that on top of everything else, the Council had now exiled her to Siberia.
(4)
Focus Dixon was a twit. With a first name like RueAnn, probably short for Ruth Ann, twitness was to be expected. She had been a Focus for six years, long enough to be considered real, but short enough not to be one of the old guard. RueAnn was probably having a grand old time refusing to commit herself to Tonya’s or Lori’s candidacy. Tonya wondered if she had set up today’s mess on purpose or whether this was one of RueAnn’s classic screw-ups. In any event, the grand lost Transform emergency delayed both Focus’s scheduled meetings with RueAnn, and stuck the two of them in the same sitting room, suffering from the overzealous attentions of RueAnn’s household. Together.
Things could be worse. She could be stuck here with RueAnn herself. At least Lori was intelligent.
Tonya had actually come to like Lori more during the younger Focus’s rebellion. To Tonya’s surprise, there seemed to be some real substance behind Lori’s highbrow theorizing and detachment from the real world. Most of her conversations with Lori still ended up in Lori-land, but she now knew there was more to the Boston Focus than Lori’s World’s Fair style version of gloom and doom science.
“I hear Polly’s stuck you with the new Focus mentoring job. That’s a lot of work if you do it right. I assume you’re going to be doing more delegating than Focus Corrigan?” Lori said, sipping tea. She glowed today, more than the normal healthy pregnancy glow that served as a walking advertisement for her Cause and her rebellion.
They had just about exhausted all possible small talk in the past three hours. Letting business interfere with pleasure was inevitable.
Tonya raised an eyebrow. “What, you want me to give up because Polly gave me a big job?”
Lori smiled. “No hope of that, I take it.”
“Any hope of convincing you that you’ve endangered your household because of your rebellion?”
“They’ ve been the ones pushing me,” Lori said, a twinkle in her eye. “If I hadn’t said ‘no’ the rebellion would have started years ago.”
“That doesn’t make it better.” Lori had to realize Tonya would report this conversation to their boss, Suzie Schrum, and how nothing got under the skin of the ruling first Focuses faster than unsquashed household Transform agitation.
Time to change the subject. “Have you been able to come up with any real proof the Transform kidnappings are being done by Chimeras?” Lori didn’t have any evidence not labeled ‘from the Crows’, which meant ‘worthless evidence’. As far as Tonya knew, she was the only Focus Lori had confided in about the evidence she did have.
“No.” Lori frowned, then turned and asked RueAnn’s servile Transform to fetch them something with a little more substance than the petits fours littering the low coffee table. Like a half pound of fried bacon. The Transform got up from her kneeling position, uttered some heartfelt “yes, ma’am’s”, and scurried off. “I’d hoped the Frasier kidnapping would have served as a wake-up call to the Council instead of just another piece of evidence to be swept under the rug.”
The Frasier kidnapping bothered Tonya more than she let on. “Prove it was done by these Chimera boogiemen, then.” Whoever did the dirty deed had left ample evidence behind, none of which made any sense. Including a note in Tonya’s own house stationery implicating her.
Lori nodded. “Easier said than done,” she said. Tonya read frustration, and a desire to change the subject, fast. Which meant Lori was dealing with the Arms again.
“You do understand how much trouble you’re going to be in with Suzie for pushing your own candidacy?” She wondered, actually, what Suzie had on Lori, and why she hadn’t used it yet. Unfortunately, one can’t ask that sort of question in polite
(4)
Focus Dixon was a twit. With a first name like RueAnn, probably short for Ruth Ann, twitness was to be expected. She had been a Focus for six years, long enough to be considered real, but short enough not to be one of the old guard. RueAnn was probably having a grand old time refusing to commit herself to Tonya’s or Lori’s candidacy. Tonya wondered if she had set up today’s mess on purpose or whether this was one of RueAnn’s classic screw-ups. In any event, the grand lost Transform emergency delayed both Focus’s scheduled meetings with RueAnn, and stuck the two of them in the same sitting room, suffering from the overzealous attentions of RueAnn’s household. Together.
Things could be worse. She could be stuck here with RueAnn herself. At least Lori was intelligent.
Tonya had actually come to like Lori more during the younger Focus’s rebellion. To Tonya’s surprise, there seemed to be some real substance behind Lori’s highbrow theorizing and detachment from the real world. Most of her conversations with Lori still ended up in Lori-land, but she now knew there was more to the Boston Focus than Lori’s World’s Fair style version of gloom and doom science.
“I hear Polly’s stuck you with the new Focus mentoring job. That’s a lot of work if you do it right. I assume you’re going to be doing more delegating than Focus Corrigan?” Lori said, sipping tea. She glowed today, more than the normal healthy pregnancy glow that served as a walking advertisement for her Cause and her rebellion.
They had just about exhausted all possible small talk in the past three hours. Letting business interfere with pleasure was inevitable.
Tonya raised an eyebrow. “What, you want me to give up because Polly gave me a big job?”
Lori smiled. “No hope of that, I take it.”
“Any hope of convincing you that you’ve endangered your household because of your rebellion?”
“They’ ve been the ones pushing me,” Lori said, a twinkle in her eye. “If I hadn’t said ‘no’ the rebellion would have started years ago.”
“That doesn’t make it better.” Lori had to realize Tonya would report this conversation to their boss, Suzie Schrum, and how nothing got under the skin of the ruling first Focuses faster than unsquashed household Transform agitation.
Time to change the subject. “Have you been able to come up with any real proof the Transform kidnappings are being done by Chimeras?” Lori didn’t have any evidence not labeled ‘from the Crows’, which meant ‘worthless evidence’. As far as Tonya knew, she was the only Focus Lori had confided in about the evidence she did have.
“No.” Lori frowned, then turned and asked RueAnn’s servile Transform to fetch them something with a little more substance than the petits fours littering the low coffee table. Like a half pound of fried bacon. The Transform got up from her kneeling position, uttered some heartfelt “yes, ma’am’s”, and scurried off. “I’d hoped the Frasier kidnapping would have served as a wake-up call to the Council instead of just another piece of evidence to be swept under the rug.”
The Frasier kidnapping bothered Tonya more than she let on. “Prove it was done by these Chimera boogiemen, then.” Whoever did the dirty deed had left ample evidence behind, none of which made any sense. Including a note in Tonya’s own house stationery implicating her.
Lori nodded. “Easier said than done,” she said. Tonya read frustration, and a desire to change the subject, fast. Which meant Lori was dealing with the Arms again.
“You do understand how much trouble you’re going to be in with Suzie for pushing your own candidacy?” She wondered, actually, what Suzie had on Lori, and why she hadn’t used it yet. Unfortunately, one can’t ask that sort of question in polite
Similar Books
