So this time it was Vanda again.

Her lips pressed into a thin line when she saw that he was naked again; her eyes swept over his body, scanning for new bruises, but Urko had been a bright student. Vanda couldn't see his headache, or the fact that his right eye was still looking through a pink haze, although Burke told himself that it was slowly getting better.

God, it had to be getting better!

He glared at her through the blood in his eye. She had lied to him about Urko... or she wasn't as powerful as he had thought. Maybe Urko was the top dog around here. In that case, what point was there in complying with her demands? It wouldn't make a difference in the end.

But her demeanor was cold today. She didn't send the guard to get some clothes for him.

"You lied to General Urko."

Burke blinked. "Wha-?"

"You told him that you foraged for food and never had any contact with anyone during your escape, neither human nor ape. That is a lie."

Burke inhaled slowly, carefully. So now she wasn't on his side anymore?

Vanda's expression softened. "You need to admit your mistakes, so we can give you back to the institute. Don't you want to see your friend again?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Burke licked his lips, then tried again. "...no."

Vanda's eyes widened. "No?"

He shook his head. "I want him to be free. I don'... don' wanna see him there. In a cage."

Vanda eyed him contemplatively, her finger slowly rubbing over her lips. "That is... awkward. See, I thought I had a happy surprise in store for you. Something to reward you with, for your cooperation."

For a moment, his heart stopped. He could feel it, the sudden silence, the ice spreading from his chest to his limbs.

Vanda nodded, smiling. "We found Alan. Don't worry, Pete - he's safe."

No. No no no no no

Vanda turned a page of her ever-growing file. "He is already back at the institute, because he is a rational man." She flicked him a wry glance. "I believe he is a bit older than you. Ah yes - here it is: fourteen years older." She leaned back and turned the page towards him, so that he could catch a glimpse of their paw-print script. See, no blank page, I really have notes.

Of course, it could also be her grocery list.

She seemed to have caught on to his doubt, because she turned it back and began to read from it. "According to Colonel Virdon, you left Earth in 2074 to test a new kind of... space-ship," she carefully pronounced the word, as if she didn't really trust the translation, "one that was meant to be the first of a whole fleet of ships meant to bring you to other worlds... circling other suns." She let the sheet sink and looked at him. It was like looking into the eyes of a raptor.

"You were indeed the spearhead of an invasion. The stated objective of your mission was to test a technology that would be used to find and colonize new worlds." She spread her arms. "Do you like what you've found, Pete? Do you think we'd be suitable for conquest?"

He just stared at her, unable to form a coherent thought. How did she know of their mission? They hadn't told Zana, neither he nor Al, he was absolutely cert-

Well... Zana had conducted their interviews separately. So that their statements would be above doubt when she presented them to their superiors, she had explained. What if... what if Al had talked to her in one of those private get-togethers? He had wanted to negotiate... he had even offered them a bit of their technology. Granted, low-tech, but still... the inclination had been there.

Damn you, Colonel, you should've known better!

"And then I wondered why you'd be so eager to leave your home and go looking for the homes of your neighbour," Vanda said, that reptile stare still on him. "You know, that reminds me of scroll 29, verse 6: 'Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land'. Are you preparing an invasion, Major Burke? Are you rallying support among your kind here, to make a desert of our homes, after you made a desert out of yours? Answer my question, Major!"

"No! No, we didn't! It's true, we did test a, a new propulsion technology, but it malfunctioned," it didn't matter that he told her, right, she already knew everything, "we crashed on... on your world," oh god, and now he'd almost let slip that they had jumped through time and crashed on their own world, "It was an accident! We never intended to come here! And, and... we can't go back."

The weight of that truth slammed into him like a falling mountain, burying him under centuries of despair. How far had they been hurled into the future? "We can't call for help," his throat was tight and his voice sounded pressed and hoarse because of it, "do you really think I'd be here if we could alert our people? They'd have been here months ago to get us out." He took a deep breath.

Vanda was watching him.

He had to talk sense into her!

"So why would we try to start a revolt here? These people..." Lie, Pete, lie through your teeth if that's what it takes to get outta here, "These humans aren't like us. They're... they're dull and passive, and... and they can't see you as anything else but their superiors. They ain't no revolutionaries. Even if we tried, it'd never get off the ground."

