Regenesis

Hicks had protested their handling it solo. Clearly he’d had his own observers.

“The younger Warrick is in our wing, ser. His safety is at issue as well as sera’s. We remain extremely concerned about Warrick senior being here. We remain concerned about any leak of the younger Warrick’s activities to Warrick Senior. And might I point out–I doubt Justin Warrick would have been as ready to offer the card to one of your agents.” An interesting thought, a troubling scenario. “You’d have had to search him if you’d wanted it. And I’m very sure he wouldn’t have liked that. Maybe that was part of Jordan’s intention, that Justin get arrested. Jordan didn’t know it wasn’t ReseuneSec doing the monitoring that night. He expected you. And that would have bounced it to Ya

“Interesting notion. But he didn’t give that card to you when you met. He sent his companion back with it.”

“Clearly you don’t need my answers.”

“Actually we don’t, on that one.” He tapped the envelope with the card. “This, however, is not in the form of a petty a

“You’re certain Director Schwartz didn’t set it up.”

A flat, impenetrable stare. “Not to my knowledge,” Hicks said, which Florian took for a warning. It could mean, Don’t ask. It could mean, No, Ya

“Are you sure of your own staff, in Sera Emory’s apartment?”

“We’re all azi, ser. We’re Contracted. A leak there isn’t highly likely. Certain of the staff came from general security.” That was Wes and Marco. “A few elsewhere, from sources that passed clearances. Infiltration is possible, but not likely.”

“My point is, we can’t work at cross‑purposes. You’re eighteen. And there are the two other security agents besides your partner on your staff, am I right?”

“Yes, ser. I am. And there are.”

Hicks made a vee of his hands. Looked at him a moment. “Your predecessor was very good. I knew him… I knew him tolerably well, when I was an assistant to Giraud Nye. We cooperated.”

“Yes, ser.” Time before he had existed was not emotionally attractive to him. There was no resonance for him with his predecessor, such as born‑men expected to exist. And this was a Supervisor, who should know that trait. Florian remained engaged, wary of verbal traps.

“Your predecessor set precedents,” Hicks said, “set up frameworks of cooperation with my predecessor’s predecessor, that lasted into Giraud Nye’s administration of this agency, until the first Ariane’s death and the birth of her successor. And I’m about to invoke one of those arrangements. I can place three squads of my people directly under your authority, as Wing One security, establishing the same sort of arrangement my predecessor had with yourprincipal’s office–two‑way information. A very discreet two‑way flow. It’s not safe for you to keep us in the dark–or–it’s not assafe to have our operations crossing one another at critical moments, and I’d rather prevent that.”

Interesting offer. He did know about the prior arrangement. He’d expected to ask for it himself, once sera took control of Admin. He’d expected to get it without question at that point, whether or not Hicks was still ru

“You’re worried about Patil and Warrick,” he said to Hicks, but only the dilation of the eyes betrayed Hicks’ reaction. “There’s a leak and you don’t know where it is.”

“Yes. Frankly, yes. And I’m concerned about Warrick and Warrick, the latter being inside your perimeters in themost sensitive area of Reseune.”

“I’m aware of the protocol that existed before my time. But name its details, ser, if you would.”

“Thirty beta‑ and gamma‑class agents, all dedicated to maintaining your security envelope, at your orders, full access to ReseuneSec information, exactly what the first Ari had…with an appropriate clerical staff, and an administrative office sited in Wing One. We could assign supervisory protocols to the Director himself. Or to me, personally, if you’re satisfied with that arrangement.”

“I am aware what specific arrangement the first Ari had with Giraud Nye, ser, and your offer is acceptable if sera is their Supervisor of record.”

“Her youth–”

“My partner and I are alphas, ser, and she’s ourSupervisor.”

“Technically–”

“In actuality, Ser. She has been capable of directing us for a classified length of time, but you may at least conclude it wasn’t yesterday”

Hicks regarded him at some length. “You’re still eighteen.”

“I’m very good at what I do, Ser.”

That got a smile. The best Supervisors could be like that, able to appreciate an azi’s humor. And one had to be wary, not to get sucked in and set too much at ease.

“No buttons available, Ser. She has all mine well‑catalogued.”

The smile persisted. “I’d expect that.”

“I add one more qualification: these agents: their Contracts go to her. Specifically.”

Not outright refusal, but wariness. “That’s notwhat was.”

“That chain‑of‑command may have killed her predecessor. Certainly it was a weakness. My partner and I have studied that arrangement very closely. Their Contracts will be solely to her, ser, or we can’t accept. Also, should we find a problem in any mindset, that agent will be directly dismissed and sent to retraining.”

Hesitation. “I can understand your reasoning. But you weren’t ready to ask for it. You have a lot of responsibilities inside the walls. Yet you don’t feel ready to deal with this increase in scope?”

Supervisor’s question.

“I personally find no great advantage in declining your offer, ser, under the terms I name. You see a need: you made the offer. Should we decline it, we run risks we both foresee, regarding sera’s safety. Should the offer turn out to involve less cooperation than we know we need, we will have to decline it, also for security reasons.”

“You think this office has problems?”

“I have some reservations, knowing a leak of information happened somewhere. We know our own staff. We don’t know yours, Ser. Does the offer stand?”

“It stands.”

“She’ll require their Contracts and their manuals.”

“Pending her approval of this arrangement.”

“If I approve here and now, and I do, the deal is done. Sera will agree.”

A frown. “Irregular transfer of Contracts.”

“My predecessor had similar power. You knew him, you say.”

“Your predecessor was very much older when I knew him.”

“He’s dead now,” Florian said. “My partner and I intend to do better than that.”

A moment of silence. “Quite,” Hicks said. “Quite. Done, then.” He turned to the console, entered a program, and a stick popped up. He passed it across the table. “Valid for every individual in the file. You can reach their Contracts and their personal manuals with this clearance. They’re yours.”

“They’re Sera’s,” he amended that. For a born‑man, Hicks was very easy to work with–plain, direct, and saying what he meant, at least on the surface. Hicks would have the job fairly securely for the next twenty‑odd years–until the next Giraud came of age–if he succeeded in the next few. His office might have problems; so might any office in Reseune, at this point. Sera wasn’t in charge. Other, lesser people made decisions.

And within those twenty years of Hicks’ office, they were going to face the same threats their predecessors had consistently faced, namely a fair number of people wanting power, or having power and intending to hold onto it. Ya