Offspring (11 page)

“What’s going on, Ben?” Kendi said, fighting down his alarm. “You’re scaring me.”

Ben pointed in answer. A holographic display hovered in the darkness above his cluttered desk. It showed Daniel Vik and Irfan Qasad standing next to each other in a forest. The image was famous, and Kendi had seen it thousands of times. This version, however, had been altered. An image of Ben had been inserted between Daniel and Irfan and someone had added a caption. It read,
Silence will cost you.

“You can only blackmail someone who gives a shit.”

—Daniel Vik

Lucia dePaolo rotated Kendi’s new data pad, the one Petrie had given him, and examined the holographic image from all sides. Her scarred hands were rock-steady above the kitchen table. Ben’s hands were clasped tightly in his lap, and his right leg bounced up and down. Kendi sat next to him, his face hard. Harenn poured herself a cup of coffee, laced it heavily with cream and sugar, and brought it to the table. It was the last of the coffee supply, but no one objected.

“It’s a good job,” Lucia said, pushing dark hair away from a her forehead. “But I’m sure you already know that.”

“Ben turned it inside-out,” Kendi said. “He couldn’t find any clues as to who made it. Same went when we tried to trace the message that sent it. The thing was routed through several anonymous accounts, including two scrambler services. Whoever did this knows Ben is a hacker supreme.”

“Obviously they know more than that,” Harenn said.

“How did they find out?” Ben blurted. “Who told?”

“I told no one but you and Lucia,” Harenn said. “And each time we discussed it, our circumstances were private. No eavesdroppers. Unless someone was hanging underneath your balcony yesterday.”

“A burglar with serendipity on his side?” Kendi said. “Doubt it. Lucia? I hate to be blunt, but the First Church of Irfan would kill to get information like this. Did you drop any hints? Maybe by accident at a service?”

“I haven’t breathed a word of it since Harenn told me back on the
Poltergeist
,” Lucia said. Her voice was low and serene. “Not a single time, and I swear by Irfan herself.”

“I know I haven’t mentioned it,” Kendi said with a guilty little pang at how close he’d come to telling Keith and Martina. “Ben?”

“Absolutely not!”

“I did have to ask,” Kendi said gently. “We’ll sort this out somehow. So who else knew about the embryos?”

“Grandfather Melthine and Mother Ara,” Harenn said. “But they died before we learned of the embryos’...origin.”

“What about the people who were on Mother Ara’s team when she found the embryos in the first place?” Lucia said. “They know the embryos exist.”

“It’s been almost thirty years since she was a part of that team,” Ben said. “They’ve probably forgotten all about them. Besides, they wouldn’t know the truth anymore than Mom did.”

“Maybe,” Lucia said. “But they’re a place to start.”

“Don’t forget Ben’s relatives,” Kendi said. “His aunt, uncle, and cousins know about the embryos, and they’re the most likely lot to pull something like this.”

“I hadn’t thought of them,” Ben said. He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “God, it does sound like something Hazid or Zayim would try, though it doesn’t explain how they found out.”

“You don’t think Sil or Tress could be involved?” Harenn said.

Ben shook his head. “Sil doesn’t have the...she isn’t—”

“No need to be delicate, love,” Kendi said. “We all know Sil’s as bright as a wet matchstick. She’s a champion whiner, but blackmail is beyond her. Tress, on the other hand—”

“I don’t think it’s Tress,” Ben said. “She’s changed.”

“You only have her word on that,” Kendi pointed out.

“Right now, we can’t rule anyone out,” Lucia said. “I’ll put on my private investigator hat and check them all. My license is still active.”

“We’ll pay your usual hourly rate,” Kendi said. “What is it?”

Lucia pursed her lips. “Under other circumstances, I’d do this for free. But the PI business has been poor lately, and I can’t afford to turn anything down. I’ve already been forced to move back in with my parents.”