"So you did try, but were disappointed? Who did you try to convince?" Vanda held up her pen expectantly.

"Nobody!" Burke exploded. "We tried it on nobody, okay? Listen, we just want to get out of your territory, just, just some place where we won't bother you..."

Vanda pursed her lips. "I'm afraid that is not what Alan told me. He gave me a list of names, because he realized that he had tried to upset the existing order..."

Ehpah's still face flashed up in his mind, and Virdon's calm, deep voice, We upset the existing order... guess it couldn't be avoided...

They really have him.

Whiteout. No thoughts, just a sensation of hot water being poured over his scalp, down his neck and chest, and a deep, bone-shaking tremor wandering through his body and into his heart, making it stumble, then gallop.

He hadn't expected to ever feel grief again, climbing and climbing and choking him.

"We know you traveled through Aken's prefecture." Vanda's voice was hovering around him, inescapable. "We know you met Gres. Did you also meet his human lieutenant? Her name is Katlin."

They can't know about her. Al wouldn't... he...

He felt strange. Numb and far away. The light was cold and white, too bright for his eyes. The world was strangely disjointed, as if the present and the past had shattered and the shards were falling back into him in random order.

"What did you and her talk about? Did you sleep with her? You probably didn't need to encourage her to rebel... or to do the other thing."

He was staring into the stony face of Urko's lieutenant. Trying to negotiate Al's life by offering to save Urko first.

The old soldier stared back at him, unimpressed. "Always assume they're lying. Saves time."

That's what he'd said, right?

Right.

The wave retreated. In his head, silence.

Burke breathed.

"You don't have Al."

Relief was a wide plain, an unbroken horizon.

Open sky.

He smiled at Vanda. "I always assume you're lying. Saves time."

Vanda capped her pen with a click. "I really regret this, Pete. I wish this had ended differently."

He took another breath. "No, that's okay."

If it only ends now.


Zaius still questioned the wisdom of his decision to let Urko visit him in his own home when the Gorilla was already knocking on his door. Orangutans were solitary creatures; only the devotion to the Lawgiver's Word, and the knowledge that apekind needed their wisdom and guidance, drove them out of their gated communities every day, into a world of constant social interaction that was profoundly opposed to their instincts.

Home was sanctuary. And now he'd let Urko invade it.

At least he'd have to knock this time.

"I already thought you'd changed your mind and sneaked out the back door," Urko grumbled as he pushed past him. "Don't worry, I won't stay long. Just need to clear up some things."

"And those things couldn't have been cleared up in my office?" Zaius closed the door behind him and followed him into his living room. Gorillas traditionally preferred to live on the ground, but if Urko felt uncomfortable about the height and open walls of Zaius' tree home, he didn't show it. He moved as if he had studied the layout of Zaius' abode before.

No, Urko was much too impulsive for that. Zaius shook off that unsettling thought and gestured for Urko to sit down. This time, though, the Gorilla shook his head when he offered him flint and steel, and Zaius pocketed both without a word.

"So, how many more extensions do you plan to grant that little macaque?" Urko asked without preamble.

"I thank you for not using that language in my house, General," Zaius said mildly. You couldn't really stop the Gorilla when he indulged in one of his rages, but it helped if you laid down the rules early. Zaius was careful to always establish his rules inside his territories. With Urko, he had to do it every time the general entered the room. It was exhausting and entertaining at the same time.

Urko just bared his teeth in a mixture of amusement and annoyance, and continued as if Zaius hadn't said anything. "Five days! She promised us results in five days! Then she asked for an extension, and then another one, and I'm sure she's already scratched at your door again, and this time, you'll tell her she won't get another one, or..."

For a long moment, the men just stared at each other.

It was true, Zaius remembered, Vanda had come to him earlier - had visited him in his office , as manners demanded. She had been livid.

"The general is constantly interfering with my process, he's debilitating the subject so that it's unable to interact with me in our sessions... or even react to stimuli - I have to waste precious time just to nurse it back to a state where we can continue our work. No, sir, scratch that - I can't continue my work, I have to retread the last five steps and begin anew. And anew. And anew."

She had paced the room, all former deference to his age and title buried under professional rage. "And what's worse, the subject's progress has become completely unpredictable! It is compliant in one session, then Urko barges in, brutalizes it, and when I get it back the next time, it's either in a stupor, or distrustful and obstinate! And we haven't even completed stage one!"

