Borderline (Hive Mind Book 4)

by Janet Edwards

  “I’ve completed the review itself,” said Megan anxiously, “but I haven’t got as far as documenting the …”

  “We don’t need a formal document,” interrupted Lucas. “Just tell us the weak areas and your suggestions for dealing with them.”

  “Yes. Well.” Megan took out her dataview and tapped it to make it unfurl. “Let’s start with my own area. An increased number of emergency runs won’t make much difference to the general maintenance work, but it will have a heavy impact in other areas. Now it’s confirmed that I’m pregnant with twins, I’ll want to recruit a second deputy administrator to assist me if Amber is happy with that.”

  I nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “The extra pressure on our Strike teams will inevitably cause more frequent minor injuries,” continued Megan, “so I’d like to add a therapy pool to the medical area for treating muscle problems.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I said.

  “Now that Telyn has joined the Tactical team as their attack specialist, all their roles are adequately covered,” said Megan. “We have a significant issue on the Liaison team though. After all the trouble with Fran, and Nicole’s accelerated promotion to take her place, we agreed to leave the deputy Liaison team leader position vacant for a few months to let the situation settle down.”

  Both Nicole and I winced at the reminder of Fran.

  “I would have suggested filling the position weeks ago,” said Megan, “but delayed because there was one crisis after another. We absolutely must recruit a new deputy Liaison team leader before Morton’s unit shuts down though. Nicole’s health problems are already worsening because of the heavy workload, so she mustn’t be put under any extra pressure.”

  Megan glanced at Nicole. “Since Nicole only had one year of experience instead of the normal three before being promoted to Liaison team leader, and most of the Liaison team members came out of Lottery with Amber, I recommend that the new deputy should be someone with many years of experience.”

  Nicole was always quiet in team leader meetings. That was partly because her role, and the role of her team, wasn’t to make the decisions but to help carry them out. The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that Adika and Megan were older, more experienced, and always eager to talk. I tried to compensate for that by keeping an eye on Nicole to check if she wanted to say something. I didn’t read her mind very often, but the distressed expression on her face made me link to her now.

  … worked so hard to sort out the mess that Fran left behind her. My team have played their part wonderfully during some incredibly challenging cases. Now a far more experienced deputy is going to march in and …

  … going to be just like my last year on Teen Level. I put in weeks of work organizing our area’s Halloween celebrations, then that pushy girl came along. She’d only helped with a couple of the most straightforward jobs, but on the day of the festival she used the excuse of my health problems to take over and …

  … the way that she lied to everyone. Claiming I’d asked her to take over, so they obeyed her orders, and …

  “I agree that we need to recruit an experienced deputy Liaison team leader,” I said firmly, “but I specifically want someone that’s only imprinted for the deputy role rather than the team leader position.”

  Megan seemed startled. “That’s likely to eliminate some of the best candidates, Amber.”

  “Yes, but Fran’s departure left the Liaison team in total chaos. Nicole has worked hard to get the team functioning smoothly, so I’m not risking an ambitious new deputy causing more trouble. What we want is someone that’s only imprinted for deputy to deal with the routine work, so Nicole can focus her energies on things like the emergency runs.”

  Nicole’s mind flared like a beacon in response to my words.

  Amber, I … Thank you!

  I smiled at her, pulled out of her mind, and sipped my melon juice.

  Megan faced Adika. “My biggest concern is the Strike team. Lucas seems to be suggesting that we’ll be taking on as many emergency runs as Sapphire’s unit, but Sapphire’s Strike team is far stronger and more experienced than ours.”

  Adika sat forward aggressively in his chair. “Our unit may not have been operational for long, but our Alpha Strike team has been on runs that Sapphire’s unit wouldn’t have dared to touch.”

  “That’s precisely my point,” said Megan. “Our Alpha Strike team is relatively strong, but the Beta Strike team is a different matter. The standard approach of a new Telepath Unit recruiting and training the Alpha Strike team first is aimed at getting the unit operational as fast as possible. That was especially important when our unit was so urgently needed, but inevitably leaves the Beta Strike team at a huge disadvantage.”

