Part 96 (1/2)

”Ser,” Florian said when they had let him in, Florian in House uniform and without his coat, so Florian and therefore probably Ari had had time, Justin reckoned, to come in next door first.

But it made him anxious that it was not a call over the Minder, or a summons to Ari's apartment or her offices, just a Minder-call at the door, Florian asking entry.

And the vid still showed nothing on the news channel except that single logo.

”There's been an incident,” Florian said, preface, and in the half-second of Florian's next breath: O G.o.d, O G.o.d, Justin thought, Justin thought, something's happened to Ari; something's happened to Ari; and was bewildered in the same half-second, that the fear included her, her welfare, which was linked with their own. ”Your father,” Florian said, and fears jolted altogether into another track, ”-has gotten a message to the Centrists, claiming innocence.” and was bewildered in the same half-second, that the fear included her, her welfare, which was linked with their own. ”Your father,” Florian said, and fears jolted altogether into another track, ”-has gotten a message to the Centrists, claiming innocence.”

”Of what?” what?” Justin asked, still tracking on Justin asked, still tracking on incident, incident, not making sense of it. not making sense of it.

”Of killing Dr. Emory, ser.”

He stood there, he did not know how long, in a state of shock, wanting to think so, wanting to think- -but, my G.o.d, during Giraud's funeral-what's he doing? What's going on?

”We don't know all the details yet,” Florian said. ”Sera doesn't want to admit to ser Denys just how far her surveillance extends, please understand that, ser, but she does know that your father is safe at the moment. She's asking you, please, ser, understand that there's extreme danger-to you, to her, to your father, no matter whether this is true or false: the announcement has political consequences that may be very dangerous, I don't know if I need explain them. ...”

”G.o.d.” Art's safety. Everything- safety. Everything- He raked a hand through his hair, felt Grant's hand on his shoulder. Florian-seemed older, somehow, his face utterly without the humor that was so characteristic of him, like a mask dropped, finally, time sent reeling. . . . He raked a hand through his hair, felt Grant's hand on his shoulder. Florian-seemed older, somehow, his face utterly without the humor that was so characteristic of him, like a mask dropped, finally, time sent reeling. . . . Could it be true? Could it be true?

”She wants you to pack a small bag, ser. Sera's interim staff is on the way up to this floor, and sera asks Grant to stay here and put himself under their orders. . . .”

”Pack for where?” where?”

Separate us? G.o.d, no.

”Sera wants you to go with her to Novgorod-to defuse this matter. To speak to the press. She wants to take the politics out of the question-for your father's sake, as much as her own. Do you understand, ser? There'll be a small question-and-answer at Reseune airport; that's safest. She's asking a meeting with Councillor Corain and Secretary Lynch. She earnestly hopes you won't fail her in this-”

”My G.o.d. G.o.d, Grant-” What do I do? What do I do?

But Grant had no answers. CITs are all crazy, CITs are all crazy, Grant would say. Grant would say.

Ari's out of her mind. Take me me to Novgorod? They don't dare. to Novgorod? They don't dare.

They need need me. That's the game. My father under arrest. They want me to call him a liar. me. That's the game. My father under arrest. They want me to call him a liar.

Reseune Security doesn't need to kill him. They can use drugs. It takes time.

Time I can buy them to operate on him- Would Ari-do this to us? Would Florian be here without her orders?

In front of those cameras-if I get that far- How can they stop me from any charges I can make?

Grant.

Grant-being here, in Ari's keeping. That's what they're offering me- Grant's sanity-or my father's.

He looked up into Grant's face-far calmer, he thought, than his own, Grant's un-fluxed logic probably understanding there was no choice in his own situation.

I have faith in my makers.

”Grant comes with me,” he said to Florian.

”No, ser,” Florian said. ”I have definite instructions. Please, pack just the essentials. Everything will be inspected. Grant will be safe here, with sera Amy. There will be Security: Quentin AQ is very competent, and sera Amy will have her friends for help here. No way will any general Security come onto this floor or interfere with the systems. No way will sera Amy do anything to harm Grant.”

A gifted eighteen-year-old, with a thin, earnest face and a tendency to go at problems head-on: an eighteen-year-old who, he had always thought, liked him and Grant. Honest. And sensible as an eighteen-year-old had any likelihood of being.

G.o.d, they all all were. ”It's a d.a.m.n Children's Crusade,” he said, and caught Grant's arm. ”Do what they say. It'll be all right.” were. ”It's a d.a.m.n Children's Crusade,” he said, and caught Grant's arm. ”Do what they say. It'll be all right.”