"I had thought that stage one was about breaking the prisoner," Zaius had remarked, "and that Urko would be exactly the right lever."

Vanda snorted. "He's crude, he's unable to control or gradate his violence, and he's unable to take orders. Especially from me." She turned around to face him. "So I was hoping he'd at least take them from you."

Zaius shook his head. "The Chief General has reached a position where he doesn't have to take orders from a lot of people anymore. And he's doing everything in his power to remove those last stopping blocks, too." He smiled wryly. "Which is where you come in, my dear Vanda. Don't let him frustrate you - and don't let him suspect that you're anything else but an eager, young scientist."

Looking at Urko now, Vanda had been successful with that, at least - Urko's wrath was reserved solely for him. "Are you threatening me, General?"

Urko leaned back and regarded him with a thoughtful expression. "Am I?" His flat tone echoed that of Zaius.

Unfortunately for you, Urko, I can still read you. Behind that mask of indifferent appraisal simmered a dangerous mix of ambition and rage.

It was the rage that Zaius couldn't understand.

"I found it beneficial to let Vanda experiment with different approaches, and you have to admit that her results so far are encouraging, especially when we consider that she had to remedy the consequences of some of your, shall we say, more enthusiastic contributions."

Urko snorted; Zaius ignored him and dug into the pocket of his robe to retrieve his pipe and tobacco pouch. "She assured me she's making good progress," he continued as he packed his pipe.

"Progress towards what goal?" Urko snapped. "We still don't have names, or confirmations about names your little side project had collected!"

"The Cesarian Intelligence Agency belongs to the Simian Guard, Urko," Zaius pointed out. "Your people, not mine."

Urko leaned forward, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Don't try to play me for a fool, Eldest," he said softly. "We both know whose idea that was. They're your creatures, sent to undermine my organization. Well, they can try." He closed his fist. "They can try, and we'll enjoy squashing them like the bugs they are."

"Your organization," Zaius said slowly. "I think you are mistaken about some things, Chief General. The Guard serves our society, and you serve the Guard. Not the other way round."

"I want the human," Urko said, in the flat, even voice of someone who hung onto his self-control by his fingertips. "I want the human, and I want the names of everyone who helped that human. And I will get those names, no matter if I have to beat, burn, or cut them out of that creature." He rose. "And you'll give it to me, or by Cesar, I'll root out your secret police to the last sniveling Chimp hussy, and then I'll come for you."

He didn't bother to close the door behind him.


They still didn't let him sleep, but by now he had learned to sleep with his eyes open. Fool the monkeys.

It wasn't real sleep; more a haunted state of utter exhaustion, like a light dimmed down to a ghostly glow. Inside that light, Burke was wandering the winding roads of dreams and memories until the two dissolved into each other.

He's back in Al's backyard, the night before lift-off. They're having a barbecue, and he explains the Hasslein field to Chris. When the kid is in bed, Sally returns with a bottle of Al's aftershave and begins to spray it on Al, vowing to put his Tobacco-soaked shirt into the freezer until he returns, so she'll have something that smells like him when she feels lonely. She's tipsy, and teary, and Pete leaves when she demands that her husband take off his shirt.

He can smell it now, that aftershave, and the smell is so strong and so real that he's convinced that Al has found him, finally. He's here, and he's gonna get him out and they'll return to the backyard and have another beer.

His eyes opened to blackness. Blackness and the smell of piss.

Exhaustion had settled so deep in his bones that he didn't even feel despair at the realization. He just wished Vanda would finally make true on her word and end this now. That's what she had said, right?

He couldn't remember... not exactly. He thought she'd said it, but... but he was too tired, and there were chunks missing from his memory. All those interrogation sessions had bled into one another, an endless string of questions, always the same questions in endless variations; sometimes asking about hypothetical scenarios, and hell knew what kind of psych eval Vanda was cooking up from his answers... sometimes blunt, yelled at him... that was Urko. Urko was...

Maybe he could frustrate that black menace enough, so that the monkey would kill him.

Burke exhaled heavily and let his head drop back against the slimy wall. His heart was racing, urging him to get up and run, run, run.

But the only road open to him now was the one winding into an even deeper darkness.

