Authors: L. J. Kendall
He saw Leeth's arousal spike higher, and found his own teeth clench together for some reason as she moved still closer, nestling her small body up against Garland's muscled torso. 'How can that little thing hold everybody's DNA?'
The man, clearly expecting her to explode into action, frowned down at her. Gently detaching her hand, he casually lifted her away, turning and setting her to face the unit. With her back now to him he looked suspiciously at Harmon. 'It doesn't. It measures yours, and compares that to central records. Place your finger on the oval marking, Sara.'
Harmon watched her half turn back toward the man, staring up into Garland's face, searching, before turning back to the device.
Harmon tried to force himself to relax as Leeth finally stepped forward, her aura coiling fluidly around her. Something in it reminded him of a cat slowly switching its tail from side to side.
Pressing her finger to the unit, she leaned sideways slightly toward the man.
N
o! She was going to attack!
The fat mage's aura sharpened, suggesting he'd just reached the same conclusion, even as the larger fellow tensed. Harmon tried to think frantically of a spell, some Suggestion that might help.
His desperate gaze passed over Professor Sanders, and for just a moment, he thought the man was smiling.
The DNA tester chimed a pleasant negative, and froze the room.
For seconds no one moved, or spoke.
The politely-red LED flashed once, twice, three times….
Caught in the moment before leaping, Leeth teetered, straightening only awkwardly. Beside her, the subliminal hum of the cybered officer abruptly stopped. Leeth turned around to Harmon, her expression almost comical as surprise fought carefully-crafted innocence.
He was just as confused as she, though. How in the name of all logic had
that
happened? Could the machine be faulty? He looked at Sanders, but the fellow now appeared simply oblivious to the high drama that had just played out right in front of him.
The desk groaned as the man-mountain twisted heavily around to stare at the unit. Its light flashed serenely on, off, on. He blinked, slowly. Across from him, the plump mage swore. 'Goddamn,' he breathed. 'Negative match.'
Harmon met Detective Garland's narrowed glare as the large man ostensibly spoke to Sara. 'You won't mind if we run that test again. And take a blood sample back to the precinct for more careful testing.'
The look he gave Harmon when the two finally left clearly said
this isn't over
.
Chapter 44
Tens of kilometers south, the youth watched with a smug air as his Ghost system signaled a second query against the centrally-altered datum. He opened a link to Eagle, who appeared to have been expecting the call.
'Done?'
'Sure. Incidentally, he did try it a second time, like you said.'
'Good work, Nelson. Please shift her DNA key into your four hourly sweep set.'
The boy grimaced. 'I'd hav'ta drop something to do that. Those sweeps're already taking ninety percent of Ghost's idle capacity. And what's the point? I already changed the data for the police's sample. It'll never match.'
'Checking only daily for her DNA being entered into the system leaves too large a window for…
other
problems to develop at present. Drop some other scheduled check and use that slot for hers. The hantavirus one, say. There's no real reason not to let the CDC act as first line of defense for that: it
is
their job, after all, not ours.'
Nelson nodded. 'So who is she, boss man?'
Eagle considered for several seconds, before deciding a careful answer could be beneficial. 'Our records have data following her admission to an orphanage, her adoption, DNA samples, and so forth. On the public record you should find only her name and place of residence.'
'So, what; you're saying you had somebody else erase her records?'
Eagle didn't reply.
Nelson snorted. 'You should'a had me do it. Oh. Before my time, right? I betcha Ghost and I could dig up something.'
'Even you, Nelson, would not be able to find anything,' Eagle said.
The youth bristled. Which meant that now, it had become a personal challenge, as Eagle had known it would. 'But do feel free to try, if it makes you feel any better. If you turn up something, let me know.'
The boy thought for a while. 'Why've you got DNA
samples
of her, though? Gonna grow some clones've her or something?'
'That would be expensive, Nelson. Not to mention untidy.' Eagle smiled smoothly. 'Keep all this to yourself please, for now. Need to know.'