“Lucia! Why didn’t you say something?” Kendi said, shocked. “You’re going to be carrying one of our children. That makes you a member of
this
family, too. If you need a place to live or a few thousand freemarks to tide you over—”

“I won’t live on largesse,” Lucia replied firmly. “However, my full fee should cover my shortcomings. Five hundred freemarks per hour, plus expenses, with a ten thousand freemark advance.”

“Done,” Ben said.

“Then let’s get started. First, I’ll need the full names and addresses of your extended family, Ben. Kendi, does the monastery keep records of who went on what mission? I’ll need to track down the people on Mother Ara’s old team.”

“No problem,” Kendi said. “I can get you the information today.”

“Harenn,” Lucia said, “you ran the gene scans. Tell me exactly what you did and who else may have figured out what you were doing.”

“No one,” Harenn said. “I performed the first gene scans on the
Poltergeist
at Kendi’s request, and I told no one what I was doing. The procedure is straightforward. The computer scanned the DNA of the embryos and checked it against the monastery database.”

“How did you check the database?” Lucia said. “We were docked at SA Station at the time, and you couldn’t have accessed Children records from there.”

“I updated the
Poltergeist’s
medical computer just before we left. It contained the latest information from the monastery’s databases, including genetic records.”

“Why do you carry genetic records on a rescue mission?”

“Standard procedure,” Harenn said. “It allows me—the Children—to check mitochondrial DNA of rescued Silent slaves and see if they have any relatives on Bellerophon.”

“You ran the scans three times on the
Poltergeist
,” Lucia said.

“Yes. I thought the initial results were a mistake, so I ran the test again, and then once more. When I was absolutely sure of my data, I called you and Ben into the medical bay. You know the rest.”

“What about the files?” Ben asked. “The computer must have made a whole bunch of them.”

“Erased and scrubbed,” Harenn said. “This is standard procedure after a...a...” Harenn trailed off and her brown eyes went vacant.

“What?” Kendi asked.

“I am trying to remember if I scrubbed the backup files.” Harenn’s brow furrowed. “I do not remember doing it. On the other hand, I do not remember
not
doing it.”

“Another place to check,” Lucia said. “The team that refurbishes the ships would have access to those files. I’m not a computer expert, though. Ben, if you checked the
Poltergeist’s
system, could you tell...?”

“Yes,” Ben said. “Though I couldn’t necessarily tell
who
. Just
when
. Or
if
.”

“Let’s look there first, then.” Lucia rose. “Irfan willing, it’ll be a short hunt.”

Lucia and Ben headed for the door. Kendi and Harenn followed. Lucia halted.

“We don’t need all of you,” she said.

“I’m not staying behind,” Kendi said. “I want to know now.”

“As do I,” Harenn said.

Lucia sighed. “Father Kendi, I can’t work with someone staring over my shoulder. I promise we’ll call the moment we learn something.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Lu—”

The doorbell rang and the computer broke in. “Attention! Attention! Wanda Petrie requests entry. She claims she has urgent business with Father Kendi.”

“We’ll just nip out the back,” Lucia said, and vanished with Ben before Kendi could react.

“They settled that, didn’t they?” Harenn murmured.

“Attention! Attention! Wanda—”

“Irene,” Kendi interrupted, “tell Wanda Petrie she can come in. We’ll meet in her the living room.”

Wanda Petrie burst into the living room with a thunderstorm on her face. Her hard shoes slammed the floor with every step, and her sharp eyes looked ready to strike Kendi down. He took an involuntary step backward. Harenn withdrew to a corner chair and sat.

“Perhaps my instructions were not clear, Father Weaver,” Petrie snapped without preamble. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“About what?” Kendi said.

She whipped out a data pad and jabbed at it. A head-and-shoulders hologram of Kendi popped up. “You gave an unauthorized press conference this morning. You entered into a debate with Senator Mitchell Foxglove, and he made a right fool of you. We had to assign a team of five people to spin the damage.”