Heavy boots coming down the corridor outside his door. Stopping at his door. His heart was trembling now. Burke tried to sit up straighter, bracing himself against the wall, against what was coming through that door.

It would be Urko. He was sure of that, at least.

Need to provoke him. Remember that. He was shaking now, he couldn't control his reactions anymore. I don't wanna die...

But I have to.

They dragged him into the room with the spinning table, and for a moment Burke thought they'd try to swirl his brain once more, as if the centrifugal force could shove the answers out of his ears, but the guards let go of him as soon as they were inside, and took up position at the door.

For a long while, Urko said nothing. The silence stretched between them, heavy and patient, filled with dark promises. Maybe Urko was waiting for him to break down, unable to bear the tension. But Burke was too exhausted to feel afraid.

"I can end this nicely for you, if you cooperate," Urko said at last, and Burke felt his heart skip a beat. So this was it, this was it, that damn monkey was as tired of their game as he was, and all he needed was a last nudge, just one more show of defiance. Push him over the edge, and he'd end this for him, nicely or not, but he'd be done.

"I already told you everything I know, and everything I don't know, too, Urko. Just accept it already - we were smart enough to escape and survive on our own. We need no damn monkeys to help us along!" His voice breathy and hoarse, rattling like dead reeds.

Urko's eyes narrowed at the slur, and Burke braced himself for the gorilla's fist to come down on him like a hammer; but the ape just smiled, a tiny twitch of his lips.

"So you think you're smart." The smile deepened. "Tell you what - you're not. If you were smart, you'd have given me what I want, and I'd have told Orlen here to put a bullet through your head." He pushed off from the table and sauntered towards him, and Burke planted his feet more firmly on the ground to keep himself from backing away.

"I'd have given him a sign... just lifting a finger, like so... and he'd have shot you from behind. You never would've seen it coming." Urko shrugged. "Of course now that little favour is expired, but you can still have that bullet. Who hid you from my patrols? Who gave you food, or helped you in any other way?"

Just give him some names... don't have to be real names...

But what if his made-up names really existed? Or were close enough versions of names of apes and humans living in those regions they had traveled through? They'd be jailed and interrogated just like him, and end up hanging... for a crime they hadn't even committed.

Burke closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted that bullet, wanted it even more than water, more than sleep, more than the clear, blue sky. He wanted to fall into the darkness between the stars.

He opened his eyes.

"Go fuck yourself."

Now...

Now the world was just a ringing in his ears and a flickering darkness at the edges of his vision, and the only clear and steady thing was Urko's face, staring at him like a stony demon, then dissolving into a white, gleaming grin.

"Now that is a really creative idea!" He nodded at the guards behind Burke. "Put him on the table. No, not like last time."

His captors hesitated, though their grip around his arms didn't lessen.

"Face down."

oh shit oh shit oh no oh shit oh please no

Something made a splintering sound behind him.

"I'm all for keeping this hovel as clean as possible, but once you have humans in the house, the only way to really clean it is to burn it to the ground, so - I think nobody's going to miss that broom."

A wave of nausea climbed from Burke's gut into his throat, clogging his sinuses and making his mouth water. He tore at the restraints, cold sweat pouring over his body. He could feel the gorilla lean on the table's edge behind him.

"Now this broomstick has a smooth and a splintered end, and it's pretty dark in here, so I have to warn you that I can't tell beforehand which end it'll be."

This wasn't happening, it wasn't happening it wasn't

"I'll tell ya, I'll tell ya, please don't please no all the names I'll give you all the names please don't PLEASE-"


"If he's not in prison, where should we even begin to look?" Zana closed her fist around the tiny wooden figurine. "Peet could be anywhere. And we could be searching for him forever!" She heard her voice tremble and swallowed her next words. She didn't want Alan to hear the tears in her throat.

He'll be long dead before we find him - if we ever find him at all.

She stared at Peet's pendant in her hand. The horse head had been his gift to Katlin, the human resistance leader that had saved her and Alan's lives. Katlin had given it back to him, hoping that one day, he'd find his way back to her. Zana brushed her fingers over the wooden mane and fought the irrational urge to burn an incense stick for the thing to bribe it into leading her to Peet, as if it was an idol of some obscure human deity.

When she looked up, she found herself caught in Alan's gaze. But his eyes were thoughtful, a hazy gray, not the icy stare she had come to avoid over the last week.

