out, we’d have shifted you somewhere you could have been more useful.”
“So you already knew everything Linehan did.”
“And more besides. We knew the Rain wouldn’t let Linehan get access to anything of real consequence. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be useful as bait.”
“Which worked a little too well.”
“Which worked like a charm. First SpaceCom tried to get you in the tunnels. Then the Jaguars themselves bit. Though I’m not sure I’d take at face value their claim that they wanted to cash in on Linehan for propaganda value. Anyone can broadcast anything and claim it’s for real. I suspect they were hoping to take his mind apart to see if they could learn more about Autumn Rain. That’s how their interrogations work. They dose the subjects, make them think they’ve died, get all their secrets in an apparent afterlife before killing them for real. The Jaguars may have accepted those missiles from the Rain. But they were desperate to avoid becoming their puppets.”
“So they became roadkill instead.”
“They sought victory or death. We gave them the latter. We didn’t know exactly where in those mountains they were. But the location of your abduction gave us enough to go on. Especially when the Throne unleashed its heaviest gear. Better call the Andes a desert now, Spencer. The Jaguars are one less problem. Unlike the Rain. Who remain very much a factor.”
“How do we know that?”
“We destroyed a base on both Earth and Moon and took out two hit teams. But it’s exactly the same as it was when we got in there in the aftermath of Elevator. Everything’s been cauterized. Their whole strategy seems to be aimed at surviving even the most absolute of reverses. We have reason to believe they’re regrouping. And that their leadership remains at large.”
“So where am I going next?”
“We haven’t put you into orbit for the scenery.”
“Yeah? Then tell me why I’m up here.”
Because you’re not going back.”
The Operative looks at the man who sits upon that screen. It’s a face he’s never seen before. It’s a face he knows too well.
It’s his handler.
“Not going back to what?”
“That,” says the handler, gesturing at the window behind the Operative in which the Moon floats. “We’ve no need for you there anymore.”
“No need? We’re still combing through all of Nansen’s wreckage. Not to mention figuring out if Matthias was reporting to anyone else within SpaceCom.”
“It’s true,” says the man. “Questions remain. As it happens, we brought you up here to discuss some of them.”
“Lay it on me.”
“They involve you.”
“Really?”
“You know I never joke.”
“Has somebody been questioning my loyalty?” asks the Operative. “Is that what this is all about?”
“No one’s questioning your loyalty, Carson. What’s at issue among my colleagues is your judgment.”
“Go on.”
“There’s a point of view afoot that says it was madness to get Sarmax involved. That it was folly to pursue the south-pole connection. And that it was downright crazy to push Lynx so close to his breaking point. There’s a point of view that wonders just what kind of three-ring circus you were running.”
“I’ll tell you what kind of three-ring circus I was running,” says the Operative. “One that blew the Rain’s game on the Moon sky-high and did it way ahead of anybody else.”
“A fact I’ve pointed out more than once.”
“It’s nice to know you’re still on my side.”
“When I’m not, you’ll be the first to know. Was there anything to suggest that Sarmax’s romantic liaison with a member of the Rain compromised him?”
“There was nothing. He’s loyal. And finished with his decade-long sulk. We needed him back. He needed a reason to get involved again. Which this most definitely was.”
“And Lynx?”
“What about him?”
“He isn’t too happy with the way you handled things either.”
“You mean running Sarmax behind his back?”
“He’s not thrilled about that at all. But what’s got him really worked up is the broader structure of the mission.”
“He figured that out?”
“I’m afraid he did.”
“When?”
“Somewhere between when the shooting stopped and the debriefing. There were just too many loose ends for him not to guess. Like I just said, Carson: this was one of the most complex runs I’ve ever seen. And Lynx is as furious as I’ve ever seen him.”
“I can’t say I blame him,” says the Operative. “What razor wants to learn that his mech is actually running him? That his mech isn’t just a mech but is also a razor? Shit, that’d wreck
“He’ll get over it. But in the meantime he’s being kept away from you.”
“Permission to speak frankly?”
“Are you ever anything but?”
“You guys are blowing things out of proportion. We’ve had the mech-as-razor variation going for a while now. We’ve had it playing merry hell with anybody who thinks they know which end of a Praetorian pairing to attack first.”
“That’s not what everybody’s taken issue with.”
“Then what’s their problem?”
“The reversal pairing is primarily a defensive posture. But you turned the formula on its head. By using it to run Sarmax you almost let things get completely out of hand. You were flirting with disaster the whole way through.”
“But it worked.”
“It worked. Indeed. And for that reason I give it my assent.”
“Nothing succeeds like success?”
“Not around here it doesn’t. At the end of the day, they’re not going to be able to argue with results. But they’re going to want to keep a close eye on you from now on.”
“That sounds like micromanagement.”
“Call it what you want. Though I’m sure we won’t keep you on such a short leash as to make you useless.”
“And what about Lynx and Sarmax?”
“I think I can persuade everyone that there’s no sense in breaking up a winning team.”
“So the three of us will still be working together.”
“Absolutely. The Rain’s still out there. We need you to take the fight to them.”
“Where?”
“We’ve got something in mind in the Earth orbits.”
“
“I mean both. The situation remains on knife-edge. Tonight you showed the ultimate resilience. But the Throne showed the ultimate restraint. It’s imperative you understand that, Carson. The president will not falter from his determination to reach accommodation with the East. He will not turn this cold war hot. He will destroy
