Call to Family council, the advisement flashed out on the net: Ariane Emory, calling emergency session via House System, to consider the question: nomination of Dr. Yanni Schwartz to replace Denys Nye as Administrator of Reseune, meeting to be held at 1700 or as soon as practical.
Grant stood back and folded his arms. He had no vote. He was following the scroll of activity on the monitor, that had accelerated markedly ever since RESEUNE ONE had entered approach. That last advisement came as a vast relief to more than himself, he thought: a calculated bit of psych, a tag of grim humor: Emory in full flower.
There were Security orders all over the system of a sudden, outpouring from Base One.
Ari did not look up from the screen; and Justin did not speak, following the flow on an auxiliary Florian had used. Occasionally she gave a voice input or pushed a key; and changes happened. Queries were incoming: RESEUNE ONE's crew, forward, kept their posts, keeping the plane ready to move away and, if the airport seemed threatened, to take to the air again.
He had much rather stay on the ground; and he wished to hell he had some knowledge of the codes that might have told him where things stood.
"We're all right," Ari said. "Sam's got the trucks up from Green; they're going up the hillno challenge yet. He's holding inside Administration, probably inside Security itself."
She made more changes.
She could, she said, open any doors that were not disabled or under an outlaw Base's control.
Makes it easier, Florian had said, stuffing the pockets of his jacket with various small components out of his own kitprobes and wire, mostly, with some sort of system evident. And Florian had taken a small bag from a locker, and another from a second locker; and handled those very carefully, while Catlin had arranged things with the Security agents aft.
They must be halfway up the hill now, Justin thought.
"Sera," the intercom said suddenly, communication from RESEUNE ONE's crew. "We've got a phone relay from Administration. Dr. Nye, asking to speak with you personally, sera."
"Don't divert your attention," Justin muttered.
"Damn right. Put it over the intercom; we're all intimate here. Justin, punch that yellow button on your arm-rest and pass me the mike, will you? This one's engaged."
"Ari," Denys' voice said over the intercom. "I really think you're being a little excitable."
Ari laughed, never taking her eyes from the screen in front of her. She held out her left hand and Justin laid the mike-wand into it. "Are you hearing me, uncle Denys?"
"I'm hearing you fine, dear. I wish you'd make clear exactly what's going on here, and call off your troops before they do serious damage to the wing."
"You want to unlock those doors, uncle Denys? We can talk about this. I promise you'll be safe. I'll even continue Giraud."
"I don't know what happened in Novgorod: I'm sure it's more than you've told me. Can we talk about this?"
"I don't mind."
"I'm willing to resign. I want protection for myself and my people. I think that's reasonable."
"Perfectly reasonable, uncle Denys. How do we make that official?"
"You stop your people. You guarantee me custody of Giraud's replicate. I'm perfectly willing to accept retirement. I have the means to make taking this place extremely expensive; but there's no need. I have the feeling you must blame me for the events in Novgorod"
Ari laughed again, with less humor, Justin thought. "I really don't know, uncle Denys. I don't entirely care. I've rather well overrun the course you set for me; and it's my time. The changing of the seasons. Perfectly natural. You can have a wing, you can have your comforts I know that matters to you, uncle Denys. You can work on your books, I do know about that. They're wonderful. You have so much valuable yet to do. . . ."
"You're very flattering, young sera. I want Seely."
Ari was silent a moment. "Under some restrictions. I can agree to that."
"You don't touch him!"
"I wouldn't hurt Seely, uncle Denys. We can work something out. I promise you. I won't file charges. Your life will be exactly the same. You don't travel anyway; and you'll have Giraud to occupy you and Seely, won't you? You were a damned good parent, you know; and very kind, really you were. You could have done a lot of things to me Geoffrey did to Ari senior; and you took a chance with the program and didn't. I really have quite a warm feeling for you about that, uncle Denys; and for Seely; and for Giraud. Giraud and I got to be really close at the last; and I really don't think he did it, I think it was a worm in Abban's tapes. I think it was something you put there. Maybe not. I may have an over-active imagination. They're going to take those doors down, uncle Denys; and practically speaking, you're running out of time."
"Stop them."
"Are you going to come outside, uncle Denys? With Seely?"
"All right. When you get up here. I want a guarantee of safety."
"You have it in my word, uncle Denys."
"I want you here to control your people. Then I'll open the doors."
Justin shook his head. Ari looked at him and said: "All right, uncle Denys. I'll be up there." She pointed at the button on Justin's seat. Justin pushed it, breaking contact.
"Ari?"
Ari pushed a button on her chair arm. "We're finished. Break contact."
"Ari," Justin said, "he wants you in range."
Ari watched the screen and said: "That might be, but he's in an awfully bad position." She picked up her own microphone. "We've got contact with Denys. He says hold off, he's just resigned. Confirm; pick it up. Justin: you stay here."
"Dammit, Ari, "
" I wouldn't be going up there, except I hope we can do this without a shot. I'm enough for Security to worry about; they don't need another one. If something goes badly wrong, this plane is going back to Novgorod, and you can tell the Bureau the whole damn mess, then do what you like. But I'd prefer you back in Reseune, running another of my sets. I'll even let you pick the surrogates."
He stared at her.
"I have a lot of unfinished business," Ari said, standing by the seat. "If I don't make it out of thisgetting me back is a real priority. Gehenna is only one of the problems. And you need me the same as I need you."
She gathered up Marco, and Wes unsealed the door, and sealed it again after her.
It was true, he thought as that door closed. Everything else considered, it was true.
Then he thought of what she had said: only one of the problems; and: the same as I need you. . . .
xvi
"I don't like this," Florian said, crouched close to Catlin, where the bus and the hill made a little cover a curve away from the glass main doors. His hands were cold, exposed to the air: he protected the left one under his arm and watched the data-flow on the hand-held monitor in his right.
"It's a case of What's he got," Catlin said, tucked down tight, chest against arms against knees.
"Seely isn't sera's kind of problem," Florian said.
Catlin looked at him, quick and hard. "Sniper or something bigger up there. You want those doors?"
"Grenade will handle that. They're doing final prep in there now, I'm sure of it, now sera's left the airport. This whole thing is a set."