The Cold Steel Mind (36 page)

‘Not unless it bores them into a system crash.’

‘This kind of document has that unfortunate effect. Very well, I’m sure you have better things to do with your time than sit around waiting for the rest of us. Obviously, say nothing to anyone about the contents of the letter. We’ll be releasing extracts to the press, but we want it secret until we send it.’

‘I guessed as much.’ Aneka got to her feet giving Gillian a consoling smile, and left the room. Ella was in her office in Gillian’s suite; that was a good place to hide until Gillian was finished.

She was walking across the lower quad when a tall blonde appeared in front of her. Delaney was wearing a skirt suit, quite subtle aside from the very sheer blouse, and holding a small device which looked like some sort of recorder. ‘Good afternoon, Miss Jansen. I’m Patrice Bogary with Consolidated Federal Media.’

Aneka stopped, looking into blue eyes which held total confidence. Delaney was sure she could get away with whatever she had planned. ‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka said. ‘I’m afraid I’m not available for interviews right now.’ She started to move past the woman, but Delaney reached out, catching her arm.

‘Miss Jansen, I’d
really
appreciate it if you would tell me about the letter the Administration is planning to send to Negral.’

She was, Aneka figured, pushing the suggestion using whatever psionic power let her do so. Aneka could not tell. Maybe psionics had some physical aspect which could be detected, but if it did the Xinti had not seen fit to fit her with such a detector. ‘Miss Bogary, I’d appreciate it if you let go of my arm. If I see you talking to anyone else from the committee I’ll have you arrested by campus security.’

There was no surprise or anger, just a hint of irritation. Delaney had tried and failed, and now she would move on. ‘Of course, Miss Jansen. A girl’s got to make a credit, right?’

‘Sure. Go make it somewhere else.’ Silently she added, ‘Get a message to Winter that Delaney is on the grounds looking to persuade someone to talk.’

