glowed brighter. Something was about to happen. I wanted to see it happen.
The wind was hot and smelled of orange trees, distant. It smelled of green-cut hay. It smelled of rain and fever. What was going to happen?
Suddenly the wind fell. Click, on cue the summer crickets started up. Then I heard a hoarse cry from far away:
“Mendoza! What in hell are you doing?”
I turned to scowl at them. They were crowded together at the door, staring out at me in consternation. I had left the house farther behind than I’d thought. Joseph opened his mouth to shout again; but the blue flash came and with it the thunder, like barrels rolling downstairs. Rain began to fall, a few big hot drops. There came another blue flash.
I covered that half mile in seconds and stood beside them, trembling, and they pulled me in through the door and slammed it. I stood there in the storm gloom, and they stared at me, their faces shut like books. Joseph was the only one who spoke.
“How about a little talk, Mendoza?” he said. “Upstairs, in the rec room. Now.”
God, how embarrassing. I had to follow him up the stairs and sit still while he ran a diagnostic. He said nothing to me while it was running, and I noted the blankness in his eyes. He’d looked just like that when he worked for the Inquisition.
But I tested out normal. He leaned back and looked at me, and let a little human irritation show in his face.
“So, were you trying to get yourself fried? No problem with your evaluation of hazard data, and you knew damn well what those meteorological changes meant. So what’s your excuse for generating a Crome field out there, hm?”
“I wasn’t!”
“Yes, you were, kiddo, in about a five-meter radius. And if you think this is a way to get yourself sent back to base for repairs so you can get out of going to England, forget it.”
“I swear I wasn’t!” I was stung. Also intrigued. Was it possible to duck duty that way? Joseph read in my face what I was thinking (one picks up that knack working for the Holy Office) and shook his head grimly.
“Don’t even think about it. We’re not supposed to malfunction. Dr. Z will excuse you for crying wolf once or twice, but you’ll be disciplined. You won’t like that. If you’re really in need of repairs this early in your career, that’s a bigger problem. You won’t like the solution to that either.”
“Look, I just wanted to look at the storm. It was neat. I didn’t do anything wrong. I got out of there the second it got really dangerous, didn’t I? So I throw a little Crome when I’m excited. How was I to know that? It’s not in my specs. It must have developed since I was posted. I’m only eighteen.”
He nodded. “It happens, every now and then. The Company doesn’t like it, but it does happen.”
“Well, if I’m glitched, it’s not my fault, is it? They made me. And what can they do to me if I’m not all up to standard anyway? I’m immortal.”
He wasn’t smiling. “They’ll find a way to use your talents. The Company never wastes anything. But let’s just say it’s not a career choice you’d ever want to make.”
This was distinctly scary. There were stories I’d heard about flawed agenst.
“Look, I tested out normal!” I said in a panic. “I’m sure I’m all right.”
“Don’t let me down, Mendoza,” he said. “I recruited you, remember? If it wasn’t for me, you’d be out there in the zoo with the rest of them.”
“What do you want me to do?” I could feel sweat starting. There was a creepy sense of déjà vu to this conversation.
“Watch yourself. Don’t do anything dumb. Be the best little agent you can be, and you’ll probably do fine.” He decided to lighten up. “To let you in on a secret, nearly every operative I’ve known has had one or two little kinks. Most can function well enough so there’s no trouble. Most.”
“What about yourself? Are you flawed?”
“Me?” He smiled. “Hell no. I’m perfection
The wind was hot and smelled of orange trees, distant. It smelled of green-cut hay. It smelled of rain and fever. What was going to happen?
Suddenly the wind fell. Click, on cue the summer crickets started up. Then I heard a hoarse cry from far away:
“Mendoza! What in hell are you doing?”
I turned to scowl at them. They were crowded together at the door, staring out at me in consternation. I had left the house farther behind than I’d thought. Joseph opened his mouth to shout again; but the blue flash came and with it the thunder, like barrels rolling downstairs. Rain began to fall, a few big hot drops. There came another blue flash.
I covered that half mile in seconds and stood beside them, trembling, and they pulled me in through the door and slammed it. I stood there in the storm gloom, and they stared at me, their faces shut like books. Joseph was the only one who spoke.
“How about a little talk, Mendoza?” he said. “Upstairs, in the rec room. Now.”
God, how embarrassing. I had to follow him up the stairs and sit still while he ran a diagnostic. He said nothing to me while it was running, and I noted the blankness in his eyes. He’d looked just like that when he worked for the Inquisition.
But I tested out normal. He leaned back and looked at me, and let a little human irritation show in his face.
“So, were you trying to get yourself fried? No problem with your evaluation of hazard data, and you knew damn well what those meteorological changes meant. So what’s your excuse for generating a Crome field out there, hm?”
“I wasn’t!”
“Yes, you were, kiddo, in about a five-meter radius. And if you think this is a way to get yourself sent back to base for repairs so you can get out of going to England, forget it.”
“I swear I wasn’t!” I was stung. Also intrigued. Was it possible to duck duty that way? Joseph read in my face what I was thinking (one picks up that knack working for the Holy Office) and shook his head grimly.
“Don’t even think about it. We’re not supposed to malfunction. Dr. Z will excuse you for crying wolf once or twice, but you’ll be disciplined. You won’t like that. If you’re really in need of repairs this early in your career, that’s a bigger problem. You won’t like the solution to that either.”
“Look, I just wanted to look at the storm. It was neat. I didn’t do anything wrong. I got out of there the second it got really dangerous, didn’t I? So I throw a little Crome when I’m excited. How was I to know that? It’s not in my specs. It must have developed since I was posted. I’m only eighteen.”
He nodded. “It happens, every now and then. The Company doesn’t like it, but it does happen.”
“Well, if I’m glitched, it’s not my fault, is it? They made me. And what can they do to me if I’m not all up to standard anyway? I’m immortal.”
He wasn’t smiling. “They’ll find a way to use your talents. The Company never wastes anything. But let’s just say it’s not a career choice you’d ever want to make.”
This was distinctly scary. There were stories I’d heard about flawed agenst.
“Look, I tested out normal!” I said in a panic. “I’m sure I’m all right.”
“Don’t let me down, Mendoza,” he said. “I recruited you, remember? If it wasn’t for me, you’d be out there in the zoo with the rest of them.”
“What do you want me to do?” I could feel sweat starting. There was a creepy sense of déjà vu to this conversation.
“Watch yourself. Don’t do anything dumb. Be the best little agent you can be, and you’ll probably do fine.” He decided to lighten up. “To let you in on a secret, nearly every operative I’ve known has had one or two little kinks. Most can function well enough so there’s no trouble. Most.”
“What about yourself? Are you flawed?”
“Me?” He smiled. “Hell no. I’m perfection
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