*
Incessant heartbeat.
Scratching, a bird’s feet on metal.
Pulsing shocks of fear.
Muttering voices, incomprehensible.
Time passing like molasses…
*
More voices, in another time and place, discussing the possibility of surgical extraction of implants… but they were too deeply interwoven into his neural matrix; the risk of killing him was too great…
A pity… it might have been so quick, so easy…
*
When he came to, Legroeder felt dizzy and nauseous, with ringing memories of voices clashing like armies. But the visor was off; he could see. “What… how long…?” he rasped.
A different tech came forward. A woman this time; she had a flesh-and-blood face, thin and birdlike. Her voice was deeper than the previous tech’s. “You were out for twelve hours. We couldn’t get a thing. You aren’t holding your augments back, are you? The Boss assured us you were trying to get access.”
Legroeder blinked furiously. His eyes were gritty; his head hurt from the clamp pads. But it hurt even more on the inside.
“We’ll keep trying,” muttered the tech. “There are some other approaches that might—”
The nearby door slid open. A female voice shouted, “Get him out now, I said!”
Legroeder tried to turn.
“Miss Alfa,” said the tech in apparent surprise.
“Do you understand now?” Tracy-Ace/Alfa, in her black work outfit, strode into view, gesturing angrily. The tech seemed frozen in alarm. Tracy-Ace peered down at Legroeder. “My God, what are they doing to you?” She slapped an open palm down on one of the controls. The clamp-pads fell away, releasing him abruptly. Legroeder gasped, his head rolling on the headrest. He could barely control the movement.
A hand on his shoulder, Tracy-Ace bent to peer into his eyes. “Are you all right?”
“Uh…” His lips felt as though they’d been anesthetized.
Tracy-Ace yanked open a drawer and snatched out a handheld paramedical probe. She thrust it against his chest. “Hold still. Okay—you’re not having a cardiac event—but your cortical activity looks scrambled.” Muttering under her breath, she peered into his eyes again. Her augments flickered, illuminating her face. “Rings, Legroeder, I wish I’d gotten here sooner.”
“I… it’s…” It’s all right.
No, it’s not all right. Where the hell were you?
“Christ, I’m sorry.”
“Been here… twelve hours…” His voice was a whisper.
“Damn that fucker! I was with Impris. YZ/I didn’t tell me he was sending you here. I’ll kill him.” Tracy-Ace’s brow was furrowed, her gaze deep and probing as she studied him.
Was she telling the truth? He had to steel himself not to be drawn into those eyes. Not until he knew.
She released the straps. “Come on, we’re getting out of here.” She turned and hollered, “Lieutenant Zond!”
Back at his quarters, Tracy-Ace fed him a dinner that she’d sent Zond to fetch. Some kind of noodles; he swallowed without noticing the taste. When Tracy-Ace was satisfied that he wouldn’t keel over, she said, “You need rest and I need to talk to YZ/I. I’ll leave Zond outside, with orders to let no one in except by my authorization.”
Legroeder tried to choke back an angry reply. It bubbled up anyway. “A lot of good Zond will be. He’s the one who took me to that place. How do I know he won’t take me back there the minute you leave?”
Tracy-Ace bristled. “He will obey my orders.”
Legroeder flushed. “Were those your orders, for me to be worked over by the inquisition?”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Is that what you think?”
“Well, you just said—”
“Damn. That is what you think, isn’t it?” She studied Legroeder with narrowed eyes. “I did not send you there. YZ/I did it, without letting me know. I have now transferred authority over Zond back to me.”
“And YZ/I can’t take it right back?”
Tracy-Ace stared at him hard, the flickering around her eyes slowly dying down. “He won’t,” she said softly. “I will see to that. Believe me, I will.”
Before he could respond, she leaned forward as though to kiss him on the cheek. Instead, she gripped his shoulders and squeezed, giving him a quick hug. Then she was out the door, leaving him reverberating with a welter of confused images from the contact.
Legroeder finished his meal in a state of shock. How much of that was he supposed to believe? He ought to call Deutsch, or the Narseil. But he was so exhausted. He needed to stretch out on his bunk to rest. Just for a few minutes…
When sleep came over him it was deep and filled with angry dreams.
He dreamed of distant, crackling contact through his implants… flickering images of Tracy-Ace and Yankee-Zulu/Ivan… and echoes of shouting voices…
Fucking bastard! WHY DID YOU HIDE THAT FROM ME?
Am I supposed to show you everything?
When it matters like that—yes, dammit! You deliberately—
Spared you a distraction when you had other responsibilities. I think you’re letting your personal feelings—
Fuck my personal feelings!
Now, Tracy-Ace/Alfa, I suggest you calm down…
CALM DOWN? I’ll calm down after I’ve wrung your miserable neck, you lying manipulative sonofabitch!
Watch your tone, Node Alfa…
It’s about the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do.
I said, watch your tone…
The connection hissed and faded…
Legroeder was awakened by Tracy-Ace, bringing breakfast. He sat up, holding his head, trying to sort dream from reality. He could not. “What the devil’s going on?” he gasped.
“A lot,” she said tightly. “How are you feeling?”
“Lousy.” He drew a slow, painful breath. Memories of the inquisition were already crowding out whatever remained of the fragments of his dreams. “I guess returning-hero status is pretty short-lived around here.”
“I have just had a long and unpleasant talk with YZ/I about that very question,” she said severely, pouring him a cup of murk from a thermal pitcher. She put a plate with a breakfast roll and a citromelon slice in front of him. “Let’s just say, your status has been restored.”
He squinted, shouting voices echoing in his mind. “Yeah? How wonderful.”
She frowned. “You don’t believe me.”
He didn’t look at her. “I didn’t say that. Thanks for breakfast.”
“Legroeder…” She frowned harder. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
He didn’t answer, or look up.
“Legroeder, I would have stopped it sooner if I’d known. I really would have. I’m sorry.”
He finally raised his eyes, and tried not to sound too acid. “I thought you were this all-fired powerful node. How could you not have known?”
She stared at him, open-mouthed.
“I thought so. Maybe you should leave now.”
“Legroeder. Look, I know you’re mad at me, and I don’t blame you. I should have been there to look out for you. But YZ/I blindsided me; he kept me from seeing what was happening until after you’d been worked over.”