APRIL 26, 2424
0744H
Damn. Staff had been busy last night.
Florian had taken direct action, the morning’s messages informed Ari while she dressed: Florian had gotten Justin and Grant out of range of Jordan’s machinations–well, that was good. She’d been trying to accomplish that for six weeks. There’d been the chance, the very real chance, that Jordan might resort to snatching one or the other–likely Grant–for a few hours of therapy. Her staff had been watching nonstop for just such a move. Now they could all relax a bit.
But the next line of Florian’s report suggested otherwise.
A contact number? Yanni’s Dr. Patil. Yanni’s transcript had included that interview. She’d initially ignored that part of the schedule as probably just one of Yanni’s frequent meetings with ranking scientists, and university professors were thick on his usual list. But Patil was clearly a significant name, and Ari didknow the content of Yanni’s talk with her.
And it wasn’t the first time she’d heard the name. Dr. Patil had had a set‑to with Uncle Denys about a paper last year. Denys had gotten mad. He’d threatened to send Patil to Planys, except Yanni had talked him out of it.
And Jordan handed Justin a card with that name on it?
Damn! was her immediate reaction.
Florian suggested Jordan might want to signal Yanni he knew something about Yanni’s business in Novgorod. Or maybe there was some connection with the fight Jordan and Yanni had had before Yanni left…which made a certain sense.
Jordan wasn’t in official communication with anybody but Yanni, had no social contact but Justin, and he had no security clearance beyond Library, not all of that, and not even the most basic access to System.
That posed a question.
A possibly scary question.
She keyed a message back to her security, whoever was at the desk: “Find out how Jordan got that card. Do anything that furthers that investigation.”
Then she pushed back from the desk and got up.
It was probably safest not to talk to Justin until the immediate irritation of the disarrangement had gone away–he was bound to be adrenaline‑high, and that never improved communication, did it?
Yanni, Florian’s message had said, was already notified–about the move, at least. Yanni wouldn’t object to whatever she did regarding Justin Warrick.
But Yanni hadn’theard about this Dr. Patil being linked to a mysterious card Jordan knew they were going to question.
Thatwas a matter worth telling Yanni, and getting his reaction. And since she’d officially read the transcript and it jibed with what she’d gotten from Base One, she could at least take that caution out of her thinking and ask some questions.
If Jordan had found out that Yanni was talking to Patil, how had he known that? He didn’t get mail. He had no way to get a business card. Maybe Yanni himself had dropped information, making the move to rattle Jordan out of his cover. In that case she had better find out about it. And the worst thing she could do would be to start giving blind orders to put Florian and Catlin in the middle of it.
She put on her sweater, searched her closet for a pair of pants, herself–she managed her own wardrobe lately.
There was a leak somewhere. Maybe Yanni had arranged it, just to see where information flowed. She didn’t like to be caught by surprise.
And she didn’t want Justin involved in any investigation of his father. He wasn’t involved in Jordan’s business: she’d stake everything on that. And did.
But she still didn’t want to trip up anything Yanni was doing.
Meanwhile Justin was probably mad as hell about being moved, and upset about the business with the card, and probably under‑informed, over all. Justin without enough information was going to wonder about it, and wonder, and build his own hypotheses in private, and just stew for hours.
Maybe it was better to send a simple friendly message to Justin, just a deliberately naive welcome‑in. Justin wouldn’t believe she was innocent of ordering this disruption of his life.
Or he might: this time he had Jordan to blame. She might be able to turn the frustration in that direction.
She lapped her hair into three quarters of a braid and let it go–it would be hanging loose in ten minutes; but she put on makeup, at least, and took care about it.
Grant had to be considerably relieved, this morning, to know they weren’t going to be working up close with Jordan daily, where it was oh, so easy for Jordan to get at him. Justin had to be relieved, at least, that Grant wasn’t involved. Justin would certainly focus his irritation on Jordan, unless she stepped in the line of fire and created an issue and a target. So any message she sent into that ferment of vexation had to be cautious.
She sat down at the keyboard and tapped into the secure, local net. It wasn’t my order, she typed, which was the truth. But I think it’s a good idea. He can have the office all to himself. It was bugged anyway. –Ari.
Justin might think that was funny.
Or maybe he wouldn’t.
She sighed.
And typed a postscript: Justin, don’t be upset with me. Phone, if you have a problem with this.
Not that she was going to back down from what Florian had done. It was only moving the schedule up, regarding the move to her wing for both residency andoffice space. Justin didn’t know that, but it was the truth.
She went back to the console and keyed one more message. Yanni didn’t do it either.
Then she put on her boots and went to gather up Florian and Catlin.
Straight to Yanni’s office, over in Admin, before she did anything else, and she did that, with Florian–Catlin was busy with some research. By the time she got there it was 0840h, and Yanni’s foyer was already full of problems.
She didn’t go through the foyer. She took the side entry, the one Yanni himself used, and Yanni’s secretary, Chloe, looked up in startlement.
“Sera?”
“Tell Yanni take a restroom break. I need to talk to him.”
“Sera,” Chloe said respectfully, and pushed a button on the console. Chloe didn’t even talk to Yanni. Yanni came through the door fairly promptly.
And stopped cold.
“I need to talk,” Ari said. “Now.”
So Yanni immediately opened the door behind Chloe, and went in. Florian walked in, to stand behind her, while she sat down at one end of the conference table–it was a big one–and Yanni did, at the other end.
“A problem?” Yanni asked. “I had a report this morning–that there was some goings‑on involving Justin. That you moved him out of the Education Wing altogether, fired his staff, and gave Jordan an office. Is thisthe sudden problem?”
“Jordan is the problem. Jordan wants an office of his own.”
“And you apparently gave him one.”
“I did, ser,” Florian said, behind her. “It was done at my level.”
“I stand by it,” Ari said, “if it doesn’t actually hurt anything. It didn’t seem to me it does.”
Yanni remained as he was, just looking at her, and thinking–clearly thinking. “Jordan asked me for an office before I left. Evidently he thought he could get away with going around me.”
“He didn’t ask me. He said he was going to move in on Justin. So Florian moved Justin to my wing.”
“Except his staff, ser,” Florian said.
“Are you going to talk at me from two different levels?” Yanni asked, looking from her, seated, to Florian, standing.
“Sorry, ser,” Florian said.