Disclaimers in Pt. 1.
Chapter 3
Renee walked into Doors' office and stopped in front of his desk, looking at him.
"Yes, Renee?" Doors asked after a moment, not looking up.
"Did you hear about what happened yesterday?" Renee demanded.
At that, Doors did look up. "Liam got shot," he replied calmly. "It wasn't serious, and Dr. Park informed me that he has already returned to duty. In spite of her advice."
"According to Liam, two security sweeps didn't pick up the gunman. One was done just about ten minutes before the attack itself. The sensors then somehow managed to miss the gunman's escape completely," Renee told him.
"That's nice," Doors returned, his tone saying that he couldn't care less. "Look, Renee, you should know perfectly well that I don't care if Zo'or ends up dead."
"Neither do I," Renee replied with a shrug. "But the point I'm trying to make, Jonathan, is that none of the sensors picked this guy up. Liam says a scrap of fabric was recovered at the scene, and that the forensics chief told him and Sandoval that this fabric is impenetrable to Taelon sensors."
Doors stared at her for a moment, finally reacting to what she was saying. "Are you trying to tell me that someone has actually used the vaile?"
"I don't know," Renee said. "Liam is going to be bringing me a copy of the forensics report when he gets back from escorting Zo'or to Africa, or wherever it is they're going. I'm hoping that it will turn out to be just a coincidence, but I'm worried that someone might have managed to get access to the vaile. If so, that means our security is thoroughly compromised, again. Liam is being forced to deal with one of our security breaches, again. I promised him after the fiasco with the Mneme machines that I'd tighten security on all our projects. He's not going to be happy."
Doors frowned. "Frankly, I don't give a damn about whether Liam is happy or not," he retorted. "But if we've had a security breach... get to the lab; find out if any is missing."
Renee nodded. "And what should I tell Liam?"
"Only what he needs to know," Doors snapped.
"Damn it, Jonathan. I'm tired of you putting me in this position," she said. "He's going to want reasons for why he wasn't told about the vaile from the beginning."
Doors sighed. "I have no doubt that he knows exactly why we kept it from him, Renee," he replied. "He isn't stupid. If need be, tell him that we wanted to make sure it actually worked correctly before offering it to the Resistance. After all, the effect is only temporary at present."
"Fine," Renee said. "Just make sure that all the records read that way as well. Augur wasn't any more pleased about this than Liam."
Doors nodded and returned his attention to his screen in an obvious dismissal.
Sighing, Renee left the office and headed for the executive elevator. Getting in, she punched a code on the keypad, and let the elevator whisk her down to the laboratory level - silently dreading what she would find.
Liam sighed as he listened to the discussion between Si'al - the Egyptian Companion - Zo'or, and the African premier. Si'al's Protector, Colonel Ahmid, looked almost as bored as he felt.
Meetings, meetings, meetings. When there wasn't something else going on that demanded his attention, or the possibility of a security threat, being a Companion-Protector could be one of the dullest jobs on Earth. Liam found these diplomatic meetings to be particularly boring, even if his being present for them had occasionally resulted in useful information for the Resistance.
Of course, most jobs are boring in some way or another, Liam reflected, shifting his weight a bit. His shoulder was starting to hurt again, as the painkillers he'd taken earlier wore off. He shot a surreptitious glance at his watch, and groaned silently when he saw the time. Ten-thirty. He couldn't take the next dose of painkillers for another half-hour... longer if the meeting didn't end before then.
Great, he thought sourly. If the painkillers were constantly going to wear off before he was allowed to take the next dose, the next few weeks were going to be exceedingly unpleasant.
It would be even more unpleasant if he and Sandoval couldn't find the gunman.
Then, suddenly, Zo'or was starting to stand up, and Liam realized that the meeting was over. It looked as though he wasn't going to have to wait to take the painkillers after all.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Premier," Zo'or said politely. He nodded to the Egyptian Companion. "Si'al."
"Zo'or," Si'al replied, nodding back.
"Come, Major," Zo'or continued, as he started for the entrance.
Liam trailed behind him, firmly pushing down his irritation at being spoken to like a well-trained dog. A large part of that irritation was simply a reaction to the pain he was experiencing; by now, he should be accustomed to the fact that that was how Zo'or saw all Companion-Protectors.
They had exited the Embassy and were starting around back, heading to the shuttle, when an energy bolt abruptly hit the ground in front of Zo'or.
Shit!
Liam reacted immediately, pushing Zo'or down behind a small clump of bushes that grew at the edge of the Embassy's lawn. He ignored the pain in his shoulder, concentrating on trying to locate where the attack was coming from as more energy bolts splattered around them.
He put his gun down on the ground for a moment and reached for his global - but before he got it open, the shuttle swooped over them.
Good going, Roberts! Liam thought. Grabbing up his gun again, he peered over the top of the bushes and the scant cover they provided and fired in the general direction he thought the shots were coming from. He couldn't aim very well using his left hand, but hopefully it would help keep their attacker pinned until they managed to get to the shuttle.
The shuttle landed just behind them, and Liam turned slightly to look at Zo'or. "Go!" he ordered.
Zo'or nodded and hurried toward the shuttle, keeping low. Liam followed him, dodging the shots that spattered the ground at his feet.
He flung himself into the shuttle, biting his lower lip as the impact jarred his collarbone. "Get us out of here!" he ordered.
Roberts didn't bother to respond out loud - his attention was all for the controls as they took off.
Pushing himself off the floor of the shuttle with his left hand, Liam winced and sat down in his seat, securing himself in. Dr. Park was going to be furious if he'd done any additional damage.
However, at the moment, he had more important things to concern himself with. "Roberts, did you get anything on the sensors?"
"No sir," Roberts replied. "The first indication I had that there was a problem was when the sensors picked up the energy bolts."
Liam nodded. Obviously, this was the same man who had shot at Zo'or yesterday - well, either that, or Renee and Doors were going to be in a hell of a lot more trouble than they were at the moment. "Quick thinking, bringing the shuttle around."
"Thank you, sir," Roberts replied. "I notified the mothership as soon as I saw what was happening," he added.
"Good job," Liam said, leaning back in his seat. Then he glanced over at Zo'or.
The Taelon did not look pleased; and yet, at the same time, Liam thought he caught a hint of satisfaction in Zo'or's manner - something that didn't exactly go with just having been shot at.
"Are you all right, Zo'or?" he asked. "None of the bolts hit you, did they?"
"I am fine, Major," came the calm reply.
Liam studied him for a moment longer, then gave up. Between the pain and the other problems occupying his mind, he wasn't up to figuring out what Zo'or was up to just at the moment.
And, speaking of other problems... Liam thought, how on earth did this guy know where Zo'or was?
Sandoval sat down on the examination table and waited patiently as Dr. Curzon scanned the results of the blood test she'd just run.
