what will he do then? I’m all the ammunition he has in this little war of his!” Her tone surprised her. She was close to the limits of her endurance. But rather than keep the focus on Farad’s need for her, she pushed the onus onto the major. “If you’re responsible for my effectiveness being reduced…What will Councilor Sinter say then?”
The young man considered this possibility with little apparent emotion. “You’re the one who has to answer to him. I’m just here to watch over you.”
Vara Liso held back a sharp bolt of anger. How close they come! They don’t even know!
“Well, take me to a place where I can rest,” she demanded sharply. “ She’s not here. I don’t know where she is. I haven’t sensed her for three days!”
“Councilor Sinter is especially concerned that you should find her. You told us she was the strongest—”
“Other than me!” Vara shouted. “But I haven’t felt her!”
The blond major seemed to get it through his head that she wasn’t going to work anymore today.
“The councilor will be disappointed,” he said, then bit his lower lip again.
Is everybody here an idiot? Vara raged inwardly, but realized anger, letting her exhaustion control her, would get her nowhere, and could even harm her chances of getting what she wanted from Sinter. “I need to be alone for a while, rest, not talk,” she said hoarsely. “We can try again tomorrow, in another Sector. I need a smaller area to work in—a few blocks at most. We need more agents and better reports.”
“Of course,” the major said, matching her tone with a more reasonable approach of his own. “Our intelligence has been a little weak. We’ll try it again tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. The major walked through the empty apartment and stood by the door, holding it open for her. She was almost through the door when a sharp spike of what she could only call envy shot through her: the sudden awareness she was close to a fellow human with talents like her own. Her face went white, and she stammered, “N-n-not yet. She’s here!”
“Where?” the major demanded, pushing her back to the window.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Vara muttered as he propelled her. They treat me like a despicable runt! But the excitement of the chase was strong. She pointed a trembling finger and wiped her lips with the back of her other hand. “Down there! She’s close!”
The agent peered down into the crowd, following the line of the small woman’s finger. He saw a female figure, swift and almost colorless, dart through the crowds toward the entrance of a plunger.
Immediately, he used his comm to alert other agents on the street below.
“You’re sure?” he demanded of Vara, but she could only point and rub her lips, the sensation was so great. She had towork hard to keep from trembling. She hated this sensation—had come to know it whenever she was around the others in Wanda and Stettin’s group, but never as strongly as this. Envy like an ache in her chest, as if this girl could steal everything in life from her and leave only empty expectations and endless disappointment!
“Her!” she said. “Get her, please! ”
Something made Klia’s scalp feel as if it were on fire, and she cried out as she darted into the plunger cab. Two older men with heavy black-and-gray mustaches looked at her with mild concern.
Klia could not see over their shoulders. She jumped and caught a glimpse of two square-featured men running as fast as they could toward the open plunger doors. The doors started to close; the agents shouted for it to stop, and even flashed code blinkers to take control of the mechanism.
Klia dug into her pocket and produced a maintenance key, illegal but standard issue for couriers. The elevator doors hesitated, then stopped. She plunged her key into the control panel and shouted, “Emergency! Down now!”
The doors resumed closing. The two men could not make it and pounded on the outside,
The young man considered this possibility with little apparent emotion. “You’re the one who has to answer to him. I’m just here to watch over you.”
Vara Liso held back a sharp bolt of anger. How close they come! They don’t even know!
“Well, take me to a place where I can rest,” she demanded sharply. “ She’s not here. I don’t know where she is. I haven’t sensed her for three days!”
“Councilor Sinter is especially concerned that you should find her. You told us she was the strongest—”
“Other than me!” Vara shouted. “But I haven’t felt her!”
The blond major seemed to get it through his head that she wasn’t going to work anymore today.
“The councilor will be disappointed,” he said, then bit his lower lip again.
Is everybody here an idiot? Vara raged inwardly, but realized anger, letting her exhaustion control her, would get her nowhere, and could even harm her chances of getting what she wanted from Sinter. “I need to be alone for a while, rest, not talk,” she said hoarsely. “We can try again tomorrow, in another Sector. I need a smaller area to work in—a few blocks at most. We need more agents and better reports.”
“Of course,” the major said, matching her tone with a more reasonable approach of his own. “Our intelligence has been a little weak. We’ll try it again tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. The major walked through the empty apartment and stood by the door, holding it open for her. She was almost through the door when a sharp spike of what she could only call envy shot through her: the sudden awareness she was close to a fellow human with talents like her own. Her face went white, and she stammered, “N-n-not yet. She’s here!”
“Where?” the major demanded, pushing her back to the window.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Vara muttered as he propelled her. They treat me like a despicable runt! But the excitement of the chase was strong. She pointed a trembling finger and wiped her lips with the back of her other hand. “Down there! She’s close!”
The agent peered down into the crowd, following the line of the small woman’s finger. He saw a female figure, swift and almost colorless, dart through the crowds toward the entrance of a plunger.
Immediately, he used his comm to alert other agents on the street below.
“You’re sure?” he demanded of Vara, but she could only point and rub her lips, the sensation was so great. She had towork hard to keep from trembling. She hated this sensation—had come to know it whenever she was around the others in Wanda and Stettin’s group, but never as strongly as this. Envy like an ache in her chest, as if this girl could steal everything in life from her and leave only empty expectations and endless disappointment!
“Her!” she said. “Get her, please! ”
Something made Klia’s scalp feel as if it were on fire, and she cried out as she darted into the plunger cab. Two older men with heavy black-and-gray mustaches looked at her with mild concern.
Klia could not see over their shoulders. She jumped and caught a glimpse of two square-featured men running as fast as they could toward the open plunger doors. The doors started to close; the agents shouted for it to stop, and even flashed code blinkers to take control of the mechanism.
Klia dug into her pocket and produced a maintenance key, illegal but standard issue for couriers. The elevator doors hesitated, then stopped. She plunged her key into the control panel and shouted, “Emergency! Down now!”
The doors resumed closing. The two men could not make it and pounded on the outside,
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