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her ankles.
 Subject immobilized. Lu Wai s voice was calm.
Danner slid up her visor and strode to the door. Her thigh muscles felt too big,
too tight: adrenaline reaction, rage. Now she would see.
The storeroom smelled of dust and grain and the faint ozone hum of clings. The
spy was not wearing a helmet.
Lu Wai saluted.  Sublieutenant Relman, ma am.
The spy was half sitting, half lying on some sacks. Young. Short black curls.
Round face that normally looked relaxed, but now reflected her physical discomfort.
 Sit her up straight, Danner said to no one in particular. Kahn obeyed. Helen
Relman, who worked under Captain White Moon. Who answered directly to Ato
Teng. How far did this go?
 Lieutenant Relman, you are being held on suspicion of behavior likely to
endanger fellow officers. You will be taken to an appropriate holding place and
questioned. Do you have any questions of your own at this time?
Tell me it s all a mistake, Danner wanted to say. Explain everything.
Relman said nothing.
She was pumped up with adrenaline, with over-oxygenated blood hissing through
her veins; that silence was too much for Danner.  Goddammit, Relman! She
wanted to shake the woman until her teeth rattled, but settled instead for pacing up
and down.  Why in hell did you do this? You think I ve treated you badly?What?
 You said I would be taken to an appropriate holding place before being
questioned.
 This is as appropriate as anywhere. She hit the wall stud that darkened the
windows, then folded her arms.  I ve got all night.
Relman appeared to think.  I would like my partner, Bella Cardos, informed of
my whereabouts.
 She s involved in this?
Relman looked startled.  No. But she ll worry.
Danner turned to Lu Wai.  Sergeant, find Cardos, bring her to an adjacent office.
Tell her only that she is to be questioned in regard to an offense that may endanger
the safety of fellow officers.
 I told you she s nothing to do with this.
 I don t believe you, Danner said mildly.  You may choose, of course, to try
and convince me otherwise with some pertinent information.
No reply.
 We have all the time in the world, Danner said, knowing it was not true,
knowing that now that they had Relman, things would move very fast indeed.
Relman s cheeks were pale except for some broken blood vessels around her nose.
Danner thought it made her look like she had a bad cold. The woman was just
realizing what kind of position she was in.
 You have a choice, of course. Tell us everything, let us verify it; we ll take that
into consideration. Or you could keep quiet and hope that something happens, some
miracle to change the situation in your favor. Danner kept her voice steady, calm,
reassuring.  That hope, in my opinion, is not only unreasonable but foolish. I don t
think you want to continue being foolish. Surely the woman could not believe that
the Kurst would come down just for her.
 We ve got nothing to tell you.
  We ?
Relman flushed, but said nothing.
Danner sighed. Stupid woman.  I don t really know why you re behaving like
this. You ve nothing to gain from it, and a lot to lose. She looked around, found a
folding stepladder made of slippery gray plastic, pulled it opposite Relman, sat
down.  In all likelihood, you will never leave this world. None of us will. Think about
that: we re the only people you will ever see, ever again. And we re not happy with
you, we won t forgive you. Not even Bella. And no one will forget. Is that what you
want?
Danner stopped. She was not getting through: Relman did not yet see the
seriousness of her situation. She stood up.  I ll be back, when you ve had some
time to think.
Outside, the air was cold and wet and smelled of snow. Danner nodded to the
women who were leaving Rec in ones and twos. Halfway back to her office, she
called up Lu Wai.  Sergeant, I want you to take Relman over to sick bay and check
her over. She might be suffering some shock. See that she gets something to eat.
Don t talk to her until she starts talking to you. When Cardos is found, explain to her
what s going on; if you can persuade her to help us, give them five minutes alone.
Whether or not Cardos is cooperative, keep them both in sick bay. Separate rooms.
Use the usual procedure for reporting sick personnel to their superior. Give out that
both Relman and Cardos seem to have contracted some rare infectious illness, no
visitors allowed. If Captain White Moon kicks up a fuss, refer her to me.
Let Relman stew a little in her own juices.
Her outer office was dark. The lights came up automatically when she entered, but
the room still felt dark around the edges, the way empty spaces always did. In her
inner office, she stripped off her gauntlets, flexing her hands a couple of times. Her
head ached.
She massaged the bridge of her nose and called Dogias.
 Letitia, I need that conversation as soon as you can get it to me. Don t send it
over the net. Bring me a disk by hand.
 If you can t protect the net, what makes you think you can protect your system?
I ll transfer it to audio disk and wipe my comm. Your office in twenty minutes.
Dogias was infuriating, but right as usual. Twenty minutes. She went through the
empty outer office to make herself some tea.
A four-year-old memory superimposed itself behind her eyelids: the smile of
victory on Helen Relman s face as she stood straight while Danner attached the
sub s shoulder pips. What had Relman been thinking that day? Danner sighed. She
doubted she would ever get the same pleasure from a promotion ceremony again.
She would probably never hold another promotion ceremony.
Her eyes stung. She rubbed at them impatiently. She had better things to do than
indulge in old memories. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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