Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps (11 page)

“And Senator Crawford oversees all of this.”

“It was his dream-one of them, anyway. Lee has many dreams. Yes. Very little happens here without his knowing about it-which means you have to be up on it all. And so now you understand the precautions we are lavishing on you.”

“I hope I’m found worthy. It’s exciting.”

“Some of our detractors don’t think so,” Tom said.

“I’ve heard some complain that the senator has too much influence.”

Tom smiled sardonically.

“I don’t doubt he is the most powerful man on the planet. I think you’re bright enough that I don’t have to explain why.”

“If-may I ask you something candid, Mr. Nguyen?”

“You can certainly ask.”

“You’ve been his aide for a long time-since the beginning. Why are you-“

“It’s personal. Very personal. I’ll just say that I think Lee deserves a better aide than L” Tom looked down, seeming embarrassed . “He needs someone, Kevin. Someone he can trust. Someone who will always tell him the truth when he needs to hear it. Somewhere along the line, that stopped being me. If you can’t do it, get out now. At this point, you haven’t seen too much, you don’t know too much. You can go your own way.”

“Does that mean you can’t?”

“My options are somewhat more limited, for reasons of security . Yours will be, too, if you stay long and then decide to quit. But if you want to be near the throne, there are prices to pay. I’ve been at the center of the world since back when it spun in a different direction. I can’t stay here any longer, but I don’t regret a moment of it.”

Kevin nodded.

“As long as we’re being honest, can I ask another question?”

“Shoot.”

“The stunfence. The concertina wire.”

“Ah. You noticed that. Ostensibly, it’s for the protection of the teeps. In reality, too-we’ve had many threats and a few isolated attacks on the complex. The local normals don’t much like the teeps. But as with any boarding school, we also have our share of would-be runaways.” He paused. “It’s not a perfect world, and this isn’t the perfect solution.”

“I wasn’t criticizing, just asking. If I’m to do this job, I need all the information.”

“Just keep an open mind. And don’t be fooled by Lee’s country-boy act. He’s a very sharp old fox, and he just keeps getting sharper.” He swept his arms wide. “This is all yours now, Mr. Vacit, and welcome to it.”

Kevin was left wondering if Tom Nguyen meant Teeptown-or the world.

CHAPTER 3

Lee and Kevin found Blood sitting on a bench near the playground . Shrieking children swung, climbed, bounced, and ran through its brightly colored labyrinth.

“Mornin’, Desa,” Lee called, as they approached.

“Good morning, Senator. What can I do for you?”

“We need to have a talk, I think.”

She nodded, focusing her dark eyes on Kevin expectantly. Lee took the hint.

“Kevin Vacit, this is Desa Alexander, chief field operative for the Metasensory Regulation Authority.”

“We’ve met,” Kevin said, stepping forward. “You seem familiar.” It sounded like a challenge. “You were in Houston last year, on the Richter case.”

“Yes, of course. That was a bad one.” Lee cleared his throat, and changed the subject. “The hearings start tomorrow. I think we need a game plan. What have we got on this guy?”

Desa turned her gaze back to the playground.

“Nothing,” she said. “Lai is so clean you can eat off of him.”

“No one can be that clean.”

“Yes, well, the problem is we can’t deep scan him. He has teeps with him.”

“That should make it even easier-“

“They aren’t ours, Senator.”

Lee’s face went a little stony.

“Ah,” he said. “Yes. But even without them, he would feel a deep scan. I’m no politician, but I think that would be a bad move just now, since involuntary scans are unlawful.”

“Family? Friends?”

“Nothing we can use. This guy is one hundred percent career, Lee. Reminds me of someone else I know.” She waved a diffident finger at Lee, then brought it thoughtfully to her chin. “There are, of course, more extreme solutions.”

Lee shook his head.

“No. Too high profile. If Lai turned up his toes or went missing-in the public mind, it would only prove that he was onto something. Anyway, Lai is only the tip of the iceberg; I’ve got a sizable minority in the Senate against me, and making Lai go away won’t make the problem go away. So we have to cover ourselves, then. That might be harder.” He paused. “He says he has proof that you killed that railroad cop in Prague. Is that possible?”

Desa looked up with a faint smile on her lips.

“Are you asking me if I’m guilty Senator?”

