“It’s already active.”
He considered Devon briefly then dropped his forearms on the desk and switched to Alex. “All right. Go.”
“The aliens still have a number of agents out there—people in positions of power in the military, government and business, as well as others wielding less influence but who are strategically situated to cause harm. We believe when the aliens begin to realize they are losing this war, they will use these agents in any number of ways to tip the scales back in their favor. Some of those ways may be catastrophic in nature.”
“We are working around the clock to uncover every person who—”
“You don’t need to uncover them. We know who they are. You need to stop them.”
“How do you know who they are? Is there a list somewhere no one told me about?”
She smiled, and his base fears receded a touch. “A list would be fabulous. No, we don’t have a list. Well we do now, but we made it and—”
Devon had been trying and failing to refrain from fidgeting against the wall. He was practically vibrating as he stepped forward and interrupted her. “We were able to identify the aliens’ communication signal by cross-referencing the comm records of Aguirre, the assassin from Pandora and…others. Annie had narrowed down the possibilities, but once STAN provided the assassin’s records—damaged but it didn’t matter—the answer was clear. The signal’s signature isn’t remotely like anything we use, so then it was simply a matter of filtering for it.”
“Filtering what?”
Devon’s faced screwed up at him as if the question was absurd in its silliness. “Filtering everything: the exanet, security logs, astronomical readings, data from long-range sensors and research buoys. Anyway, here’s the list of people who have been in direct contact with the aliens. Then we analyzed their communication histories for unusual activity and identified individuals likely to be working for the alien agents—those names are at the bottom. They may be unaware of the nature of their true employer but present a danger all the same.”
Richard pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to forestall an encroaching headache. “You two are not trained investigators. There are a thousand reasons why the alleged agents for the Metigens could’ve contacted these people.”
Alex chewed on her bottom lip but nudged herself in front of Devon. “The people you’ve arrested for trying to kill me—thank you for that by the way—have any of them given you useful information?”
“Not much. They’ve spouted a variety of justifications for their actions: hatred of Seneca, fear of Artificials, someone paid them a lot of money. Thus far the information isn’t leading anywhere worthwhile. Why?”
“Every one of them is on the secondary contact list.”
He straightened up in his chair. “Okay, you have my attention. I won’t bother to ask how you got their names.”
“Good. You want to know who set them on the path? The answers are right here. You want to know who else has been set on the same path? We’re giving them to you. We aren’t trained investigators, but Annie is, and all the Artificials possess the algorithms to analyze a mountain of data and find the patterns. For these people, all other explanations were eliminated. They are our enemies—every single one of them.”
Nope, there was the headache. “What do you want me to do? Arrest them all?”
“When you can, absolutely.”
“And when I can’t?”
“Do whatever is necessary to remove their ability to act against us—against humanity.”
“You mean kill them.”
Her expression darkened in what he sensed was sorrow, but her shoulders rose. “If that’s what it takes. Richard, this is our one blind spot, the one way they can hit us for which we won’t be ready. Everything may depend on stopping them.”
Devon laughed. “No pressure, though.”
“Obviously.” Richard regarded her, standing before him as proud and defiant as ever. This was Alex. He’d known her since she was born. He’d watched her grow from a spunky, curious child into a rebellious, grief-stricken teenager and ultimately into a wonderful, extraordinary woman. This was David and Miriam’s daughter…and he had to believe beneath the strange, otherworldly appearance she was still the same person.
Almost as if she could hear his thoughts—could she?—she blinked and the iridescence vanished, leaving only the naturally striking silver-gray. David’s eyes. “Please trust me, Richard. And if you can’t trust me, trust the data.”
It wasn’t as if he didn’t believe they were correct in their analysis. Given all he’d seen with Aguirre’s conspiracy plus the incessant gambits to take out Alex and Caleb, he’d have been more surprised if it wasn’t true. And this did represent a major weakness, one which might sabotage their sole chance at winning. At living.
He had thought he appreciated the risks the aliens’ devious scheming posed, which was why he’d been working night and day to root out those involved in this whole tangled mess. The news of the looming confrontations at Seneca and Romane—of this war possibly coming to a head far faster than anyone had foreseen—had only reached him an hour earlier. When coupled with the names he now held in his hand, it changed the focus of his investigation considerably.
The primary contact list was short, thankfully, but the secondary one was not…and combined they included the names of too many powerful people spread too far across the galaxy. Some were effectively untouchable…and several were very familiar. “What do you think they’re planning?”
Her head shook. “We can’t get at the content of the conversations. Assassinations, bombings, severing of communications, sabotage? But whatever they are planning, I guarantee it will be designed to help the aliens win the war and will occur at pivotal junctures.”
“I don’t disagree, Alex.”
“Also, there’s one other thing. You can’t reveal this information to anyone.”
He groaned. “I cannot do all this myself. I will have to use other resources.”
“Of course. But tell the minimum required to the minimum required number of people. To everyone else, say nothing. Remember the aliens are listening. If they discover we can track their communications, they’ll send their agents running to ground or order them to act early, or both.”