‘It’s done,’ Al replied. Aneka watched the blonde walking away, hips swinging confidently. This was far from over.

~~~

Winter walked into the office about fifty minutes later, scowling. She was still in the grey skirt suit she had been wearing in the conference room and she was being trailed by two large men in dark suits, both of them carrying some sort of weapon in shoulder holster rigs. ‘Wait in here,’ she said as she started towards the back of the room. ‘I don’t believe Doctor Gilroy will mind us using her office.’ She waved to Aneka and Ella to follow as she passed.

Aneka waited until the door was closed before speaking. ‘Delaney?’

‘Gone. I have remote drones hunting for her, but she seems to have left the island. No one by her name or any of her known aliases has used the train system.’

‘She’s good, or Quint is.’

‘They both are, unfortunately. So, it’s clear they were after the text of the letter, but this seems like an unusually direct approach.’

‘Maybe they couldn’t see an alternative,’ Ella suggested. ‘You’ve got everyone involved in this locked down pretty tightly.’ She frowned. ‘In fact it’s almost like you’ve left me and Aneka as the obvious targets.’

‘Obvious, perhaps, if you assume Quint does not know about Aneka’s assault on the Harriamon spaceport, or what happened on Odanari. I’m quite sure that he has at least the basic information on those incidents.’ She gave Ella one of her bleak smiles. ‘I have not left you out there as bait, Miss Narrows.’

‘Okay,’ Ella replied, mollified. ‘And thank you for taking care of my mother. She called to say she’d got home, and that she had picked up “a gorgeous flight attendant” who followed her home and hadn’t been out of bed since.’

Now the smile was a lot less bleak. ‘Sharissa’s reports thus far indicate that Quint has made no effort to contact or observe your mother, and that she’s enjoying the assignment.’

Aneka laughed. ‘Any sign of Quint?’

‘None that has led anywhere. If Delaney is elusive, Quint is a ghost.’

‘Huh. I can’t believe it’s so hard to find him. Everyone’s implanted with radio identifiers. I thought I used to live in a surveillance culture, but this has cameras on every street corner beaten hands down.’

‘Unfortunately, black market identity chips are available which allow the user to switch codes easily, and Quint quite possibly has access to the best of that technology. Combine that with his psionic abilities and he can hide quite adequately. We have pictures out to all the Peacekeepers, hotels, and rental agencies, but those are from his stay in one of our penal stations almost a century ago.’ Winter frowned. ‘I still feel her approach to you was too direct.’

‘You think they’re being obvious to distract us from something else?’

‘I don’t know. That’s what bothers me.’

9.1.525 FSC.

Once again Aneka found herself sitting in the conference room at the university. The same group of people were there, but this time there were additions; the whole of the Agroa Gar team was there to see the reply the AIs had sent from Negral.

‘All right,’ Elroy said, silencing the rumble of conversation in the room. ‘We have a reply. I’ve watched it with Winter, now we’re going to play it through for you. Please watch for anything out of the ordinary, but I have to say that the response is encouraging.’ He nodded to Winter and she tapped the tablet she was holding.

One curved wall of the room went dark and then lit up with a view of the Forum on Negral station. Sitting on one of the bench seats was Speaker’s avatar. It seemed they had decided to continue to use the more personal touch of the android bodies.

‘That is Speaker,’ Gillian said before the vocals could start.

‘Greetings from Negral Science Station to the Lorenti Federation,’ Speaker said. ‘I am True Congress of the Mind Comes through Understanding, known as Speaker. I have been assigned the role of spokesperson for the artificial intelligences of this station. We have received your message and we are happy to discover that our turbulent history has not been a barrier to communication.

‘First, I must apologise for the manner of our introduction. When we received a distress signal from the Agroa Gar, a ship lost to us long ago, we did not know that there were Jenlay researching it. The arrival of the Garnet Hyde’s crew forced us to re-evaluate our isolated position and we chose to change that. More, we were immensely encouraged when they did not rush to leave, but stayed to determine whether contact between us would be safe. We have been further encouraged by your own statements of concern regarding the effect our technology could have on your society. Such wisdom shows that the races we knew a thousand years ago have grown considerably since the war.’

The image paused as if collecting his thoughts. Aneka’s lips twitched into a smile; Speaker’s thoughts were always collected. The AI was trying to look wise and statesman-like. ‘Along with this message we have sent a discussion document, the start of a plan designed to bring learned people from the Federation to meet with us. We propose a neutral site at first, somewhere where we can talk and learn. I know that you see us as technologically superior, and we have much to teach you, that is true. That must be taken slowly, with full cognisance of the potential risks. However, we believe that you have much to teach us. We have been isolated here for centuries. Many of our theories have had no practical expression for so long that they may be entirely incorrect and collaboration between us will benefit both sides. Believe me when I say that we are looking forward to this meeting as much as you must be.’

Speaker got to his feet and bowed formally to the camera. ‘From the minds of Negral, farewell.’ The screen went black again and then returned to being a wall.

‘Thoughts?’ Elroy asked before anyone could collect any.

Anyone except Aneka and Cassandra anyway. ‘He was putting on a bit of a show for us,’ Aneka said.

‘Indeed,’ Cassandra agreed, smiling. ‘He is less formal when not making a presentation for posterity.’

‘What does this discussion document say?’ Gillian asked.

‘It’s very long,’ Winter replied. ‘I’ve skimmed it thus far, but there’s a lot of detail. Curriculum suggestions, thoughts on the type of people who should attend the first seminars. They are offering to construct a facility on some intermediate world on the Rim. Something they can move some of their programs to and have housing for students. It looks a lot like they have been planning for our saying yes since you left them.’

‘They’re pretty eager to get out into the galaxy again,’ Ella said. ‘They
want
this to work, maybe even more than we do.’

Elroy laughed. ‘While the Herosians are still wary, even they can see the advantages of this relationship, Miss Narrows. The Administration is very keen to see this working.’ He paused, looking around the room. ‘I suggest that those who need to start working over the document they sent. We will need to examine it closely and send a reply with our own proposals where needed. This is a good start, but we still have a lot of work to do.’

Aneka nodded absently. She was probably not going to need to review the proposal, for which she was grateful. The only thing that bothered her was that the Herosians had decided to go along with it. It seemed out of character for them, but perhaps it was as Elroy had said, even they could see the advantages.

Yorkbridge Mid-town.

‘You know,’ Ella said as she touched her hand to the panel which opened the outer door of their block, ‘now that things have settled a bit, and the negotiations are under way, maybe we could get together with Kat and Dillon…’

‘See if they’re available tomorrow,’ Aneka suggested. ‘That gives you the day after to recover.’

Behind them the door closed and a voice said, ‘I’m sorry, but neither of you will be available to make that meeting.’

Aneka’s head snapped around towards the area under the stairs. Delaney was stepping out from the shadows there, dressed in her black bodysuit and thigh-high boots, but the gun she was holding on them was significantly bigger than the one Aneka had seen her carrying before. ‘Ella, get behind me,’ Aneka said, keeping her voice level. Al managed to identify the pistol, a heavy blaster, potentially dangerous.

‘No, Ella,’ Delaney said, ‘you stay right where you are.’

‘Okay,’ Ella said, sounding a little confused.

Delaney smiled. ‘I don’t seem to be able to influence you, Jansen, but your little friend is another matter. So you do as I say or I shoot her with this thing, okay?’

‘What do you want?’ Aneka asked, shifting away from Ella instead of towards her.

‘The location of the Xinti research base, details on the agreement you’re negotiating with the AIs. By now we have that little blonde pilot of yours.’ She grinned. ‘I wanted to take the Captain, but Quint has a thing for blondes.’

‘Al…’Aneka began.

‘I’m putting through simultaneous connections to Drake and Winter,’ Al replied. ‘You deal with this one.’

‘Specifically,’ Aneka said aloud, ‘what do you want from us?’

‘Everything you know,’ Delaney replied. ‘We’re sure we can get the location from the pilot, but you’ve been involved in all of it. We’ll pull it out of your head, and then we’ll wash
everything
out entirely. You’ll sell well, the redhead we may need to enhance a little.’ She grinned wolfishly at Ella. ‘Shame you don’t take after your mother more. Now, hands where I can see them…’

‘Whatever you say,’ Aneka replied, raising her hands until her palms were facing Delaney. The air in front of her right palm rippled, the pulse flying out and smacking Delaney squarely in the face. The blonde staggered backwards, her eyes unfocussed for a second or two as she fell, smacking her head on the wall. Aneka stepped up quickly, twisting the blaster free of her weakened grip and then hitting her hard on the side of her neck.

‘I have been unable to reach Drake,’ Al said as Delaney slid to the floor. ‘Winter cannot raise her agents guarding them. She has dispatched more people and asks if you need help here.’

‘What do we do with her?’ Ella asked. The redhead’s eyes were wild, pupils dilated, and her breathing rapid from the recent adrenaline surge.

‘Get the door upstairs,’ Aneka replied. ‘If they’ve got Shannon, we need to know
where
they have her.’

‘And how are you going to get her to tell us?’ Ella sounded distinctly wary.

‘I’ll think of something,’ Aneka replied.