The boy grinned: another secret from
Mother
and
Father
. Chill. 'What about the Institute? Who's this “G” character that seems to be freaking everyone out? And what's it got to do with the
Dragon Emperor of China,
for fuck's sake?'
'Nelson. “Need to know” applies equally to you.'
'Why? It's not like I'm ever planning to leave: you give me better toys even than Asgard did! I'd have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of here. And if
that
ever happened it'd mean we'd been so fucked you'd have bigger worries than me.
Or
Ghost.' He shrugged. 'Besides, even if someone grabbed Ghost, they'd need a genius like me to figure out how to operate it. It's not like I've written a
user manual.
' He giggled.
Eagle, of course, was unamused. 'You should not know anything of the Institute, nor Lord Shen's… visit there.'
Nelson ignored the note of exasperation. It's not like Eagle'd ever kick him out: he was their most valuable “asset.” 'I keep telling you, the more I know, the more connections me and Ghost can ferret out for you, yeah? If people don't want me to Ghost stuff, they should keep their computers off the network.
'F'r'instance, I took a look at the pattern behind those yearly “attack” things.'
Nelson noticed Eagle go still. He waited, but his boss said nothing. But from the look in his boss's eye, he had the man's complete attention. 'And I can say that this year's one should be a doozy.'
'Ah.'
Damn
. From Eagle's non-reaction, it looked like he already knew that.
Eagle raised one eyebrow. 'Was Ghost able to correlate the secondary pattern to any stimulus?'
Nelson squirmed. 'What secondary pattern?'
'Oh dear.'
Oh dear?
Shit, for Eagle, that was an explosion! But why? Because he now thought Nelson hadn't been smart enough to discover there
was
a secondary pattern? Or because he could tell he'd lied about not knowing there was one? Or, was it because Nelson hadn't been able to work out what lay behind the complex formula
even with Ghost's help
? But why would that matter so much?
'So, anyway, what happens if this G character ever gets loose, like “Mr Smith” thinks is going to happen? The Dragon Lord'll teleport back in and zap him out of existence, or what?'
Nelson hadn't really expected his needling to draw any information from the older man, but studied his projected image carefully. 'But you've thought about it, for sure. Probably got a Plan B, right?
And
plans C, and D, and E?'
Eagle almost smiled.
Nelson's eyes widened. 'Shit! What? That means it's something freakin’ awesome!'
'Just
don't
, Nelson. There are limits on what I will tolerate even from you. Nor should you be able to find anything about the girl. Though if you do,' Eagle looked thoughtful, 'I suggest you inform me as a matter of urgency. For all our sakes.'
Chapter 45
Outside Harmon's office door, Leeth paused and checked her appearance, making sure she was nicely dressed. She wore her “hunting outfit” – the brown doeskin with the lace-up front and fringed shorts that left her midriff nicely bare.
Nodding to herself, Leeth knocked at the door and carefully waited for the terse 'Enter,' before opening it to go inside.
Leeth watched Harmon's eyes travel up and down her body, and her lips curved happily. She slowed a little so he could take his time.
Smiling slightly, he gestured to the chair facing his desk. His visitor's chair was a discouraging piece of furniture – a heavy old carved wooden monstrosity, not really comfortable – but she effortlessly pulled it out and sat down, wriggling slightly to adjust to the seat's lumpy padding.
'To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, Leeth?' Harmon asked.
The girl leaned forwards, suddenly very serious, genuinely unaware of the interesting things it did to her cleavage – for once. Harmon, with an effort, kept his eyes on her face. She still wasn't making his resolution any easier. Indeed, twice now he had had to put off her inappropriate advances with a “when you're older,” rebuff.
Inside the security box, in the locked drawer of his desk, the illegal aphrodisiac drugs glowed like a distant lighthouse in his mental landscape. But he was uncertain whether it beckoned him
toward
metaphorical rocks, or warned him off. He should dispose of them. He would not use them again.