"Well, Agent Sandoval, I'm glad to report that you're doing fine," she said after a few minutes. "There don't seem to be any complications from the treatment."
"Good," Sandoval replied. He paused for a moment, and then took the plunge. "Dr. Curzon... there's something I need to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"The blood that... my son's blood. You mentioned that there were some gene oddities that the sequencer wasn't able to identify. What sort of oddities?"
Dr. Curzon frowned. "I'm not certain," she replied. "The report just mentioned the oddities, and I'm not enough of a geneticist to be able to identify them."
"Is there any way you can find out?" Sandoval demanded.
"Why?" she asked.
Sandoval took a deep breath and thought for a moment. Should he trust her?
Well, he'd trusted her quite a bit already; and so far, she hadn't betrayed anything he'd asked her to keep confidential. "I'm trying to find him," he admitted. "I was thinking that if I knew what those genetic oddities were, it might help in that search."
Curzon looked at him for a minute, and then nodded. "I kept a sample - all of what we didn't need for the treatment. There is someone who might be able to isolate and identify the oddities for you."
"Do it," Sandoval ordered. "But keep my name out of it - I don't want anyone finding out what's going on."
"All right. I'll let you know as soon as I get some results," she added.
"Thank you, Doctor," Sandoval said. "I... This means a great deal to me."
"Yes, I can see that," Curzon replied as Sandoval got off the table and pulled his jacket back on. He started for the door; but before he got there, she called out to him, "For what it's worth, Ron, once you find him, I think you'll make a great father."
A great father, Sandoval thought grimly, as he sat down in the shuttle. His pilot, Volunteer Nadine Brant, started powering it up, but he didn't pay any attention. That's... well, it's not funny - it's ironic. Tragically ironic. All the things I've done in service to the Taelons... what I did to Marquette... and Dr. Curzon thinks I'll be a good father? I'll be lucky if the boy is even willing to see me once I find him!
Actually, that last thought wasn't really fair, Sandoval admitted to himself. The photos he'd been given suggested that his son would be willing to meet him; perhaps even wanted to meet him. But could a child really comprehend what he had done?
Think positive, Sandoval. Or, if you can't manage that, think of something else.
Major Kincaid, for instance.
Before he'd come down for his appointment with Dr. Curzon, he'd pulled the files on the Volunteers in Lt. Dietz's squad - including Corporal Roberts. Then, in the middle of doing that, he'd also managed to pull down what information both the FBI database and the Taelon mainframe had on one Major Liam Neville Kincaid.
It had made for a fairly slim file.
There was plenty of information - some of it heavily classified - about his various missions before and during the S.I. War; he'd received a number of citations and commendations throughout his military career. And there was a large amount of information on his activities since becoming Da'an's Companion-Protector (although there was nothing in the official files about his ties to the Resistance).
But there was absolutely nothing in there about what he'd been doing between the S.I. War and when he had become Da'an's Protector; and in terms of his personal life... the file contained his date of birth, his parents' names, the city he was born in, and his past and current addresses. And that was it. Sandoval knew more about the man's personal life than what was in that file - though not much more.
It wasn't enough.
He was going to have to resolve this somehow. Between his ties to Da'an and to the Resistance, Kincaid could be a very valuable asset. But not if Sandoval couldn't trust him. And so far, aside from saving his life a few times in the line of duty, Kincaid hadn't really given him any reasons to trust.
So, what now?
Before he could come up with an answer to that question, his global beeped.
Opening it, Sandoval was surprised to see Da'an's face. "Yes, Da'an?"
"Agent Sandoval, please return to the mothership at once," Da'an ordered.
Sandoval nodded to the Volunteer piloting him, and then returned his attention to his global. "Is something wrong, Da'an?"
The Taelon hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head. "Return to the mothership, Agent Sandoval," he repeated, and Sandoval's global went dark.
As soon as Volunteer Brant set the shuttle down, Sandoval got out of his seat. He hurried out of the shuttle bay and headed straight for the bridge. Something was wrong - something that Da'an didn't want to risk discussing on an open channel of communication.
He walked on to the bridge, and stopped.
Zo'or was seated in the command chair, looking... upset. Volunteer Corporal Roberts was behind him, and Major Kincaid was sitting at a console, his face pale and lined with pain. Da'an was hovering around Kincaid, his expression concerned.
"What happened?" Sandoval demanded.
Kincaid looked over toward him. "He tried again."
Sandoval blinked. "What?"
"The assassin was waiting for us when we left the African Embassy," Zo'or replied. "If not for Major Kincaid and Volunteer Roberts, I would have died."
"He was using energy bolts this time," Kincaid added, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "And it was the same guy - the shuttle's sensors couldn't detect him."
Sandoval's mouth tightened. This was not good. Not good at all. "Energy bolts?" he repeated.
Kincaid nodded slightly, and then winced in pain. "Yes," he replied instead.
"What I wish to know is how this person knew that we were there," Zo'or commented.
"Me too," Kincaid added. "The exact time of the meeting wasn't re-scheduled until this morning, right?"
"That is correct," Da'an said. A faint grimace crossed his face, but Sandoval was the only one who saw, as both Kincaid and Zo'or were looking at him. "Zo'or was most insistent that you be able to accompany him, Liam."
Zo'or looked irritated at this revelation; Kincaid looked surprised.
Sandoval decided to intervene before Da'an and Zo'or got too angry at each other. "Who else knew of the change in schedule?"
"The four of us, Si'al, Colonel Ahmid, the Colonel's pilot, the African premier and his chief of staff," Zo'or replied.
"As well as the Volunteers who were present on the bridge when the meeting was re-scheduled," Da'an pointed out.
"And whoever else any of them might have told," Kincaid added, his tone despairing.
Sandoval shot him an glare, irritated at the younger man's pessimism, and then moderated it a bit when he noticed that the Major looked to be in definite pain. He returned his attention to the two Taelons for a moment. "That will at least give us a start," he said firmly. "Major?"
Kincaid stood up gingerly, his right arm braced not only by the sling he was wearing, but also by his left hand.
"Report as soon as you find anything, Agent Sandoval," Zo'or ordered as they left the bridge.
"What happened?" Sandoval asked, as they started along the corridor toward his office.
"I pushed Zo'or down to avoid the first shot, and then ended up flinging myself into the shuttle, and hitting the floor," Kincaid replied. He winced. "I'm hoping that I didn't do any more damage - that it's mostly the fact that I need another dose of painkillers - or Dr. Park is going to have my head."
"Once we get to my office I'll get you some water," Sandoval said.
Liam sank down gratefully into a chair as soon as they entered Sandoval's office. His shoulder and collarbone were throbbing painfully; had been since he'd ended up on the floor of the shuttle.
"Here," Sandoval said, handing him a glass of water. Liam leaned forward carefully and put the glass on Sandoval's desk, then pulled the bottle of pills from his pocket.