~~~

Delaney’s head jerked back as a sharp, pungent scent filled her nostrils. Her mind swam into sharp clarity and she became aware of her surroundings, along with the pain in her head. She was also aware that her arms were immobile and forced hard back, and her legs were equally hard to move. She pulled on whatever was restraining her to no avail.

Aneka backed away from her, screwing the top onto a small bottle. ‘Don’t struggle too hard. I used setae strip. Your skin will give way before that stuff does.’

Delaney glared at her. Her awareness of her situation was growing and she realised that she was fixed to a straight-backed, metal-framed chair in what appeared to be a bedroom. She was also naked. She grinned. ‘Kinky. If you’re planning on torturing me, you should probably know that I really enjoy playing rough.’

Aneka turned back from putting the bottle on the bedside table. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me? But I’m not going to hurt you.’

Delaney’s head began to swim a little. Her skin felt warm. ‘What are you planning then?’

‘We’re going to have a little fun, and you’re going to tell me where you’re holding Shannon.’ Pulling over a second chair, Aneka sat down and laid her right hand on Delaney’s thigh.

The blonde blinked. She felt… strange; a little dizzy and suddenly, unaccountably, horny. ‘You think… think I’m going to tell you… uhhh…’ Her voice trailed off as the neurostim effect started to kick in. ‘What… what’s that?’

‘Where’s Shannon?’ Aneka asked, sliding the neurostim pad up to the junction of Delaney’s legs.

‘You… you think this’ll get me to talk?’

‘No, not really. In a second or two you probably won’t be hearing me, so listen carefully.’ Delaney was starting to find that hard. ‘You’re going to tell me what I want to know, or I’m going to keep this thing on you until you break.’