  “It’s true the Beta Strike team members weren’t just my second choice, slightly less able candidates, but had the extra disadvantage of starting training months after the Alpha team,” conceded Adika. “I expect to be sending out the Alpha team on the most difficult runs for at least the next two years.”

  “Exactly,” said Megan. “Sapphire’s Telepath Unit has been operational for twenty-five years. Her Alpha and Beta Strike teams will be sharing the load equally, while our Alpha Strike team has to carry most of the burden of additional emergency runs.”

  Her voice took on a judgemental note. “To make the situation worse, you followed the custom of promoting the two best members of the Alpha Strike team to be your deputies, but refused to recruit anyone to fill the resulting two vacancies.”

  Adika’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “As I explained to you at the time, I preferred to delay filling those two vacancies until the next Lottery. The Hive is highly unlikely to have the good fortune to discover another new telepath, so there’ll only be a few candidates imprinted for Strike team, but they’ll all be exceptionally gifted.”

  Megan glared back at him. “I accepted your reasons back then, but we’re now in a situation where we can’t wait until the next Lottery to fill those vacancies. We need a full-strength Alpha Strike team by the New Year!”

  “I’ve just transferred Jalen to the Alpha Strike team,” snapped Adika. “The other members of the Beta team aren’t good enough to keep up with the Alpha Strike team yet, but that still leaves both teams only one person below full strength.”

  “The Alpha Strike team is more than one person below full strength.” Megan’s voice had already been loud, and I cringed as it got even louder. “Your Alpha Strike team is currently in breach of the rule against having two members in a relationship. That’s a completely unacceptable situation. We can’t have a Strike team member being forced to choose between saving the life of their partner and saving the life of their telepath.”

  “You can’t blame me for being in breach of that rule!” Adika shouted in outrage. “Zak and Rafael only announced their relationship minutes ago, so …”

  “Enough!” Buzz had been sitting quietly listening to the meeting, but now she yelled louder than either of them. “As Amber’s counsellor, I’m ordering you to stop arguing right now!”

  Everyone stared at her in shock.

  Buzz dropped her voice to its usual volume. “Amber has just returned from an emergency run where she was rapidly switching between the minds of four targets, including a highly unstable wild bee, one totally traumatized bystander, and a second bystander in severe pain. I didn’t object to Lucas holding this meeting because I knew he’d only do it if absolutely necessary. I’m not allowing anyone to indulge in arguments in front of Amber though. She finds conflict deeply stressful.”

  Adika gave Buzz a frown that would have intimidated any member of the Strike team. “Megan and I weren’t having a serious argument, just …”

  “I know exactly what you were doing,” Buzz interrupted him. “I’m only a borderline telepath, and my insights into peoples’ minds aren’t always clear, but the ones I just got from you and Megan were unmistakable.”

  “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” said
Adika, in a dignified voice.

  Buzz gazed directly into his eyes and gave him one of her widest smiles. “Do you want me to explain the details of my insights to everyone in this meeting? If so, then I’m perfectly happy to do it.”

  “There’s no need for that,” said Megan hastily. “You’re quite right that we shouldn’t argue in front of Amber. It won’t happen again.”

  “I’m relieved to hear it.” Buzz turned to nod at Lucas. “Please continue with your meeting.”

  I couldn’t make sense of what had just happened. I didn’t dare to risk reading the minds of either Adika or Megan, in case they were still seething with anger, and I’d agreed with Buzz that I should never read her mind. Since borderline telepaths couldn’t get insights into the mind of a true telepath, that agreement meant our counselling sessions could be like two ordinary friends chatting.

  “Megan does have a valid point about the staffing levels of the Alpha Strike team,” said Lucas, in a peculiarly strained voice.

