Council very long. But we have to take the long view and prepare for the day when we either decide to, or are forced to, reveal our existence to humanity. We need to find someone to fill that chair.”
Bailey remembered the many hours of pleasure she’d gotten from Dr. Sagan’s work during the time she’d been incarcerated. She’d have to watch Contact again through the lens of a completely changed reality.
“ I see you chose a scientist, not a politician.” Bailey nodded in approval. “Good call.”
“ We needed someone less likely to have preconceived notions about our existence.” Lukas sat down, the projector casting shadows on his face. “Carl’s seat has been empty since his death, but several promising candidates are being evaluated as replacements.”
Lukas pointed to his own name. “I recently abdicated my seat as the Incubus Second to focus on security and technology risks. Homeland Security is a significant risk to our anonymity.”
“ Will you become the Incubus Second?” Bailey asked Sasha.
“ Hell, no.” Sasha raised crossed index fingers in a warding off motion. “As if.”
“ Sasha’s dislike for Council matters is well established,” Lukas responded. “Rafe’s got his own thing going on. It’s Dad’s decision, and he’s still making it, but Antonia’s the obvious choice.”
Sasha nodded her agreement. “Clearly. She’s a brainiac, scary-smart.”
“ She’s so young,” Bailey said quietly. A sixteen-year-old with a seat on their ruling council?
“ You, better than anyone here, should understand that age isn’t the most important indicator of someone’s competence,” Jack responded.
The chair creaked as Lukas leaned back and speared his hands wearily into his hair. “I’m serving double-duty until Dad makes a final decision. I hope he hurries up,” he muttered. “Okay. To cut to the chase, Jack was the second human to receive the Council’s sanction to learn of our existence. As of this morning, the Council authorized a third. You.”
What? Bailey’s heart pounded like a tom-tom.
“ The Archives are a mess. The older materials are barely catalogued. They aren’t digitized, aren’t searchable. And what is isn’t adequately protected.” When Lukas kicked back to stare at the ceiling, the chair squeaked alarmingly. “But screw our unsecured archives; screw all of our other work. Today, we’re pulling every employee so we can babysit a prima donna rock star.”
“ This isn’t Scarlett’s fault,” Jack said.
Lukas leaned into the table with an audible growl. “Nearly getting killed wasn’t Andi Woolf’s fault either. We should be out there finding this asshole.”
“ So we find a way to do both,” Jack replied in a reasonable tone of voice that just seemed to piss Lukas off more.
As Jack discussed staffing with Lukas, Bailey looked at the org chart displayed on the wall behind Lukas’s head. The prima donna in question was obviously Scarlett Fontaine. Her mother, Claudette Fontaine, was the Siren Council rep, and her sister Annika, Sasha’s other roommate—who could drink six Kamikazes and still dance all night—was the Siren Second.
Mythology was full of stories about seagoing men crashing their ships into the cliffs, lulled by a siren’s song. Suddenly Scarlett’s vocal talent made a whole different kind of sense. But why was Lukas so pissed off? “Who’s Andi Woolf?” Bailey asked aloud.
“ Krispin Woolf’s youngest child,” Jack said, quickly explaining the details of the assault. “We don’t have any reason to believe that Andi’s assault was politically motivated, but unfortunately we can’t rule it out yet either. Claudette is worried, and asked us to put additional security measures in place at Scarlett’s show tonight.” Lukas tossed his pen to the table, and Jack cleared his throat. “Of course we’re going to fulfill Ms. Fontaine’s request. So here’s the plan.” He tapped some keys on his laptop and
Bailey remembered the many hours of pleasure she’d gotten from Dr. Sagan’s work during the time she’d been incarcerated. She’d have to watch Contact again through the lens of a completely changed reality.
“ I see you chose a scientist, not a politician.” Bailey nodded in approval. “Good call.”
“ We needed someone less likely to have preconceived notions about our existence.” Lukas sat down, the projector casting shadows on his face. “Carl’s seat has been empty since his death, but several promising candidates are being evaluated as replacements.”
Lukas pointed to his own name. “I recently abdicated my seat as the Incubus Second to focus on security and technology risks. Homeland Security is a significant risk to our anonymity.”
“ Will you become the Incubus Second?” Bailey asked Sasha.
“ Hell, no.” Sasha raised crossed index fingers in a warding off motion. “As if.”
“ Sasha’s dislike for Council matters is well established,” Lukas responded. “Rafe’s got his own thing going on. It’s Dad’s decision, and he’s still making it, but Antonia’s the obvious choice.”
Sasha nodded her agreement. “Clearly. She’s a brainiac, scary-smart.”
“ She’s so young,” Bailey said quietly. A sixteen-year-old with a seat on their ruling council?
“ You, better than anyone here, should understand that age isn’t the most important indicator of someone’s competence,” Jack responded.
The chair creaked as Lukas leaned back and speared his hands wearily into his hair. “I’m serving double-duty until Dad makes a final decision. I hope he hurries up,” he muttered. “Okay. To cut to the chase, Jack was the second human to receive the Council’s sanction to learn of our existence. As of this morning, the Council authorized a third. You.”
What? Bailey’s heart pounded like a tom-tom.
“ The Archives are a mess. The older materials are barely catalogued. They aren’t digitized, aren’t searchable. And what is isn’t adequately protected.” When Lukas kicked back to stare at the ceiling, the chair squeaked alarmingly. “But screw our unsecured archives; screw all of our other work. Today, we’re pulling every employee so we can babysit a prima donna rock star.”
“ This isn’t Scarlett’s fault,” Jack said.
Lukas leaned into the table with an audible growl. “Nearly getting killed wasn’t Andi Woolf’s fault either. We should be out there finding this asshole.”
“ So we find a way to do both,” Jack replied in a reasonable tone of voice that just seemed to piss Lukas off more.
As Jack discussed staffing with Lukas, Bailey looked at the org chart displayed on the wall behind Lukas’s head. The prima donna in question was obviously Scarlett Fontaine. Her mother, Claudette Fontaine, was the Siren Council rep, and her sister Annika, Sasha’s other roommate—who could drink six Kamikazes and still dance all night—was the Siren Second.
Mythology was full of stories about seagoing men crashing their ships into the cliffs, lulled by a siren’s song. Suddenly Scarlett’s vocal talent made a whole different kind of sense. But why was Lukas so pissed off? “Who’s Andi Woolf?” Bailey asked aloud.
“ Krispin Woolf’s youngest child,” Jack said, quickly explaining the details of the assault. “We don’t have any reason to believe that Andi’s assault was politically motivated, but unfortunately we can’t rule it out yet either. Claudette is worried, and asked us to put additional security measures in place at Scarlett’s show tonight.” Lukas tossed his pen to the table, and Jack cleared his throat. “Of course we’re going to fulfill Ms. Fontaine’s request. So here’s the plan.” He tapped some keys on his laptop and
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