Karl’s eyes ballooned.
“Indeed. You know him?”
Fuck me.
“I might. Keep canvassing. See if anyone else saw the man.”
“I’m on it, boss. Great seeing you again, even under these strange circumstances.”
Trevor approached the lift in a daze. He waited until the door closed and was alone with his fears.
He remembered the Enzathi’s warning:
“The bag is filled with deceptions. He intends to betray you.”
Breathe, jackass. Just breathe.
Trevor waited until he ventured outside Alhambra bloc before he adjusted his thoughts toward a target.
I need to talk. Now.
The floaters emerged, as did Mau Ping, who walked alongside.
“The Enzathi is here. What does the bag request?”
For one, that you stop referring to me as a bag.
Mau twisted his lips into a half-smile.
“This is the Enzathi translation for humans. What do you request?”
Something Trevor never imagined asking.
“Tell me everything you sensed about my brother.”
21
TREVOR CLEARED HIS SCHEDULE, ate lunch at his desk, and watched the evidence accumulate. Two hours after he consulted the Enzathi, Trevor paced the office with his second short glass of whiskey. Shireena tried again to calm his nerves, something the liquor failed to do.
“You don’t have to go through with this, love. Everything we have is circumstantial. It’s not enough to make a case.”
“Yet. I’m not an idiot. We may be looking at espionage, treason, or murder. Or a combination. I’m not off-base, and you damned well know it. I felt the change from that first hug.”
The data hovered above his desk on multiple holos. The latest reports, each more dire. Discoveries made inside Thomas’s personal Partition. The man’s continued, inexplicable disappearance. The secure cam vids. More witnesses.
“Yes,” Shireena said before clearing her throat. “Altogether, it’s not good. But I need you to consider something, Trev: If he has credible alibis, and it’s all a huge misunderstanding, you might destroy a lifelong bond. How would he feel knowing you turned on him so quickly?”
Trevor thought of little else.
“Connor has been the one constant in my life. I always looked after him, even at his worst.”
“Did he ever give you reason to believe he was anything other than a good man at heart?”
“No. But he’s not the man who left Amity ten months ago. I was so proud of him. He was strong and confident. I finally let him go.”
Shireena convinced him to join her on the couch.
“Don’t you dare try to blame yourself.” Trevor started to object, but Shireena caught him short. “It’s how you operate, Trev. When you can’t fix a person you love, you flip the blame. Ana Marie’s condition. Effie turning to Reginald. Things you’ve told me about your mother and father. And Grandfather Max? Do not get me started.”
Great. A therapy session.
At least Shireena wouldn’t patronize him like Su Yi, the psychiatrist who counseled many months ago.
“Point taken, hun. I get it. If Connor’s involved in any of this shit, he’ll have to assume responsibility. I know the risk of what happens if I’m wrong. I’ll have to repair the damage. Either way, I need to hear it straight from him. My instinct and the Enzathi aren’t enough.”
As the circumstantial evidence mounted, Trevor confessed to his dialogue with Mau’s avatar. He apologized for keeping the secret.
“It anyone learns how far things have gone, hun, I’ll be shown directly to the spaceport. I wouldn’t be surprised if SI deems me worthy of the dark room.”
Shireena said she was shocked but not surprised. Only a few dozen people knew about Trevor and the support group. They were told a partial truth: The Void energy faded and appeared passive. It vanished from most members.
A harmless entity which posed no threat.
“If you’re sure about this, love, I’ll stand with you.”
“I know you will. Thing is, I have to do this alone. He’s not happy I found someone else.”
“Then I’ll wait outside.”
