Chapter 2: Passing the Buck

"I honestly didn't think there were any more copies of this particular issue still around," said Tseng, staring unhappily at the dog-eared copy of Barely Legal, Harvest Time Special! that Reno had flung onto his desk. The cover displayed a mildly suggestive image of three fit young men in tight swimsuits posed with baskets of fruits and vegetables. It boasted cheesy cover lines like "12 Hometown Hunks," "Ripped & Ready," and "Erotic Veggies: Firm Zucchinis; Long, Plump Carrots; or Round, Juicy Tomatoes—Which is Your Favorite? Take Our New Quiz!" The clincher, though, was "Dumbapples: Year Round Sweetness!"

"This is embarrassing," Reno complained. "It was published over seven years ago. Who even cares anymore?"

"The company cares," Tseng said calmly. He steepled his fingers and remained sitting, refusing to show any sign of discomfort.

"Public relations," Rude added helpfully.

Exasperated, Reno threw his hands in the air. "So stupid, yo!" He drew in a deep breath. "Look, no one's found a copy in at least three years. It was just dumb luck that we even stumbled on this one. It's probably the last one left on the entire Planet. Can't someone finally rescind those stupid orders?"

"But you did locate one, which unfortunately means there still may be more," observed Tseng. "Though I will inquire about the necessity of those orders when I hand this over to Veld."

"Why not just destroy it now? That's what's gonna happen to it, anyway."

"Destroy what?" Cissnei stopped by Tseng's desk with a file. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is for you," she added, handing the file to Tseng. She glanced down at his desk. "Oh, that's what you're talking about? You actually got one? I've been looking for ages but never seen one myself."

"Just got lucky," Reno said with a heavy note of sarcasm.

"Didn't know you were into that sort of thing." Cissnei grabbed the magazine up and flipped directly to the centerfold. Her eyes widened and a big smile spread across her face. "Wow," she said. "I'd do him."

"Oh, please." Reno snatched it away from her.

"Hey!" she protested. "I was looking at that."

"You're too young for this."

"I'm older than he was when he posed for that picture!"

Reno frowned and looked at the centerfold. "I never thought much about that before, but you're right. He was fifteen. He looks a lot older, more like seventeen or eighteen."

"Well, the magazine is called Barely Legal, you know." She hid a giggle behind one hand. "At least they're honest."

"His age at the time is in the briefing for the orders," Rude said. He added pragmatically, "He probably lied about it to the magazine."

"He was already getting bulked up even back then," Reno said, examining the centerfold with a more critical eye than before and ignoring the way Cissnei peered over his shoulder. "I know he had a pretty meteoric rise to make First Class by the time he was seventeen, but even so I always wondered why he didn't have more sense than to pose for this or why no one in the company stopped him. Fifteen, now, that's different. Dumb kid, yo."

"He was smart enough to use a fake name," Cissnei said. "'Michael Stevens.' Boooooring. He should have jazzed it up."

"That's enough, all of you," Tseng said, deftly removing the magazine from Reno's hands and sliding it into an interdepartmental mailing envelope to hide it. With disfavor, he eyed the long list of crossed-out names and mail-codes on the gray mailer. It ended with his own name near the bottom.

Very deliberately, he took a pen and drew a line through that last, offending row. That was the normal protocol before reusing a mailer—cross out the last line, write in the new recipient, mail-code, and sender on the next—but with just a thin scribble through each of the rows, a reader could still see the names. His name, in particular. He grabbed a bigger marker and completely blacked out that last line. He didn't want the thing to find its way back to him. Ever.

Reno, Rude, and Cissnei watched in silence.

Tseng finally stood and moved around his desk, envelope in hand. "I will take this directly to Veld. Return to your duties."

Cissnei made a moue of disappointment, but Reno and Rude looked relieved as Tseng walked away.