“I know they’re listening—it has made my job increasingly difficult the last several days.” He pulled up a new screen on his desk, positioned it beside their list and compared them. “Four of the people on this list are in custody. Two more were killed while resisting arrest.”
Alex’s brow knotted in surprise, and he raised an eyebrow at her. “I did say we were working around the clock to uncover conspirators. But if you’re right about the nature and extent of their plans, we need to alter our strategy—which means there’s one person I need to bring in on this now.”
He closed the screen and replaced it with a holo. Before either of them could protest, his husband appeared within it. Despite the early hour at his location, he wore a sable cable knit sweater and pressed khaki slacks and sipped on a thermos.
Richard smiled. “I didn’t expect to find you quite so…awake.”
Will set the thermos down and shrugged. “Can’t bring myself to shift off Earth-time—I’m hoping I won’t be here long enough for it to become necessary. No one is clocking normal hours at the moment anyway, so it’s fine. What’s up?”
Richard turned to Alex, who now wore an expression of utter confusion, and swung the holo around. “We have guests.”
“Alex! You’re a sight for sore eyes. I trust Richard is taking proper care of you?”
“Yeah, he’s got a dozen agents glued to my ass. Where are you?”
“Seneca, actually.”
Her gaze darted to Richard, and he chuckled. “Will has been working with Graham to run down the remaining players in the Aguirre Conspiracy as well as alien collaborators outside it.”
“Why?”
“Because Graham needed the help. His chief d
eputy was a major player in the conspiracy, thus everyone in his organization is suspect—and the hit on the safe house you visited was an inside job. Also…” his eyes flicked to the holo bearing a mirthful glint “…he happens to be a Senecan Intelligence agent, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch.”
She frowned in continued perplexity. “Caleb did mention something about that. I honestly assumed it was the concussion talking, but…you know what, I’ll just go with it.”
“Probably for the best. Will, this is Devon Reynolds.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Reynolds.”
“Whereas I haven’t heard…” Alex’s irises glittered to brilliancy as she looked at Devon, then faded again “…and now I have. Up to speed. Carry on.”
Will shot him an inquisitive glance, but he mouthed a silent ‘later.’ “I have confirmation on seventy percent of your suspect list, a bunch of new names to add to it…and I want you to cease all detentions and arrests for the next eighteen hours. Are you at the office?”
“No, I’m in the hotel room. Did you say to stop apprehending suspects?”
“I did. Can you grab Graham in the next half hour or so?”
Will nodded. “I’ll head over to Division now.”
“Great. Comm me when you meet up with him, and I’ll explain. And Will? You are staying safe, right?”
Will grinned, if perhaps a bit indulgently. “I’m leaving the gunplay to the experts. Promise.”
“Okay. Talk to you soon.” Richard closed the holo sooner than he preferred and returned his attention to Alex. “Now we should go talk to your mother.”
She winced hard. “We can’t tell my mother.”
Uncertainty wavered in his mind. Was the Artificial subtly corrupting her judgment, bit by literal bit? He pushed the qualms aside; she would never allow it to do any such thing.
“Why not? She’ll be in favor of the effort. She can use her authority to help.”
“One additional element is at play here, something we can’t even tell you. For events to play out to completion the way we need them to she must remain ignorant of this. Besides, she has too full a plate as it is.”
“Yes, you can tell me, because it’s important.”
She rolled her eyes. “This is the second time you’ve said that to me in a week.”
He stared at her dispassionately. “Well?”
She gave Devon a tiny nod.
Devon’s Adam’s Apple bobbed, and for once he didn’t look cocksure. He looked sad. “There’s one more name that should be on the primary contact list, but you can’t arrest her. Not until the end. It’s Jules.”
His jaw dropped. “Brigadier Hervé? You can’t be serious.”
“I wish I weren’t.”
He fell back in his chair and rubbed at his neck. “I can’t arrest her now because it would tip the aliens off to the fact that we were onto them in a big way. And I can’t tell Miriam because she would insist on Hervé being thrown out of the building and into the brig without delay.”
“Pretty much.”
He sighed. “Understood. I’ll handle everything and not involve her.”
She leapt around the desk to embrace him. “Thank you.”
Devon held up his hands in a defensive position. “I’m not a hugger. But thanks, man.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He pointed toward the door. “Don’t you two have aliens to fight? Now get out of here. And good luck.”
After the door closed behind them, Richard sank deeper into his chair and rested his chin on his fists. His stomach churned, driven by the instinctive revulsion triggered in his conscience.
He’d always considered himself a moral man. He hadn’t always lived up to his own standard, but he’d like to think he’d always tried. And when he’d failed, he’d strove to do better. Surely choosing to help save the lives of billions of innocents, though it meant getting a little blood on his hands, was the moral choice?
An already messy operation had now become nasty and brutal—but it had also become all the more crucial. People were going to die and they were going to do so on his order. It was the only way.