"Did you study the maps Melvin brought you?" he asked.

Zana nodded with a sigh. "Yes, but there are so many places they could use! After the humans had set fire to the city, almost everything had to be rebuilt. And Zuval was all for returning to the proper simian ways, so almost all cellars were filled up or closed, and they planted the groves instead."

Alan's eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Zana nervously rubbed her thumb over the horse head's nostrils. "I can't tell, just from looking at the map, which cellars have just been bricked up, and which have been filled up to the ceiling with soil and debris. Even if I had any idea which place Urko could have chosen, it could be that we wouldn't be able to even access it. And then we'd have to try the next place. And the next." And we just don't have the time for that, but she didn't say it aloud; she saw the understanding in the human's eyes.

"There must be a paper trail somewhere, even if it's confined to an inner circle," Alan said. "They will report to Urko, at least, and probably to Zaius, too. And they can't exist in complete isolation - there will be guards who go home after work, and they'll need food and water... and maybe a medic, now and then."

Zana felt a chill brushing her arms and neck at his last words.

"So what do you suggest?"

She turned around and smiled weakly at her fiancé, who had closed the door behind him and now came over to her to quickly put a hand on her shoulder. Galen was still selling Melvin's delicacies on the plaza before "Urko's lair," as he called it; Alan had insisted that he keep up his street vendor identity, so that the police wouldn't immediately connect his appearance and equally sudden disappearance with Alan's assault on one of their officers. Even if the man reported the theft of his uniform, they probably wouldn't suspect the Chimp who was still out there, selling sweet rolls and fruit salads for a quick lunch.

Alan leaned back and regarded him coolly. It was uncanny how his demeanour changed while he was focused on their mission. Zana could see now how he had been a soldier among his own people, wherever they might live in that black void between the stars. And judging by his demeanour, he had been a leader, an officer, not just a simple soldier. Zana felt at once awed and unnerved by that thought. It was just too reminiscent of the reports from the Strays' Revolt - the human streak of violence only ever lay in a light slumber, ready to be awakened at the slightest provocation. Paired with human cunning, it turned the dumb and docile beasts into raging predators that killed indiscriminately and burned down everything in their path.

But right now, she hoped that human cunning would find a way to save Peet, because she was at the end of her rope. Her head was empty, and a dull headache had settled behind her eyes.

"That depends on the information you could gather today," Alan finally said.

Galen's hand slipped off her shoulder, and he sat down on the chair next to her with a heavy thump and a tired sigh. "Well, 'Orva's Delights' is now offering a delivery service, bringing Mango Miracles and Crispy Mixes With Orva's Secret Dip directly to your desk." He bent down to take off his shoes. "I walked from here to the Iron Mountains and back today - several times. But I could listen in to the office gossip."

"Did they say anything about Peet?" She didn't want to get her hopes up, but... maybe...

Galen shook his head. "Nothing at all. Urko is really keeping this under wraps. I doubt they even know about it."

Another dead branch. Zana tried not to give in to her growing despair.

"Did they mention the assault on one of their officers?" Alan wanted to know, and Galen raised his brows.

"Surprisingly enough, no. Maybe he was about to go on a holiday and isn't expected back yet. What did you do to him, anyway?"

Alan ignored the question. "Did you find out where Urko's office is?"

Galen exchanged a worried glance with her, but nodded. "It's on the second floor, with all the interrogation booths. Apparently, Urko likes to keep an eye on things there. Or... or lend a helping hand." He grimaced.

"Is Urko away for longer periods of time? Or at unusual hours?"

If everything else failed, they would have to follow the general, without being noticed - without being led into a trap. Zana didn't feel up to that, not at all, especially since Alan wouldn't be there with them to help; he wouldn't be able to blend in completely, being a human.

Galen hesitated. "I did learn his usual office hours - I pretended to have a delivery for him. Luckily, he wasn't there - Mothers know what would've happened if I had stuck my head in there to deliver a nut roll."

"Are you out of your mind?" Zana was shocked. "Urko would've recognized you at once, no matter what costume you were wearing!"

"Well, we're running out of time, aren't we?" Galen said defensively. "I didn't want to come back empty-handed."

"That was excellent, Galen. You showed initiative and gathered important information." Alan leaned forward, and Zana shuddered at the glint in his eyes. The excitement in them reminded her a bit too much of Urko. Her apprehension deepened when he smiled at both of them.