  Lucas seemed to have understood what Buzz meant, so I linked to his mind. The top level of his thoughts was just pre-vocalizing the words he was about to say, but the level beneath …

  I blinked, and returned to my own head. There’d inevitably been times when I’d accidentally read the minds of people at an intimate moment, but I pulled away from them as fast as possible. I’d had no idea that some people could find arguments … exciting in that way.

  “The minimum acceptable staffing level for a Strike team is seventeen members,” said Lucas. “That number is designed to allow for five people committed to bodyguard duties, and twelve chasing the target. In a standard situation, twelve people on chase duties can cover all escape routes above, below, and around a target, especially since there’ll also be a deputy Strike team leader present, and on many runs a Strike team leader as well. They’ll have problems in more complicated situations though.”

  Lucas grimaced. “Today was a classic example. With Zak still recovering from injury, and Tobias missing the lift, the Alpha Strike team barely reached the operational minimum on today’s run. Adika correctly assigned four of the men on chase duties to guard the three vulnerable bystanders. One man to carry each of them in a crisis, and one to fight a defensive rear-guard action. That didn’t leave enough men to form a full net around the target.”

  Adika scowled. “Yes. I’ve just been watching Hallie’s holo recreation of the strike. We had a target breakaway that put our telepath in danger, and it happened because Tobias had missed the lift.”

  “Precisely,” said Lucas. “We must never end up in that situation again. We’ve already covered the point that when Morton’s unit shuts down, the Alpha Strike team will need to go out on most of the emergency runs, so we can expect an increased rate of injuries. The question isn’t whether we need to recruit enough people to get the Alpha Strike team up to full strength, but whether we need to overstaff.”

  Adika’s eyes widened. “You’re seriously considering overstaffing the Alpha Strike team, Lucas? If we have problems with injuries on the Alpha team, we could borrow someone from the Beta team.”

  “You’ve just told us that Jalen was the only one of the Beta team who could keep up with the Alpha team,” said Lucas. “That means your only satisfactory option for borrowing a man from the Beta team is Forge. That’s acceptable occasionally, but you can’t disrupt the Beta team’s training schedule by taking Forge away for long periods.”

  “I realize that but …” Adika shook his head. “Suggesting overstaffing seems an overreaction, Lucas. Taking more than twenty men on a run can mean they get in each other’s way, while leaving team members behind breeds discontent.”

  “I don’t think I’m overreacting,” said Lucas, in a harsh voice. “Penelope said that during the critical third year, Sapphire’s Strike teams were overstaffed at twenty-seven men on each team.”

  “What!” Adika’s yell was followed by a guilty glance at Buzz. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout.”

  “Even with twenty-seven men on each team,” Lucas continued, “their injury levels were so high that they were still struggling to send out a full-strength team of twenty on emergency runs.”

  “We aren’t likely to have that level of injuries ourselves, are we?” I asked anxiously.

  “Sapphire was regularly breaking the rules by going out on two emergency runs on the same day,” said Lucas. “Injury rates on her Strike team were bound to be staggeringly high. We shouldn’t be in that situation, but we must have at least twenty men on the Alpha Strike team.”

  He paused. “You’ve currently got nineteen men on each of the Alpha and Beta Strike teams, Adika. Megan is right that you’ll need to move either Zak or Rafael to the Beta team, which will bring the Alpha team down to eighteen men. What are you going to do about Tobias?”

  Adika turned to look pointedly at me. “I can’t keep Tobias on the Alpha Strike team any longer, Amber. He’s become a danger to his teammates and yourself.”

  I’d just worked out a compromise plan to deal with the Tobias situation. “I accept that.”

  Adika looked relieved. “Since the Beta Strike team is at full strength, I’ll be transferring Tobias out of the unit. Strike team imprints are deliberately set up to overlap with some positions in Hive Defence, so he should be able to make a fresh start there.”

  “If we’re going to overstaff the Alpha Strike team,” I said, “then I don’t see why we can’t have an extra man on the Beta Strike team as well.”

  “Tobias will be just as much of a danger on the Beta team as the Alpha team,” said Adika.

