Water pooled in her eyes.
“Oh, gracious Lana. She said what you needed to hear. If you were ever interrogated, you’d point the finger to me. You would be my life insurance.”
“OK. So, you’re not working against me. I think. Help me out. Explain why I should trust you.”
She leaned against the door and sighed long and deep.
“I smoked digipipes for years. I never should’ve given them up.” Haas chuckled. “Black Star began four years ago on Azteca. It expanded quickly. My predecessor helped. I don’t know if Kara Aleksanyan ever saw the big picture. She was paranoid, like you.
“She hired Black Star’s founders to assassinate political enemies. She paid them well. My operatives uncovered it, with the help of SI. We were close to exposing her. It would have been a Constitutional crisis. Then she went to Riyadh for a state visit. She and the Emir were assassinated.”
Trevor heard rumors of her corruption at the time and accepted them. They died down after Aleksanyan’s death and the resulting military action against the Riyadhi faction responsible.
“I always hoped I was wrong about her,” he said.
“You were, to some degree. She ordered most of those assassinations at the behest of someone else. Someone who told her it would be best for humanity’s future. But the same someone’s threat was her true motivation. It was the same one I received after I took office in her wake.”
Fuck me.
“Riyadh ... was it connected?”
Haas nodded.
“Kara had one conversation with her Head of Security where she expressed doubts. She didn’t want to continue the arrangement. Someone overheard. She was unaware of the surveillance. They staged Riyadh and made me Kara’s heir. They plan far ahead.”
The last of the jigsaw clicked into place.
“Him, you mean. He plans far ahead. Each of us is one piece among thousands to be moved. ‘So fluid are the streams between the stars.’”
Haas wiped away tears but could not hide from the truth: She recognized those words.
“You’ve known Nexus for years,” Trevor said.
“Not by choice. No one makes his acquaintance by choice.”
“Who is he?”
“I met him once. He was disguised behind a shifter.”
“Why today, Kieran? Why tell me everything now?”
Her smile felt like a cross between compassion and pity. She called off the seduction.
“I want you to know why you’re Amity’s Governor.”
“Already do. I’m a pawn to be manipulated.”
“No, Trevor. Not a pawn. A champion. Someone Nexus believes will do his bidding but who has the power to fight him when the time comes.”
OK. She’s insane. And I’m insane for listening.
“Fight how?”
“Think, Trevor. There’s no Congress. My hands are tied. You control the station’s security apparatus. The badges are loyal to you. No one knows Amity better. At this moment, you are one of the most powerful men in the Collectorate. Lana and I need you to see it through. It’s why we pushed out Murrill and moved you in.”
Through all the puffery, one question popped into his mind.
“Lana’s alive?”
Haas nodded, but not with conviction.
“I’ll tell you more in the coming days. Just know this, Trevor: There is a way through. It’s difficult but doable.” She checked the time stamp on her pom. “We can’t stay here any longer. Whoever’s watching might wonder where we’ve disappeared to. Are you with me?”
As if he had any other job options.
“I am.”
“Very good. We’ll speak again soon. I ...”
He couldn’t end it there.
“There’s something you need to know. It might change everything.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Please don’t start with but.”
What came next felt like a betrayal but also the only fair choice. If she wanted to fight back, the President needed to know the variables. Or one, at the very least.
