The Winter War (38 page)

‘Yeah, but you’ve got a metal
skeleton.’ Sharissa glanced at Dillon and Katelyn. ‘Vashma it’s
good to be able to say that and not mind who hears it.’

‘Double that and you’ve got how
I feel. Janna, I do need her ribs more or less in one piece.’

Reluctantly, Janna released her
daughter. ‘Just for that, I won’t hug you now,’ the older Narrows
said. ‘I’ll get you though. You just won’t know when…’

‘That’s evil, Mother,’ Ella
said, after sucking in a lungful of air.

‘Thank you, Daughter,’ Janna
replied, grinning. ‘Now you drink so we can get you tipsy and then
we can make improper suggestions to each other’s partners.’

‘Mom! I thought you’d stopped
that?’

‘I’ve stopped trying to succeed,
dear.’

‘How long before your colleagues
show up?’ Aneka asked Sharissa, mostly to change the subject.

‘About thirty minutes, at a
guess. Oh, and since I’m here I can officially inform you that the
secrecy order on your nature has been lifted. Just in case one of
them tries to catch you out.’

‘You think they will?’ Dillon
asked.

‘I think,’ Sharissa replied, her
expression sour, ‘that I don’t trust anyone Dowler sends to meet
you.’

~~~

There were three agents, two men and a
woman, and they did not seem pleased to be outnumbered by the
people already in the small flat. Even the fact that all three were
armed did not seem to put them at their ease.

The leader was a tall,
powerfully built man with an expression that suggested he had drawn
the short straw. ‘I’m Agent Drow,’ he said by way of introduction.
‘I’ve been instructed to take you to headquarters for
debriefing.’

‘Are they under arrest, Harry?’
Sharissa asked before Aneka or Ella could respond.

Drow glared at her. ‘You know
there’s no warrant…’

‘Then you’re here to
request
that they accompany you for an interview.’

The Agent’s jaw tightened. ‘Of
course. A request.’

‘Then we’ll have to decline,’
Aneka said. ‘We’ve had a long day and we’re planning to rest before
what will probably be a long day tomorrow.’

‘My orders…’ Drow began.

‘Don’t include forcing us to go
with you. We don’t know anything anyway. We’ve been in a small
cottage in the Norden Forest for the last several weeks. We’ve had
no communication in that time.’

‘Then why did you come
back?’

‘We were told to make our way
back to Yorkbridge if we heard nothing before now. Actually, we
waited two days longer than our instructions suggested because I
was being cautious.’

‘And that’s your statement?’
Drow said. ‘You know nothing that happened after you went into
protective custody?’

‘Except what we’ve been told
since getting back. Sharissa has brought us up to speed on most of
it. You people really suspect that Winter was a Xinti agent? That
they assassinated her due to a change of heart?’

‘All the evidence points to
that.’

‘Except that the Xinti are
dead,’ Ella said.

‘If there were any left,’ Aneka
added, ‘they were destroyed attacking Negral. They couldn’t have
ordered her execution.’

‘Clearly they
aren’t
all
dead,’ Drow stated.

‘Or your theory is wrong. It’s
far more likely that the terrorists you’re supposed to be looking
for killed her to avoid her revealing who they are.’

Drow smiled, his lips still
tight. ‘The “terrorists” are clearly Xinti…’

‘Xinti would employ reactionless
drives,’ Ella said. ‘Even a moron could see that these ships are
using patched together Xinti technology, and they’re not even very
good at it.
Clearly
they aren’t Xinti.’

Drow opened his mouth, but Aneka
got in first. ‘I think your business here is concluded, Agent Drow.
If you don’t mind, we have guests to entertain.’

Aneka followed them to the door
to make sure they left, and only relaxed entirely when the door was
closed behind her.

‘That was… tense,’ Dillon
commented.

‘Do you two
know
that
Winter wasn’t working for the Xinti?’ Sharissa asked, her eyes
narrowing.

‘Yes,’ Ella replied.

‘How?’

Aneka heaved a sigh as she
dropped onto the couch beside her partner. ‘Keeping my secret was,
arguably, good for me. Not having to anymore may bring
complications, but they’re basically problems I’ll have to deal
with. Keeping Winter’s secret… We’re doing that because it’s a lot
safer for you if you don’t know.’

The Islands, 6.10.527 FSC.

Elroy was looking more casual than
Aneka was used to. The tall man was wrapped in a long, Nusilk
dressing gown which seemed a little inappropriate for meeting
visitors, but he seemed eager to put them at their ease, despite
having had them whisked away from their apartment quite early in
the morning.

‘We need to discuss the
situation we
all
find ourselves in,’ Elroy said as he
ushered the couple through into a large lounge at the back of his
rather palatial residence, ‘and I wanted to be sure that I got to
you before the press did.’

‘Of course,’ Aneka said. Through
the large window at one end of the room she could see a pool. There
was a woman lying on a sunbed beside it. Tall, elegant, and dressed
in a very small bikini. ‘Is that Diana Ollander?’

‘Hmm?’ He glanced at the window,
which served to hide the slight blush that had crept over his
cheeks. ‘I forget your eyes are rather better than a Jenlay’s. Yes.
She’ll be joining us shortly. She lives on one of the adjacent
islands so it wasn’t difficult for her to get here.’

‘She has two partners doesn’t
she?’ Ella put in.

‘Yes. They’re in Barnard City
currently, on business, so she’s… Well, never mind that. You’ve
been brought up to speed on events while you were out of
touch?’

Aneka suppressed a smirk. ‘We’re
pretty much caught up, yes.’

‘Then you know that we need to
ensure the public remain on your side.’

‘From what we’ve heard, they’re
fairly sympathetic already,’ Ella said.

Elroy waved them to a couch
while he sat down in a large chair that faced a huge wall screen.
‘That’s true, but we could do with swaying them further, if
