Next time dangle a scorpion over his eyes or something.'
He nodded, watching her. 'What do you mean by 'pretty much,' ' he asked.
'He got drunk,' his mother told him. 'Some men forget to be afraid when they're drunk. Fortunately he lost his balance and fell into me in a way that really didn't look good,' she said, closing her eyes. 'So anything he said was suspect. In fact, Dieter didn't believe him at all.'
John blew out his breath. 'Lucky break,' he commented.
Sarah nodded absently. 'Lucky Victor isn't steady on his feet when he's drunk.'
After a moment John asked, 'So what happens now?'
Sarah tipped her head and tugged down the corners of her mouth, staring at nothing. 'Now I guess we wait and see. I'd say we're safe for the moment.' Then she looked at him. 'But we should be prepared for anything.'
John nodded. He watched her for a moment. 'So are you gonna keep seeing him?'
Sarah's lips jerked into a smile. 'I dunno.' She yawned and sat up. Leaning forward she rested her forearms on her thighs, her hands dangling over her knees. 'Things got very awkward after the Victor incident.' Sarah smiled warmly, her eyes looking back to the evening behind her. 'In a lot of ways Dieter is kind of old-fashioned. I think he felt he'd let me down.'
John studied her. This was different somehow. He had no sense that she was weighing von Rossbach's usefulness, his ability to teach him necessary skills.
Though he sensed that Dieter could teach him quite a lot.
It had been a while since his mother had been with anybody. Which was a relief given some of the bozos she'd taken up with. But there hadn't been anybody since he'd rescued her from Pescadero. Six years was a long time.
'You like him, don't you?' he asked.
Her eyes snapped back to him and her lips tightened.
'Maybe. Bad idea, huh?' she said. 'He could be dangerous for us.'
John pursed his lips. 'Yeah, well, you know what they say, Mom.'
She tipped her head inquiringly.
'So far life is one hundred percent fatal. All the rest is just details.'
Darling! Have you forgotten that we have a luncheon date with Senator Gallagher?' Mary Warren asked.
She walked into the conference room with a click of heels, as though they were alone in her husband's office. Tricker half rose from his seat, then settled back,
giving Warren a scathing look.
Serena had shut the case containing the Terminator's arm as soon as the door opened. She and Tricker exchanged glances and he relaxed marginally.
Colvin wore a serious but noncommittal expression, doubtless designed to disguise his real feelings. The president himself was looking as though he'd just swallowed the arm, case and all, and it was trying to escape.
'I had forgotten,' he managed to get out after a stunned moment.
'Then it's a good thing I left time in my schedule to come and remind you.' She smiled, a strictly pro forma gesture, her eyes sweeping around the table and coming to rest on Serena. 'I don't know you,' she said, her voice warm, her eyes cold.
Serena stood and offered her hand across the table, her own smile strictly professional.
'Serena Burns,' she said. 'The new head of security.'
Mrs. Warren reached across, barely touching Serena's hand before withdrawing her own. 'Are you the one who called us the other night?' she asked.
'I'm afraid I am,' Serena said. 'I—'
'You mustn't do that,' Mary Warren said coldly. 'Paul doesn't allow it.'
'So he told me,' Serena said calmly, taking her seat again.
The president's wife looked at her for a long moment, then turning to her husband, she pinched his tie and said, 'I'm glad I brought you another one, darling; this just won't do.' Stepping back, she said, 'Come along or we'll be late, and one doesn't keep a senator waiting.' She gave the table a general, gracious-lady smile, ending with her gaze fixed on Serena, and walked to the door.
'I'm sorry,' Warren said, rising. 'But I really do have to go.' He got up and moved to join his wife.
'I'll fill you in later,' Colvin said, 'if anything comes up.'
With a nod and a pinched smile Warren followed his wife out of the door. In the conference room, silence reigned for a long moment.
'Well, that was nasty,' Tricker observed.
'Mary has her moments,' Colvin said ruefully. 'This has been one of them.'
'So why are they still married?' the government liaison asked. 'Does she hold the purse strings, or what?'
Colvin didn't answer, but sat staring at the table top. 'That's kind of personal,' he finally said. 'Why don't we go on with the meeting?'
Tricker looked at him with
Eventually Colvin let out an exaggerated sigh.
'Mary has most of the money. But the company has done well, so Paul is hardly a pauper. Mary's political contacts, however, have often been invaluable to the company. She's kind of an undeclared member of the team.'
'She's kind of a castrating bitch is what she is,' Tricker snarled. 'I look at that situation and I see potential trouble. This company can't afford any more trouble.' His eyes and manner demanded a response.
'I'm aware of that,' Colvin said coldly. 'But they've been married for fifteen years and the bumps in their relationship have never, in any way, affected Cyberdyne. I see no reason why they suddenly should.'
Tricker pointed at Serena, his gaze still on the CEO.
'Did you see the look she gave Ms. Burns?' he asked. 'After all the time it took you two to
'Hello?' Colvin said, leaning forward. 'None of that has happened, nothing like that has even been mentioned. This is all some fantasy you've dreamed up on the spur of the moment based on your instantaneous dislike of Paul's wife. Mary Warren wouldn't do anything to hurt this company. She helped to build it and it's important to her. So don't take that tone of voice with me. I don't deserve it and I don't appreciate it.'
This time Colvin did the glaring and after a moment Tricker backed off.
Serena waited a beat before saying, 'I'm sorry I didn't have that door locked. If you had informed me that we would be handling secured data, I would have. In the future, Mr. Tricker, if you're going to drop a bombshell like this it might be best to make arrangements beforehand.'
The government liaison stared at her for a moment, blue eyes unreadable. 'Just Tricker,' he said at last. Then he rose. 'You'll need to get that to your development teams.' He paused. 'Good luck with your new assistant, Ms.
Burns.'
'Thank you,' she said graciously. 'I'm sure everything will be fine. Uh, before you go…' She said, stopping him at the door. 'We need to re-program this case.' She indicated the locked container before her.
It was an indication of how upset he was that he'd forgotten such a detail.
