Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (42 page)

"And
the
other
solution
is
to
find
a
way
to
prove
whether
the
individual
Others—and
their
staff
people—are
loyal,"
she
said;
"once sorted,
you
can
fire
just
the
disloyal."

"That
would
be
preferable,"
he
said,
"if
we
can
figure
out
how
to do
it.
But
even
then,
we're
still
left
with
people
working
for
us
who were
fooled."

"There
are
worse
crimes
than
being
deceived,"
she
said.
"And
speaking
of
crimes,
I
noticed
that
one
thing
you
wanted
the
researchers
to
seek
was
undercover
groups
in
the
financial
and
criminal
areas—how
did
you
get
to
that?"

"Oh,
that,"
he
said.
"I
don't
know
if
you'd
call
it
a
process
of elimination,
or
just
extrapolation,
but
if
you
look
at
what
we
do
know
about
what
those
unknowns
have
been
doing—manipulating markets
and
economies,
arranging
assassinations—they're
good
at those
kinds
of
things.
They
must
have
had
practice."

"Well,
then,"
Toni
said,
"that
brings
up
another
question:
why would
professional
criminals
go
through
all
the
trouble
of
working for
the
Others?
Some
of
them
have
been
with
us
for
years,
although it
doesn't
strike
me
as
the
kind
of
life
that
appeals
to
criminals
...
and
I
can't
think
of
a
lot
they
could
gain
by
doing
so,
either."

"Yes,"
he
said,
frowning
in
the
darkness,
"that's
another
question."

He
slid
back
down
from
the
wall,
to
lie
flat.

"We
have
a
lot
more
to
learn,"
he
said.

"Not
now,"
she
said,
moving
down
herself.
"You
need
your sleep."

She
laughed.

"I'm
getting
to
sound
like
Kaj."

In
the
morning
Toni
was
out
of
the
bedroom
before
Bleys
was ready,
insisting
she
would
prepare
a
hot
breakfast.

"We've
been
badly
off-schedule,"
she
said.
"A
return
to
our usual
routine
will
make
us
feel
better,
which
means
we'll
think
better.
When
you're
ready,
come
to
the
kitchen
and
help
me."

"I
should
check
on
what's
been
happening
overnight,"
he
said.

"By
the
time
you
get
to
the
kitchen,
I'll
have
breakfast
ready.
You can
help
me
carry
it
to
our
desks,
and
you
can
do
your
checking
while you
eat."

Reports
had
already
begun
to
come
in
from
the
researchers— most,
so
far,
relayed
from
the
other
side
of
the
planet,
where
the first
day
of
researches
had
just
ended.

"This
is
puzzling,"
Toni
said,
forwarding
a
new
batch
of
reports to
Bleys'
screen.
"I'm
not
sure
this
is
of
any
use,
but
you
said
you wanted
to
see
everything."

Bley
s
only
nodded,
his
eyes
glued
on
his
screen
while
he
ate largely
by
feel.

"A
bit
later,
we'll
get
back
to
our
workouts,"
Toni
said.
She
had to
repeat
herself
to
get
his
attention.

Late
in
the
afternoon,
Bleys
looked
up
from
his
screen
as
Toni
appeared
in
the
lounge,
her
hair
still
slightly
damp—the
two
of
them had
completed
a
short
but
vigorous
workout
only
a
short
time
before,
and
Bleys
had
rushed
right
to
his
screen
while
she
went
off
to their
quarters.

"You
need
to
shower,"
she
said.

"I'll
go
in
a
moment,"
he
said.
"I
needed
to
look
at
the
data
right away,
to
see
how
it
fits
with
an
idea
I
got
while
we
were
working out."

"I
could
tell
you
were
distracted,"
she
said.
"Remember,
you have
to
be
able
to
let
go
of
the
world."

"I
know,"
he
said.
"I
just
couldn't
do
it.
.
.
.
Anyway,
I
think
I'm starting
to
see
a
pattern—or
maybe
two
patterns."

"Two?
What
do
you
mean?"

"Let
me
think
about
it
while
I
shower,"
he
said.
"If
it
holds
up, I'll
explain—and
maybe
we'll
have
some
planning
to
do." "Is
there
anything
I
should
look
into
while
you're
gone?" He
sat
silent,
thinking.

"I'm
working
on
another
plan,"
he
said
at
last.
"It'll
need
a
few
of Henry's
people,
and
I'm
afraid
it'll
involve
actions
he
might
not
be happy
about."

"Will
anyone
get
hurt?"
Toni
asked.

"No."

"Then—"
she
began;
but
he
interrupted
her. "Not
immediately,"
he
added. "All
right,"
she
said.
"What
else
do
you
need?" "A
medician,"
he
said.
"One
with
advanced
pharmacological
experience."