belt. She got me into the Gaia Alliance. Then I went to the safe house in Los Angeles and Beatty taught me about the revolution.”
“Beatty,” Griffin snorted, “is slime; right now, a useful slime.”
“He’s all right. Besides, the world’s full of slimy people,” Knecht stated flatly.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
Griffin could tell from her voice that it wasn’t “nothing.”
If I could get her to open up, talk about what makes her so angry, he thought. “Okay,” he said. “I understand.”
“I doubt that,” she snorted, almost mockingly.
“I’ve had my problems,” he said. “I know what it’s like.”
“No,” she grumbled, “not like me.”
“What do you mean?”
Momentarily her eyes flashed in anger. Then they softened and he could see deep, searing sorrow. “When I was fourteen,” she said softly, “I ran away from home. My stepfather liked me too much. I was just a thing to him to get what he couldn’t get or didn’t want from my mother. It was typical–I’ve read up on this kind of thing. When I told my mother, she said she didn’t believe me and called me a slut. I went to her for help and she rejected me, I think because she did believe me and was jealous; I’d taken her husband away. I sure as hell didn’t want him.”
“Oh, God,” Griffin whispered. “I’m sorry.” This confession was not what he had expected.
Knecht shrugged her shoulders. She knew his sympathy would do nothing about what she felt. “I ran away,” she said, “to Seattle. I met a man in a bus station. At first he said he loved me. Then he beat me and was worse than my stepfather. To him I was just a thing to make money.”
“You mean…?” Griffin asked.
“Yes, I prostituted for him. At first he was all sweetness and love. Do you know what that will do to a love-starved fourteen-year old? It was like a drug. I’d do anything for it. And I did, even after the ‘love’ was gone. I blamed myself when he beat me, thinking I’d failed him and deserved it. And he beat me almost daily for not making enough money, for not pleasing some john just right. All a man had to do was look at him funny and he’d think I hadn’t done a good job. He almost killed me a couple of times.”
“Oh, God,” Griffin said softly.
“I finally got away. He said he’d kill me. That’s why I joined SRI. I figured he couldn’t find me off Earth. But I was just a thing to them to make a profit: although the prostitution wasn’t as personal.
“Then I met Linda Trent in L.A. She convinced me I could find what I was looking for in the Gaia Alliance. But even to her I was just a thing to advance the revolution.” She shook her head. “I’ve known since I was eleven and a half what sex is. I still don’t know what love is.”
Griffin looked at her. Like this, open and trusting, she was a lovely woman, not a guerrilla soldier. He took a chance.
“Is that why you hate so?”
“I don’t hate, except my stepfather, my pimp, and SRI. I just can’t trust. I put up a barrier between myself and others that I never let down.”
She looked at him and for a moment their eyes locked.
Then she looked away. When she looked back, Griffin could tell her armor was back in place, protecting her from any possible hurt another may cause her. “Anyway,” she said, “Trent told me about the real danger of taking asteroids out of the belt. That’s why I agreed to help with this attack.”
“You mean,” Griffin asked, “the GRT? That taking asteroids upsets the gravitational balance and having asteroids’ orbits decay so that they could hit Earth?”
“Yes,” Knecht acknowledged. “I resigned from SRI and joined the GA. How about you?”
Griffin shrugged. “My parents were Earth Firsters. They taught me what you said about no compromise. But their methods were ineffective. Hell, Earth Firsters have been around a hundred years.
“When I heard about the GA, I joined. I agree that chaining yourself to trees
“Beatty,” Griffin snorted, “is slime; right now, a useful slime.”
“He’s all right. Besides, the world’s full of slimy people,” Knecht stated flatly.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
Griffin could tell from her voice that it wasn’t “nothing.”
If I could get her to open up, talk about what makes her so angry, he thought. “Okay,” he said. “I understand.”
“I doubt that,” she snorted, almost mockingly.
“I’ve had my problems,” he said. “I know what it’s like.”
“No,” she grumbled, “not like me.”
“What do you mean?”
Momentarily her eyes flashed in anger. Then they softened and he could see deep, searing sorrow. “When I was fourteen,” she said softly, “I ran away from home. My stepfather liked me too much. I was just a thing to him to get what he couldn’t get or didn’t want from my mother. It was typical–I’ve read up on this kind of thing. When I told my mother, she said she didn’t believe me and called me a slut. I went to her for help and she rejected me, I think because she did believe me and was jealous; I’d taken her husband away. I sure as hell didn’t want him.”
“Oh, God,” Griffin whispered. “I’m sorry.” This confession was not what he had expected.
Knecht shrugged her shoulders. She knew his sympathy would do nothing about what she felt. “I ran away,” she said, “to Seattle. I met a man in a bus station. At first he said he loved me. Then he beat me and was worse than my stepfather. To him I was just a thing to make money.”
“You mean…?” Griffin asked.
“Yes, I prostituted for him. At first he was all sweetness and love. Do you know what that will do to a love-starved fourteen-year old? It was like a drug. I’d do anything for it. And I did, even after the ‘love’ was gone. I blamed myself when he beat me, thinking I’d failed him and deserved it. And he beat me almost daily for not making enough money, for not pleasing some john just right. All a man had to do was look at him funny and he’d think I hadn’t done a good job. He almost killed me a couple of times.”
“Oh, God,” Griffin said softly.
“I finally got away. He said he’d kill me. That’s why I joined SRI. I figured he couldn’t find me off Earth. But I was just a thing to them to make a profit: although the prostitution wasn’t as personal.
“Then I met Linda Trent in L.A. She convinced me I could find what I was looking for in the Gaia Alliance. But even to her I was just a thing to advance the revolution.” She shook her head. “I’ve known since I was eleven and a half what sex is. I still don’t know what love is.”
Griffin looked at her. Like this, open and trusting, she was a lovely woman, not a guerrilla soldier. He took a chance.
“Is that why you hate so?”
“I don’t hate, except my stepfather, my pimp, and SRI. I just can’t trust. I put up a barrier between myself and others that I never let down.”
She looked at him and for a moment their eyes locked.
Then she looked away. When she looked back, Griffin could tell her armor was back in place, protecting her from any possible hurt another may cause her. “Anyway,” she said, “Trent told me about the real danger of taking asteroids out of the belt. That’s why I agreed to help with this attack.”
“You mean,” Griffin asked, “the GRT? That taking asteroids upsets the gravitational balance and having asteroids’ orbits decay so that they could hit Earth?”
“Yes,” Knecht acknowledged. “I resigned from SRI and joined the GA. How about you?”
Griffin shrugged. “My parents were Earth Firsters. They taught me what you said about no compromise. But their methods were ineffective. Hell, Earth Firsters have been around a hundred years.
“When I heard about the GA, I joined. I agree that chaining yourself to trees
Similar Books