It was simply that they had cost a month's salary. Not to mention the risk he had taken to acquire them. Besides, he might find some legitimate use for them at some later date. Who knew what the future might hold, for them both? After all, once he published his results…
'Uncle? I
said,
you know how I'm learning Wing Chun?'
'Ah, your kung fu, yes,' he said. Carefully.
'And you got me all those trids to study.'
If she is telling herself that watching action trids is
studying
, I may have a problem here
, he was thinking; but he let her continue.
'Well, I've watched them over and over, but I just can't see how they do lots of their stuff. Like in the
Fist of Death
trid, when there's the thing in the ceiling…' she got up from the chair, paused for a moment, then jumped, spinning in the air, one leg lashing upwards as she continued speaking, '…and he kicks it…'
She spun head over heels, Harmon's eyes widening in amazement as her foot brushed the ceiling before she tumbled out of sight below his desk, crashing to the floor with an impact that made his seat jump and him wince.
'Ow!' She climbed to her feet, frowning and kneading her hands. 'You see?' I couldn't properly reach the roof, and it's hard to even land without hurting myself. But Nightshade kills it,
and
lands on his feet. I've tried and tried, and even played them slow, but it doesn't help. Sometimes they even cut out the important bits, just so you don't get to see how they do it!'
Leeth started pacing back and forth.
'And they're
all
like that. I think they're hiding something. Some kind of secret stuff. So I need a real teacher. Can I have a teacher? Please, Uncle?'
'Ah, Leeth – have you considered that perhaps these shows are just fantasy – that they may be faking these, er, maneuvers? Just as the “thing” in the ceiling would itself have been faked?'
She frowned. 'Sure. But I don't think so. Some things are obviously magic – like when they run through the air – but lots of other stuff I
know
I should be able to do, it's just there's some trick to it I don't get. Besides, there are lots of things everybody does – Nightshade, Joe Steel, Miss Bitch – that I can just about do, I'm sure I
could
do, if they just
showed
the whole thing from start to finish.'
'You're sure.'
'Well, yeah. Pretty sure.'
Harmon tapped his stylus on the desk, staring off into space. She stopped pacing, forcing herself to stand still while he considered her request.
'And why do you want to know how to do these things?' he asked, just to be certain.
She cocked her head to one side, frowning. Tried to work out whether he was just teasing her. 'Well, you know. To Hunt with.'
'Mmm.' Leeth noticed his faint smile as he asked, 'and I take it you consider that knowing this sort of martial art is more important than more conventional hunting skills – guns, knives, that sort of thing?'
She shrugged. 'I
suppose
they're important, too. But I want to be able to hunt just with… well, just myself.' She reached out into the air between them. 'I want to use my
hands
,' she said, her voice suddenly throaty as her fists clenched shut on something invisible in the air. Then twisted. Harmon had to resist the impulse to shift back in his chair.
'So can I? Have a teacher?'
Harmon considered. From the way she had framed her request, it appeared his mental blocks regarding Brian Shanahan were still firmly in place. As for the concept of having her prowling around with a gun or knife, practicing those skills – he winced at the mental picture. Bad enough she had her PowerShot. It would certainly be good for her to gain further martial skills, but the means would require careful planning. Perhaps in a year's time.
Aloud, he said, 'That
is
a good idea. After the summer solstice, when things are back to normal. Of course, we will need to find the very
best
teacher for you.'
Leeth beamed.
'But you must promise not to go killing people indiscriminately. I still don't understand how your DNA failed to match that found at the first scene. So if you want a teacher, you must swear not to kill anyone without my permission, first.'
She rolled her eyes. 'O-kay.'
He wasn't sure which was more bizarre: his own statement, or the way she bounced from his office after agreeing to the condition.
Leaning back in his chair, he sighed. At least he had bought the necessary time. After the solstice, there would be ample opportunity to make appropriate plans – and to Adjust her expectations accordingly.