and wrested the pistol out of Vaneek's hands.

The boy didn't even acknowledge that he had just been disarmed. Tears streamed down Vaneek's face as he stared at Levin. "All those charges they leveled at you. I didn't believe any of it. When they brought me in to question, I didn't say a damn word. I called them liars and cheats, said you were framed." He shook his head.

Levin pulled out the pistol's energy source and placed each piece on opposite sides of the table. He looked at the girl who was huddled on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest. "Sit down. Please. I'll explain everything."