use that."
"Why should I listen to you?" Greta asked calmly, as she kept the weapon pointed at him. "What could you possibly have to tell me that I don't already know?" Then, tight-lipped, she continued, "What I do know is that you have been feeding Copolla updates and sabotaging our entire operation here. I hope you had a chance to spend the money he is paying you."
"I always make sure that I have something to negotiate with, Greta," he said casually, placing his hands in his pocket. Greta’s raised her weapon and pointed it directly at his head. Biom slowly removed his hands from his pockets, and said, "Oh, sorry about that, forgot. Didn't mean to make you nervous. I am still new to this espionage game, fresh out of school and all."
She relaxed her trigger finger slightly but kept her aim true.
"As I was saying," he continued, clearing his throat. "I have no deep-rooted loyalties to Copolla. He is, or will be, I should say, paying me well. But, as I look down the barrel of your weapon, I realize that money is not everything. So… I would like to propose a trade."
"A trade?" Greta asked sardonically. "Why would I possibly want to trade with you? I would rather just see you dead or severely mutilated, so you won't bother Leumas anymore."
"Information is a valuable commodity," Biom said, slitting his eyes. "One always wants to know what the other side doesn't know, and vice versa." He smiled at the sudden interest he saw in Greta's eyes.
"Go ahead. I'm listening," she said skeptically.
"First, we need to agree upon terms. I offer valuable information and, in exchange, I want freedom and a ship to get far beyond the reach of Copolla," he said with confidence, liking the new feeling of having the upper hand.
"I will consider your requests after I hear the information."
"That's not much of an assurance. How about this?" he said, beginning to smile smugly again. "Suppose I were to tell you that Copolla has more than one reason for doing what he is doing to discredit Leumas, and that this reason could seriously damage the credibility of Copolla if it were known." He paused for effect, then added, "Interested now?"
"You know that I would be interested in anything that would discredit Copolla," she said, thinking of Leumas and how this type of information could help him. "I'll grant your request. However, I hold final judgment if the information is useless or unsubstantiated. Then the deal becomes null and void."
"Fair enough," he conceded.
Greta sat down in a nearby chair, still keeping a cautious eye on his movements. "Talk."
"I was one of the members of the team that removed the records from the archives about the Council’s involvement with the planet Earth," he began. "The records were obliterated when it was discovered they contained information that could harm Copolla's position. Historians are a funny lot, but they don't miss much. The funny thing is, they never understand or really care about the data; they reserve their opinions and just record it. But, somehow, this time certain information got into the archives that shouldn't have."
"Such as?" she asked impatiently.
Ignoring her tone, he continued. "A long time ago, maybe fifty or sixty years, Copolla ordered two agents placed on Earth to learn more about the people after the big mess up with a human leader, I can't recall his name. But, from what I understand, Copolla didn't exactly send the cream of the crop, as far as agents go." He paused again, catching his breath. "To make a long story short, those agents became so adjusted to the Earth's environment that they decided to stay, and integrated into the local populace. One thing led to another, as it does with any species, and they produced offspring."
"That is strictly forbidden by the Council Charter!" she said incredulous.
"That's correct," he stated, liking the feeling of seeing her surprise. He continued. "There is another reason why it was so important for the information to be removed from
"Why should I listen to you?" Greta asked calmly, as she kept the weapon pointed at him. "What could you possibly have to tell me that I don't already know?" Then, tight-lipped, she continued, "What I do know is that you have been feeding Copolla updates and sabotaging our entire operation here. I hope you had a chance to spend the money he is paying you."
"I always make sure that I have something to negotiate with, Greta," he said casually, placing his hands in his pocket. Greta’s raised her weapon and pointed it directly at his head. Biom slowly removed his hands from his pockets, and said, "Oh, sorry about that, forgot. Didn't mean to make you nervous. I am still new to this espionage game, fresh out of school and all."
She relaxed her trigger finger slightly but kept her aim true.
"As I was saying," he continued, clearing his throat. "I have no deep-rooted loyalties to Copolla. He is, or will be, I should say, paying me well. But, as I look down the barrel of your weapon, I realize that money is not everything. So… I would like to propose a trade."
"A trade?" Greta asked sardonically. "Why would I possibly want to trade with you? I would rather just see you dead or severely mutilated, so you won't bother Leumas anymore."
"Information is a valuable commodity," Biom said, slitting his eyes. "One always wants to know what the other side doesn't know, and vice versa." He smiled at the sudden interest he saw in Greta's eyes.
"Go ahead. I'm listening," she said skeptically.
"First, we need to agree upon terms. I offer valuable information and, in exchange, I want freedom and a ship to get far beyond the reach of Copolla," he said with confidence, liking the new feeling of having the upper hand.
"I will consider your requests after I hear the information."
"That's not much of an assurance. How about this?" he said, beginning to smile smugly again. "Suppose I were to tell you that Copolla has more than one reason for doing what he is doing to discredit Leumas, and that this reason could seriously damage the credibility of Copolla if it were known." He paused for effect, then added, "Interested now?"
"You know that I would be interested in anything that would discredit Copolla," she said, thinking of Leumas and how this type of information could help him. "I'll grant your request. However, I hold final judgment if the information is useless or unsubstantiated. Then the deal becomes null and void."
"Fair enough," he conceded.
Greta sat down in a nearby chair, still keeping a cautious eye on his movements. "Talk."
"I was one of the members of the team that removed the records from the archives about the Council’s involvement with the planet Earth," he began. "The records were obliterated when it was discovered they contained information that could harm Copolla's position. Historians are a funny lot, but they don't miss much. The funny thing is, they never understand or really care about the data; they reserve their opinions and just record it. But, somehow, this time certain information got into the archives that shouldn't have."
"Such as?" she asked impatiently.
Ignoring her tone, he continued. "A long time ago, maybe fifty or sixty years, Copolla ordered two agents placed on Earth to learn more about the people after the big mess up with a human leader, I can't recall his name. But, from what I understand, Copolla didn't exactly send the cream of the crop, as far as agents go." He paused again, catching his breath. "To make a long story short, those agents became so adjusted to the Earth's environment that they decided to stay, and integrated into the local populace. One thing led to another, as it does with any species, and they produced offspring."
"That is strictly forbidden by the Council Charter!" she said incredulous.
"That's correct," he stated, liking the feeling of seeing her surprise. He continued. "There is another reason why it was so important for the information to be removed from
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