Trickster

diagnostics to make you think they have something more serious and sell them away cheap.' He grimaced. 'Harenn injected me with gelpox to test the viability of the virus. In a couple days, I won't be feeling very good.'

'Gelpox is a child's disease, Mr. Todd-a mere inconvenience. You shouldn't worry yourself.'

'Yes, sir.'

'If they want to tamper with the diagnostic equipment, they'll have to break into the research and medical labs.'

'Yes, sir. If you put extra security in the medical bay, you'll probably get a whole lot more Silent for the Collection.'

'You may count on that, Mr. Todd.'

'And then you'll come and get me, sir?'

'I won't need to, Mr. Todd. I've already spoken with Rafille Mallory. She was able to give me a computer virus that will override your shackles and another one that will open your door. I am uploading them into your communicator now. You land on your feet more easily than a cat, Mr. Todd, and I am eager to see you do it again. If you can find your way back to the Collection in time to see everything through, I will reward your resourcefulness. If you can't, you will want to practice your vanishing skills.'

'A test, sir?'

'An assignment. Good luck, Mr. Todd.'

Martina forced herself not to pace. This was it. She was getting out now. Tonight. Or today, or whatever the hell it was. Pacing, however, might attract the attention of the cameras, and that she didn't want. Yet. First, she needed to run a bath.

In the bathroom, Martina ran hot water into the tub. Moist steam billowed up. Bathing was one luxury the Deltas, with their emphasis on physical purity, did not restrict. Martina was, however, at the beginning of a sleep cycle, and she knew from experience that if she didn't go to bed soon, Delta Maura would come to check on her.

Martina glanced around the tiled room. Several moments' thought and a bit of experimentation had proven to Martina's satisfaction that the bathroom had two cameras in it. One of them observed the shower. Martina had figured this out with a bit of logic. The shower stall had an opaque door on it, but during Confessional, the Deltas always knew what any given Alpha did in the shower. That meant there had to be a camera that spied on just the shower stall from either inside or above.

The bathroom itself was tiled in green squares, and the layout was such that only one place granted a clear view of the entire room-the mirror over the sink. Martina was willing to bet that a second camera lay behind the mirror. Granted, spy devices could be tiny, but mounting-and hiding-such devices on tile was harder than installing them behind a mirror, and why take the hard route when the easy one would work just as well? Further proof of her idea lay in the fact that no matter how steamy the room got, the mirror always stayed clear.

Unfortunately, Martina had no way to test this particular theory until she actually put her plan into motion. Her heart climbed into her throat as she casually undressed down to her underwear and then, as if bored while waiting for the tub to fill, she picked up a bar of soap from the sink and toyed with it. Whimsically, she drew a smiley face on the mirror and made faces at herself. Then, with a light laugh, she scribbled over the mirror with soap until the whole thing was completely blocked out. Just playing around. No harm here. She set the soap down, crossed to the half-full tub, and opened the drain without turning off the water. With a hard swallow, she picked up a can of depilatory cream, propped one foot on the side of the tub, and spread some of it on her leg.

Then she waited.

Her mouth was dry and her hands shook. If this didn't work, if she got caught, she had no idea what would happen to her. Martina doubted it would be pleasant. They wouldn't kill her-she was too valuable for that-but a lot of brainwashing methods were less… genial than those which the Deltas currently used. There was also the very real possibility that even if she got out, she would find herself with nowhere to run. As Keith had pointed out, this could be an asteroid or a station or an installation in the middle of a desert. And what about her shackles? They might shock her into insensibility the moment she crossed the threshold. Still, she had to try, had to find out.

A sound reached her ears over the noise of running water. The main door to her quarters had opened.

'Hello?' came Delta Maura's voice. 'Alpha?'

'I'm in here,' Martina called through dry lips.

Delta Maura entered the bathroom, her green robe and wimple rustling in the thick steam. Her face was serene, as usual, but her eyes went straight to the mirror. Martina suppressed a grim smile. Her theory had proven correct. Delta Maura had been sent in to unblock the camera. If there had been another camera in the room, or if Martina had been wrong about the mirror, the spies, whoever they were, would have simply continued watching.

'Is there a problem, Delta Maura?' Martina asked. The running water was loud, and she had to raise her voice.

'What did you do to your mirror, dear?' Delta Maura said.

Martina laughed. 'Just playing around. Didn't you ever draw on the mirror with soap when you were a kid?'

'No.'

'It's a pretty design, I think. Look, you can still see the bird.'

Delta Maura turned to examine the glass. 'Bird? I'm afraid I don't-'

Martina clocked her with the can. Delta Maura collapsed. Martina caught her and lowered her to the floor. Quickly she undressed the woman and shrugged into the voluminous robe and wimple.

Under the robe Delta Maura wore a belt with a small computer box on it. Martina gasped in recognition-a master unit. Master units controlled slave shackles. With trembling fingers, Martina found the tiny key and pulled it away from the unit. A lead wire stretched with it. Martina touched the key to her wristband. It fell open and dropped to the floor. Quickly, Martina touched the key to her ankleband and released that as well. She stared down at the naked skin left behind. The wristbands had been part of her life for over fifteen years, and now they were gone.

Martina shook herself. This wasn't the time for rumination. It was time to leave. At the last minute, Martina remembered to grab the gloves-and she found Delta Maura's keycard. Martina rolled her eyes. She didn't need the one she had found at all. On the other hand, it had given her the idea to escape in the first place. Finally, Martina took Delta Maura's earpiece and slipped it on.

'You can't leave the mirror like that, you know,' Martina said as she worked, imitating Delta Maura's voice and praying that the running water would keep a listener from noticing the difference. 'We'll have to clean it off.'

'I'm almost done over here,' she answered in her own voice. 'Can you help me?'

Delta Maura's voice: 'Well, all right. But let's move it along.'

Gritting her teeth to keep herself from grunting, Martina heaved Delta Maura's limp body into the tub. The strain pulled at her back and arms, and she was sweating in the thick, steamy air. Eventually, Delta Maura slid home, with only the top of her head showing above the tub's rim. There was no danger she would drown, since the water was running down the drain as fast as it came in. Martina dropped a towel over her shackles lying open on the floor, then snatched up a washcloth and wiped the soap off the mirror, starting at the top and working downward. She kept her head lowered, pretending to keep her eyes on her work but actually using the wimple to hide her face from the camera. Then she turned back to the tub.

'That's enough water, dear,' she said above the noise. 'When you finish, go straight to bed.'

She reached down, shut off the water, and strode quickly from the room.

'So that's the entire plan,' Gretchen said. 'Glad you saw fit to enlighten us five whole minutes before we get to work.'

'This isn't a good time to argue,' Lucia said. 'We have our jobs to do, and we need to do them so we can get those people out.'

Kendi drummed his fingers on his knees beneath the galley table. Lucia had made her usual delicious spread of snacks, but he didn't feel like eating of it. Neither, he noticed, did any of the others.

'Just a minute,' Ben said. 'Kendi, you're planning to break into the research area alone?'

'The fewer to go in,' Kendi told him, 'the fewer to get caught.'

'And killed.'