‘Right on top? I mean, body to body, feet to feet, head to head?’ she said.
‘Um, yes, something like that, I mean, just about…’
‘Oh, crap,’ Su muttered to herself. Then: ‘OK,’ she said quietly. ‘You can go.’
‘The equipment…’ Daiho said.
‘No one’s going to steal it.’
‘You’re quite right,’ Daiho said. ‘That is very valuable property of the Holmberg-Chabani-Scott combine and absolutely no one is going to wander off with it.’
‘And I’m impounding it pending investigation into this entire affair,’ Su said.
To her surprise, Daiho shrugged. ‘It can wait a little longer, I suppose. It’ll be just as safe in your hands.’
‘Just get out of my sight,’ Su said.
Probability masking — it had to be. Of course, Rico and the correspondent wouldn’t have stayed that close forever, but the bygoners would have learned their lesson from the last time they had Rico in their power: get him into a helicopter and just fly, fly anywhere away from the hotel at max.
Wearily, she uploaded an addendum to her report to say there was a Field Op lost upstream. So now it would be a job for the Specifics, Rico’s old comrades.
‘You’ve done it this time, Garron,’ she muttered.
So, where to now?
Facing Marje Orendal was something she had no particular desire to do, but it was something that had to be done. Toning up with a shower and massage would give her the energy, she reasoned, so she headed for the Rec room.
She had taken three steps away from the chamber when a confinement field came down around her, seizing her and forcing her to stand still. She tried to move but it was like being cased in soft concrete.
‘
Jontan and Sarai walked behind Daiho, hand in hand. Jontan peeked over at her and got a radiant smile in return.
‘We’re back,’ she whispered. ‘We’re safe.’
‘I never want to leave the Home Time again,’ Jontan agreed.
‘No reason why you should, Mr Baiget,’ said Daiho, and they dropped each other’s hands quickly as he turned to face them. But he, too, seemed in a pretty good mood. He almost smiled at them. ‘I’ve got catching up to do here,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry about your employer. I suggest you get back to the consulate, have something to eat and wait for further instructions.’
‘Mr Scott was going to fine us when we got back,’ Jontan murmured when they were a safe distance away.
‘Sssh!’
But before they could reach the consulate, a soft wall seemed to close around them and they couldn’t walk any further.
‘I can’t move!’ Sarai said, her voice rising in panic.
‘Nor can I…’ Jontan said, and the darkness came.
Li Daiho stood in what had been his office, facing the eidolon of Ekat Hoon.
‘A Field Op named Garron?’ Hoon said.
‘That’s right. But, Ekat, he did everything he could…’
Hoon shrugged. ‘I doubt the combine will see it that way,’ she said. ‘They won’t be happy to lose a family member.
‘I understand he’s lost upstream as well as Hossein,’ Daiho said.
‘So the Specifics can get them out,’ Hoon said casually. ‘But if I were this Garron, I’d stay there. He’s made powerful enemies. So, Li, how did the mission go?’
Daiho blinked. The woman had lost a friend, and her husband was lost upstream, and she could have been talking about the weather. ‘We accomplished what was planned,’ he said.
‘Apart from losing Phenuel.’
‘History will call him a martyr,’ Daiho said, pulling an ironic face, ‘which just goes to show that being a martyr isn’t necessarily a big deal.’
‘Can you keep the Ops quiet?’ Hoon said.
‘No, of course I can’t keep them quiet. Garron didn’t strike me as the kind of man to do as he’s told. But even if he gets back, he’ll find it’s no good. It’ll be like shouting into a space so wide open you don’t even get an echo. Nothing will come of it.’ He dismissed the matter with a gesture. ‘And now, I really should let the others know I’m back.’ He tapped his head. ‘Got some goods to deliver.’
‘It’s all there?’
‘It’s all been there for a couple of days now. I was doing some final test runs when everything went pear- shaped, but I’ve got enough.’
‘Li!’
Marje Orendal stood in the doorway, and looked as if she had seen a ghost.
‘Ah, Marje. Hello.’ Daiho looked embarrassed. ‘Our reunion, um, wasn’t meant to be like this, but now it is… well, hello.’
Marje took one step towards him, wonderment on her face, and suddenly froze…
After a period of she didn’t know how long, Marje made out spots of light in the darkness. It was as if she stood in a darkened room with a handful of other people, each illuminated by a dim spotlight that showed their bodies and nothing more — a fully lit upper half, a lower half fading away into the surrounding darkness.
On her right, Daiho; opposite her, Su Zo; on her left, two young people she didn’t know. All parties were looking around with equal confusion; all presumably were like her, pinned down somewhere in the College by a containment field and represented here in symb only.
Daiho seemed to recover first.
‘Well, that was quick,’ he remarked.
A calm, strong voice spoke to all of them out of the dark. ‘Testimony has been received from Field Operative Su Zo that has led to the convening of this emergency hearing to investigate possible malfeasance.’
‘And you are?’
‘We are the World Executive.’
‘And this wrongdoing is?’ Daiho said.
‘Endangering the security and stability of the timestreams, in violation of the first article of Morbern’s Code,’ said the calm voice.
‘What!’ Daiho exclaimed. Marje frowned: it wasn’t as if he were outraged to hear of malfeasance, but that he had expected something completely different.
‘We will begin. The following report was received from correspondent RC/1029…’
And Marje suddenly
‘Oh, Hossein,’ Daiho murmured, shaking his head when he saw how that last had ended. ‘Oh, Hossein, you idiot.’