possible. I understand that you’re not keen on fame, Aneka, but
right now you need it.’

‘So I’ve been told.’

‘I believe we need to give you
the best public persona we possibly can,’ Elroy explained. ‘It’s
going to mean some appearances on the news channels, interviews
with the press. You’re going to hate it. Do you think you’re up for
this?’

‘It’s not like I have a lot of
choice. I have to consider more than just me. My friends are going
to suffer if I can’t operate normally here.’

‘That’s very selfless of you,
Miss Jansen.’ Ollander padded into the room. ‘We’ve barely met. I’m
Diana Ollander, New Earth’s Senator.’

Aneka smiled at her. ‘I know who
you are, Senator.’

‘Diana, at least while I’m
wearing next to nothing.’

‘Then it’s Aneka. I’m not
especially keen on formalities either.’

‘Good.’ She settled onto the
couch opposite them, one arm resting on the back, and crossed her
long legs. ‘People like to think they know celebrities. One of the
problems of office is commanding the respect required while still
appearing as a normal person.’

Not living on a private island
with two partners would likely have helped, but Aneka was not about
to say that. ‘I am just a normal person, Diana.’

‘But you’re not and they all
know it. I’ve read the reports on your body, which they haven’t.
I’d give all four limbs to have the advantages you have when it
comes to this operation.’

‘She’s right, you know?’ Ella
said. ‘You’re built for politics, even if you hate it. I don’t
think you try because you don’t like it.’

‘Uh…’ Aneka glanced between the
two women.

‘Your brain operates at… ten
times ours?’ Elroy said. ‘You can take all the time you need to
think about answers and still appear to be giving off-the-cuff
replies.’

‘Those eyes of yours,’ Ollander
continued. ‘Multi-spectral analysis not unlike the equipment used
in interrogation suites. You can judge reactions far better than we
can.’

‘And you’ve got Al to back you
up,’ Ella added. ‘You’re no psychologist, but he is.’

‘I can also supply you with a
library of information on anyone we may have to deal with,’ Al
said. ‘I have Winter’s files on public figures and I’ve been
gathering more information since we got back.’

‘I guess…’ Aneka said aloud.
‘I’ve had some training in diplomacy and things like that. Being a
soldier isn’t all about shooting people. If we can talk our way out
of a situation it usually works out better.’

‘Excellent,’ Elroy said. ‘Diana
will make some arrangements. She’s the local representative so it’s
better coming via her. Some suitable reporters will be scheduled
for interviews…’

‘At your apartment, I think,’
Ollander put in. ‘It has a more comfortable and open feel to it. It
says you have nothing to hide. I’m also going to organise an
appearance on
Federation Life
. Stephanie Julietta and her
producers will jump at the chance, and she can be guaranteed to
keep things fairly light.’

‘Oh wow,’ Ella breathed.

‘Should I know that show?’ Aneka
asked.

‘It’s the most popular chat show
on Consolidated Media’s news channel.’

‘You want me on a chat show?’
Aneka’s eyebrows went up, and then sagged back down. ‘Hearts and
minds… Yes, I suppose it’s a good idea.’ She looked over at Elroy.
‘You’re right, I’m going to hate this.’

Yorkbridge Mid-town, 7.10.527 FSC.

Elaine Truelove walked out through the
ground floor entrance to her apartment building, checked the door
had closed behind her out of habit, and started down the street
toward the subway station a block to the south.

There were people about, of
course. Commuters headed for the station to go to work could be
identified by their movement rather than their dress code. Truelove
had taken to wearing a smart, stylish skirt suit rather than the
more casual attire she had worn when Winter was in charge, but
there were just as many workers in mini-skirts or shorts as in
jackets and ties. There were also younger citizens, almost
exclusively in casual clothing, some of it more suitable for a club
than the street. That was quite normal too.

One trio of boys paid her more
attention than the others. She felt their gaze before she saw them,
all in leather jackets and jeans, standing around near the steps
down to the station. Their eyes fairly drank her in, but they were
not her type and she ignored them, heading down the stairs at a
brisk pace, her mind and implant already at work collating data she
wanted to put into her report to the Security Council.

Her primary concern was Dowler’s
determination to get Aneka into an interrogation room, preferably
under arrest, and his obvious desire to act on the extradition
request from the Herosians. Of course, the FSA was supposed to be
an independent organisation, without preference for any race, and
it could have been argued that Winter had been a little partisan
toward the Jenlay. But Dowler was definitely leaning far more
heavily toward the Herosians.

As she stepped onto the
northbound train, Truelove noticed one of the men she had seen
earlier stepping on at the next door. They had not looked like they
were commuters, but then again, she could not see the other two.
Maybe they had been seeing this one off. Truelove located a free
seat and sat down, reports moving through her vision field to be
categorised and filed.

Two stops north she saw the
second of the trio sitting at the end of the car. He had been
hidden behind other passengers, trying to remain unseen. If there
were two, then it seemed likely that there were three, and the fact
that they had split up was not a good sign. They were covering all
the exits, making sure one of them would see her getting off.
Whatever they were up to, she did not like it.

Opening a connection through the
train’s wireless network, she dispatched a message to the one
person she knew could help her.

