telepath-or at most was a very weak one-I knew we had a shot. And you picked up on what I was doin’ fast enough to jump, too.”
“I figured if I didn’t, he would kill me first and then go after you, maybe in a smarter way.”
“Probably right.” He pulled the flowers from behind his back and set them next to her bed. Her eyes widened. “I’m not even going to try to guess what flowers cost you on the Moon.”
“Not nearly enough. I wonder if you can tell me something, though.”
“Of course.”
“I still don’t know why you came to me. Why didn’t you go to Senator Tokash, or someone else?”
Her eyes drooped closed.
“I suppose I ought to confess. When I was a little girl, I had a terrible crush on you. The hero of the Grissom colony. I suppose part of me still needed that hero. You didn’t disappoint.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long while.” He paused. “Much as I hate to cash in on hero worship, Dr. Kimbrell , I’d like to see you again. Without the thugs and the secrets and so forth.”
“I think that can be arranged,” she replied, eyes steady on him. Back in his room, Lee opened the link and entered a number. After a few moments, an angry-looking Senator Vladmir Tokash appeared. His thin hair was mussed, and he seemed to be wearing a dressing robe.
“Crawford?” he said. “What possesses you to call me at this hour?”
Lee smiled.
“That’s no way to talk to your best friend, Vlad.”
The senator’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“What on earth are you talking about? If it’s about the committee-“
“Oh, rest assured, Vlad-it is about the committee. It’s about how you’re gonna withdraw from it. You see, I just had a little talk with a friend of yours-a soul mate, you might say-and he told me quite a lot about you.”
“I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”
“Do you have your signal scrambled at your end, Vlad? Because I’ve got some big news.” Tokash nodded. “Good. You see, I’ve got a way to detect telepaths. Turns out there’s a genetic marker. Now things get interesting, don’t they? I’m going to announce it tomorrow. So there’re two ways we can play this, and both involve the Senate being the first ones to get tested. But how the tests get reported-that can make a difference.”
Tokash pursed his lips.
“I see.”
“With me or against me, Vlad? You’ve tried playing against me, and three people are dead as a result. We can be buddies, you and I. How many of our colleagues are telepaths, do you think? Politics probably draw them-after all, half of politics is knowing what the other guy is thinkin’. Now, I personally believe it would be good to have a telepath point of view in the Senate-one and only one-but I’m afraid the voters won’t see it that way. Still, what the voters don’t know won’t hurt ‘em, will it? So. With me or against me, Vlad?”
Tokash put his head in his hands, and then looked back up, tiredly.
“With you, Senator Crawford.”
“Call me Lee. First thing in the morning, I want a list of every telepath you know, most especially those in your employ. They work for me now.”
“Very well.”
“Another thing, just in case you’re still thinking about some sort of stunt. You realize that you are the product of genetic engineering?”
“What?”
“The genetic analysis makes it pretty obvious. I think it’s best that that news not be made public, don’t you?”
“Good God, yes.”
“See? We think alike. Together, I think we can keep this little fact from getting out-that we can identify telepaths is one thing. How we do it is best kept a question of global security, one best controlled by the Committee on Metasensory Regulation. So while you won’t be head, I’d of course like to have you as my right-hand man.” He grinned. “Right where I can see you, that is. “And get some rest, Vlad-you look like hell.”
CHAPTER 4
Publishers
“I figured if I didn’t, he would kill me first and then go after you, maybe in a smarter way.”
“Probably right.” He pulled the flowers from behind his back and set them next to her bed. Her eyes widened. “I’m not even going to try to guess what flowers cost you on the Moon.”
“Not nearly enough. I wonder if you can tell me something, though.”
“Of course.”
“I still don’t know why you came to me. Why didn’t you go to Senator Tokash, or someone else?”
Her eyes drooped closed.
“I suppose I ought to confess. When I was a little girl, I had a terrible crush on you. The hero of the Grissom colony. I suppose part of me still needed that hero. You didn’t disappoint.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long while.” He paused. “Much as I hate to cash in on hero worship, Dr. Kimbrell , I’d like to see you again. Without the thugs and the secrets and so forth.”
“I think that can be arranged,” she replied, eyes steady on him. Back in his room, Lee opened the link and entered a number. After a few moments, an angry-looking Senator Vladmir Tokash appeared. His thin hair was mussed, and he seemed to be wearing a dressing robe.
“Crawford?” he said. “What possesses you to call me at this hour?”
Lee smiled.
“That’s no way to talk to your best friend, Vlad.”
The senator’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“What on earth are you talking about? If it’s about the committee-“
“Oh, rest assured, Vlad-it is about the committee. It’s about how you’re gonna withdraw from it. You see, I just had a little talk with a friend of yours-a soul mate, you might say-and he told me quite a lot about you.”
“I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”
“Do you have your signal scrambled at your end, Vlad? Because I’ve got some big news.” Tokash nodded. “Good. You see, I’ve got a way to detect telepaths. Turns out there’s a genetic marker. Now things get interesting, don’t they? I’m going to announce it tomorrow. So there’re two ways we can play this, and both involve the Senate being the first ones to get tested. But how the tests get reported-that can make a difference.”
Tokash pursed his lips.
“I see.”
“With me or against me, Vlad? You’ve tried playing against me, and three people are dead as a result. We can be buddies, you and I. How many of our colleagues are telepaths, do you think? Politics probably draw them-after all, half of politics is knowing what the other guy is thinkin’. Now, I personally believe it would be good to have a telepath point of view in the Senate-one and only one-but I’m afraid the voters won’t see it that way. Still, what the voters don’t know won’t hurt ‘em, will it? So. With me or against me, Vlad?”
Tokash put his head in his hands, and then looked back up, tiredly.
“With you, Senator Crawford.”
“Call me Lee. First thing in the morning, I want a list of every telepath you know, most especially those in your employ. They work for me now.”
“Very well.”
“Another thing, just in case you’re still thinking about some sort of stunt. You realize that you are the product of genetic engineering?”
“What?”
“The genetic analysis makes it pretty obvious. I think it’s best that that news not be made public, don’t you?”
“Good God, yes.”
“See? We think alike. Together, I think we can keep this little fact from getting out-that we can identify telepaths is one thing. How we do it is best kept a question of global security, one best controlled by the Committee on Metasensory Regulation. So while you won’t be head, I’d of course like to have you as my right-hand man.” He grinned. “Right where I can see you, that is. “And get some rest, Vlad-you look like hell.”
CHAPTER 4
Publishers
Similar Books
