Orchid

'Not most of them, Mrs. Culverthorpe. Only some. Just as some psychometric-talents and some hypno- talents and,' Orchid paused to give her words added weight, 'some tech-talents do.'

Briana whirled around. 'Damn you, my husband is not a criminal.'

'He's trying to destroy a family business that supports not only the members of his own clan, but a couple of thousand employees. Some people might see that as a criminal enterprise.'

Briana's face tightened. 'That's not true.'

'Forgive me, Mrs. Culverthorpe, but I have to trust someone's version of events. I've decided to trust Rafe's.'

'Then you're a fool.'

'There is no doubt in my mind that Rafe is going to take control of Stonebraker because he genuinely believes that the firm is in danger of being destroyed by your husband.'

Briana gave her an incredulous look. 'Why would my husband destroy Stonebraker?'

'I gather the motive is revenge. Something to do with what happened to his father.'

'Rafe fed you that old tale?' Briana gave a short, harsh, crack of laughter. 'It's utter nonsense. An old family legend that has circulated for years. No one, least of all my husband, actually believes that Alfred G. murdered Perry Culverthorpe.'

'Are you certain of that?'

'Of course, I'm certain.' Briana turned very quickly back to the window. 'Selby would never destroy Stonebraker. He's devoted to the family firm. And to our children. He would never do anything that would hurt their future.'

Orchid watched Briana open and close her hand around the strap of her purse. 'I have a hunch that your husband has planned the future of his own, immediate family very carefully, Mrs. Culverthorpe. When he tried to buy me off the other day, he made it clear that he expects to be very, very rich soon.'

'Naturally, after he takes control of Stonebraker—'

'Stop it,' Orchid said. 'You're his wife. You know what he intends to do, Mrs. Culverthorpe. Who are you trying to fool? Me or yourself?'

Briana stared fixedly out the window. She looked so stiff and brittle that Orchid feared she might shatter.

'He won't destroy Stonebraker,' she whispered. 'He won't do it. He can't. When he gets control he'll realize—'

'I don't know what happened in the past.' Orchid got to her feet. 'As far as I can tell only two people know the truth, Rafe's grandfather and your husband's father.

One is dead and I suspect that the other will go to his grave sticking by his version of events.'

'Just a family legend,' Briana whispered.

'Which your husband believes.'

'No.'

'Yes.' Orchid hesitated. 'Briana, Selby was right about one thing. I'm a trained, full-spectrum prism. I've had a lot of experience with various kinds of talent. I know something about the para-profiles of people like your husband.'

'I don't need your so-called expert opinion on Selby's para-profile.'

'Too bad. You've given me a lot of unasked for advice this afternoon. I'm going to dispense a little of my own.'

'I don't want to hear it.'

'Tough. Pay attention here. Your husband is a tech-talent. That means he's good at engineering things, including revenge. But it also means he can be obsessive about his goals. He's been plotting revenge for so long, he's forgotten there's any other purpose in life. We need to find a way to remind him.'

'We?'

'Well, you, for the most part,' Orchid admitted. 'After all, you're the one who's married to him. Maybe you should try to get him to a syn-psych therapist.'

'Are you serious?'

'Look, we've got good material to work with here.' Orchid clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace. 'You just told me that you and Selby were agency matched. That means that fundamentally the two of you form a good team.'

'My marriage is none of your affair,' Briana said fiercely.

'Selby's gone a little off course because of his fixation with revenge. But if you can break through that fixation, you've got a chance to change everything.'

'How dare you try to interfere in my life?'

Orchid met her eyes. 'You have the nerve to ask me that after what you just did?'

'I've done nothing to you.'

Quite suddenly, Orchid had had enough. 'Who do you think you are? You treat me as if I were a fool. First, you and Selby try to buy me off. Then you give me lectures on how I shouldn't expect Rafe to marry me. You tell me I couldn't possibly become a good little Stonebraker because I don't have the right social connections.'

'I'm only trying to warn you that you're involved in a situation you can't possibly comprehend.'

'You don't think I comprehend what is going on here?' Orchid stopped pacing. She drew herself up and looked straight at Briana. 'I was raised in the tenets of meta-zen-syn. Perhaps you are not fully aware of just what that means.'

For the first time Briana looked uncertain. 'I only meant—'

'I was trained from the cradle to analyze the synergistic forces at work in any situation. I comprehend things in ways that you can only guess, Briana. The ability to comprehend on the abstract level was bred into my very bones.'

'I realize you had a very good education,' Briana said weakly. 'Especially in philosophy.'

'A good education? When I graduated from high school I had an awareness of the confluence between the physical and the metaphysical planes that exceeded that of the average graduate student in synergistic theory.'

'I only meant—' Briana broke off. She fell back when Orchid took a step toward her.

'When I reached the university level, my ability to comprehend the philosophical principles of synergism was superior to that of the average professor of synergistic theory. Do not presume to tell me that I am not capable of comprehending something as simple as the situation between Rafe and Selby.'

'You call it simple?'

'We're talking about two men who have distrusted each other since childhood because one of them is hell bent on revenge and the other one knows it. Nothing could be more simple.'

Briana took another step back. She began to look desperate. 'It's not that straightforward.'

'Of course it is. The most powerful truths are always simple and straightforward. Have you forgotten the basic synergy lessons you learned in kindergarten?'

'This isn't about synergy.'

'Oh, but it is, Briana. So far as Stonebraker Shipping is concerned, it can take two possible forms. Survival or destruction. You have power in this situation. Use it to help save the company and your husband.'

Briana held up a hand as if to ward off an ill omen. 'My God. Are you saying that Rafe will . . . will try to physically hurt Selby?'

'No. I'm saying that Selby will hurt himself and his family if he continues on his present course. Revenge never brings balance or harmony of a positive kind. It begets a downward spiral that ultimately results in destruction. Is that what you want for your family, Briana?'

'I won't listen to this. I don't have to listen to this.'

Eyes bright with anger and anguish, Briana took a series of jerky steps toward the door. When she reached it she yanked it open.

'Briana.'

At the sound of Orchid's voice, Briana halted on the threshold. She half-turned with the air of a woman bracing herself for a blow. 'I've heard enough.'

'Think about the future of your family, Briana. Think about what you can do to alter the synergistic forces so