~~~

Sharissa felt her PDA buzz in her pocket
and pulled it free, flicking open the hard-shell cover to look at
the screen. She frowned, pushed the message away and accessed a
secure link to the FSA server network. No one had been assigned to
Truelove on protection duty. There was a possibility that she was
being watched for other reasons, but if that was the case there was
nothing to worry about and sending someone to watch the watchers
was not going to be a problem either.

The problem was that Truelove
was too far away to get there before someone did something, if they
were going to do it. There was a need for a more immediate
response.

Sharissa flicked through her
contacts and hit dial.

~~~

Truelove checked her location on the
tracking indicator she was using. Six more stops to FSA
Headquarters, thirty seconds away from where she was getting off.
Sharissa’s message had been explicit, the plan quite clear. She got
to her feet as the signs above the doors changed to show the next
station, 86
^th
Street and B4 Mid-town.

She noted the slight frown on
the face of one of her watchers. They had been expecting her to
follow her normal pattern, getting off at Century Plaza and then
walking the five blocks or so to the headquarters. They were
probably going to be more surprised soon.

Truelove slipped off the train
and headed immediately for the steps that would lead across to the
other platform. She made no attempt to check on her watchers, but
she caught sight of one behind her as she turned a corner and was
fairly sure the others were there too. There was a wait of
sixty-two seconds, which felt like an hour, for the next train and
then she was heading south.