Sandoval plucked it out of his hand. "How many do you need, Major?"
Liam blinked up at him, surprised. "Three," he replied after a moment.
Sandoval opened the bottle, took three out and handed them to him, then closed the bottle and put it down on his desk.
"Thanks," Liam said quietly, before putting the pills into his mouth and taking a sip of water.
Sandoval gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement and sat down behind his desk. "I've already pulled the files on Lieutenant Dietz's squad," he said. "There are a few things I think we need to look into. Then we'll check the security records to find out which Volunteers were on the bridge this morning when Zo'or made the re-scheduling arrangements."
"Sounds good," Liam agreed.
Then his global beeped. Opening it up, he was surprised to see Renee.
"Liam, I need to talk to you," she said.
Liam shot a quick glance at his father and silently debated what to do. Going strictly by the rules, he should really tell Sandoval about Doors International's possible involvement; but at the same time, he didn't want to expose Renee. "What can I do for you, Ms. Palmer?"
He saw the realization in her face that he wasn't alone. "If we could meet at your earliest convenience?"
Sounds like it was Doors' material... "All right; I'll call you when I'm available," Liam said, and closed his global.
Sandoval didn't ask any questions, which was a relief - although Liam wasn't sure whether it was because he was just being polite, or because he felt he didn't need to. Instead, he asked, "Why do you think our man switched to energy bolts?"
"I don't know," Liam replied with a sigh. "If my theory about the first attack being a warning was correct, the only thing I can come up with is that he realized Zo'or wouldn't take a warning. Other than that..."
"Or perhaps it wasn't meant as a warning," Sandoval said. "It does seem fairly obvious that Zo'or is the target; if it was one of the other people on the dais with you yesterday, the gunman wouldn't have attacked you this morning. Any other theories?"
Liam shook his head slowly. "None that I can think of right now."
"Then for the moment, let's concentrate on who might be leaking information." Sandoval passed five of the files on his desk over to Liam. "If anything jumps out at you, we'll call them in immediately."
Liam nodded and settled down in the chair. It was going to be a long day.
Dr. Curzon knocked firmly on the door.
"Come in!" called a voice.
Opening the door, Curzon peered in, making sure that her fellow physician was alone. Ascertaining that she was, Curzon walked in. "Hi, Julianne."
Dr. Julianne Belman, one of the premier microbiologists and neurosurgeons in the world, looked up from the screen she was studying. "Alice! Good to see you. How've you been?"
"Well enough," Curzon replied. She hesitated for a moment.
Dr. Belman spun around to face her. "Come on, out with it," she ordered gently.
Curzon held out the tiny vial of blood she'd kept from the mysterious donation that had saved Sandoval's life. "I've got a favour to ask of you. I want to know about this sample. I put it through the DNA sequencer, but it couldn't give me a full analysis - said there were some gene oddities it couldn't process."
"And you want me to take a look at it," Belman finished.
"If you could, I would definitely appreciate it," Curzon told her. "It's for a patient of mine - and it's rather important."
"All right," Belman said. She took the vial and looked at it. "I can't promise you an immediate answer - I've got something I'm working on right now - but I should be able to give you an analysis within two to three days."
"That would be fine," Curzon replied. "Thanks, Julianne."
"You'll just have to owe me one," Belman countered, grinning. "I'll see you later."
Liam blinked and rubbed his tired eyes with his left hand. He was exhausted and sore, and the past two hours of reading files hadn't helped any - especially when he hadn't found anything worth mentioning.
And the painkillers hadn't worked very well. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he had done some more damage to his shoulder when he'd dived into the shuttle, and he wasn't looking forward to telling Dr. Park about it.
"Found anything?" Sandoval asked.
"No, not a thing," Liam replied, sighing. He rubbed his right palm absently. "There's absolutely nothing here to suggest that any of them would be involved in something like this. They've all shown themselves to be loyal to the Taelons; no recent problems, either job-related or otherwise... There's nothing." He tossed the last file - Sergeant Barry Nicholls' - back on to Sandoval's desk and sighed again. "What about you?"
"I haven't found anything either." Sandoval leaned back in his chair and studied Liam for a moment. "You look like you could use a break, Major. You might want to check in with Dr. Park - have her take another look at your shoulder."
Liam rubbed his eyes again. "You sure? I mean, you're really supposed to be on vacation, Sandoval. I should be handling this-"
"Major... Liam," Sandoval interrupted, and Liam's head came up. Sandoval rarely called him by name, and almost never called him 'Liam'. "You're wounded, and, as Dr. Park and Da'an said yesterday, you are in no condition to handle heading up this investigation. Yes, I don't care for the fact that this interrupted my vacation, but I'd prefer to have no vacation and have you get better quickly than to take my vacation and come back to find that you'll be out for two or three months."
Liam stared, astonished by the open statement of concern.
"So why don't you pay a visit to the doctor, and then take the rest of the day off to rest," Sandoval continued. "All we would be doing for the next several hours is going through files and questioning the Volunteers, and I believe I'm capable of handling that well enough by myself," he added sardonically.
Should I? I think I do need to see Dr. Park - and I also want to find out what Renee's got, which I can't do while Sandoval's around...
"All right," Liam agreed after a moment. "But if you find anything, you'll let me know, right?"
"Of course."
Liam managed a smile as he stood up. "In that case, I guess I will go see Dr. Park. If nothing else happens, I'll meet you back here in the morning, okay?"
Sandoval nodded, dismissing him, and turned his attention back to the files he'd been going through.
Leaving Sandoval's office, Liam opened his global and called Roberts to ask the pilot to take him back to Washington. Once that was done, he braced himself mentally and called Dr. Park.
"Yes?" she answered, and then frowned when she saw that it was Liam calling. "What's wrong, Liam?"
"There was another attack on Zo'or," Liam replied. "I took a dive into our shuttle, and I think that I might have... well... done a bit more damage when I hit the floor."
Dr. Park sighed. "Where are you now?"
"On the mothership. Sandoval's ordered me to take the rest of the day off and to see you, so I'm coming back down in a few minutes."
"All right... Come to my office as soon as you get down here, and I'll see about getting you patched back up again."
Closing his global, Liam headed for the shuttle bay and found Cpl. Roberts already there, waiting for him.
"You can just take me down to the Embassy, and then have the rest of the day off, unless something comes up," Liam told him as he sat down in the passenger seat.
Roberts gave him a curious look.
"I seem to have done a bit more damage to my shoulder during the attack this morning, so my orders for the rest of the day are to see the doctor and then take it easy," Liam explained. "And since Agent Sandoval's assigned you as my pilot, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't have the rest of the day off as well."
Michael Roberts was a bit surprised by Major Kincaid's generosity. "But what if something happens?" he countered. There had already been two attacks on Zo'or so far, and if another one happened, the Major would need to have a shuttle available.
