Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (47 page)

"They
might
have
some
help,"
Bley
s
said.

He
refused
to
provide
any
further
information;
and
in
the
dissatisfied
silence
that
followed,
he
was
saved
by
Kaj
Menowsky,
who called
from
the
infirmary
to
report
that
Dahno
was
demanding
to see
Bleys.

"I've
been
waiting
for
him
to
come
out
of
his
shell,"
Bleys
told Toni.
"He's
been
recovering
well,
physically,
but
he's
been
withdrawn."

"I
know,"
she
said.
"I
stopped
by
to
see
how
he
was
doing,
yesterday,
and
he
was
barely
polite—I
think
he's
sulking
about
something."

"I
don't
believe
he's
ever
been
hurt
before,"
Bleys
said.
"I
think he's
been
getting
used
to
the
concept,
and
it's
making
him
rethink things."

She
looked
at
him
for
a
long
moment,
a
thoughtful
look
on
her face;
until,
finally,
she
smiled.

"Most
people
would
be
wondering
what
he'll
decide
to
do,"
she said.
"You
already
know,
don't
you?"

"I
have
some
ideas,"
he
said.
Then
he
shook
his
head.

"Oh,
not
in
any
detail,"
he
went
on.
"That
depends
on
how
things play
out
for
a
while.
But
if
you're
talking
about
the
short
run—he'll want
to
go
back
to
Association
right
away."

"Is
he
afraid
he
might
get
hurt
again?"

"Not
in
the
sense
you
mean,"
Bleys
said.
"No,
he'll
just
want
to be
able
to
get
off
where
he
can
think
and
plan."

"How
can
we
send
him
back
without
risking
letting
people
know you're
not
really
hiding
in
Abbeyville?"

"We'll
figure
something
out....
I'd
better
go
see
him
now."

CHAPTE
R
18

Henry
was
the
third
to
go
through
the
frosted-glass
doors
of
the main
entrance
to
the
Others'
offices,
behind
two
of
his
Soldiers. Even
though
the
external
foyer's
surveillance
system
had
been
disabled,
here
on
the
nineteenth
floor
of
the
building,
their
void
pistols
were
kept
out
of
sight
until
they
were
through
the
doors.

By
the
time
Bleys
entered,
behind
two
more
Soldiers
and
ahead of
Toni
and
the
last
two
Soldiers,
the
two
women
in
the
reception area
were
on
their
feet.
The
younger
one,
the
same
receptionist Bleys
had
met
briefly
on
his
prior
visit,
seemed
to
be
trying—and
in danger
of
failing—to
present
a
calm
demeanor;
she
was
unable
to keep
her
stare
from
returning,
again
and
again,
to
the
weapons
now carried
openly
by
Henry
and
the
first
two
Soldiers—who
were
already
past
the
two
women
and
covering
the
interior
doorways.

The
second
person
in
the
reception
area
was
the
same
stocky
older woman
Bleys
had
invited
to
sit
in
on
the
previous
meeting—Pallas Salvador's
administrative
assistant,
Gelica
Costanza.
She
seemed calm
and
alert,
although
her
lips
were
held
a
little
tightly.
She
was, Bleys
thought,
a
professional
at
maintaining
a
professional
expression.

Already
she
had
dismissed
any
concern
for
the
men
behind
her, and
focused
her
attention
on
Bleys.
He
played
to
that
as
if
her gaze
were
a
spotlight,
pinning
his
own
gaze
on
her
and
moving
up to
face
her,
almost
bending
as
he
looked
down
into
her
eyes.
He could
see
those
eyes
widen,
and
as
he
drew
nearer
her
pupils
dilated a
little;
but
even
as
he
halted
in
front
of
her,
they
shrank
to
normal size.

"We
hope
you'll
forgive
us
for
this
melodramatic
entrance,
Gelica
Costanza,"
he
said,
keeping
his
voice
quiet
and
pleasant.
"I
presume
you're
aware
there've
been
several
attacks
aimed
at
our
party."
He
was
sure
she
was
sharp
enough
to
notice
he
was
consistently
using
a
plural
form,
rather
than
speaking
of
himself;
he
hoped it
would
alter
her
thinking,
just
a
little.

"We've
all
been
very
concerned,
Great
Teacher,"
she
said. "Frankly,
it's
made
it
very
difficult
to
keep
our
minds
on
our
work." Bleys
could
see
no
falseness
in
her
smile,
and
he
noted
that
she
had used
his
honorific
title,
rather
than
his
name.

I
have to be very, very careful with this one,
he
told
himself.
She
’
s as good as anyone I've ever met.

"We've
been
having
that
problem
ourselves,"
he
responded,
putting
a
smile
of
shared
comradeship
on
his
own
face.
Then
he
made a
show
of
becoming
serious,
even
throwing
his
shoulders
back slightly.

"Our
work
must
go
on,"
he
said.
"That's
why
we
must
have
the extra
security."
She
nodded,
giving
every
appearance
of
understanding
that
need.

He
leaned
forward,
speaking
in
a
confidential
tone.

"I
hate
it,"
he
said.
"But
apparently
it's
become
necessary."

She
produced
a
sympathetic
smile.
Watching
it,
he
knew
she
had not
weakened
her
defenses.
But
he
had
not
really
expected
her
to be
beaten
so
easily.

"Please
accept
our
apologies,
as
well,"
Bleys
went
on,
"for
the fact
that
we've
arrived
a
good
deal
earlier
than
you
were
expecting us—we'd
built
extra
time
into
the
schedule
to
allow
for
mishaps during
our
trip
here
from
Abbeyville,
but
everything
went
perfectly."
Again
he
smiled,
almost
apologetically,
before
straightening to
his
full
height
and
turning
to
glance
about
the
room.

"Are
all
our
people
here,
then?"
he
asked.
For
a
moment
he thought
she
was
about
to
say
something
else,
but
she
responded
to his
question.

"Everyone
who
was
here
for
the
previous
convocation,"
she
said, "except
for
Pallas
Salvador
herself.
She
messaged
us
that
she wanted
everyone
here
early,
well
before
your
scheduled
arrival— she
said
there
was
some
preliminary
work
to
do—but
we've
been waiting
for
her,
and
she
hasn't
arrived
herself."
Her
voice
had
gotten
deeper
as
she
spoke,
and
more
resonant
than
at
any
time
since Bleys
had
met
her.
He
wondered
if
she
had
not
just
made
a
slip.

"She
will
not
be
here
today,"
he
told
her;
and
her
face
said
she had
caught
the
formality
of
his
language.
That
face,
which
had
been broadcasting
the
attentiveness
appropriate
to
a
subordinate,
now displayed
a
certainty
that,
curiously,
seemed
to
relax
her.