A Memory in the Black (The New Aeneid Cycle) by Michael G. Munz Page B

Elsa's comment as much as his own. Using Marette's first name was likely harmless, but still bad for appearances. "Just hang on. I'll see what she wants."
    What should he do? He needed to talk to Marette, but what would the others do if he let them go now? Yet how persuasive could he be against Elsa's anger? Could he trust them not to make another move without a fourth?
    He moved so Marette would see the others behind him and opened the door.
    She stood there, perceptively drained but still composed. Her eyes flicked from him to the others and back. "Mr. Triton. I need to speak with you."
    "He's busy," Elsa said. "Come back later." Marc glanced back at Elsa, hesitating.
    "It has been a long day," Marette said. "We are all tired and saddened by the loss of Ms. Namura—"
    "Are you?"
    Marette bristled. "I will need to speak separately to all of you, and I wish to begin with Mr. Triton. Now."
    Elsa stepped up behind him before anyone else could s peak. " We are speaking to Mr. Triton now. Go talk to Maria or Nigel," she hissed. "They're not doing anything."
    "Loo k, maybe you guys better go," Marc said. "We can finish this later." Maybe they would wait to do anything if they thought they could still get him on board.
    Elsa's comment was not encouraging. "So that's how it is."
    S he left without another word. Gunther and Nick followed, with Nick pausing just long enough to leave him with, "Yeah, um, we'll talk to you later."
    Marette stepped into the room as Marc watched the others disappear down the corridor. He let the door close and turned to rest his back against it. "God, Marette, things aren't good."
    "No," Marette leaned her hip against the edge of the desk. "They are not. But they are better than they might have been. I saw you cut Nicholas's interface before. . . things happened."
    "I — Yeah." Arms crossed, he stared at the floor. "I tried to reach for the connection hub. I keep asking myself if I couldn't have reacted sooner. Maybe if I went for the hub first instead of pulling Nick's cable. It probably wouldn't have made a difference, but. . ." He shrugged and shook his head before meeting Marette's gaze. "I don't know."
    "You acted. You saved Nicholas. You can rethink it all you like, but that gives no second chances." She faltered for a fraction of a second before continuing. "You did not stand by. Remember that."
    "So did you . You cut the power."
    "Yes, I acted. " It seemed to give her no comfort. "This time."
    She clasped her hands and tapped her thumbs to her lips. Marc opened his mouth to say something before realizing that he didn't know what to say. He let his gaze follow Marette's to the floor instead. He'd acted, yes. So had she. But he couldn't just leave it at that so easily—just turn the guilt off like a switch—no matter how healthy it might be to do so.
    As if echoing his thoughts, she said, "I find it difficult to follow my own advice." He looked up in time to catch her shake her head once as if to clear it. "We do not have the luxury to dwell on such things. ESA is weighing its options and I have orders to determine if your part of the project can be salvaged. They will likely attempt to continue if your group is willing. I shall be speaking to each of you tonight, though I will obviously not tell the others these details."
    "I think I can tell you what they'll say."
    "Based on Ms. Litzenburg, I am not optimistic."
    "She hates you, and I don't know her well enough to say whether or not that'll boil off. I can tell you that they're all three suspicious of ESA now. Maria and Nigel, I haven't talked to them myself, but it sounds like they're nervous at the very least. I hear Maria's downright scared." He stopped and weighed how to tell her about the hacker's plan. "What's more, we might have a security issue. Elsa and the rest were just here to enlist my help hacking Alpha Station. They've already gone in once, which made them think they needed my help."
    Marette froze . "Did they find