  “Not if he’s only allowed to join in their training sessions, and not go on any runs,” I said eagerly. “You can tell Tobias this is his last chance to prove he’s worth keeping in the unit. I’m hoping the shock will make him change his attitude and focus on his work instead of his grievances. If he does that, then he can eventually work his way back to becoming a proper Strike team member again.”

  “But what if Tobias doesn’t change his attitude?” asked Adika.

  “If he causes any more problems, then I’ll support you transferring him to Hive Defence,” I said.

  “I’d prefer to get rid of Tobias right away, but … agreed.” Adika sighed. “Dropping Tobias means there’ll only be seventeen men on the Alpha team, which I agree is completely unacceptable during a period when we only have four operational Telepath Units.”

  “There’s also the complication of Eli’s old leg injury,” said Lucas. “He needs a follow-up operation to remove the plates from his original surgery, and will be out of action for a week or two.”

  “I thought we had seven weeks for Eli to have his surgery and recover before Morton’s unit shuts down,” said Adika. “Now we’ll need him to have his operation immediately.”

  “Eli’s surgeon may not be available immediately,” said Megan. “Remember that Atticus has other patients, including Morton!”

  “There must be other surgeons available to do the operation,” said Adika.

  I glared at him. When Forge and I were teens, Atticus had been a close friend of both of us. When I’d looked up the Lottery results of my corridor group, and saw Atticus had come out of Lottery as a Level 3 Physician Surgical, I’d been delighted for him. I trusted Atticus more than any other surgeon. Far more importantly, so did Eli.

  “Atticus led the surgical team that carried out Eli’s original operation,” I said fiercely, “so he knows what needs to be done better than anyone else.”

  Adika gave me a surprisingly nervous look for a man who was at least twice my size and an expert in all forms of combat. “Yes, well, I agree that Atticus has to be the one to operate on Eli. I also agree that we need at least three more men on the Alpha Strike team, and preferably four to cover injury problems, but how can I recruit new men and get them trained in less than two weeks?”

  “Morton’s unit will be shut down for months,” said Megan. “His Strike teams will have nothing to do, so Morton mi
ght be willing to let us borrow a few people. Given Morton’s personal preferences, most of his Strike team members are women, but there are enough men to …”

  “Oh, no,” Adika interrupted her. “I’m not bringing in a group of men who know everything, have done everything, and are at the peak of their fitness. My youngsters would be worried about losing their team spots to the newcomers, trying to outmatch them, and getting their confidence broken when they failed.”

  “There is another possibility,” said Lucas. “When Claire died, the men on her Strike team were all old enough that they moved to less demanding posts. Sapphire’s unit solved their staffing problem by asking some of the youngest men to come back as temporary members of their Strike team. There seems no reason we couldn’t do the same.”

  Adika looked startled. “I hadn’t thought of using Claire’s Strike team, but that could be a workable solution. My youngsters wouldn’t feel their positions were threatened by men in their forties briefly returning to a Strike team role.”

  He was silent in thought for a moment, before giving an abrupt nod. “Gideon came back from retirement to give the benefit of his experience to your Tactical team, Lucas. If Megan can find me four of Claire’s old Strike team members with the same attitude to passing on their experience as Gideon, then I can see them being a valuable addition to the Alpha Strike team.”

  Lucas turned to me. “Are you happy with this idea, Amber?”

  After Claire’s death, her unit had been closed down for three years, and then the dusty corridors and abandoned apartments had been refurbished to become my unit. Claire had held meetings in this room. Claire had lived in the apartment that now belonged to Lucas and me. Claire’s ashes had been scattered in the park where I walked and fed the birds.

  I’d always had a superstitious idea that something of Claire’s presence remained, ghostlike, in this unit. Now Lucas was suggesting that some of Claire’s Strike team should come back and join us. I didn’t know why I was so disconcerted by that idea. As Adika had just pointed out, Gideon had worked on Claire’s Tactical team for forty-nine years, and I had no problem at all with Gideon.