Regenesis

“He was an alpha,” Frank said. “He could put himself back together.”

“And he had a rationale. Giraud was walking wounded. But he’d protected Giraud from some unspecified danger. Now he had to take care of Giraud. So he did that, didn’t he? But nobody ever took care of Abban. Abban couldn’t tell Giraud what he’d done. And the week Giraud died he went into Denys’s care, and nobody ever took care of Abban.”

Frank looked upset. They’d known one another, Frank and Abban, worked together. They’d remarked, oh, more than once, how it was a damned lie that Denys was capable of handling Seely, let alone Abban, when Abban came over to him. They both knew about Denys’ alpha certificate, which was fake as they came. Abban had needed immediate help when Giraud died, and Denys–Denys had gotten notions in his head about staying in power and nobody touched Abban.

He’d sent Abban after Ari, and Abban was already messed up. “Killing the same woman twice,” he said to Frank, “and the first having been a mistake, that’s got to have rung clear to his deep sets. Nasty, nasty piece of business.”

“Nobody ever felt sorry for Abban,” Frank said. “But he wasn’t right, then. He really wasn’t right when he did that.” A moment later Frank said, “All those years with Denys–Seely wasn’t in that good shape, either.”

“More than that,” Ya

“Kyle,” Frank said.

“Kyle, and the ones directing him,” Ya

“Kyle got his instructions there,” Frank said.

“Exactly. Tell me. Would youtake instruction from another azi?”

“I don’t know,” Frank said. “I can say I wouldn’t, but if the keys were there…who could say he wouldn’t.”

“And Abban was Giraud’s,” Ya

“In a way, Ari caught it,” Frank said. “It took the next Ari to do it. Suppose there was something in the first Ari’s notes–suppose the first Ari put her onto it? Or did she figure it out?”

Ya

“That being?”

“She’s just told Defense she knows what their game is. She just stopped it.” Ya

He could call down the heavens. If he wanted to let havoc loose, he could gather all his evidence of assassination and espionage and take it to the Nine and lay it before the Council of Worlds–but Ari was right: it was getting dangerous. As things stood, it was a major risk for him just to take a car to the airport, and he wasn’t sure he’d survive to get there. It was a risk to go to Science, a risk for Jacques to come here. Damn the girl, she’d upset the whole government at a critical moment, maybe because it seemed to the kid like a good move–

Or maybe because she wasn’t the little girl any longer. She might be doing everything precisely to get a jump ahead of the opposition because she had reason to think there was diminishing time to do it. What had she said, that the explosion might have been a signal, to those who knew, that it was time to move?

Other things were moving, all right. And maybe he and Frank had just become two more pieces on the board, white bishop and white knight, say, out there to tempt the opponent into doing something. She’d tried to tell him get their asses home. He’d ignored her warning, confident in the moment he’d done it.

Maybe he shouldget himself and Frank to the airport, and go home, this evening, while they could, settle in and let the youngster run the place.

Or maybe the old bishop had a few moves in him. He and Frank had been at this a long, long time, and he wasn’t out of resources yet.

Khalid? He wouldn’t concede the board to that bastard, not while he had room to maneuver.

“If we don’t get Jacques out of there,” Frank said, “his lifespan is limited.”

“Jacques is due at Science in two hours and I think we should go there now, just in case anybody’s timing our departure. If we’re in the target, let’s not make it too easy for them.”

BOOK THREE Section 5 Chapter x

JULY 26, 2424

1620H

The security hold was officially off. The halls were totally quiet, except for Patrick Emory on his way home from work. A ghostly hush prevailed throughout Alpha Wing. They met him, Justin and Grant did, on the gray, blue‑wave carpet, and Patrick just looked nervous and tired after what had been, to anyone’s reckoning, a hell of a day.

“How’s Wing One?” Justin asked him, knowing Patrick would have come that way.

“Quiet.” Patrick said, “just normal. Except the construction hasn’t started back up.”

“Good,” Justin said, and they passed each other, on their individual business. They picked up Mark and Gerry downstairs. Mark and Gerry wanted to know when they left the Wing, and they played by the rules and didn’t make them have to scramble when exit security stalled them: Mark and Gerry met them at the lift, they were all pleasant to each other–

“Hope we didn’t mess up your supper,” Justin said.

“No, ser,” Gerry said, “we had a sandwich. Thanks for the warning.”

“Glad to oblige,” he said. “Sorry you have to tag us.”

“Our duty, ser,” Mark said, which it was.

They passed the exit desk, took the lift up to familiar territory: the two Ari had set to watch Jordan’s vicinity were on duty there–had a desk, today, for greater comfort, and disguised themselves as ordinary hall security. Mark and Gerry were going to have to stand, at least for a few moments.

“Our intent is to go out to supper,” Justin said to their two guards, “but that depends. We could send out; we could just eat in. Don’t worry about it. Just stay at ease.”

“Yes, ser,” the answer was. They clearly didn’t mind. Alter the rest of today, with, as they heard from Wes, some of their number in hospital and otherwise patched up, Mark and Gerry had had a quiet day.

Grant rang the minder. “Grant ALX,” he said, “and Justin Warrick. We’re looking to take you both to di