“One of my flatmates left to get married and his replacement couldn’t tolerate hubites. The strategic operations personnel officer said I’d have to leave since I was no longer a member of the division.”
“Are you living on the streets?” the colonel asked with a smile.
“I’ve secured a room in a flat in the international quarter,” Quint said.
“You need to have international connections to live there.”
“My landlady married a polen from Slinnon. He was killed in a shipwreck or something. Her son left for Slinnon, and she had a room available. She was the housekeeper at my former flat.”
“Is it much closer than your old flat?”
Quint nodded. “Less than half as far. It’s better for me.”
“I would think so. Everyone has to be tolerant there,” the colonel said. “Are there any other advantages?”
Quint smiled. “I can get impressions from people. My landlady talks to lots of residents.”
“You put her observations into one of your reports? She is a source?”
Quint nodded.
“Good. You need to inform our personnel officer about your change in residence. Don’t say it’s in the international quarter, just list the address.”
“I understand,” Quint said.
“Have you learned anything from your first few days? You have moved already?”
“Two days, ma’am,” Quint said holding up two fingers.
“The food is different, and to me, that means the culture will be different. I ate at a gran restaurant yesterday.”
The colonel smiled. “Interesting. I have an assignment for you. I want you to spend time in the quarter. You do not have to wear your uniform, in fact, I’d rather you went as yourself.”
“Like a spy, ma’am?” Quint said, getting to the point of her assignment.
“No specific assignment but consider it an extension of what you’ve been doing with the newssheets and the journals. I don’t want details on everyone’s opinions, but we are always interested in trends and anything that support those trends, lieutenant.”
“I can do that,” Quint said. “Can I let my landlady know I’m doing that?”
The colonel shrugged. “Since you aren’t targeting anyone, I don’t see why not. You be the judge. I think I’ll have some news for you in the next few days. It’s developing. Dismissed, Lieutenant Tirolo.”
Quint returned to his office. It seemed dingier after his move. He looked around the small room and decided he’d ask Marena’s advice to make it look better.
He reviewed his meeting with Colonel Gerocie. He decided she was too agreeable. To him that meant his assignments were meant to fill time. He was sure he was doing some good. At a minimum, he had learned the basics of the willot language and was becoming well-read in current events, but he had realized that all the information he read was filtered to some degree. The forces making things happen were often not talked about, but merely alluded to.
Quint was surprised she agreed so readily when he characterized himself as a spy. But in truth, he was as much a spy as a person doing research in the strategic operations division, which was a far cry from the kind of spies he pictured from reading novels in his village not that long ago.
The day’s basket of newssheets showed up with yesterday’s publications. There was only one foreign journal, one from Gussellia. It didn’t take him long to identify the articles that might mean something. He saved the Gussellian journal for last. It was written in willot.
Like most articles in this particular journal, there were bellicose calls for rising to the call of their new leader. The name of the person, Pacci Colleto, was familiar. Quint closed his eyes to remember where he had heard the name and then it came to him. The wizard officer who had sought him almost a year ago had just risen to lead the Gussellian government.
It took a minute for the shock to wear off. He carefully read the articles again. The bellicosity was different from the previous Gussellian publications. The call to patriotism was stronger and the identification of Gussellia as a motherland showed up for the first time. The two speeches by Colleto transcribed in the journal were just short of a call to arms.
Quint wondered if the colonel had read this. It was an important change and Quint pointed out deeper meanings in the speeches along with a list of willot words he couldn’t find the meanings of.
He didn’t wait for the next meeting and returned the basket and his reports to the colonel’s office. She was in and granted Quint’s request for a quick meeting.
“I think I found something important.”
“You did?” the colonel asked. It was as if she was humoring him. Maybe she was.
He presented his reports but went through his opinion on the Gussellian journal articles and especially the wizard’s speeches.
“If this is how he really thinks, the armistice with Gussellia means nothing,” Quint said.
The colonel’s eyebrows rose. As she read the report on her own, she rubbed the back of her neck, focusing on what Quint said.
“I didn’t think you would catch this.”
“The journal was a test, ma’am?”
“I really wanted to see your opinion, but yes. You passed in an extraordinary fashion. Your wizard has been actively presenting these principles after he visited Bocarre.”
She looked at the last sheet of the Gussellian report. “What are these words?”
“I didn’t understand those. They weren’t in my dictionaries,” Quint said. “Since they are willot words, I didn’t want them attached to the report.”
“I’ll get you a more current dictionary, but it may take a few days.” She handed the sheet back along with the Gussellian journal. “Keep this, you’ll be analyzing more. Do that wood joining thing to keep them from casual view.”