Someone should have told him—Miriam should have told him—how heavy the burden of acting for the greater good could be.
In a rare occurrence this last week, Miriam was in her office rather than the War Room. Richard was glad for it as it meant he wouldn’t need to request privacy yet again, but he confessed to being surprised.
Then he saw her face and it dawned on him why. He leaned casually against the wall. “Alex has left for Seneca?”
She stared at her desk in silence for another beat, then looked up and gave him a bleak smile. “On one of the new scout ships, so she should arrive in time.”
“Admiral Rychen will take good care of her, I’m sure.”
“Admiral Rychen’s job is to get himself killed if it is necessary to achieve victory. I do believe he’ll at least make certain he dies before her, however.” She glared at the air in annoyance. “I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculously maudlin, which won’t do at all seeing as I have a war to win. What do you need?”
“I need a blank authorization form signed by you.” At her frown of surprise he cringed. “Actually, I need three blank authorization forms signed by you.”
“You realize I’m ethically obligated to ask why.”
Because there are three people on this list whom I don’t have the authority to order the detention or elimination of, and you do. “And I’m ethically obligated to withhold the information on the grounds of state security.”
“Richard, there’s nothing you can’t tell me. Also, there’s nothing you’re legally—or ethically—prohibited from telling me.”
“I know…but I can’t tell you this. Not yet. Just trust that it will help us win the war.”
Her admiral-quality stare bore into him for several seconds, but he persevered.
Finally she jerked a terse nod. “All right. If it were anyone else asking I’d—well, you know what I’d do.” She entered a series of commands in the control panel on her desk. “I’m sending them to you now. I trust you’ll use them well.”
SENECA
CAVARE, INTELLIGENCE DIVISION HEADQUARTERS
Two Days Earlier
“Oh, you have got to be bloody kidding me. I thought we were nearing an end with this shit?”
Richard scowled in his holo, and Graham would daresay he did not look entirely pleased himself. “I am not and we are not. So what do you think?”
Graham ran his hand through hair that hadn’t been combed since sometime yesterday, which was now effectively two days ago, and grimaced at Will across his desk. When the man had walked into his office a few minutes earlier and said he had something which would result in yet more lack of sleep, he’d braced himself for almost anything—but not this.
“I don’t actually possess the authority to order the military arrests but I’ll manage it somehow. The civilians…that’s what they make black ops for, isn’t it? A number of these names aren’t on Federation or Alliance soil, though. Do you have a way to get at them in time?”
“No. But you know who does.”
He nodded, relieved Richard had come to the same unpleasant conclusion on his own. “I do. You realize of course ‘detainment’ will not be the outcome for any name we give her.”
Richard dragged a fist over his mouth to rest at his jaw. “Everything is on the line. God can judge us for our actions when the time comes. If humanity survives, our superiors and perhaps even the public can judge us, too.”
Graham appreciated the more honorable of his friends were willing to submit themselves to their particular god’s judgment, but he personally intended to keep his sins to himself. “They won’t find out about it from me. I’ll take my secrets to the grave, hopefully sometime next century.”
Will was ignoring him to fixate on the holo. Understandable. “If it helps at all, Richard, I believe this is the right thing to do. Whatever their motivations, these peo
ple will aid and abet the destruction of civilization if you—if we—don’t stop them.”
Richard gave Will a weak but genuine smile, and Graham was relieved he didn’t have the weight of yet another broken family on his conscience.
“It does. Thank you. Okay, enough wallowing, because we have no time. Shall we prepare a message to Ms. Montegreu?”
NEW BABEL
INDEPENDENT COLONY
Forty Hours Earlier
The smooth, dulcet tones of the news broadcaster wafted in through the open door to the bath.
“We want to bring you breaking news. We have just learned the Earth Alliance leadership has agreed to send its mammoth Sol Fleet to Seneca to fight alongside Federation forces in their defense against an expected attack by an armada of Metigen ships.
“Spokespersons for both the Alliance and the Federation are refusing to confirm the report, but if true it represents an unprecedented and historic act of goodwill and cooperation between governments which were at war only weeks ago. It also raises concerns about the wisdom of leaving Earth all but defenseless in a time of war.”
“Who could have envisioned I would help to bring such accord and harmony to a divided galaxy? I submit my reputation needs to be adjusted to reflect my status as a peacemaker.”
Aiden’s toes ran up Olivia’s calf beneath the bubbly water as the flute of champagne hovered at his lips. “I’ll put out a memo. In the meantime, I was wondering…do you think I should offer amnesty to the remaining Shào members if they join my organization? Can’t say if I’ll follow it, but I’d like your advice.”
The answer to the question of how Aiden was able to take out Shào’s headquarters turned out to be that he had a woman inside the cartel. She had infiltrated the leadership more than two years earlier in response to Shào’s increasing challenges of Triene. Within hours of being contacted she’d placed and activated explosive charges throughout the base of operations. Now deceased occupants included not merely Eun Shào himself, but his chief deputy, four lieutenants, three lesser underlings and at least thirty front-line employees.
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