"If anything happens I'll call you to come pick me up," the Major replied. "But other than that, do take the rest of the day off. You earned it with that maneuver this morning."
Roberts flushed. Major Kincaid was an excellent pilot, one of the very best - the only one better had been Captain Marquette. For the Major to compliment him on his flying... "Thank you, sir."
"Like I said, you earned it," Kincaid said firmly.
Roberts turned his attention to the controls. With Major Kincaid on board, he wanted to ensure an absolutely smooth ride.
The appointment with Dr. Park had gone... well, it hadn't been too bad. She'd been upset with him, but the damage hadn't been too serious - he'd made the collarbone fracture a bit worse, but not too much so. She'd given him a stronger sling, increased the painkiller dosage to four tablets for the next two days, and told him to make sure that he didn't go hitting any more floors until he was completely healed. Then, after a moment's thought, she'd added a brace for his collarbone - because, according to her, she doubted that he'd follow her advice.
As soon as she finished with him, he called Renee and told her to meet him at the church.
When Liam got there, he found Augur absorbed in what looked like a computer game, and no sign of Renee.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
"I assume you're talking about Renee... And the answer is, how would I know?" Augur countered irritably, looking up from his computer. "Did you tell her that you were going to meet her here?"
"Of course I did," Liam replied, equally irritated - although not at Augur. "Besides, she was the one who wanted to meet me."
Augur nodded, then swiveled his chair around to face Liam. "Let me guess - about the sensor-impenetrable material, right?"
Liam nodded. "That's my guess, at least," he added quickly.
"Seems reasonable, considering that - according to the computers at Doors International - she filed a report a few hours ago about a top-secret project that had gone missing," Augur commented.
Liam sat down on the couch. "You hacked into Doors International? Don't you remember what happened the last time you did that?" Augur was still having the occasional fit about having to sell his paintings - and, of course, Renee never helped when the subject came up in her presence.
"I never get caught by the same thing twice, Liam," Augur declared arrogantly. "Besides, she expected me to do it."
Liam blinked in confusion. "She did?"
Augur nodded. "I would guess that she was the one who told Doors that he'd better change some of the documentation on this material of theirs - it's called 'vaile', by the way - to fit in with whatever story she's going to give you about it."
"Veil?" Liam repeated.
"Spelled v-a-i-l-e," Augur said. "Stands for some silly acronym that was probably created for the sole purpose of having a name that sounded like 'veil': Variable Amplitude Impedance of Life-form Emissions."
"Huh?"
"Like I said, it's silly. In fact, I'll bet you anything that Doors came up with it." Augur turned back to his computer. "Lucky for us, however, he isn't as good as Renee at covering his tracks."
"Then why didn't she do it?" Liam asked.
Augur shrugged. "Haven't a clue. If I had to guess, though, I'd say either she was too busy dealing with the theft itself to bother, or she's playing some kind of deeper game. Either way, there was some very interesting stuff left on there that Doors probably thinks he's managed to delete."
"Like what?" Liam asked, not getting up from the couch. He was still feeling tired.
"For instance, apparently the shielding effect of the vaile is only temporary," Augur answered. "Depending on the strength of the sensors applied to it, the effect lasts from about five minutes to half an hour; no longer."
Five minutes to half an hour. Even one minute could make a huge difference in the middle of a firefight. "Do you have any idea which sensors work best at defeating it?" Liam demanded.
Augur grinned, his expression one of glee. "That's the part that I think Doors is going to be most upset at not having deleted properly. A shuttle's sensors can detect it within ten minutes; less if the person operating them knows what he's looking for."
Liam stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of Augur, his exhaustion suddenly less important than his frustration. "In other words," he growled, "we would have had him already if Doors and Renee had bothered to mention this 'vaile' to me!"
"You would have what?" Augur demanded, alarmed. "What do you mean, you would have had him?"
"We were attacked when we were leaving the African Embassy earlier," Liam replied, still pacing. "He was waiting for us. And this time, he used energy bolts - which means that it's just gotten even more serious."
"Liam, bullets are serious," Augur said firmly. "They may not be able to kill Taelons, but they can kill you - or Sandoval," he added pointedly.
Liam waved his hand distractedly. "Using energy bolts means that he wants to kill Zo'or, not just warn him. This guy is really playing with fire, Augur. We've got to stop him before he accomplishes his goal."
The sound of the elevator descending cut him off, and he waited impatiently for it to stop. The doors opened, and Renee walked out.
"Well?" Liam demanded.
Renee looked a bit puzzled.
"You said you needed to see me as soon as possible," Liam continued irritably. "I've been waiting here for the past quarter of an hour, and all I really want to do is go home and get some rest. So why don't you tell me what you found out?"
Renee sighed as she came further into the room. She nodded a greeting to Augur, and then turned to face Liam directly. "A large quantity of the experimental material disappeared from a top-secret lab sometime over the past three days," she declared.
"So I guess you won't need the forensics report," Liam put in.
"No; unfortunately, it looks like it was definitely ours," Renee admitted. "I've got our security people working on discovering exactly how this happened."
"Well, you'd better hope they find something," Liam snapped. "This guy has had two shots already; I don't want him having any more!"
"Two?" Renee asked, looking surprised.
"Africa this morning, when Zo'or and I were leaving the Embassy," Liam replied shortly. "So, what are this material's weaknesses? How can we get past it?"
"Like I said, it's currently only in the experimental stages, which is why I've never mentioned it," Renee said.
Right, Liam thought grimly. And if you expect me to believe that, you know me even less than you think you do. "Go on."
"The material's effect is, unfortunately, only temporary at the moment - our scientists and technicians have managed to get it to the point where it will take about half an hour or so for Taelon sensors to detect and penetrate it - which is the other reason for not telling you about it. It won't do the Resistance much good until we can get the vaile's effect to last up to an hour."
"Vaile?" Liam repeated curiously, his tone innocent. No point letting Renee know that Augur had already gotten hold of this information.
"That's what the techs call it. It's an acronym for something or other."
"And what about its weak-" Liam started.
"Unfortunately, there's not much else I can tell you right now," Renee continued, ignoring his question. "I just wanted to give you the information, and assure you that we have got our best security people on it. As soon as I find out anything else, I'll let you know."
"Good," Liam said. He was astonished at how calm he had managed to sound, considering how furious he was.
Then again, considering the sheer number of times I've been betrayed by people - the number of times I've been betrayed by Doors and Renee - I suppose I've had lots of practice.
"So, have you managed to find anything new?" Renee asked.
"No."
"You'll let me know if something turns up?"
Liam just looked at her. "I'm sure you'll hear about anything we find." One way or another.
"Well, I've got to get back to work. The sooner we find out who did this, the better," Renee said, obviously realizing that Liam wasn't in the mood to talk to her. "We've got to stop this guy and get the vaile back before he alarms the Taelons too much."
