He let go the seat then, eased himself into it, leaned back and stared at Ari in a dull, all-over malaise as she sat down opposite him. "Thanks for holding the plane," he said between breaths.
"Where in hell were you?"
"Went shopping," he said, as the door thumped to and sealed. For a moment he was disoriented. "Sorry." He knew her suspicionsand Florian's and Catlin's. He felt a dull surprise that they let him this close to her. "I wasn't anywhere. I got disoriented. Wandered off." The plane began to move, pale landscape swinging past the windows in the edge of his vision. "I just walked until I knew I was in the tunnels; and I found Security and I told them find you."
"That's not half of what I hear. Novgorod is real nervous about people acting odd around the subways."
He shut his eyes, just gone for the moment, exhausted, and the seat was soft, comfortable as a pillow all around him, while he was trying to organize his thoughts. The engines began to drown out sound, a universal white-out. Someone leaned near him and drew the belt over him. He looked up at Catlin as the catch snapped. The plane was gathering speed. Ari was belting in. Catlin and Florian dropped into the seats by him.
The takeoff had a peculiarly perilous feel. Maybe it was the drug that dizzied him; maybe it was the steep bank the pilot pulled, an abrupt maneuver unlike anything he had ever felt. He gripped the arms of the seat, remembering the chance of sabotage, remembering the fire
"Wes, back there, is a class one medic," Ari said to him, raising her voice over the engine-sound. "He's got the equipment. When we level off we can get you an almost-real bed. How are you doing?"
"Fuzzed. They shot me with numb-out." He tried to focus on here and now, the list of things he wanted to ask her. "GiraudJordancould be in danger."
"I'm head of Security at the moment," Ari said. "I'll tell youI'm quite aware of our problems. I went to the Bureau, I laid the problems out, and when we land we're going to call Family councilthat's why I desperately want you there. For one thing, you've a vote. For another, you can probably tell things I can't, about what's gone on all these years."
"You're challenging Denys?"
Ari nodded. "I'm bringing your father in. He's already left Pytho. That was for his protection, to get him home where there are witnesses. I could divert the plane. But that would tell too much. Say that I can hide certain orders from Denys. Not a whole plane. It's due in at 1500. We're projecting arrival about 1400. We're running that close. I can stall its landing, divert it to Svetlansk or somewhere, after we've landed. I hope to have Denys thinking I'm coming back for safety reasons. But he probably won't accept that."
He had thought he had had all he could take, already. He sat there with adrenaline pouring into his exhausted system and wondered why he was relatively calm. We're going to die, he thought. Somewhere along thisthey're going to get us. Somewhere in the networks of Security orders, the airport, the militarythe BureauHouse Administration
"The first thing he'll move on," he said, "is my father and your friends. And they haven't got a way of finding it out."
"I sent Amy a very simple message this morning. It contained a codeword. There's a good chance she's been able to warn the others: she's on Base One right now, and that's a lot of defense in itself. Don't worry."
"God." He took several slow breaths. "Why are you trusting me?"
Ari gave a one-sided smileher predecessor's expression, so like her it affected his pulse rate. "I could say, because you know how safe your father and Grant are with Denys right now. Or because you made your choice when you told them to call me. But the real reason is, I always could read youbetter than anyone in the House. You're my friend. I never forget that."
"You choose a damned peculiar way to show it."
The smile hardened. "I choose what works. I don't get my friends killed letting them run into a situation I can see and they don't. I don't argue about some things. I'm self-protective as hell. But you're special with me. You always have been. I hope we never come to odds."
He felt a profound unease at that. And reckoned she meant him to.
"I want to help your father," she said. "But you have to keep him from bringing this to Council. You have to get me the time. Give him time to know me, not the Ari he remembers."
"He'll do that for me."
"He won't trust you."
That hurt. It was also true. "But he'll give me the time. He won't betray his friends, but if I ask him I can get that from him. He is reasonable, Ari. And he does care what happens to me."
"That's clear too." She leaned her head back, turned her face toward Florian, beside her. "Tell Wes come help him. I'm going to trank out about half an hour. I've got to have it."
Justin thought the same. He unbuckled, levered himself out of his seat, and let the Security medic take his arm and steady him on his way aft.
xiv
Grant rested his head on his hands and wiped them back through his hair. "Here," Quentin said, and offered him a soft drink from their own kitchen. "Thank you." He took it and sipped at it, sitting on the couch, while Amy Carnath pored over the output that they had linked up to the living room monitor.
Justin was all right; the plane was up. They were on their way back; the worst of their fears had not come true; but they were not home yet.
Ari had stalled the press conference till dawn, putting out bulletin after bulletin, each more appalling than the last, until she had come on herself and fueled a whole new set of speculations not laying it indubitably to the Paxers, but by implication taking into Khalid, perhaps even intimating the existence of high-level complicity, virtually declaring for office
Then, after the news conference, a message came through Base One to sera Amy, and Base One started pouring out instructions. . . .
Amy, this is Ari, via Base One. This is all pre-recorded, so you can't talk back and forth, just listen and do this.
Something's happened. I can't know what in advance, but if you're getting this, something drastic will have happened, and I'm either in hospital, dead, or somewhere outside Reseune and in trouble.
First thing, protect yourself.
Second, the warning flasher we talked is out over the House system now, so everybody knows to take precautions.
Help them if you can. Base One is now available for you to use on Florian's and Catlin's level, and that means you can get information and perform operations without leaving a flag even for Denys or Giraud. The Help function is under Tutor if you need it.
I don't think they'll go at you. They know Base One uses lethal force. I don't advise your taking other people up onto the floor, but use your discretion in extreme need.
Don't use Base One to request information outside Reseune. I can, but for various reasons I haven't incorporated that routine under this accessmostly that it's hard not to give yourself away. I've encoded every single contingency I can think of and if I've activated this, I've probably fired you off a list of pertinent items via a code transmission in the net to Base One.
As follows:
Assassination attempt; from inside Reseune; Jordan Warrick; not involved; Jordan Warrick moved; to Reseune; trust Grant; but; Justin Warrick; whereabouts uncertain; in Novgorod; watch out for; Denys.
Grant drank his soft drink and stared bleakly at the computer flow, codes, mostly, which he could not read, which, very likely, Amy could not read, but the advanced system which had annexed their home unit very probably did read, and Base One answered Amy's questions.