Shad grabbed his son’s hand and squeezed.
“I’ve explained our past, Malik. Speak your mind.”
“You watch him for hours on end. He can be sitting at his desk going through personnel files, and you’re hooked, as if it’s an exciting stream vid. If you ask me, Trevor Stallion is boring. He has no sense of humor, he’s insecure, and he looks ridiculous in that ruffled blue collar.”
Shad dared not argue. Malik wasn’t wrong in total.
“You miss the point, Son. I’m looking for nuance. I need to understand his mind to determine his readiness for the next stage. For instance, a few days ago he convinced the last of his group to transfer Enzathi fragments into him. He communicates directly with an Enzathi avatar. Now that he possesses the entire lifeform, their relationship will evolve. If I’m right, they’ll soon make him an offer. They did the same with Mau Ping.”
Malik groaned.
“Right. And we saw what Mau came to.”
Shad remembered the first time he met Mau on Tamarind. Twelve years ago felt like last week. So vivid were the days they spent together – Mau in a cell, Shad interrogating on behalf of SI. Every detail in his report confirmed why Devonshire assigned him to the case. Mau needed to be exterminated before the Void energy killed thousands of bystanders.
“The comparison is not apt,” he told Malik. “The Enzathi rid themselves of the Void gas. Trevor knows this. He’ll consider their offer without risking other lives.”
“What if he makes the wrong choice?”
Shad shrugged. “Then the experiment fails. My instinct tells me Trevor will choose the correct path. He wants to leave a legacy for his daughter. Mau Ping, for all his intellectual brilliance, was not a strategic man or a wise one. Trevor is both. You’ll see.”
He decided not to tell Malik about the elaborate conspiracy Trevor laid out a short while ago. No sense adding to Malik’s anxiety; he’d claim Trevor posed an existential threat to the plan. Unlike Alexi Babb, who expressed little more than rumors.
“To be perfectly blunt, Father, I think your experiment with the Void has gone on too long and will never amount to anything of value. What has it gained us?”
“Insight.”
“Into what?”
“Infinite possibilities.”
Malik yanked his hand from Shad’s grip.
“I hate when you’re obtuse.”
“Most people do. I’ve been vague in certain areas, but only with the intent to shield you from difficult conversations. Know this, Son. Even if we succeed in cleansing the Collectorate of its filth, ensuring success beyond the end of our lifetimes will require a special breed of allies.”
“The Enzathi?”
“Possible.”
Shad had taken a risk sending SI a fraudulent report about Mau. His contact inside the Core suggested Devonshire was overextended. She’d accept the details without following up. After all, Shad never let her down. One of the best curated agents she ever hired.
Or so she claimed. Shad never met the woman in person.
And now? Never would.
Too bad. He always admired Lana Devonshire from afar. She had vision and an iron will.
Perhaps if they’d gotten to know each other, she would’ve appreciated – even supported – Requiem’s goals. She understood the degradation of the human race better than anyone.
“I’m headed to the flight deck,” Malik said. “We’ll be jumping to worm in fifteen. You’ll have to lose your deepstreams for a while.”
“No worries. We’re going home. I trust the clan will be in a celebratory mood.”
Malik smiled.
“Aunt Kora is preparing a feast. As usual.”
“I’ll be sure not to snack in the meantime.”
“Good. You know how she gets if you don’t go back for seconds.”
Ah, yes. Domineering sister but great cook.
“An ice storm,” he said with a grin. “You’ll be glad to be home?”
“I haven’t felt the sun on my face in four months.”
Shad heard the longing in his son’s voice.
“Life between the stars can be difficult. Make the most of every moment, Malik. It might be our last visit for quite some time.”
That wasn’t what his son wanted to hear, but he’d grown up indoctrinated in Shad’s vision and accepted the stakes.
Alone again, Shad adjusted his attention from Trevor and looked in on the Department of Safety and Profiling. It used to be the offices of Central’s Executive Board before Trevor fired them.
He focused on a former associate: Thomas Quinlan.