"Too late," Liam muttered, as he watched her walk into the elevator.
As soon as it had started back up, he turned to Augur.
"I need you to make copies of those files you got from Doors International," Liam said. "The technical information about how to use the sensors to defeat the vaile's effect."
"Why?"
Liam thought for a moment before he answered. He wasn't sure how Augur would react - but he didn't want to lie. Not to Augur. Their relationship had been damaged by Augur's betrayal of the Resistance, but he was still, in many ways, the big brother Liam didn't really have. "For Sandoval," he replied after a moment.
"What?"
"Just in case," Liam elaborated. "If we get lucky, he'll never see it; but if things continue to go wrong, I want to have the information available so that I can give it to him if I think it's necessary."
Augur studied him for a moment, and then nodded. "All right," he said reluctantly. "Just make sure that you don't give it to him unless it's necessary."
"I promise," Liam replied soberly.
Augur worked quickly, getting all the files onto a disk and handing it to Liam. "Now, you should go home and get some rest," he said, eyeing the younger man. "You look terrible."
Liam couldn't help the grin that crossed his face. "Yes, 'Dad'," he replied obediently.
Augur laughed. "Go on, get out of here. And make sure you get some rest!" he added in a shout as Liam entered the elevator.
Dr. Julianne Belman stood up and stretched, wincing as her muscles complained about the length of time she'd been sitting in the chair. The project she was working on at the moment was fascinating, but she needed a break from it for a while.
Glancing around her office, her eyes fell on the portable fridge where she kept samples from various projects. The blood sample Alice Curzon had asked her to check out was there; it might just provide the break she was looking for. And getting it done so quickly could only enhance her reputation as a miracle worker.
She opened the fridge door and took the sample out, grinning. Alice Curzon had interned under her several years ago, and they'd managed to develop a friendship that had lasted ever since. They didn't get to see each other much any more - Julianne was always busy working on projects for the Taelons, and when she wasn't doing that she was working with the Resistance, and Alice had a full-time position here at Bethesda - but the friendship was still as strong as ever.
She said the DNA sequencer encountered some gene oddities, Belman thought, studying the small vial of blood. Bethesda has some of the most up-to-date equipment there is - but in some areas, I've got better. Genetics is one. So we'll start with my DNA sequencer.
She divided the sample in half and put one half back into the fridge, and the other into the sequencer.
Two minutes later, the results appeared on her screen.
It took Dr. Belman only a moment to recognize what she was looking at.
Oh my god... "Liam?"
Chapter 4
"Corporal Roberts... please, come in," Sandoval said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.
Roberts obediently sat down. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes, Corporal," Sandoval replied. "I apologize for having to call you back up here for this after Major Kincaid released you from duty for the day, but there are some questions I need to ask you. It shouldn't take very long, and you will be free to go as soon as we are finished.
"You are a member of the squad commanded by Lieutenant Dietz, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"So, you were present during the incident yesterday."
"Yes, sir, I was," Roberts said calmly.
"And what duties were you assigned?" Sandoval asked. He knew the answer, of course, but he wanted Roberts to tell him about what had happened in his own words, and the best way to do that was to lead up to it.
"My job was to handle the communications and help with the sensors in the security station, sir," Roberts replied.
"All right. Now, I'd like to know what happened from the moment your squad arrived in Seattle until after the shooting."
"We arrived about 0800 hours..." Roberts began.
Sandoval tuned him out. Both his CVI and his global were recording this; he'd be able to re-play it anytime. And when Roberts came to the part of his explanation about the search Kincaid had ordered, he'd start listening carefully again. For the moment, though, he had other thoughts to occupy his attention.
Liam Kincaid. The man was an enigma. The more Sandoval dug into his background, the more puzzling he became. The fact that he had disappeared during the S.I. War and that there was no record of him at all until his reappearance at Boone's funeral should have, at the very least, raised some eyebrows. Yet nobody had ever questioned - or even mentioned - it. Why? And what had he been up to during that time?
Within days of his reappearance, Kincaid had been firmly ensconced as Da'an's Protector. Why?
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Kincaid's sympathies had been with the Liberation since the beginning; Sandoval had no doubt that it was Kincaid who had drawn Da'an toward the Resistance.
On the other hand, there was definitely friction between Kincaid and Doors.
How had a man who was so at odds with the leader of the former Liberation movement become so well-established in the Resistance? Based on the information Sandoval had, the Major was, at the very least, the leader of the Washington cell... and possibly even the leader of the entire Resistance.
It didn't add up.
Resistance cell leaders were paranoid as a way of life; they had to be in order to survive. So how did someone with such huge gaps in his background - and who was as dedicated a Companion-Protector as Kincaid - become so trusted?
And for that matter, why had Da'an trusted him enough from their very first meeting to insist that Kincaid be made his Protector? Da'an had essentially offered Zo'or the opportunity to let the Jaridian replicant kill him in exchange for gaining Zo'or's support for that move. And Da'an and Kincaid had been close since the beginning, although Sandoval had noticed that their relationship had been getting more and more strained since the crackdown.
Then his ears caught the word 'shuttle', and he returned his attention to Roberts, putting aside those thoughts for later contemplation.
"...Then the shuttle arrived. Major Kincaid spoke to Lieutenant Dietz for a minute or two, and then Da'an and Zo'or came out and were greeted by Dr. Hutchinson," Roberts was saying. "I was working on communications, and Sergeant Tsue was keeping an eye on the sensors.
"About three minutes after they arrived, Major Kincaid hooked into the communications net and requested a security check. The Sergeant and I set the scanners for an overlapping grid pattern - just in case one of us missed something - and did a thorough sensor sweep."
"What about Lieutenant Dietz and the rest of the squad? Did they conduct a physical sweep?" Sandoval asked.
Roberts frowned at that. "I... don't know, sir. I assumed that they had, because when I checked with the Lieutenant, she gave the all clear, but I don't know for certain. She may have thought that there was no real point, since they'd just finished a physical sweep fifteen minutes before, and the sensors should have picked it up if anything had changed."
Sandoval nodded. "Then what happened?"
"After I received the all clear from Lieutenant Dietz, I informed Major Kincaid that the sweep had found nothing unusual. He seemed to be very relieved at that, but told me to keep my eyes open anyway. I did - both Tsue and I kept a close watch on the sensors - but the first thing we knew about what was going on was when the Major yelled that there was a sniper.
"We thought, since we hadn't picked anything up on the sensors, that he might have been just beyond their range, but also that he might pass through them while trying to make his escape, so we increased the power to the sensors and focused them on the area that the bullet had come from. But we didn't find anything."
"And what about this morning?" Sandoval asked. "What happened in Africa?"