"I'm afraid your workday hasn't ended yet, officer."


"... and then it ripped my purse right out of my hand, and it pushed me to the ground and raced away! And I think it had accomplices!" Zana hoped the tremor in her voice would be taken as a sign of shock over being the victim of a robbery, and not as panic. Galen's hand was clasped around her upper arm in a gallant pose of an officer gently leading his charge to a quieter desk where he could take her statement and perhaps offer her a glass of water to calm her down.

He was filling the role quite well, or maybe it was the uniform that did it. Zana silently apologized to Lora for teasing her about the appeal of men in uniform - and right now, she was glad that Galen's costume also shielded her from nosy questions; nobody even spared them a glance. Apparently, being assaulted by a human on the streets wasn't such a rare occurrence.

That was a worrying realization, actually. She just didn't have the emotional capacity to feel upset about it now on top of everything else.

She had to pause on the steps to the second floor, suddenly out of breath. Galen had dropped his hand and kept a professional distance, but now he turned around and descended the few steps he had been ahead of her. "Are you alright, Miss?" His voice was sober and professional, but his eyes were worried.

"I'm... fine," Zana wheezed. "Just... let me catch my breath."

She still hadn't told him. She should really tell him.

The second floor was silent. "I thought you said they have interrogation rooms here," Zana whispered. "Shouldn't we hear them talk?"

"The rooms are pretty soundproof, from what I've heard," Galen whispered back, and Zana resolutely refused to contemplate the reason for insulating those rooms. They crept along the corridor towards Urko's office; Zana's fur was standing on end despite her efforts to stay calm.

One of the doors to the interrogation rooms opened with a sudden clang, and Galen whirled around and pinned her to the wall, shielding her from the eyes of whoever had stepped out into the corridor.

"It's Nelva!" she heard his panicked whisper against her ear.

Urko's lieutenant! He had let them go in the ruined human city, keeping his word and protecting his honor, but that truce had long since expired; and he knew both of them!

She slung her arm around Galen's neck and tried to giggle. "Why, officer, you said you'd only take my statement! What are you doing?"

He buried his face in her fur, perhaps to muffle his voice. "Strip search, honey."

The steps stopped right behind Galen's back, and they both froze.

That was a stupid idea, he's theoretically Galen's superior, and this isn't professional conduct, and it's against regulations and he seemed to be from the old guard when I met him and he'll probably court-martial Galen right here in the corridor...

"Mothers! Find a room, you two, and you, son, don't come sobbing on my boots when you've knocked her up!"

Galen shoved her into the next interrogation chamber, using the salute to conceal his face. "No, sir, thank you, sir!"

The cell was just big enough for a table and two chairs. Zana sunk into one of them and laid her head on the tabletop. She felt utterly exhausted. "I'll never, ever do something like this again! That was Nelva - how in the world did he escape Urko's wrath? When they brought him Peet, Urko must've known immediately that Nelva had lied to him..."

"Oh, I thought my reparteé was quite good," Galen said innocently. "And you'd do this in a heartbeat for Peet. Or Alan." He opened the door a tiny crack and peered out. "All clear. Let's sneak in before Nelva comes back. As curious as I am about how he kept his position, I'm not going to wait around to ask him." He slipped out the door without waiting for her.

She caught up with him at Urko's door. "It's locked!" he whispered, his former nonchalance evaporated.

Zana held up her lock picks with a wry smile. "Don't worry, dear, I found these in Peet's backpack."

Galen eyed them skeptically. "But do you know how to use them?"

She bent down to inspect the lock. "Peet showed me; and this time, I have someone to watch my back..."

It was easier than she had thought - if Kuma hadn't so brutally interrupted her back at the HLF's headquarters, she would've been able to get Lora out. It was a belated satisfaction, but it filled her with enough vigor to stride to Urko's desk and start rifling through his papers without hesitation, while Galen kept watch at the door.

It was discouraging; although Urko apparently wasn't big on writing reports, he was fond of receiving them, judging by the sheer number of them; and as Chief General, he also received them from the other districts. Someone (that someone not being Urko, Zana suspected) did take care to at least file them correctly, so she could focus on reports that had originated in the City itself.

Unless they kept Peet somewhere outside the city gates.

