"Oh. Hey there."
Alice turned. A woman was approaching the bench, apparently having just stepped out of the bushes. She was wearing jeans and a blouse, and a mass of dark hair framed her face like a fuzzy cloud. Instinctively, Alice glanced at her shoes, but the woman was wearing high heels. Clearly not a runner. "Morning," she said bluntly.
"Lovely day, isn't it?"
It was, until you showed up, thought Alice. She wasn't big on people at the best of times, and especially not while trying to clear the sleep from her brain. Eager to leave, she got up to resume her run.
"Just a minute," said the woman. "I want to ask you something."
Alice glanced at her. There was nobody else around, but Alice wasn't bothered about that. Growing up in children's homes, she'd often had to face off against much older kids, and she'd learned to fight dirty. Even so, she felt a sudden tension. The woman had been lurking in the bushes right along Alice's regular run, and if someone were setting up an ambush it would be the perfect spot. "What is it?"
"I don't suppose you've seen my dog, have you? About so big, sort of yellowish?"
Alice relaxed. "Sorry, I haven't seen a thing."
"Damn. I only arrived yesterday, and as soon as we hit the park he ran off. Haven't seen so much as a whisker ever since."
Despite her eagerness to continue her run, Alice's Peace Force instincts kicked in. "Maybe he's trying to get home, wherever that is."
The woman laughed. "I doubt it. We landed at the spaceport, and he hates the noise."
"You flew in?"
"Yes. I'm Teresa, by the way."
"Alice. So where did you come from?"
"Everywhere. My parents run a small freighter. We only landed on Dismolle to visit family."
"You're a spacer?" Alice eyed the woman. "What are you doing with a pet dog? They hate being in space."
Teresa hesitated, then sighed. "Okay, okay, you got me," she said, taking a seat on the wooden bench. "Sit with me a minute?"
"Why?"
"I just want to talk to you."
With a jolt, Alice realised the woman was a plant, probably working with Smith. She wanted to turn and run, but this might be her only chance to find out what they wanted from her. Keeping her eyes peeled, in case anyone else was lurking in the bushes, she stood and faced Teresa with her hands on her hips. "Talk about what?" she demanded.
"You have family out there," said the woman. "We can help you."
Alice felt a flash of red-hot anger. All those years she'd suffered, and here in front of her was one of the people who'd let her down so badly. Furious, she let fly. "Where was my so-called family when my uncle was shot right in front of me?" she shouted.
"But—"
"I was only eight years old, and you packed me off to a home! I didn't hear anything from my precious family then, did I? All those nights crying myself to sleep, all the times I got my head kicked in by vicious bullies." Alice took a deep, shuddering breath. "Listen, and listen real good. The Peace Force is my home now. Harriet Walsh, she's the only family I have. All the rest of you, you can stay the hell out of my life." Alice turned and ran, her vision blurred with tears of rage.
"Rebecca, wait!"
"Don't ever call me that!" Alice shouted over her shoulder, and she put her head down and ran as hard as she could. She tore the rest of the way round the lake, left the park and raced back to the apartment without stopping for breath.
When she got there, the tears were gone but the white-hot anger remained. She almost hoped Smith would step out of the shadows, so she could work off her rage on him, but she made it to the apartment without so much as a shadow out of place.
She paused at the door, wiping her face with her sleeve. Never show weakness, that was one of her iron-clad rules. And so, when Harriet opened the door and gave her an angry lecture on going out alone, Alice just apologised and then went to take a shower.
— ♦ —
Bernie was waiting when they arrived at the office. "Trainee Alice, you will continue working on your essay."
"Yes Bernie," said Alice meekly.
Harriet was surprised Bernie hadn't mentioned Alice's adventure of the previous day, but she was sure it would come up later. Robots never forgot … unless you wiped them, of course.
"Did anyone come in overnight?" asked Harriet, after Alice had gone to find a computer.
"Nobody has been here. There have been no calls."
Bernie sounded wistful, and Harriet wondered what a member of the public would think if they did meet the huge robot face-to-face. Even worse, if Bernie tried to shake their hand they'd probably end up in hospital. "Nobody, eh? That makes a change."
"On the contrary, it's the same every night."
Robots didn't get sarcasm, either. "Do you mind if I make a couple of calls? I want to upgrade the security at my flat. Someone got in yesterday, and we had to jam a table against the door last night."
"That is distressing. Did you catch the perpetrator?"
"He'd already left."
"He? Do you know this person?"
Harriet paused, then decided to tell Bernie about Smith. She explained how he'd come into the station looking for Alice, and how he'd got hold of her address.
"Why was he looking for Trainee Alice?"
"He says he's her uncle. But you should have seen him, Bernie. He looked like a bounty hunter or something."
"Did he not recognise you?"
"Me?"
"Certainly. Since you and Alice are sisters, he would be your uncle too."
Harriet frowned. Some time ago she'd asked Bernie to alter the official records, showing Alice to be her sister, and at the time she told the robot they were correcting a mistake in the paperwork. Bernie didn't know