"Again, sir, I didn't realize anything was wrong until the first energy blast. I'd gotten a head's up from one of the Volunteers assigned to the Embassy that the meeting was ending, so I was powering everything up, and then I heard the shooting. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on, so I called the mothership to alert them, and then decided it might be a good idea to bring the shuttle over, just in case the Major needed some help in defending Zo'or.
"I brought the shuttle around the Embassy and found Major Kincaid and Zo'or behind some of the bushes they've got planted in the front. The Major was trying to fire at whoever was shooting at them, but he wasn't having much luck. Then, when he saw me in the shuttle, he got Zo'or to run over, and followed, laying down covering fire. As soon as they were both in, I got us out of there."
"Yes, so Major Kincaid told me," Sandoval said, leaning back in his chair and studying Roberts. "He was impressed with the way you handled the shuttle."
Roberts flushed slightly. "I'm not nearly as good a pilot as the Major is, sir."
"Perhaps not; however, Major Kincaid obviously considers your skills to be more than merely adequate.
"Did you see any sign of the attacker?"
Roberts looked momentarily confused at the sudden switch from complimenting his skills back to the interrogation, and then shook his head. "Not really, I'm afraid, sir. To be honest, I was concentrating on my flying. I wanted to make sure that I did a good job and got Zo'or and the Major out of there as soon as possible. All I do know is that it looked like the energy blasts were coming from a window in the building across the street from the Embassy - but that's kind of long range for that sort of weapon."
Sandoval nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Corporal Roberts," he said. "That will be all. Enjoy the rest of your day off."
Roberts stood up. "Yes, sir." He started for the door, and then paused. "Agent Sandoval?" he said hesitantly.
"Yes, Corporal?"
"Do you... do you really think that one of us might be involved?"
Sandoval looked at the Volunteer. He appeared to be genuinely concerned, and Sandoval was fairly certain that no one in the squad was involved, but... better to keep them on their toes, just in case. And if he was wrong... well, Sandoval firmly believed in giving people enough rope to hang themselves.
"I don't know, Corporal. That's what I'm trying to find out."
Roberts nodded and left.
Once he was gone, Sandoval relaxed into his chair.
Over the past several hours, he'd interviewed the members of Lt. Dietz's squad that had been sent to Washington with Kincaid when he'd been shot. So far, all of their stories added up. None of them knew why they hadn't done a physical sweep the second time, but all of them thought that Lt. Dietz had probably considered it a waste of time and effort. After all, none of them had really expected anything to happen.
No one had... except Kincaid.
And here we are, back to the puzzle again, Sandoval thought ruefully.
The Major was a skilled soldier, an Army Ranger - one of the elite; it was only to be expected that he would be more aware of his surroundings and have a better sense of danger than the average person. And yet...
Sandoval was reminded of Boone's funeral, and the way Kincaid had tackled Da'an before the Jaridian had fired on Quo'on, or even shown itself. It had been almost as though he had known what was going to happen.
Which is preposterous. I'm obviously too tired to think straight.
So far, none of the channels he'd tried had been able to get him the information he really needed to make his decision about Kincaid, and he'd tried all the official ones he could think of.
It was time to go outside the lines.
Opening his global, he tapped in a number that would link him into a secure communications facility. A moment later, a face appeared on his screen.
"Yes?"
"Andrew, this is Ron. I need you to do a favour for me..."
Liam opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, breathing heavily. He didn't understand what it was about this dream that was disturbing him so much, but it was very definitely causing the terror he was feeling.
Why?
The only tangible thing in the dream was the dark human-shaped figure who...
Liam blinked in surprise as a sudden thought occurred to him. Could he be dreaming about the sniper?
That would certainly explain the feeling of dread that he kept getting. And it would also explain why the figure was faceless - at the moment, they still had no clue as to his identity, much less why he was gunning for Zo'or.
Sitting up gingerly, he shifted his sling to a more comfortable position and rubbed his eyes with his left hand. He hadn't meant to fall asleep when he'd gotten home from his meeting with Augur and Renee, but he must have been too exhausted to avoid it.
So what time is it now?
Glancing at his watch, Liam was surprised to see that it was almost eight o'clock at night.
Picking his global up from his bedside table, he opened it, intending to call Sandoval and get an update. But before he could do that, Augur's face appeared.
"Liam! Good, you're awake. You'd better get down here."
Judging from the noise and decor in the background, Augur was downstairs in the Flat Planet. "Why?" Liam asked. He didn't really feel like dealing with public attention at the moment - and the sling was fairly obvious.
Augur grimaced. "Dr. Belman's here. She wants to speak to you about something."
Dr. Belman? What could she want to talk to me about? "What?"
Augur looked exasperated at that. "How should I know?"
"Didn't she tell you?" Liam asked.
"'Didn't she tell me'," Augur repeated. "Of course she didn't tell me! Look, Liam, why don't you just come down here and talk to her yourself?"
Liam closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his face.
"Liam?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said, sighing. "Tell her I'll be down there in about ten minutes."
Eight minutes later, Augur met Liam at the door to upstairs. He studied his friend critically for a moment.
Despite the fact that he appeared to have gotten some sleep, Liam still looked tired; his hair was tousled, making him appear younger than usual, and his eyes had the bruised look of utter exhaustion.
Augur frowned. "How long did you sleep for?"
"About five hours, more or less," Liam mumbled. "Where is she?"
"In the booth at the far end," Augur said, pointing to one of the private booths where his 'silent' partner was sitting.
Dr. Belman looked up as they arrived at the booth, and frowned at Augur. "Don't you have drinks to sell?" she asked.
Augur gave her a tight smile and sat down next to Liam. He'd promised himself that he would keep an eye on his friend, and he meant to.
"Augur said you wanted to talk to me?" Liam said.
Dr. Belman nodded. "To be more precise, I need to speak with you," she replied.
"About what?"
Her expression serious, Dr. Belman declared, "I need to know how Dr. Alice Curzon got a sample of your blood, Liam."
Looking at Liam, Augur saw his eyes flicker away. "What do you mean?"
Belman looked irritated at that. "Dr. Curzon and I have been casual friends for many years, Liam," she explained. "Generally, when she asks me for a favour, I'm more than happy to comply. This morning, she came into the office I maintain at Bethesda and asked me to take a look at a blood sample, see if I could figure out why the DNA sequencer was encountering what it classified as 'gene oddities'. She said it was very important.
"Earlier this afternoon, I decided to take a break from the project I'm currently working on and check it out. Imagine my surprise when the 'gene oddities' turned out to be Kimera DNA! Your DNA!"
"Doctor Curzon, you said?" Liam asked. If he hadn't known better, Augur might've been taken in by the innocent tone in his friend's voice; but he'd heard Liam use that exact same tone on Renee earlier, when he was pretending that Augur hadn't told him anything about the vaile. Liam knew exactly what this was about.