Zana froze for a moment when that thought hit her; then she resumed scanning the city reports. It was no use to drop them and start searching through the reports regarding the outer districts; she would only scatter her energy and waste precious time. She'd turn to them, if the city files didn't yield any results. Still, the possibility that she was looking in the wrong direction had lodged itself in her mind now and kept niggling at her thoughts.

"You are a pretty convincing officer of the law, dear," she remarked, trying to divert her thoughts to something less disturbing. "Is it the uniform, or did you just discover your thespian talent, after all?"

"You won't believe it, but selling sweet rolls to the ape on the street was a strangely liberating experience," Galen said absently, still keeping his eyes on the corridor.

"Galen, just lock that door and help me go through Urko's notes," Zana said impatiently. "That man's script is almost indecipherable."

Galen obeyed, and for a while, the only sound in the room was the rustling of paper.

"Your skills of acting and camouflage are nothing to be laughed at, either," Galen finally remarked. Zana stilled, not fooled by his casual tone. "When I first saw you at Melvin's, I almost didn't recognize you," he continued, opening another folder.

"The only difference was a rolled-up blanket under my robe," Zana said, straining to keep her voice equally casual. "I wouldn't have thought that the sight of a big belly would shock you that much."

"It wasn't the size, but the implications," Galen murmured, and Zana felt her face go hot.

"Are you worried you could've 'knocked me up' as your superior officer so charmingly put it?" she snapped.

Galen frowned and let the paper sink to stare at her. "He's not really my superior officer, and yes, I do happen to think that a pregnancy would be a problem, considering our situation."

"I'm glad to know that you'd regard our baby as problematic." Zana opened the next folder with more force than necessary, but the paper didn't rustle nearly loud enough to convey her fury and embarrassment.

She had considered abortion. More than once, ever since she had been sure. She knew her state was endangering her friends - and hadn't the events since then proven that to be true in the most horrendous way? - and probably endangering herself, and the baby inside her, but... but she hadn't known how to tell the others in the first place, and she'd had no idea how to sneak away to a temple of the Mothers without telling them, and she had been afraid of the procedure itself, and...

... and she felt like crying every time she contemplated losing that tiny life, that incredible combination of Galen and herself, at once their continuation and someone who had never existed before and would never exist again in that form, a flower blooming only once in all eternity.

She just couldn't do it. And that meant that sooner or later, Galen would have to know. She had tried to anticipate his reaction, but had shied away from that fantasy again and again, because it had begun to shape up to something very much like this now.

"I don't... I very much want to be the father of your children some day, Zana." Galen sounded exasperated, and nervous, and the rustling of his papers had become more rapid, and louder, too. "But you have to admit that under the circumstances, a pregnancy would be dangerous to you and the child... not to mention to the rest of us. What if there's a complication while we're on the road? Or running from one of Urko's patrols? What if you go into labour prematurely? Women have died in childbed, even with midwives and priests of The Mothers clustering around their bed!"

"Well, thank you for your concern, Galen! I'll make sure to sleep on the other side of the fire from now on, so that no accidents can happen!" Zana hoped her tone would discourage any more sensible arguments from Galen, arguments she had gone over in her mind countless times.

It seemed to work; the silence in the room was suffocating.

"I'd do this in a heartbeat for you, too," she murmured. There still was nothing in Urko's notes about Peet. Nothing at all.

"Do what for me?" Galen asked after another long stretch of silence.

"Dress up and sneak into Urko's lair to find you," Zana said in an even lower voice.

She startled when he suddenly hugged her from behind. "I know, love," he whispered in her ear. "And I'd carry you on my back all the way from here to the Iron Mountains if I'd knocked you up. You, and your gigantic belly."

Zana closed her eyes for a moment, savouring the warmth flooding her body. She reached behind herself to cup his head in her hand for a moment-

- and felt him stiffen against her back. "Zana, look!" he whispered. She opened her eyes and half turned to him; he gestured over her shoulder at the note she was holding.

"I know where they're keeping Peet. Look!"


Urko wasn't a patient man under the best of circumstances, but he had learned to at least keep that fire blazing inside, and to let it only leap to the surface when it served his purpose. Today, though, he felt the iron grip of his will slip again and again, so much so that he even pushed away from his desk and began to pace the office. Once or twice he stopped at the door, fighting the urge to throw it open and peer down the corridor.