”No,” he said in front of the cameras, in the lounge at Reseune airport. ”No, I haven't been in contact with my father. I hope to get a call through-when we get to Novgorod. It's the middle of their night. They-” He tried, desperately, not to look nervous: Don't look guilty, Don't look guilty, Ari had said, before they left the bus. Ari had said, before they left the bus. Don't look like you're hiding anything. You can be very frank with them, but for G.o.d's sake think about the political ramifications when you do it. Be very careful about making charges of your own, they can only muddy things up, and we have to rely on uncle Denys-we can't offend him, hear me? Don't look like you're hiding anything. You can be very frank with them, but for G.o.d's sake think about the political ramifications when you do it. Be very careful about making charges of your own, they can only muddy things up, and we have to rely on uncle Denys-we can't offend him, hear me?

”My father-is in Detention at the moment,” he said, finding the pace of things too much, the dark areas too extensive. The truth seemed easier to sort out than lies were, if one kept it to a minimum. ”All I can tell you-” No. Can Can meant dangerous things. ”All I know how to tell you-is that there's an inquiry. My father told me-at the time it happened-exactly what he told the Council. But there were tilings going on at the time-that might have been a reason. That's why I'm going to Novgorod. I don't know-Ari herself doesn't know-who's telling the truth now. I want to find out. Reseune Administration wants to find out.” meant dangerous things. ”All I know how to tell you-is that there's an inquiry. My father told me-at the time it happened-exactly what he told the Council. But there were tilings going on at the time-that might have been a reason. That's why I'm going to Novgorod. I don't know-Ari herself doesn't know-who's telling the truth now. I want to find out. Reseune Administration wants to find out.”

”I can a.s.sure you,” Ari said, beside him, ”I have a very strong motive for wanting to know the truth in this case.”

”Question for Dr. Warrick. Are you presently under any coercion?”

”No,” Justin said firmly.

”You are a PR. Are you-in any way-more than that?”

He shook his head. ”Standard PR. Nothing extraordinary.”

”Have you ever been subject to intervention?” He had not expected that question. He froze on it, then said: ”Psychprobe is an intervention. I was part of the investigation. There were a lot of them.” They would question his sanity for that reason; and his reliability. He knew that. It would cast doubt on his license for clinical practice and cast a shadow on his research. He knew that too. The whole thing took on a nightmarish quality, the lights, the half-ring of reporters. He became quite placid, quite cold. ”There was an illicit intervention when I was a minor. I've been treated for that. I'm not presently under drugs; I'm not operating under anyone's intervention. I'm concerned about my father and I'm anxious to get to Novgorod and answer whatever questions Council may have: I'm most concerned about my father's welfare-”

”Is he threatened in any way?”

”Ser, I don't know as much as you do. I'm anxious to talk with him. For one thing, I want to be sure what he did say-”

”You're casting doubt on his statement through Councillor Corain, as valid, or as coming from him.”

”I want to be sure that he did send that message. I want to hear it from him. There are a lot of unanswered questions. I can't tell you what you want to know. I don't know.”

”Sera Emory. Do you know?”

”I have ideas,” Ari said, ”but I'm being very careful of them. They involve people's reputations-”

”Living people?”

”Living and dead. Please understand: we're in the middle of a funeral. We've had charges launched and questions asked that depend on records deep in Archive, about things that are personal to me and personal to Justin-” She reached and laid her hand on his, clenched it. ”We had come to our own peace with what happened. Justin's my friend and my teacher, and now we wonder what did happen all those years ago, and why Justin's father wouldn't have told him him the truth, if there was more to it. We don't understand, either one of us. That's why we're going outside Reseune. We're going to handle this at the Bureau level-at Council level, since they're the ones who did the first investigation, if we have to go that far. But it's not appropriate for us to investigate this on a strictly internal level. Dr. Warrick has made charges; they need to be heard in the Bureau. That's where we're going-and I think we ought to get underway, sen, thank you. Please. We'll have more statements later.” the truth, if there was more to it. We don't understand, either one of us. That's why we're going outside Reseune. We're going to handle this at the Bureau level-at Council level, since they're the ones who did the first investigation, if we have to go that far. But it's not appropriate for us to investigate this on a strictly internal level. Dr. Warrick has made charges; they need to be heard in the Bureau. That's where we're going-and I think we ought to get underway, sen, thank you. Please. We'll have more statements later.”

”Dr. Warrick,” a journalist shouted. ”Do you have any statement?” Justin looked at the man, blank for a fraction of a second until he realized that Dr. Warrick was the way the world knew him. ”Not at the moment. I've told you everything I know.”

Florian touched him as he got up, showed him a route through to the boarding area, for the plane that waited for them. RESEUNE ONE. RESEUNE ONE.

A solid phalanx of regular Security made a pa.s.sage for them, an abundance of Security that clearly said: This is official; Administration is involved.

It answered to Ari. Giraud was a wisp of ash and a group of cells trying to achieve humanity; and meanwhile Ariane Emory was in charge, with all the panoply of Reseune's authority around her.

He went quickly through the doors, and down the corridor into the safeway and into the plane, where he stopped in confusion, until Florian took him by the arm and guided him to one of a group of leather seats, and settled him in.

”Would you like a drink, ser?”