Belman didn't appear to notice the deception. "Yes. She's a doctor working out of the Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
"Liam, this is serious. We need to know how she got that sample! If the Taelons find out..."
"They won't," Liam said confidently.
Augur looked at him, suspicious. Liam should have been nervous about the very idea of the Taelons getting hold of a blood sample from him. That he wasn't meant...
Wait a minute... Liam's blood?
"Liam," Augur said carefully, "what was the name of Sandoval's doctor?"
Liam's eyes darted to him for a moment, and then away again. It was enough.
"Just over a month and a half ago, Sandoval ended up in hospital, in critical condition," Augur told Belman. Liam was looking down at the tabletop, doodling on the surface with one fingernail. "He had some sort of genetic blood disease. He needed hemologic factor from a first-degree relative - a parent or child. Liam sent in two pints of blood, anonymously."
"Sandoval's parents are dead," Liam put in defensively. "I don't have any brothers or sisters. And he's my father! I couldn't have let him die!"
"I'm not suggesting that you could - or even should - have, Liam," Augur said patiently. Renee's resistance to the very idea - her suggestion that they should concentrate on saving themselves and the Resistance rather than Sandoval - had gotten Liam's back up about his decision, and made him very defensive about the entire matter. "Remember, I helped you arrange it. But if this Dr. Curzon is trying to get an analysis of your blood..."
"I'll have to lie to her," Belman said.
Liam didn't respond.
"The question is, why?" Augur said thoughtfully. "Why does she want to know? Is it just medical curiosity, or is there something else involved?"
"All she told me was that it involved a patient of hers," Belman replied. "Alice believes very strongly in doctor/patient confidentiality; she won't tell me more than that even if I press her. And I don't want to do that."
"In other words, Sandoval might have asked her to have it checked out," Augur concluded.
Belman nodded slowly. "So, what should I tell her?"
There was a pause, and then Liam spoke up. "Can you give me a little while to think about it?" he asked.
"Yes; I told her that I might not be able to get to it for a few days. She said that was fine; she'd just like to know soon."
Liam nodded. "All right. I should have a solution for you some time tomorrow. Now," he added, yawning, "if you'll excuse me, I need to get some more sleep."
Augur watched as he got up and walked over to the door, and then turned back to Belman. "Just how serious is this?"
Belman's mouth tightened. "If the Taelons get hold of that sample? Very. I can't understand why Liam isn't more concerned about this."
Augur shrugged. "Neither can I," he replied. "But I'm going to find out."
Liam slipped out of his shirt and sat down on his bed.
He's looking for me.
It was all he'd been able to think since Dr. Belman had told him what was going on.
He'd been hoping that Sandoval would search for him, but had refused to allow himself to expect it. None of the memories he'd inherited from Sandoval - the ones he'd been able to access, at least - gave any indication of whether his father had wanted children or not. He'd known that his mother did - the longing for children had been a central part of Siobhan Beckett's life - but that hadn't helped him figure out Sandoval's feelings.
Nor had the suggestion that Ha'gel's image had made, when he'd been in that weird psychokinetic dimension - that he'd been the result of a biological imperative, not of a genuine desire for a child.
But Sandoval's search suggested that he did, indeed, want his son.
The question is, will he want me? I doubt that I'm what he's expecting. Maybe I shouldn't have given him those photographs...
Aaarrrgggghh! Stop second-guessing yourself, Liam!
In fact, if he thought about it, Dr. Curzon's effort to find out about the 'gene oddities' in his blood - probably his third strand of DNA, Liam guessed - could be a blessing, if handled the right way. He could have Dr. Belman plant the thought that Sandoval's son might be a hybrid - the truth, although Sandoval and Dr. Curzon would probably think in terms of a Human/Taelon hybrid, not a Human/Kimera one. Sandoval's reaction to that would dictate whether or not Liam continued with his campaign to let his father know who he was.
Satisfied with that decision, Liam lay down and closed his eyes. He'd think about what to have Dr. Belman say tomorrow morning.
Sandoval sat back in his chair, pulled his pocket watch out, and looked at it.
Nine-thirty.
He was tired. The past several months had been hard on him, and his illness had only made everything worse. The only thing that had kept him going - in the beginning, at least - had been the knowledge of how much depended on him doing his job.
Then he'd found out that he had a son, and suddenly the entire equation had changed. The job was no longer the overriding goal in his life; the existence of his son had taken its place. The job had gained in importance - he now had a stake in the results of what he was doing - but if it came down to a choice between his as yet unknown son and the job, the job could go to hell.
Rubbing his forehead, he opened Sergeant Tsue's file and skimmed through it. He'd finished questioning Tsue ten minutes ago, and had spent that time going over his impressions of the man - until his thoughts had gotten side-tracked.
Closing the file - there was nothing there that called attention to itself - Sandoval suddenly noticed a piece of paper on his desk. Picking it up, he was surprised to see that it was a list of the names of the Volunteers in Lt. Dietz's squad, along with their specialties. The scrawled handwriting had a vaguely familiar appearance, but Sandoval couldn't recall where he'd seen in before.
Then, after a minute's thought, he remembered seeing Kincaid using his left hand to write something down when they'd first gone through the files earlier in the day. He'd probably glimpsed the paper, and that was why it looked familiar.
Placing the notes on top of the pile of dossiers, Sandoval stood up and stretched. It had been a very long day, and it was now time for him to go home and get some rest.
Before he reached his office door, however, it opened, revealing Da'an standing in the corridor beyond.
"Da'an? What can I do for you?" Sandoval asked politely. What he really wanted to do was yell at the top of his lungs that he wanted to go home and get some rest, but that was hardly proper behaviour for an Implant.
"Have you found any further clues, Agent Sandoval?" Da'an asked. He sounded worried, Sandoval reflected.
"I'm afraid not, Da'an. I would have informed you and Zo'or immediately if I had. Is there anything else?"
Da'an paused, and then nodded slowly. "Yes, there is. Agent Sandoval, has Zo'or explained his sudden... interest in having Major Kincaid with him?"
Sandoval studied the Taelon thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head. "No, Da'an, he has not. I assume it is because I am meant to be on vacation, and Zo'or had already arranged for the Major to deal with his schedule."
"Perhaps," Da'an said quietly, looking down. "However, it does not seem reasonable for Zo'or to have insisted that Major Kincaid accompany him this morning. Liam was wounded, and therefore could not be expected to be able to provide full protection."
"But he did," Sandoval pointed out.
"Yes," Da'an agreed, "but Zo'or could not have known this, which makes his insistence... puzzling. He has not shared his reasoning with me."
"Perhaps it is simply that Major Kincaid has proven that he can be trusted to save Zo'or, even at risk to his own life," Sandoval suggested. "First at that interview with Eli Hanson, and then yesterday, at the ceremony."