She had to turn up sooner or later.

He managed to be seated at his desk when she finally strode through the door, fur bristling with rage. Urko pretended to be engrossed in a report, even signing it and laying it aside before he deigned to acknowledge Vanda's presence.

"What have you done to my prisoner?" she snarled.

Urko leaned back in his chair and flared his nostrils as he fought down a grin. "Your prisoner?"

"He's completely unresponsive!" Vanda slapped her palm on his desk. "I had to call a medic to treat his injuries, and Mothers, I wouldn't have pegged you as a zoophile!" The look of disgust seemed to mask other expressions lurking in her eyes - disdain, and recognition, as if she had expected something like this from him. From a Gorilla.

We all know what you're doing to your cows when nobody's looking...

Urko felt his good mood evaporate in a hot flame of fury and embarrassment. "Use that word again and I'll make sure they won't ever find your body." His voice was a low growl, strangled in the grip of his self-control. "I did what was necessary to break its resistance - something you didn't manage with all your fancy experiments."

Vanda wasn't fazed by his threat. "The only reason that my process didn't work as predicted is that you were constantly interfering with it! I'll make sure to include your sabotage in my report to the Council! I've already put in a request to transfer custody of the subject exclusively to me! Maybe I'll be able to reset the subject and start from the beginning... after I mopped up the mess you left!"

That little macaque felt too protected, too secure from her position in Zaius' lap. Probably rode it every day, too - everyone knew of Zaius' predilection for Chimp girls. Urko idly wondered if he should visit Zana's father one of these days, and have a little chat with the old fool about his daughter and her mentor.

But right now, there were more interesting matters to discuss.

His good news were so much more satisfying now, even more than they had been this morning when he had sauntered into his office. "Good luck with your request - but after I've presented my results, they'll kick your scrawny ass down the stairs, and throw your little book after you, too." He sniffed with amusement when she narrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

Satisfaction was a warm glow in his belly now, an amber sun radiating into his chest and throat. He allowed that sunny smile to spread over his face. "After Burke had stopped squealing like a pig, he threw out a list of names faster than poor Orlen was able to write them down. Stumbled over his own tongue in his haste to please me. You know..." He grinned. "Give a little, get a little. Give a lot..." He reached for the list that he had copied from Orlen's scribble - copied it twice, to be sure it didn't get lost somewhere - and handed it to her nonchalantly. He kept his gaze trained on her face as she scanned the list.

Vanda's expression changed from shocked, to dismayed, to absolutely expressionless. She read it a second time, more slowly, before she carefully put it on his desk. "Congratulations, General. I'm impressed."

Urko smiled, torn between the urge to drive home his triumph a second time, and the urge to let her off easily, now that he had restored his superiority. "Well, your approach was at least entertaining - and that's the privilege of youth, right? To try out new things..."

"You misunderstand, General - you managed to be played for a fool by a human. A severely compromised human, to boot. That's an impressive feat." She sardonically clapped her hands, and Urko felt the sun in his gut turn cold.

"What in the white wastes are you talking about, woman?"

Vanda snatched the paper up again and began to read in the same flat voice: "Elmer Fudd... Mu-ha-mad-al-ee... Teh... Teh-cum-sah..." She let the page sink and stared at him, and her eyes were blazing with a ferocious glee that burned itself into his heart like molten iron. "Those aren't even names!"

She crumpled the paper into a tight ball and flicked it onto his desk. "Torture doesn't give you answers, General - that's what I've been saying all along, but you wouldn't listen, because you enjoy it too much. But interrogation isn't about you and your personal entertainment! It's about getting results, valid results, and your crude fumbling didn't just fail to produce them, it may well have closed that channel for good! Anyone subjected to pain will tell you anything, anything at all just to make the pain stop. This crap is worse than useless!"

A hot flood of humiliation drove him to his feet. "The names on that list are valid!"

Vanda scoffed. "Are they? Good luck finding... what was his name? King Kong!" She turned around to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "I expect to get an answer from the Council this afternoon. After what I've learned here, I'm really optimistic that you won't lay a hand on my prisoner again."

Urko stared at the door for a long time, waiting for the roaring in his ears to subside.

Then he grabbed his helmet and called for Orlen. They didn't have much time.