“Then he could be anywhere on the station. Why go dark?”
The question lent itself to many potential answers, none good.
“Exactly. If he’s aligned with Nexus, why draw suspicion?”
“Trevor, we planned to begin looking into his activities today. Is it possible he found out?”
“Let’s say he did but knew he couldn’t hide the truth for long. He’d have two options: Cover up his misdeeds or get the hell off Amity Station. Book a seat on the first available liner.”
Shireena nodded. “Except he left his personals. Doesn’t seem like someone heading planetside.”
Trevor didn’t want to stand around and hypothesize.
“It’s not lining up. If Thomas has been a mole for Nexus, then he’s more clever than I ever gave him credit for. He wouldn’t make a move this clumsy. I need to visit his flat.”
“What do you hope to find?”
“Dunno. If you bypass his Partition and review his work, you might find some clues.”
“Of what?”
“Not sure, but let’s start somewhere. Good?”
Shireena sighed, like she wanted to go with him. A signature of the old days.
“I’ll dig down and see what’s there,” she said.
He thought again of the Hann case.
“Review his LinkPass up to last night. Look for odd gaps in access points. That’s a surefire clue. It helped with Ulbrecht and Hoshi.”
He turned to Andreas before leaving.
“If I’m not back in forty-five minutes, postpone my meeting with Ambassadors Dureck and ... uh ...”
“Gingivholduvan. A mouthful, sir. Do take into account: You cancelled on Dureck a month ago. He’ll be rather put out.”
I don’t have time for diplomatic bullshit.
“If he is, invite them both to lunch in the dining room. My treat.”
“Certainly, sir. Although you already planned to treat them after the confab.”
On his way out, Trevor ended with:
“You’re clever. Make it work.”
Trevor grabbed the first rifter outside Central and raced for the Crossway. He did not forget the other pressing matter. He opened his pom and linked to the warship Styron.
“Gov. Stallion for Capt. Graygone,” he told the comms officer.
“He’s tied up at the moment, Governor. I’ll have him contact you at his first convenience.”
Tied up? Unlikely.
“I think not, Lieutenant. Put me through, or I’ll clog your comms until the fleet leaves Amity at H18.”
The officer paused for a long beat.
“Hold, Governor.”
That’s what I thought.
He heard silence until seconds after arriving at Midvale Station.
“Gov. Stallion,” Graygone said, audio only. “I’m in the throes of it. Be quick.”
“Making final arrangements for your redeployment?”
Graygone chuckled.
“Among other things. The defense web is still a few hours from coming online.”
“So I’ve heard. Both the web and your departure are far ahead of schedule. Any reason why I had to hear about it from Liv Shee?”
“An oversight from my XO.”
Yeah, right. Pass the blame.