Da'an looked uncertain. "Perhaps," he repeated. "However, I am concerned. If Zo'or continues with this... insistence, despite Major Kincaid's injury, it becomes more likely that the assassin will succeed; and that both Major Kincaid and Zo'or will embrace the Void.
"My efforts at convincing Zo'or of this fact have, thus far, been unsuccessful. I would appreciate it greatly, Agent Sandoval, if you would attempt to make Zo'or see reason."
Sandoval blinked in surprise. This was something of an... interesting development.
"I can try, Da'an," he replied. "But I think it is unlikely that my efforts will be any more successful than yours. If Zo'or is determined to pursue this course of action, he will not listen to me if I try to deter him."
Da'an's hands moved gracefully. "All I ask is that you try, Agent Sandoval," the Taelon said calmly. "I will see you in the morning." He turned and walked away.
Sandoval watched until Da'an had disappeared around a bend in the corridor, and then heaved a sigh.
How am I supposed to tell Da'an that I think Zo'or intends to 'steal' his Protector? Should I? And is that really what Zo'or wants? Or is he after something completely different?
When exactly did my life get so complicated?
Turning around, Sandoval headed for the mothership portal station. He was going to go home, go to bed, and get a good night's sleep.
He knew that he was definitely going to need it.
Andrew Patterson leaned forward, whistling in surprise as he stared at his screen.
"This isn't possible," he murmured. "This just isn't possible!"
Frowning, he reached for his global and dialed a secure number.
Two minutes of trying later, Ronald Sandoval's face finally appeared on the screen.
"Andrew?" Ron mumbled, blinking blearily at him. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Four-thirty, if you're in Washington DC," Andrew replied.
"Right. Four-thirty in the morning. It's too early for me to be awake."
"Cheer up, Ron, I've got something for you."
Sandoval's eyes widened, his expression suddenly becoming more alert. "Already?"
"Yeah... I've been up all night working on this. You're right about one thing - this guy is a real mystery," Andrew told him. "And you know me... I adore a challenge."
"So what have you got?"
"There has been some major tampering with this guy's file, Ron. I've only scratched the surface so far; it's going to take me a while to dig down deep enough to get what you want. But this Major Kincaid of yours is definitely hiding something."
Sandoval looked exasperated at that. "I know he's hiding something. In fact, I know he's hiding quite a few things - some of which I'm unofficially aware of. But you still haven't told me what you've found."
"Well, when you told me that he'd been MIA for a while during and after the S.I. War, I figured that one of the first things I could try doing was finding out where he was during that time. So I got his brainwave pattern and his DNA and ran a quiet comparative search on all of Earth's databases. And you're never going to guess what I found out."
The look in Sandoval's eyes was rapidly changing from exasperation to irritation. "And what is that?" he demanded with apparent calm.
Recognizing the danger signs, Andrew decided to stop teasing his friend. "Well, unless Major Kincaid is actually Jonathan Doors, someone substituted Doors' brainwave patterns for Kincaid's real ones. I'd thought that he might have been a POW somewhere, and that my search would pick it up, but I never expected to find something like this!"
Sandoval's face went impassive. "Doors' brainwave patterns," he said slowly. "Well, that does explain a few things... Have you found any other anomalies so far?"
"Nothing definite," Andrew replied, leaning back in his seat and shooting a quick glance at his screen. "But at the moment, I'm just working from the public record. I'm sure I'll find at least a few more when I get into the military files."
Sandoval frowned thoughtfully. "Kincaid has a hacker friend, a man by the name of Augur," he said slowly.
"The Seer?" Andrew asked.
Sandoval's response was a shrug. "Could he have done this?"
"I don't know... that name does sound familiar - I've definitely heard of him before - but I can't place it just at the moment," Andrew said. "Well, I'll check it out while I'm figuring out how to crack the US Army's files."
"Be careful, Andrew," Sandoval warned him. "I don't want you getting caught."
"Unlike some hackers I've met, I know my limits, Ron. Getting caught is definitely not on my list of things to do. Listen, I'll call you as soon as I've got something else, okay?"
Sandoval nodded in agreement. "All right. If I'm doing something where I can't talk, leave me a message to let me know you called, and I'll get back to you."
"Right," Andrew agreed. Then he squinted at Sandoval's face for a moment. "You know what, Ron? You need to get some sleep. You look awful." He quickly closed his global before his friend could reply, and returned his attention to his computer.
Sandoval sat back down on his bed, still staring at his now-blank global. Andrew's parting shot had produced a minor flash of exasperation, a state the other man seemed to delight in producing in him; but it was overwhelmed by the implications of what Andrew had found.
He'd wondered how Kincaid had managed to avoid a psychotic episode when Zo'or had been attempting to find a way to rid himself of Da'an. Now he knew; it hadn't been Kincaid's brainwaves they'd been changing at all; it had been Doors'. And obviously the Liberation had found out about it - possibly from Kincaid - and managed to get Doors back to normal.
But why on earth are his real brainwave patterns not on file? It doesn't make any sense!
Sighing, Sandoval lay down. As he'd pointed out to Andrew, it was too early in the morning for this. He needed more sleep.
Shifting slightly, his eyes fell on the two silver-framed photographs that now occupied his bedside table. With any luck, Dr. Curzon would soon have some answers for him.
Holding that thought and the image of the young boy playing with the puzzle in his mind's eye, Sandoval rapidly fell asleep.
Zo'or dismissed the datastream with a wave of his hand. He had no patience for reports at this time.
Major Kincaid had saved his life - at the risk of his own. It was the second time in just over two weeks - the third, if one counted the shooting in Seattle on Wednesday.
It puzzled him. Major Kincaid had no CVI, no motivational imperative, and Zo'or had received the definite impression that the Major's loyalty was to Da'an personally, not to the Taelon race as a whole, as was that of the Implants - those Implants whose motivational imperatives were still functional, that was.
And Major Kincaid had also made it obvious on numerous occasions that he didn't like Zo'or at all.
So why had the Major saved him? What had motivated the human's reaction?
He'd been curious about Da'an's reactions to the Major from the very beginning. His parent's interest in the human had provided him with an opportunity to be rid of Da'an for good, as bait in a trap for the Jaridian replicant. And yet, somehow, Major Kincaid had managed to save Da'an using an inadequate weapon - he hadn't been given a CVI and a skrill at Da'an's insistence, although it had suited Zo'or's own goals at the time to agree to the radical departure from procedure.
What was it about this human that had Da'an trusting him so much, even going as far as to discuss Taelon evolution with him?
But Da'an's trust had been proven correct, time and time again. Even when the mothership had been hijacked by the replicant, and the evidence had convinced - or rather, provided the excuse for - Zo'or to place Major Kincaid under arrest, Da'an had been proven correct in the end. It had been the replicant who was responsible, not Major Kincaid; and it had been Kincaid's plan that had saved them.
And now this...
Zo'or didn't understand. And he wanted to.