“Hell, no. I don’t care, and I certainly don’t want to know. If they have teeps, that’s the last thing I want picked out of my head. I just want to know if it’s possible that they have some evidence against you.”

She shrugged.

“Anything is possible. But I very much doubt it.”

Lee made a sour face.

“It may be a bluff, a ploy to try to get us to do something stupid. Is everything else covered?”

She crossed her arms.

“If you mean do we look legal, yes.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” He turned to Kevin. “Do you know what I mean?”

Kevin casually pushed his hands into his pockets.

“The way I see it,” he began, “is that for the past fifteen years everyone has pretty much looked the other way. People wanted teeps regulated, and that’s what they got. But times have changed-teeps have been a legitimate part of business and the courts for more than ten years. They have their sympathizers, now. And to be frank, Ms. Alexander, your people haven’t always used as much restraint as they might have.”

“Damn straight, son,” Lee grumbled.

“Listen,” Desa said, her voice flat and dangerous. “For fifteen years now, Senator, my people and I have been saving your ass. If people start to wonder why Menshikov went silent and quietly retired, why Karl Dressier had a nervous breakdown, why Muhammad Ifiigiya dropped mysteriously off the face of the Earth-you’re going to blame that on my lack of restraint? Don’t ever doubt we’re married in this. Ever.” She stabbed her gaze at Kevin. “And you, little boy. I know you want to make a real big impression on your boss, here, but don’t think to do it at my expense. If the senator hasn’t made this clear, let me spell it out for you. Teeps made Lee, Lee didn’t make teeps. He knows that, I know that, and if you want to stay in this business, you better know that, too.”

Kevin cocked his head and met her ferocious eyes.

“Ms. Alexander, I say what I see. Sometimes I don’t see everything . All I’m saying is that times are changing. We’ve already established that all our fates are linked. Mistakes have been made. It’s my job to help you fix them. If either you or the senator have a problem with that, maybe I need a new job.” He looked significantly at both of them.

Desa turned her gaze thoughtfully toward Lee.

“He has some guts, doesn’t he? He might do.”

“Yep.” Lee sighed, joining her on the bench. “Maybe we needed some new blood.” He was silent for a moment, then nodded at the playground. “Brenna out there?”

“Yes, watching the younger kids.”

“You must be proud. I hear she tested P10.”

“Which one is she?” Kevin asked.

“That one,” Desa said, pointing. “The one with the reddish-brown hair. It’s her birthday. Fifteen.”

“The future,” Lee said. “Makes me feel old.”

Desa grunted, still watching her daughter.

“You are old, Senator.”

The din in the Senate chamber diminished to a hush as Lai cleared his throat.

“We’ll come to order,” he said. He waited another moment, then directed his gaze toward where Blood sat, all business in her neat, brown uniform. “State your name, please?”

“Desa Alexander.”

Lai nodded.

“Also known as Blood?”

“That’s my nickname, yes.”

“Could you explain that, please?”

“It’s personal, Senator, and I don’t see how it has any bearing on these hearings.”

Lai shrugged.

“Just curious. It seems apt somehow.” Blood smiled. Lai shuffled through a few sheets of paper. “Might it have anything to do with a religious cult known as the Katun Prophecy?”

Blood felt her eyes widen, and at the same moment, she felt a familiar tickle at the edge of her senses. Then she snapped up her guards, mental and facial.

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“Ms. Alexander-Blood-weren’t you the leader of a religious cult known “Not to my knowledge.” Lai nodded, as if reluctant. “Perhaps my information is wrong, then. Ms. Alexander, can you tell us what you do?”

“I work for the MRA. I enforce the EA laws regarding telepaths . “

“Do you? Do you do anything else?”

“I raise my daughter. I’m active socially. Is that what you mean?”

“Not exactly, but we’ll get back to that. You say you enforce Earth Alliance laws. And yet I have three affidavits that claim you enforced these laws in non-Alliance countries. Again, I must confess that I’m very confused. How can Earth Alliance laws be enforced outside of the jurisdiction of the Earth Alliance?”

“They were criminals, Senator. I extradited them. It’s a matter of record.”

“Indeed it is. But the funny thing is that when I checked those records I found the extradition process occurred after you apprehended said criminals.”

Blood shrugged.