“It wasn’t a debate,” Kendi said. “We just—”

Petrie slapped the data pad on the coffee table with a
crack
. Kendi’s image bobbled. “Anytime you enter into a public conversation with a candidate, it becomes a debate. The fact that dozens of reporters witnessed the entire thing made it even worse.”

“I didn’t say anything that—”

“Three of the feeds caught and broadcast the phrase
What kind of bullshit is that
,” Petrie said. “You also called Foxglove’s remarks, and I quote,
bloody nonsense
. Then you confronted Foxglove about the lack of Silent on his campaign team.”

“The man is an asshole,” Kendi shot back. “He as much said that Silent weren’t human and that they should be shut away in their own little enclaves.”

“Your opinion of Foxglove doesn’t matter,” Petrie growled. “What matters is that you called him names in public and made a fool of yourself in front a pack of reporters. Thank god we haven’t officially announced that you’re supporting Senator Reza’s campaign. As it is, we’ll have to delay everything to let the situation calm down.”

“It can’t be
that
bad,” Kendi said.

Petrie closed her eyes. Her lips were pressed so tightly together Kendi half expected to see blood. “It
is
, Father Kendi. Very bad indeed. We scheduled a press conference for Senator Reza—after inventing a reason that had nothing to do with you—and arranged for reporters who are friendly to our cause to ask questions about you so she can make light of what you said. It won’t be an easy conference because you can bet Foxglove will do his best to make sure a few hostile reporters attend. You’re making her sweat in front of a planet, Father Kendi, and if you can’t keep your mouth shut, I’ll have to recommend you be pulled from the campaign. Right now, you’re more liability than asset.”

“My,” Harenn said from her chair.

Kendi sat in a chair of his own, feeling abashed. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Grandma, and that’s exactly what he had done. “Is there any way I can help clean up?”

“Not right now,” Petrie said, still on her feet. “It’s best if you stay out of the public eye for a few days. I’ve cancelled your first speaking engagement and rearranged your calendar. We’ll have to delay the workshop, too—the man who is supposed to train you is busy cleaning up.”

“For what it’s worth,” Kendi said, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry won’t help Senator Reza.” Petrie took up an easy chair and crossed her legs at the ankle. Her skirt displayed athletic legs. “But your sentiment is noted. You have to change some behaviors, Father.”

“If you’re going to bawl me out on a regular basis, I think you’d better call me Kendi.”

“And I’m Wanda. I’m not entirely unsympathetic, understand, but my primary responsibility is to Senator Reza.” She cleared her throat. “I suppose I should have known better. Politics is a new arena for you.”

“I’ve played monastery politics for years,” Kendi said. “They’re just different. National elections are a new game, a con game, really, and I have to learn the rules.
Then
I can break them.”

Petrie looked pained, and Kendi flashed her a grin. “Joke,” he said.

“It was not,” Harenn murmured.

“I need to discuss another matter,” Petrie said. “With all that’s happened—and going to happen—I think it would be prudent for you and Mr. Rymar to take a security detail.”

Kendi froze. Did Petrie know about Ben? But she couldn’t. Not unless she was the one who was threatening blackmail. Was she playing Kendi along? He gave himself a mental shake. He was getting paranoid.

“What do you mean?” he asked instead.

“Senator Reza is receiving more and more attention, even though she hasn’t officially announced her intention to run for governor. That will mean more attention for you and Mr. Rymar—and your eventual children. It would be a good idea to have someone who can...interfere for you.”

“Guard us, you mean,” Kendi said. “We haven’t been bothered any more than usual lately. I’m getting the same number of weirdo messages and autograph hounds. Nothing’s changed.”

“Not yet,” Petrie said. “You haven’t officially endorsed the Senator’s campaign. Once that happens, people will seek you out even more. I was able to walk right up to your house, Kendi. Who knows what strange person would do the same?”