“I don’t recall any such instance, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. In many situations, the criminal is taken in the process of crossing borders, so jurisdiction becomes messy.”

“I see. And so you consider, for instance, breaking into a private residence in Christchurch, New Zealand-a country with which the Alliance doesn’t even have an extradition treaty-and abducting four people to be only a little `messy’?”

This time, Blood managed to repress her shock entirely.

“Senator , I have never done such a thing. None of my agents has ever done such a thing. Because I have not done these things, I know for certain that you have no evidence that I did-so why are you saying this?”

Lai took a sip of water. The floor was entirely still.

“Ms. Alexander, I never speak to things I cannot prove. I will demonstrate that you have, in fact, seized telepaths in decidedly unlawful ways. I will also prove that you willfully and maliciously have murdered civilians over whom you have no jurisdiction whatsoever. Furthermore, I will show that the anecdotal evidence of your own actions fits a larger pattern. One that represents an extraordinary abuse of power by your organization.”

A single pair of hands clapping filled the silence that framed his pronouncement. Blood turned along with everyone else to see Lee Crawford, applauding.

“Well, that’s entertainment, isn’t it, folks?” he said. “It certainly is. High drama. But you know, I’m one of those fellahs you hate to sit by during a movie. The one who’ll poke you every five minutes and say `Now what just happened there?’ and `Who is he?’ Because I like things to be kept real simple. So do you mind if I ask Ms. Alexander a few questions?”

“Senator-“

“Exactly. This is a Senate hearing, and I am a senator, or at least you seem to think so.” A few chuckles broke the stillness then, and Lai nodded reluctantly. Lee clasped his hands in front of him. “Ms. Alexander, as an officer of the Metasensory Regulation Authority, perhaps you’re aware of the history of your organization, more aware than someone outside of it. Did you study its charter?”

“Yes, Senator-it was required reading.”

“And who created the MRA?”

“The Earth Alliance, Senator.”

“More specifically.”

“The Senate.”

“You mean this Senate?”

“Yes, Senator.”

“Hmm. My, my. And who oversees it?”

“The Senate.”

“This Senate? You don’t say? This whole time?”

“Yes, Senator.”

“Why do you expect that all of a sudden this Senate pretends it has no idea what your organization does?”

Blood shrugged.

“You’ve got me, Senator.”

“Well, we’re together on that. Let’s talk about you, Ms. Alexander. You’ve been doing this job for a while?”

“Fifteen years.”

“And in that time, you’ve often been accused of the sorts of things Senator Lai is talking about?”

“Senator, it’s a matter of record that I have not.”

“But you haven’t been praised for your performance either, have you-oh, wait, Ms. Alexander! Are those medals I see on your uniform?”

“Yes, Senator. The Gold Shield and the Crossed Arrow.”

“I seem to remember those are awarded for outstanding service to the Earth Alliance and for bravery, integrity, and honor.”

“Yes, Senator.”

“Who awarded those medals to you, Ms. Alexander?”

“The Senate, sir.”

“What? This Senate?”

“Yes, Senator.”

Lee nodded and looked over at Lai.

“Senator Lai is sort of a young fellow. Do you think all of this happened before his time?”

“I like to think I’m not all that old, Senator,” Blood replied, smiling faintly.

“Well, you don’t look it-and neither do I, for that matter.” That drew a few chuckles, too. “Ms. Alexander, are you familiar with Senate hearings?”

“Yes.,,

“Are you aware that when charges are made, they are usually accompanied by evidence at the moment of the charge?”

“Yes, Senator, I’ve always been of the understanding that that’s the usual procedure.”

“How do you feel when you see an exception to that rule?

‘ I think it’s a bluff—grandstanding. I think the accuser is trying to get the media to pick up his unsubstantiated assertions-to create a perception of guilt in lieu of real evidence.”

Lee nodded gravely.

“That’s how I’ve always felt. Senator Lai, how do you stand on the matter?”

Lai pursed his lips, and then flashed his enigmatic grin.

“I’m just setting things up, Senator. Just making certain the issues are all clear. I thank you for clarifying them.” He continued, addressing everyone in the room. “As I will show over the next several days, it is indeed the Senate that has made the pertinent mistakes here. It is the Senate that must correct them. In the next few days … “